Sino-Global Announces Fiscal Second Quarter and Six Months Financial Results

BEIJING, Feb. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ --- Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd. (Nasdaq: SINO), a leading, non-state-owned provider of shipping agency services operating primarily in China, today announced its selected unaudited financial results for fiscal quarter and six months ended December 31, 2010.

Highlights for the Six Months and Second Quarter of Fiscal 2011

• Revenues for the six months ended December 31, 2010 increased 34.1% to US$17.3 million, from US$12.9 million in the six months ended December 31, 2009.
• Revenues for the second quarter ended December 31, 2010 rose 36.7% to US$9.1 million from US$6.6 million in the second quarter ended December 31, 2009.
• Gross margin decreased to 9.8% in the current second quarter compared to 11.8% in the second quarter of 2010.
• General and administrative expenses as a percentage of total revenues decreased to 12.2% from 14.1% in the second quarter of 2010.
• Net loss for the six months ended December 31, 2010 was US$465 thousand compared to net loss of US$404 thousand in the first six months of fiscal 2009.
• Net loss for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 was US$264 thousand compared to a net loss of US$390 thousand for the same period in fiscal 2009.
• Basic and diluted losses per share were US$0.04 and US$0.09 for the quarter and six months of fiscal 2011, respectively, compared to basic and diluted loss per share of US$0.01 and earnings per share of US$0.02, respectively for the quarter and six months of fiscal 2010.  Earnings and losses per share are adjusted for the non-controlling interest.

"Once again Sino-Global reported a very strong increase in revenues and we believe that revenues should continue to show strong gains throughout the current fiscal year," stated Mr. Cao Lei, Sino-Global's Chief Executive Officer. "A substantial majority of our revenues will result from our shipping agency services but we are also looking to expand those activities by aggressively offering such services into other geographic locations.

"We have expanded into several new countries and ports and believe that these activities will prove to be a significant contributor to our revenues on a going-forward basis. Having proven our capabilities in the PRC, we are in a position to develop new business opportunities with potential overseas customers, including those ship owners and charters that are moving goods from overseas locations to China. At the same time, we are continuing our efforts to expand our footprint in the PRC as we offer our full range of services to other PRC ports."

"The continued re-valuation of the RMB against the U.S. dollar is a factor that has significantly impacted Sino-Global's gross margins and will continue to be a negative factor on our bottom line performance. As we have noted previously, most of our revenues are received in U.S. dollars whereas most of our expenses are China-based and, therefore, are paid in Chinese Renminbi ("RMB"). We anticipate a possible further devaluation of the RMB of 2% to 5% in 2011," stated Mr. Zhang Mingwei, Sino-Global's Chief Financial Officer.

"Therefore, we will not only continue to focus on increasing sales and, possibly, increasing the value of those sales, but also keep tight control of all expenses," concluded Mr. Zhang.  

Selected Financial Results for the Second Quarter of 2011

Revenues

Total revenues were US$9.1 million in the second quarter of 2011, an increase of 36.7% from US$6.6 million in the 2010 period and a sequential gain of approximately 10% from the first quarter of fiscal 2011. The number of ships that Sino-Global served increased 32.9% to 113 in the first quarter of 2011, from 85 in the year-ago period.

Cost of Revenues

Cost of revenues was US$8.2 million in the second quarter of 2011, an increase of 39.7% from US$5.9 million in the year-ago period.

Cost of revenues as a percentage of total revenues for the second quarter of 2011 increased to 90.2% from 88.2% in the year-ago period. Costs of revenues increased faster than revenues, resulting in the decrease of gross margins from 11.8% down to 9.8% for the comparative three months ended December 31, 2009 and 2010, respectively. The erosion in gross margins was impacted by importers using larger vessels to save freight costs because iron ore prices increased. This resulted in increased fee charges at Chinese local ports. Additionally, the foreign exchange rate of Chinese currency against the U.S. dollar increased during the period. The average foreign exchange rate was RMB6.7126 to $1.00 for the second quarter of fiscal 2011 compared to RMB6.8274 to $1.00 for the second quarter of fiscal 2010. As a result, expenses payable in RMB absorbed a greater percentage of revenues in U.S. dollars.

Operating Expenses

General and administrative expenses were US$1.1 million in the second quarter of 2011, an increase of 18.2% from US$938 thousand in the year-ago period. General and administrative expenses as a percentage of total revenues decreased to 12.2% in the second quarter of 2011 from 14.1% in the year-ago period.

Selling expenses were US$114 thousand in the second quarter of 2011, an increase of 212% from US$37 thousand in the year-ago period.

Operating Loss

Operating loss was US$286 thousand in the second quarter of 2011 compared to an operating loss of US$241 thousand in the year-ago period. The operating loss for the second quarter of fiscal 2011 was primarily due to the increase in costs of revenues and in general and administrative expenses.

Financial income was US$34 thousand in the first quarter of 2011, compared to financial income of US$16 thousand in the year-ago period. The net financial income comes largely from interest income from money deposits in banks and by the foreign exchange losses recognized in the financial statement consolidation.

Income tax expenses were US$1 thousand in the second quarter of 2011, compared to US$119 thousand in the year-ago period.

Net loss was US$263 thousand in the second quarter of 2011, compared to net loss of US$271 thousand in the year-ago period. Net loss attributable to Sino-Global Shipping America Ltd. was US$113 thousand in the second quarter of 2011, compared to net loss of US$34 thousand in the year-ago period.

Basic and diluted loss per share in the second quarter of 2011 was US$0.04, compared to basic and diluted loss per share of US$0.01 in the year-ago period.

Other Selected Data

As of December 31, 2010, the Company had US$6.1 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared to US$6.2 million in the year-ago period.

About Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd.

Registered in the United States in 2001 and operating primarily in mainland China, Sino-Global is a leading, non-state-owned provider of high-quality shipping agency services. With local branches in most of China's main ports and contractual arrangements in all those where it does not have branch offices, Sino-Global is able to offer efficient, high-quality shipping agency services to shipping companies entering Chinese ports. With a subsidiary in Perth, Australia, where it has a contractual relationship with a local shipping agency, Sino-Global provides complete shipping agent services to companies involved in trades between Chinese and Australian ports. Sino-Global also operates a subsidiary in Hong Kong, China, to provide comprehensive shipping agent services to vessels going to and from one of the world's busiest ports.

Sino-Global provides ship owners, operators and charters with comprehensive yet customized shipping agency services including intelligence, planning, real-time analysis and on-the-ground implementation and logistics support. Sino-Global has achieved both ISO9001 and UKAS certifications.

Forward Looking Statements

No statement made in this press release should be interpreted as an offer to purchase any security. Such an offer can only be made in accordance with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and applicable state securities laws. Any statements contained in this release that relate to future plans, events or performance are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties as identified in Sino-Global's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results, events or performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as the date hereof. Sino-Global undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect the events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

For More Information

For a more detailed review of Sino-Global's financial results for the second quarter and six months ended December 31, 2010, please refer to the company's Security and Exchange Commission Form 10Q filing or Sino-Global's web site: www.sino-global.com.

SOURCE Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd.