Exhibit 99.1
WOLLEMI MINING CORP ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF REVERSE MERGER
WITH OWNER OF LEADING CHINESE FOOTWEAR COMPANIES;
PLANS TO CHANGE NAME TO PACIFIC BEPURE INDUSTRY INC.
FAST GROWING PACIFIC BEPURE FOOTWEAR BRAND "BAOPAIO" IS AMONG
THE MOST RECOGNIZED IN CHINA
* 49% Growth in Revenues and 59% Advance in Net Income Achieved in 2008
As Footwear Companies Repositioned For Future Growth
* Double Digit Revenue Growth Reported in 2009 First Half on Strength of
Foreign Footwear Sales Despite Sluggish Domestic Environment; Net
Income Was Down 7% as Selling Prices Were Maintained
* Mr. Haiting Li, Newly Elected Chairman and CEO, Sees Start of U.S.
Trading as Significant Step in Executing Growth Strategy
* Five New Directors Appointed
JINJIANG CITY, FUJIAN PROVINCE, P.R. CHINA- November 12, 2009 - WOLLEMI MINING
CORP. (OTC BB:WOLI) announced today the completion of a reverse merger with the
sole shareholder of Peakway Worldwide Limited, whose operating subsidiaries
design, manufacture and sell their own branded and moderately priced casual
sports, athletic, outdoor, business and travelling series footwear--primarily
for women--throughout China and South America. Domestic sales are largely under
the widely known brand name "Baopaio" (or "Bepure"). These operating
subsidiaries--with nearly 600 employees and three production lines--produced
more than 2.2 million pairs of shoes and approximately $20 million in sales in
2008, and now constitute the primary operations of Wollemi Mining Corp.
("Wollemi Mining", "Wollemi," or the "Company") which, pending required
approvals, plans to change its name to Pacific Bepure Industry Inc. The Company
is now headquartered in Jinjiang City, often referred to as the "footwear
capital" of China, which has emerged as the world's largest consumer and
exporter of shoes.
Mr. Haiting Li, who was named Chairman and CEO of the Company upon the closing
of the transaction, stated, "We have taken a number of critical steps since 2008
to strengthen the rapidly growing footwear business we began nearly 16 years
ago, and to prepare it for continuing strong growth in the new decade ahead. Of
note, we have reorganized our sales and distribution in China to be closer to
the market and more competitive, increased marketing expenditures to broaden
awareness of the Baopaio brand, begun to build a new factory to further reduce
costs and greatly expand our capacity and broaden our product line, added new
technology throughout the organization and developed a substantial export
business. We believe having our shares trade in the U.S. is another key step
that will help in gaining access to potential financing if needed to speed our
growth and also help raise awareness internationally of our Bepure brand."
<PAGE>
THE TRANSACTION
In connection with the transaction, Wollemi Mining issued 10.5 million shares of
common stock or about 70% of its issued and outstanding shares to the owner of
Peakway, in exchange for 1,000 shares of Peakway. Immediately after giving
effect to the exchange, Wollemi had 15 million shares outstanding. Wollemi has
filed a Current Report on Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission on November 12, 2009 describing in more detail the terms of the
reverse merger.
FIVE NEW DIRECTORS
Upon closing of the reverse transaction, Mr. Haiting Li, 45, who had previously
served as Chairman and CEO of the Company's footwear subsidiaries, was appointed
Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Company. Also named to the Board were Mr.
Rongyan Ding and three independent directors-- Mr. Erik Vonk, Mr. Fuhsin Chen
and Ms. Minghua Liu.
2008 FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR OPERATING SUBSIDIARIES
Prior to the reverse acquisition, Wollemi was primarily engaged in the
acquisition and exploration of mining properties and had not realized any
revenues. Therefore, the financial results below rely on the pre-merger
statistics of the Chinese footwear subsidiaries to provide year-over-year
comparisons.
For the year ended December 31. 2008, revenues grew 49.25% to $20,131,118
compared to $13,488,136 in 2007. Net income in 2008 increased 59.06% to
$4,436,018 compared to net income of $2,788,881 a year earlier.
The Company attributed the sharp gain in revenues despite the onset of recession
to a number of factors. In particular, the Company expanded its sales network of
distributors to broaden its reach across 24 provinces in China. Additionally,
through market oriented research and development, the Company made a specific
effort to develop innovative localized products suitable to each market. At the
same time, it continued efforts to enrich the Baopaio brand--known for such
innovations as height enhancement and anti-odor technology--and promote
recognition of it, with a particular focus on ensuring its trend-setter position
in sports and leisure shoes for women.
While the strongest growth during the year occurred in the domestic northern and
southern markets (+73% and +64% respectively) the Company was pleased with the
growth in its eastern markets (+17%) which was a particular focus of its
efforts. Of special significance, $3,231,000 in 2008 sales were from foreign
export markets, mainly Chile and Peru in South America.
In addition to increased sales, the Company said that careful cost management,
more rapid inventory turnover and a reasonable pricing strategy resulted in
slightly higher gross profit margins (35.30%) compared to 2007. Net profit
margins for the year also increased from 20.68% in 2007 to 22.04%.
<PAGE>
FINANCIAL RESULTS IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 2009
While the Company was combating the effects of the world financial crisis,
revenues in the first half of 2009 continued to grow, but at a lower pace.
Revenues in the first half ended June 30, 2009 were $7,061,013, or approximately
13% higher than the $6,250,588 reported in the same period last year.
Domestic sales were impacted in particular in the northern region due to the
cancellation in this period of a distribution contract by one of the
distributors. The Company has since made efforts to replace this distributor. In
other areas growth was sluggish. The bright spot in the period, however, was the
growth in sales from goods handled through an export agent, shipped mainly to
South America, which saw a 61.76% gain over the same period last year and
contributed approximately 35% of total revenues.
To fight the slower market domestically, the Company incurred higher costs to
introduce new styles and increase promotional efforts. Nevertheless, gross
profits margins were about the same (34.07%) as in 2008, and gross profits in
the period rose 12.91% compared with same period last year. However, while
expenses in the period increased, the Company made the decision to maintain
prices, and this was a key factor in the decrease in net profit margins in the
period to 18.37% compared with 22.36% a year earlier. The effect on net profit
was a decline of $100,370, or approximately 7.18% to $1,297,326, compared with
$1,397,696 in the first half of 2008.
Of significance in the period, the Company continued to move forward with
changes in the mode of its distributorships that it began in 2008 with the
establishment of its own retail outlets in major cities across China and, going
forward, believes this will have a favorable effect on sales.
In addition, the Company continued with efforts to build a new factory which it
expects will permit at least a 50% increase in production and lower costs, in
particular by enabling it to reduce the amount of production that currently must
be contracted out to other manufacturers.
OUTLOOK
Commenting on the future outlook for the Company, Mr. Li stated, "While we
operate in a highly competitive market, the opportunity for continuing strong
future growth is quite substantial. Domestically, while China is now the world's
largest shoe market, shoe purchases represent approximately only .02% of GDP,
whereas in the U.S., it is about 2%, leaving lots of room for continuing growth
as the middle class in China continues to expand. Further, we have the good
fortune of a brand that not only is well known, but also is recognized as being
one of the favorite products purchased by consumers. With our continuing flow of
market sensitive new products, expanded production capacity and the improved
control we are developing in distribution with our own stores, I'm confident of
continuing success in an improving economy."
<PAGE>
He added, "We also see a very bright future in the foreign markets we have
entered. In South America, in particular, we are reaching a growing middle class
female population eager to expand their wardrobes and to own shoes that permit
them to enjoy leisure activities just as is the case in China. We see similar
opportunities ahead in Eastern Europe, in particular, but also are continuing to
explore opportunities in North America, where we believe our reputation for
fashionable, comfortable, moderately priced footwear should prove attractive to
consumers there as well."
INFORMATION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this press
release are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties,
which may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from
forecasted results. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things,
product demand, market competition, and risks inherent in our operations. These
and other risks are described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission.
CONTACTS:
Haiting Li
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Tel: (86 595) 8677 0999
Fax: (86 595) 8677 5388
Ken Donenfeld
DGI Investor Relations
donfgroup@aol.com
Tel: 212-425-5700
Fax: 646-381-9727
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