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| 8-K - 8-K - Sutor Technology Group LTD | v378520_8k.htm |
Sutor Technology Group Limited Reports
Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2014 Financial Results
CHANGSHU, China, May 14, 2014— Sutor Technology Group Limited (the "Company" or "Sutor") (Nasdaq: SUTR), a leading China-based manufacturer and distributor of high-end fine finished steel products used by a variety of downstream applications, today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2014 ended on March 31, 2014.
Third Quarter of Fiscal 2014 Financial Results Highlights:
| 3QFY2014 | 3QFY2013 | Change | ||||||||||
| Revenues (million): | $ | 96.4 | $ | 139.5 | -30.9 | % | ||||||
| Gross profit (million) | $ | 7.3 | $ | 10.9 | -33.0 | % | ||||||
| Net income (million) | $ | 1.1 | $ | 3.9 | -71.8 | % | ||||||
| EPS | $ | 0.03 | $ | 0.10 | -70.0 | % | ||||||
Mr. Zhuo Wang, CEO of Sutor, commented, “While the total revenue was down as we reduced sales of low margin products like acid-pickled (AP) steel and focused on producing high-end products, the reduction in the gross margin for our main product HDG steel was larger than expected. We were affected by the recent decelerated GDP growth in China. During the quarter, the prices of steel products declined sharply as the steel industry was undergoing transition to improve performance and due to reduced economic activities in several sectors. Many of Sutor’s customers are small and medium-sized downstream manufacturers and some are steel trading companies. When the prices of steel products reached a multi-year low level and the overall liquidity in China was contracting, they were affected most and some faced liquidity reduction. To minimize the risks, some of our customers reduced procurements and others took a wait-and-see approach. ”
Mr. Wang continued “We believe we are exposed to an economic slowdown, which may remain for some time. As the on-going economic restructuring begins to yield positive results and China’s economy resumes its upward trajectory, we anticipate the performance of the Chinese industrial sectors will start to improve. ”
“To cope with the near term challenges, we have taken a number of initiatives to transform Sutor from a manufacturing company to a product and service provider: (1) Shift our strategy from pursuing sales volume and scale to providing more fee-based processing services and quality-centered product offerings; (2) Reduce sales of low gross margin products like AP steel and develop high growth and high margin products; (3) Improve procurement efficiency and reduce purchasing costs through competitive bidding on our Internet B2B platform; (4) Seek strategic industrial and financial partners to strengthen our market position and financial ability; and (5) Enhance our investor relations efforts and increase our exposure to the investment community.” Mr. Wang concluded.
Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2014 Results
Revenue. For the three months ended March 31, 2014, revenue was $96.4 million, compared to $139.5 million for the same period last year, a decrease of $43.1 million, or 30.9%. The decrease was mainly attributable to the reduced revenue of approximately $34.6 million from our AP steel products. Except for limited fee-based processing services for AP products, we did not sell any AP steel products. Instead, the AP products were used internally for further processing. Historically AP steel had a gross margin of about 3%. Reduced sales of this product may help improve our overall gross margin. Our strategy is to phase out sales of low margin products like AP steel and focus on high margin and high growth products. In addition, reduced sales of cold-rolled steel products of approximately $7 million also contributed to the overall decrease in our revenue during the third quarter of fiscal 2014.
Gross profit and gross margin. Gross profit decreased by $3.6 million to $7.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2014, from $10.9 million in the same period in 2013. Gross profit as a percentage of revenue (gross margin) was 7.6% for the three months ended March 31, 2014, as compared to 7.8% for the same period last year. The decreased gross margin was primarily due to decreased gross margin for our main product HDG steel which contributed to approximately 70% of the total revenue. During the quarter ended on March 31, 2014, the gross margin of our HDG steel was 6.6% as compared with approximately 9.9% for the same period last year. During the third quarter of fiscal 2014, the sale volume of HDG steel was up approximately 6.9%, but its impact on the revenue was offset by lower average selling price of approximately 9.7%.
Total operating expenses. Our total operating expenses decreased by $0.2 million to $3.7 million in the three months ended March 31, 2014, from $3.9 million in the same period in 2013. As a percentage of revenue, our total operating expenses increased to 3.8% in the three months ended March 31, 2014, from 2.8% in the same period in 2013.
Selling expenses. Our selling expenses decreased by $0.4 million to $1.0 million in the three months ended March 31, 2014, from $1.4 million in the same period in 2013. As a percentage of revenue, our selling expenses was approximately 1.0% for the three months ended March 31, 2014, as compared with approximately 1.0% for the same period last year. The reduced dollar amount of selling expenses was primarily due to reduced shipping and handling expenses of approximately $0.4 million as a result of lower sales volumes, particularly our international sales.
General and administrative expenses. General and administrative expenses increased by $0.2 million to $2.7million, or 2.8% of the total revenue, in the three months ended March 31, 2014, from $2.5 million, or 1.8% of the revenue, in the same period in 2013. The increased general and administrative expenses were primarily due to higher employee benefits of approximately $0.14 million.
Interest expense. Our interest expense decreased by $0.6 million to $2.0 million in the three months ended March 31, 2014, from $2.6 million in the same period in 2013. As a percentage of revenue, our interest expense was 2.1% of the total revenue in the three months ended March 31, 2014, compared to 1.8% in the same period in 2013. The reduced interest expenses were primarily due to reduced interest expenses on discounted bank notes.
Provision for income taxes. Our income tax expense decreased to $0.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2014, from $1.7 million of income tax taxes in the same period last year, due to lower taxable income and valuation allowance provided for the entities that incurred losses.
Net income. Net income, without including the foreign currency translation adjustment, decreased by $2.8 million, or 71.8%, to $1.1 million in the three months ended March 31, 2014, from $3.9 million in the same period in 2013, as a cumulative result of the above factors.
Financial Condition and Liquidity
As of March 31, 2014, we had approximately $6.7 million in cash and $95.6 million in restricted cash. Our short-term loans plus the current portion of long-term loans were approximately $116.9 million. The long-term loans were approximately $11.0 million. As of March 31, 2014, the Company had an unused line of credit with banks of approximately $17.8 million.
Conference Call Information
Sutor's management will host an earnings conference call today, May 14, 2014, at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern time/9:00 pm Beijing/Hong Kong time. Listeners may access the call by dialing US: +1 877 847 0047, CN: 800 876 5011, HK +852 3006 8101, access code: SUTR. A recording of the call will be available shortly after the call through June 13, 2014. Listeners may access it by dialing US: +1866 572 7808, CN: 800 876 5013, HK: +852 3012 8000, access code: 706791.
Functional Currency
The functional currency of the Company is the Chinese Yuan Renminbi ("RMB"); however, the accompanying financial information has been expressed in United States Dollars ("USD"). The accompanying consolidated balance sheets have been translated into USD at the exchange rates prevailing at each balance sheet date. The accompanying consolidated statements of operations and cash flows have been translated using the weighted-average exchange rates prevailing during the periods of each statement. Transactions in the Company's equity securities have been recorded at the exchange rate existing at the time of the transaction.
About Sutor Technology Group Limited
Sutor is one of the leading China-based manufacturers and distributors of high-end fine finished steel products used by a variety of downstream applications. The Company utilizes a variety of in-house developed processes and technologies to convert steel manufactured by third parties into fine finished steel products, including hot-dip galvanized steel, pre-painted galvanized steel, acid-pickled steel, cold-rolled steel and welded steel pipe products. To learn more about the Company, please visit http://www.sutorcn.com/en/index.php.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes certain statements that are not descriptions of historical facts, but are forward-looking statements in nature within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, among others, those concerning our expected financial performance, liquidity and strategic and operational plans, our future operating results, our expectations regarding the market for our products, our expectations regarding the steel market, as well as all assumptions, expectations, predictions, intentions or beliefs about future events. You are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that a number of risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but not limited to, the factors mentioned in the "Risk Factors" section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013, and other risks mentioned in our other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Copies of filings made with the SEC are available through the SEC's electronic data gathering analysis retrieval system (EDGAR) at http://www.sec.gov. The words "believe,""expect,""anticipate,""project,""targets,""optimistic,""intend,""aim,""will" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
For more information, please contact:
Investor Relations
Sutor Technology Group Limited
Tel: +86-512-5268-0988
Email: investor_relations@sutorcn.com
Financial tables below:
SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
| March 31, | June 30, | |||||||
| 2014 | 2013 | |||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||
| Current Assets: | ||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 6,695,327 | $ | 3,601,385 | ||||
| Restricted cash | 95,602,581 | 108,825,425 | ||||||
| Short-term investments | 13,791,537 | - | ||||||
| Trade accounts and notes receivable, unrelated parties, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $811,072 and $623,742, respectively | 8,073,693 | 7,652,179 | ||||||
| Trade accounts and notes receivable, related parties, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of nil, respectively | 26,528,163 | - | ||||||
| Other receivables and prepayments, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $259,539 and $248,128, respectively | 5,153,803 | 3,446,187 | ||||||
| Advances to suppliers, unrelated parties, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $481,229 and $796,026, respectively | 21,712,719 | 43,175,047 | ||||||
| Advances to suppliers, related parties, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of nil, and net of right to offset | 282,985,781 | 185,615,973 | ||||||
| Inventories, net | 91,592,944 | 52,377,135 | ||||||
| Deferred tax assets | 964,069 | 952,417 | ||||||
| Total Current Assets | 553,100,617 | 405,645,748 | ||||||
| Non-current Assets: | ||||||||
| Advances for purchase of long term assets | 85,147 | 17,085,958 | ||||||
| Property, plant and equipment, net | 90,608,310 | 71,508,912 | ||||||
| Intangible assets, net | 3,586,585 | 3,074,372 | ||||||
| Equity method investments | 6,377,989 | 6,686,539 | ||||||
| Total Non-current Assets | 100,658,031 | 98,355,781 | ||||||
| TOTAL ASSETS | $ | 653,758,648 | $ | 504,001,529 | ||||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | ||||||||
| Current Liabilities: | ||||||||
| Short-term loans | $ | 114,495,119 | $ | 138,968,845 | ||||
| Long-term loans, current portion | 2,362,762 | 7,418,003 | ||||||
| Accounts payable, unrelated parties | 146,867,131 | 82,602,243 | ||||||
| Accounts payable, related parties | 61,773,624 | 20,162,069 | ||||||
| Other payables and accrued expenses, unrelated parties | 7,557,809 | 7,291,220 | ||||||
| Other payables and accrued expenses, related parties | 27,521,741 | - | ||||||
| Advances from customers, unrelated parties | 15,720,810 | 11,008,550 | ||||||
| Advances from customers, related parties | 15,920,149 | |||||||
| Warrant liabilities | 67,866 | 144,535 | ||||||
| Total Current Liabilities | 392,287,011 | 267,595,465 | ||||||
| Non-Current Liabilities | ||||||||
| Long-term loans, unrelated parties | 2,859,995 | 1,180,877 | ||||||
| Long-term loans, related parties | 8,182,018 | - | ||||||
| Total Non-current Liabilities | 11,042,013 | 1,180,877 | ||||||
| Total Liabilities | 403,329,024 | 268,776,342 | ||||||
| Stockholders' Equity | ||||||||
| Undesignated preferred stock - $0.001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; nil shares outstanding | - | - | ||||||
| Common stock - $0.001 par value; authorized: 500,000,000 shares as of March 31, 2014 and June 30, 2013; issued: 42,252,267and 40,965,602shares as of March 31, 2014 and June 30, 2013. | 42,252 | 40,965 | ||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 43,584,827 | 41,793,142 | ||||||
| Statutory reserves | 20,426,971 | 20,426,971 | ||||||
| Retained earnings | 145,008,631 | 132,311,592 | ||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | 42,018,452 | 41,304,026 | ||||||
| Less: Treasury stock, at cost, 590,838 shares as of March 31, 2014 and June 30, 2013 | (651,509 | ) | (651,509 | ) | ||||
| Total Stockholders' Equity | 250,429,624 | 235,225,187 | ||||||
| TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY | $ | 653,758,648 | $ | 504,001,529 | ||||
SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
| For The Three Months Ended | For The Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
| March 31, | March 31, | |||||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2013 | 2014 | 2013 | |||||||||||||
| Revenue: | ||||||||||||||||
| Revenue from unrelated parties | $ | 50,478,926 | $ | 83,729,219 | $ | 254,891,263 | $ | 274,802,236 | ||||||||
| Revenue from related parties | 45,898,686 | 55,819,840 | 108,911,484 | 139,800,372 | ||||||||||||
| 96,377,612 | 139,549,059 | 363,802,747 | 414,602,608 | |||||||||||||
| Cost of Revenue | ||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue from unrelated parties | (46,173,329 | ) | (75,981,582 | ) | (229,744,921 | ) | (250,302,280 | ) | ||||||||
| Cost of revenue from related parties | (42,881,492 | ) | (52,634,627 | ) | (100,906,781 | ) | (132,611,148 | ) | ||||||||
| (89,054,821 | ) | (128,616,209 | ) | (330,651,702 | ) | (382,913,428 | ) | |||||||||
| Gross Profit | 7,322,791 | 10,932,850 | 33,151,045 | 31,689,180 | ||||||||||||
| Operating Expenses: | ||||||||||||||||
| Selling expenses | (1,006,441 | ) | (1,417,039 | ) | (4,339,215 | ) | (5,709,207 | ) | ||||||||
| General and administrative expenses | (2,687,763 | ) | (2,490,828 | ) | (8,216,753 | ) | (7,170,901 | ) | ||||||||
| Total Operating Expenses | (3,694,204 | ) | (3,907,867 | ) | (12,555,968 | ) | (12,880,108 | ) | ||||||||
| Income from Operations | 3,628,587 | 7,024,983 | 20,595,077 | 18,809,072 | ||||||||||||
| Other Incomes/(Expenses): | ||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | 771,046 | 967,706 | 2,607,812 | 2,989,756 | ||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (1,998,580 | ) | (2,579,181 | ) | (6,376,833 | ) | (8,453,617 | ) | ||||||||
| Changes in fair value of warrant liabilities | 143,567 | (146,476 | ) | 76,669 | (131,953 | ) | ||||||||||
| Income from equity method investments | 30,681 | 50,998 | 296,809 | 225,444 | ||||||||||||
| Other income | (90,919 | ) | 159,520 | 128,107 | 318,658 | |||||||||||
| Other expense | (744,370 | ) | 72,639 | (964,150 | ) | (594,885 | ) | |||||||||
| Total Other Expenses, net | (1,888,575 | ) | (1,474,794 | ) | (4,231,586 | ) | (5,646,597 | ) | ||||||||
| Income Before Taxes | 1,740,012 | 5,550,189 | 16,363,491 | 13,162,475 | ||||||||||||
| Income tax expense | (626,356 | ) | (1,670,169 | ) | (3,666,452 | ) | (2,674,778 | ) | ||||||||
| Net Income | $ | 1,113,656 | $ | 3,880,020 | $ | 12,697,039 | $ | 10,487,697 | ||||||||
| Other Comprehensive Income: | ||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustment | (2,422,686 | ) | 1,426,292 | 714,426 | 1,652,762 | |||||||||||
| Comprehensive Income | $ | (1,309,030 | ) | $ | 5,306,312 | $ | 13,411,465 | $ | 12,140,459 | |||||||
| Basic Earnings per Share | $ | 0.03 | $ | 0.10 | $ | 0.31 | $ | 0.26 | ||||||||
| Diluted Earnings per Share | $ | 0.03 | $ | 0.10 | $ | 0.31 | $ | 0.26 | ||||||||
| Basic Weighted Average Shares Outstanding | 41,548,819 | 40,267,431 | 41,470,152 | 40,237,142 | ||||||||||||
| Diluted Weighted Average Shares Outstanding | 41,548,819 | 40,267,431 | 41,470,152 | 40,237,142 | ||||||||||||
SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
| For The Nine Months Ended | ||||||||
| March 31, | ||||||||
| 2014 | 2013 | |||||||
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||||||
| Net income | $ | 12,697,039 | $ | 10,487,697 | ||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities | ||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 6,800,389 | 6,628,874 | ||||||
| Provision/(reversal) for doubtful accounts | (121,322 | ) | (711,175 | ) | ||||
| Stock based compensation | 398,123 | 111,467 | ||||||
| Foreign currency exchange gain | (37,907 | ) | (145,186 | ) | ||||
| (Gain)/loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment | (11,075 | ) | 81,228 | |||||
| Interest income from short-term investments carried at amortized cost | - | (30,944 | ) | |||||
| Income from equity method investments | (296,809 | ) | (225,444 | ) | ||||
| Deferred income taxes | (8,987 | ) | (43,516 | ) | ||||
| Changes in fair value of warrant liabilities | (76,669 | ) | 131,953 | |||||
| Changes in current assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
| Restricted cash | (7,926,735 | ) | (14,483,765 | ) | ||||
| Trade accounts and notes receivable, unrelated parties | (588,183 | ) | 3,902,258 | |||||
| Trade accounts and notes receivable, related parties | (26,643,587 | ) | - | |||||
| Other receivable and prepayments | (1,821,968 | ) | 1,683,384 | |||||
| Advances to suppliers, unrelated parties | 21,997,275 | 10,095,647 | ||||||
| Advances to suppliers, related parties | (89,009,045 | ) | (43,541,260 | ) | ||||
| Inventories | (38,600,780 | ) | (14,134,383 | ) | ||||
| Accounts payable, unrelated parties | 64,198,549 | 11,033,692 | ||||||
| Accounts payable, related parties | 41,735,109 | 13,431,063 | ||||||
| Other payables and accrued expenses, unrelated parties | 247,358 | (1,133,841 | ) | |||||
| Other payables and accrued expenses, related parties | 27,528,078 | - | ||||||
| Advances from customers, unrelated parties | 4,702,254 | 6,230,157 | ||||||
| Advances from customers, related parties | 15,989,417 | - | ||||||
| Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities | 31,150,524 | (10,632,094 | ) | |||||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||||||
| Purchase of property, plant and equipment | (8,488,717 | ) | (3,818,123 | ) | ||||
| Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment | 17,178 | 529,721 | ||||||
| Purchase of intangible assets | (568,119 | ) | (3,565,706 | ) | ||||
| Payments for short-term investments | (13,851,544 | ) | - | |||||
| Proceeds from sale of short-term investments | - | 4,891,063 | ||||||
| Payment for equity method investments | - | (6,190,476 | ) | |||||
| Net Cash Used In Investing Activities | (22,891,202 | ) | (8,153,521 | ) | ||||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | ||||||||
| Proceeds from loans | 93,219,276 | 117,233,696 | ||||||
| Repayment of loans | (121,389,798 | ) | (118,055,195 | ) | ||||
| Proceeds from issuance of common stock | 1,500,000 | - | ||||||
| Changes in restricted cash | 21,517,459 | 28,556,205 | ||||||
| Payments on repurchase of common stock | - | (43,841 | ) | |||||
| Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities | (5,153,063 | ) | 27,690,865 | |||||
| Effect of Exchange Rate Changes on Cash and Cash Equivalents | (12,317 | ) | 96,169 | |||||
| Net Change in Cash and Cash Equivalents | 3,093,942 | 9,001,419 | ||||||
| Cash and Cash Equivalents at Beginning of Period | 3,601,385 | 9,530,531 | ||||||
| Cash and Cash Equivalents at End of Period | $ | 6,695,327 | $ | 18,531,950 | ||||