China XD Plastics Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2013 Financial Results

HARBIN, China, March 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- China XD Plastics Company Limited (NASDAQ: CXDC, "China XD Plastics" or the "Company"), one of China's leading specialty chemical players engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of modified plastics primarily for automotive applications, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and the full year ended December 31, 2013.

Full Year 2013 Financial Highlights

• Revenue was $1,050.8 million, an increase of 75.2% from $599.8 million in 2012
• Gross profit was $223.4 million, an increase of 55.4% from $143.8 million in 2012
• Gross profit margin was 21.3%, compared to 24.0% in 2012
• Net income was $133.8 million, compared to $85.9 million in 2012
• Total volume shipped was 337,189 metric tons, up 50.5% from 223,982 metric tons in 2012

Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2013 Highlights

• Revenue was $384.6 million, an increase of 128.1% from $168.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012
• Gross profit was $91.4 million, an increase of 145.2% from $$37.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012
• Gross profit margin was 23.8%, compared to 22.1% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012
• Net income was $57.5 million, compared to $17.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012
• Total volume shipped was 115,650 metric tons, up 84.5% from 62,692 metric tons in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012

"We are pleased to report the strong performance of the fourth quarter and the full year for 2013," said Jie Han, Chairman of Board of Director and Chief Executive Officer of China XD. The accelerated growth reflected China XD's strong execution of our market share gaining strategy, which translated into our solid revenue and earnings growth and positive business development. Although our gross profit margin declined for the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2013 mainly due to our marketing strategy such as discounts on listed prices since the fourth quarter of 2012, such strategy has further cemented our position in East China, the largest automobile market in China with tremendous progress in market penetration achieved. Revenues from East China and North China during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 increased by 208.5% and 137.4%, respectively, compared to revenues during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. Furthermore, we continued our entry into Southwest China market on a solid footing with 3.7% revenue contribution from the region during the year ended December 31, 2013. The recovery of gross profit margin continued to 23.8% during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, following the trend of the second quarter, primarily due to our continuing and steady shift to higher margin products. We are encouraged by the results and will continue our investments in our business. As previously announced in December 2013, we broke ground on the construction of our fourth production base in Nanchong City, Sichuan Province, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2015, with additional 300,000 metric tons of annual production capacity and an additional 70 automatic production lines to be stationed in state-of-the-art facilities, expecting to bring our total installed production capacity to 690,000 metric tons to support our future business growth. "

Full Year 2013 Financial Results

Revenues for the fiscal year 2013 were $1,050.8 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 75.2% from $599.8 million in the fiscal year 2012. The increase in revenues was due to a 50.5% increase in sales volume and a 14.6% increase in the average RMB selling price of our products, driven by increasing demand for automotive modified plastics used in the plastic parts of mid- and high-end branded automobiles by major customers of the Company's products, and a shift in product mix to include a greater percentage of sales of higher margin and higher value-added products.  For the fiscal year 2013, sales of higher margin products represented 72.6% of revenues, compared to 52.0% of revenues in the fiscal year 2012.

Gross profit for the fiscal year 2013 was $223.4 million, up 55.4% from $143.8 million in fiscal year of 2012. Gross margin was 21.3% compared to 24.0% in fiscal year of 2012.

(i)   The decrease of gross profit margin was primarily due to an average 5.8% discount on the listed prices for the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2013 for distributors as part of our marketing initiatives to increase our market share in Eastern China and Southwestern China.  The discount is primarily aimed at further expanding into the Eastern China and Southwestern China markets. As a result, revenues contribution from Eastern China and Southwestern China grew to 31.2% and 3.7% of our total sales during the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to 22% and nil in the same period of 2012, respectively.

(ii)   The decrease in gross margin was also due to the increase in shipping expenses to US$16.0 million in the year ended December 31, 2013 from US$2.1 million in the same period of the prior year. Since the first quarter of fiscal 2013, we started bearing the shipping expenses, which is a part of our marketing tactic to grow market share since the first quarter of 2013. Such arrangement is expected to continue in the future.

Gross margins recovered after the first quarter of 2013 due to the increase of revenues contribution from higher-ended products, such as engineering plastics, alloy plastics and environmentally friendly plastics as we were able to successfully sell more higher-end products to both existing and new customers. We expect the trend of gross margin recovery to continue in 2014 as we shift our product mix towards higher-end categories.

G&A expenses were $16.3 million, or 1.6% of revenues, compared to $10.0 million, or 1.7% of the revenues of the same period of 2012. This increase is primarily due to the increase of (i)  US$ 2.4 million of share based compensation; (ii) US$ 0.9 million of travel and office expenses associated with the business expansion;(iii) US$ 0.7 million of fixed assets deprecation; (iv) US$ 0.6 million of professional fees and (v) US$ 0.6 million of non-income taxation. 

Research and development ("R&D") expenses were $21.3 million, or 2.0% of the total revenues, compared to $21.6 million, or 3.6% of the total revenues of the same period of 2012. R&D expenses in 2013 was due to decreased expenses associated with the early conclusion of some research and development experiments after our R&D strategic review based on our refined R&D strategy planning and recalibration of our R&D efforts to target more longer-term but higher-end products, including carbon fiber, specialty engineering plastics, bio-plastics, alloy plastics and 3D printing materials for applications in fields such as aerospace, high-speed train, biological and medical fields. During the year ended December 31, 2013, the Company successfully launched 37 new automobile manufacturers certified products ("AMCP"), as a result of which the Company's total number of AMCP has increased to 283.

Operating income for the fiscal year 2013 was $185.6 million, or 17.7% of revenues, an increase of 65.9% over operating income of $111.9 million, or 18.7% of revenues, in the same period of the prior year due to higher gross profit, offset by higher general and administrative expenses.

Net income for the fiscal year 2013 was $133.8 million, compared to a net income of $85.9 million for the same period of the prior year.

Basic and diluted earnings per share were $2.08.  

Basic average numbers of shares used in computation of basic earnings per share for the fiscal year 2013 was 47.8 million, compared to 47.5 million in the same period of the prior year.

Weighted average numbers of shares used in computation of diluted earnings per share for the fiscal year 2013 was 47.8 million, compared to 47.5 million in the same period of the prior year.

EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) for the fiscal year 2013 was $217.2 million, an increase of 66.2% from EBITDA of $130.7 million in the same period of the prior year. For a detailed reconciliation of EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, to its nearest GAAP equivalent, please see the financial tables at the end of this release.

Fourth Quarter 2013 Results

Revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 were $384.6 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 128.1% from $168.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. The increase in revenues was due to a 84.5% increase in sales volume, and 22.0% increase in average RMB selling price of our products, driven by increasing demand for automotive modified plastics used in the parts of mid- and high-end branded automobiles by the Company's major customers.  

Gross profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 was $91.4 million, up 145.2% from $37.3 million in the same period of fiscal 2012. Gross margin was 23.8% compared to 22.1% in the same period last year. The increase of gross margin was due to the increase of revenues contribution from higher-ended products, such as engineering plastics, alloy plastics and environmentally friendly plastics as we were able to successfully sell more higher-end products to both existing and new customers. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, sales of higher margin products represented 75.8% of product revenues, compared to 59.2% of product revenues in the same period of 2012.

G&A expenses were $5.5 million, or 1.4% of total revenues compared to $2.5 million, or 1.5% of total revenues for the same period of the prior year. This increase in G&A is primarily due to the increase of (i)  US$ 1.5 million of share based compensation; (ii) US$ 0.6 million of salary and salary insurance;(iii) US$ 0.2 million of professional fees and (v) US$ 0.2 million of non-income taxation. 

R&D expenses were 5.3 million, or 1.4% of total revenues, compared to $9.0 million, or 5.4% of total revenues, in the same period last year. R&D expenses was due to decreased expenses associated with the early conclusion of some research and development experiments after our R&D strategic review based on our refined R&D strategy planning and recalibration of our R&D efforts to target more longer-term but higher-end products, including carbon fiber, specialty engineering plastics, bio-plastics, alloy plastics and 3D printing materials for applications in fields such as aerospace, high-speed train, biological and medical fields. During the fourth quarter of 2013, the Company successfully launched nine new AM certified products and increased its total number of AM certified products to 283, with another 38 new products under research and development.

Operating income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 was $80.6 million, or 21.0% of revenues, an increase of 212.4% over operating income from $25.7 million, or 15.3% of revenues in the same period a year ago.

Net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 was $57.5 million, compared to a net income of $17.3 million for the same period of the prior year.

Basic and diluted earnings per share were $0.89, which represent significant increase when compared to last year's results, which was at $0.36, respectively. 

Basic average numbers of shares used in computation of basic earnings per share for the three months ended December 31, 2013 was 47.9 million, compared to 47.6 million for the same period of the prior year.

Weighted average numbers of shares used in computation of diluted earnings per share for the three months ended December 31, 2013 was 47.9 million, compared to 47.6 million in the same period of the prior year.

EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $88.8 million, an increase of 191.9% from $30.4 million in the same period last year.  For a detailed reconciliation of EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, to its nearest GAAP equivalent, please see the financial tables at the end of this release.

Financial Condition

As of December 31, 2013, China XD Plastics had $95.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, $281.3 million in time deposits with commercial banks, $289.2 million in working capital and a current ratio of 1.5. Stockholders' equity as of December 31, 2013 was $412.3 million, compared to $264.4 million as of December 31, 2012.

Accounts receivable increased by 96.3% as a result of the increase in revenues and the increase in days sales outstanding ("DSO") from 56 days for the fiscal year 2012 to 72 days for the fiscal year 2013. However, DSO decreased in fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 to 63 days from 64 days in the same period of the prior year and 71 days in the third quarter of fiscal 2013, reflecting our collection efforts and ability to improve our working capital. Inventory increased by 85.1% due to the anticipation of the increase of customer demand in the following quarters.Inventory Turnover Days for the fiscal year 2013 remains the same at 49 days from the same period of the prior year. Accounts payable increased by 1,625.4% and days payable outstanding in fiscal year 2013 increased to 28 days from 18 days in the same period of the prior year due to the extended payment term renegotiated with our domestic raw material suppliers, a shift from prepayment to suppliers in the past, in order to strengthen our working capital.

Recent Developments

On January 24, 2014, the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Favor Sea Limited (the "Note Issuer"), priced its international offering of guaranteed senior notes. The offering consists of US$150 million aggregate principal amount of 11.75% guaranteed senior notes due in 2019 (the "Notes").  The Notes have been listed and quoted on the Singapore Stock Exchange with effect from 9.00 a.m., February 5, 2014.  The Note Issuer intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for repayment of indebtedness incurred by its PRC subsidiaries, for capital expenditure on a production base in Sichuan and for general corporate purposes.  The Notes are guaranteed on a senior basis by the Company and Xinda Holding (HK) Company Limited, a subsidiary wholly owned by the Note Issuer (the "Subsidiary Guarantor"). The Notes are secured by a pledge of the shares of the Note Issuer held by the Company and a pledge of the shares of the Subsidiary Guarantor held by the Note Issuer.

On January 27, 2014, the Company filed an Amended and Restated Certificate of Designation, Preferences and Rights of Series D Junior Convertible Preferred Stock of the Company with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada to, among other things, extend the maturity date of the Series D preferred stock to February 4, 2019, the maturity date of the Notes issued by Favor Sea Limited, and, remove the fiscal year 2013 Actual Profit Target of RMB 608 million of the Company as a trigger for the holders of Series D convertible preferred stock to require the Company to redeem all or a portion of the outstanding Series D convertible preferred stock.

On December 23, 2013, the Company announced it broke ground on a 300,000 tons polymer composites production and R&D project in Southwest China that would expand production capacity by 300,000 metric tons and be equipped with a professional research and development center and an independent training center.

On December 5, 2013, the Company announced and celebrated the relocation of its R&D center, a National Enterprise Technology Center, specialized in the R&D and industrialization of leading edge macromolecule composite material products used in the applications for automobiles, high-speed trains, airplanes and ships, to a new site in its third production base in Harbin.

On December 5, 2013, the Company announced the successful completion of its 6th Annual Seminar on the Development of the Macromolecule Materials Industry held in Harbin, China from December 2 to December 3, 2013. The annual seminar gives industry experts an opportunity to review and evaluate the Company's R&D initiatives in terms of technology advancement on the backdrop of government policies, which support development of the modified plastics industry. The seminar was attended by the Company's senior management and R&D staff, academicians and leading macromolecule materials industry experts.

Business Outlook and Guidance

Given the Company's solid performance during the fiscal year 2013 and stable outlook on customer demand for its products and business development for 2014, the Company now expects revenues for fiscal 2014 to range between $950 million and $1.05 billion based on the same production capacity and similar utilization rate as 2013 and net income to range between $100 million to $120 million to reflect the additional costs (approximately US$16.2 million) associated with the Notes offered in February 4, 2014. This forecast is based on constant exchange rates and reflects the Company's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

Conference Call

China XD Plastics' management will host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, March 26, 2014, to discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2013 financial results. The conference call may be accessed by calling +1-855-298-3404 (for callers in the U.S.), +86-4001-200-539 (for Mainland China callers) or +852-5808-3202 (for Hong Kong callers) and entering pass code 6605821.                      

A recording of the conference call will be available through April 3, 2014, by +1-866-846-0868 (for callers in the U.S.) and entering pass code 6605821.

A live webcast and replay of the conference call will be available on the investor relations page of the Company's website at http://www.chinaxd.net.

About China XD Plastics Company Limited

China XD Plastics Company Limited, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries (the "Company"), develops, manufactures and sells composite materials, primarily for automotive applications. The Company's products are used in the exterior and interior trim and in the functional components of 24 automobile brands manufactured in China, including AUDI, BMW, Toyota, Buick, Mazda, and VW Passat, Golf, and Jetta. The Company's wholly-owned research center is dedicated to the research and development of modified plastics, and benefits from its cooperation with well-known scientists from prestigious universities in China. As of December 31, 2013, 283 of the Company's products have been certified for use by one or more of the automobile manufacturers in China. For more information please visit http://www.chinaxd.net.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, the Company's ability to raise additional capital to finance the Company's activities; the Company's and its subsidiaries' ability to fully perform all of their obligations under the Notes transaction and other contractual obligations applicable to them; the effectiveness, profitability, and the marketability of its products; legal and regulatory risks; the Company's ability to execute its growth strategy and the effectiveness of its marketing strategy; the future trading of the common stock of the Company; the Company's ability to operate as a public company; the period of time for which its current liquidity will enable the Company to fund its operations; the Company's ability to protect its proprietary information; general economic and business conditions; the volatility of the Company's operating results and financial condition; the Company's ability to attract or retain qualified senior management personnel and research and development staff; and other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website at http://www.sec.gov. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the Company and the industry. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that its expectations will turn out to be correct, and investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results.

Contacts:

China XD Plastics
Mr. Taylor Zhang, CFO (New York)
Phone: +1-212-747-1118
Email: [email protected]

- Financial Tables Follow -

SOURCE China XD Plastics Company Limited

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