Pingtan Marine fleet. (Photo: Pingtan)

Pingtan Marine Enterprise reports financial results for Q4 and year

CHINA
Friday, March 16, 2018, 22:20 (GMT + 9)

Pingtan Marine Enterprise Ltd. (Nasdaq: PME), a global fishing company based in the People's Republic of China (PRC), has announced financial results for its fourth quarter and year-ended December 31, 2017.

Xinrong Zhuo, Chairman and CEO of the Company, commented: "We delivered strong operating and financial results in 2017 despite the impact from the Indonesian government's moratorium and subsequent actions on our fishing operations in Indonesian waters."

"We were dedicated to enlarging fishing territories and increasing production capacity and product mix through expanding operating vessels in various fishing methods to harvest higher margin fishing products. During the year, we have been paying close attention to any new changes and trends in fishing policy and have been actively exploring for new locations to deploy our vessels. Since the second quarter of 2017, we have started partnerships with major chain restaurants and one of China's largest e-commerce retailers, JD.com. After months of efforts from both the JD and Pingtan teams, we have successfully launched three of our fish products online. As to date, we have made record online sales of over 10,000 pieces, capturing the attention of e-commerce customers. Our online success has motivated us to seek to launch more products in the future. Looking forward, we intend to accelerate the construction of our processing facilities and expand our territory to enrich product mix and expand our market share through online retail businesses," he added.

             
Factors Affecting Pingtan's Results of Operation – Indonesia Moratorium

As previously disclosed in our Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed during 2015 and 2016, in early December 2014 the Indonesian government introduced a six-month moratorium on issuing new fishing licenses and renewals so that the country's Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries ("MMAF") could combat illegal fishing and rectify ocean fishing order. In February 2015, the Company ceased all fishing operations in Indonesia. During the moratorium, the Company was informed that fishing licenses of four vessels operated through PT. Avona, one of the local companies through which Pingtan conducts business in Indonesia, and the fishery business license of PT. Dwikarya, the other local company through which Pingtan conducts business in Indonesia, were revoked. As a result, and because license renewal was prohibited due to the general moratorium, all local fishing licenses of the Company's vessels in Indonesia are presently inactive. The MMAF has not yet restored license issuing or renewal process for vessels built abroad.

In November 2015, the Indonesian government announced that the moratorium had concluded. As the MMAF has not implemented new fishing policies and resumed the license renewal process, the Company does not know when exactly licensing and renewal will start. Since the Company derived a majority of its revenue from this area, this ban has caused a significant drop in production.

In September 2017, the Company was informed that the fishing licenses of 13 vessels deployed to the Indo-Pacific waters were suspended and the vessels were docked in the port by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries ("MAF") of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. The MAF is alleging and is investigating whether false statements were made during the licensing process and the vessels were simultaneously registered in Indonesia. The Company disputes these allegations.

As of December 31, 2017, among the Company's 140 vessels, 12 are located in the Bay of Bengal in India; 11 are located in international waters (including 1 refrigerated transport vessel); and 13 are located in the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste but are currently not operating as described above. The remaining 104 vessels are located in Indonesian waters and continue to be idle due to the Indonesian government's moratorium and subsequent actions.

Financial Highlights (all results are compared to prior year)

• Revenue increased by 207.7% to $63.2 million from $20.5 million as a result of increase in fishing activities.
• Gross profit increased by 351.3% to $22.1 million from gross loss of $8.8 million, and gross margin was 34.9% compared to (42.8)%.
  
• Net income attributable to owners of the Company was $29.7 million, or $0.38 per basic and diluted share, compared to net loss attributable to owners of the Company of $13.7 million, or $(0.17) per basic and diluted share.
  

Fourth Quarter 2017 Financial Highlights (all results are compared to prior year period)

• Revenue was USD 16.4 million compared to USD 13.2 million.
• Gross profit was USD 12.2 million compared to USD 9.9 million, and gross margin was 74.5 per cent compared to 75.1 per cent.
  
• Net income attributable to owners of the Company was USD 4.8 million, or USD 0.06 per basic and diluted share, compared to net income attributable to owners of the Company of USD 8.4 million, or USD 0.11 per basic and diluted share.
  

Consolidated Financial and Operating Review

Revenue

Revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2017 was USD 16.4 million compared to USD 13.2 million for the same period in 2016. The increase was mainly attributable to business expansion resulting from more fishing vessels put into operation.

For the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company's revenue was USD 63.2 million, increasing by 207.7 per cent from USD 20.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The increase was primarily due to the increase in fishing activities. During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company purchased 4 squid jigging vessels to reinforce its fishing capacity and placed 10 fishing vessels in operation in international waters during the year ended December 31, 2017 in comparison to 2 fishing vessels operating in international waters during the year ended December 31, 2016.

Gross Margin

The Company's gross margin was 74.5 per cent for the three months ended December 31, 2017, compared to 75.1 per cent in the prior year period.

The Company's gross margin was 34.9% in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 compared to (42.8 per cent) in the same period of 2016. The increase was due to the increase in our sales revenue and the decrease in unit production cost of fish.

Selling Expenses

For the three months ended December 31, 2017, selling expense was $0.5 million compared to USD 0.7 million in the prior year period.

For the year ended December 31, 2017, total selling expense was USD 1.2 million, remaining unchanged as that of the same period of 2016.

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