Qilian International Holding Group Limited Reports Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Results


Jiuquan, China, Feb. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Qilian International Holding Group Limited (Nasdaq: QLI) (the “Company”), a China-based pharmaceutical and chemical products manufacturer, today announced its financial results for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020.

Mr. Zhanchang Xin, Chairman and CEO of the Company, commented: “We are pleased with our fiscal year 2020 financial results as we recorded revenue of US$50 million, which was in line with our expectations. The past year was a difficult year for our Company due to the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic, but we continued to grow our business, execute on our strategic priorities, and deliver value to our partners, customers and shareholders. It demonstrates that we have the innovation, diversification, stability, resilience and national scale to perform well in this challenging environment. While we believe the current market conditions will persist in the short-term, we expect to see demand growth in the long run.”

Mr. Xin continued: “We are proud of the Company with over 50 years of history and in the pharmaceutical and chemical industry in China. Our successful initial public offering in January 2021 was yet another milestone for the Company and we are pleased to be in a position to continue pursuing the significant growth opportunities that lie ahead. We look forward to building on our momentum in 2021 and beyond, and we are confident that we are well-positioned to continue driving significant long-term value for our shareholders.”

Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Highlights

  For the Year Ended September 30,
($ millions, except per share data) 2020  2019  % Change
Net revenue 50.0  46.1  9%
      Oxytetracycline & Licorice products and TCMD 32.6  30.1  8%
      Heparin products and Sausage casing 16.7  15.4  9%
      Fertilizer 0.7  0.5  28%
Gross profit 7.5  9.7  -22%
Gross margin 15.1% 21.0% -5.9 pp*
Income from operations 4.8  6.2  -22%
Net income attributable to Qilian International Holding Group Limited 5.1  5.3  -5%
Earnings per ordinary share 0.17  0.18  -6%
EBITDA 7.2  8.4  -14%

*Notes: pp represents percentage points

  • Net revenue was $50.0 million, an increase of 9% from $46.1 million in fiscal year 2019.
  • Gross profit was $7.5 million, a decrease of 22% from $9.7 million in fiscal year 2019.
  • Gross margin was 15.1% compared with 21.0% in fiscal year 2019.
  • Net income attributable to Qilian International Holding Group Limited was $5.1 million, a decrease of 5% from $5.3 million in fiscal year 2019.
  • Basic and diluted earnings per ordinary share was $0.17, compared with $0.18 in fiscal year 2019.
  • EBITDA was $7.2 million, a decrease of 14% from $8.4 million in fiscal year 2019.

Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Results

Net Revenue

Net revenue increased by $3.9 million, or 9% to $50.0 million in fiscal year 2020, from $46.1 million in fiscal year 2019, which was primarily attributable to a $2.5 million increase in sales from oxytetracycline products and licorice products, and a $1.3 million increase in sales from heparin products and sausage casings.

  For the Year Ended September 30,
  2020  2019 
($ millions) Revenue Cost of revenue Gross margin Revenue Cost of revenue Gross margin
Oxytetracycline & Licorice products and TCMD 32.6 25.0 23.3% 30.1 22.3 26.0%
Heparin products and Sausage casing 16.7 17.2 -2.7% 15.4 13.9 9.7%
Fertilizer 0.7 0.3 56.6% 0.5 0.2 66.0%
Total 50.0 42.5 15.1% 46.1 36.4 21.0%

Sales for oxytetracycline products, licorice products and TCMD increased by $2.5 million, or 8% to $32.6 million in fiscal year 2020, from $30.1 million in fiscal year 2019. The increase in sales in this segment is due to the following reasons: (1) we conducted our scheduled facility maintenance from July 2019 to September 2019, which resulted in reduced oxytetracycline production by approximately 386 tons (a 16% decrease compared to that of fiscal year 2020). Although the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 had negative impact of the manufacturing, we resumed production on February 27, 2020. Due to the production suspension in 2019, the quantity sold in 2019 was 16% less than the sales quantity in 2020, which contributed to $3.9 million of increase in sales in 2020. (2) Sales price per unit decreased by 5%, which is considered as normal in the course of business. The sales decreased by $0.6 million due to the price change. (3) during the COVID-19 outbreak in China, we switched part of our production lines to manufacture disinfection products in light of a shortage of such products, which contributed $148,000 in sales for the year ended September 30, 2020; (4) The sales increase in this segment was offset to a certain degree by a decrease in sales of licorice products. The COVID-19 outbreak in China during January to March had a significant impact on the sales of our licorice products. The sales volume of our licorice products decreased by 16% due to the logistics restraint and delays caused by China’s national lockdown during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the market price of our licorice products had increased by 9% compared to same period in the last year due to the market’s high demand. Overall, the sales from our licorice products decreased by $0.3 million. (5) Due to the exchange rates, the sales for the year ended September 30, 2020 denominated in USD reduced by $0.6 million compared to that for the year ended September 30, 2019.

Sales from heparin products increased by $1.3 million, or 9%, to $16.7 million in fiscal year 2020, from $15.4 million in fiscal year 2019. The increase of our sales of heparin products was mainly driven by the demand from our two long-term pharmaceutical customers. However, our sales of sausage casing were decreased by $2.3 million due to the combined effect of COVID-19 outbreak and African Swine fever in China.

Sales from fertilizer increased by $0.2 million, or 28%, to $0.7 million in fiscal year 2020, from $0.5 million in fiscal year 2019. The increase in our sales of fertilizer products was due to our newly developed customers and regulatory policy of decreasing use of non-organic fertilizer and pesticide. Our fertilizer products are mainly organic and more environmental friendly.

Cost of Revenue and Gross Profit

Cost of revenue increased by $6.1 million, or 17%, to $42.5 million in fiscal year 2020, from $36.4 million in fiscal year 2019. Gross profit decreased by $2.2 million, or 22%, to $7.5 million in fiscal year 2020, from $9.7 million in fiscal year 2019. Gross margin decreased by 5.9 percentage points to 15.1% in fiscal year 2020, compared with 21.0% in fiscal year 2019.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased by $0.8 million, or 22%, to $2.7 million in fiscal year 2020, from $3.5 million in fiscal year 2019. The decrease was mainly attributable to the decrease of approximately $0.7 million in consulting and professional fees related to our effort to go public which were not eligible to be capitalized in accordance with the U.S. GAAP. As 2019 was the first year we prepared the public listing and filing, the majority filing cost were incurred in 2019.

Interest Expenses

Interest expenses are primarily generated from bank borrowings including bank loans and banknotes payable. Interest expenses were $243,000 in fiscal year 2020, compared with $224,000 in fiscal year 2019.

Other Income

Other income was $1.2 million in fiscal year 2020 as compared to $1.0 million in fiscal year 2019, which was primarily consists of government grants and other non-operating incomes.

Income taxes Provision

Provision for income taxes decreased by $0.2 million, or 16%, to $0.8 million in fiscal year 2020, from $1.0 million in fiscal year 2019, as a result of the decreased income before income tax provision. Income before income tax provision was $5.8 million in fiscal year 2020, compared to $6.9 million in fiscal year 2019.

Net Income Attributable to the Company’s Shareholders

Net income attributable to the Company’s shareholders decreased by $0.3 million, or 5%, to $5.0 million in fiscal year 2020, from $5.3 million in fiscal year 2019.

Basic and diluted earnings per ordinary share were $0.17 in fiscal year 2020, compared with basic and diluted earnings per ordinary share of $0.18 in fiscal year 2019.

EBITDA

EBITDA decreased by $1.2 million, or 14%, to $7.2 million in fiscal year 2020, from $8.4 million in fiscal year 2019.

Balance Sheet

As of September 30, 2020, the Company had cash of $11.9 million, compared with $4.6 million as of September 30, 2019.

Cash Flow

Net cash provided by operating activities was $5.1 million in fiscal year 2020, compared with net cash used in operating activities of $0.6 million in fiscal year 2019.

Net cash used in investing activities was $0.4 million in fiscal year 2020, compared with $0.7 million in fiscal year 2019.

Net cash used provided by financing activities was $2.1 million in fiscal year 2020, compared with $0.4 million in fiscal year 2019.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company’s management uses certain financial measures to evaluate its operating performance which is calculated and presented on the basis of methodologies other than in accordance with GAAP (“Non-GAAP”). These measures should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP, and the Company’s calculations thereof may not be comparable to similarly entitled measures reported by other companies. The Company believes that EBITDA is a useful performance measure and can be used to facilitate a comparison of its operating performance on a consistent basis from period to period and to provide for a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting its business than GAAP measures alone can provide. The Company’s management believes that EBITDA is less susceptible to variances in actual performance resulting from depreciation, amortization and other non-cash charges and more reflective of other factors that affect its operating performance. The Company’s management believes that the use of these Non-GAAP financial measures provides an additional tool for investors to use in evaluating ongoing operating results and trends and in comparing our financial measures with the companies in the same industry, many of which present similar Non-GAAP financial measures to investors. The Company presents EBITDA in order to provide supplemental information that Management considers relevant for the readers of its consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report, and such information is not meant to replace or supersede U.S. GAAP measures.

The Company’s management defines EBITDA as net income (loss) before interest expense, income taxes, and depreciation and amortization. EBITDA is not defined under U.S. GAAP and is subject to important limitations as analytical tools, you should not consider them in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of our Company results as reported under U.S. GAAP.

  For the Years ended
September 30,
  2020  2019
Net income $4,940,441  $5,908,479
Interest expense  242,877   223,657
Income tax provision  864,908   1,033,440
Depreciation & Amortization  1,105,588   1,188,173
EBITDA $7,153,814  $8,353,749

Recent Developments

On February 8, 2021, the Company announced that it will complete the first phase expansion of its new organic fertilizer production facility in Jiuquan City, Gansu Province and put it into production by March 2021. The Company expects to triple its organic fertilizer production capacity upon completion of its first phase expansion.

On January 19, 2021, the Company announced that the underwriters of its initial public offering had exercised in full their option to purchase an additional 750,000 ordinary shares at a public offering price of $5.00 per share to cover overallotments. Gross proceeds of the Company's initial public offering, including the exercise of the overallotment, totaled $28.75 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and other related expenses.

On January 14, 2021, the Company announced the closing of its initial public offering of 5,000,000 ordinary shares at a public offering price of US$5.00 per share. The Company received aggregate gross proceeds of US$25 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and other related expenses.

On January 11, 2021, the Company announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 5,000,000 ordinary shares at a public offering price of US$5.00 per share. The ordinary shares have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq Global Market and began trading on January 12, 2021 under the ticker symbol “QLI”.

About Qilian International Holding Group Limited

Qilian International Holding Group Limited, headquartered in Gansu, China, is a pharmaceutical and chemical products manufacturer in China. It focuses on the development, manufacture, marketing and sale of licorice products, oxytetracycline products, traditional Chinese medicine derivatives product, heparin product, sausage casings, and fertilizers. The Company’s products are sold in more than 20 provinces in China. For more information, visit the company’s website at http://ir.qlsyy.net/.

Forward-Looking Statements

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 proposed Offering. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "aim," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "potential," "continue," "is/are likely to" or other similar expressions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or 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 such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results and encourages investors to review other factors that may affect its future results in the Company’s registration statement and in its other filings with the SEC.

For more information, please contact:

Ascent Investors Relations LLC
Tina Xiao
President
Phone: 917-609-0333
Email: tina.xiao@ascent-ir.com

Qilian International Holding Group Limited and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Balance Sheets
   
    As of 
    September 30  September 30 
    2020   2019  
         
 ASSETS       
 CURRENT ASSETS:       
 Cash $      11,867,130  $        4,594,440  
 Accounts receivable, net          1,118,476              603,760  
 Bank acceptance notes receivable        11,498,075           5,476,707  
 Inventories, net        11,994,471         12,522,884  
 Advances to suppliers, net             491,827              958,005  
 Other current assets             547,443              813,932  
 TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS        37,517,422         24,969,728  
         
 Property and equipment, net          7,419,028           7,665,322  
 Intangible assets, net          1,881,722           1,834,130  
 Long term investment             540,517              539,680  
 Operating lease right of use assets             243,874                       -    
 Deferred tax assets             361,250              259,384  
 Security deposit             179,325                       -    
 TOTAL ASSETS $      48,143,138  $      35,268,244  
         
         
 CURRENT LIABILITIES:       
 Bank loans $        7,349,375  $        4,903,128  
 Accounts payable          4,377,712           3,570,148  
 Advance from customers          3,511,198           1,911,748  
 Advance from customers - related parties             33,152                  2,171  
 Deferred government grants-current             384,802              391,142  
 Taxes payable          1,383,182              347,930  
 Operating lease liabilities, current               82,468                       -    
 Accrued expenses and other payables          1,301,882              531,713  
 TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES        18,423,771         11,657,980  
         
 LONG TERM LIABILITIES       
 Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent             155,723                       -    
 Deferred government grants - noncurrent            722,137              972,338  
         
 TOTAL LIABILITIES        19,301,631         12,630,318  
         
 Commitments and contingencies       
         
 EQUITY:       
 Ordinary Shares, $0.00166667 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized , 30,000,000 Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2020 and September 30, 2019 , respectively               50,000                50,000  
 Additional paid-in capital        12,252,077         12,252,077  
 Statutory Reserve          2,200,786           1,773,817  
 Retained earnings        12,197,372           7,560,631  
 Accumulated other comprehensive loss          (602,001)        (1,743,175) 
 Total shareholders’ equity attributable to Qilian International      26,098,234         19,893,350  
 Noncontrolling interests          2,743,273           2,744,576  
 TOTAL EQUITY        28,841,507         22,637,926  
 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY$      48,143,138         35,268,244  
         


Qilian International Holding Group Limited and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income
   
  For the year ended September 30
   2020   2019   2018  
           
 NET REVENUE$     50,033,200  $     46,096,684  $     50,369,013  
           
 COST OF REVENUE      42,494,047        36,416,772        42,236,773  
           
 GROSS PROFIT        7,539,153          9,679,912          8,132,240  
           
 SELLING, GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES        2,728,009          3,501,374          2,160,873  
           
 INCOME FROM OPERATIONS        4,811,144          6,178,538          5,971,367  
           
 Other Income (Expenses)         
 Interest expense          (242,877)           (223,657)           (216,187) 
 Other income        1,237,082             987,038             390,792  
               Total Other income (expense)           994,205             763,381             174,605  
           
 INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAX PROVISION        5,805,349          6,941,919          6,145,972  
           
 PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES           864,908          1,033,440             943,363  
           
 NET INCOME        4,940,441          5,908,479          5,202,609  
           
     Less: net income attributable to non-controlling interest          (123,269)            576,161               33,102  
           
 NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO QILIAN INTERNATIONAL HOLDING GROUP LIMITED$       5,063,710  $       5,332,318  $       5,169,507  
           
 OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME          
 Foreign currency translation adjustment        1,263,140            (858,337)           (652,232) 
 COMPREHENSIVE INCOME        6,203,581          5,050,142          4,550,377  
  Less: comprehensive income attributable to non - controlling interests              (1,303)            478,722              (35,398) 
 COMPREHENSIVE INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO QILIAN INTERNATIONAL HOLDING GROUP LIMITED$       6,204,884  $       4,571,420  $       4,585,775  
           
           
 Earnings per common share - basic and diluted$                0.17  $                0.18  $                0.17  
 Weighted average shares - basic and diluted      30,000,000        30,000,000        30,000,000  
           


Qilian International Holding Group Limited and Subsidiaries 
Consolidated Statements of Cash flows 
  
 For the year ended September 30 
  2020  2019  2018  
        
Cash flows from operating activities:       
Net Income$            4,940,441                  5,908,479                  5,202,609   
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:       
Amortization of the Right-of-use assets                  62,410                            -      
Depreciation and amortization             1,105,588                 1,188,173                 1,254,098  
Loss from disposal of property and equipment                         -                              -                         4,389  
Provision of doubtful accounts                188,095                      (9,301)                      8,329  
Inventory reserve               (290,968)                     67,719                    201,053  
Deferred tax expense                (86,495)                     48,656                      15,799  
Investment income                (57,984)                   (89,197)                     (8,303) 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:       
Accounts receivable               (660,667)                   706,582                (1,072,933) 
Bank acceptance notes receivable            (5,583,925)               (2,171,300)               (2,989,921) 
Inventories             1,402,620                (3,492,342)                2,812,032  
Advances to suppliers                498,378                    653,028                  (156,114) 
Advances to suppliers - related parties, net                         -                              -                      239,250  
Other current assets                125,261                    (29,853)                   (32,169) 
Accounts payable                613,339                    (46,999)                 (822,019) 
Accounts payable - related parties                         -                        (3,042)                     (2,526) 
Advance from customers             1,461,407                (2,232,858)                 (267,520) 
Advance from customers - related parties                  29,973                       2,254                    (11,694) 
Deferred revenue               (314,238)                 (319,982)                 (385,118) 
Tax payables                988,423                  (834,183)                   648,173  
Accrued expenses and other payables                722,284                      73,969                  (199,400) 
Operating lease liabilities                (67,928)                           -                              -    
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities             5,076,014                   (580,197)                4,438,015   
        
Cash flows from investing activities:       
Purchase of property and equipment               (449,766)                 (616,388)               (1,117,175) 
Purchase of intangible assets                  (8,798)                        (635)                           -    
Proceeds from (Payment made for) long term investment                  82,972                    (64,165)                 (253,596) 
Investment made for marketable securities                         -                        14,559                    (15,309) 
Net cash used in investing activities               (375,592)                 (666,629)               (1,386,080) 
        
Cash flows from financing activities:       
Proceeds from bank loans             7,135,009                 5,089,651                (1,529,052) 
Repayment of bank loans            (4,994,506)               (3,635,465)                           -    
Repayment of bank notes payable                         -                    (581,674)               (1,100,917) 
Capital contribution from shareholders                         -                              -                      247,700  
Cash dividend paid                         -                              -                    (733,944) 
Payment for deferred offering costs                         -                    (365,310)                           -    
Acquisition of non-controlling interest                         -                    (133,552)                           -    
Net cash provided by financing activities             2,140,503                     373,650                 (3,116,213) 
        
Effect of exchange rate change on Cash                431,765                  (157,163)                 (181,798) 
        
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents             7,272,690                 (1,030,339)                 (246,076) 
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year             4,594,440                  5,624,779                  5,870,855   
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year$          11,867,130                  4,594,440                  5,624,779   
        
        
Supplemental cash flow information       
Cash paid for interest$               280,169  $                  210,588 $                  223,773  
Cash paid for income taxes$               275,607  $               1,109,655 $                  658,409  
Operating lease right of use assets obtained in exchange of lease liabilities$               143,443  $                          -   $                          -    
Stock divdend appropriation to shareholders$                        -   $                          -   $               4,403,670