Ossen Innovation (OSN) Reports FY16 Revenue of $117M

Ossen Innovation Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: OSN), a China-based manufacturer of an array of plain surface, rare earth and zinc coated pre-stressed steel materials, today announced its financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016.

"We saw slight dip in 2016 revenues as we continued to scale-back our plain surface PC strands business in light of its gross margin deterioration in recent quarters. However, revenues from the coated products snapped back after a down year in 2015 and grew 14.8% in 2016 as a result of the increase in sales volume that more than offset the decrease in average selling price for coated products. We remain cautious on our near-term outlook on the back of continuing headwinds facing the Chinese economy and our industry," commented Dr. Liang Tang, Chairman of Ossen Innovation.

Twelve months Ended December 31, 2016 Financial Results

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2016, revenues decreased by $0.9 million, or 0.7%, to $117.0 million from $117.9 million for 2015. This decrease was primarily due to decreases in sales from zinc coated products and plain surface PC strands and other products and partially offset by increased sales from rare earth coated products. The sales of coated PC steel materials, including both rare earth and zinc coated products, increased by $14.1 million, or 14.8%, to $109.6 million and accounted for 94% of total sales for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 from $95.5 million, or 81% of total sales, for the same period of last year. This increase in sales of coated PC steel materials was the result of increase in sales volume for rare earth coated products and partially offset by decreases in average selling prices for both rare earth and zinc coated products. Sales of rare earth coated products increased by $16.4 million, or 19.2%, to $101.4 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 from $85.0 million for the same period of last year. Sales of zinc coated products decreased by $2.3 million, or 21.6%, to $8.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 from $10.5 million for the same period of last year. Sales of plain surface PC strands and PC wires decreased by $11.1 million, or 67.9%, to $5.3 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 from $16.4 million for the same period of last year. The decrease of sales generated by plain surface PC strands and PC wires was primarily due to the decline in sales from wholesale market during the period. Other sales were $2.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016, compared to $6.0 million for the same period of last year. This decrease was primarily due to less spare raw materials sold in 2016 compared to 2015.

We generated approximately 4.2% and 6.6%, respectively, of our revenues during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 from sales to customers in international markets including primarily Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Costa Rica, and Chile, primarily for use in the construction of bridges. The decrease in 2016 was primarily due to one of our customers in South Korea filed for bankruptcy.

Gross profit increased by $0.4 million, or 2.5%, to $16.1 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 from $15.7 million for the same period of last year. Gross margin improved by 43 basis points to 13.8% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 from 13.3% for the same period of last year. Gross margins for rare earth and zinc coated products were 11.3% and 14.7%, respectively, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016, compared to 11.8% and 19.7%, respectively, for the same period of last year. Gross margin for plain surface PC strands and PC wires was 22.6% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016, compared to 17.5% for the same period of last year.

Selling expenses decreased by $0.3 million, or 25.6%, to $0.7 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 from $1.0 million for the same period of last year. The decrease was due to lower transportation cost. General and administrative expenses increased by $1.9 million, or 42.4%, to $6.4 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 from $4.5 million for the same period of last year, mainly due to higher research and development cost as well as high bad-debt provision in 2016. As a result, total operating expenses increased by $1.6 million, or 30.1%, to $7.1 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 from $5.5 million for the same period of last year.

Operating income decreased by $1.3 million, or 12.3%, to $9.0 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 from $10.2 million for the same period of last year. The decrease in operation income was primarily attributable to increases in research and development cost and bad-debt provision in 2016. Operating margin was 7.7% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016, compared to 8.7% for the same period of last year.

Net income decreased by $1.3 million, or 19.5%, to $5.3 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 from $6.6 million for the same period of last year.

After deducting net income attributable to non-controlling interest, net income attributable to Ossen Innovation decreased by $1.1 million, or 18.2%, to $4.8 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 from $5.9 million for the same period of last year. Earnings per share, both basic and diluted, were $0.24 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016, compared to $0.30 for the same period of last year.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flows

As of December 31, 2016, the Company had cash and restricted cash of $6.9 million, compared to $9.6 million at December 31, 2015. Notes receivable were $15.3 million as of December 31, 2016, compared to $8.0 million at December 31, 2015. Accounts receivable were $37.3 million as of December 31, 2016, compared to $43.2 million at December 31, 2015. The average days of sales of outstanding (DSO) were 126 days for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016, compared to 150 days for the year 2015. The balance of prepayment to suppliers for raw materials totaled $46.7 million as of December 31, 2016, compared to $55.7 million at December 31, 2015. The Company had inventories of $26.0 million as of December 31, 2016, compared to $27.3 million at the end of 2015. Total working capital was $101.6 million as of December 31, 2016, compared to $94.7 million at December 31, 2015.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $15.5 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016, compared to $12.4 million for the same period of last year. This increase in cash provided by operating activities was the result of a $1.3 million decrease in inventories due to higher consumption of raw materials at the end of 2016, a $9.0 million decrease in advance to suppliers due to less prepayments for raw materials of plain surface and zinc coated products, partially offset by a $1.3 million decrease in net income due to higher operating expenses and a $7.3 million increase in notes receivable because our customers used less cash for payment. Net cash used in investing activities was $17.5 thousand for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016, compared to $29.7 thousand for the same period of last year. Net cash used in financing activities was $7.5 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016, compared to $4.4 million for the same period of last year. The increase in cash used in financing activities was the result of the repayment of bond, a decrease in proceeds from notes payable and a decrease in restricted cash, partially offset by an increase in proceeds from short-term bank loans, an increase in proceeds from long-term bank loans and a decrease in repayment of notes payable.

Recent Developments

On January 3, 2017, The Company announced that the Special Committee of the Board of Directors has retained Highline Research Advisors LLC ("HRA"), acting through Corinthian Partners, LLC, as its financial advisor in connection with the review and evaluation of the Proposed Transactions as announced on August 4, 2016.

On December 30, 2016, the Company announced that its Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"), Mr. Feng Peng, has resigned from the Company, effective December 31, 2016, to pursue other opportunities. Mr. Wei Hua, Chief Executive Officer of the Company will act as interim CFO during the transition and search period for a new CFO.

On November 23, 2016, the Company announced the completion of its 2016 annual general meeting of shareholders which was held on November 22, 2016 at the Company's headquarters located at 518 Shangcheng Road, Floor 17, Shanghai, China. At the Annual Meeting, the Company's shareholders elected seven directors, Dr. Liang Tang, Mr. Wei Hua, Mr. Junhong Li, Mr. Xiaobing Liu, Ms. Yingli Pan, and Mr. Zhongcai Wu to Board of Directors; and re-appointed BDO China Shu Lun Pan Certified Public Accountants LLP as the Company's independent registered accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2016.

Conference Call

To attend the call, please use the information below for either dial-in access or webcast access. When prompted on dial-in, ask for "OSN FY2016 Earnings Conference Call" or be prepared to utilize the conference ID.

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