SOURCE: Fresh Ideas Media, Inc.
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November 11, 2008 12:00 ET
Fresh Ideas Media, Inc. Acquires Leading China-Based Luxury Auto Importer "Shisheng" Through Reverse Merger
Increased Luxury Sales, Expanded Auto Import Value Added Services and Growing Website Traffic Contributed to Shisheng's Sales and Profit Gains Through the First Half of 2008
TIANJIN CITY, CHINA--(Marketwire - November 11, 2008) - Fresh Ideas Media, Inc. (the "Company")
(OTCBB: FIDM) announced today the completion of a share exchange
transaction with Hong Kong-based Ever Auspicious International Limited
("Ever Auspicious") and Bright Praise Limited, the sole shareholder of Ever
Auspicious (the "Share Exchange"). Pursuant to the Share Exchange, which
took effect yesterday, November 10, 2008, Ever Auspicious has become a
wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and the primary ongoing operations
of the Company are now those of Ever Auspicious' operating subsidiary,
Tianjin Seashore New District Shisheng Business Group, Ltd. ("Shisheng"),
based in Tianjin City, The People's Republic of China (the "PRC"). It is
anticipated that, as soon as practicable, the Company will change its name
to "China Auto Logistics Inc."
Founded in 1995, "Shisheng" is one of the top importers and sellers of
luxury vehicles in the PRC. Imported luxury autos, accounting for more
than 10% of all Chinese auto sales revenues, are the fastest growing
segment of the still young Chinese auto industry, now the second largest in
the world. Shisheng has grown sales and profits by becoming one of the
PRC's top logistical servicing and financing companies for auto importers.
Additionally, it is a leader in providing accurate pricing and other
auto-related information with its two web portals, www.at188.com, aimed at
the import market, and www.1365car.tj.cn, which it is expanding throughout
the PRC to reach the much larger market of domestically manufactured auto
purchasers and dealers.
Effective upon the closing of the Share Exchange, Mr. Tong Shiping, 48,
Shisheng's founder, CEO and President, was appointed Chairman of the Board,
President and CEO of the Company. He is joined by an experienced team of
professionals, each of whom has over 10 years of experience in the Chinese
automobile industry.
2007 Results For Shisheng
With the principal contribution to revenues during the year coming from
sales of imported autos, Shisheng reported that revenues for the year ended
December 31, 2007 grew to $152,430,674, compared with $98,800,800 in 2006,
a 57.5% increase. Income from operations in 2007 grew 158% to $3,734,701,
compared with $1,444,121 in the year ended December 31, 2006, while net
income in 2007 reached $3,173,375, excluding comprehensive income of
$887,391, consisting mainly of currency gains. Net income on a pro forma
basis was $1,434,574 in the year ended December 21, 2006.
Following the completion of the Share Exchange, the number of shares of
common stock outstanding increased to 18,100,000 shares from 7,535,000
shares. Consequently, on a pro forma basis, utilizing 18.1 million shares,
net income per share in 2007 increased to $0.175 compared with $0.079 in
2006.
Six Month Results
For the six months ended June 30, 2008, Shisheng's net revenue increased
31.21% to $81,097,084, from net revenue of $61,805,100 for the comparable
period in 2007. Despite an overall increase in the cost of revenue, the
ratio of cost of revenue to net revenues decreased 1.22% from 96.16% for
the six months ended June 30, 2007 to 94.94% for the comparable period in
2008. Gross profit increased 72.84% from $2,372,669 for the six months
ended June 30, 2007 to $4,100,814 for the comparable period in 2008, income
from operations increased 82.94% to $3,167,905 in 2008 from $1,731,630 in
2007, and net income increased 73.76% from $1,239,638 to $2,154,002 in the
same periods. The net income for the first half of 2008 excludes
comprehensive income of $1,109,461 which arose mainly from currency
translation adjustments.
Net income per share for the six-month period, excluding extraordinary
items and cumulative effect of a change in accounting, rose to $0.18
compared with $0.11 in the same period in 2007. This calculation of
earnings per share ("EPS") is based on 11.7 million shares outstanding,
which has increased to 18.1 million shares following completion of the
Share Exchange. On a pro-forma basis, utilizing 18.1 million shares
outstanding, EPS in the first six months of 2008 increased to $0.119,
compared with $0.068 in the first half of 2007.
Mr. Tong, the Company's CEO and President, commented, "We are extremely
pleased to be able to bring to US investors our growth story. As we
continue to move away from being simply a traditional seller of luxury
autos, our principal goal this year is the expansion of our www.1365.tj.cn
website to six additional cities and to another six cities next year. At
that time we expect to establish what we believe is the first national
website in the PRC for auto sellers and buyers, in line with our goal of
becoming the first nationwide automobile marketing network in the PRC."
Additional information on Shisheng and the Share Exchange is available in
the Form 8-K Current Report filed yesterday by Fresh Ideas Media, Inc. with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this
press release are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the
safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties, which may cause our actual results in future periods to
differ materially from forecasted results. These risks and uncertainties
include, among other things, product demand, market competition, and risks
inherent in our operations. These and other risks are described in our
filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.