China Green Agriculture, Inc. (CGAG.OB), a producer of humic-acid based liquid fertilizer in China, reported fourth quarter and fiscal 2008 financial results this morning. Fourth quarter revenues rose 18.1% year-over-year to $7.2 million. For the full year, revenues totaled $22.6 million, an improvement of 48.9% over 2007. Net income for the quarter was $1.3 million, or 7 cents per share – a decline of 53.9% year-over-year. Full-year net income was $7.7 million, or 53 cents per share, an increase of 12.4% vs. 2007.
“We are pleased to complete China Green Agriculture’s first year as a publicly listed company with solid top line growth,” stated Tao Li, chairman, president and chief executive officer of the company. “Due to the high demand of our products, we have expanded our distributor network over the last year and have continued to develop highly effective, specialized fertilizers based on market demand. During the year, we also broke ground on our new manufacturing facilities which will expand our output capabilities by 40,000 metric tons.”
China Green reiterated fiscal 2009 earnings guidance of $12.0 million, or 61 cents per share. “Our 2009 fiscal year is already off to a healthy start as we continue to see strong demand for our products and progress in expanding production capacity,” said Mr. Li. “In December, we will implement technical upgrades and efficiency improvements at our existing facility that should increase annual output by 60%. We hope to have our new manufacturing lines up and running by the end of February 2009 which will allow us meet the demands of our growing customer base. Over the next year we also expect to develop 15 new fertilizer products and grow our distribution base from 480 distributors to 540. At the same time, we plan on increasing our sales staff by roughly 10% to accelerate penetration in our current market of 27 provinces.”
Shares of CGAG are trading $0.20 higher, or 7.1%, at $3.00. CGAG is very thinly traded, with a 3-month daily average volume of 12,500 shares. With 18.3 million shares outstanding, CGAG has a market cap of $54.9 million.
Let us hear your thoughts below: