Asia Pacific Wire & Cable Company (APWC) announced inancial results for the nine months ended September 30, 2015.
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Revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 were $291.1 million, down from $338.9 million in the same period of the prior year.
The decrease was primarily attributable to a 23.4% decrease in sales in the company’s North Asia region due to a challenging economic climate in China and a 21.9% decrease in the Rest of the World (ROW) region due to market competition from China and a depreciation in local currencies.
In Thailand, revenue increased in local currency by 5.7%, but increased only 1% in USD due to currency depreciation. APWC’s ROW region includes Singapore, Australia and the other markets where APWC has operations or sales outside of the Thailand and North Asia regions.
The North Asia region includes China and Hong Kong, and the Thailand region contains the operations and sales inside Thailand.
The gross profit for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 declined by 42.2% to $16.7 million from $28.9 million in the same period last year. Gross margin was down by 32.7%, falling from 8.5% in the first nine months of 2014 to 5.7% in the comparable period this year.
In the Thailand region, gross margin fell following a decline in higher margin Thai government projects and local currency depreciation.
In the North Asia region, the gross margin decreased due to a drop in copper prices and an increase in labor costs. The ROW region was also affected by the drop in copper prices but the gross margin remained the same, with an increased margin from trading being offset by a decreased margin in sales of manufactured products.
Selling, general and administrative expenses of $18.9 million were incurred for the first nine months of 2015, compared to $20.6 million reported in the year ago period. Operating loss was $2.2 million, compared to an operating income of $6.3 million in the comparable nine month period last year.
Net loss attributable to APWC shareholders was ($6.1) million for the first nine months of 2015, compared to net income of $0.3 million in 2014.
Net loss per share was ($0.44) for the first nine months of 2015, while net income of $0.02 per share was reported for the comparable period a year ago.
The weighted average number of shares outstanding was 13.8 million for the first nine months of each of 2015 and 2014.
APWC reported $39.5 million in cash and cash equivalents as of September 30, 2015, compared to cash and cash equivalents of $68.9 million on December 31, 2014.
Current assets totaled $255.7 million on September 30, 2015 compared to $318.0 million as of December 31, 2014. Working capital was $145.6 million as of September 30, 2015, compared to $169.5 as of December 31, 2014.
Short term bank loans were reported at $44.1 million on the same date, down from $53.9 million at the end of the 2014. Shareholder's equity attributable to APWC was $135.7 million as of September 30, 2015, compared to $153.0 million on December 31, 2014.
Over the nine months ended September 30, 2015, the company used $17.5 million in cash from operating activities, compared to a $1.6 million in the comparable nine months of 2014.
Capital expenditures totaled $5.4 million for the first nine months of 2015, compared to $4.1 million in the comparable period last year. ■