Attached files
file | filename |
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EX-31.1 - China Natural Gas, Inc. | v183785_ex31-1.htm |
EX-32.1 - China Natural Gas, Inc. | v183785_ex32-1.htm |
EX-32.2 - China Natural Gas, Inc. | v183785_ex32-2.htm |
EX-31.2 - China Natural Gas, Inc. | v183785_ex31-2.htm |
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-Q
(Mark
One)
x
|
QUARTERLY
REPORT UNDER SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
1934
|
For the
quarterly period ended March 31, 2010
¨
|
TRANSITION
REPORT UNDER SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE EXCHANGE
ACT
|
For the
transition period from to
000-31539
(Commission
file number)
CHINA
NATURAL GAS, INC.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
|
98-0231607
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of incorporation or
organization)
|
(IRS
Employer of Identification
No.)
|
19th
Floor, Building B, Van Metropolis
Tang Yan
Road, Hi-Tech Zone
Xi’an,
710065, Shaanxi Province, China
(Address
of principal executive offices)
(zip
code)
86-29-8832-7391
(registrant
's telephone number, including area code)
N/A
(Former
name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last
report)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be
filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the past 12 months (or
for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports),
and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90
days. Yes x No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether
the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web
site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted
pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the
preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required
to submit and post such files). Yes ¨ No x
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See
the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller
reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check
one):
Large
accelerated filer ¨
|
Accelerated
filer x
|
Non-accelerated
filer ¨
|
Smaller
reporting company ¨
|
(Do not
check if a smaller reporting company)
Number of
shares of Common Stock outstanding as of May 6, 2010: 21,183,904
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨ No x
China
Natural Gas, Inc.
Index
Page
|
|||
PART
I.
|
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION
|
3
|
|
Item
1.
|
Financial
Statements
|
3
|
|
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited)
|
6
|
||
Item
2.
|
Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
|
25
|
|
Item
3.
|
Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
|
36
|
|
Item
4.
|
Controls
and Procedures
|
37
|
|
PART
II.
|
OTHER
INFORMATION
|
37
|
|
Item
1.
|
Legal
Proceedings
|
37
|
|
Item
1A.
|
Risk
Factors
|
37
|
|
Item
2.
|
Unregistered
Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
|
37
|
|
Item
3.
|
Defaults
Upon Senior Securities
|
37
|
|
Item
4.
|
Other
Information
|
37
|
|
Item
5.
|
Exhibits
|
37
|
|
SIGNATURES
|
38
|
2
PART
I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item
1. Financial Statements
CHINA
NATURAL GAS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
BALANCE SHEETS
AS
OF MARCH 31, 2010 AND DECEMBER 31, 2009
March
31,
|
December,
31
|
|||||||
2010
|
2009
|
|||||||
(Unaudited)
|
||||||||
ASSETS
|
||||||||
CURRENT
ASSETS:
|
||||||||
Cash
& cash equivalents
|
$ | 30,172,391 | $ | 48,177,794 | ||||
Accounts
receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $196,138 and
$163,280 as of March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009,
respectively.
|
1,514,070 | 1,289,116 | ||||||
Other
receivables
|
491,020 | 709,741 | ||||||
Other
receivable - employee advances
|
190,045 | 338,689 | ||||||
Inventories
|
874,678 | 841,837 | ||||||
Advances
to suppliers
|
1,302,568 | 596,868 | ||||||
Prepaid
expense and other current assets
|
1,546,556 | 1,076,915 | ||||||
Loans
receivable
|
14,259,240 | 293,400 | ||||||
Total
current assets
|
50,350,568 | 53,324,360 | ||||||
INVESTMENT
IN UNCONSOLIDATED JOINT VENTURES
|
1,467,000 | 1,467,000 | ||||||
PROPERTY
AND EQUIPMENT, NET
|
75,603,216 | 72,713,012 | ||||||
CONSTRUCTION
IN PROGRESS
|
57,102,317 | 52,918,236 | ||||||
DEFERRED
FINANCING COSTS
|
1,234,540 | 1,336,998 | ||||||
OTHER
ASSETS
|
16,937,089 | 15,854,910 | ||||||
TOTAL
ASSETS
|
$ | 202,694,730 | $ | 197,614,516 | ||||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS'
EQUITY
|
||||||||
CURRENT
LIABILITIES:
|
||||||||
Accounts
payable and accrued liabilities
|
$ | 1,970,228 | $ | 2,081,261 | ||||
Other
payables
|
85,082 | 80,788 | ||||||
Unearned
revenue
|
2,199,805 | 1,813,641 | ||||||
Accrued
interest
|
200,509 | 786,052 | ||||||
Taxes
payable
|
2,888,511 | 1,901,577 | ||||||
Total
current liabilities
|
7,344,135 | 6,663,319 | ||||||
LONG
TERM LIABILITIES:
|
||||||||
Notes
payable, net of discount $11,946,508 and $12,707,713 as of March 31, 2010
and December 31, 2009, respectively
|
28,053,492 | 27,292,287 | ||||||
Derivative
liabilities - warrants
|
19,152,570 | 19,545,638 | ||||||
Total
long term liabilities
|
47,206,062 | 46,837,925 | ||||||
COMMITMENTS
AND CONTINGENCIES
|
||||||||
STOCKHOLDERS'
EQUITY:
|
||||||||
Preferred
stock, $0.0001 per share; 5,000,000 shares authorized; none
issued
|
- | - | ||||||
Common
stock, $0.0001 per share; 45,000,000 shares authorized, 21,183,904 shares
issued and outstanding at March 31, 2010 and December 31,
2009
|
2,118 | 2,118 | ||||||
Additional
paid-in capital
|
79,926,097 | 79,851,251 | ||||||
Cumulative
other comprehensive gain
|
8,675,165 | 8,714,019 | ||||||
Statutory
reserves
|
6,425,074 | 5,962,695 | ||||||
Retained
earnings
|
53,116,079 | 49,583,189 | ||||||
Total
stockholders' equity
|
148,144,533 | 144,113,272 | ||||||
TOTAL
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
$ | 202,694,730 | $ | 197,614,516 |
3
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
FOR
THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2010 AND 2009
(Unaudited)
Three
Months Ended March 31,
|
||||||||
2010
|
2009
|
|||||||
Revenues
|
||||||||
Natural
gas revenue
|
$ | 15,483,629 | $ | 14,965,819 | ||||
Gasoline
revenue
|
1,468,816 | 1,174,398 | ||||||
Installation
and others
|
2,414,378 | 2,387,449 | ||||||
Total
revenues
|
19,366,823 | 18,527,666 | ||||||
Cost
of revenues
|
||||||||
Natural
gas cost
|
7,864,654 | 6,746,929 | ||||||
Gasoline
cost
|
1,367,278 | 1,130,057 | ||||||
Installation
and others
|
1,039,923 | 1,017,028 | ||||||
Total
cost of revenues
|
10,271,855 | 8,894,014 | ||||||
Gross
profit
|
9,094,968 | 9,633,652 | ||||||
Operating
expenses
|
||||||||
Selling
expenses
|
2,891,790 | 2,580,825 | ||||||
General
and administrative expenses
|
1,817,656 | 1,425,324 | ||||||
Total
operating expenses
|
4,709,446 | 4,006,149 | ||||||
Income
from operations
|
4,385,522 | 5,627,503 | ||||||
Non-operating
income (expense):
|
||||||||
Interest
income
|
89,366 | 8,908 | ||||||
Interest
expense
|
- | (581,492 | ) | |||||
Other
income (expense), net
|
46,569 | (2,303 | ) | |||||
Change
in fair value of warrants
|
393,068 | 197,051 | ||||||
Foreign
currency exchange loss
|
(8,110 | ) | (50,788 | ) | ||||
Total
non-operating income (expense)
|
520,893 | (428,624 | ) | |||||
Income
before income tax
|
4,906,415 | 5,198,879 | ||||||
Provision
for income tax
|
911,145 | 997,256 | ||||||
Net
income
|
3,995,270 | 4,201,623 | ||||||
Other
comprehensive income
|
||||||||
Foreign
currency translation loss
|
(38,854 | ) | (152,115 | ) | ||||
Comprehensive
income
|
$ | 3,956,416 | $ | 4,049,508 | ||||
Weighted
average shares outstanding
|
||||||||
Basic
|
21,183,904 | 14,600,152 | ||||||
Diluted
|
21,595,038 | 14,600,152 | ||||||
Earnings
per share
|
||||||||
Basic
|
$ | 0.19 | $ | 0.29 | ||||
Diluted
|
$ | 0.19 | $ | 0.29 |
4
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR
THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2010 AND 2009
(Unaudited)
Three
Months Ended March 31,
|
||||||||
2010
|
2009
|
|||||||
CASH
FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
|
||||||||
Net
income
|
$ | 3,995,270 | $ | 4,201,623 | ||||
Adjustments
to reconcile net income to net cash
|
||||||||
provided
by operating activities:
|
||||||||
Depreciation
and amortization
|
1,472,595 | 1,389,565 | ||||||
Provision
for bad debt
|
32,847 | - | ||||||
Amortization
of discount on senior notes
|
- | 170,712 | ||||||
Amortization
of financing costs
|
- | 38,578 | ||||||
Stock
based compensation
|
74,847 | 14,842 | ||||||
Change
in fair value of warrants
|
(393,068 | ) | (197,051 | ) | ||||
Change
in assets and liabilities:
|
||||||||
Accounts
receivable
|
(257,812 | ) | (41,244 | ) | ||||
Other
receivable - employee advances
|
148,593 | 151,617 | ||||||
Inventories
|
(32,830 | ) | 30,812 | |||||
Advances
to suppliers
|
(705,460 | ) | 151,828 | |||||
Prepaid
expense and other current assets
|
(167,213 | ) | (100,912 | ) | ||||
Accounts
payable and accrued liabilities
|
(111,007 | ) | 304,860 | |||||
Other
payables
|
4,296 | 212,961 | ||||||
Unearned
revenue
|
386,032 | 195,435 | ||||||
Accrued
interest
|
(585,543 | ) | (330,003 | ) | ||||
Taxes
payable
|
986,599 | 44,898 | ||||||
Net
cash provided by operating activities
|
4,848,146 | 6,238,521 | ||||||
CASH
FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
|
||||||||
Loans
to third parties
|
(14,259,140 | ) | - | |||||
Repayment
of loans receivable
|
293,300 | - | ||||||
Purchase
of property and equipment
|
(253,844 | ) | (13,484 | ) | ||||
Additions
to construction in progress
|
(7,425,192 | ) | (2,552,098 | ) | ||||
Prepayment
on long term assets
|
(1,047,327 | ) | (426,913 | ) | ||||
Return
of acquisition deposit
|
(124,653 | ) | - | |||||
Payment
for intangible assets
|
- | (35,822 | ) | |||||
Payment
for land use rights
|
4,722 | - | ||||||
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
(22,812,134 | ) | (3,028,317 | ) | ||||
CASH
FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
|
||||||||
Net
cash provided by financing activities
|
- | - | ||||||
Effect
of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
|
(41,415 | ) | (6,226 | ) | ||||
NET
(DECREASE) INCREASE IN CASH & CASH EQUIVALENTS
|
(18,005,403 | ) | 3,203,978 | |||||
CASH
& CASH EQUIVALENTS, BEGINNING OF PERIOD
|
48,177,794 | 5,854,383 | ||||||
CASH
& CASH EQUIVALENTS, END OF PERIOD
|
$ | 30,172,391 | $ | 9,058,361 | ||||
SUPPLEMENTAL
DISCLOSURE OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION:
|
||||||||
Interest
paid
|
$ | 1,085,543 | $ | 1,084,130 | ||||
Income
taxes paid
|
$ | - | $ | 997,257 | ||||
Non-cash
transactions for investing and financing activities:
|
||||||||
Construction
in progress transferred to property and equipment
|
$ | 4,106,200 | $ | - | ||||
Capitalized
interest - amortization of discount of notes payable and
issuance cost
|
$ | 863,662 | $ | - |
5
China
Natural Gas, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
March
31, 2010
(Unaudited)
Note
1 - Organization
Organization and Line of
Business
China
Natural Gas, Inc. (the “Company” or “CHNG”) was incorporated in the state of
Delaware on March 31, 1999. The Company through its wholly-owned subsidiaries
and variable interest entities, located in HongKong, Shaanxi ,Henan and Hubei
Province in the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”), engages in sales and
distribution of natural gas and gasoline to commercial, industrial and
residential customers, construction of pipeline networks, installation of
natural gas fittings and parts for end-users, and modification of automobiles
services for vehicles to be able to use natural gas.
Recent
Developments
On
February 5, 2010, Jingbian Liquefied Natural Gas Co., Ltd. (“JBLNG”) increased
the registered capital by $6,026,343 which was invested by Xi’an Xilan Natural
Gas Co., Ltd. (“XXNGC”) in the form of equipment.
On
September 8, 2009, Shaanxi Xilan Natural Gas Equipment Co., Ltd (“SXNGE”)
increased its registered capital by $26,000,000 from $53,929,260 to $79,929,260.
CHNG contributed $10,000,000 and $16,000,000 registered capital to SXNGE on
September 29, 2009 and January 13, 2010, respectively.
Note
2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of
Presentation
The
accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity
with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America. The Company’s functional currency is the Chinese Renminbi
(“RMB”); however, the Company’s reporting currency is the United States Dollar
(“USD”); therefore, the accompanying consolidated financial statements have been
translated and presented in USD.
In the
opinion of management, the unaudited consolidated financial statements furnished
herein include all adjustments, all of which are of a normal recurring nature,
necessary for a fair statements of the results for the interim period
presented. Operating results for the period ended March 31, 2010 are
not necessary indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ended
December 31, 2010. The information included in this Form 10-Q should be
read in conjunction with information included in the 2009 annual report filed on
Form 10-K.
Use of
Estimates
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted
accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that
affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of
contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and
the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.
Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Principles of
Consolidation
The
accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of China
Natural Gas, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries, and its 100% variable
interest entities (“VIE”),. All inter-company accounts and transactions have
been eliminated in the consolidation.
6
Consolidation of Variable
Interest Entity
In
accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB”) accounting
standard regarding consolidation, VIEs are generally entities that lack
sufficient equity to finance their activities without additional financial
support from other parties or whose equity holders lack adequate decision making
ability. All VIEs with which the Company is involved must be evaluated to
determine the primary beneficiary of the risks and rewards of the VIE. The
primary beneficiary is required to consolidate the VIE for financial reporting
purposes.
On
February 21, 2006, the Company formed SXNGE as a wholly-owned foreign enterprise
(WOFE). Then through SXNGE, the Company entered into exclusive arrangements with
XXNGC and its shareholders that give the Company the ability to substantially
influence XXNGC’s daily operations and financial affairs, appoint its senior
executives and approve all matters requiring shareholder approval. The Company
memorialized these arrangements on August 17, 2007 and made retroactive to March
8, 2006. As a result, the Company consolidates the financial results of XXNGC as
VIE .The arrangements consist of the following agreements:
|
a.
|
XXNGC
holds the licenses and approvals necessary to operate its natural gas
business in China.
|
|
b.
|
SXNGE
provides exclusive technology consulting and other general business
operation services to XXNGC in return for a consulting services fee which
is equal to XXNGC’s revenue.
|
|
c.
|
XXNGC’
shareholders have pledged their equity interests in XXNGC to the
Company.
|
|
d.
|
Irrevocably
granted the Company an exclusive option to purchase, to the extent
permitted under PRC law, all or part of the equity interests in XXNGC and
agreed to entrust all the rights to exercise their voting power to the
person appointed by the Company.
|
On August
8, 2008, the Company through SXNGE entered into an Addendum to Option Agreement
(“Agreement”) with Mr. Qinan Ji, chairman and shareholder of XXNGC, and each of
the shareholders of XXNGC (hereafter collectively referred to as the
“Transferor”), and made retroactive to June 30, 2008. According to the
Agreement, the Chairman and the Shareholders of XXNGC irrevocably grants to
SXNGE an option to purchase each Transferor’s Purchased Equity Interest at $1.00
or the lowest price permissible under the applicable laws at the time that SXNGE
exercises the Option. The Agreement limits XXNGC and the Transferors’ right to
make all equity interest related decisions.
Foreign Currency
Translation
The
Company’s reporting currency is the US dollar. The functional
currency of PRC subsidiaries is the Chinese Renminbi (“RMB”). Our results of
operations and financial position of the PRC subsidiaries are translated to
United States dollars using the quarter end exchange rates as to assets and
liabilities and weighted average exchange rates as to revenues, expenses and
cash flows. Capital accounts are translated at their historical exchange rates
when the capital transaction occurred. The resulting currency translation
adjustments are recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive
income (loss) within stockholders’ equity. As a result, translation
adjustments amount related to assets and liabilities reported on the
consolidated statement of cash flows will not necessarily agree with changes in
the corresponding consolidated balances on the balance sheet. Transaction gains
and losses that arise from exchange rate fluctuations on transactions
denominated in a currency other than the functional currency are included in the
results of operations as incurred.
The
balance sheet amounts with the exception of equity were translated 6.82 RMB to
$1.00 at March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009. The equity accounts were stated
at their historical rate. The average translation rates applied to income and
cash flow statement amounts for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009
were 6.82 RMB and RMB 6.83 to $1.00, respectively.
7
Cash and Cash
Equivalents
Cash and
cash equivalents include cash on hand and demand deposits in accounts maintained
with state-owned banks within the PRC, Hong Kong and the United States. The
Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of
three months or less at the time of purchase to be cash
equivalents.
Certain
financial instruments, which subject the Company to concentration of credit
risk, consist of cash. The Company maintains balances at financial institutions
which, from time to time, may exceed Hong Kong Deposit Protection Board
(“HKDPB”) insured limits for the banks located in Hong Kong or may exceed
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insured limits for the banks
located in the United States. Balances at financial institutions or state-owned
banks within the PRC are not covered by insurance. As of March 31, 2010 and
December 31, 2009, the Company had total deposits of $29,435,016 and
$47,459,560, respectively, without insurance coverage or in excess of HKDPB or
FDIC insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in
such accounts and believes it is not exposed to any significant risks on its
cash in bank accounts.
Accounts
Receivable
Accounts
receivable are netted against an allowance for uncollectible accounts, as
needed. The Company maintains reserves for potential credit losses on
accounts receivable. Management reviews the composition of accounts
receivable and analyzes historical bad debts, customer concentrations, customer
credit worthiness, current economic trends and changes in customer payment
patterns to evaluate the adequacy of these reserves. Reserves are recorded
primarily on a specific identification basis in the period of the related sales.
Delinquent account balances are written-off after management has determined that
the likelihood of collection is not probable, and known bad debts are written
off against allowance for doubtful accounts when identified. The Company
recorded allowance for bad debts of $196,138 and $163,280 as of March 31, 2010
and December 31, 2009, respectively.
Other
Receivables
Other
receivables mainly include security deposits for equipment
storage. This security deposit will be refunded to the Company after
the equipment had been removed from the storage area for
construction.
Other Receivable – Employee
Advances
From time
to time, the Company advances predetermined amounts based upon internal Company
policy to certain employees and internal units to ensure certain transactions
are performed in a timely manner. The Company has full oversight and control
over the advanced accounts. As of March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009, no
allowance for the uncollectible accounts was deemed necessary.
Inventories
Inventories
is stated at the lower of cost, as determined on a first-in, first-out basis, or
market. Management compares the cost of inventories with the market
value, and an allowance is made for writing down the inventories to their market
value, if lower. Inventories consist of materials used in the construction of
pipelines and in repairing and modifying vehicles. Inventories also
consist of gasoline.
The
following are the details of the inventories:
|
|
March 31, 2010
(Unaudited)
|
December 31, 2009
|
|
||||
Materials and
supplies
|
$
|
453,382
|
$
|
345,611
|
||||
Gasoline
|
421,296
|
496,226
|
||||||
Total
|
$
|
874,678
|
$
|
841,837
|
8
Advances to
Suppliers
The
Company advances to certain vendors for purchase of its materials. The advances
are interest-free and unsecured.
Loans
Receivable
Loans
receivable consists of the following:
|
|
March 31, 2010
(unaudited)
|
December 31, 2009
|
|
||||
Shanxi
Yuojin Mining Company, due on November 30, 2009, extended
to November 30, 2010, annual interest at 5.84% (1)
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
293,400
|
||||
Shanxi
JunTai Housing Purchase Ltd., due on January 10, 2011, annual interest at
5.84% (2)
|
4,401,000
|
-
|
||||||
Ms.
Taoxiang Wang, due on February 19, 2011, annual interest at 5.84%
(3)
|
9,858,240
|
-
|
||||||
$
|
14,259,240
|
$
|
293,400
|
(1)
|
This Company paid off this
loan on March 11, 2010.
|
(2)
|
The
applicable interest rate of this loan is the People’s Bank of China’s
standard one-year rate, 5.31% at inception of the loan, which is subject
to change with the government policy, plus an additional 10% interest rate
float. Pursuant to these terms, the interest rates were 5.84% at the
inception date and March 31, 2010. This loan is guaranteed by a
third-party individual.
|
(3)
|
This one-year loan was
secured by Ms. Taoxiang Wang’s 40% of ownership in Xi’an Demaoxing Real
Estate Co. On April 22 and April 27, 2010, Ms. Wang repaid $ 5,868,000 and
$4,130,962, respectively, of which $140,722 was the interest
payments. As of April 27, 2010, this loan was paid
off.
|
Investments in
Unconsolidated Joint Ventures
Investee
companies that are not consolidated, but over which the Company exercises
significant influence, are accounted for under the equity method of accounting.
Whether or not the Company exercises significant influence with respect to an
Investee depends on an evaluation of several factors including, among others,
representation on the Investee company’s board of directors and ownership level,
which is generally a 20% to 50% interest in the voting securities of the
Investee company. Under the equity method of accounting, an Investee company’s
accounts are not reflected within the Company’s consolidated balance sheets and
statements of income and other comprehensive income; however, the Company’s
share of the earnings or losses of the Investee company is reflected in the
caption “Earnings (loss) on equity investment” in the consolidated statements of
income and other comprehensive income. The Company’s carrying value
in an equity method Investee company is reflected in the caption “Investments in
Unconsolidated Joint Ventures” in the Company’s consolidated balance
sheets.
When the
Company’s carrying value in an equity method, the investee company is reduced to
zero and no further losses are recorded in the Company’s consolidated financial
statements unless the Company guaranteed obligations of the Investee company or
has committed additional funding. When the Investee company subsequently reports
income, the Company will not record its share of such income until it equals the
amount of its share of losses not previously recognized.
The
Company’s investment in unconsolidated joint ventures that are accounted for on
the equity method of accounting represents the 49% interest in Henan CNPC Kunlun
Xilan Compressed Natural Gas Co., Ltd. (“JV”), which is engaged in building and
operating CNG compressor stations and fueling stations, sell CNG, provide
vehicle conversion services from gasoline-fueled vehicles to hybrid (natural
gas/gasoline) powered vehicles and technical advisory work services in Henan,
PRC. The investment in this company amounted to $1,467,000 at March 31, 2010 and
December 31, 2009. The JV does not have any operations as of March
31, 2010.
9
The
results of financial position of the JV as of March 31, 2010 are summarized
below:
March 31, 2010
(unaudited)
|
December 31, 2009
|
|||||||
Condensed
balance sheet information:
|
||||||||
Current
assets
|
$ | 2,993,878 |
$
|
2,993,878 | ||||
Noncurrent
assets
|
- | - | ||||||
Total
assets
|
$ | 2,993,878 | $ | 2,993,878 | ||||
Current
liabilities
|
- | - | ||||||
Noncurrent
liabilities
|
- | - | ||||||
Equity
|
$ | 2,993,878 | $ | 2,993,878 | ||||
Total
liabilities and equity
|
$ | 2,993,878 | $ | 2,993,878 |
Property and
Equipment
Property
and equipment are stated at cost. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are
charged to earnings as incurred while additions, renewals and betterments are
capitalized. When property and equipment are retired or otherwise disposed of,
the related cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the respective
accounts, and any gain or loss is included in
operations. Depreciation of property and equipment is provided using
the straight-line method for substantially all assets with estimated lives as
follows:
Office
equipment
|
5
years
|
Operating
equipment
|
5-20
years
|
Vehicles
|
5
years
|
Buildings
and improvements
|
5-30
years
|
The
following are the details of the property and equipment:
|
|
March 31, 2010
(unaudited)
|
December 31, 2009
|
|||||
Office equipment
|
$
|
478,423
|
$
|
439,055
|
||||
Operating
equipment
|
63,032,066
|
61,350,503
|
||||||
Vehicles
|
2,486,614
|
2,486,614
|
||||||
Buildings
and improvements
|
24,055,153
|
21,414,553
|
||||||
Total
property and equipment
|
90,052,256
|
85,690,725
|
||||||
Less
accumulated depreciation
|
(14,449,040
|
)
|
(12,977,713
|
)
|
||||
Property
and equipment, net
|
$
|
75,603,216
|
$
|
72,713,012
|
Depreciation
expense for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009 was $1,470,826
and $1,389,565, respectively.
Construction in
Progress
Construction
in progress (“CIP”) consists of the cost of constructing property and equipment
for the Company’s gas stations and a new project of processing, distribution and
sale of LNG. The major cost of construction in progress relates to technology
licensing fees, equipment purchases, land use rights requisition cost,
capitalized interest and other construction fees. No depreciation is
provided for construction in progress until such time as the assets are
completed and placed into service. Interest incurred during
construction is capitalized into construction in progress. All other interest is
expensed as incurred.
As of
March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009, the Company had construction in progress
in the amount of $57,102,317 and $52,918,236, respectively. Interest cost
capitalized into construction in progress for the three months ended March 31,
2010 and 2009, amounted to $1,363,663 and $858,379,
respectively.
10
Construction
in progress at March 31, 2010 consisted of the following:
No.
|
Project Description
|
Location
|
March 31, 2010
(unaudited)
|
Commencement
Date
|
Expected
completion
date
|
Estimated
additional
cost to
complete
|
|||||||||
1
|
Jingbian
LNG (1)
|
JBLNG
|
$
|
45,882,038
|
Dec-06
|
Jun-10
|
$
|
9,873,000
|
|||||||
2
|
Sa
Pu mother station
|
HXNGC
|
840,799
|
Jul-08
|
Jun-11
|
6,300,000
|
|||||||||
3
|
Xi'an
Cangsheng mother station
|
XXNGC
|
1,925,557
|
Sep-08
|
May-11
|
3,220,000
|
|||||||||
4
|
Sanhuanbei
fueling station
|
XXNGC
|
1,725,563
|
Mar-10
|
May
-10
|
1,126,656
|
|||||||||
5
|
Sanyao
fueling station
|
XXNGC
|
1,662,652
|
Mar-10
|
May-10
|
1,085,580
|
|||||||||
6
|
Matengkong
fueling station
|
XXNGC
|
1,581,766
|
Mar-10
|
May
-10
|
1,164,798
|
|||||||||
7
|
International
port
|
XXNGC
|
1,376,406
|
May-09
|
Dec
-10
|
2,800,000
|
|||||||||
8
|
Other
CIP projects
|
XXNGC
|
2,107,536
|
Various
|
Various
|
500,000
|
|||||||||
$
|
57,102,317
|
$
|
26,070,034
|
(1)
|
Phase I of the LNG project cost
$48,963,000 to construct and the additional
$6,792,038 represent costs incurred in connection with phase II
and phase III of the LNG
plant
|
Long-Lived
Assets
The
Company evaluates at least annually, more often when circumstances require, the
carrying value of long-lived assets to be held and used. Impairment
losses to be recorded on long-lived assets used in operations when indicators of
impairment are present and the undiscounted cash flows estimated to be generated
by those assets are less than the assets' carrying amounts. In that
event, a loss is recognized based on the amount by which the carrying amount
exceeds the fair market value of the long-lived assets. Loss on
long-lived assets to be disposed of is determined in a similar manner, except
that fair market values are reduced for the cost of disposal. Based
on its review, the Company believes that, as of March 31, 2010, there were no
significant impairments of its long-lived assets.
Unearned
Revenue
Unearned
revenue represents prepayments by customers for gas purchases and advance
payments on installation of pipeline contracts. The Company records such
prepayment as unearned revenue when the payments are received.
Fair Value of Financial
Instruments
The
accounting standards regarding fair value of financial instruments and related
fair value measurements define fair value, establish a three-level valuation
hierarchy for disclosures of fair value measurement, and enhance disclosure
requirements for fair value measures. The carrying amounts reported in the
consolidated balance sheets for current receivables and payables qualify as
financial instruments. Management concluded the carrying values are a
reasonable estimate of fair value because of the short period of time between
the origination of such instruments and their expected realization and if
applicable, their stated interest rate approximates current rates
available. The three levels are defined as follows:
|
●
|
Level 1 inputs to the
valuation methodology are quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets
or liabilities in active
markets.
|
|
●
|
Level 2 inputs to the
valuation methodology include quoted prices for similar assets and
liabilities in active markets, and inputs that are observable for the
asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the
full term of the financial
instrument.
|
|
●
|
Level 3 inputs to the
valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to the fair value
measurement.
|
11
FASB
accounting standard regarding derivatives and hedging specifies that a
contract that would otherwise meet the definition of a derivative but is both
(a) indexed to the Company’s own stock and (b) classified in stockholders’
equity in the statement of financial position would not be considered a
derivative financial instrument. This FASB accounting standard also
provides a new two-step model to be applied in determining whether a financial
instrument or an embedded feature is indexed to an issuer’s own stock and thus
able to qualify for the exception.
As a
result of adopting this FASB accounting standard, 383,654 warrants previously
treated as equity pursuant to the derivative treatment exemption are no longer
afforded equity treatment because the strike price of the warrants is
denominated in US dollar, a currency other than the Company’s functional
currency, the Chinese Renminbi. As a result, the warrants are not
considered indexed to the Company’s own stock, and as such, all future changes
in the fair value of these warrants will be recognized currently in earnings
until such time as the warrants are exercised or expire.
As such,
effective January 1, 2009, the Company reclassified the fair value of these
warrants from equity to liability, as if these warrants were treated as a
derivative liability since their issuance in October 2007. On
January 1, 2009, the Company reclassified from additional paid-in capital,
as a cumulative effect adjustment, $5,844,239 to beginning retained earnings and
$1,014,308 to warrant liabilities to recognize the fair value of such warrants.
The
fair value of the warrants was $1,652,570 and $2,045,638 on March 31, 2010 and
December 31, 2009, respectively. The Company recognized a gain of $393,068 and
$197,051 for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009,
respectively.
These
common stock purchase warrants do not trade in an active securities market, and
as such, we estimate the fair value of these warrants using the Black-Scholes
Option Pricing Model using the following assumptions:
|
|
March 31, 2010
(unaudited)
|
|
|
December
31, 2009
|
|
||
Annual dividend
yield
|
-
|
-
|
||||||
Expected
life (years)
|
2.57
|
2.82
|
||||||
Risk-free
interest rate
|
1.34
|
%
|
1.49
|
%
|
||||
Expected
volatility
|
90
|
%
|
90
|
%
|
Expected
volatility is based on historical volatility. Historical volatility was
computed using daily pricing observations for recent periods that correspond to
the term of the warrants. The Company believes this method produces an estimate
that is representative of our expectations of future volatility over the
expected term of these warrants. The Company has no reason to believe future
volatility over the expected remaining life of these warrants is likely to
differ materially from historical volatility. The expected life is based on the
remaining term of the warrants. The risk-free interest rate is based on U.S.
Treasury securities according to the remaining term of the
warrants.
Financial
assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest
level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Depending on
the product and the terms of the transaction, the fair value of the notes
payable and derivative liabilities were modeled using a series of techniques,
including closed-form analytic formula, such as the Black-Scholes Option
Pricing Model, which does not entail material subjectivity because the
methodology employed does not necessitate significant judgment, and the pricing
inputs are observed from actively quoted markets.
12
The
following table sets forth by level within the fair value hierarchy of the
Company’s financial assets and liabilities that were accounted for at fair value
on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2010.
Carrying Value at
March 31, 2010
|
Fair Value Measurement at
March 31, 2010
|
|||||||||||||||
(unaudited)
|
Level 1
|
Level 2
|
Level 3
|
|||||||||||||
Senior
notes
|
$
|
28,053,492
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
35,764,078
|
||||||||
Redeemable
liability - warrants
|
17,500,000
|
-
|
-
|
15,468,681
|
||||||||||||
Derivative
liability - warrants
|
1,652,570
|
-
|
1,652,570
|
-
|
||||||||||||
Total
liability measured at fair value
|
$
|
47,206,062
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
1,652,570
|
$
|
51,232,759
|
Other
than the derivative liabilities - warrants carried at fair value, the Company
did not identify any other assets and liabilities that are required to be
presented on the balance sheet.
Revenue
Recognition
Revenue
is recognized when services are rendered to customers when a formal arrangement
exists, the price is fixed or determinable, the delivery is completed, no other
significant obligations of the Company exist and collectability is reasonably
assured. Payments received before all of the relevant criteria for revenue
recognition are satisfied are recorded as unearned revenue. Revenue
from gas and gasoline sales is recognized when gas and gasoline is pumped
through pipelines to the end users. Revenue from installation of pipelines is
recorded when the contract is completed and accepted by the customers. The
construction contracts are usually completed within one to two
months. Revenue from repairing and modifying vehicles is recorded
when services are rendered to and accepted by the customers.
Enterprise Wide
Disclosure
The
Company’s chief operating decision-makers (i.e. chief executive officer and his
direct reports) review financial information presented on a consolidated basis,
accompanied by disaggregated information about revenues by business lines for
purposes of allocating resources and evaluating financial performance. There are
no segment managers who are held accountable for operations, operating results
and plans for levels or components below the consolidated unit level. Based on
qualitative and quantitative criteria established by the FASB’s
accounting standard for segment reporting, the Company considers itself to be
operating within one reportable segment.
Advertising
Costs
The
Company expenses the cost of advertising as incurred or, as appropriate, the
first time the advertising takes place. Advertising costs for the three
months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, were insignificant.
Stock-Based
Compensation
The
Company records and reports stock-based compensation pursuant to FASB’s
accounting standard regarding stock compensation which defines a
fair-value-based method of accounting for stock-based employee compensation and
transactions in which an entity issues its equity instruments to acquire goods
and services from non-employees. Stock compensation for stock granted to
non-employees has been determined in accordance with this accounting standard,
as the fair value of the consideration received or the fair value of equity
instruments issued, whichever is more reliably
measured.
13
Income
Taxes
FASB’s
accounting standard regarding income taxes requires the recognition of deferred
tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events
that have been included in the financial statements or tax returns. Under this
method, deferred income taxes are recognized for the tax consequences in future
years of temporary differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities
and their financial reporting amounts at each period end based on enacted tax
laws and statutory tax rates applicable to the periods in which the differences
are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established,
when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be
realized. At March 31, 2010 and 2009, there was no significant book
to tax differences. There is no difference between book depreciation and tax
depreciation as the Company uses the same method for both book and tax. A tax
position is recognized as a benefit only if it is “more likely than not” that
the tax position would be sustained in a tax examination, with a tax examination
being presumed to occur. The amount recognized is the largest amount of tax
benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized on examination. For
tax positions not meeting the “more likely than not” test, no tax benefit is
recorded. The adoption had no affect on the Company’s consolidated financial
statements.
Local PRC Income
Tax
The
Company’s subsidiary and VIEs operate in China. Starting January 1, 2008,
pursuant to the tax laws of China, general enterprises are subject to income tax
at an effective rate of 25% compared to 33% prior to 2008. The Company’s VIE,
XXNGC, is in the natural gas industry whose development is encouraged by the
government. According to the income tax regulation, any company engaged in the
natural gas industry enjoys a favorable tax rate. Accordingly, except for income
from SXNGE, JBLNG, SXABC, HXNGC, LBNGC and HBXNGC which subjects to 25% PRC
income tax rate, XXNGC’s income is subject to a reduced tax rate of
15%. A reconciliation of tax at the United States federal statutory
rate to the provision for income tax recorded in the financial statements is as
follows:
For
the three months ended
March
31
|
||||||||
2010
|
2009
|
|||||||
Tax
provision (credit) at statutory rate
|
34
|
%
|
34
|
%
|
||||
Foreign
tax rate difference
|
(9
|
)%
|
(9
|
)%
|
||||
Effect
of favorable tax rate
|
(7
|
)%
|
(10
|
)%
|
||||
Other
item (1)
|
1
|
%
|
4
|
%
|
||||
Total
provision for income taxes
|
19
|
%
|
19
|
%
|
(1) The
1% represents the $288,192 expenses incurred by CHNG that are not deductible in
PRC for the three months ended March 31, 2010. The 4% represents the
$926,195 expenses incurred by CHNG that are not deductible in PRC for the three
months ended March 31, 2009.
The
estimated tax savings for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009
amounted to approximately $498,624 and $510,331, respectively. The net effect on
earnings per share had the income tax been applied would decrease basic earnings
per share from $0.19 to $0.17, and the diluted earnings per share from $0.19 to
$0.16 for the three months ended March 31, 2010. For the three months ended
March 31, 2009, the basic and diluted earnings per share would decrease from
$0.29 to $0.26 if the income tax had been applied.
China
Natural Gas, Inc. was incorporated in the United States and has incurred net
operating loss for income tax purpose for the period ended March 31,
2010. The estimated net operating loss carry forwards for United
States income tax purposes amounted to $3,574,888 and $3,232,855 as of March 31,
2010 and December 31 2009, respectively, which may be available to reduce future
years' taxable income. These carry forwards will expire, if not utilized,
beginning in 2027 through 2029. Management believes that the realization of the
benefits arising from this loss appear to be uncertain due to Company's limited
operating history and continuing losses for United States income tax purposes.
Accordingly, the Company has provided a 100% valuation allowance at March 31,
2010. Management reviews this valuation allowance periodically and makes
adjustments as warranted. The valuation allowances were as
follow:
14
Valuation allowance
|
For
the three months end
March
31,2010
(unaudited)
|
Year
ended
December
31,2009
|
||||||
Balance,
beginning of period
|
$
|
1,099,171
|
$
|
563,541
|
||||
Increase
|
116,291
|
535,630
|
||||||
Balance,
end of period
|
$
|
1,215,462
|
$
|
1,099,171
|
The
Company has cumulative undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries of
approximately $34,110,704 as of March 31, 2010, which is included in
consolidated retained earnings and will continue to be indefinitely reinvested
in international operations. Accordingly, no provision has been made for
U.S. deferred taxes related to future repatriation of these earnings, nor is it
practicable to estimate the amount of income taxes that would have to be
provided if we concluded that such earnings will be remitted in the
future.
Value added
tax
Sales
revenue represents the invoiced value of goods, net of a value-added tax
(“VAT”). All of the Company’s variable interest entity XXNGC’s products that are
sold in the PRC are subject to a Chinese value-added tax at a rate of 13% of the
gross sales price. This VAT may be offset by VAT paid by the XXNGC on raw
materials and other materials included in the cost of producing their finished
product. XXNGC recorded VAT payable and VAT receivable net of payments in the
financial statements. The VAT tax return is filed offsetting the payables
against the receivables.
All
revenues from SXABC are subject to a Chinese VAT at a rate of 6%. This VAT
cannot offset with VAT paid for materials included in the cost of
revenues.
Taxes
Payable
Taxes
payable at March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 consisted of the
following:
March 31, 2010
(unaudited)
|
December 31, 2009
|
|||||||
Value
added tax payable
|
$ | 810,976 | $ | 740,772 | ||||
Business
tax payable
|
- | 1,540 | ||||||
Income
tax payable
|
2,039,416 | 1,127,961 | ||||||
Urban
maintenance tax payable
|
34,357 | 27,442 | ||||||
Income
tax for individual payable
|
3,762 | 3,862 | ||||||
Total
tax payable
|
$ | 2,888,511 | $ | 1,901,577 |
Basic and Diluted Earnings
Per Share
Earnings
per share is calculated in accordance with the FASB’s accounting standard
regarding earnings per share. Basic net earnings per share is based upon the
weighted average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted net earnings per
share is based on the assumption that all dilutive convertible shares and stock
options were converted or exercised. Dilution is computed by applying
the treasury stock method. Under this method, options and warrants are assumed
to be exercised at the beginning of the period (or at the time of issuance, if
later), and as if funds obtained thereby were used to purchase common stock at
the average market price during the period.
All share
and per share amounts used in the Company's consolidated financial statements
and notes thereto have been retroactively restated to reflect the 1-for-2
reverse stock split, which were effective on April 28, 2009.
15
Recently issued accounting
pronouncements
In
January 2010, FASB issued ASU No. 2010-01- Accounting for Distributions to
Shareholders with Components of Stock and Cash. The amendments in this Update
clarify that the stock portion of a distribution to shareholders that allows
them to elect to receive cash or stock with a potential limitation on the total
amount of cash that all shareholders can elect to receive in the aggregate is
considered a share issuance that is reflected in EPS prospectively and is not a
stock dividend for purposes of applying Topics 505 and 260 (Equity and Earnings
Per Share). The amendments in this update are effective for interim and annual
periods ending on or after December 15, 2009, and should be applied on a
retrospective basis. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material
impact on its consolidated financial statements.
In
January 2010, FASB issued ASU No. 2010-02 – Accounting and Reporting for
Decreases in Ownership of a Subsidiary – a Scope Clarification. The amendments
in this Update affect accounting and reporting by an entity that experiences a
decrease in ownership in a subsidiary that is a business or nonprofit activity.
The amendments also affect accounting and reporting by an entity that exchanges
a group of assets that constitutes a business or nonprofit activity for an
equity interest in another entity. The amendments in this update are effective
beginning in the period that an entity adopts SFAS No. 160, “Non-controlling
Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements – An Amendment of ARB No. 51.” If
an entity has previously adopted SFAS No. 160 as of the date the amendments in
this update are included in the Accounting Standards Codification, the
amendments in this update are effective beginning in the first interim or annual
reporting period ending on or after December 15, 2009. The amendments in this
update should be applied retrospectively to the first period that an entity
adopted SFAS No. 160. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material
impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
In
January 2010, FASB issued ASU No. 2010-06 – Improving Disclosures about Fair
Value Measurements. This update provides amendments to Subtopic 820-10 that
requires new disclosure as follows: 1) Transfers in and out of Levels 1 and 2. A
reporting entity should disclose separately the amounts of significant transfers
in and out of Level 1 and Level 2 fair value measurements and describe the
reasons for the transfers. 2) Activity in Level 3 fair value measurements. In
the reconciliation for fair value measurements using significant unobservable
inputs (Level 3), a reporting entity should present separately information about
purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements (that is, on a gross basis rather
than as one net number). This update provides amendments to Subtopic 820-10 that
clarifies existing disclosures as follows: 1) Level of disaggregation. A
reporting entity should provide fair value measurement disclosures for each
class of assets and liabilities. A class is often a subset of assets or
liabilities within a line item in the statement of financial position. A
reporting entity needs to use judgment in determining the appropriate classes of
assets and liabilities. 2) Disclosures about inputs and valuation techniques. A
reporting entity should provide disclosures about the valuation techniques and
inputs used to measure fair value for both recurring and nonrecurring fair value
measurements. Those disclosures are required for fair value measurements that
fall in either Level 2 or Level 3. The new disclosures and clarifications of
existing disclosures are effective for interim and annual reporting periods
beginning after December 15, 2009, except for the disclosures about purchases,
sales, issuances, and settlements in the roll forward of activity in Level 3
fair value measurements. These disclosures are effective for fiscal years
beginning after December 15, 2010, and for interim periods within those fiscal
years. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this ASU, however, the
Company does not expect the adoption of this ASU to have a material impact on
its consolidated financial statements.
In
February 2010, FASB issued ASU No. 2010-9 –Amendments to Certain Recognition and
Disclosure Requirements. This update addresses certain implementation issues
related to an entity’s requirement to perform and disclose subsequent-events
procedures, removes the requirement that public companies disclose the date of
their financial statements in both issued and revised financial statements.
According to the FASB, the revised statements include those that have been
changed to correct an error or conform to a retrospective application of U.S.
GAAP. The amendment is effective for interim and annual reporting periods in
fiscal year ending after June 15, 2010. The Company does not expect the adoption
of this ASU to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial
statements.
16
In March
2010, FASB issued ASU No. 2010-10 –Amendments for Certain Investment Funds. This
update defers the effective date of the amendments to the consolidation
requirements made by FASB Statement 167 to a reporting entity’s interest in
certain types of entities. The deferral will mainly impact the evaluation of
reporting enterprises’ interests in mutual funds, private equity funds, hedge
funds, real estate investment entities that measure their investment at fair
value, real estate investment trusts, and venture capital funds. The ASU also
clarifies guidance in Statement 167 that addresses whether fee arrangements
represent a variable interest for all service providers and decision makers. The
ASU is effective for interim and annual reporting periods in fiscal year
beginning after November 15, 2009. The adoption of this ASU did
not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial
statements.
In March
2010, FASB issued ASU No. 2010-11 –Scope Exception Related to Embedded Credit
Derivatives. Embedded credit-derivative features related only to the transfer of
credit risk in the form of subordination of one financial instrument to another
are not subject to potential bifurcation and separate accounting as clarified by
recently issued FASB guidance. Other embedded credit-derivative features are
required to be analyzed to determine whether they must be accounted for
separately. This update provides guidance on whether embedded credit-derivative
features in financial instruments issued by structures such as collateralized
debt obligations (CDOs) and synthetic CDOs are subject to bifurcation and
separate accounting. The guidance is effective at the beginning of a company’s
first fiscal quarter beginning after June 15, 2010. The Company does not expect
the adoption of this ASU to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated
financial statements.
Reclassification
Certain
prior period expense amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current
period presentation. These reclassifications have no effect on net income or
cash flows.
Note
3 – Other Assets
Other
assets consisted of the following:
March 31,
2010
|
December
31,
2009
|
|||||||
(unaudited)
|
||||||||
Prepaid
rent – natural gas stations
|
$
|
335,487
|
$
|
340,211
|
||||
Prepayment
for acquiring land use right
|
1,936,440
|
1,936,440
|
||||||
Advances
on purchasing equipment and construction in progress
|
13,104,648
|
12,056,964
|
||||||
Refundable
security deposits
|
1,388,978
|
1,264,283
|
||||||
Others
|
171,536
|
257,012
|
||||||
Total
|
$
|
16,937,089
|
$
|
15,854,910
|
All land
in the PRC is government owned. However, the government grants users
land use rights. As of March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009, the
Company prepaid $1,936,440 to the PRC local government to purchase land use
rights. The Company is in the process of negotiating the final purchase price
with the local government and the land use rights have not yet been granted to
the Company. Therefore, the Company did not amortize the prepaid land
use rights.
Advances
on the purchase of equipment and construction in progress are monies deposited
or advanced to outside vendors/subcontractors for the purchase of operating
equipment or for services to be provided for constructions in
progress.
Refundable
security deposits are monies deposited with one of the Company’s major vendors
and gas station landlord. These amounts will be returned to the
Company if they terminate the business relationship or at the end of the
lease.
17
Note
4 – Senior Notes Payable
On March
30, 2007, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with Abax
Lotus Ltd. (the “Investor”). The Purchase Agreement was subsequently amended on
January 29, 2008, pursuant to which the Company (i) agreed to issue 5.00%
Guaranteed Senior Notes due 2014 (the “Senior Notes”) of approximately
$20,000,000, (ii) agreed to issue to the Investor Senior Notes in aggregate
principal amount of approximately $20,000,000 on or before March 3, 2008 subject
to the Company meeting certain closing conditions, (iii) granted the Investor an
option to purchase up to approximately $10,000,000 in principal amount of its
Senior Notes and (iv) agreed to issue to the Investor seven-year warrants
exercisable for up to 1,450,000 shares of the Company’s common stock (the
“Warrants”) at an initial exercise price equal to $14.7304 per share, subject to
certain adjustments, which adjusted to $7.3652 on January 29,
2009. On January 29, 2008, the Company issued $20,000,000 Senior
Notes and 1,450,000 warrants pursuant to the Purchase Agreement. On March 3,
2008, the Investor exercised its first option for an additional $20,000,000 of
Senior Notes. On March 10, 2008, the Company issued $20,000,000 in additional
Senior Notes resulting in total Senior Notes of $40,000,000.
At the
closing, the Company entered into:
|
·
|
An indenture for the 5.00%
Guaranteed Senior Notes due
2014;
|
|
·
|
An investor rights
agreement;
|
|
·
|
A registration rights agreement
covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the
warrants;
|
|
·
|
An information rights agreement
that grants to the Investor, subject to applicable law, the right to
receive certain information regarding the
Company;
|
|
·
|
A share-pledge agreement whereby
the Company granted to the Collateral Agent (on behalf of the holders of
the Senior Notes) a pledge on 65% of the Company’s equity interest in
SXNGE, a PRC corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company;
and
|
|
·
|
An account pledge and security
agreement whereby the Company granted to the Collateral Agent a security
interest in the account where the proceeds from the Senior Notes are
deposited.
|
In
addition, Qinan Ji, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of the
Company, executed a non-compete agreement for the benefit of the
Investor.
The
Senior Notes were issued pursuant to an indenture between the Company and DB
Trustees (Hong Kong) Limited, as trustee, at the closing. The Senior Notes will
mature on January 30, 2014 and will initially bear interest at the stated
interest rate of 5.00% per annum, subject to an increase in the event of certain
circumstances. The Company is required to make mandatory prepayments on the
Senior Notes on the following dates and in the following amounts, expressed as a
percentage of the aggregate principal amount of Notes that will be outstanding
on the first such payment date:
Date
|
|
Prepayment Percentage
|
|
|
July
30, 2011
|
8.3333
|
%
|
||
January
30, 2012
|
8.3333
|
%
|
||
July
30, 2012
|
16.6667
|
%
|
||
January
30, 2013
|
16.6667
|
%
|
||
July
30, 2013
|
25.0000
|
%
|
18
During
the twelve month period commencing January 30 of the years set forth below, the
Company may redeem the Senior Notes at the following principal
amount:
Year
|
Principal
|
|||
2009
|
$
|
43,200,000
|
||
2010
|
42,400,000
|
|||
2011
|
41,600,000
|
|||
2012
|
40,800,000
|
|||
2013
and thereafter
|
40,000,000
|
Upon the
occurrence of certain events defined in the indenture, the Company must offer
the holders of the Senior Notes the right to require the Company to purchase the
Senior Notes in an amount equal to 105% of the aggregate principal amount
purchased plus accrued and unpaid interest on the Senior Notes
purchased.
The
indenture requires the Company to pay additional interest at the rate of 3.0%
per annum of the Senior Notes if the Company has not obtained a listing of its
common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market, the Nasdaq Capital Market or the New
York Stock Exchange by January 29, 2009 and maintained such listing continuously
thereafter as long as the Senior Notes are outstanding. As of January 29, 2009,
the Company had not obtained a listing of its common stock on the market stated
in the agreement. However, the Company obtained a three-month waiver from ABAX
for the additional interest payment. The waiver gave the Company three more
months until April 28, 2009 to achieve the uplisting status. By the end of the
extended period, if the Company was not able to complete the uplisting, the
Company would have to pay additional interest retroactively starting January 30,
2009 in accordance with the terms of the waiver. The Company was approved to be
listed on Nasdaq on June 1, 2009, which passed the wavier period. In
August 2009, the Company reached an agreement with ABAX that the Company was to
pay additional interest accrued for the period from April 29, 2009, the
expiration date of previous waiver to June 1, 2009, the date of listing. As
such, the Company paid $113,214 additional interest to ABAX in August
2009.
The
indenture limits the Company's ability to incur debt and liens, make dividend
payments and stock repurchases, make investments, reinvest proceeds from asset
sales and enter into transactions with affiliates, among other things. The
indenture also requires the Company to maintain certain financial
ratios.
The
Company also entered into an investor rights agreement, pursuant to which, as
long as an investor holds at least 10% of the aggregate principal amount of the
Senior Notes issued and outstanding or at least 3% of the Company’s issued and
outstanding common stock pursuant to the warrants on an as-exercised basis
(“Minimum Holding”), the Company has agreed not to undertake certain corporate
actions without prior Investor approval. In addition, so long as an Investor
owns the Minimum Holding, such Investor shall have a right of first refusal for
future debt securities offerings by the Company and the Company is subject to
certain transfer restrictions on its securities and certain other
properties.
From the
Closing Date and as long as the Investor continues to hold more than 10% of the
outstanding shares of common stock on an as-converted, fully-diluted basis, the
Investor shall be entitled to appoint one of the Company’s board of directors
(the “Investor Director”). The Investor Director shall be entitled to serve on
each committee of the board, except that, the Investor Director shall not serve
on the audit committee unless it is an independent director. Mr. Ji has agreed
to vote his shares for the election of the Investor Director.
In
connection with the issuance of the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Company
paid $2,122,509 in debt issuance costs which is being amortized over the life of
the Senior Notes. For the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009,
the Company amortized $0 and $38,578 of the aforesaid issuance costs, net of
capitalized interest.
19
In
connection with the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Company agreed to issue
to the Investor seven-year warrants exercisable for up to 1,450,000 shares of
the Company’s common stock at an initial exercise price equal to $14.7304 per
share, subject to certain adjustments. The exercise price of the Warrants is
adjusted on the first anniversary of issuance and thereafter, at every six month
anniversary beginning in the fiscal year 2009 if the volume weighted average
price, or VWAP, (as defined therein) for the 15 trading days prior to the
applicable reset date is less than the then applicable exercise price, in which
case the exercise price shall be adjusted downward to the then current VWAP;
provided, however, that in no event shall the exercise price be adjusted below
$7.3652 per share. The exercise price was adjusted to $7.3652 on January 29,
2009. No further adjustments of the exercise price will be required (as that is
the floor price).
The
warrants granted to the Investor on January 29, 2008 are considered derivative
instruments that need to be bifurcated from the original security. If
the Warrants have not been exercised within the seven year period, then the
Investor can have the Company purchase the Warrants for
$17,500,000. This amount is shown as a debt discount and is being
amortized over the term of the Senior Notes. For the three months
ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, the Company amortized $761,204 and $634,076 of
the aforesaid discounts, of which $761,204 and $463,364, respectively, were
capitalized into construction in progress.
The
warrants have been determined to be derivative liabilities instruments because
there is a required redemption requirement if the holder does not exercise the
Warrants. However, the warrants are not required to be valued at fair
value, rather, to be at its undiscounted redemption amount of $17.5
million.
Note
5 – Warrants
Following
is a summary of the warrant activity:
|
|
Warrants
Outstanding
|
Weighted Average
Exercise Price
|
Aggregate
Intrinsic Value
|
|
|||||||
Outstanding,
December 31, 2008
|
1,994,242
|
$
|
14.28
|
-
|
||||||||
Granted
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||
Forfeited
|
(160,588
|
)
|
|
7.20
|
-
|
|||||||
Exercised
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||
Outstanding,
December 31, 2009
|
1,833,654
|
$
|
8.93
|
$
|
4,008,434
|
|||||||
Granted
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||
Forfeited
|
-
|
|
-
|
-
|
||||||||
Exercised
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||
Outstanding,
March 31, 2010 (unaudited)
|
1,833,654
|
$
|
8.93
|
$
|
1,607,507
|
Following
is a summary of the status of warrants outstanding at March 31,
2010:
Outstanding Warrants
|
|
||||||
Exercise Price
|
Number
|
|
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life
|
|
|||
$ |
7.37
|
1,450,000
|
4.83
|
||||
$ |
14.86
|
383,654
|
2.34
|
||||
$ |
8.93
|
1,833,654
|
4.31
|
20
Note
6 – Defined Contribution Plan
The
Company is required to participate in a defined contribution plan operated by
the local municipal government in accordance with Chinese law and
regulations. The Company contributes 100RMB per employee per month to
the plan. Starting from 2008, no minimum contribution is required but the
maximum contribution cannot be more than 14% of the current salary expense. The
total contribution for the above plan was $190,348 and $47,188 for the three
months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.
Note
7 – Secondary Public Offering
On
September 9, 2009, the Company completed an underwritten public offering for
5,725,000 shares of its common stock at a price of $8.75 per share. China
Natural Gas also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an
additional 858,750 shares to cover over-allotments at the public offering
price.
On
September 21, 2009, the Company closed the sale of an additional 858,750 shares
of common stock at the public offering price of $8.75 per share, pursuant to the
over-allotment option exercised in full by the underwriter in connection with
its public offering that closed on September 9, 2009.
The net
proceeds, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and the
relevant expenses, is approximately $54.4 million.
The net
proceeds from the offering was intended to be used for the construction of the
Company's liquefied natural gas facility, the acquisition of CNG fueling
stations, the purchase of CNG trucks and the establishment of a joint venture
company with China National Petroleum Corporation Kunlun Natural Gas Co., Ltd.,
as well as for general working capital purposes.
Note
8 – Statutory Reserve
As
stipulated by the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as
applicable to Chinese companies with foreign ownership, net income after
taxation can only be distributed as dividends after appropriation has been made
for the following:
|
i.
|
Making
up cumulative prior years’ losses, if
any;
|
ii.
|
Allocations
to the “Statutory surplus reserve” of at least 10% of income after tax, as
determined under PRC accounting rules and regulations, until the fund
amounts to 50% of the Company's registered
capital;
|
|
iii.
|
Allocations
to the discretionary surplus reserve, if approved in the shareholders’
general meeting.
|
As of
March 31, 2010, the remaining reserve needed to fulfill the 50% registered
capital requirement was approximately $69,720,000
Note
9 – Accounting for Stock-based Compensation
1)
Options from CEO to pay for certain Company’s legal expenses
On
September 22, 2007, Mr. Qinan Ji, chairman and shareholder of the Company,
transferred 50,000 of his personally-owned options to the Company’s attorney to
cover certain Company legal expenses. 30% of the options vested on September 22,
2008, 30% vest on September 22, 2009, and the remaining 40% vest on September
22, 2010. Upon termination of service to the Company, the attorney is
required to return all unvested options. These options expire June 1,
2012.
The
Company used the Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model to value the options at the
time they were issued, based on the stock price on its grant date, the stated
exercise prices and expiration dates of the instruments and using a risk-free
rate of 4.10%. The estimated life is based on one half of the sum of the vesting
period and the contractual life of the option. This is the same as assuming that
the options are exercised at the mid-point between the vesting date and
expiration date. $22,008 and $14,842 of compensation expense were recorded
during the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009,
respectively.
21
As of
March 31, 2010, $44,016 of estimated expense with respect to non-vested
stock-based compensation has yet to be recognized and will be recognized in
expense over the optionee’s remaining weighted average service period of
approximately six months.
2) 2009
stock option plan
On March
11, 2009, the board of directors approved by written consent the Company’s stock
option plan for its employees, directors and consultants. Pursuant to the plan,
the total stock option pool will equal to 10% of the Company’s total shares
outstanding as of March 11, 2009. Among the option pool approved, 4% shall be
awarded in 2009 and another 4% shall be awarded in 2010, and 2% reserved for
future awards. For the 2009 stock option award, the CEO and former CFO were
granted total options of 1% and 0.6% of the common shares outstanding, 50%
as Non-qualified Stock Options (NSO) and 50% as Incentive Stock Awards (ISA),
for a vesting period of four years. The
Company granted the former CFO, Veronica Chen, options to purchase 75,000 shares
of the Company’s common stock, representing approximately 0.5% of the Company’s
outstanding shares as of March 11, 2009, which forfeited as Veronica Chen
resigned as CFO. 5,000 option shares per year will be granted to each
non-executive board member and 6,000 option shares per year granted to the Audit
Committee Chairman. Other senior management and employees will be granted total
options of 2.11% of the Company’s common shares. On April 1, 2009, the Company
issued 243,850 and 75,000 stock options, respectively pursuant to the
Company's 2009 employee stock option and stock award plan. The strike
price for the options was $4.90 per share. The stock option has a term of six
years and vests evenly over four years starting one year from the issuance date
on an annually basis.
The
Company used the Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model to value the options at the
time they were issued, based on the stock price on its grant date, the stated
exercise prices and expiration dates of the instruments and using risk-free
rates. The volatility of the Company’s common stock was estimated by management
based on the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock, the risk free
interest rate was based on Treasury Constant Maturity Rates published by the
U.S. Federal Reserve for periods applicable to the estimated life of the
options, and the expected dividend yield was based on the current and expected
dividend policy. The Company currently uses the “simplified” method
to estimate the expected term for share option grants as it does not have
sufficient historical experience to provide a reasonable
estimate. The Company will continue to use the “simplified” method
until it feels that it has sufficient historical experience to provide a
reasonable estimate of expected terms. The estimated life is based on
one half of the sum of the vesting period and the contractual life of the
option. This is the same as assuming that the options are exercised at the
mid-point between the vesting date and expiration date. Compensation expense of
52,838 was recorded during the three months ended March 31,
2010.
As of
March 31, 2010, $634,074 of estimated expense with respect to non-vested
stock-based compensation has yet to be recognized and will be recognized in
expense over the optionee’s remaining weighted average service period of
approximately 3 years.
Following
is a summary of the stock option activity:
|
Options
Outstanding
|
Weighted Average
Exercise Price
|
Aggregate
Intrinsic Value
|
|||||||||
Outstanding,
December 31, 2008
|
-
|
$ |
-
|
$ |
-
|
|||||||
Granted
|
318,850
|
|
4.90
|
|
1,983,247
|
|||||||
Forfeited
|
75,000
|
4.90
|
466,500
|
|||||||||
Exercised
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||
Outstanding,
December 31, 2009
|
243,850
|
$
|
4.90
|
$
|
1,516,747
|
|||||||
Granted
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
Forfeited
|
|
|||||||||||
Exercised
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||
Outstanding,
March 31, 2010 (unaudited)
|
243,850
|
$
|
4.90
|
$
|
1,197,304
|
22
Following
is a summary of the status of stock options outstanding at March 31,
2010:
Outstanding Options
|
|
|
Exercisable Options
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
Exercise
Price
|
Number
|
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life
|
Exercise
Price
|
Number
|
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life
|
||||||||||||||||
$
|
4.90
|
243,850
|
5.00
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Note
10 – Earnings per Share
Earnings
per share for the years ended March 31, 2010 and 2009 is determined by dividing
net income for the periods by the weighted average number of both basic and
diluted shares of common stock and common stock equivalents outstanding. The
following is an analysis of the differences between basic and diluted earnings
per common share in accordance with FASB’s accounting standard.
The following demonstrates the calculation for earnings per
share for the years ended March
31, 2009 and 2008:
For the three
months ended March 31,
|
||||||||
2010
(unaudited)
|
2009
(unaudited)
|
|||||||
Basic earnings per share
|
||||||||
Net
income
|
$
|
3,995,270
|
$
|
4,201,623
|
||||
Weighted
shares outstanding-Basic
|
21,183,904
|
14,600,152
|
||||||
Earnings
per share-Basic
|
$
|
0.19
|
$
|
0.29
|
||||
Diluted
earnings per share
|
||||||||
Net
income
|
$
|
3,995,270
|
$
|
4,201,623
|
||||
Weighted
shares outstanding-Basic
|
21,183,904
|
14,600,152
|
||||||
Effect
of diluted securities-Warrants
|
411,134
|
-
|
||||||
Weighted
shares outstanding-Diluted
|
21,595,038
|
14,600,152
|
||||||
Earnings
per share-Diluted
|
$
|
0.19
|
$
|
0.29
|
The
Company had outstanding warrants of 1,833,654 at March 31, 2010 and
2009. For the three months ended March 31, 2010, the average stock
price was greater than the exercise prices of the 1,450,000 warrants which
resulted in additional weighted average common stock equivalents of 411,134;
383,654 outstanding warrants were excluded from the diluted earnings per share
calculation as they are anti-dilutive. For the three months ended March 31,
2009, all 1,833,654 outstanding warrants were excluded from the diluted earnings
per share calculation as they are anti-dilutive.
23
Note
11 – Current Vulnerability Due to Certain Concentrations
Concentration
of natural gas vendors:
For the three
months ended March 31,
|
||||||||
|
2010
(unaudited)
|
2009
(unaudited)
|
||||||
Numbers
of natural gas vendors
|
3
|
3
|
||||||
Percentage
of total natural gas purchases
|
88
|
%
|
80
|
%
|
As of
March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009, the Company has $105,488 and $82,146
payable due to its major suppliers.
The
Company maintains long-term natural gas minimum purchase agreements with one of
its vendors as of March 31, 2010. There are no minimum purchase requirements by
the Company. Contracts are renewed on an annual basis. The Company’s
management reports that it does not expect any issues or difficulty in
continuing to renew the supply contracts with these vendors going forward. Price
points for natural gas are strictly controlled by the government and have
remained stable over the past three years.
The
Company's operations are carried out in the People’s Republic of China.
Accordingly, the Company's business, financial condition and results of
operations may be influenced by the political, economic and legal environments
in the People’s Republic of China, by the general state of the People’s Republic
of China‘s economy. The Company's business may be influenced by changes in
governmental policies with respect to laws and regulations,
anti-inflationary measures, currency conversion and remittance abroad, and rates
and methods of taxation, among other things.
Note
12 – Commitments and Contingencies
(a) Lease
Commitments
The
Company recognizes lease expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the
lease in accordance to FASB’s accounting standard regarding leases. The
Company entered into a series of long-term lease agreements with outside parties
to lease land use rights to the self-built Natural Gas fueling stations located
in the PRC. The agreements have terms ranging from 10 to 30 years. The Company
makes annual prepayments for most lease agreements. The Company also
entered into two office leases in Xi’an, PRC, one office lease in Jingbian, PRC,
one office lease in Wuhan, PRC and one office lease in New York,
NY. The minimum future payment for leasing land use rights and
offices is as follows:
Year
ending December 31, 2010
|
$
|
1,280,191
|
||
Year
ending December 31, 2011
|
2,087,346
|
|||
Year
ending December 31, 2012
|
1,921,385
|
|||
Year
ending December 31, 2013
|
1,830,217
|
|||
Year
ending December 31, 2014
|
2,218,208
|
|||
Thereafter
|
34,447,281
|
|||
Total
|
$
|
43,784,628
|
For the
three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, the land use right and office lease
expenses were $430,628 and $392,081, respectively.
24
(b)
Property and Equipment Purchase Commitments
The
Company has purchase commitments for materials, supplies, services and property
and equipment for constructing the LNG plant and other CIP
projects. The Company has future commitments as
followings:
Year
ending December 31, 2010
|
$
|
10,343,316
|
||
Year
ending December 31, 2011
|
2,143,287
|
|||
Thereafter
|
-
|
|||
Total
|
$
|
12,486,603
|
(c)
Natural Gas Purchase Commitments
The
Company has existing long-term natural gas purchase agreements with its major
suppliers. However, none of those agreements stipulate any specific purchase
amount or quota each year, thus giving the Company enough flexibility to
constantly look for lower-cost sources of supply. Therefore, the Company is not
legally bound in purchase commitments by those agreements.
(d) Legal
Proceedings
A former
member of the board of directors filed a lawsuit on June 16, 2008 against the
Company in New York State Supreme Court, Nassau County, in which he has sought,
among other things, to recover a portion of his monthly compensation plus 20,000
options that he alleges are due to him pursuant to a written agreement. After
the plaintiff rejected an offer by the Company that included the options that
plaintiff alleged were due to him, the Company moved to dismiss the complaint.
The judge ordered the Company to issue the 20,000 options to the plaintiff
subject to any restrictions required by applicable securities laws, which was
essentially what the Company had previously offered, and dismissed all of the
plaintiff's remaining claims against the Company. The current board of directors
has complied with the court's decision by tendering an option agreement to the
plaintiff consistent with the court's decision, but the plaintiff has refused to
execute the agreement, and instead has filed an appeal. On March 16, 2010, the
Appellate Division, Second Department, modified the decision and order of the
trial court and dismissed the action in its entirety. Subsequently, the
plaintiff has sought leave to appeal the appellate court's decision in New York
state's highest court.
Note
13 – Subsequent Event
As
disclosed in Note 2, Ms. Taoxiang has paid off the principal of $9,858,240 and
interest of $140,722 as of April 27, 2010.
Item
2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results
of Operations
CAUTIONARY
STATEMENT
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENT
The
information in this report contains forward-looking statements. All statements
other than statements of historical fact made in this report are forward
looking. In particular, the statements herein regarding industry prospects and
future results of operations or financial position are forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of
words such as "believes," "estimates," "could," "possibly," "probably,"
"anticipates," "projects," "expects," "may," "will," or "should" or other
variations or similar words. No assurances can be given that the future results
anticipated by the forward-looking statements will be achieved. Forward-looking
statements reflect management's current expectations and are inherently
uncertain. Our actual results may differ significantly from management's
expectations.
The
following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our
financial statements, included herewith. This discussion should not be construed
to imply that the results discussed herein will necessarily continue into the
future, or that any conclusion reached herein will necessarily be indicative of
actual operating results in the future. Such discussion represents only the best
present assessment of our management.
Overview
We are an
integrated natural gas operator in The People’s Republic of China (“China” or
the “PRC”), primarily involved in distribution of compressed natural gas (“CNG”)
through our VIE-owned CNG fueling stations. As of March 31, 2010, our VIE
operated 25 CNG fueling stations in Shaanxi province and 12 CNG fueling stations
in Henan province. Our VIE own the CNG fueling stations while we lease the land
upon which our VIE owned CNG fueling stations operate. For the three months
ended March 31, 2010, we sold 40,592,457 cubic meters of CNG through our fueling
stations, compared to 39,294,120 cubic meters for the three ended March 31,
2009. Our VIE also transport, distribute and sell piped natural gas to
residential and commercial customers in the city of Xi’an in Shaanxi Province,
including Lantian County, and the districts of Lintong and Baqiao, and in the
city of Lingbao in Henan Province.
25
We
operate four main business lines:
|
·
|
Distribution and sale of
compressed natural gas through our VIE owned CNG fueling
stations for hybrid (natural gas/gasoline) powered vehicles (37 stations
as of March 31, 2010);
|
|
·
|
Installation, distribution and
sale of piped natural gas to residential and commercial customers through
our VIE owned pipelines. We distributed and sold piped natural gas to
110,713 residential customers as of March 31,
2010;
|
|
·
|
Distribution and sale of gasoline
through our VIE owned CNG fueling stations for gasoline and hybrid
(natural gas/gasoline) powered vehicles (eight of our VIE owned CNG
fueling stations sold gasoline as of March 31, 2010);
and
|
|
·
|
Conversion of gasoline-fueled
vehicles to hybrid (natural gas/gasoline) powered vehicles at our auto
conversion sites.
|
We buy
all of the natural gas that we sell and distribute to our customers. We do not
mine or produce any of our own natural gas and have no plans to do so during the
next 12 months. We currently sell our natural gas in two forms: (i) CNG and (ii)
piped natural gas.
On
October 24, 2006, our variable interest entity XXNGC, formed a wholly-owned
subsidiary, SJLNG, for the purpose of constructing a LNG facility to be located
in Jingbian, Shaanxi province. We planned to invest approximately $50 million to
construct this facility, funded through the sale of senior notes to Abax and our
September 2009 equity financing, as well as cash flows from operations. The LNG
plant is under construction and is expected to be completed and fully
operational by the second quarter of 2010. Once completed, the plant is expected
to have a processing capacity of 500,000 cubic meters per day, or approximately
150 million cubic meters on an annual basis.
We had
total revenues of 19,366,823 and 18,527,666 for the three months ended March 31,
2010 and 2009 respectively. We had net income of 3,995,270 and 4,201,623 for the
three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009 respectively.
Factors
Affecting Our Results of Operations
Significant
factors affecting our results of operations are:
Successful
expansion of our CNG fueling station business in our target markets. Our
revenue increased by 4.5% during the three months ended March 31, 2010 from the
three months ended March 31, 2009 largely because of the addition of 2 new
fueling stations added since the third quarter of 2009, as well as the increase
of pipeline natural gas customers. As of March 31, 2010, we operated 37 CNG
fueling stations in total and, in Shaanxi alone, we operated 25 CNG fueling
stations. We believe we are the largest provider of CNG fueling stations in
Xi’an, one of our core target markets for CNG. As of March 31, 2010, we
operated 12 CNG fueling stations in Henan province, another of our core target
markets. The successful expansion of our CNG fueling station business in Xi’an
and Henan province has been a significant factor driving our revenue growth and
results of operations for the period reviewed. While we intend to expand into
different provinces, we anticipate the growth of our CNG fueling business in
Xi’an and Henan province will continue to significantly affect our results of
operations as we intend to continue to increase the number of CNG fueling
stations we operate in these areas.
Regulation of
natural gas prices in the PRC. The prices at which we purchase our
natural gas supplies and sell CNG and pipeline natural gas products are strictly
regulated by the PRC central government, including the National Development and
Reform Commission (“NDRC”), and the local state price bureaus have the
discretion to set natural gas prices within the boundaries set by the PRC
central government. In addition, natural gas procurement and sale
prices are not uniform across China and can vary across provinces. For
example, the prices at which we procure and sell CNG and piped natural gas are
lower in Shaanxi than in Henan. Accordingly, our results of operations and, in
particular, our revenue, cost of revenue and gross profit and gross margin are
affected significantly by factors which are outside of our control. As we expand
our natural gas business into other provinces, we expect our results of
operations to continue to be affected significantly by the regulation of natural
gas prices in the PRC.
26
Government
policies encouraging the adoption of cleaner burning fuels. Our results
of operations for the periods reviewed have benefited from environmental
regulations and programs in the PRC that promote the use of cleaner burning
fuels, including natural gas for vehicles. As an enterprise engaged in the
natural gas industry, our VIE benefits from a reduced income tax rate of 15%
compared to the standard 25% enterprise income tax rate in the PRC. In addition,
the PRC government has encouraged companies to invest in and build the
necessary transportation, distribution and sale infrastructure for natural gas
in various policy pronouncements such as by officially including CNG/gasoline
hybrid vehicles in the country's "encouraged development" category. These
policies have benefited our results of operations by encouraging the demand for
our natural gas products and also by lowering our expenses. As we expand into
the LNG business, we anticipate that our results of operations will continue to
be affected by government policies encouraging the adoption of cleaner burning
fuels and the increased adoption of CNG and LNG technology.
The overall
economic growth of China’s economy. We do not export our products outside
China and our results of operations are thus substantially affected by the
growth of the industrial base, the increase in residential, commercial and
vehicular consumption and the overall economic growth of China. While China's
economy has experienced a slowdown in 2008 and a recovery period in 2009,
Although the government has initiated extensive domestic stimulus spending,
expanded bank lending, increases in the speed of regulatory approvals of new
construction projects and other economic policies, we are currently unable to
predict the overall direction of PRC economy. Our results of operations rely on
the overall success of China’s economy and may be affected by the macro economic
trends.
Taxation
United
States
We are
incorporated in the State of Delaware and are subject to the tax laws of the
United States. We incurred a net operating loss for income tax purposes for the
period ended March 31, 2010 and the estimated net operating loss carry forwards
for United States income tax purposes amounted to $3,574,888 and $3,232,855 as
of March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009, respectively, which may be
available to reduce future years' taxable income. These carry forwards will
expire, if not utilized, beginning in 2027 through 2029. Our management believes
that the realization of the benefits arising from this loss appear to be
uncertain due to our Company's limited operating history and continuing losses
for United States income tax purposes. Accordingly, we have provided a 100%
valuation allowance at March 31, 2010.
The
PRC
Our
subsidiary, VIE and its subsidiaries operate in China. Starting
January 1, 2008, pursuant to the tax laws of China, general enterprises are
subject to income tax at an effective rate of 25% compared to 33% prior to 2008.
Based on certain income tax regulations adopted in 2001 to encourage the
development of certain industries, including the natural gas industry, in the
western portions of China such as Shaanxi Province, XXNGC is subject to a
reduced tax rate of 15%. Accordingly, except for income from XXNGC, which is
subject to the reduced tax rate of 15%, income from SXNGE, SJLNG, XXABC, HXNGC,
LBNGC, and HBXNGC are subject to the 25% PRC income tax rate. Our effective
income tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009 were
approximately 18.6% and 19.2%, respectively.
Value
Added Tax
Sales
revenue represents the invoiced value of goods, net of a value-added tax
("VAT"). All of our variable interest entity XXNGC's products that
are sold in the PRC are subject to a Chinese VAT at a rate of 13% of the gross
sales price. This VAT may be offset by VAT paid by XXNGC on raw materials and
other materials included in the cost of producing their finished products. XXNGC
records VAT payable and VAT receivable net of payments in its financial
statements. VAT tax returns are filed offsetting the payables against the
receivables.
27
All
revenues from XXABC are subject to a Chinese VAT at a rate of 6%. This VAT
cannot be offset with VAT paid for materials included in the cost of
revenues.
CONSOLIDATED
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Three
Months Ended March 31, 2010 Compared to Three Months Ended March 31,
2009
The
following table represents the consolidated operating results for the three
month period ended March 31, 2010 and 2009:
Sales
Revenues
The
following table sets forth a breakdown of our revenues for the period
indicated:
March 31,2010
|
March 31,2009
|
Increase in dollar
amount
|
Increase in
percentage
|
|||||||||||||
Natural
gas from filling stations
|
$
|
14,629,610
|
$
|
14,257,925
|
$
|
371,685
|
2.6
|
% | ||||||||
Natural
gas from pipelines
|
854,019
|
707,895
|
146,124
|
20.6
|
% | |||||||||||
Gasoline
|
1,468,816
|
1,174,398
|
294,418
|
25.1
|
% | |||||||||||
Installation
|
2,007,774
|
1,901,034
|
106,740
|
5.6
|
% | |||||||||||
Auto
conversion
|
406,604
|
486,414
|
(79,810
|
) |
(16.4
|
)% | ||||||||||
Total
|
$
|
19,366,823
|
$
|
18,527,666
|
$
|
839,157
|
4.5
|
% |
Overall.
Total revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2010 increased to $19,366,823
from $18,527,666 for the three months ended March 31, 2009, an increase of
$839,157 or 4.5 %. This increase was mainly due to the addition of 2 new fueling
stations added in third quarter 2009 and first quarter 2010, respectively, as
well as an increase in the number of residential and commercial pipeline
customers to110,713 as of March 31, 2010 from 98,754 as of March 31, 2009. We
sold natural gas of 44,161,281 cubic meters during the three months ended March
31, 2010, compared to 42,283,144 cubic meters during the three months ended
March 31, 2009. We also sold gasoline of 1,929,034 liters during the three
months ended March 31, 2010, compared to 2,171,232 liters during the three
months ended March 31, 2009. For the three months ended March 31, 2010, 87.5% of
our revenue was generated from the sale of natural gas and gasoline, and the
other 12.5% was generated from our installation and auto conversion
services.
28
Natural Gas from
Fueling Stations. Natural gas revenue from our fueling stations increased
by 2.6% or $371,685, to $14,629,610 during the three months ended March 31,
2010, from $14,257,925 during the three months ended March 31, 2009, and
contributed to 75.5% of our total revenue, which was the largest among our four
major business lines. During the three months ended March 31, 2010, we sold
40,592,457 cubic meters of compressed natural gas, compared to 39,294,120 cubic
meters during the three months ended March 31, 2009 through our fueling
stations. In terms of average station sales value and volume, in the three
months ended March 31, 2010, we sold approximately $406,378 and 1,127,568 cubic
meters of compressed natural gas per station, compared to approximately $407,916
and 1,122,689 cubic meters in the three months ended March 31, 2009. Unit
selling price remained stable at $0.34 (RMB2.34) and $0.42 (RMB2.83) net of VAT
in Shaanxi and Henan province, respectively, or $0.37 (RMB 2.5) on an average
basis.
Natural Gas from
Pipelines. Natural gas revenue from our pipelines increased by
20.6%, or $146,124, to $854,019 during the three months ended March 31, 2010,
from $707,895 during the three months ended March 31, 2009, and contributed to
4.4% of our total revenue. As of March 31, 2010, the Company had 110,713
pipeline customers, an increase of 11,959 customers comparing to as of March 31,
2009. We also sold 3,285,286 cubic meters of natural gas through our
pipelines during the three months ended March 31, 2010, compared to 2,989,024
cubic meters during the three months ended March 31, 2009.
Gasoline.
Revenue from gasoline sales increased by 25.1 %, or $294,418, to $1,468,816
during the three months ended March 31, 2010, from $1,174,398 during the three
months ended March 31, 2009, and contributed 7.6% to our total revenue. The
gasoline revenue increase was due to 41.9% increase of unit sales price from $
0.54 (RMB3.69) per liter in the three months ended March 31, 2009 to $0.77
(RMB 5.23) per liter in the three months ended March 31, 2010, mainly
attributable to the increase of international oil price, partially offset by the
sales volume decrease of 11.9% from 2,171,232 liters to 1,929,034
liters.
Installation
Services. Revenue from installation services increased by 5.6%, or
$106,740 to $ 2,007,774 during the three months ended March 31, 2010, from
$1,901,034 during the three months ended March 31, 2009, and contributed 10.4%
to our total revenue. Installation services to our top four customers
contributed to 28.1%, 26.3%, 19.2% and 17.8% of our installation revenue for the
three months ended March 31, 2010.
Auto Conversion
Services. Revenue from our auto conversion division decreased by 16.4%,
or $79,810,to $406,604 during the three months ended March 31, 2010, from
$486,414 during the three months ended March 31, 2009, and contributed 2.1% to
our total revenue.
Cost
of Revenue
The
following table sets forth a breakdown of our cost of revenue for the periods
indicated:
March 31, 2010
|
March 31, 2009
|
Increase in dollar
amount
|
Increase in
percentage
|
|||||||||||||
Natural
gas from filling stations
|
$
|
7,272,136
|
$
|
6,244,441
|
$
|
1,027,695
|
16.5
|
%
|
||||||||
Natural
gas from pipelines
|
592,518
|
502,489
|
90,029
|
17.9
|
%
|
|||||||||||
Gasoline
|
1,367,278
|
1,130,057
|
237,221
|
21.0
|
%
|
|||||||||||
Installation
|
798,054
|
722,862
|
75,192
|
10.4
|
%
|
|||||||||||
Auto
conversion
|
241,869
|
294,165
|
(52,296
|
) |
(17.8
|
)%
|
||||||||||
Total
|
$
|
10,271,855
|
$
|
8,894,014
|
$
|
1,377,841
|
15.5
|
%
|
29
Overall.
Our cost of revenue consists of the cost of natural gas and gasoline sold,
installation and other costs. Cost of natural gas and gasoline sold consists of
the cost for purchase from our suppliers. Cost of installation and other costs
include certain expenditures for the connection of customers to our pipeline
system, and the cost for converting gasoline-fueled vehicles into natural gas
hybrid vehicles.
Our cost
of revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2010 was $10,271,855, an
increase of $1,377,841, or 15.5%, from $8,894,014 for the three months ended
March 31, 2009, mainly attributable to increase in procurement cost in Henan
Province. Our revenue increased by 4.5% during the same period.
Natural Gas from
Fueling Stations. Cost of revenue of our natural gas for our fueling
stations increased by 16.5%, or $1,027,695, to $7,272,136 during the three
months ended March 31, 2010, as compared to $6,244,441 for the three months
ended March 31, 2009. Procurement price for natural gas remained stable at $0.16
(RMB 1.12) in Shaanxi since 2008. In Henan Province, the Company also uses coal
bed methane (‘CBM’) as an alternative in addition to natural gas to supply its
fueling station, as a result the average cost of fueling station revenue in
Henan decreased from $0.22 (RMB 1.55) to $0.14 (RMB 1.0) in July 2008. But due
to the uncertainty involved in the production capacity of CBM as a byproduct of
coal mines as well as increasing demand, average cost of fueling station revenue
in Henan increased to $0.19 (RMB 1.30) in June 2009 and $0.22 (RMB 1.49) in
January 2010. The cost, however, is still significantly below the retail price
at $0.42 (RMB2.83) in Henan Province.
Natural Gas from
Pipelines. Cost of revenue of our natural gas sold through our pipelines
increased by 17.9%, or $90,029 to $592,518 during the three months ended March
31, 2010, as compared to $502,489 during the three months ended March 31, 2009,
which was in line with the sales growth.
Gasoline.
Cost of our gasoline revenue increased by 21.0%, to $1,367,278 during the three
months ended March 31, 2010, from $1,130,057 for the three months ended March
31, 2009. The increase of cost of gasoline revenue was due to the effect of the
increase of average unit cost from $0.52 (RMB 3.55) per liter during the three
months ended March 31, 2009 to $0.71 (RMB 4.87) per liter during the three
months ended March 31, 2010 mainly attributable to the increase of international
oil price, partially offset by the decrease in sales volume.
Installation
Services. Cost of revenue from our installation services increased by
10.4%, or $75,192, to $798,054 during the three months ended March 31, 2010, as
compared to $722,862 during the three months ended March 31, 2009, as a result
of the increase of pipeline customers.
Auto Conversion
Services. Cost of our auto conversion revenue decreased by 17.8%, or
$52,296, to $241,869 during the three months ended March 31, 2010, as compared
to $294,165 during the three months ended March 31, 2009.
Gross
profit
The
following table sets forth a breakdown of our gross profit for the periods
indicated:
March 31, 2010
|
March 31, 2009
|
Increase in
dollar amount
|
Increase in
percentage
|
|||||||||||||
Natural
gas from filling stations
|
$
|
7,357,474
|
$
|
8,013,484
|
$
|
(656,010
|
) |
(8.2
|
)% | |||||||
Natural
gas from pipelines
|
261,501
|
205,406
|
56,095
|
27.3
|
% | |||||||||||
Gasoline
|
101,538
|
44,341
|
57,197
|
129.0
|
% | |||||||||||
Installation
|
1,209,720
|
1,178,172
|
31,548
|
2.7
|
% | |||||||||||
Auto
conversion
|
164,735
|
192,249
|
(27,514
|
) |
(14.3
|
)% | ||||||||||
Total
|
$
|
9,094,968
|
$
|
9,633,652
|
$
|
(538,684
|
)
|
(5.6
|
)% |
30
We earned
a gross profit of $9,094,968 for the three months ended March 31, 2010, a
decrease of $538,684 or 5.6%, compared to $9,633,652 for the three months ended
March 31, 2009. In summary, gross profit decrease was mainly due to increased
cost of fueling station revenue in Henan Province.
Gross
margin
Gross
margin for natural gas sold through our fueling stations decreased from 56.2% in
the three months ended March 31, 2009 to 50.3% in the three months ended March
31, 2010 due to increased cost of fueling station revenue in Henan
Province.
Gross
margin for natural gas sold through pipelines was 30.6% during the three months
ended March 31, 2010, and increased slightly as compared to 29.0% during the
three months ended March 31, 2009.
Gross
margin for gasoline sales increased from 3.8% during the three months ended
March 31, 2009 to 6.9% during the three months ended March 31, 2010, due to
larger increase in gasoline retail price compared with procurement
price.
Gross
margin for our installation business decreased to 60.3% in the three months
ended March 31, 2010 from 62.0% in the three months ended March 31, 2009 due to
increase of material costs.
Gross
margin for our auto conversion business increased from 39.5% in the three months
ended March 31, 2009 to 40.5% in the three months ended March 31, 2010 due to
improved efficiency.
Due to
higher cost of fueling station revenue in Henan Province, our total gross
margin decreased from 52.0% for the three months ended March 31, 2009 to 47.0%
for the three months ended March 31, 2010.
Operating
expenses
We
incurred operating expenses of $4,709,446 for the three months ended March 31,
2010, an increase of $703,297 or 17.6%, compared to $4,006,149 for the three
months ended March 31, 2009.
Sales and
marketing costs increased $310,965, or 12.0% from $2,580,825 three months
ended March 31, 2009 to $2,891,790 for the three months ended March 31, 2010,
primarily related to increase in depreciation, electricity, and land leasing
expenses associated with existing stations as well as the addition of 2 new
fueling stations in third quarter 2009 and first quarter 2010, respectively. The
increase also reflect costs related to social security benefit for our employees
commensed in the third quarter of 2009 and our continued efforts to obtain new
residential and commercial, and fueling station customers. Transportation cost
per million cubic meters of natural gas during the three months ended March 31,
2010 was approximately $4,010.
General
and administrative expenses increased $392,332, or 27.5% from $1,425,324 for the
three months ended March 31, 2009 to $1,817,656 for the three months ended March
31, 2010, primarily reflecting increase in costs related to market development
initiatives in Hubei Province and other regions, social security benefit for our
employees commenced in the third quarter of 2009, travel expenses for investor
conferences to Beijing, Shanghai and US, as well as stock option expense for the
Company’s employee stock option plan. The increase also reflects the increased
Delaware franchise tax due to the Company’s increased shares outstanding and
asset base.
31
Income
from Operations and Operating Margin
Largely
impacted by the increase in procurement cost and operating expenses, income from
operations decreased by $1,241,981, or 22.1%, to $4,385,522 for the three months
ended March 31, 2010, from $5,627,503 for the three months ended March 31,
2009. Our operating margin for the three months ended March 31, 2010
was 22.6%, compared to 30.4% for the three months ended March 31,
2009.
Non-Operating
Income (Expense)
Non-operating
income was $520,893 for the three months ended March 31, 2010, compared with
$428,624 loss for the three months ended March 31, 2009, primarily due to the
$393,068 gain associated with change in fair value of the Company’s outstanding
warrants. In addition, the Company capitalized $1,363,662 interest expense for
the three months ended March 31, 2010 while only $858,397 was capitalized for
the same period of 2009.
Provision
for Income Tax
Income
tax was $911,145 for the three months ended March 31, 2010, as compared to
$997,256 for the three months ended March 31, 2009.
Net
Income
Based on
the foregoing, net income decreased to $3,995,270 for the three months ended
March 31, 2010, a decrease of $206,353, or 4.9%, from $4,201,623 for the three
months ended March 31, 2009. Net margin decreased from 22.7% during the three
months ended March 31, 2009 to 20.6% during the three months ended March 31,
2010.
LIQUIDITY
AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Historically,
our primary sources of liquidity have consisted of cash generated from our
operations, debt financing and equity offerings. In 2008, we sold senior notes
with a face value of $40 million to Abax Lotus Ltd. in September 2009, the
Company also completed a secondary offering with gross proceeds of approximately
$57 million. Our principal uses of cash have been, and are expected to continue
to be, for operational purposes as well as for constructing our LNG
plant.
As of
March 31, 2010, the Company had $30,172,391 of cash and cash equivalents on hand
compared to $48,177,794 of cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2009.
The decrease was primarily attributable to the construction of the LNG plant,
additions of fueling stations, and market development initiatives.
Net cash
provided by operating activities was $4,848,146 for the three months ended March
31, 2010 compared to net cash provided by operations of $6,238,521 for the three
months ended March 31, 2009. The primary reason for the change was due to the
lower net income, adjusted for non-cash expenses of $1,187,121, and an increase
in working capital of $334,345.
Net cash
used in investing activities increased from $3,028,317 during the three months
ended March 31, 2009 to $22,812,134 for the same period in 2010 primarily due to
loan receivable to third party, prepayment to equipment suppliers and
construction of the LNG plant, and construction addition of fueling
stations during the three months ended March 31, 2010. The Company lent
$14,259,140 to third parties during the first quarter of 2010 with one-year term
at annum interest rate of 5.84%. As of May 7, 2010, $9,858,240 of the loan has
been paid back and $4,400,900 is still outstanding.
The
Company paid $1,369,805 to the LNG processing plant as a prepayment on equipment
as well as addition to construction in progress during the three months ended
March 31, 2010.
There was
no cash provided by or used in financing activities for the three months ended
March 31, 2010 and 2009.
Based on
past performance and current expectations, we believe our cash and cash
equivalents, cash generated from operations, as well as future possible cash
from financing activities, will satisfy our working capital needs, capital
expenditures and other liquidity requirements associated with our
operations.
32
The
majority of our revenues and expenses were denominated primarily in RMB, the
currency of the People's Republic of China. There is no assurance that exchange
rates between the RMB and the USD will remain stable. Inflation has not had a
material impact on our business.
OFF-BALANCE
SHEET ARRANGEMENTS
We do not
have any off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to
have a current or future effect on our financial condition, changes in financial
condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital
expenditures or capital resources that are material to our
investors.
CAPITAL
EXPENDITURES
Our
planned capital expenditures as of March 31, 2010 were $40 million, which we
expect to be incurred in connection with the construction of our LNG facility,
construction or acquisition of additional fueling stations and compressor
stations, joint-venture cooperation with CNPC Kunlun and to fund the
expansion into Hubei Province. Phase I of the LNG plant is under construction
and is expected to be completed by June 30, 2010.
OUTSTANDING
INDEBTEDNESS
On
December 30, 2007, we entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the
"Purchase Agreement") with Abax. The Purchase Agreement was subsequently amended
on January 29, 2008, pursuant to which we (i) agreed to issue 5.00% Guaranteed
Senior Notes due 2014 (the “Senior Notes”) of approximately $20,000,000, (ii)
agreed to issue to Abax Senior Notes in aggregate principal amount of
approximately $20,000,000 on or before March 3, 2008 subject to our meeting
certain closing conditions, (iii) granted Abax an option to purchase up to
approximately $10,000,000 in principal amount of its Senior Notes and (iv)
agreed to issue to Abax seven-year warrants exercisable for up to 2,900,000
shares of our common stock (the “Warrants”) at an initial exercise price equal
to $7.3652 per share, subject to certain adjustments. On January 29,
2008, we issued $20,000,000 Senior Notes and 2,900,000 warrants pursuant to the
Purchase Agreement. On March 3, 2008, Abax exercised its first option for an
additional $20,000,000 of Senior Notes. On March 10, 2008, we issued $20,000,000
in additional Senior Notes resulting in total Senior Notes of
$40,000,000.
We are
required to make mandatory prepayments on the Senior Notes on certain dates and
we are subject to customary covenants for financings of this type, including
restrictions on the incurrence of liens, payment of dividends, and disposition
of properties as well as obligated to maintain certain financial
ratios.
CONTRACTUAL
OBLIGATIONS
Our
contractual obligations are as follows:
|
|
|
Payments due by period
|
|
||||||||||||||||
Contractual obligations
|
|
Total
|
|
|
Less than
1 year
|
|
|
1-3
Years
|
|
|
3-5
years
|
|
|
More than
5 years
|
|
|||||
|
(in thousands)
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Long-Term
Debt Obligations
|
40,000
|
-
|
20,000
|
20,000
|
$
|
-
|
||||||||||||||
Other
Long-Term Liabilities Reflected on Company's Balance Sheet
|
17,500
|
-
|
-
|
17,500
|
(1) | |||||||||||||||
Total
|
57,500
|
-
|
20,000
|
37,500
|
$
|
Note:
(1)
|
The $17,500,000 reflects
derivative liability related to the embedded put option in the 1,450,000
warrants we issued to Abax in January 2008. Abax is entitled to require
the Company purchase back the portion of warrants not exercised upon
expiration.
|
33
COMMITMENTS
AND CONTINGENCIES
Lease
Commitments
We
recognize lease expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease in
accordance to FAS 13, “Accounting for leases.” We entered into series of
long-term lease agreements with outside parties to lease land use right to the
self-built natural gas fueling stations located in the PRC. The agreements
have terms ranging from 10 to 30 years. We make annual prepayment for most lease
agreements. We also entered into two office leases in Xian, PRC and
New York, NY. The minimum future payment for leasing land use rights
and offices is as follows:
Year
ending December 31, 2010
|
$
|
1,280,191
|
||
Year
ending December 31, 2011
|
2,087,346
|
|||
Year
ending December 31, 2012
|
1,921,385
|
|||
Year
ending December 31, 2013
|
1,830,217
|
|||
Year
ending December 31, 2014
|
2,218,208
|
|||
Thereafter
|
34,447,281
|
|||
Total
|
$
|
43,784,628
|
For the
three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, the land use right and office lease
expenses were $430,628 and $392,081, respectively.
Property
and Equipment Purchase Commitments
The
Company has purchase commitments for materials, supplies, services and property
and equipment for constructing the LNG plant and other CIP
projects. The Company has future commitments as
followings:
Year
ending December 31, 2010
|
$
|
10,343,316
|
||
Year
ending December 31, 2011
|
2,143,287
|
|||
Thereafter
|
-
|
|||
Total
|
$
|
12,486,603
|
Natural
Gas Purchase Commitments
We have
certain effective natural gas purchase agreements with our major suppliers. The
natural gas purchase agreement with Shaanxi Provincial Natural Gas Co., Ltd. has
been renewed annually to date and specifies a maximum amount that can be
purchased but does not specify a minimum amount that must be purchased. Our
natural gas purchase agreements with certain suppliers of coal-bed methane are
of indefinite terms and do not contain either maximum or minimum amounts of
purchase. Without minimum purchase requirements under any of our natural gas
purchase agreements, we have the flexibility to constantly look for lower-cost
sources of supply.
FOREIGN
CURRENCY TRANSLATIONS
As of
March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009, our accounts were maintained, and our
consolidated financial statements were expressed in RMB. Such
consolidated financial statements were translated into USD with the RMB as the
functional currency. All assets and liabilities were translated at the exchange
rate as of the balance sheet date, stockholders’ equity were translated at the
historical rates and statement of income and cash flow items were translated at
the weighted average exchange rate for the year. The resulting translation
adjustments are reported under other comprehensive income. Cash flows from
the Company's operations is calculated based upon the local currencies and
translated to USD at average translation rates for the period. As a result,
translation adjustments amounts related to assets and liabilities reported on
the consolidated statement of cash flows will not necessarily agree with changes
in the corresponding consolidated balances on the balance sheet.
The
balance sheet amounts with the exception of equity were translated RMB 6.82 to
$1.00 at March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009. The equity accounts were stated
at their historical rate. The average translation rates applied to income and
cash flow statement amounts for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009,
were RMB 6.82 and RMB 6.83 to $1.00, respectively.
34
CRITICAL
ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Our
discussion and analysis of our financial position and results of operations
contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q is based on our condensed
consolidated unaudited financial statements, contained elsewhere herein. The
preparation of these financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires that
we make estimates. There have been no material changes in the development of our
accounting estimates or the assumptions underlying those estimates, or the
accounting policies that we disclosed as our Critical Accounting Policies in our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2009.
Property
and Equipment
Property
and equipment are stated at cost. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are
charged to earnings as incurred while additions, renewals and betterments are
capitalized. When property and equipment are retired or otherwise disposed of,
the related cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the respective
accounts, and any gain or loss is included in operations. Depreciation of
property and equipment is provided using the straight-line method for
substantially all assets with estimated lives as follows:
Office
equipment
|
5
years
|
Operating
equipment
|
5-20
years
|
Vehicles
|
5
years
|
Buildings
and improvements
|
5-30
years
|
Construction
in Progress
Construction
in progress (“CIP”) consists of the cost of constructing property and equipment
for the gas stations and a new project of processing, distribution and sale of
LNG. The major cost of construction in progress relates to technology licensing
fees, equipment purchases, land use rights requisition cost, capitalized
interest and other construction fees. No depreciation is provided for
construction in progress until such time as the assets are completed and placed
into service. Interest incurred during construction is capitalized into
construction in progress. All other interest is expensed as
incurred.
Revenue
Recognition
Revenue
is recognized when services are rendered to customers when a formal arrangement
exists, the price is fixed or determinable, the delivery is completed, no other
significant obligations of the Company exist and collectability is reasonably
assured. Payments received before all of the relevant criteria for revenue
recognition are satisfied are recorded as unearned revenue. Revenue
from gas and gasoline sales is recognized when gas and gasoline is pumped
through pipelines to the end users. Revenue from installation of pipelines is
recorded when the contract is completed and accepted by the customers. The
construction contracts are usually completed within one to two
months. Revenue from repairing and modifying vehicles is recorded
when services are rendered to and accepted by the customers.
Fair
Value of Financial Instruments
The
accounting standards regarding fair value of financial instruments and related
fair value measurements defines fair value, establishes a three-level valuation
hierarchy for disclosures of fair value measurement and enhances disclosure
requirements for fair value measures. The carrying amounts reported in the
consolidated balance sheets for current receivables and payables qualify as
financial instruments. Management concluded the carrying values are a reasonable
estimate of fair value because of the short period of time between the
origination of such instruments and their expected realization and if
applicable, their stated interest rate approximates current rates available. The
three levels are defined as follows:
|
·
|
Level 1 inputs to the valuation
methodology are quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or
liabilities in active
markets.
|
35
|
·
|
Level 2 inputs to the valuation
methodology include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in
active markets, and inputs that are observable for the asset or liability,
either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the
financial instrument.
|
|
·
|
Level 3 inputs to the valuation
methodology are unobservable and significant to the fair value
measurement.
|
Financial
assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest
level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Depending on
the product and the terms of the transaction, the fair value of our notes
payable and derivative liabilities were modeled using a series of techniques,
including closed-form analytic formula, such as the Black-Scholes option-pricing
model, which does not entail material subjectivity because the methodology
employed does not necessitate significant judgment, and the pricing inputs are
observed from actively quoted markets.
FASB
accounting standard regarding derivatives and hedging specifies that a
contract that would otherwise meet the definition of a derivative but is both
(a) indexed to the Company’s own stock and (b) classified in stockholders’
equity in the statement of financial position would not be considered a
derivative financial instrument. This FASB accounting standard also provides a
new two-step model to be applied in determining whether a financial instrument
or an embedded feature is indexed to an issuer’s own stock and thus able to
qualify for the exception.
RECENT
ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
See “Note 2. Summary of Significant
Accounting Policies” in “Item 1. Financial
Statements” herein for a discussion of the new accounting pronouncements
adopted in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Item
3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Natural
Gas Price Risk
Our major
market risk exposure continues to be the pricing applicable to our purchases and
value-added reselling of CNG. Our revenues and profitability depend
substantially upon the applicable prices of natural gas, which in China are
regulated and fixed by central and local governments and doesn’t fluctuate much
at all. Such a price involatility situation is expected to continue for
operations in China. We currently don’t have any hedge positions in place
to reduce our exposure to changes in natural gas whole sale and retail
prices.
Interest
Rate Risk
We are
subject to interest rate risk on our long-term fixed-interest rate debt. Fixed
rate debt, where the interest rate is fixed over the life of the instrument,
exposes us to changes in market interest rates reflected in the fair value of
the debt and to the risk that we may need to refinance maturing debt with new
debt at a higher rate. All other things being equal, the fair value of our
fixed rate debt will increase or decrease as interest rates change. We had
long-term debt outstanding of $40 million at March 31, 2010, all of which bears
interest at fixed rates. The $40 million of fixed-rate debt is due on 2014. We
currently have no interest rate hedge positions in place to reduce our exposure
to changes in interest rates.
Foreign
Currency Exchange Rates Risk
We
operate in China local currency and the effects of foreign currency fluctuations
are largely mitigated because local expenses in China are also denominated in
the same currency.
Our
assets and liabilities of which the functional currency is the China local
currency are translated into U.S. dollars using the exchange rates in effect at
the balance sheet date, resulting in translation adjustments that are reflected
as Cumulative Translation Adjustment in the shareholders’ equity section on our
Consolidated Balance Sheets. A portion of our net assets are impacted by changes
in foreign currencies in relation to the U.S. dollar. We recorded a $38,854
adjustment to decrease our equity account for the quarter ended March 31, 2010
to reflect the net impact of the fluctuating of Chinese currency against the
U.S. dollar.
36
Item
4. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation
of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
The
Company’s management has evaluated, under the supervision and with the
participation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial
Officer, the effectiveness of the design and operations of the Company’s
disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Securities Exchange Act Rule
13a-15 (e)), as of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report.
Based on that evaluation, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief
Financial Officer have concluded that the evaluation of the effectiveness of our
disclosure controls and procedures was completed; our disclosure controls and
procedures were effective.
Changes
in internal control over financial reporting
There
have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the
most recently completed fiscal quarter that have materially affected or are
reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial
reporting.
Part
II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item
1. Legal Proceedings
A former
member of the board of directors filed a lawsuit on June 16, 2008 against the
Company in New York State Supreme Court, Nassau County, in which he has sought,
among other things, to recover a portion of his monthly compensation plus 20,000
options that he alleges are due to him pursuant to a written agreement. After
the plaintiff rejected an offer by the Company that included the options that
plaintiff alleged were due to him, the Company moved to dismiss the complaint.
The judge ordered the Company to issue the 20,000 options to the plaintiff
subject to any restrictions required by applicable securities laws, which was
essentially what the Company had previously offered, and dismissed all of the
plaintiff's remaining claims against the Company. The current board of directors
has complied with the court's decision by tendering an option agreement to the
plaintiff consistent with the court's decision, but the plaintiff has refused to
execute the agreement, and instead has filed an appeal. On March 16, 2010, the
Appellate Division, Second Department, modified the decision and order of the
trial court and dismissed the action in its entirety. Subsequently, the
plaintiff has sought leave to appeal the appellate court's decision in New York
state's highest court.
Item
1A. Risk Factors
As of the
date of this filing, there have been no material changes from the risk factors
disclosed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 10, 2010.
We operate in a changing environment that involves numerous known and unknown
risks and uncertainties that could materially affect our operations. The risks,
uncertainties and other factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K may
cause our actual results, performances and achievements to be materially
different from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. If
any of these risks or events occur, our business, financial condition or results
of operations may be adversely affected.
Item
2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of
Proceeds
None.
Item
3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities
None.
Item
4. Other Information
None
Item
5. Exhibits
(a)
Exhibits
Exhibit Number
|
Description of Exhibit
|
|
31.1*
|
Certification
of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14 and Rule 15d-14(a),
promulgated under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended
|
|
31.2*
|
Certification
of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14 and Rule 15d 14(a),
promulgated under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended
|
|
32.1*
|
Certification
pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Chief Executive
Officer)
|
|
32.2*
|
Certification
pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Chief Financial
Officer)
|
*Filed
herewith
37
SIGNATURES
In
accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, the registrant caused this
report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized.
China
Natural Gas, Inc.
|
||
May
7, 2010
|
By:
|
/s/
Qinan Ji
|
Qinan
Ji
|
||
Chief
Executive Officer
|
||
(Principal
Executive Officer)
|
May
7, 2010
|
By:
|
/s/
David She
|
David
She
|
||
Chief
Financial Officer
|
||
(Principal
Financial and Accounting
Officer)
|
38