JQW PLC Pre-Close Trading Update and Notice of Results (6864A)

TIDMJQW

RNS Number : 6864A

JQW PLC

24 February 2014

 
 Press Release   24 February 2014

JQW plc

("JQW" or the "Group")

Pre-Close Trading Update

Notice of Preliminary Results

JQW plc, a domestic Chinese B2B e-commerce operator, provides the following trading update as the Group enters its close period.

The Board confirms that trading for the period is significantly ahead of market expectations. Unaudited management accounts show revenues reaching approximately RMB490 million (2012: RMB287 million), whilst profit before tax for the period has about doubled to around RMB170 million (2012: RMB84 million) (exchange rate: RMB10.14 : GBP1).

As at 31 December 2013, the Group had 197,000 fee paying members which compares to 166,000 at the end of June 2013 and 135,000 at the end of December 2012. JQW remains highly cash generative and the Group maintains its strong balance sheet with cash as at 31 December 2013 amounting to RMB344 million (2012: RMB108 million). This robust cash position also includes the proceeds from the Placing and Admission to AIM on 9 December 2013 which totalled RMB67 million.

Yongde Cai, Chairman of JQW, said: "The Board is extremely pleased with the excellent progress that the Group has made in 2013. Not only has JQW seen robust organic growth in our Chinese domestic market but in the period the Group has also successfully raised GBP6.7 million and had its shares admitted to trading on the AIM market in London. The significance of our AIM listing is that it will expedite JQW's strategic plan of expanding our operations and increasing brand awareness internationally as well as in China.

"With China's 49 million SMEs increasingly using the internet to promote and market their services, the Chinese B2B e-commerce industry, of which JQW is a significant player, is experiencing rapid growth and the Group is in a strong position to capitalise from this fast growing sector.

"As stated at the time of our AIM listing, the Board plans to implement a progressive dividend policy that reflects our confidence in the future growth prospects of JQW. We remain very positive about the Group's performance for the current financial year and look forward to providing the market with a further update when we report our maiden preliminary results."

The Group will be announcing its maiden set of Preliminary Results on Tuesday, 29 April 2014. An analyst briefing given by Peter Chen (Chief Executive Officer) and Wei Boon Kooi (Chief Financial Officer), will be held at 9.30 a.m. at the offices of Abchurch Communications, 125 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1AR.

- Ends -

For further information:

 
 JQW plc 
 Yongde Cai, Chairman                     Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 
                                                          7709 
 Daocai "Peter" Chen, Chief Executive           www.jqw-ir.com 
  Officer 
 Wei Boon Kooi, Chief Financial Officer 
 
 
 Argento Capital Markets Limited 
 Alan MacKenzie / Jim McGeever         Tel: +44 (0) 20 7093 
                                                       0353 
 alan.mackenzie@argentocapital.net   www.argentocapital.net 
 
 
 Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nomad 
  & Broker) 
 Liam Murray / Jo Turner               Tel: +44 (0) 20 7148 
                                                       7900 
                                           www.cairnfin.com

Media enquiries:

 
 Abchurch Communications Limited 
 Henry Harrison-Topham / Quincy Allan     Tel: +44 (0) 20 7398 
                                                          7702 
 jqw@abchurch-group.com                 www.abchurch-group.com

About JQW plc

JQW is a leading domestic business-to-business e-commerce provider based in the Chinese province of Jiangsu. The Group's core business is its online B2B platform, www.jqw.com, which has been developed to encourage domestic trade by connecting Chinese SMEs with potential trade partners. Founded in 2004, the platform was developed to help to market Chinese SME's websites. JQW has evolved rapidly to become the second highest ranked B2B e-commerce website and operates, what the director's believe to be, the first dedicated B2B search engine, www.jqw.cn.

JQW offers a low-cost entry point for Chinese SMEs to promote themselves and their B2B products to potential buyers. In order to increase transaction opportunities, JQW offers its clients a broad range of services including website design, commercial search services and advertising.

There are approximately 49 million SMEs in China manufacturing a diverse range of products, accounting for 60% of the country's GDP. The internet usage population of China at June 2013 was 591 million and there is a considerable amount being invested into the country's telecommunications infrastructure. These factors have driven an increased demand for domestic trade of B2B, B2C and C2C e-commerce. With the majority of these SMEs requiring the use of third party B2B e-commerce platforms to promote their businesses and access trade partners, the Board believes that JQW offers a robust and highly reputable branded platform. With exposure in over 50 industry sectors and considerable scope for future growth, JQW is in a strong position to capitalise on the development of this market.

 
 55 million   Product details 
 10 million   Registered users 
 9 million    Companies' details 
 5 million    Page views per day 
 810,000      Sheng-Yi-Tong members with website "shops" 
 500,000      Purchase and sales enquiries per month 
 197,000      Fee-paying members 
 1,300        Internet media relationships 
 700          Rated in the top 700 websites for global website 
               traffic rankings 
 30           Sales agencies 
 2            Second (behind Alibaba) in Chinese B2B website 
               traffic rankings

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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