Reliable exporters: find them and meet them

NEW YORK, March 13, 2013 – Global Sources Ltd. (NASDAQ: GSOL) reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year-ended Dec. 31, 2012.

Global Sources' executive chairman, Merle A. Hinrich, said: "Our fourth quarter results were in line with our expectations and completed a solid year in a challenging market environment.

"Our focus remains on helping our buyer and supplier customers develop profitable and successful relationships. We help them find potential business partners through our various media and then meet them at our shows around the world. The attendees at our shows are a key business advantage, as we give all of our advertisers access to a highly qualified, influential and exclusive buyer community.

"Looking ahead, we expect market conditions to continue impacting our core business well into 2013. We are committed to maintaining profitability, and we have a very strong balance sheet with a solid cash position and no debt. With strong products and services, and a large and influential customer base, we are well-positioned to rebound as market conditions improve."

Financial highlights – Fourth quarter: 2012 compared to 2011

• Revenue was $66.9 million, as compared to $74.0 million.
  • Online revenue was $28.1 million, as compared to $30.5 million.
  • Exhibitions revenue was $32.7 million, as compared to $35.5 million.
  • Print revenue was $4.2 million, as compared to $6.4 million.
• IFRS net income was $11.2 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, as compared to fourth quarter 2011 IFRS net income of $11.9 million, or $0.33 per diluted share.
• Non-IFRS net income was $13.3 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, as compared to $13.6 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2011.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $14.4 million, as compared to $15.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2011.
• Total deferred income and customer prepayments were $93.6 million as at Dec. 31, 2012, as compared to $110.1 million as at Dec. 31, 2011.

Financial highlights – Full year 2012 ended Dec. 31: 2012 compared to 2011

• Revenue was $231.7 million, as compared to $225.1 million.
• IFRS net income was $32.2 million, or $0.90 per diluted share, as compared to $29.5 million, or $0.83 per diluted share.
• Non-IFRS net income was $37.1 million, or $1.04 per diluted share, as compared to $33.7 million, or $0.95 per diluted share, for 2011.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $47.9 million, as compared to $42.0 million for 2011.

Global Sources' CFO, Connie Lai, said: "The Mumbai show moved to the third quarter of 2012 from the fourth quarter last year, which had a slight impact on this quarter's revenue. Our balance sheet remains strong as we closed the quarter with a cash and securities position of $116.3 million, as compared to $110.8 million at the end of September 2012. Our objective remains to balance cost controls with our investments in future growth.

"We expect the revenue mix for the first half to range between 50% and 51% for online, 36% and 37% for exhibitions, 7% and 8% for print, and approximately 4% for miscellaneous. This compares to a first half of 2012 revenue mix of approximately 58% for online, 31% for exhibitions, 8% for print, and 3% for miscellaneous."

Financial expectations for the first half of 2013 under IFRS

• For the first half of 2013 ending June 30, 2013:
  • Revenue is expected to be in the range of $87.0 million to $89.0 million, representing a decrease of 16% to 18%, as compared to $105.7 million for the first half of 2012.
  • IFRS EPS is expected to be in the range of $0.49 to $0.53, as compared to $0.36 per diluted share in the first half of 2012. SBC and the amortization of intangibles as it relates to certain equity compensation plans and gain on sale of investment property, net of transaction costs and related tax expenses are estimated to be a credit of $0.36 per diluted share for the first half of 2013.
  • Non-IFRS EPS is expected to be in the range of $0.18 to $0.22, as compared to $0.41 per diluted share for the same period in 2012.
  • Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $10.7 million and $12.9 million, as compared to $18.2 million in the first half of 2012.

Recent Corporate Highlights

• Signed agreements for the sale of two real estate properties:
• Signed a letter of intent to sell the 46th floor of the Excellence Times Square building in Shenzhen, China, for approximately $19.3 million. The transaction is expected to close on or before May 7, 2013.
• Signed a provisional sale and purchase agreement to sell 10 units on the 26th floor and three car parking spaces on the first floor of the Southmark building in Hong Kong, China, for approximately $9.0 million. The transaction is expected to close on or before March 28, 2013.
• Signed a provisional sale and purchase agreement to acquire the 21st, 22nd and 23rd floors of the Vita Tower building in Hong Kong, China, for approximately $23.6 million. The transaction is expected to close on or before March 28, 2013.
• Private Sourcing Events were held from October 2012 through January 2013 for more than 100 sourcing teams from very large buying organizations including Amazon.com, Auchan, EI Corte Ingles, Embraco, Forever 21, Future Group, Home Retail Group, Kmart, LPP, Meijer, Monster, OfficeMax, OSRAM, Panasonic, Quiksilver, Targus, The Source, TJX, William E. Connor and Woolworths. These events created more than 600 high-quality, one-on-one selling opportunities for Global Sources suppliers.
• Held 14 Sourcing Fairs with more than 7,100 booths in October 2012 at Hong Kong's AsiaWorld-Expo. Total attendance exceeded 61,200, and included buyers from 153 countries and territories.
• Held its third annual China Sourcing Fairs in Johannesburg in November 2012, with 815 exhibitor booths.
• Held Global Sourcing Fairs in Shanghai in December 2012 with more than 600 booths. Show categories included Gifts & Home Products and Fashion Accessories.
• Received the Gold award in the December 2012 issue of The Asset's Corporate Awards for excellence in investor relations and social responsibility. The company received The Asset's Gold award in 2011 and the Titanium corporate award in 2009 and 2010.

Conference call for Global Sources fourth quarter 2012 earnings

Executive Chairman Merle A. Hinrich and CFO Connie Lai are scheduled to conduct a conference call at 8:00 a.m. ET on March 13, 2013 (8:00 p.m. on March 13, 2013 in Hong Kong) to review these results in more detail. Investors in the United States may participate in the call by dialing (877) 941-1427, and non-Hong Kong international participants may dial (1-480) 629-9664. Investors in Hong Kong may participate by dialing (852) 3009-5027. The conference ID is 4593683 and participants are encouraged to dial 10 minutes prior to the call to prevent a delay in joining. A live webcast of the conference call is scheduled to be available on Global Sources' corporate site at http://www.investor.globalsources.com.

For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a webcast replay of the call is scheduled to be available on the company's corporate site for 30 days. A telephone replay of the call is also scheduled to be available through March 21, 2013. To listen to the telephone replay dial (800) 406-7325 or dial (1-303) 590-3030 outside the United States, and enter pass code 4593683. For those in the Hong Kong area, the replay dial-in number is (852) 3056-2777, and the pass code is 4593683.

Global Sources' non-IFRS metrics

Management believes non-IFRS metrics are useful measures of operations and provides IFRS to non-IFRS reconciliation tables at the end of this press release. Global Sources defines non-IFRS net income as net income excluding non-cash, SBC expense or credit, amortization of intangibles as it relates to certain equity compensation plans, gains or losses on acquisitions and investments net of transaction costs and related tax expenses, and/or impairment charges, for all historical and future references to non-IFRS metrics. Non-IFRS EPS is defined as non-IFRS net income divided by the weighted average of diluted common shares outstanding. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation and impairment of goodwill and intangible assets.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27-A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21-E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The company's actual results could differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements as a result of the risks associated with the company's business, changes in general economic conditions, and changes in the assumptions used in making such forward-looking statements.

Download consolidated balance sheets, consolidated income statements, actual IFRS to non-IFRS reconciliation, adjusted EBITDA reconciliation, guidance IFRS to non-IFRS reconciliation and financial matrix