China Commercial Credit Third Quarter Revenue Up 35 Percent; Company Establishes New Equipment Leasing Entity to Begin Operations Early Next Year

WUJIANG, CHINA--(Marketwired - Nov 15, 2013) - China Commercial Credit, Inc. (NASDAQ: CCCR), a microfinance company whose major business is providing microcredit loans and loan guarantees to small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), farmers and individuals in Jiangsu Province, today reported that, for the third quarter ended September 30, 2013, the company had net revenue of $3,508,465, a 35 percent increase on net revenue of $2,590,819 in the third quarter of last year.

Third quarter 2013 net income attributable to common stock shareholders, which included a one-time non-cash expense for conversion of preferred stock in conjunction with the company's initial public offering completed in August 2013, was $1,608,769, or $.17 per share, compared to net income attributable to common stock shareholders of $1,914,550, or $.23 per share, in the same period in 2012.

Prior to this non-cash expense, the company's net income for the third quarter of 2013 was $2,361,269, or $.24 per share, a 23 percent increase compared to net income of $1,914,550, or $.23 per share, in the third quarter last year.

Total weighted average shares outstanding were 9,692,533 and 8,285,815 for the third quarter ended September 30, 2013 and September 30, 2012, respectively.

The company's increase in 2013 third quarter net revenue compared to the same period last year was primarily the result of an increase in loan interest of $553,182. This increase, in turn, was mainly the result of an increase in loan receivables of approximately $9.0 million, to $90,512,332 in the third quarter of 2013 from $81,465,053 in the same period in 2012.

In addition to the increase in the loan interest, net income for the third quarter was impacted favorably by increases in net commissions and fees from the company's loan guarantee business, and a reversal in the provision for loan losses compared to the third quarter of last year.

For the first nine months of 2013, the company had net revenue of $9,271,899, a one percent improvement compared to the net revenue of $9,216,372 during the first nine months of last year. Nine-month 2013 net income attributable to common stock shareholders, which included the one-time non-cash expense for conversion of preferred stock, was $5,142,460, or $.56 per share, compared to net income attributable to common stock shareholders of $6,570,598, or $.86 per share, in the same period in 2012.

Prior to this non-cash expense, the company's net income for the first nine months of 2013 was $5,894,960, or $.64 per share, a ten percent decrease compared to the net income of $6,570,598, or $.86 per share, achieved in the first nine months of last year. This decrease was primarily the result of an increase in non-interest operating expenses of $333,891, comprising various financial, travel, legal and consulting costs.

Total weighted average shares outstanding were 9,233,381 and 7,611,688 for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 and September 30, 2012, respectively.

"We are very satisfied with our third quarter financial performance," said CEO and founder Mr. Huichun Qin. "Going forward, we expect our available lending capital and income from both loan interest and loan guarantees to show continuing improvements." 

Mr. Qin added that, on September 5, 2013, the company established a new entity in China, Pride Financial Leasing (Suzhon) Co. Ltd, which is designed to offer leases on machinery and equipment, transportation vehicles, and medical devices to municipal government agencies, hospitals and SMEs in Jiangsu Province and beyond.

Equipment leasing, noted Mr. Qin, is one of the fastest growing business sectors of the Chinese economy. "China Commercial Credit intends to capitalize on this growing demand by offering an early, full service entrant in Jiangsu and surrounding regions."

Additional details on the capitalization and business plan for Pride Financial Leasing will follow shortly, said Mr. Qin.

About China Commercial Credit

China Commercial Credit (http://www.chinacommercialcredit.com), founded in 2008, provides business loans and loan guarantee services to more than 360 small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), farmers and individuals in China's Jiangsu Province. Due to recent legislation and banking reform in China, these SMEs, farmers and individuals -- which historically had been excluded from borrowing funds from State-owned and commercial banks -- are now able to borrow money at competitive rates from microfinance lenders. According to 2012 data, SMEs, farmers and individuals account for eight of ten jobs in China and comprise 60 percent of the nation's GDP.

Investors wishing to receive CCC's corporate communications as they become available may go to http://www.ir-site.com/china-commercial-credit/default.asp and register under Email Alerts. The company's blog, "From The CEO," also appears at the same site. Each new blog post will be announced on the company's Twitter account, @CCCR_update, where readers may link directly to the post.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of United States securities laws. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations. You should review the factors described in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in our prospectus filed with the SEC on August 14, 2013 and other documents we file from time to time with the SEC. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.