Advanced Battery Technologies, Inc. (ABAT) announced financial results for the year ending December 31, 2009. The company had total revenues of $63,561,925 for 2009, an increase of $18,389,814 or 40.7%, compared to $45,172,111 for 2008. The increase in revenues was primarily due to the contribution of sales from the electric vehicle business, which the company acquired on May 4, 2009. Sales of electric vehicles after May 4, 2009 totaled $20,329,895.
At the same time, the acquisition of Wuxi ZQ resulted in flat year-to-year results in battery sales, since Wuxi Angell had been a major customer of the company’s battery business. Sales of batteries to Wuxi ZQ are included in the company’s 2008 financial results and excluded from the 2009 financial results, since the company acquired ownership of Wuxi ZQ in May 2009. If sales to Wuxi ZQ are excluded from 2008 results, revenue from battery sales increased by around $4.7 million in 2009, compared to 2008.
Zhiguo Fu, CEO of ABAT, stated, "The growth in our battery business has been accompanied by a reorientation in the relative importance of different battery sizes. When we first entered the battery business in 2003 and during the following years, the bulk of our sales were small capacity batteries, primarily those used in consumer electronic devices. Our growth, however, has been propelled by customers for our medium capacity batteries used for electric scooters, electric bicycles, power tools, miners’ lamps, searchlights, etc. and large capacity batteries used for electric sanitation vehicles, stationary applications, and other large scale battery applications."
Gross profit for 2009 was $28.39 million, a 28.8% increase from $22.04 million for the same period in 2008. During 2009 Wuxi ZQ achieved only approximately 33.2% gross margin, while the company’s battery manufacturing operations achieved a 49.9% gross margin. The overall result of combining the battery operations with those of Wuxi ZQ was a reduction in a gross margin from 48.8% in 2008 to 44.7% in 2009.
Operating income for 2009 was $16.89 million, a 10.1% decrease from $18.78 million during the same period in 2008. Operating expenses increased to $11.50 million in 2009 from $3.27 million in the same period in 2008. The increase was almost entirely attributable to the expansion of the company’s operations, as operating expenses in Heilongjiang ZQPT, the company’s main battery production base in China, increased by only $0.20 million during 2009.
Net income attributable to common shares increased 32.7% to $21.4 million from $16.1 million in 2008. Diluted earnings per share were $0.35 for fiscal year 2009 compared to $0.31 in fiscal year 2008. The increase in net income reflected (1) a one-time gain on purchase of $9.9 million and a related $3.5 million deferred tax provision associated with the acquisition of Wuxi ZQ on May 4, 2009 and (2) a non-cash other income of $0.67 million associated with the revaluation of outstanding warrants. As of December 31, 2009 the company had a working capital balance of $83,453,937, an improvement from a working capital balance of $49,991,602 at December 31, 2008. The company had $52,923,358 cash, an increase of $20,177,203 from a cash balance of $32,746,155 at December 31, 2008.
On February 28, 2010 the company recorded a backlog of approximately $49.7 million for delivery throughout the next 12 months, including a battery backlog of approximately $44.3 million.
