Business
China Automotive Systems Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2019 Results
WUHAN, China, May 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- China Automotive Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAAS) ("CAAS" or the "Company"), a leading power steering components and
About this update from China Automotive Systems, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"WUHAN, China, May 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- China Automotive Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAAS) (\"CAAS\" or the \"Company\"), a leading power steering components and systems supplier in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and the audited results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019.\nFourth Quarter 2019 Highlights\nNet sales were $115.9 million compared with $124.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 Gross profit was $16.8 million compared with $11.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2018; gross margin was 14.5% compared with 9.6% in the fourth quarter of 2018 Net income attributable to parent company's common shareholders was $1.7 million, or diluted income per share of $0.06, compared to a net loss of $3.2 million, or diluted loss per share of $0.10, in the fourth quarter of 2018. Fiscal Year 2019 Highlights\nNet sales were $431.4 million compared to $496.2 million in 2018 Operating income was $6.2 million compared to an operating loss of $2.9 million last year Diluted income per share attributable to parent company's common shareholders was $0.32 compared to diluted income per share attributable to parent company's common shareholders of $0.08 in 2018 Cash and cash equivalents, pledged cash and short-term investments were $112.2 million as of December 31, 2019 Net cash flow provided by operating activities was $30.3 million in 2019 compared to $12.5 million for 2018 Approximately 452,559 shares of common stock were repurchased during 2019.Mr. Qizhou Wu, chief executive officer of CAAS, commented, \"Our sales continued to mirror the continuing slow economic growth in the Chinese economy in 2019, as well as the trade dispute between the U.S. and China, the introduction of more stringent emission standards, and significantly reduced automobile subsidies. Chinese GDP grew by 6.1% in 2019, the slowest annual rate of economic growth for China since 1990, and car sales weakened in December 2019 compared with the same month a year ago, marking 18 consecutive months of decline. However, Chinese-branded cars, our main market, lost only 2.9% of market share in 2019.\"\n\"On the other hand, our sales to our tier-1 North American customers remained stable. In addition, our electric motor subsidiary, Hyoseong (Wuhan) Motion Mechatronics System, successfully completed its phase one development pla...