BEIJING and CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, May 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASIA) ("AsiaInfo-Linkage," the "Company," "we," "us" or "our"), a leading provider of telecommunications software solutions and related services, today announced that the Company plans to open its European headquarters in Cambridge, UK as part of an ongoing initiative to expand its operations across international markets.
AsiaInfo-Linkage has an established leadership position in China with a greater than 50% share of the telecommunications billing, CRM, and business intelligence markets. In 2009, AsiaInfo-Linkage began expanding its core business in Southeast Asia. AsiaInfo-Linkage is now targeting broader geographical expansion in the Europe, Middle East and Africa ("EMEA") market.
The new regional headquarters in Cambridge will be led by two former executives of Geneva Technology, the Cambridge-based billing software company acquired by Convergys Inc. in 2001. Mr. Stephen Newton, formerly chief operating officer of Geneva Technology and president for the EMEA market at Convergys, will set up AsiaInfo-Linkage's Advisory Board and act as its chairman. Comprised of senior industry figures, the Advisory Board will provide expert advice on emerging technology as well as insights into conducting business in diverse global markets. Meanwhile, Dr. Andy Tiller, formerly vice president in charge of product marketing at Geneva Technology and Convergys, has joined AsiaInfo-Linkage as vice president in charge of corporate product marketing. He will lead an international team to promote AsiaInfo-Linkage's global solutions.
"The opening of our new European headquarters is another major step in our international expansion efforts," said AsiaInfo-Linkage President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Zhang. "Our focus over the past few quarters has been to ramp up our product standardization and integration initiatives as we position ourselves to grow globally. We believe we can leverage our technical knowledge and experience in serving China's three telecom carriers, as well as our experience serving carriers in Southeast Asia, to provide the EMEA market with world-class products and services."
Mr. Zhang continued, "We are confident that the accomplished leadership of our new European headquarters has the capacity to grow our business and enhance our industry position in the region. Both Stephen and Andy bring a wealth of industry knowledge and proven track records, having successfully grown Geneva Technology's business, which culminated in its sale to Convergys. Our vision is to become a worldwide market leader, and the opening of our first European office is representative of our global ambitions."
The Company plans to hire locally-based sales, professional services, and customer support staff for the EMEA region through 2012.
First Quarter 2012 Results
"This year we will continue to ramp up our product standardization and integration initiatives as we strengthen our competitive advantage," said AsiaInfo-Linkage President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Zhang. "For our three main telecommunications customers, we continue to experience healthy demand for our traditional IT solutions and services. In the first quarter of 2012, we signed additional NG-BOSS 3.5 upgrade contracts with China Mobile as we continue to ramp up our latest upgrade. For China Unicom, we completed implementation for two of the six northern provinces and are working to complete software implementation for the remaining four provinces. This is a rather large task. For example, in Shandong province alone, we plan to migrate over 40 million users to our latest system and have allocated a large team of implementation engineers to focus specifically on the delivery of this project."
Mr. Zhang continued, "We believe the primary future growth areas for our work with the carriers will be acquiring unique insights on the carrier's customers and monetizing data traffic. In the first quarter of 2012, we signed an agreement with Shanghai Mobile adding features and functionalities to collect and analyze mobile network usage data that will provide useful customer insight to help the carrier develop effective marketing and pricing strategies. The technological advancements in broadband and network infrastructure, coupled with the proliferation of smart phones and similar devices, will continue to drive our business as carriers increase spending on the type of IT analytical solutions and services that our business can provide."
Business Outlook
AsiaInfo-Linkage expects second quarter 2012 net revenue (non-GAAP) to be in the range of US$123.0 million to US$125.0 million. The Company expects second quarter 2012 net income attributable to AsiaInfo-Linkage per basic share (non-GAAP) to be in the range of US$0.26 to US$0.29.
Fourth Quarter 2011 Results
"We are ramping up our product standardization and integration initiatives, a multi-year strategy that will improve our competitive advantage as we leverage our core businesses and enter new markets," said AsiaInfo-Linkage President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Zhang. "In the fourth quarter we announced the first contract signing of our NG-BOSS 3.5 solution upgrade for Shanghai Mobile and will continue to sign contracts and roll out this solution throughout 2012. We also recently announced our agreement with Nepal Telecom to provide a convergent billing solution, which is another regional win for our growing international business."
Mr. Zhang continued, "This year, China's telecom carriers will continue to invest heavily in traditional customer management services like billing, CRM and business intelligence, while also seeking to enhance their application platform and network infrastructure. These target areas require sophisticated IT systems as the carriers look to differentiate themselves, gain loyal subscribers and monetize their data traffic. We believe AsiaInfo-Linkage is positioned favorably to capitalize on the carriers' IT needs and to deliver solutions that enhance the carriers' customer analysis and operational efficiency. We anticipate contract wins related to these growth areas in 2012. At the same time, we will continue to invest in overseas expansion and in our cable business."
AsiaInfo-Linkage Chief Financial Officer Michael Wu added, "We delivered on our guidance in the fourth quarter as demand from our core telecommunications customers remained healthy. We also achieved strong operating cash flow and saw accounts receivable decline steadily even as we increased revenue. We believe this reflects our effort to manage our accounts receivables balance and improve cash collection. Moreover, we have a healthy cash position and experienced a sequential decrease in our DSO."
AsiaInfo-Linkage expects first quarter 2012 net revenue (non-GAAP) to be in the range of US$119.0 million to US$121.0 million. The Company expects first quarter 2012 net income attributable to AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. per basic share (non-GAAP) to be in the range of US$0.25 to US$0.27.
In light of the ongoing work being performed by the Special Committee, the Company will not at this time provide earnings guidance regarding the outlook for full year 2012.
HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Asia Entertainment & Resources Ltd. (“AERL”) (NASDAQ: AERL), which operates through its subsidiaries and related promoter companies as a VIP room gaming promoter, today announced unaudited Rolling Chip Turnover (as defined below) for the month of January 2012 at the company’s three VIP rooms in Macau was US$1.707 billion, up 24% year-over-year, compared to US$1.374 billion for the month of January 2011. This compares with a year-over-year increase in gross gaming revenue for Macau of 35% for January 2012.
The growth in Rolling Chip Turnover was attributable to organic growth, increasing cage capital from the increased line of credit and the May 2011 opening of a VIP room at the new Galaxy Macau™ in Cotai.
“We performed strongly during the last eight days of January, which encompassed the Chinese New Year period,” said AERL Chairman Lam. “Our Rolling Chip Turnover during those last eight days was US$823 million – an average of over US$100 million per day – which is a 24% increase compared to the same days in last year’s Chinese New Year period, which occurred in February. While we outperformed last year’s results, our Rolling Chip Turnover for January 2012 was negatively impacted by a higher than normal 3.99% win rate during the period before the Chinese New Year (average normal win rate is 2.85-3.00%), which effectively reduced Rolling Chip Turnover. Despite the high January win rate, play volumes continue to be strong in our VIP rooms and we expect 2012 to be another year of significant growth for Macau and AERL.”
BEIJING and SANTA CLARA, Calif., January 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. (Nasdaq: ASIA) ("AsiaInfo-Linkage" or the "Company"), a leading provider of telecommunications software solutions and related services, today announced that its Board of Directors has received a non-binding proposal letter from Power Joy (Cayman) Limited ("Power Joy"), a wholly owned subsidiary of CITIC Capital China Partners II, L.P., pursuant to which Power Joy proposes to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of AsiaInfo-Linkage in cash at a price which represents a premium over the current stock price (the "Proposal").
The Special Committee of the Board of Directors (the "Special Committee"), which was formed to consider the Proposal and any potential alternative transactions involving the Company, has retained Shearman & Sterling LLP as its legal counsel and is in the process of engaging a financial advisor to assist it in consideration of such matters. Mr. Yungang Lu, Mr. Davin A. Mackenzie and Mr. Sean Shao were designated as the members of the Special Committee. The Board cautions the Company's shareholders and others considering trading in its securities that no decision has been made by the Special Committee with respect to the Company's response to the Proposal. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be executed or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated.
BEIJING and SANTA CLARA, Calif., December 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASIA) ("AsiaInfo-Linkage" or the "Company"), a leading provider of telecommunications software solutions and related services, today announced that the Company has signed a Next Generation Business Operation Support System ("NG-BOSS") 3.5 version upgrade contract and a Next Generation Business Analysis Support System ("NG-BASS") 3.5 version upgrade contract with Shanghai Mobile, a provincial subsidiary of China Mobile, the largest telecommunications operator in the world.
"The Shanghai Mobile contracts represent our first successful provincial subsidiary signings for our NG-BOSS 3.5 and NG-BASS 3.5 solutions," said AsiaInfo-Linkage President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Zhang. "After finalizing the technical specifications in the second quarter of the year, we have now started the signing and rollout process for our latest upgrade, which we expect to continue through 2012. The NG-BOSS 3.5 solution contains a host of new features that will enhance China Mobile's IT capabilities and customer service, notably the capacity to support multiple billing cycles, a centralized management of retail stores' multimedia centers, and improvements to CRM capabilities. The NG-BASS 3.5 solution upgrade will enhance customer analysis and targeted marketing capabilities. These upgrades, mandated annually by China Mobile headquarters, are crucial to the carrier maintaining its market-leading position, particularly in the areas of customer service. Due to the annual upgrade requirements of China Mobile and its subsidiaries, we anticipate additional contract signings in the near future."
Third Quarter 2011
"Year to date, we are witnessing strong double digit growth in sales order bookings from our three main telecommunications customers," said AsiaInfo-Linkage President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Zhang. "Carriers will continue to spend on 3G and Internet-related solutions to expand bandwidth and enhance customer data analysis, which in turn will drive demand for our business. In the third quarter we completed a CRM system migration for China Mobile's Zhejiang subsidiary, successfully migrating approximately 52 million subscribers from their old CRM system to our state-of-the art system. Our latest CRM system gives customers the ability to roll out new features and applications much more quickly than before, which will shift spending away from hardware and increasingly into software."
Mr. Zhang added, "The fourth quarter has traditionally been our strongest quarter of the year and we expect this seasonality to continue. As we take a longer-term outlook, we have increased spending in new products like enhanced CRM systems, as well as in new markets and customers, for instance our projects in Southeast Asia, as we reinvest in strategic areas of our business to drive long-term, sustainable growth."
AsiaInfo-Linkage expects fourth quarter 2011 net revenue (non-GAAP) to be in the range of US$127.0 million to US$131.0 million. The Company expects fourth quarter 2011 net income attributable to AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. per basic share (non-GAAP) to be in the range of US$0.30 to US$0.33.
BEIJING and SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASIA) ("AsiaInfo-Linkage," the "Company," "we," "us" or "our"), a leading provider of telecommunication software solutions and services in China, today announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2011.
"After a year following the close of the merger with Linkage, we are pleased to announce that the integration has been successfully completed," said AsiaInfo-Linkage Co-Chairman James Ding. "As of today, we achieved the goals set forth by the board of directors. With the dedicated effort from the integration committee and the entire management team, the Company has fully integrated customer facing sales and service organizations, human resource policies, and product and solution platforms. Moreover, the Company now operates on an integrated IT system and has standardized project management, accounting and financial reporting. As the task that it set out to perform has now been completed, the board of directors and management team has dissolved the integration committee."
AsiaInfo-Linkage's Executive Co-Chairman Libin Sun added, "Our stable financial performance throughout the past four quarters reflects the success of our integration efforts. With the completion of the integration process the Company will continue offering a comprehensive end-to-end telecom software solution and also focus on building new growth drivers and capitalizing on business opportunities that develop in the market."
"We are confident in the long term growth of the Company as the successful completion of integration serves to unlock AsiaInfo-Linkage's potential," said AsiaInfo-Linkage President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Zhang. "We are pleased with the steady stream of sales contracts in the second quarter of 2011 as our demand pipeline continues to grow. Competition only continues to intensify between China's telecom carriers as they increase investment in Internet-related services like e-channel and WIFI network solutions. Carriers' needs and requirements are increasingly more sophisticated as they look to differentiate themselves and retain loyal long-term customers, and this plays well to our Company's strengths. In the second quarter, we continued signing contracts with our customers, such as NG BOSS 3.0 upgrades with China Mobile, BSS software development contracts with China Unicom's six Northern provinces, billing and CRM upgrades with China Telecom, as well as a business operation support systems contract with Gehua Cable in Beijing. On the international front, we have witnessed steady progress in developing and delivering our CRM and BI solutions to U-Mobile in Malaysia as we continue to look for additional opportunities to build our brand abroad."
Mr. Zhang continued, "Our focus remains on increasing share of wallet with our existing telecommunications customers. We are confident in our ability to secure additional sales contracts in the second half of 2011 as we position ourselves favorably to grow and deliver long-term shareholder return."
Second Quarter 2011 Financial Results
Total revenues for the second quarter of 2011 were US$116.2 million, an increase of 95.9% year-over-year and 1.5% sequentially. Meeting guidance, net revenue (non-GAAP) for the second quarter of 2011 was US$110.3 million, an increase of 89.8% year-over-year and 1.6% sequentially. The year-over-year increase was mainly due to the merger with Linkage and the sequential increase was the result of the steady demand for the Company's services and solutions from China's telecom carriers.
On a GAAP basis, in the second quarter of 2011, the Company recorded net income attributable to AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. of US$32.9 million, or US$0.45 per basic share, compared to US$13.9 million, or US$0.29 per basic share, in the year-ago period and US$17.8 million, or US$0.24 per basic share, in the previous quarter. The tax rate adjustment for LKNJ increased the Company's earnings per basic share by US$0.25.
AsiaInfo-Linkage expects third quarter 2011 net revenue (non-GAAP) to be in the range of US$115 million to US$119 million. The Company expects third quarter 2011 net income attributable to AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. per basic share (non-GAAP) to be in the range of US$0.34 to US$0.37
First Quarter Results:
AsiaInfo-Linkage expects second quarter 2011
"We continue to be a dominant player in China's telecommunications market," said AsiaInfo-Linkage President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Zhang. "Competition continues to intensify between China's three telecom carriers, driving demand for our best-of-class IT solutions. This quarter, we signed and rolled out several upgrade contracts for our core telecom business customers and capitalized on a number of cross-selling opportunities. In addition to annual upgrades, we also announced another international contract win with a Malaysian operator and signed a significant triple-play network convergence contract with Jiangsu Cable, an operator with approximately 20 million subscribers. In 2011, we are confident we will continue to grow faster than the average market growth for China's IT telecommunications spending and deliver long-term shareholder value."
BEIJING and SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. today announced NG-BOSS 3.0 system upgrade contracts with Shanghai Mobile, Zhejiang Mobile, Henan Mobile, Liaoning Mobile and Guizhou Mobile, all subsidiaries of China Mobile, the largest telecommunications operator in the world.
"The signing of these NG-BOSS 3.0 upgrade contracts illustrate China Mobile's continuous need for cutting edge IT solutions that transform the relationship and expand customer service capabilities," said AsiaInfo-Linkage President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Zhang. "Competition between China's telecom carriers only continues to intensify and this competition is driving the demand for our best-of-class billing and customer relationship management software. We will continue to sign upgrade contracts with China Mobile's provincial entities throughout 2011 as the carrier is keen to provide direct and value-added services to their customers by investing in enhancements to their data analytics and IT systems."
For the past two years, AsiaInfo-Linkage has worked on China Mobile's NG-BOSS Phase-I rollout, or version 1.0, before signing contracts to upgrade NG-BOSS systems to version 2.0, which primarily took place in early 2010. The Company continues to make progress in the signing of additional contracts to upgrade NG-BOSS systems to version 3.0 in order to provide a more comprehensive bundled solution, enhance TD-SCDMA functionality and allow the operator to better serve its customers.
AsiaInfo-Linkage currently provides NG-BOSS systems for 18 of 31 China Mobile subsidiaries.
BEIJING and SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a new stock repurchase program, under which AsiaInfo-Linkage may repurchase up to US$60.0 million in aggregate value of the outstanding common stock of the Company.
Under the program, the Company may, from time to time for a period of twelve months, depending on market conditions, share price and other factors, make one or more purchases, on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, of up toUS$60.0 million in aggregate value of the Company's outstanding common stock. Such purchases under the program will be made in accordance with applicable law and subject to any required regulatory approvals. Any common stock repurchased by AsiaInfo-Linkage will become part of its treasury stock and may be used by AsiaInfo-Linkage to finance or execute acquisitions, equity incentive plans, or other arrangements.
Fourth Quarter 2010 Financial Results
Net income attributable to AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. (non-GAAP)(4) was US$28.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 or US$0.38 per basic share. Net income attributable to AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. (non-GAAP) in the year-ago period was US$18.4 million or US$0.38 per basic share. Net income attributable to AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. (non-GAAP) in the previous quarter was US$29.6 million or US$0.40 per basic share.
Full Year 2010 Financial Results
AsiaInfo-Linkage's full year revenues, gross margin and operating margin do not include the IT security business, which has been reclassified to discontinued operations.
Net income attributable to AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. (non-GAAP) for full year 2010 was US$91.0 million, or US$1.49 per basic share. Net income attributable to AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. (non-GAAP) for full year 2009 was US$49.8 million or US$1.10 per basic share.
Third quarter of 2010
Our revenues for the third quarter of 2010 are not comparable to those of prior periods due to the merger with Linkage and we are not able to separately present the portion of revenues in this quarter contributed by AsiaInfo’s historical business and Linkage’s historical business as a result of our full integration strategy.
“We delivered solid results in our first quarter of consolidated reporting,” said AsiaInfo-Linkage’s President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Zhang. “Full integration with Linkage is progressing according to plan and helping us to achieve new synergies and realize cross-selling opportunities. At the same time, we remain focused on providing high-quality solutions and services to China’s telecom carriers, highlighted by a recent contract win to develop convergent billing for Beijing Mobile. On the international expansion front, this quarter we announced our entrance into the Southeast Asian market with a deal to provide a business intelligence system for the Cambodian telecom carrier, Mfone. This is a positive stride forward as we work with a long-term vision of gaining market share abroad. We are also optimistic about continued market share gains in new verticals such as the domestic cable software solutions market with two new billing and customer relationship management system contracts.”
AsiaInfo-Linkage expects fourth quarter 2010
AsiaInfo-Linkage's Chief Executive Officer, Steve Zhang, commented, "We are pleased with our strong financial results this quarter, achieving a record high operating margin and year-over-year non-GAAP EPS growth of 35 percent. In the second quarter, we worked to close our merger with Linkage, which was successfully completed on July 1st. We have already witnessed positive momentum resulting from our merger. Specifically, we recently won new market share in our China Telecom account in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces and successfully started to cross-sell Internet data center operation management products for Jiangsu Mobile. Overall, the integration process has moved along rather smoothly and we are starting to realize the synergies. Besides our core revenue drivers, we are pleased that our cable BSS business has started to contribute more meaningful revenue as our overseas business development team explores opportunities to grow in Southeast Asia."
Starting in the third quarter of 2010, AsiaInfo-Linkage will consolidate Linkage's operating results and financial position.
The Company noted that its third quarter 2010 net revenue (non-GAAP) guidance accounts for temporary project delays in its China Unicom and China Telecom accounts.
AsiaInfo-Linkage expects third quarter 2010 net revenue (non-GAAP) to be in the range of US$109 million to US$114 million. AsiaInfo-Linkage expects third quarter 2010 net income attributable to AsiaInfo-Linkage, Inc. per basic share (non-GAAP) to be in the range of US$0.34 to US$0.37.
Source: PR Newswire (July 28, 2010)
"This past quarter marks another period of strong growth in which we met net revenue and exceeded EPS guidance. Mr. Zhang concluded, Looking forward, we are confident we will finish 2009 on a strong note and see abundant opportunities across all three of China's telecom operators in the coming year. In addition, our focus on delivering robust organic growth while remaining disciplined in our overseas expansion strategy will help us to deliver long-term sustainable growth."
a The above forecasts reflect the Company's current and preliminary views and are therefore subject to change. Please refer to the Company's Safe Harbor Statement (usually in press releases) for the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.b Non-GAAP figures generally exclude certain non-operating gains and losses as well as certain non-cash items. Non-GAAP information should not be viewed in isolation or as a substitute for reported, or GAAP information . For a more complete explanation of the company's definition of non-GAAP please refer to its financial press releases. The GeoTeam® non-GAAP figures may, from time to time, differ from company supplied figures.
'We delivered robust growth during the quarter and exceeded both top- and bottom-line guidance,' said Steve Zhang, AsiaInfo's president and chief executive officer. 'Our comprehensive offerings, from system implementation and maintenance services to high-value consulting, continues to benefit from increasing expenditure on telecom software, as operators build out and further optimize IT infrastructure and integrate fixed-line, broadband and mobile businesses to provide bundled service offerings.'
“I’m pleased to report another quarter of solid growth that exceeded top-line and met bottom-line guidance,” said Mr. Steve Zhang, AsiaInfo’s president and chief executive officer. “During the quarter, we posted important market share gains in our China Unicom account with new BSS contracts in Shanghai and Hainan and in our China Telecom account with a BSS tender win in Jilin province, once again demonstrating the competitiveness of our software solutions. As we move beyond industry restructuring in the quarters and years to come, we are seeing more opportunities as carriers shift focus from building out their networks to leveraging IT software and services that will enable them to attract, retain and monetize subscribers in an increasingly competitive environment.”
Guidance Report:
First Quarter 2009 Guidance Ending December
''I'm extremely proud of AsiaInfo's success in 2008,'' said Mr. Steve Zhang, AsiaInfo's president and chief executive officer. ''In a challenging macro environment, we managed not only to deliver on our net revenue target, but also to seize the opportunities presented by telecom industry restructuring in China. We executed on our plan, made impressive gains in market share and took considerable steps forward in diversifying our revenue streams among China's telecom operators. We have proven our ability to deliver innovative and reliable solutions that meet the needs of China's telecom operators, and this success is reflected in our strong net revenue and operating profit growth. With compelling industry growth catalysts, including a long-awaited 3G rollout, we feel equally confident about our growth prospects in 2009 and look forward to continuing to deliver consistent results.''
Source: PR Newswire (February 11, 2009)
Financial Table Update:
Financial Table Update (using non-gapp figures) Adjusted for a Standard Tax Rate:
Fourth Quarter 2008 Guidance Ending December
All Figures exclude non-operating Items (Non-GAAP).
'In spite of the global economic slowdown, AsiaInfo's telecom software solutions business continues to grow at a healthy rate. China's telecom carriers are in the midst of a government-mandated restructuring, and we are confident that spending on IT infrastructure will proceed as planned. Looking forward into 2009, we expect to see continued strong demand for our best-of- class software solutions, which help operators upgrade existing IT infrastructure, integrate data from existing and newly acquired businesses and monitor real-time consumer behavior data in order to roll-out innovative marketing campaigns.'
Source: PR Newswire (January 9, 2009)
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