NQ Mobile shares jumped 8.86% to $4.30 in after-hours trading Wednesday after the company reported its fiscal fourth-quarter results. The Chinese company’s fourth-quarter revenue surged 32.2% YoY to $89.7 million. Non-GAAP net income attributable to NQ Mobile shareholders came in at $3.2 million or 3 cents a share. It excluded expenses incurred from handling of the short-seller allegations, stock-based compensations, and expenses related to convertible debts.
NQ Mobile’s gross margin improves
On GAAP basis, net loss widened to $21.2 million from $4.3 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting 2 cents in EPS with $83 million in revenue. NQ Mobile said its mobile value-added service revenue declined 9.9% to $24.4 million, while ad revenue climbed 22.2% to $20.4 million.
The Beijing-based company’s enterprise mobility revenue skyrocketed 87.2% YoY to $44 million in December quarter. NQ Mobile exited 2014 with 160.8 million monthly active users. Fourth-quarter gross profit fell 19.9% to $26.5 million. The mobile Internet services provider said its gross margins rose from 27.8% in Q3 to 29.6% in Q4.
NQ Mobile’s full-year revenue rises 69%
For full-year 2014, NQ Mobile’s net revenue increased 68.9% to $332.3 million, largely driven by a 99.1% growth in advertising revenue. Enterprise mobility revenue also soared 180.5% YoY to $148.7 million. Full-year net loss attributable to shareholders came in at $76.7 million. Non-GAAP net income for FY2014 was $26.2 million. NQ Mobile said it expected Q1, 2015 revenue in the range of $85-$86 million and full-year 2015 sales of $450-$455 million.
The Chinese company made headlines in December when short-seller Carson Block of Muddy Waters attended its conference call (and crashed it) under a different identity. Block has accused NQ Mobile of fraudulent accounting practices. Management noted that Muddy Waters was costing NQ Mobile, stating:
There were really three factors within our operating expenses that impacted our operating profitability in 2014. The extraordinary items associated with the independent investigation, the forensic accounting, the legal fees, and the additional auditor fees, all associated with addressing the short-seller allegations totaled $9.5m for the entire year.
We paid an additional $2.7m for legal and audit fees associated with handling of short-seller allegations in the fourth quarter. We obviously do not expect these costs to impact our operating expenses, going forward.
During the Q&A, Carson had sought information on whereabouts of the company’s founder Henry Lin, who had resigned as CEO on December 10. After cutting off Carson, the company reiterated its stance – Lin resigned for personal reasons unrelated to his or the company’s performance.
Prior to Lin’s departure, NQ’s CFO had exited the company in August last year.
NQ Mobile shares were up as much as 10.13% to $4.35 in pre-market trading Thursday. Despite the recent rally, its shares are still down 78% in the last 12 months.
