QKLS QKL Stores Inc (CE)

DAQING, China, May 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- QKL Stores Inc. (the "Company") (Nasdaq: QKLS), a leading regional supermarket chain in Northeastern China and Inner Mongolia, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015.

Mr. Zhuangyi Wang, Chairman and CEO, said, "We closed two stores in the first quarter, and finished the first quarter operating a total of 47 stores, comprised of 26 supermarkets, 17 hypermarkets and 4 department stores. As our new store opening plan for 2015, the two more new stores are going to open in the second half of the year, we expect our profitability to improve as we benefit from our improving new store sales, increased same store sales at existing stores and reduced store opening and promotional expenses." 

"We were also pleased with the improvement of our operating cash flows in the first quarter due to a reduction in inventory after the peak Chinese New Year season and a decrease in other receivables attributable to cash recovery from our vendors after the busy holiday season. We are pleased with our execution in the first quarter and are setting the stage for increased top and bottom line growth in the coming quarters."

First Quarter 2015 Financial Results

Revenue increased $6.6 million, or 7.7%, to $92.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015 from $86.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014. Same store sales represents sales from stores that were opened for at least one year before the beginning of the comparison period, or by January 1, 2014. Same store (42 stores) sales generated approximately $79.6 million in sales in the first quarter of 2015, a decrease of $0.7 million, or 0.9% compared with $80.3 million in net sales in the first quarter of 2014. New store sales increased, reflecting the opening of five new stores since January 1, 2014. The store generated approximately $10.8 million in sales in the first quarter of 2015.

Gross profit, or total revenue minus cost of sales, increased by $0.6million, or 4.1%, to $15.3million, or 16.5% of net sales, in the first quarter of 2015from $14.7 million, or 17.1% of net sales, in the first quarter of 2014. The change in gross profit was primarily attributable to an increase in net sales of $6.6million in the first quarter of 2015compared to the first quarter of 2014.The decrease in gross profit relative to net sales was due to competitions arising from the increasing challenge from the online shopping that have significant pricing pressure on our selling of high margin products.

Selling expenses were$16.3million, or 17.6% of net sales, in the first quarter of 2015, and$13.3 million, or 15.4% of net sales, in the first quarter of 2014. The change in selling expenses was mainly due to a increase in expenses in labor costs, promotion expenses, utilities for three months ended March 31, 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. In specific, labor costs increased by $0.8 million or 15.4%, to $6.0 million in the first quarter of 2015 from $5.2 million in the first quarter of 2014.  Promotion expenses increased by $0.5 million, or 50.0%, to $1.5 million in the first quarter of 2015 from $1.0 million in the first quarter of 2014.  Utilities increased by $0.4 million, or 28.6%, to $1.8 million in the first quarter of 2015 from $1.4 million in the first quarter of 2014.

General and administrative expenses decreased by $0.7 million, or 21.9%, to $2.5 million, or 2.7% of net sales, in the first quarter of 2015 from $3.2 million, or 3.8% of net sales, in the first quarter of 2014.  The decrease was mainly due to the control of our administrative expenses.

Our net loss for the first three months of 2015 was $4.6 million, or $3.01 per diluted share, from $3.1 million, or $2.01 per diluted share in the prior year period.  The number of shares used in the computation of diluted EPS was 1,522,326 for the first three months of 2015 and 2014.

Conference Call

The Company will conduct a conference call to discuss its first quarter 2015 results on Friday, May 15, 2015 at 8:30 am ET. Listeners may access the call by dialing #1-719-325-2455. To participate, please dial one of the local access numbers, listed below. The conference call identification number is 10046673.

About QKL Stores Inc.:

Based in Daqing, China, QKL Stores, Inc. is a leading regional supermarket chain company operating in Northeastern China and Inner Mongolia. QKL Stores sells a broad selection of merchandise, including groceries, fresh food, and non-food items, through its retail supermarkets, hypermarkets and department stores; the company also has its own distribution centers that service its supermarkets. For more information, please access the Company's website at: www.qklstoresinc.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this release and other written or oral statements made by or on behalf of the Company are "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements regarding future events and developments and our future performance, as well as management's expectations, beliefs, plans, estimates or projections relating to the future, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of these laws. The forward looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties including market acceptance of the Company's services and projects and the Company's continued access to capital and other risks and uncertainties. The actual results the Company achieves may differ materially from those contemplated by any forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on our current expectations and speak only as of the date of such statements.

Contact Information

(Financial Tables on Following Pages)

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SOURCE QKL Stores Inc.