BEIJING, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SINO) ("Sino-Global" or the "Company"), a leading, non-state-owned provider of shipping agency services operating primarily in China, today announced its selected unaudited financial results for fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2009. Highlights for the First Quarter of 2010 -- Revenues increased 22.5% to US$6.2 million, from US$5.1 million in the first quarter of 2009. -- Gross margin increased to 12.8% compared to 11.6% in the first quarter of 2009. -- Operating loss was US$50 thousand, compared to an operating loss of US$524 thousand in the first quarter of 2009. -- Net loss was US$15 thousand, compared to net loss of US$581 thousand in the first quarter of 2009. -- Basic and diluted earnings per share were US$0.03, compared to basic and diluted loss per share of US$0.19 in the first quarter of 2009. -- Net income attributable to Sino-Global Shipping America Ltd.(1) was US$96 thousand, compared to net loss of US$0.4 million in the first quarter of 2009. (1) Net income attributable to Sino-Global Shipping America Ltd. is after the deduction of non-controlling interest in income (loss) and income taxes "We continued to improve on our low-cost expansion strategy during the quarter, which helped us achieve strong top-line growth and gross profit," said Mr. Cao Lei, Sino-Global's chief executive officer. "We also diversified our client base this quarter and increased the number of ships we serve. Our wholly-owned subsidiary in Hong Kong has gradually been playing a more prominent role to better serve our clients as we expand operations and geographic coverage." Mr. Cao continued, "Going forward, we will pursue new sources of revenues by leveraging our growing international network and full range of shipping agency services to expand into complementary areas such as freight forwarding services. With China's stimulus plan and infrastructure investment fueling demand for our dry bulk commodities, we are confident that our top-line growth will continue along with the global recovery in international trade." "During the quarter, we focused on controlling our costs and expenses," said Mr. Zhang Mingwei, Sino-Global's chief financial officer. "These efforts paid-off and we were able to achieve a slight decrease in cost of revenues as a percentage of total revenues and saw a significant decrease in general and administrative expenses both in absolute amount and as a percentage of total revenues. Although we will continue to incur expenses as we expand our business, our disciplined effort to control our budget is working to improve our bottom-line." Selected Financial Results for the First Quarter of 2010 Revenues Total revenues were US$6.2 million in the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 22.5% from US$5.1 million in the year-ago period. The number of ships that Sino-Global served increased 11.5% to 68 in the first quarter of 2010, from 61 in the year-ago period. The Company expects top-line growth to continue along with the economic recovery in China and around the world. Sino-Global also believes that a substantial majority of its revenues will continue to come from shipping agency services. Cost of Revenues Cost of revenues was US$5.4 million in the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 20.8% from US$4.5 million in the year-ago period. Cost of revenues as a percentage of total revenues for the first quarter of 2010 witnessed a slight year-over-year decrease from 88.4% to 87.2%. The Company noted that the exchange rate of U.S. dollars against the Chinese RMB was relatively stable during the period. The average foreign exchange rate decreased from RMB6.8376 to $1.00 in the first quarter of 2009 to RMB6.8309 to $1.00 in the first quarter of 2010. Gross profit was US$801 thousand in the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 35.3% from US$592 thousand in the year-ago period. Gross margin increased to 12.8% in the first quarter of 2010 from 11.6% in the year-ago period. Operating Expenses General and administrative expenses were US$858 thousand in the first quarter of 2010, a decrease of 15.7% from US$1.0 million in the year-ago period. General and administrative expenses as a percentage of total revenues decreased to 13.8% in the first quarter 2010 from 20.0% in the year-ago period. This decrease includes (1) decreased expenses of $45,682 in allowance for doubtful accounts, (2) reduced travel and car related expenses of $46,027, (3) a decrease of $39,787 in salaries and human resource expenses due to staff reductions and (4) a decrease of $78,643 in office rent and office supplies. The Company also spent $46,725 more on legal fees, audit fees, investor relations, Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404(a) compliance and other expenses for the Company's public listing. Sino-Global expects general and administrative expenses to increase in the near-term as a result of Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404(b) compliance and business expansion. Meanwhile, the management continues to focus on tightening its budget and reducing non-operating expenses. Selling expenses were US$47 thousand in the first quarter of 2010, a decrease of 50.9% from US$95 thousand in the year-ago period. Operating Loss Operating loss was US$50 thousand in the first quarter of 2010, compared to operating loss of US$523 thousand in the year-ago period. Financial income was US$169 thousand in the first quarter of 2010, compared to US$16 thousand in the year-ago period. The net financial income comes largely from interest income accumulated from bank deposits and by the foreign exchange losses recognized in the consolidated financial statements. Income tax expenses were US$174 thousand in the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 139.6% from the US$73 thousand in the year-ago period. The expenses include the estimated income tax expense of $132 thousand and deferred taxes of $42 thousand in the United States. Net Income Net loss was US$15 thousand in the first quarter of 2010, compared to net loss of US$580 thousand in the year-ago period. Net income attributable to Sino-Global Shipping America Ltd. was US$96 thousand in the first quarter of 2010, compared to net loss of US$430 thousand in the year-ago period. Basic and diluted earnings per share in the first quarter of 2010 were US$0.03, compared to basic and diluted loss per share of US$0.19 in the year-ago period. Other Selected Data As of September 30, 2009, the Company had US$6.6 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared to US$9.3 million in the year-ago period. About Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd. Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd. (NASDAQ:SINO), is a leading, non-state-owned provider of high-quality shipping agency and forwarder services, primarily operating in mainland China. With local branches in nine of China's 76 ports and contractual arrangements in all those where it does not have branch offices, Sino-Global is able to offer efficient, high-quality shipping agency services to shipping companies entering Chinese ports. With a subsidiary in Perth, Australia, where it has a contractual relationship with a local shipping agency, Sino-Global provides complete shipping agent services to companies involved in trades between Chinese and Australian ports. Sino-Global also operates a subsidiary in Hong Kong, China to provide comprehensive shipping agency services to vessels going to and from one of the world's busiest ports. Sino-Global provides ship owners, operators and charters with comprehensive yet customized shipping agency services including intelligence, planning, real-time analysis and on-the-ground implementation and logistics support, as well as freight forwarding services. Sino-Global has achieved both ISO9001 and UKAS certifications. Forward Looking Statements No statement made in this press release should be interpreted as an offer to purchase any security. Such an offer can only be made in accordance with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and applicable state securities laws. Any statements contained in this release that relate to future plans, events or performance are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties as identified in Sino-Global's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results, events or performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as the date hereof. Specifically, Sino-Global cannot guarantee that the new subsidiary discussed herein will result in any new business or produce any revenues or meet the prospects referenced herein. Sino-Global undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect the events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: Ms. Apple Liang Sino-Global, Beijing Tel: +86-10-6439-1888 Email: Ms. Flora Tian Ogilvy Financial, Beijing Tel: +86-10-8520-6524 Email: DATASOURCE: Sino-Global Shipping America, Ltd. CONTACT: Ms. Apple Liang of Sino-Global, Beijing, +86-10-6439-1888, or ; Ms. Flora Tian of Ogilvy Financial, Beijing, +86-10-8520- 6524, or

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