CCID’s profit jumps 57% Q1

News this week: Hong Kong-listed, mainland media group, CCID Consulting, released its quarterly result for the three months ended 31^st March 2015. Revenues were US$3.6 million, a year-on-year decrease of 19%. However, the company’s net profit jumped 57% from last year, amounting to US$174,000 in the quarter. Earnings per share in the three-month period were RMB 0.0015.

More than half of CCID’s revenues were generated from its management & strategic consultancy services, amounting to US$1.9 million – a drop of 22% year-on-year. Management attributed the decrease in this business segment to the expansion of other businesses within the company.

CCID’s second largest business segment, information engineering supervision services, also slipped 26% to US$1.2 million, and accounted for 32% of total revenues. The remaining revenues were generated from market consultancy services, which grew 20% to US$613,000.

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BOL Q1 revenue and profit down

News this week: Last week, Bangkok-based business information provider, Business Online (BOL), announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2015. Revenues were US$2.8 million, down 16% year-on-year. Net income in the quarter was US$461,000, a drop of 13% from the same period last year. The company did not comment on the decrease in revenue and profit. Earnings per share in the period were Baht 0.02.

Nearly 70% of BOL’s revenues were generated from its online information services which amounted to US$1.9 million, a year-on-year growth of 11%. Income from other services slipped 46%, down to US$885,000 in the quarter. The company did not provide details of the various revenue categories.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website to find out more about this service. You can also follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates.

BOL revenue up, profit down in 2014

New this week: Earlier this week, Bangkok-listed business information provider, Business Online (BOL), announced its financial results for the year ended 31^st December 2014. The company reported revenues of US$14 million, up 13% year-on-year. However, net income in the year decreased by 12%, down to US$2.4 million. Diluted earnings per share in 2014 were Baht 0.10 (US$0.0030).

More than half of BOL’s revenues were generated through its flagship online information service, amounting to US$7.0 million. This represents a 10% decrease from the previous year. Other service generated revenues of US$6.4 million, a growth of 59%. The remaining revenues were generated from other income, which the company did not supply details regarding these revenue categories.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website to find out more about this service. You can also follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates.

CCID’s first half revenues down, but profits up

News this week: Earlier this month, Hong Kong-listed CCID Consulting reported its interim results for the six months ended 30^th June 2014. Revenues were US$9.5 million – an 11% decrease year-on-year. However, the company recorded a net profit of US$573,000, up 17% compared with the same period in 2013. Earnings per share in the six-month period were RMB 0.0051.

More than 60% of CCID’s revenues were generated from its management & strategy consultancy services amounting to US$5.8 million. This is a 14% decrease compared with the first half of 2013. The company’s second largest business segment, information engineering supervision services generated US$2.6 million which accounted for 27% of CCID’s total revenues – that is a year-on-year decrease of 4.6%. The remaining revenues were generated from its market research services, which slid 6.6% versus the same period in 2013.

CCID also released its results for the quarter ended 30^th June. Revenues in the quarter were US$5.0 million, down 19% over the same quarter in 2013. Net profit increased 28% compared with last year rising to US$462,000.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website to find out more about this service. You can also follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates.

BOL revenue down, profit up in Q2

News this week: Last week, Bangkok-based business information provider, Business Online (BOL), reported its financial results for the quarter ended 30^th June 2014. Revenues for the quarter were US$2.9 million, a decrease of 11% compared with the same period last year. However, net profit for the period grew by 13% to US$637,000. More than 55% of revenues were generated from its flagship online information services – amounting to US$1.6 million.

BOL also released its results for the six months ended 30^th June. Revenues in the first half of 2014 were US$6.3 million, a 6.2% increase over the previous year. More than half of the company’s revenues, US$3.3 million, were generated from its flagship online information services. The remaining revenues were generated from its “other services” and “other income” segments. The company did not supply additional details related to its revenue categories.

The company posted a net income of US$1.2 million in the first half, which rose 16% compared with 2013. BOL’s management reported that diluted earnings per share for the six-month period were Baht 0.05 (US$0.0015).

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website to find out more about this service. You can also follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates.

CCID’s profit up 22%

News this week: Hong Kong-listed CCID Consulting has announced its results for the nine months ended 30^th September 2013. The company reported revenues of US$16 million, up 1.6% over the first nine months of 2012. Net profit in the period grew 22% to US$1.5 million. Earnings per share in the nine-month period were RMB 0.0115 (US$0.0019).

More than 60% of total revenues were generated from CCID’s management & strategy consultancy services, amounting to US$9.7 million and up 1.1% year-on-year. Information engineering supervision services posted revenues of US$3.8 million, which accounted for 24% of the total and grew by 4.9% over the same period of last year. The remaining revenues were generated by the market research services, down 1.1% from 2012.

CCID also reported its results for the quarter ended 30^th September. Revenues in the quarter were US$5.1 million, an increase of 6.5% over the same quarter last year. The company posted a net profit of US$910,000, compared with a loss of US$89,000 in 2012.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website to find out more about this service. You can also follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates.

BOL revenue up, profit down in Q2

News this week: Last week, Bangkok-based business information provider, Business Online (BOL), reported its financial results for the quarter ended 30^th June 2013. Revenues for the quarter were US$3.4 million, an increase of 20% over the same period last year. However, net profit for the period was down by 32% to US$587,000.

BOL also released its results for the six months ended 30^th June. Revenues in the first half were US$6.2 million, a 16% increase compared with the first half of 2012. More than half of the company’s revenues, or US$3.6 million, were generated from its online information services. The remaining revenues were generated from its “other services” and “other income” segments.

The company posted a net income of US$1.1 million in the first half, which was down 19% compared with 2012. BOL’s management reported that diluted earnings per share for the six-month period were Baht 0.04 (US$0.0013).

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website to find out more about this service. You can also follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates.

CCID Consulting’s H1 revenue flat

News this week: Last week, Hong Kong-listed CCID Consulting announced its interim results for the six months ended 30^th June 2013. Revenues were US$11 million – almost flat with the first half of 2012. The company recorded a profit attributable to equity holders of US$497,000, down by 64% from the same period last year. Earnings per share in the six-month period were RMB 0.0044.

CCID’s management & strategy consultancy services generated revenues of US$6.8 million or 63% of total revenues. This is a 1.5% decrease compared with the same period last year. The company’s second largest business segment, information engineering supervision services, generated US$2.8 million which accounted for 26% of total revenues – a growth of 47% year-on-year as a result of increased market demand. The remaining revenues were generated from market research services, which dropped 41% year-on-year.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website to find out more about this service. You can also follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates.

BOL revenues drop 7.7% in 2012

News this week: Earlier this week, Bangkok-listed business information provider, Business Online (BOL), announced its financial results for the year ended 31^st December 2012. The company reported revenues of US$12 million, down 7.7% year-on-year. Net income for the year was US$2.8 million, flat compared with 2011. Diluted earnings for the period were Baht 0.11 per share.

The decrease in revenue was attributed to a drop in BOL’s “other service” segment, declining 22% to US$4.3 million. That segment represents 35% of total revenues. More than 60% of the revenues were generated from online information service activities, amounting a total of US$7.7 million - up 1.6% over the previous year.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website to find out more about this service. You can also follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates.

BOL’s revenues up 29% in Q2

News this week: Business Online (BOL), a Bangkok-based business information provider, has announced its financial results for the quarter ended 30^th June 2011. Revenues for the quarter were US$3.1 million, an increase of 29% over the same period last year. Net income for the period was US$774,000, a 14% growth from last year.

The company’s online information service generated 47.5% of total revenues amounting to US$1.48 million, a 12% drop compared with last year. Revenues from other services jumped 136% to US$1.47 million and accounted for 47.4% of total revenues.

BOL also reported its results for the six months ended 30^th June. Revenues were US$5.9 million – an increase of 27% over the first half of last year. Net income in the first half was US$1.1 million, representing a growth of 14% over last year. Diluted earnings in the first half were Baht 0.04 per share.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website to find out more about this service. You can also follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates.

BOL’s revenues up 25% in Q1

News this week: Business Online (BOL) a Bangkok-based business information provider has announced its results for the quarter ended 31^st March 2011. Revenues were US$2.8 million, up 25% year-on-year. BOL’s online information service generated revenues of US$1.7 million, up 30% over last year and accounted for 60% of total revenues.

BOL’s net income in the quarter was US$322,000, an increase of 15% compared to the same period in 2010. Diluted earnings per share in the period were Baht 0.01.

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website to find out more about this service. You can also follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates.

China Finance Online dives in with China Telecom

I have had my doubts about China Finance Online. It's a small company which has struggled to define a compelling strategy and justify its NASDAQ listing.

So, it's very interesting to see, less than 10 days after the Xinhua PR Newswire deal with Kong.net, the China Finance (JRJC) is linking up with China Telecom. The deal is designed to "to deliver a variety of compelling financial information services to more than 40 million broadband users across China Telecom’s internet platform and offline distribution network". It goes on to note that "CFO will provide accurate, timely and comprehensive financial content to “JRJC-Vnet Finance”, the co-branded finance channel, and develop subscription-based financial information and analytical products, including free-trial and fee-based versions, dedicated to China Telecom’s broadband subscribers. China Telecom will distribute CFO’s products through the Vnet portal as well as its over 10 thousand business halls, and the two parties will split the revenues according to the agreed-upon scheme under the alliance agreement".

We'll be watching the next few quarters with great interest. Stock watching site Seeking Alpha thinks this is a great deal. "As the reality of the strategic alliance surfaces, the stock has tremendous potential to form legs and continue the run. Given the fact that China Telecom’s 40 million broadband subscribers only comprise 20% of its total customer base, the number of subscribers to the financial portal can only continue to grow", it says.

Peering into the future of business information

I have had the pleasure over the past couple of years to participate on the sidelines of the formation of a new industry association, the Business Information Industry Association Asia/Pacific and Middle East, or BIIA. It is currently holding its annual Credit Management and Information Forum in Hong Kong.

Yesterday, the group's members met and were given an overview of developments in global business information trends by Chairman, David Worlock of Outsell. David is predicting a gradually slowing of growth in some sectors of the information industry including some falls, "for the first time" in some sectors of the digital media business. With the exception of search, most parts of the business are expected to grow as slowly as 3.5% in the next 2 - 3 years....glacial by the standards of the digital industry.

As I do, David believes that mobile is the big untapped opportunity in business information. How much more true is that in this part of the world even than in Europe and north America. Alongside that, information companies will have to learn to work with software providers as they strive to integrate their data into workflow.

As usual these days, Alibaba come up in conversation as a potential 'unexpected' competitor. It has just launched a seller credit service with China Construction Bank and, just days before that, the launch of a SaaS marketplace. Both of these are key components of the future business model Worlock is predicting and Alibaba's reach into the 10s of millions of Chinese SMEs makes it a powerful player that the large, traditional business information providers, tied as they are into the western corporate model, may find hard to match in China.