51job Posts Positive Revenues; CFO Resigns
November 23, 2009 – 51job, Inc./(NASDAQ:JOBS), a provider of integrated human resource services in China, has posted third quarter revenues of RMB 219.6 million (U.S. $32.2 million), an increase of 5.1 percent for the same quarter in 2008. Print advertising revenues for the third quarter of 2009 decreased 7.2 percent to RMB 77.1 million (U.S. $11.3 million) compared with RMB83.2 million for the same quarter in 2008. The decrease was primarily due to a lower volume of print advertising pages in 51job Weekly resulting from a decline in market demand, which was largely offset by higher average revenue per page. Net income for the third quarter of 2009 increased 27 percent to RMB35.9 million (U.S. $5.3 million) for the same quarter in 2008. Fully diluted earnings per common share for the third quarter of 2009 were RMB0.65 (U.S. $0.10) compared with RMB0.50 for the same quarter in 2008. “We saw an improvement in market conditions in the third quarter as recruitment activity and job openings increased compared to the early part of 2009,” said Rick Yan, president and CEO. “The uptick in market demand, coupled with our successful efforts this year to realign our cost structure and drive operating efficiency, resulted in significant margin expansion and allowed us to achieve our most profitable quarter ever. With our strong brand, focus on innovation and proven execution capability, we are confident in our leadership position as the premier HR services provider in China.” In separate news, 51job CFO, Peter Lui, has resigned, effective immediately, due to personal reasons. While the company commences a search for his successor, Kathleen Chien, chief operating officer and former CFO, will assume responsibility for the company's finance and accounting operations as acting CFO.