Overview
As of
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Commodities Trading Business
The commodity trading business primarily involves purchasing non-ferrous metal products, such as aluminum ingots, copper, silver, and gold, from metal and mineral suppliers and then selling to customers. In connection with the Company's commodity sales, in order to help customers to obtain sufficient funds to purchase various metal products and also help metal and mineral suppliers to sell their metal products, the Company launched its supply chain management service inDecember 2019 . The Company primarily generates revenues from bulk non-ferrous commodity products, and from providing related supply chain management services in the PRC. The Company sources bulk commodity products from non-ferrous metal and mines or its designated distributors and then sells to manufacturers who need these metals in large quantities. The Company works with suppliers in the sourcing of commodities. Major suppliers include various metal and mineral suppliers such asKunsteel Group ,Baosteel Group , Aluminum Corporate ofChina Limited ,Yunnan Benyuan , Yunnan Tin, and Shanghai Copper. The Company's target customers include large infrastructure companies such as China National Electricity,Datang Power , China Aluminum Foshan International Trade,Tooke Investment (China ),CSSC International Trade Co., Ltd. ,Shenye Group , and Keliyuan.
Supply Chain Management Services
We offer a distribution service to bulk suppliers of precious metals by acting as a sales intermediary, procuring small to medium-sized buyers through our own professional sales team and channels and distributing to them the bulk precious metals of the suppliers. Upon the execution of a purchase order from our sourced buyers, we charge the suppliers with a commission fee ranging from 1% to 2% of the distribution order, depending on the size of the order. For the year endedDecember 31, 2022 , the Company earned commodity distribution commission fees of$1,391,903 from facilitating such sales transactions with twenty third party customers. For the year endedDecember 31, 2021 , the Company earned commodity distribution commission fees of$3,180,227 from facilitating such sales transactions with thirty-four third party customers. Competition The Company mainly competes against other large domestic commodity metal product trading service providers such as Xiamen International Trade andYijian Shares . Currently, the principal competitive factors in the non-ferrous metal commodities trading business are price, product availability, quantity, service, and financing terms for purchases and sales of commodities.
Applicable Government Regulations
Shenzhen Baiyu Jucheng has obtained all material approvals, permits, licenses and certificates required for our metal product trading operations, including registrations from the local business and administrative department authorizing the purchase of raw materials. Recent developments
(1) Settlement of Convertible Promissory Notes
The Company settled convertible promissory notes of$125,000 onDecember 30, 2022 ,$125,000 onJanuary 10, 2023 ,$125,000 onJanuary 18, 2023 ,$200,000 onJanuary 18, 2023 ,$250,000 onFebruary 2, 2023 ,$200,000 onFebruary 3, 2023 ,$175,000 onFebruary 8, 2023 ,$250,000 onFebruary 15, 2023 and$250,000 onMarch 2, 2023 , respectively and issued 148,399, 147,824, 147,475, 235,960, 292,987, 234,389, 205,090, 292,987 and 279,567 shares of the Company's common stock onJanuary 6, 2023 ,January 12, 2023 ,January 18, 2023 ,January 19, 2023 ,February 3, 2023 ,February 6, 2023 ,February 8, 2023 ,February 15, 2023 , andMarch 2, 2023 , respectively.
(2) January Private Placement
OnJanuary 9, 2023 , the Company entered into a certain securities purchase agreement with Ms.Huiwen Hu , an affiliate of the Company, and certain other purchasers who are non-U.S. Persons, pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell an aggregate of 35,000,000 shares of its common stock, at a purchase price of$1.21 per share ("January 2023 PIPE"). The gross proceeds to the Company from theJanuary 2023 PIPE was$42.35 million . Since Ms.Huiwen Hu is an affiliate of the Company, theJanuary 2023 PIPE has been approved by the Audit Committee as well as the Board of Directors of the Company.
(3) Settlement of Restated Agreement
The Company issued toWhite Lion Capital, LLC 489,306 shares of the Company's common stock onJanuary 20, 2023 at a purchase price of 80% of the lowest daily volume-weighted average price of the Company's common stock during the valuation period as defined in the Restated Agreement (the "Purchase Price") and issued 200,000 shares of the Company's common stock onFebruary 1, 2023 at the Purchase Price, pursuant to the Restated Agreement datedDecember 12, 2022 . The Company received relevant proceeds of$400,182.47 and$158,890.50 , respectively, in
2023. 30
Key Factors Affecting Our Results of Operation
The commodities trading industry is also experiencing decreasing demand as a
result of
We have a limited operating history having just started our commodities trading business in lateDecember 2019 . We believe our future success depends on our ability to significantly increase sales as well as maintain profitability from our operations. Our limited operating history makes it difficult to evaluate our business and future prospects. You should consider our future prospects in light of the risks and challenges encountered by a company with a limited operating history in an emerging and rapidly evolving industry. These risks and challenges include, among other things, ? our ability to continue our growth as well as maintain profitability;
? preservation of our competitive position in commodities trading industry
inChina ;
? our ability to implement our strategies and make timely and effective
responses to competition and changes in customer preferences; and ? recruitment, training and retaining of qualified managerial and other personnel.
Our business requires a significant amount of capital in large part due to needing to purchase a bulk volume of commodities, and expand our business in existing markets and to additional markets where we currently do not have operations.
Results of Operations
Year Ended
For the Years Ended December 31, Change 2022 2021 Amount % Revenues Sales of commodity products - third parties$ 155,443,398 $ 173,904,016 $ (18,460,618 ) (11 )% Sales of commodity products - related parties - 24,049,999 (24,049,999 ) (100 )% Supply chain management services - third parties 1,391,903 3,180,227 (1,788,324 ) (56 )% Total revenue 156,835,301 201,134,242 (44,298,941 ) (22 )%
Cost of revenue Commodity product sales - third parties (155,789,519 ) (173,996,000 ) 18,206,481
(10 )% Commodity product sales - related parties - (24,045,511 ) 24,045,511 (100 )% Supply chain management services - third parties (7,525 ) (84,118 ) 76,593 (91 )% Total cost of revenue (155,797,044 ) (198,125,629 ) 42,328,585 (21 )% Gross profit 1,038,257 3,008,613 (1,970,356 ) (65 )% Operating expenses Selling, general, and administrative expenses (8,844,739 ) (8,137,481 ) (707,258 ) 9 % Share-based payment for service (44,000 ) (1,836,442 ) 1,792,442 (98 )% Total operating cost and expenses (8,888,739 ) (9,973,923 ) 1,085,184 (11 )% Other income (expenses), net Interest income 17,035,200 10,079,776 6,955,424 69 % Interest expenses (523,980 ) (313,965 ) (210,015 ) 67 % Amortization of beneficial conversion feature relating to issuance of convertible promissory notes (1,212,617 ) (1,463,883 ) 251,266 (17 )% Other income (expense), net 59,088 (285,774 ) 344,862 (121 )% Total other income, net 15,357,691 8,016,154 7,341,537 92 % Loss from continuing operations before income taxes 7,507,209 1,050,844 6,456,365 614 % Income tax expenses (3,253,672 )
(1,991,201 ) (1,262,471 ) 63 %
Net income (loss)$ 4,253,537 $ (940,357 ) $ 5,193,894 552 % 31 Revenue For the years endedDecember 31, 2022 and 2021, we generated revenue from the following two sources, including (1) revenue from sales of commodity products and (2) revenue from supply chain management services. Total revenue decreased by$44,298,941 or 22%, from$201,134,242 for the year endedDecember 31, 2021 to$156,835,301 for the year endedDecember 31, 2022 , among which revenue from commodity trading, supply chain management services for 99.1% and 0.9%, respectively, of our total revenue for the year endedDecember 31, 2022 . The decrease of revenue from sales of commodity products is mainly due to COVID-19, as well as the depreciation of RMB against USD in 2022. For the year endedDecember 31, 2022 , our operations inShanghai were temporarily affected due to the sporadic outbreak of COVID-19, which resulted in a decrease in revenue. But the extent to which COVID-19 affects our future results will depend on many factors and future developments, including new information about COVID-19 and any new government regulations which may emerge to contain the virus, among others.
(1) Revenue from sales of commodity products
For the year ended
For the year endedDecember 31, 2021 , the Company sold non-ferrous metals to twenty-four third party customers and three related party customers at fixed prices, and earned revenues when the product ownership was transferred to its customers. The Company earned revenues of$173,904,016 and$24,049,999 , respectively, from sales of commodity products to twenty-four third party customers and three related party customers.
(2) Revenue from supply chain management services
In connection with the Company's commodity sales, in order to help customers to obtain sufficient funds to purchase various metal products and also help metal and mineral suppliers sell their metal products, the Company launched its supply chain management service business inDecember 2019 , which primarily consisted of commodity distribution services.
Commodity distribution service fees
The Company utilizes its strong sales and marketing expertise and customer network to introduce customers to large metal and mineral suppliers, and facilitate the metal product sales between the suppliers and the customers. The Company merely acts as an agent in this type of transaction and earns a commission fee based on the percentage of volume of metal products that customers purchase. Commodity distribution service fees are recognized as revenue when the Company successfully facilitates the sales transactions between the suppliers and the customers. For the year endedDecember 31, 2022 , the Company earned commodity distribution commission fees of$1,391,903 from third party vendors compared with$3,180,227 for the year endedDecember 31, 2021 . Cost of revenue Our cost of revenue primarily includes cost of revenue associated with commodity product sales and cost of revenue associated with management services of supply chain. Total cost of revenue decreased by$42,328,585 or 21% from$198,125,629 for the year endedDecember 31, 2021 to$155,797,044 for the year endedDecember 31, 2022 , primarily due to an decrease of$42,251,992 in cost of revenue associated with commodity product sales. The cost of revenue increased is in accordance to the increase in sales.
Cost of revenue associated with commodity trading
Cost of revenue primarily consists of purchase costs of non-ferrous metal products.
For the year ended
For the year endedDecember 31, 2021 , the Company purchased non-ferrous metal products of$173,996,000 from twenty-six third party vendors and$24,045,511 from eight related party vendors. 32
Selling, general, and administrative expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased from$8,137,481 for the year endedDecember 31, 2021 to$8,844,739 for the year endedDecember 31, 2022 , representing an increase of$707,258 , or 9%. Selling, general and administrative expenses primarily consisted of salary and employee benefits, office rental expense, amortizations of intangible assets and convertible promissory notes, professional service fees and finance offering related fees. The increase was mainly attributable to (1) amortization of intangible assets of$4,630,169 for the year endedDecember 31, 2022 as compared to$3,927,961 for the year endedDecember 31, 2021 and (2) amortization of convertible promissory notes of$1,212,617 for the year endedDecember 31, 2022 as compared to$489,000 for the year endedDecember 31, 2021 .
Share-based payment for service
OnDecember 16, 2022 , the Company issued 300,000 shares of the Company's common stock as compensation to a settlement and mutual release agreement withWhite Lion Capital, LLC , aNevada limited liability company, and recognized$324,000 share-based payment for service to profit. and charged back$280,000 share-based payment for service to profit to a PR service provider. OnMarch 4, 2021 , the Company issued 750,000 fully-vested warrants with an exercise price of$0.01 , with a five-year life, to an agent who was engaged to complete the warrant waiver and exercise agreements. The Company applied Black-Scholes model and determined the fair value of the warrants to be$1,695,042 . Significant estimates and assumptions used included stock price onMarch 4, 2021 of$2.27 per share, risk-free interest rate of one year of 0.08%, life of 5 years, and volatility of 71.57% for the year endedDecember 31, 2021 .
On
Interest income Interest income was primarily generated from loans made to third parties and related parties. For the year endedDecember 31, 2022 , interest income was$17,035,200 representing an increase of$6,955,424 , or 69% from$10,079,776 for the year endedDecember 31, 2021 . The increase was due to the growth of loans made to third party vendors for the year endedDecember 31, 2022 .
Amortization of beneficial conversion feature and relative fair value of warrants relating to the issuance of convertible promissory notes
For the year endedDecember 31, 2022 , the item represented the amortization of beneficial conversion feature of$1,212,617 of the three convertible promissory notes issued onMarch 4, 2021 ,October 4, 2021 andMay 6, 2022 . For the year endedDecember 31, 2021 , the item represented the amortization of beneficial conversion feature of$1,463,883 of the three convertible promissory notes issued onJanuary 6, 2021 ,March 4, 2021 andOctober 4, 2021 .
Cash Flows and Capital Resources
We have financed our operations primarily through shareholder contributions, cash flow from operations, borrowings from third parties and related parties, and equity financing through private placement and public offerings of our securities.
As reflected in the accompanying audited consolidated financial statements, for
the year ended
During the year endedDecember 31, 2022 , the Company entered into additional private placement agreements with certain private investors and issued 13,000,000 shares of common stock for$45,500,000 , 11,420,000 shares of common stock for$11,420,000 , and 50,000,000 shares of common stock for$57,500,000 , respectively, and sold unsecured senior convertible promissory notes in the aggregate principal amount of$3,000,000 .
The total gross proceeds from these transactions were
Based on the foregoing capital market activities, the management believes that the Company will continue as a going concern in the following 12 months.
33 Statement of Cash Flows
The following table sets forth a summary of our cash flows. For the years ended
For the Years Ended December 31, 2022 2021 Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities$ 4,335,359 $ 8,034,010 Net Cash Used in Investing Activities (125,537,746 ) (71,520,955 ) Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities
117,390,265 64,118,618 Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents 394,111
979,382 Net increase in cash and cash equivalents (3,418,011 ) 1,611,055 Cash at beginning of period 4,311,068 2,700,013 Cash from continuing operations$ 893,057 $ 4,311,068
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities
During the year endedDecember 31, 2022 , we had a cash inflow from operating activities of$4,335,359 , a decrease of$3,698,651 from a cash inflow of$8,034,010 for the year endedDecember 31, 2021 . We incurred a net income for the year endedDecember 31, 2022 of$4,253,537 , an increase of$5,193,894 from the year endedDecember 31, 2021 , during which we recorded a net loss of$940,357 . In addition to the change in profitability, the decrease in net cash provided by operating activities was the result of several factors, including: (1) non cash effects adjustments, including amortization of intangible assets of$4,630,169 , amortization of beneficial conversion feature of convertible promissory notes of$1,212,617 , amortization of discount on convertible promissory notes of$434,333 , and interest expenses for convertible promissory notes of$465,201 ; (2) a decrease of$4,497,189 of advances from customers due to a purchase payment in advance to store goods recent competitive market; (3) a decrease of$3,162,561 of due to accounts payable; and (4) a decrease of$3,507,517 of
other current liabilities.
Net cash used in investing activities for the year endedDecember 31, 2022 was$125,537,746 as compared to net cash used in investing activities of$71,520,955 for the year endedDecember 31, 2021 . The cash used in investing activities for the year endedDecember 31, 2022 was for the loans disbursed to third parties of$109,106,926 , collected loans from third partis of$70,150,111 and collected loans from related partis of$10,448,662 . As ofDecember 31, 2022 , the Company payed for Tongdow Internet Technology acquisition of$96,638,468 .
Net Cash Provided by Financing Activities
During the year endedDecember 31, 2022 , the cash provided by financing activities was mainly attributable to cash raised from certain private placement, specifically, the Company entered into certain private placement agreements with certain private investors and issued 13,000,000 shares of common stock for$45,500,000 , 11,420,000 shares of common stock for$11,420,000 , and 50,000,000 shares of common stock for$57,500,000 , respectively, and sold unsecured senior convertible promissory notes in the aggregate principal amount of$3,000,000 . Contractual Obligations As ofDecember 31, 2022 , the Company had one lease arrangement with an unrelated third party with a monthly rental fee of approximately$8,202 . The lease term was within 23 months, which will be due inNovember 2024 . As of the date of this report, the Company cannot reasonably assess whether it will renew the lease term. The lease commitment was as following table: Less than Total 1 year 1-2 years Thereafter Contractual obligations: Operating lease (1)$ 188,650 $ 98,426 $ 90,224 $ - Total$ 188,650 $ 98,426 $ 90,224 $ -
We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as ofDecember 31, 2022 .
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Critical Accounting Policies
Please refer to Note 2 of the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Form 10-K for details of our critical accounting policies.
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