Fanhua Inc. (NASDAQ:FANH)

Fourth Quarter and 2019 Financial Results

• Total net revenues were RMB1,012.6 million (US$145.4 million) for the fourth quarter of 2019, representing an increase of 16.1% from RMB871.9 million for the corresponding period in 2018.
  
• Non-GAAP basic7 and diluted4 net income per ADS were RMB1.77 (US$0.25) and RMB1.77 (US$0.25) for the fourth quarter of 2019, respectively, representing decreases of 11.1% and 11.1% from RMB1.99 and RMB1.99 for the corresponding period in 2018, respectively.

Commenting on the financial results of the fourth quarter and full year of 2019, Mr. Chunlin Wang, chairman and chief executive officer of Fanhua, stated, “Despite the challenges amidst industry-wide adjustment, we delivered solid and healthy growth in 2019. Our operating income grew 36.9% year-over-year to RMB114.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, bringing the total operating income to RMB469.4 million in 2019, representing a growth of 10.2% year-over-year, in line with our previous estimate.

“In 2019, net revenues from our life insurance business segment, which consisted solely of long-term regular life and health insurance business, continued to grow as a percentage of our total net revenues, reflecting the accelerating snowball effect as our renewal business continued to scale up. Our life insurance business segment recorded robust growth of 39.3% year-over-year in total gross written premiums (“GWP”) to RMB8.6 billion in 2019, of which first year premiums (“FYP”) grew by over 28.2% to RMB3.1 billion and renewal premiums were up 46.6% to RMB5.5 billion while annualized premiums equivalent (for 20 years) (“APE”) were approximately RMB2.0 billion, up 5.0% year-over-year.

“In the fourth quarter of 2019, our life insurance GWP grew by 37.4% year-over-year to RMB2.4 billion, driven by stellar growth in both FYP and renewal premiums. FYP for life insurance segment hit record high of RMB934.5 million, representing a year-over-year growth of 39.8% while APE grew by 10.4% year-over-year to RMB516.5 million. Renewal premiums for life insurance segment grew by 35.8% year-over-year to RMB1.5 billion.

“In the fourth quarter of 2019, we recognized an impairment on investment in an affiliate to reflect the change in its fair value as measured by its stock price as of the end of 2019, which was the primary reason for net loss attributable to shareholders during the quarter. As the impairment was a non-cash item which did not affect the company’s cash flow, we still recorded positive operating cash flow for the fourth quarter and full year of 2019.

“The COVID-19 outbreak has rattled numerous industries across China, including the Chinese life insurance industry. However, it is widely anticipated that aggressive economic stimulus plans may soon be launched by the Chinese government to ease the economic blow from the epidemic. As a result, China is expected to witness a strong rebound in its economic growth in the second half of 2020, which in turn will drive up consumption and demand for insurance products. Fanhua is strongly positioned to capture the opportunities in the insurance market in the second half of 2020.  

“In the past six years, we have adopted an integrated offline-to-online (“O2O”) operating model. We firmly believe such an O2O operating model is the most effective and efficient model for distributing insurance products and services, which has been further proven during the COVID-19 outbreak. Any model that operates solely online or offline will face challenges in maintaining competitiveness and sustainability.

“In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we have mobilized all human resources from top to bottom and taken swift and targeted measures to cope with the situations. Leveraging our strength in digital technologies and extensive offline distribution and service network, we further integrated our offline resources with online technologies to conduct all of our operational activities, including training and marketing activities, agent recruitment, customer acquisition and interaction as well as completion of transactions, in order to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak to the greatest extent possible. We are pleased that such measures have started to produce positive results. We expect our business to resume to normal level in the second quarter of 2020.

“Based on the aforementioned assessment, we expect life insurance APE to be no less than RMB300 million, renewal premiums to be no less than RMB1.8 billion and operating income to be no less than RMB50 million for the first quarter of 2020. For the full year of 2020, we expect life insurance APE to be no less than RMB1.7 billion, total life insurance GWP to be no less than RMB10 billion, and operating income to be no less than RMB420 million.

“As approved by our board of directors, our regular dividend policy will remain unchanged. Based on our expectation on operating income for 2020, annual dividend for 2020 will be US$1.0 per ADS, payable in four quarterly installments, with US$0.25 per ADS for each quarter”

Business Outlook

Fanhua expects its operating income to be no less than RMB50.0 million for the first quarter of 2020. This forecast reflects Fanhua’s current view, which is subject to change.

GUANGZHOU, China, March 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The board of directors of Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) has declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.015 per ordinary share, or US$0.30 per ADS for the fourth quarter of 2019. The dividend is payable on or around April 16, 2020 to shareholders of record on April 2, 2020.

GUANGZHOU, China, March 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”) has granted in its entirety the Company’s motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit originally filed on September 7, 2018 against Fanhua and three of its current or former executive officers and closed the case.

Commenting on the dismissal, Mr. Chunlin Wang, chairman and chief executive officer of Fanhua, stated, “We are pleased with the Court’s decision to dismiss this meritless lawsuit. We will continue to comply with all regulatory and legal requirements in our operations and provide full and transparent disclosures to investors while delivering long-term value to shareholders.”  

Third Quarter 2019 Financial Results

• Total net revenues were RMB823.4 million (US$115.2 million) for the third quarter of 2019, representing an increase of 5.0% from RMB783.9 million for the corresponding period in 2018.
• Non-GAAP basic7 and diluted net income per ADS4 were RMB2.39 (US$0.33) and RMB2.38 (US$0.33) for the third quarter of 2019, respectively, representing decreases of 20.6% and 20.7% from RMB3.01 and RMB3.00 for the corresponding period in 2018.

Commenting on the financial results of the third quarter of 2019, Mr. Chunlin Wang, chairman and chief executive officer of Fanhua, stated, “Amid the ongoing US-China trade war, there has been no sign of relaxation in regulatory supervision in China’s financial market. Industry-wide transformation and adjustment persist in the life insurance market as it witnessed a continuous quarter-by-quarter slowdown in growth over the past nine months of 2019. Negative growth is expected in new premiums for regular individual life insurance business in the industry for the full year of 2019. If the trade war drags on and the regulatory environment remains tightened, we expect that the life insurance industry may remain under huge pressure to deliver growth in 2020, due to the following factors: 1) lack of product innovation; 2) lower buying desire as more consumers choose to stay on the sidelines in view of market uncertainty; and 3) increasing difficulty in recruiting and retaining sales agents across the industry.

“Although this industry-wide adjustment period may continue for a while, we firmly believe that such adjustment is temporary since the key forces that drive industry growth, such as consumer buying power and increasing demand for insurance products, have not changed fundamentally and the trend of the industry’s spiral growth is irreversible. We are convinced that through continuous regulatory overhaul, the industry will transition to a period of more healthy, sustainable and rapid development in the medium-to-long term.

“Fanhua delivered solid results in the third quarter of 2019, with total life insurance premiums increasing by 42.0% year-over-year to RMB2.1 billion, significantly outpacing industry growth. During this quarter, first year regular premiums increased by 34.5% year-over-year to RMB683.6 million, and annualized premiums equivalent (“APE”) increased by 6.2% year-over-year to RMB419.1 million, while renewal premiums grew by 46.0% year-over-year to RMB1.4 billion. Operating income was RMB151.4 million in the third quarter of 2019, representing a growth of 21.6% year-over-year. Non-GAAP operating income achieved RMB111.6 million, which was in-line with our previous guidance. The decrease in non-GAAP operating income during this quarter was mainly due to a comparison with a high base in the third quarter of 2018 resulting from a one-off performance bonus income of approximately RMB38.0 million recognized in the third quarter of 2018.

“During the third quarter of 2019, we have achieved remarkable results in implementing our campaign to introduce at least one thousand reserve entrepreneurial sales teams by the end of March 2020, or the 1000 Reserve Entrepreneurial Sales Team Campaign. As of September 30, 2019, Fanhua has introduced over 600 new reserve entrepreneurial sales teams, which we believe will start to make positive contributions to our business growth in 2020. Meanwhile, we’ve steadily and vigorously rolled out our Shenzhou 100 strategy nationwide, which is our plan to expand our market presence in large and medium-sized cities in China by establishing more provincial branches within the next five years. We believe our Shenzhou 100 strategy will lay a solid foundation for our growth in the years to come.

“For the coming quarters, we will continue to focus on executing the Shenzhou 100 strategy and the 1000 Reserve Entrepreneurial Sales Teams Campaign, through which we aim to further strengthen our sales force by attracting elite sales and managerial talents, and further tap into the market potential in large and medium-sized cities in China, capitalizing on the favorable opportunities presented by the accelerated separation of insurance underwriting and distribution. We believe these initiatives will position the Company well to embrace the next round of explosive growth in China’s insurance industry over the long run.”

Business Outlook

Fanhua expects its Non-GAAP operating income to be no less than RMB100.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2019. This forecast reflects Fanhua’s current view, which is subject to change.

GUANGZHOU, China, Aug. 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that it has repurchased 23,510 of its American Depository Shares (“ADSs”) at an average price of approximately US$32.9 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$0.8 million for the week of July 29, 2019. From March 13, 2019 to August 2, 2019, it has purchased an aggregate of 2,197,430 ADSs, at an average price of approximately US$27.7 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$61.0 million, under its share buyback program to repurchase up to US$200 million ADSs by December 31, 2019, as previously announced by its board of directors in March 2019.

Pursuant to its share buyback programs executed in 2018 and 2019, a total of 3,621,204 ADSs have been repurchased at an average price of approximately US$26.9 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$97.3 million, as of August 2, 2019.

GUANGZHOU, China, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that it has repurchased 158,393 of its American Depository Shares (“ADSs”) at an average price of approximately US$30.2 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$4.8 million for the week of May 27, 2019. From March 13, 2019 to May 31, 2019, it has purchased an aggregate of 1,666,026 ADSs, at an average price of approximately US$26.4 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$44.0 million, under its share buyback program to repurchase up to US$200 million ADSs by December 31, 2019, as previously announced by its board of directors in March 2019.

Pursuant to its share buyback programs executed in 2018 and 2019, a total of 3,089,800 ADSs have been repurchased at an average price of approximately US$26.0 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$80.4 million, as of May 31, 2019.

GUANGZHOU, China, May 20, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced a correction to its press release disseminated on May 20, 2019 which provided update on its share buyback program for the week of May 13, 2019. The press release incorrectly stated that “pursuant to its share buyback programs executed in 2018 and 2019, a total of 2,852,633 ADSs have been repurchased at an average price of approximately US$25.6 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$73.1 million, as of March 17, 2019.” It should be corrected as “pursuant to its share buyback programs executed in 2018 and 2019, a total of 2,852,633 ADSs have been repurchased at an average price of approximately US$25.6 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$73.1 million, as of May 17, 2019.”  The rest of the press release remains unchanged.

GUANGZHOU, China, May 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that it has repurchased 216,490 of its American Depository Shares (“ADSs”) at an average price of approximately US$25.5 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$5.5 million in the period from May 6, 2019 to May 10, 2019.  

As of May 10, 2019, it has purchased an aggregate of 1,360,360 ADSs, at an average price of approximately US$25.8 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$35.1 million, under its previously announced share buyback program to repurchase up to US$200 million ADSs by December 31, 2019. The repurchased ADSs will be cancelled subsequently. As of May 10, 2019, there were 1,377,548,404 ordinary shares outstanding, including 280,000,000 ordinary shares subscribed by participants under the Company’s 521 plan which are excluded from the computation of basic and diluted income per ordinary share as these shares are subject to five-year lock-up period and are treated as treasury shares.

GUANGZHOU, China, May 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that it has repurchased 140,853 of its American Depository Shares (“ADSs”) at an average price of approximately US$26.0 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$3.7 million in the period from April 29, 2019 to May 3, 2019.  

As of May 3, 2019, it has purchased an aggregate of 1,143,870 ADSs, at an average price of approximately US$25.8 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$29.6 million, under its previously announced share buyback program to repurchase up to US$200 million ADSs by December 31, 2019. The repurchased ADSs will be cancelled subsequently.

GUANGZHOU, China, April 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that it has repurchased 154,265 of its American Depository Shares (“ADSs”) at an average price of approximately US$25.8 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$4.0 million in the period from April 22, 2019 to April 26, 2019.  

As of April 26, 2019, it has purchased an aggregate of 1,003,017 ADSs, at an average price of approximately US$25.8 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$25.9 million, as part of its previously announced share buyback program to repurchase up to US$200 million ADS by December 31, 2019. The repurchased ADSs will be cancelled subsequently.

GUANGZHOU, China, April 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (Nasdaq: FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that it has repurchased 142,965 of its American Depository Shares (“ADSs”) at an average price of approximately US$25.9 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$3.7 million in the period from April 8, 2019 to April 12, 2019. 

As of April 12, 2019, it has purchased an aggregate of 737,866 ADSs, at an average price of approximately US$25.8 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$19.0 million, as part of its previously announced share buyback program to repurchase up to US$200 million ADS by December 31, 2019. The repurchased ADSs will be cancelled subsequently.

GUANGZHOU, China, April 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (Nasdaq: FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that it has repurchased 40,675 of its American Depository Shares (“ADSs”) at an average price of approximately US$26.0 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$1.1 million in the period from April 1, 2019 to April 5, 2019. 

As of April 5, 2019, it has purchased an aggregate of 594,901 ADSs, at an average price of approximately US$25.8 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$15.3 million, as part of its previously announced share buyback program to repurchase up to US$200 million ADS by December 31, 2019. The repurchased ADSs will be cancelled subsequently.

GUANGZHOU, China, March 25, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (�Fanhua� or the Company) (FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that it has repurchased 183,440 of its American Depository Shares (ADSs) at an average price of approximately US$25.8 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$4.7 million in the period from March 18, 2019 to March 22, 2019.  

As of March 22, 2019, it has purchased an aggregate of 325,058 ADSs, at an average price of approximately US$25.6 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$8.3 million, as part of its previously announced share buyback program to repurchase up to US$200 million ADS by December 31, 2019. The repurchased ADSs will be cancelled subsequently.

GUANGZHOU, China, March 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that it has repurchased 141,618 American Depository Shares (“ADS”) in the period from March 13, 2019 to March 15, 2019, as part of its share buyback program previously authorized by its board of directors to repurchase up to US$200 million ADS by December 31, 2019. The ADSs were repurchased at an average price of US$25.3981 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$3.6 million. The repurchased ADSs will be cancelled subsequently.

Fourth Quarter 2018 Financial Results

• Net revenues for the life insurance business were RMB735.0 million (US$106.9 million) for the fourth quarter of 2018, representing an increase of 49.9% from RMB490.3 million for the corresponding period in 2017.
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS were RMB1.99 (US$0.29) and RMB1.99(US$0.29) for the fourth quarter of 2018, respectively, representing decreases of 0.5% and 0.5% from RMB1.98 and RMB1.98 for the corresponding period in 2017.

Commenting on the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2018 financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, chairman and chief executive officer of Fanhua, stated," Against the backdrop of tightened regulation focusing on steering the China’s life insurance industry back to its fundamental function of providing protection to the society, and as the Circular No. 134 issued by the CIRC in 2017 continued to exert its impact in 2018, we are glad to report a continued solid set of key operating metrics which beat our prior expectations. Our annualized insurance premiums (“APE”) on regular life insurance products increased by 3.8% year-over-year to RMB1.9 billion in 2018 while the renewal insurance premiums registered a strong growth of 119.3% year-over-year to RMB3.7 billion, leading to a total of RMB6.2 billion life insurance premiums, representing a growth of 46.2% year-over-year.

“Our operating income grew by 55.9% year-over-year to RMB425.7 million in 2018, with net income growing by 35.8% year-over-year to RMB609.9 million and earnings per American Depositary Share (“ADS”) up 34.8% year-over-year to US$1.43. We declared and distributed cash dividend of US$1.00 per ADS in 2018, representing a dividend payout ratio of 69.9%.

“We wrapped up the year with strong note in the fourth quarter of 2018, with an operating income increasing by 34.3% from the corresponding period in 2017 to RMB83.4 million, primarily driven by a stellar growth of 80.9% year-over-year in total insurance premiums to RMB 1.7 billion, of which APE on regular life insurance products grew by 37.7% to RMB467.9 million and renewal insurance premiums grey 100.4% year-over-year to RMB1.1 billion.

“Looking ahead to 2019, as the complex international geopolitical landscape adds to uncertainty in macroeconomic environment in China and abroad, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission will highly likely focus on strict regulatory supervision and risk control. However, we are convinced that we are on track towards a continued growth, benefiting from a rapidly expanding middle class in China and accelerated trend of separation of manufacturing from distribution, and based on Fanhua’s scalable platform, rapidly expanding sales force, nationwide footprint and large customer base built over the past 21 years.

“As such, we expect our APE on regular life insurance products to increase by 30% year-over-year and operating income by 40% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2019.

“For 2019, we expect APE on life insurance products to increase by 30% year-over-year to RMB2.5 billion, renewal insurance premiums to grow by 50% year-over-year to RMB5.6 billion, and operating income to grow by 40% to RMB600 million.

“Investment income is expected to drop in 2019 mainly due to a decrease in cash reserve as a result of the Company’s increasing spending on share buyback and cash dividends, and the loans related to the Company’s 521 development plan, while share of income from affiliate may decline in 2019 as CNFinance Holdings Ltd(“CNFinance”), in which Fanhua owns 18.5% equity interests, intends to upgrade its business model from heavy-asset model to light-asset platform model which may impact its profit in 2019.

“As a result of the aforementioned factors, we expect a slight increase in net income attributable to shareholders in 2019 on a year-on-year basis. However, as the shares related to the 521 development plan will be treated as treasury shares which won’t be included in the shares used for calculating basic earnings per share, according to relevant rules under the US GAAP, we anticipate that the growth of our basic earnings per share will be around 10%.  

“On March 8, 2019, our board of directors (the “Board”) passed the below resolutions:

Firstly, the Board approved to increase the Company’s annual dividend by 20% from US$1.0 per ADS in 2018 to US$1.2 per ADS in 2019, which will be paid on a quarterly basis.

“Secondly, the Board approved a share repurchase program, authorizing the management to execute the repurchase of up to US$200 million of the Company’s ADSs by December 31, 2019, in any form that the management may deem fit.”

Business Outlook

Fanhua expects its operating income to be no less than RMB126.0 million for the first quarter of 2019. This forecast reflects Fanhua’s current view, which is subject to change.

GUANGZHOU, China, March 11, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (Nasdaq: FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that the Company's board of directors (the “Board”) has approved a new share repurchase program, which authorized the Company’s management to execute the repurchase of up to US$200 million of its American Depository Shares (“ADSs”) by December 31, 2019, in any form that management may deem fit. The Company’s management intends to launch the repurchase on March 13, 2019 and the proposed purchases will be made from time to time depending on market conditions, in accordance with applicable requirements of Rule 10b-18 and/or Rule 10b-5 under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Mr. Chunlin Wang, Fanhua’s chairman and chief executive officer, stated, “Management remain confident about the Company’s growth outlook as we have solid cash position and are on track towards a sustainable profit growth. The share repurchases will help increase shareholder value per share and we believe it is an effective way to reward our shareholders for their support and trust.” 

GUANGZHOU, China, March 11, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (Nasdaq: FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that its board of directors has approved its management’s proposal to increase its annual aggregate dividend by 20% from US$1.0 per American Depository Share (“ADS”) in 2018 to US$1.2 per ADS, or US$0.06 per ordinary share in 2019. The dividend will be paid on a quarterly basis, with US$0.3 per ADS, or US$0.015 per ordinary share, payable in each of the next four quarters.

Mr. Chunlin Wang, Fanhua’s chairman and chief executive officer, stated, “Management team believes that our strong cash reserve of RMB2.3 billion as of December 31, 2018 should be sufficient to support our need to drive long term business development primarily via organic growth. In addition, the continued growth of our long term regular life insurance business, which has high embedded value and cash value, will enable the Company to generate sustainable cash flow in the long run while the Company’s cash dividends will be determined based on our operating cash flow to make sure that dividend distributions won’t eat into the Company’s existing cash reserve.”

GUANGZHOU, China, March 11, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) has declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.0125 per ordinary share, or US$0.25 per ADS for the fourth quarter of 2018. The dividend is payable on or around April 3, 2019 to shareholders of record on March 21, 2019. 

Mr. Chunlin Wang, Fanhua’s chairman and chief executive officer, stated, “The Board and management remain optimistic  about the growth prospects of the life insurance market in China and Fanhua. Therefore, we believe that the Company’s stocks represent an attractive investment in the long run. We also believe that the Company’s solid cash position and strong operating cash flow will enable the Company to continuously maximize shareholders’ value through cash dividends and share repurchases while pursuing continued business growth opportunities.”

GUANGZHOU, China, Feb. 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (Nasdaq: FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that the Company's board of directors (the “Board”) today formed an independent special committee (the “Special Committee”) to conduct an independent review of the allegations raised in several reports issued recently. The Special Committee is comprised of three independent directors of the Company, Mr. Allen Lueth, Mr. Stephen Markscheid and Mr. Mengbo Yin, and is authorized to retain independent advisors in connection with its investigation. 

The Company believes that the reports contain misleading speculations and malicious misinterpretations of events. In order to provide the highest level of transparency to its shareholders, the Board decided to form the Special Committee to review the allegations in the reports. Management will fully cooperate with the Special Committee in the investigation.

GUANGZHOU, China, Jan. 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (Nasdaq: FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today issued a solemn statement in response to the unusual trading activities that occurred on January 17, 2019 as below:

The unusual stock trading volatility was caused by a report published on January 17, 2019 which made groundless accusations and deliberate out-of-context misinterpretation, in an attempt to profit from the decline of the stock price of the Company through short selling attack. The Company strongly condemns such a malicious act.

The Company has consistently and strictly complied with SEC rules and regulations including the requirements for fair, prompt and full disclosure, for the past 11 years as a publicly listed company on Nasdaq. The Company has also strictly abided by applicable laws and regulations in its business operations.

The Company’s cashflow and profits have been closely aligned. The management remain committed to fulfilling their fiduciary duties to shareholders with continued profit growth and dividend increase.
 
In line with its commitment to protect investors’ interests, the Company is carefully reviewing the report and will make an announcement clarifying and refuting the allegations raised in the report in an open and transparent manner, before market opens on January 22, 2019.

Management hereby would like to express sincere gratitude to the Company’s shareholders for their continued trust and support.

GUANGZHOU, China, Dec. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (Nasdaq: FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that Fanhua Insurance Sales Service Group Company Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, has signed a framework agreement for strategic cooperation with Ping An Health Insurance Company of China, Ltd. (“Ping An Health”) on December 14, 2018.

Pursuant to the agreement, both parties intend to deepen cooperation with each other on customization and distribution of medical insurance products while exploring opportunities to collaborate on a wider spectrum of health care insurance products and services, by leveraging on each other’s strengths, including Ping An Health’s diversified health care insurance product offerings and Fanhua’s extensive distribution network, in order to provide personalized and high quality products and services to broader groups of individuals and families in China. Zheng Yang, chairman and chief executive officer of Ping An Health and Chunlin Wang, chairman and chief executive officer of the Company were present at the agreement signing ceremony.

Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results

• Total net revenues were RMB783.9 million (US$114.1 million) for the third quarter of 2018, representing a decrease of 26.2% from RMB1,061.9 million for the corresponding period in 2017.
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS were RMB3.01 (US$0.44) and RMB3.00 (US$0.44) for the third quarter of 2018, respectively, representing increases of 67.2% and 69.5% from RMB1.80 and RMB1.77 for the corresponding period in 2017.

Commenting on the third quarter of 2018 financial results, Chunlin Wang, chairman and chief executive officer of the Company, said, “We continued to report strong profits in the third quarter of 2018, with operating income increasing 48.7% year-over-year to RMB124.6 million, once again beating guidance, and net income attributable to shareholders growing 73.9% year-over-year to RMB195.2 million.

“Total life insurance premiums grew 10.6% year-over-year to RMB1.5 billion, of which annualized premiums equivalent (“APE2”), dropped 28.9% year-over-year to approximately RMB394.5 million,  as the management had previously estimated, primarily due to the high base in the same period last year. However, our health insurance business, in terms of APE, still recorded stellar growth of 101.4% year-over-year, accounting for 82.1% of total life insurance APE in the third quarter of 2018 as compared to 28.0% a year-ago.   

“In the meantime, our consistent focus on long term regular protection insurance business continued to pay dividends. Renewal premiums maintained strong growth, increasing by 101.5% year-over-year to RMB960.7 million, which is one of the major drivers behind the rapid increase of the Company’s operating income during the quarter. It fully reflects the intrinsic value of our regular life insurance business and demonstrates the sustainability of our operating profit growth in the long term as our renewal businesses continue to accumulate.

“Net operating cash flow increased significantly during the third quarter of 2018 to RMB305.7 million, as Fanhua Lianxin Insurance Sales Co., Ltd., (“Lianxin”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, completed the relocation of its headoffice on August 27, 2018 and has since resumed collection of headquarters-to-headquarters commissions receivable from our life insurance company business partners which had been temporarily suspended due to the relocation since February 2018. We expect our operating cashflow will return to normal level in the next quarter.

“Looking ahead to the fourth quarter of 2018, we expect APE of our life insurance business to grow no less than 35% year-over-year to RMB460 million, with operating income of no less than RMB80 million. For full year 2018, we expect APE of our life insurance business to achieve positive growth year-over-year and operating income to increase by no less than 50% year-over-year. We have full confidence in achieving these operating targets.”

Business Outlook

Fanhua expects its operating income to be no less than RMB80.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2018. This forecast reflects Fanhua’s current view, which is subject to change.

GUANGZHOU, China, Nov. 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (FANH), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.0125 per ordinary share, or US$0.25 per ADS for the third quarter of 2018, amounting to a total of US$16.0 million, on November 17, 2018. The dividend is payable on or around December 20, 2018 to shareholders of record on December 5, 2018. 

The Company will maintain its regular dividend policy unchanged, pursuant to which cash dividends will be paid on a quarterly basis, with payout ratio of no less than 50% of its net income attributable to shareholders.

GUANGZHOU, China, Nov. 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (FANH) (the “Company” or “Fanhua”), a leading independent financial services provider operating in China, today announces that it has repurchased 1,004,680 American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) in the period from August 28, 2018 to October 31, 2018. These repurchases were made as part of a share buyback program previously announced to repurchase up to 6.5 million ADSs by December 31, 2018. The ADSs were repurchased at an average price of US$25.8582 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$26.0 million.

GUANGZHOU, China, Oct. 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (FANH) (the “Company” or “Fanhua”), a leading independent financial services provider operating in China, today announces progress on its share repurchase program.

Pursuant to its previously announced share repurchase program, the Company intends to repurchase up to 6.5 million American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) at prevailing market prices of no more than US$29.0 per ADS by December 31, 2018. As of September 30, 2018, the Company has repurchased 506,412 ADSs at an average price of US$24.9478 per ADS for a total amount of approximately US$12.6 million, subject to the restrictions set forth in Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Company will continue to implement the share repurchase program in accordance with its Rule 10b5-1 plan established by the Company and its broker going forward.

GUANGZHOU, China, Aug. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (Nasdaq: FANH) (the "Company" or "Fanhua"), a leading independent financial services provider operating in China, today announced that its board of directors has approved to expand its share purchase program, pursuant to which the maximum number of shares to be purchased will be increased from an initial round of US$20 million worth of American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) to 6.5 million ADSs. Purchases will be made from time to time on the open market or in block trades at prevailing market prices of no more than US$29.0 per ADS. The expiration date of the share purchase program is also extended to December 31, 2018.

The purchased shares will be used as treasury shares and resold to the participants of Fanhua 521 Development Plan (“Plan Participants”) at the weighted average of the closing prices of the purchases under the share purchase program. If the total number of ADSs purchased under the share purchase program is less than 6.5 million, the shortfall will be issued by the Company to the Plan Participants at the same price.

Mr. Chunlin Wang, chairman and chief executive officer of the Company, stated, “We believe that the current stock price does not reflect the underlying value of the Company. The adjustment in the share purchase program and the 521 development plan will help minimize dilution to existing shareholders. In the meantime, it closely aligns the interests of our employees and entrepreneurial team leaders with the Company and our shareholders, which will further motivate them to achieve the goals set in the 521 Development Plan.”

GUANGZHOU, China, Aug. 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc., (FANH), (the "Company" or "Fanhua"), a leading independent financial services provider in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 20181.

Quarterly Dividend Declaration:

On August 18, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of US$0.0125 per ordinary share, or US$0.25 per ADS, amounting to a total of US$16.3 million. The dividend will be payable on or around September 19, 2018 to shareholders of record on September 5, 2018.

Second Quarter of 2018 Financial Results

• Total net revenues were RMB972.1 million (US$146.9 million) for the second quarter of 2018, representing a decrease of 3.0% from RMB1,002.5 million for the corresponding period in 2017.
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS were RMB2.64 (US$0.40) and RMB2.64 (US$0.40) for the second quarter of 2018, respectively, representing increases of 15.8% and 20.0% from RMB2.28 and RMB2.20 for the corresponding period in 2017.

Business Outlook

Fanhua expects its operating income to be no less than RMB100.0 million for the third quarter of 2018. This forecast reflects Fanhua’s current view, which is subject to change.

GUANGZHOU, China, May 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc., (Nasdaq:FANH), (the "Company" or "Fanhua"), a leading independent online-to-offline ("O2O") financial services provider in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 20181 and declared quarterly dividend.

The Company also announced that on May 12, 2018, its Board of Directors (the "Board") declared an annual aggregate dividend of US$1.0 per ADS, or $0.05 per ordinary share, payable on a quarterly basis. The dividend declaration reflects management and the Board's current view on the Company's first quarter of 2018 financial results and its earnings growth outlook for 2018. The first quarterly dividend for the year 2018 will be US$0.25 per ADS, or US$0.0125 per ordinary share, amounting to a total of US$16.3 million, payable on or around June 10, 2018 to shareholders of record on May 30, 2018.

First Quarter 2018 Financial Results

• Total net revenues were RMB 843.3 million (US$134.4 million) for the first quarter of 2018, representing a decrease of 36.8% from RMB 1,333.6 million for the corresponding period in 2017.
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS were RMB2.00 (US$ 0.32) and RMB2.00 (US$0.32) for the first quarter of 2018, respectively, representing increases of 66.7% and 73.9% from RMB1.20 and RMB1.15 for the corresponding period in 2017.

Commenting on the first quarter 2018 financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, chairman and chief executive officer of Fanhua, stated, "We delivered another quarter of solid results that beat our expectation, with operating income growing by 63.3% year-over-year to RMB90.2 million, and net income attributable to shareholders increasing by 86.7% year-over-year to RMB130.2 million.

"The performance of our core business, life insurance business, was in line with our expectation. Our total life insurance premiums grew by 40.1% from a year ago, outpacing industry growth, primarily owing to strong year-over-year growth of 186.5% in renewal life insurance premiums during the quarter, reflecting the attractive business nature of the long-term life insurance business. i.e. the snowball effect created by the accumulation of renewal business. First year annualized premiums equivalent ("APEs") were down 12% year-over-year, consistent with our expectation, mainly affected by the continued adjustment in annuity products and the high base in the same period of last year. In the meantime, the fundamentals of our life insurance segment remain solid, as evidenced by the strong growth momentum in both registered sales agents and performing sales, and over 40% year-on-year growth in APEs of health insurance products for the first quarter of 2018.

"We are also happy to see positive operational and financial contributions from our various internet platforms which have demonstrated leading advantages in each of their respective areas and started to generate commercial value. These achievements have fully demonstrated the foresight and accuracy of the business strategies that we've implemented over the past few years. We believe our internet platforms will become a new driver for the continued growth of the company in the future.

"Looking ahead to the second quarter of 2018, we expect the life insurance industry will be on track for a healthier development, in view of current financial and insurance regulatory trends. But we firmly believe that the decoupling of manufacturing from distribution is an irreversible trend and the industry's transition towards protection-oriented business is favorable for Fanhua. As such, we expect to achieve positive growth in first year life insurance APEs and operating income of no less than RMB100 million in the second quarter of 2018."

Business Outlook

Fanhua expects its operating income to be no less than RMB100.0 million for the second quarter of 2018. This forecast reflects Fanhua’s current view, which is subject to change.

GUANGZHOU, China, Oct. 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc., (FANH), (the "Company" or "Fanhua"), a leading independent online-to-offline ("O2O") financial services provider in China, today announced that, as part of its transition towards the fee-based property and casualty ("P&C") insurance platform model, it has entered into a share purchase agreement with Beijing Cheche Technology Co., Ltd. ("Cheche"), which operates an online auto insurance platform. Under this agreement, Fanhua agrees to sell the equity interests in Fanhua Times Sales & Service Co., Ltd., and its P&C insurance subsidiaries (collectively, the "P&C Insurance Division"), to Cheche for total consideration of approximately RMB222 million, which represents RMB130 million above the combined net asset value of the P&C Insurance Division.

Fanhua's plan to change its P&C insurance business from a commission spread-based profit model to a fee-based platform model was previously announced on August 22, 2017. Under the new model, Fanhua will give all participants in the P&C industry access to CNpad App, through which both P&C insurance providers and purchasers can transact directly with each other.

The spin-off of its P&C Insurance Division marks an important step forward towards Fanhua's transition to the P&C insurance platform model. Starting from October 1, 2017, Fanhua will no longer charge insurance companies commissions and pay commissions to sales agents for the P&C insurance business. Instead, it will charge P&C insurance providers platform management and technology service fees based on the actual amount of premiums transacted over CNpad App.

As the result of the transition, Fanhua expects a substantial decline in both of its total revenues and commission costs, while its gross margin is expected to improve significantly. The impact on its operating profit and net profit should be limited. From a long-term perspective, the Company expect this move will help elevate its overall profitability.    

Mr. Chunlin Wang, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Fanhua, stated, "The transaction is a win-win for both parties. It accelerates the transition to our platform model and allows Cheche to gain quick access to brick-and-mortar offline support and broader insurance business resources. We look forward to establishing a strong long-term business partnership with Cheche."

A Letter To Shareholders

By Chunlin Wang

Dear Shareholders:

Twenty years ago, in the state-monopolized financial services industry in China, Fanhua was born in Guangzhou, the forefront of the storied Chinese economic reform. It is hard to imagine all the dreams and hopes, fame and triumphs as well as struggles and misunderstandings, trials and hardships that Fanhua has experienced on this journey. It was even harder to imagine then that Fanhua would be able to achieve its current market position as one of the top insurance intermediaries in China and Asia and one of the top 20 globally1.

I would like to express our deepest gratitude to the founders of Fanhua, Mr. Yinan Hu and Mr. Qiuping Lai. It is their professionalism and perseverance, their wisdom and discipline and their fairness and conviction that led many through their challenges. Their courage in time of failure, their steadfastness in the face of turmoil have guided Fanhua into an age of growth and prosperity twenty years later. Fanhua’s tried-and-true growth model entails: central focus on building its sales force, targeting growth in life insurance, enhancing its market competence by offering a wide spectrum of financial products and services and best-in-class technology, fostering entrepreneurship systems and helping individual sales agents and sales team leaders to achieve the highest income in the industry, which we believe are the keys to achieving the Company's goal to become an enterprise with more than RMB100 billion in annual insurance premiums generated.

The success of Fanhua’s growth model is built on investment in lessons learned from many failed business models over twenty years. It has developed into an unprecedented model that is uniquely suitable for the Chinese insurance industry, for the Chinese marketplace, for Chinese culture and for individuals. If Fanhua’s history of development can be analogous to a magnificent symphony, then the growth model would be its cadenza.

According to the Chinese government’s “two one-hundred year” goals, China will become a prosperous society in which all people will be lifted out of poverty by 2020. By the middle of this century, Chinese GDP will reach the level of medium-developed nations and achieve modernization. Currently, there are more than 1 billion people living in developed countries in the world, which implies that within the next thirty years, more than half of the population in developed countries will reside in China. It also implies that China will become the largest economic power in the world. It is only natural that the Chinese insurance market will also be the largest insurance market in the world. Consequently, the largest insurance companies and insurance intermediaries will also be Chinese companies. However, China’s life insurance market and asset management market are only on the cusp of potentially explosive growth. This is evidenced by the exponential growth in Fanhua’s own life insurance business in the last two years. Moreover, Fanhua’s ability to attract the best talent in the industry by leveraging its support platform also bears witness to the nascent development stage of China’s insurance service industry.

Ten years ago, Mr. Yinan Hu, then chairman of the board, shared his vision of Fanhua's future, “What kind of company will Fanhua become in the future? It will definitely not be a company that only cares about making money. It will be a company with social responsibilities, with clear values and with great aspirations; it will be a company that is admired for its moral standards; it will be a company that is committed to satisfying customers' needs throughout their life cycle; it will be a company that grows with its employees and partners; and it will be a company with humility, dedication, kindness and love.”

After twenty years of exploration and the accumulation of experiences, on the strength of Mr. Hu and Mr. Lai’s operating principles, Fanhua has started on the road to high growth, sustained profitability and cash generation. Mr. Hu and Mr. Lai’s corporate values and corporate culture have become the foundation and motivation of Fanhua’s future growth. In this pivotal moment, Mr. Hu has chosen to step down as the chairman of the board and hand the baton to me and the Fanhua management team. I deeply appreciate his foresight and wisdom. I am also grateful for his faith and trust in me and the management team.

We also want to thank Mr. Paul Wolansky and Mr. Hermann Leung from the Cathay Funds, Mr. Shangzhi Wu and Ms. Xiaojun Shang from CDH, for your continued support of Fanhua through difficult periods in which the market tended to misunderstand our business and also for your strong support and trust in the management team. After 16 years, Mr. Wolansky and Mr. Leung still remain as our major shareholders. Without your trust and support, Fanhua would not be able to achieve what it has accomplished today. Today, Fanhua has established a well-proven growth model and is able to show great potential for profitability and sustained operating cash flow. On behalf of all of us from Fanhua, our highest respect to you all!

I joined Fanhua at its founding, starting as a low-level employee and progressing one step at a time to reach my current position. I've witnessed the massive transformation of China’s insurance intermediary industry. It has been the story of the birth of insurance intermediaries in China, a journey from chaos to order. I’ve also witnessed some market participants’ transformation from hope to despair, from success to failure. However, I’ve never been as confident as I am today that, if China is to produce the largest insurance intermediary company in the world, it will be Fanhua! I will lead Fanhua’s management team to develop, refine and adhere to our profit, operating and growth models, leveraging the biggest economic entity in the world and targeting the largest middle-class population. I am confident that we will build Fanhua into one of the leading insurance sales and services companies in the world in the next 10 years. Concurrently, Fanhua will team with the best international partners to build the world’s best risk management and risk diversification capabilities.

Fanhua will continue to invest in its support platform to provide sales training, product development, and digital sales support tools to millions of sale agents in the industry. Fanhua will work alongside the “entrepreneur” sales representatives to provide highly personalized services to tens of millions of existing and prospective customers. I will remain dedicated to fulfilling Fanhua’s mission of “assisting entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams of wealth and helping all families to achieve financial independence.” I will further strengthen Fanhua’s value system of “down-to-earth spirit, inclusiveness, sharing and excellence.” Fanhua will be a haven for entrepreneurs and Fanhua’s entrepreneurs will represent the best in the industry and be the most respected by society.

Foresight and innovation, knowledge and technology, products and services are the core competitiveness of Fanhua. Together with my team, I will continue to stick to our asset-light and cashflow-focused business philosophy. We will strive to achieve steady growth and sustained profitability and to distribute dividends quarterly while providing long term returns to our shareholders.

I am acutely aware that achieving excellence is not a given. It requires constant efforts with no shortcuts or capitulation. The process is grueling and it is not for the faint-hearted or those who prefer leisure over hardwork or only chase fame and fortune. It is for those who take risks, who innovate, who are dedicated and work hard. I am prepared! My team and I will lead Fanhua forward for our dreams, our responsibility and our future!

GUANGZHOU, China, Sept. 18, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (Nasdaq:FANH) (the "Company" or "Fanhua"), a leading independent online-to-offline financial services provider operating in China, today announced that its board of directors (the “Board”) has modified its dividend policy to adopt a quarterly payment schedule in lieu of an annual dividend. Under the revised policy, dividends will be declared and paid on a quarterly basis, at an amount equivalent to no less than 50% of net income attributable to the Company's shareholders in each quarter instead of no less than 30% under the annual dividend policy previously announced on April 20, 2017. The Company expects to declare the first quarterly dividend by the end of November.

Mr. Chunlin Wang, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Fanhua, stated, "My team and I believe that no business, large or small, can be considered successful without making a profit. We also believe that management's value lies in their ability to create long term value for shareholders while enabling employees and, in our case, our sales agents, to have a highly respected and fulfilling career that can provide them a strong sense of accomplishment.

"We have enjoyed strong growth in operating profit over the past consecutive four quarters. Fanhua has shown great potential for sustained profitability and operating cash flow, which demonstrates the success of the adjustment to our business strategy over the past seven years. Therefore, with the approval of the Board, management has decided to implement a more generous dividend policy to better reward our shareholders for their trust and support.

"We believe our ability to generate strong cash flow and our solid cash position will provide sufficient capital to support both the boost in dividend payments and our long term business development."

GUANGZHOU, China, April 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. (“Fanhua” or “the Company”) (FANH), a leading independent online-to-offline ("O2O") financial services provider in China, today announced that its board of directors (the “Board”) had declared an annual cash dividend of US$0.006 per ordinary share, or US$0.12 per American Depositary Share ("ADS"),   amounting to a total of approximately US$7.4 million, which represents 32.8% of the Company's audited net income attributable to shareholders for the year 2016. The dividend will be payable on or around May 18, 2017 to shareholders of record on May 8, 2017. The dividends to be paid to the ADS holders through the depositary bank will be subject to the terms of the deposit agreement, including the fees and expenses payable thereunder.

The dividend payment is part of the regular cash dividend policy that the Board approved on February 28, 2017, which provides for an annual cash dividend to shareholders of no less than 30% the Company's audited net income attributable to shareholders in the previous year.

Commenting on the cash dividend, Fanhua's Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Chunlin Wang, said, “We are committed to maximizing shareholder value. We had strong growth momentum in 2016 which proved the effectiveness of our growth strategies. We are confident in our ability to generate strong profits in the next few years and deliver attractive long-term returns to our shareholders.”

GUANGZHOU, China, April 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. ( “Fanhua” or “the Company”) (Nasdaq:FANH), a leading independent online-to-offline ("O2O") financial services provider in China, today announced the completion of a private placement of 66,000,000 ordinary shares (equivalent to 3,300,000 ADS) of the Company, at purchase price of  US$0.44185 per ordinary share (equivalent to US$8.837 per ADS), for a total investment of US$29,162,100, by Fosun Industrial Holdings Limited ("Fosun"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fosun International Limited (00656.HK) ("Fosun International"). The purchase price represents the average closing price of the past 20 trading days prior to the signing of the share purchase agreement between Fosun and the Company on March 29, 2017. Fosun holds 5.34% of the equity interests in the Company post-closing and its purchased shares are subject to a contractual one-year lock-up.

In connection with this investment, Fosun and Fanhua agreed to establish a long term strategic partnership to pursue strategic collaboration in areas such as insurance, healthcare, investment and financial services. Fanhua expects to strengthen business cooperation with Fosun's affiliated insurance companies to leverage Fosun’s brand name and variety of insurance offerings with its own extensive insurance sales and service network.

Commenting on Fosun's strategic investment in Fanhua, Mr. Chunlin Wang, chief executive officer of Fanhua, said, “Fosun’s strategic investment in Fanhua validates Fanhua's business value and its leading position in the professional insurance intermediary sector. It also constitutes a vote of confidence by Fosun in Fanhua’s business and long-term growth prospects. Fosun is a world-class investment group with outstanding industrial integration capabilities and global asset allocation capabilities. Fosun has already invested in a number of insurance companies in China and abroad and its global footprint includes a number of new business areas including healthcare and internet of vehicles. We believe Fosun’s investment in and cooperation with the Company will be instrumental to further diversifying our product offerings, improving customer experience and strengthening our leadership in the insurance intermediary sector. Over the long term, we believe this relationship provides strong momentum towards realizing our goal of becoming a diversified financial services provider and achieving sustainable and profitable growth.

“We look forward to exploring opportunities for deeper cooperation with Fosun in many aspects by leveraging both parties’ resources and complementary strengths to provide continuous mutual benefits for the foreseeable future.”

GUANGZHOU, China, March 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc. ( “Fanhua” or “the Company”) (Nasdaq:FANH), a leading independent online-to-offline ("O2O") financial services provider in China, today announced that its Board of Directors (the "Board") approved a cash dividend policy on February 28, 2017, which provides for an annual cash dividend to shareholders of up to 30% of the Company’s net income attributable to shareholders in the previous fiscal year.  The Company expects to declare the first annual cash dividend by the end of April 2017 when the Company completes the annual audit of its 2016 financial results.

This dividend policy will be reviewed and revised by the Board periodically in accordance with the Company’s business and financial circumstances, with the goal of sharing the Company’s success with its shareholders while reserving adequate funds for the Company’s business operations and expansion plans.

Mr. Chunlin Wang, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commenting on the new dividend policy stated, "The approval by the Board of the cash dividend policy demonstrates the Board’s confidence in the Company’s growth and profitability. We experienced robust growth in 2016 and recorded positive operating income sooner than we expected. We are optimistic that we will generate strong operating profit in 2017 and continue to do so for the foreseeable future. We are committed to consistently delivering solid returns to our shareholders in various forms, including cash dividend."

Fourth Quarter 2016 Financial Results

• Total net revenues were RMB1.5 billion (US$221.0 million) for the fourth quarter of 2016, representing an increase of 78.4% from RMB860.0 million for the corresponding period in 2015.
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS were RMB1.28 (US$0.18) and RMB1.23 (US$0.18) for the fourth quarter of 2016, respectively, representing increases of 34.1% and 34.6% from RMB0.96 and RMB0.91 for the corresponding period in 2015.

Commenting on the fourth quarter and 2016 financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, Chief Executive Officer of Fanhua, stated, "We had exceptional growth in 2016, during which our insurance premiums increased by 49.7% year-over-year to RMB14.6 billion and net revenues increased by 66.2% year-over-year to RMB4.7 billion. We generated positive operating income for two consecutive quarters in the second half of 2016, which boosted total operating income in 2016 to RMB14.0 million. These positive results were primarily due to the significant growth of our life insurance business, effective cost controls and the substantial progress we have made in implementing multiple strategic initiatives, including the expansion of our sales network, enhanced cross-selling efforts, the upgrade and promotion of CNpad and the initiation of several marketing campaigns."

"The outstanding performance in 2016 shows the success of our business strategies. In 2017, we plan to further increase our profitability by investing more on our life insurance business. We remain optimistic about our growth momentum, and expect to generate no less than RMB180 million of operating income in 2017."

Business Outlook

Fanhua expects its operating income to be no less than RMB40 million for the first quarter of 2017 and no less than RMB180 million for 2017. This forecast reflects Fanhua’s current view, which is subject to change.

GUANGZHOU, China, March 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fanhua Inc., (Nasdaq:FANH), (the "Company" or "Fanhua"), a leading independent online-to-offline ("O2O") financial services provider in China, today announced that the Company had received notice from PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited, or PICC P&C, that it had temporarily suspended business cooperation with Fanhua.

On March 1, 2017, Fanhua's subsidiaries were notified verbally by PICC P&C's local branches that PICC P&C was temporary suspending its business cooperation with Fanhua on areas such as insurance agency, brokerage and claims adjustment because certain of PICC P&C’s senior management members were being investigated by the government. As a decade-long business partner of PICC P&C, the Company was disappointed by this unilateral notice. However, the Company also understands that as a state-owned enterprise, it may be necessary for PICC P&C to take such precautionary measures as a result of internal or external investigation. At this stage, the Company is unable to predict when and whether the business cooperation with PICC P&C might resume. The Company plans to engage in ongoing dialogue with PICC P&C and urges it to resume their mutual business cooperation relationship as early as possible.

As a public company listed on Nasdaq, the Company believes it conducts its business operation in compliance with all applicable laws in China and in the U.S. including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The Company does not believe it or its employees were involved in any business dealings with PICC P&C that might be the target of this investigation. The Company believes it has established and maintained its strategic partnership with PICC P&C on an arms-length basis.

In 2016, the Company derived 27% of its total revenues from PICC P&C. Currently its P&C insurance agency and brokerage businesses have small profit margins due largely to the significant marketing expenses while the life insurance business is the most profitable business segment. Therefore, assuming the business relationship with PICC P&C will not be able to resume in 2017, this disruption may cause the Company's total revenue to decrease as compared to 2016 but the impact on its net profits will be limited at around RMB3 million to RMB5 million.

Fanhua has been operating as a market-oriented company ever since its establishment and has established itself as the largest insurance intermediary company in China. At this moment, the Company will use its best efforts to minimize the impact of this disruption of business relationship with PICC P&C by searching for new strategic partners and strengthening existing strategic partnerships. The management of the Company remains confident in its prospects and believes that it will be able to achieve its profit target for 2017.

GUANGZHOU, China, Dec. 06, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNinsure Inc. (“CNinsure” or “the Company”) (CISG), a leading independent online-to-offline financial services provider operating in China, today announced the results of its extraordinary general meeting of shareholders held in Guangzhou on December 6, 2016.

At the extraordinary general meeting, the shareholders passed resolutions to (i) change the Company’s name from “CNinsure Inc.” to “Fanhua Inc.” and (ii) amend the Company’s memorandum and articles of association to reflect the name change.

In connection with the name change, the Company also announced the change of its ticker symbol from “CISG” to “FANH” and the corresponding changes in CUSIP numbers for its ordinary shares and ADSs. The new symbol and CUSIP numbers will become effective upon the opening of the Nasdaq market on December 7, 2016. The Company's official website will be changed to www.fanhuaholdings.com on December 15, 2016, local time.

Commenting on the changes, Mr. Yinan Hu, Chairman of the Board of the Company stated: “The Company’s business has become increasingly diversified and currently provides a wide range of financial services in addition to traditional insurance services. We believe the change of the company’s name and ticker symbol will more appropriately reflect our business direction.”

Third Quarter 2016  Financial Results

• Net revenues for the insurance agency business were RMB978.4 million (US$146.7 million) for the third quarter of 2016, representing an increase of 79.9% from RMB543.8 million for the corresponding period in 2015.
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS were RMB0.55 (US$0.08) and RMB0.53 (US$0.08) for the third quarter of 2016, respectively, representing respective decreases of 24.1% and 24.1% from RMB0.73 and RMB0.70 for the corresponding period in 2015.

Commenting on the third quarter of 2016 financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, chief executive officer of CNinsure, stated, "We continued to record accelerated growth for the third quarter of 2016, with insurance premiums growing 52.0% year-over-year and revenues increasing 66.3% year-over-year, leading to RMB7.5 million (US$1.1 million) in operating profit."

"Our positive operating profit in the third quarter of 2016, compared to an operating loss of RMB8.2 million in the second quarter of 2016, exceeded our expectations. We believe this growth was attributable to 1) the positive results of our marketing strategy in propelling the growth of both our property and casualty (P&C) insurance and our life insurance businesses; and 2) improvements in our internet technology, which led to improved back-office efficiency and cost reductions in operating costs."

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues to grow by approximately 40% for the fourth quarter of 2016 compared with the corresponding period in 2015. This forecast reflects CNinsure’s current view, which is subject to change.

Second Quarter of 2016 Financial Results

• Total net revenues were RMB1,066.1 million (US$160.4 million) for the second quarter of 2016, representing an increase of 58.6% from RMB672.1 million for the corresponding period in 2015.
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS were RMB0.53 (US$0.08) and RMB0.51 (US$0.08) for the second quarter of 2016, respectively, representing respective decreases of 61.6% and 61.4% from RMB1.39 and RMB1.33 for the corresponding period in 2015.

Commenting on the second quarter of 2016 financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, chief executive officer of CNinsure, stated, "We reported another strong quarter. Our net revenues grew 58.6% year-over-year and insurance premiums were up 46.1% year-over-year, again beating our expectation. We have also outperformed the industry, with our life insurance premiums growing by 61.5% year-over-year as compared to an industry growth of 44.7% and our property and casualty insurance premiums growing by 44.2% year-over-year as compared to an industry growth of 5.3%.

"Looking back to the first half of 2016, we believe the remarkable performance was mainly driven by the following factors:

1) Favorable regulations. The new vitality and buying power unlocked by the deepening pricing deregulation for auto insurance and life insurance created stronger demand for independent insurance intermediaries as a well-established and cost-effective distribution channel;

2) Network and sales force expansion. Our branch in Anhui province has started its business operations, and we are in the process of establishing branches in Qingdao, in Guangxi and Yunnan provinces and are preparing to enter Inner Mongolia. In the first half 2016, we further extended our sales network with an addition of 82 sales outlets and approximately 35,000 sales agents; and

3) Marketing strategy. We have successfully implemented our marketing strategy to further strengthen our market position, having invested over RMB172.8 million (US$26.0 million) in the first half 2016.

"The strong growth in the first half of 2016 is a testament that we have the right strategy and have made the right decision. Looking ahead, we will continue to extend our sales footprint and implement flexible marketing programs, in order to achieve our goal of RMB100 billion in insurance premiums."

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues to grow by approximately 40% for the third quarter of 2016 compared with the corresponding period in 2015. This forecast reflects CNinsure’s current view, which is subject to change.

First Quarter 2016 Financial Results

• Total net revenues were RMB907.9 million (US$140.8 million) for the first quarter of 2016, representing an increase of 56.7% from RMB579.5 million for the corresponding period in 2015.
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS were RMB0.34 (US$0.05) and RMB0.32 (US$0.05) for the first quarter of 2016, respectively, representing a decrease of 41.6% and 41.4% from RMB0.57 and RMB0.55 for the corresponding period in 2015, respectively.

Commenting on the first quarter of 2016 financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, chief executive officer of CNinsure, stated, "With the aim of achieving our eight year sales target of RMB100 billion in insurance premiums, we focused on expanding our sales network coverage and invested approximately RMB78.4 million in marketing during the first quarter of 2016. We are happy to report that these efforts have yielded encouraging results. In the first quarter of 2016, insurance premiums were up 46.2% year-over-year and net revenues beat our guidance with a strong growth of 56.7% year-over-year. Noticeably, revenues from our property and casualty insurance and life insurance agency businesses grew 43.3% and 173.4% year-over-year, respectively, and revenues from our brokerage business increased 66.3% year-over-year.

"The strong results of the first quarter of 2016 are evidence of the success of our marketing campaign and reaffirm our confidence in our growth strategy. In the next quarter, we expect to increase investment in marketing and continue to extend our sales and service footprint nationwide, which we believe will further strengthen our leading market position and put us further ahead of our competitors."

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues to grow by approximately 40% for the second quarter of 2016 compared with the corresponding period in 2015. This forecast reflects CNinsure’s current view, which is subject to change.

Fourth Quarter  2015 Financial Results

• Total net revenues were RMB860.0 million (US$132.8 million) for the fourth quarter of 2015, representing an increase of 35.9% from RMB632.6 million for the corresponding period in 2014.
• Diluted adjusted EBITDA per ADS was RMB0.82 (US$0.13) for the fourth quarter of 2015, representing an increase of 90.7% from RMB0.43 for the corresponding period in 2014.

Commenting on the fourth quarter and year 2015 financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, chief executive officer of CNinsure, stated, "We ended 2015 on a high note, achieving approximately RMB10 billion in insurance premiums and  over RMB200 million in net income, which are generally in line with our annual targets. Our solid financial performance underscored the strengths of our business model and the successful execution of our growth strategies.

"Our management constantly and carefully assesses and monitors the market environment and competitive landscape of our industry. We see attractive growth opportunities for independent insurance intermediaries like us, presented by a favorable regulatory environment and changes in consumer preferences resulting from easier and faster internet access in China. However, we are also aware that competition is intensifying as leading insurance companies and e-commerce companies explore ways to establish a foothold in the online insurance services market, and as the number of new online platforms providing professional insurance services increase quickly in China. We believe we are well positioned to take advantage of the attractive growth opportunities in our industry to significantly increase market shares despite the challenges.

"After assessing the current market environment and encouraged by our success in executing our online-to-offline strategies, we have decided to invest no less than RMB500 million in marketing campaigns, expanding our sales and service network and in O2O platform development in 2016. We plan to continue investing in these areas over the next few years. Our goal is to achieve over RMB100 billion in insurance premiums within the next 8 years.

"Although these investments may put pressure on our bottom line in the near term, we believe the optimal strategic approach is to focus on rapidly expanding our insurance premiums and further solidifying our market leadership, which will enable us to capture more market share and ultimately achieve higher profitability and higher returns to our shareholders over the long run."

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues to grow by approximately 30% for the first quarter of 2016 compared with the corresponding period in 2015. This forecast reflects CNinsure’s current view, which is subject to change.

Third Quarter 2015 Financial Results

• Total net revenues were RMB716.7 million (US$112.8 million) for the third quarter of 2015, representing an increase of 32.2% from RMB542.3 million for the corresponding period in 2014.
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS were RMB0.73 (US$0.11) and RMB0.70 (US$0.11) for the third quarter of 2015, respectively, representing an increase of 4.6% and 0.7% from RMB0.70 and RMB0.69 for the corresponding period in 2014, respectively.

Commenting on the third quarter 2015 financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, chief executive officer of CNinsure, said, "Despite slower economic growth in China, we had a strong third quarter. We delivered solid top line growth and our operating margins expanded, which translated into a twenty-five fold year-over-year growth in operating income, reflecting the positive results of our organizational restructuring and strategic transformation.

"Our total net revenues again grew more than expected, increasing by 32.2% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2015, due to the outstanding performance across our various businesses and contribution from CNpad mobile App. A few key driving factors include:

1) Strong growth within our life insurance business. Benefiting from the rising demand for traditional life insurance products in a low interest rate environment, along with the successful implementation of our cross-selling strategy, new term life insurance policy sales went up by 117.8% year-over-year, pushing up revenues from our life insurance business by 91.6% year-over-year;

2) Recovery of our claims adjusting business. Our claims adjusting business rebounded from its downturn in the past three quarters to achieve 17.2% year-over-year growth;

3) Continued robust growth of property and casualty ("P&C") insurance business. Net revenues from P&C insurance agency business and insurance brokerage business grew 27.1% and 34.2% year-over-year, respectively. P&C insurance premiums (which combines our P&C insurance agency and insurance brokerage businesses) were up 15.0% year-over-year, consistently outpacing the 10.1% growth in the overall P&C insurance sector in China; and

4) Increasing contribution from CNpad mobile App. With continued migration to mobile, insurance premiums generated through CNpad App exceeded RMB795.7 million in the third quarter of 2015, an increase of 127.8% year-over-year, and over 60% of our auto insurance business and over 50% of new term life insurance business were transacted through CNpad App. Revenue attributable to CNpad App accounted for 32.9% of our total net revenues, as compared to 25.8% during the previous quarter.

"We also saw back-office efficiency improvement as a result of the increased adoption of CNpad App, evidenced by a drop in non-GAAP operating expense ratio from 18.8% a year-ago to 17.4%, continuing a trend that has been witnessed in the past two quarters.

"Given the strong performance of our business and the Chinese Insurance Regulatory Commission's recent relaxation of regulations over the establishment of insurance intermediary companies and removal of the certificate requirement for sales agents to conduct business, we believe the opportunity for us to consolidate market resources has never looked more promising. During the third quarter of 2015, we made steady progress in further extending our sales network footprint and expanding our sales force. We also showed that our migration to the Internet channel, marked by strong mobile adoption, continued undeterred and ahead of plan, with strong annual and quarterly increases in active users and even faster increase in monetization. As we execute these plans to drive further business growth and gain market share, we remain confident about our growth outlook going forward. "

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues to grow approximately 30% in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared with the corresponding period in 2014. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current view, which is subject to change.

  Total net revenues were RMB672.1 million (US$108.4 million) for the second quarter of 2015, representing an increase of 32.1% from RMB508.9 million for the corresponding period in 2014

Basic and diluted net income per ADS were RMB1.39 (US$0.22) and RMB1.33 (US$0.21) for the second quarter of 2015, respectively, representing an increase of 26.1% and 21.2% from RMB1.10 and RMB1.10 for the corresponding period in 2014, respectively.

"We reported strong top line growth of over 32.1% year-over-year for the second quarter of 2015, once again beating our prior guidance, which was driven by stellar growth across our various businesses," said Mr. Chunlin Wang, chief executive officer of CNinsure. "Our P&C agency insurance business grew 35.3% year-over-year in net revenues and 15.3% year-over-year in terms of insurance premiums, which was far greater than general industry growth. Our life insurance business also had a robust quarter, with net revenues from new term life insurance policy sales up 31.1% year-over-year. Our efforts to continuously improve business quality and product mix also yielded positive results as our 13-month persistency ratio achieved a record-high of 85% during the quarter, and long-term individual health insurance products accounted for over 80% of our new life insurance business. Our insurance brokerage segment also continued its strong momentum, exhibiting over 76.2% year-over-year growth to become our second largest business segment.

"Notably, we made steady progress in our online initiatives, with growing contributions from online initiatives and improvements in our operating efficiency. During the second quarter of 2015, the percentage of total revenue attributable to online businesses grew from 10.2% last year to 25.8%, beating our expectations, while our non-GAAP operating expense ratio⁴ dropped from 19.5% a year-ago to 16.8%, benefiting from the expanded implementation of our CNpad mobile App. As a result, despite our continued investment in online initiatives in the second quarter of 2015, our overall operating income was up 19.1% as compared to the same period last year.

"The achievements that we made online and offline in the second quarter reinforced our confidence and determination to build up our O2O platform. Looking forward to the second half of 2015, we will focus our efforts on three programs, which we call our, 'Full Coverage of Sales Network ', 'Accelerated Growth of Sales Force' and 'Platform Opening-up' programs.

"Firstly, with our Full Coverage of Sales Network program, we aim to achieve full coverage of our offline sales network in regions where we currently have no market presence, through establishing new branches, acquisitions or franchising. In addition, we will pursue horizontal alliances and make strategic investments in entrepreneurial companies that focus on internet insurance distribution and service, so as to further enhance our online presence.

"Secondly, through our Accelerated Growth of Sales Force program, we hope to take advantage of the opportunity to consolidate individual sales agent channels brought about by the recent amendment to the Chinese Insurance Law, which has removed certificate requirements on insurance sales agents and brokers. By targeting the 3 million individual insurance sales agents in the Chinese insurance market, we hope to increase our marketing resources, give them access to a wide range of insurance and financial products and use our online tools to attract more top talent to join CNinsure and rapidly grow our sales force.

"Thirdly, with our Platform Opening-up program, we will open up our integrated platform to our peer companies, alliances and insurance companies, including our online tools, IT infrastructure, contractual relationship with insurance companies and offline service support.

"As we execute these three major programs, we expect our top line growth to accelerate in the second half of 2015 and we believe we are on track to achieve 30% annual top line growth and RMB10 billion in insurance premiums in 2015. Our goal is to grow our total insurance premiums at a CAGR of 30% in the next three years, which would double total insurance premiums over that time. Finally, we expect continued success in the development of our online initiatives as our organic efforts and strategic investments position our company as one of the leaders of the online insurance industry."

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues to grow approximately 30% in the third quarter of 2015 compared with the corresponding period in 2014. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current view, which is subject to change.

GUANGZHOU, China, June 18, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNinsure Inc. (Nasdaq:CISG) (the "Company" or "CNinsure"), a leading independent online-to-offline financial services provider operating in China, today announced that it entered into a cooperation agreement with Beijing United Electronics Co., Ltd., (SZ:002642) ("UEC") , a leading information technology solution and service provider in China, and its subsidiary Beijing CarSmart Technology Co., Ltd. ("CarSmart") on June 17, 2015.

Pursuant to the agreement, CNinsure will offer CarSmart's on-board diagnostic devices to its customers through CNinsure's offline sales and service force, and CarSmart will provide CNinsure's auto insurance price comparison and transaction-enabling services through CarSmart's car care mobile application. The three parties also agree to collaborate in developing and promoting usage-based insurance products. In addition, eHuzhu, an online mutual aid platform operated by CNinsure, will partner with CarSmart to provide a non-profit transportation-focused mutual aid platform to car owners.

Mr. Chunlin Wang, chief executive officer of CNinsure, commented, "This cooperation is a major move in our plan to acquire high quality traffic and extend the influence of our insurance comparison website by pursuing horizontal alliances. It also enables each party to leverage on each other's strengths and share data to tap into a broader customer base and bring value to our customers."

GUANGZHOU, China, May 21, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNinsure Inc. (CISG) (the "Company" or "CNinsure"), a leading independent online-to-offline financial services provider operating in China, in light of the recent volatility of its stock price, today announced that it is not aware of any material non-public information that would account for such unusual trading activity. The Company reiterated that it maintains normal business operations and the fundamentals of it business have not changed.

"As reflected in our first quarter 2015 financial results, our existing businesses are maintaining solid growth. As we continue to execute our O2O strategic plans and strive for even stronger growth, we remain optimistic about achieving 30% top line growth in the second quarter this year and expect growth to accelerate in the second half of this year, leading to a 30% full year growth in net revenues. On the profit front, we expect non-GAAP operating income (which excludes online spending) for 2015 to increase by over 20% year-over-year. We believe our business is as well-positioned as it has ever been, and our continued investment in O2O initiatives reflects our confidence in the strategic progress that we continue to make to capture the emerging opportunities provided by the internet," commented Chunlin Wang, Chief Executive Officer of CNinsure.

First Quarter 2015 Financial Results

• Total net revenues: RMB579.5 million (US$93.5 million), representing an increase of 24.3% from the corresponding period in 2014.
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS: RMB0.57 (US$0.09) and RMB0.55 (US$0.09), respectively,representing a decrease of 35.9% and 38.4%, respectively, from the corresponding period in 2014.

Commenting on the first quarter financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, CNinsure's chief executive officer, stated, "The dynamics in the Chinese insurance industry are changing rapidly. We are seeing increasing labor costs imposing great challenges to the traditional labor-driven business model and the rapid growth of the internet is revolutionizing the insurance industry.

"Against this backdrop, we believe the best way to survive and distinguish ourselves is to optimize the value of our professional sales team by leveraging the internet and technology tools for low-cost policy acquisition and service resources aggregation, offering customized life insurance products and services based on customers' personalized needs, and providing commercial insurance brokerage and risk management advisory services. As such, we remained focused on developing our online initiatives, life insurance and brokerage businesses and we are glad that these efforts have further enhanced our market position during the first quarter of 2015. Our total insurance premiums reached RMB2.1 billion, up 17.7% year-over-year, marking a good start towards our target of RMB10 billion in insurance premiums for 2015. This solid growth was attributable to both strong property and casualty ("P&C") and life insurance sales. Our P&C business experienced 18.7% year-over-year growth in insurance premiums, ahead of the 12.6% growth in the overall P&C insurance sector in China, with the portion consummated on CNpad App increasing from 14.6% to 34.7% of the retail P&C business year-over-year and the insurance brokerage segment growing by over 80% in insurance premiums year-over-year. We also had double-digit growth in life insurance sales with new policy sales for long term life insurance products up by over 50% year-over-year.

"Led by the strength of our insurance distribution business segments, we continued to enjoy double-digit growth in the first quarter of 2015, as we had for the past five quarters, with net revenues up 24.3% year-over-year, again beating our guidance. We were also pleased that the adoption of CNpad mobile App has contributed significantly to decreasing costs and improving operating efficiency, as evidenced by a decline in non-GAAP expense ratio⁶ to 18.2% in the first quarter of 2015 from 22.2% in the same period last year. Increased investments in our online initiatives resulted in a decrease in operating income by 93.6% during the quarter. However, if adjusted to exclude these investments, operating income was up 24.3% year-over-year.

"With solid performance in the first quarter, we believe that we are implementing the right strategy to drive our sales and improve operating efficiency. Going forward, we will continue to step up investments in technology and marketing to gain market share and strengthen our leading market position."

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues to grow approximately 30% for the second quarter of 2015 compared with the corresponding period in 2014. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current view, which is subject to change.

GUANGZHOU, China, April 28, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNinsure Inc, (Nasdaq:CISG), (the "Company" or "CNinsure"), a leading independent online-to-offline ("O2O") financial service provider in China, today announced that on April 27, 2015, it entered into an agreement to bring in Alltrust Insurance Company of China Limited, or Alltrust Insurance, as a strategic investor.

Pursuant to the agreement, CNinsure will issue and sell 93,000,000 of its ordinary shares to Alltrust Insurance, for an aggregate purchase price of US$42.31 million, or $0.455 per ordinary share ($9.10 per ADS), which is the average closing price of the 20 trading days prior to the signing date of the agreement. Upon completion of the transaction, Alltrust Insurance will hold 7.5% of CNinsure's share capital. Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

"This strategic investment is a testament to Alltrust Insurance's confidence in CNinsure's strategic plans and future growth and is instrumental to deepening our cooperation in a variety of areas," commented Mr. Chunlin Wang, chief executive officer of CNinsure. "With the resources and strengths of both parties, we believe we will be able to accelerate penetration into the O2O financial services space and strengthen our leading position."

Fourth Quarter of 2014 Financial Results

• Total net revenues: RMB632.6 million (US$102.0 million), representing an increase of 25.6% from the corresponding period in 2013.
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS: RMB0.53 (US$0.09) and RMB0.52 (US$0.09), respectively,representing an increase of 7.0% and 5.6%, respectively from the corresponding period in 2013.

Commenting on the fourth quarter financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, CNinsure's chief executive officer, stated, "We are pleased to wrap up the year with a solid performance. Both quarterly and annual net revenue growth beat guidance with 25.6% and 22.4% year-over-year growth, respectively, partially benefiting from the growing contribution from our CNpad App. As we expanded investment in our O2O strategy during the fourth quarter, all of our online initiatives continued to gain momentum in the number of users, customers or registered members. Online transaction also grew rapidly, accounting for 15.4% of our total insurance premiums in 2014 as compared to 3.4% in 2013.

"In terms of our regulatory environment, we were excited to see so many positive developments in 2014 and early 2015. The State Council issued Opinions on the Development of the Modern Insurance Industry in August 2014, which is seen by many as bringing new vitality to the insurance industry and may mark the beginning of an extended period of rapid development for the industry in China. Deregulation of the life insurance pricing system appears to be accelerating and the long-anticipated pilot program for deregulating the pricing system of the auto insurance sector was announced and will begin rolling out in May 2015, which we believe will lead to more auto insurance product innovation and differentiation. At the same time, because of advancing internet technologies, especially the proliferation of mobile devices, consumers are increasingly making online purchases, and online insurance sales, in terms of premium payments, have increased by over 39 times in just four years, from RMB2.1 billion in 2011 to RMB85.8 billion in 2014, contributing 4.2% of the market share in 2014. We believe that there is still room for substantial growth in online insurance sales in the next few years."

"Against this backdrop, we have embraced the opportunity to establish our O2O business model by leveraging on the strength of our offline network and set our strategic goals to build the largest 1) transaction-enabled entry portal for insurance and wealth management products; 2) third-party mobile insurance transaction platform; 3) public service platform for the insurance industry; 4) team of insurance advisors; and 5) mutual aid organization. Based on these goals, in the next five to eight years, we aspire to become a leading internet-based financial services provider.

"To achieve these targets, in the next three years, we will focus on the following three areas:

1. Our operational focus will shift towards gaining market share by increasing investment in marketing and technology. These investments will likely have a negative impact on our bottom line over the near and medium term, and may even result in an operating loss. However, we believe these investments are necessary for us to accumulate customers and establish our market leadership.

2. We will resume our M&A strategy. Our M&A targets may include leading wealth management companies that have engaged in internet finance to broaden our product line, or companies that have innovative business models or leading internet finance technologies, to strengthen our O2O platform and solidify our market position.

3. We will accelerate our internal organizational restructuring and optimizeour business structure. Going forward, except for our insurance brokerage business and commercial line of claims adjustment business, all of our business transactions will move online. Our offline subsidiaries will become service support units to serve our customers and our sales people.

"Looking ahead to 2015, we expect to generate total insurance premiums of over RMB10 billion and that our top line will grow by over 30%."

Mr. Wang added, "As our integrated O2O platform gets up and running, our management and employees have full confidence in our growth strategies and prospects. In November 2014, we decided to issue and sell up to 10% of our outstanding share capital to our employees. Due to overwhelming demand, as evidenced in that this issuance was more than four times oversubscribed, we subsequently issued and sold an additional 5% of our share capital to our employees. Shortly afterwards, management purchased from CDH Inservice its entire stake in CNinsure in January 2015. Upon completion of that transaction, management's collective stake in CNinsure will increase from 3.1% to 16.5%. All of these actions demonstrate our confidence and commitment to achieving the long-term success of our Company. "As our integrated O2O platform gets up and running, our management and employees have full confidence in our growth strategies and prospects. In November 2014, we decided to issue and sell up to 10% of our outstanding share capital to our employees. Due to overwhelming demand, as evidenced in that this issuance was more than four times oversubscribed, we subsequently issued and sold an additional 5% of our share capital to our employees. Shortly afterwards, management purchased from CDH Inservice its entire stake in CNinsure in January 2015. Upon completion of that transaction, management's collective stake in CNinsure will increase from 3.1% to 16.5%. All of these actions demonstrate our confidence and commitment to achieving the long-term success of our Company."

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues to grow by more than 20% for the first quarter of 2015 compared with the corresponding period in 2014. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current view, which is subject to change.

GUANGZHOU, China, Jan. 5, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNinsure Inc. ("CNinsure" or the "Company") (CISG), a leading independent insurance intermediary company and an online insurance service provider in China, today announced that Kingsford Resources Limited ("Kingsford"), a company owned by certain members of management of CNinsure ("Management"), has entered into a share purchase and sale agreement (the "Agreement") with CDH Inservice Limited ("CDH Inservice"), an affiliate of CDH Investments ("CDH"), one of the largest private equity fund in China, in a privately negotiated transaction. Pursuant to the Agreement, Management has agreed to purchase from CDH Inservice 7,731,149 American Depositary Shares ("ADSs", each representing 20 ordinary shares of the Company) or its equivalent in ordinary shares of the Company, at a price of US$7 per ADS or US$0.35 per ordinary share, totaling US$54.1 million. The 7,731,149 ADSs represent the entire interests in the Company held by CDH Inservice as of the date of the Agreement.

Upon completion of the transaction, Management's stake in the Company will increase from approximately 3.1% to 16.6%, which will make it the second largest shareholder of the Company, only after Mr. Yinan Hu, Chairman of the board of directors of the Company, who beneficially owns approximately 16.8% of the shares of the Company. Completion of the transaction is subject to satisfaction of the closing conditions contained in the Agreement.

Mr. Chunlin Wang, chief executive officer of CNinsure commented: "CDH has been our major shareholder since December 2005. I would like to, on behalf of the management, extend our deep gratitude to CDH for their support and trust in the Company in the past decade, which has contributed significantly to the growth of CNinsure from a regional insurance agency to become a leading insurance intermediary in China."

"Our decision to significantly increase our stake in the Company demonstrates our strong confidence in the Company's growth strategies and prospects. It is also a reflection of our continued commitment to enhancing shareholder value."

GUANGZHOU, China, Dec. 17, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNinsure Inc. ("CNinsure" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:CISG), a leading independent insurance intermediary company in China, today announced that it has completed its sale of ordinary shares to employees as previously announced on November 27, 2014 and December 12, 2014.

As a result of the transactions, the Company issued and sold an aggregate of 150,000,000 ordinary shares, equivalent to 7,500,000 ADSs of the Company, to its employees for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $41.5 million. The shares purchased by the employees are subject to a 6-month lock-up.

The Company has also obtained approval from its board of directors to grant loans to employees for the purchase of the new shares of the Company. The loans bear interest at a rate of 3% per annum and are repayable upon the sale of the shares of the Company, termination of employment or within two years, whichever comes first.

GUANGZHOU, China, Dec. 12, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNinsure Inc. ("CNinsure" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:CISG), a leading independent insurance intermediary company in China, today announced that it has obtained approval from the Board of Directors to increase the new share issue to employees from up to 100,000,000 ordinary shares to 150,000,000 ordinary shares, representing approximately 15% of the Company's current total outstanding share capital. The purchase price for the 100,000,000 ordinary shares is $0.27 per ordinary share or $5.4 per ADS, while that for the additional 50,000,000 ordinary shares is $0.29 per ordinary share or $5.8 per ADS, both of which are the average closing prices for the 20 trading days prior to the board approvals. Completion of the share issuances to the employees is subject to customary closing conditions.

"The new share issue was enthusiastically received by our employees, as reflected by the significant oversubscription. Therefore, we have decided to expand the size of the new share issue to meet the excess demand." Mr. Chunlin Wang, the chief executive officer of CNinsure commented, "the strong demand shows a strong vote of confidence in the Company. We reaffirm our commitment to delivering long term sustainable growth for the benefit of all our shareholders."

GUANGZHOU, China, Nov. 27, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNinsure Inc. ("CNinsure" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:CISG), a leading independent insurance intermediary company in China, today announced that it has entered into share purchase agreements with companies established on behalf of the employees of the Company (the "Employee Companies") for the issuance of up to 100,000,000 ordinary shares of the Company, representing approximately 10% of the Company's current total outstanding share capital, for a purchase price of $0.27 per ordinary share or $5.4 per ADS, which is the average closing price for the 20 trading days prior to the board approval on November 27, 2014. The shares purchased by the Employee Companies are subject to a 6-month lock-up. Completion of the share issuance to the Employee Companies is subject to customary closing conditions. The Company expects to use the proceeds from the share issuance for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Mr. Chunlin Wang, the chief executive officer of CNinsure commented, "Our plan is to constructively align our employees' interest with that of CNinsure by providing our employees with the opportunity to invest their personal funds in the Company. The share issuance will reflect our employees' confidence in the Company's overall business strategies and prospects."

• Total net revenues: RMB542.3 million (US$88.4 million), representing an increase of 25.9% from the corresponding period in 2013. 
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS: RMB0.70 (US$0.11) and RMB0.69 (US$0.11), respectively, representing an increase of 19.8% and 19.3% from the corresponding period in 2013, respectively.

Commenting on the third quarter financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, CNinsure's chief executive officer, stated, "We are pleased to report 25.9% year-over-year revenue growth in the third quarter of 2014, far exceeding our guidance of 15%. This stellar growth was mainly driven by the strong performance of our property and casualty insurance agency business and insurance brokerage business, and also reflects increasing premium contributions from CNpad App since it was made available for free download in May 2014. During the third quarter of 2014, revenues generated via CNpad App grew by 618.5% year-over-year, accounting for 14.2% of our total net revenues.

"Operationally, we continued to see exciting progress in our O2O strategic initiatives. eHuzhu and chetong.net, since their launch in July and August, respectively, have witnessed vigorous growth in terms of the number of registered members. While these initiatives require continuous investments in both IT infrastructure and talent, which have and may continue to impact our bottom line in the near term, we believe these strategic investments will further extend our core competence and position us for sustainable profit growth over the long run."

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues to grow by approximately 20% for the fourth quarter of 2014 compared with the corresponding period in 2013. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current view, which is subject to change.

Second Quarter of 2014  Financial Results

• Total net revenues: RMB508.9 million (US$82.0 million), representing an increase of 20.8% from the corresponding period in 2013.
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS: RMB1.10 (US$0.18) and RMB1.10 (US$0.18), respectively,representing an increase of 163.4% and 162.8% from the corresponding period in 2013, respectively.
  
• Diluted adjusted EBITDA per ADS: RMB0.90 (US$0.15), representing an increase of 57.0%from the corresponding period in 2013.

Commenting on the second quarter financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, CNinsure's chief executive officer, stated, "We are pleased to report significantly improved financial results for the second quarter of 2014, continuing the growth momentum of the prior two quarters. During the second quarter of 2014, total net revenues once again beat guidance, with 20.8% year-over-year growth, primarily driven by a strong growth across all of our business segments. In particular, our insurance brokerage business and claims adjusting business recorded impressive growth year-over-year while the life insurance agency business has finally yielded positive growth both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter, after two years of negative growth. Our expense control initiatives continued to pay off, leading to major improvements in our operating income and earnings per share for three consecutive quarters.

"While expanding our off-line sales and service capabilities, we are dedicated to embracing the internet by establishing online financial product and services vertical portals and an online-to-offline ("O2O") ecological circle to support our offline operations. With a clear vision of our strategic direction, our goal, and the path to achieving it, we have rolled out several customer acquisition and online transaction platforms, including CNpad App and eHuzhu program (www.ehuzhu.com), a non-profit mutual aid platform. In the meantime, we have completed the restructuring of our offline operations which boasts a well-established nationwide sales and services network to provide our clients with the highest quality of financial products and services. Starting from the third quarter of 2014, we plan to push forward initiatives to strengthen our online customer acquisition and transaction platforms, and to seamlessly connect our offline sales and service capabilities with our online platforms. Several intensive marketing programs will also be initiated." Mr. Wang added, "In order to provide more visibility into the Company's growth prospects, we plan to host a corporate day in mid October to announce our O2O internet strategy and its impact on our financial results."

"We remain upbeat about our future and believe we have the right strategy and are on track to achieve strong sustainable growth over the long term."

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues to grow by approximately 15% for the third quarter of 2014 compared with the corresponding period in 2013. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current view, which is subject to change

GUANGZHOU, China, July 2, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNinsure Inc. (Nasdaq:CISG), (the "Company" or "CNinsure"), a leading independent insurance intermediary company operating in China, today announced that Baoxian.com, an independent online insurance distributor in which CNinsure owns a majority of the equity interests, entered into an online distribution agreement with PICC Property and Casualty Company Limited ("PICC P&C"), the largest property and casualty insurance company in China, on July 1, 2014.

Travel insurance and personal accident insurance products from PICC P&C will be available at www.baoxian.com in the coming months. In addition to more customized accident insurance products, both parties will gradually extend their online distribution cooperation to include home owner insurance and personal liability insurance for mid-to-high end customers.    

Baoxian.com has partnered with over 20 insurance companies, including some major domestic insurance companies such as Ping An Property & Casualty Insurance Company of China, Ltd., China Pacific Property Insurance Co., Ltd., and offers over 500 accident, health, travel and homeowner insurance products online. 

Commenting on the cooperation, Mr. Chunlin Wang, CNinsure's chief executive officer, stated, "We are excited to get PICC P&C on board www.baoxian.com as a product supplier. We believe its strong brand recognition and the popularity of its products among customers will attract more traffic to the website. This marks significant progress in our endeavor to establish our leading position in the independent online insurance distribution market and reaffirms our confidence in pushing forward our e-commerce strategy.

First Quarter of 2014 Financial Results

• Total net revenues: RMB466.2 million (US$75.0 million), representing an increase of 16.2% from the corresponding period in 2013.
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS were RMB0.89 (US$0.14) and RMB0.89 (US$0.14)for the first quarter of 2014, respectively, representing increases of 112.6% and 112.3% from RMB0.42 and RMB0.42 for the corresponding period in 2013, respectively.

Commenting on the first quarter financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, CNinsure's chief executive officer, stated, "Our commitment to offering superior value-added services and introducing our mobile sales support system to a broader user base began to yield meaningful contributions to our revenue during the beginning of 2014. In the first quarter of 2014, our insurance brokerage business saw robust growth with its revenues up 1,488.3% year-over-year and 81.3% quarter-over-quarter. This business segment is one of the important drivers that brought us back to both top-line and bottom-line growth. In addition to higher-than-expected revenue growth of 16.2% compared to the first quarter of 2013, we were encouraged to see improvements in profitability as a result of increases in operating income, adjusted EBITDA, and net income attributable to the Company's shareholders, all of which outpaced revenue growth, reflecting our effective cost and expense control. These inspiring results are a good start towards achieving our targets for the full year.

"We were also excited about the contributions from CNpad, the workstation of our proprietary mobile sales support system. Insurance premiums generated via CNpad reached RMB199 million in the first quarter, up 921.5% year-over-year and 67.4% quarter-over-quarter, accounting for 14.6% of the total premiums of our property and casualty ("P&C") insurance agency business as compared to 8.2% in the previous quarter. In order to speed up the introduction of our mobile sales support system to a broader user base, we revised our marketing strategy from bundling hardware and software sales to launching applications designed for mobile devices that can be downloaded for free by sales agents and third party channels onto their own devices. As a result, we stopped promoting CNpad in March 2014 with an intent to roll out a new marketing program on June 1, 2014. Our goal is to have a user base of 50,000 sales agents by the end of 2014.

"As the first independent insurance intermediary that actively invests in mobile internet technology and offers one-stop comprehensive financial services and risk management solutions, we believe our first quarter results demonstrate the strengthen of our first-mover advantage and put us in a good position to fully capitalize on the opportunities in the internet finance market by executing on our strategies."

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues to grow by approximately 15% for the second quarter of 2014 compared with the corresponding period in 2013. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current view, which is subject to change.

GUANGZHOU, China, April 8, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNinsure Inc. (CISG) (the "Company" or "CNinsure"), a leading independent insurance intermediary company operating in China, today announced that the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (the "Court") has preliminarily approved the proposed agreement to settle a class action lawsuit against the Company that was initially filed on October 17, 2011 and later consolidated on August 13, 2012. The claim against several officers of the Company was previously dismissed on June 24, 2013.

Under the terms of the proposed agreement, which is subject to final approval by the Court and class notice administration, the Company has agreed to pay $6.625 million to the settlement fund to resolve all claims asserted on behalf of purchasers of its American depository shares during the period from March 2, 2010 through and including November 21, 2011. The payments will be covered by the Company's director and officer liability and company reimbursement insurance.

The proposed settlement agreement contains no admission of liability, fault or wrongdoing by the Company. The Company denies any and all of the allegations made against it by the class in the litigation and has agreed to settle this matter solely to eliminate the uncertainties, risks, costs and burdens of further protracted proceedings. The settlement agreement should not be construed as an admission by the Company or any of its directors or officers with respect to any claim of fault, liability, wrongdoing or damage.

"We believe the settlement is in the best interest of the Company and our shareholders as it avoids unnecessary expenses and distractions from a time-consuming litigation process," said Mr. Chunlin Wang, CNinsure's chief executive officer. "We are pleased to put this matter behind us so that we can focus on the development of our business going forward."

Fourth quarter 2013 Financial Results

• Total net revenues were RMB503.8 million (US$83.2 million) for the fourth quarter of 2013, representing an increase of 15.6% from RMB435.8 million for the corresponding period in 2012
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS were RMB0.49 (US$0.08) and RMB0.49 (US$0.08) for the fourth quarter of 2013, respectively, representing increases of 23.5% and 24.0% from RMB0.40 and RMB0.40 for the corresponding period in 2012, respectively.

Commenting on the fourth quarter financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, CNinsure's chief executive officer, stated, "We delivered much stronger top line growth than expected in the fourth quarter of 2013, reflecting solid performance in our property and casualty insurance and claims adjusting businesses. With disciplined expense management in the fourth quarter of 2013, our operating expense to revenue ratio dropped year-over-year, which translated into improved operating profit and stellar profit growth in the fourth quarter of 2013.

"We are particularly encouraged by this quarter's financial results as we saw more benefits from our investment in CNpad in the past three years. During 2013, CNpad generated RMB216 million gross premiums written in aggregate, including RMB120 million in one single quarter during the fourth quarter of 2013, of which an increasing portion, though still small, was contributed by the increasing productivity of our existing sales agents after using CNpad, and by new sales agents who were attracted by CNpad to join CNinsure. The results reaffirmed our belief that CNpad will become our next growth driver and reassured our commitment to our growth strategies.

"In 2014, we will continue our commitment to introducing CNpad to a broader user base internally and externally, driving cross-selling and offering high value products and services to our clients. We believe these growth initiatives will pay dividends and lead the company to strong and sustained profitable growth."

Third Quarter 2013 Financial Results

• Total net revenues: RMB430.6 million (US$70.4 million), representing an increase of 6.9% from the corresponding period in 2012.
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS: RMB0.58 (US$0.09) and RMB0.58 (US$0.09), respectively, representing increases of 26.5% and 26.6%, respectively, from the corresponding period in 2012.

Commenting on the third quarter financial results, Mr Chunlin Wang, CNinsure's chief executive officer, stated, "We are in the midst of a fundamental change in China moving from a low cost country to a high productivity one. Amid this change, we have been able to continue to grow our top line while transiting the Company, and we start to see some positive signs during the third quarter 2013. Gross margin for the third quarter 2013 improved sequentially, primarily driven by a rebound in gross margin of our property and casualty insurance ("P&C") business both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year. The magnitude of the decline in operating income has also narrowed significantly as compared to the last six quarters. This quarter's financial results reaffirmed our confidence in a recovery in profitability in the coming quarters.

"Significant progress has been made on the application of mobile technology. As of the end of third quarter 2013, total number of CNpad sold hit 2,190 units, generating RMB90 million insurance premiums in aggregate. In addition, we are getting ready for a trial operation of CNpad that enables the sales of life insurance, wealth management, private equity fund and mutual fund products in selected cities in a couple of weeks. We believe additional product offerings will significantly enhance the competitiveness of CNpad, which is expected to help agents improve their efficiency and broaden their revenue sources."

He continued, "We have successfully completed the organizational restructuring which we believe will enable a more centralized operation and generate more cross selling opportunities for our sales agents. We expect the benefits of the restructuring will be gradually realized over the next few quarters."

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues to grow by approximately 5% for the fourth quarter of 2013 compared with the corresponding period in 2012. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current view, which is subject to change.

Financial Results for the Second Quarter of 2013

• Total net revenues: RMB421.3 million (US$68.6 million), representing an increase of 2.8% from the corresponding period in 2012.
• Net income attributable to the Company's shareholders: RMB20.9 million (US$3.4 million), representing a decrease of 36.3% from the corresponding period in 2012.
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company's shareholders: RMB31.1 million (US$5.1 million), which excludes share-based compensation expenses, representing a decrease of 55.2% from the corresponding period in 2012.
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS: RMB0.42 (US$0.07) and RMB0.42 (US$0.07), respectively, representing decreases of 36.0% and 36.2%, respectively, from the corresponding period in 2012.
• Non-GAAP basic and diluted net income per ADS: RMB0.62 (US$0.10) and RMB0.62 (US$0.10), respectively, representing decreases of 55.1% and 55.2%, respectively, from the corresponding period in 2012.

Commenting on the second quarter financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, CNinsure's chief executive officer, stated, "Amid the industry trend towards the protection business, we adjusted our life insurance product strategy during the second quarter of 2013 by shifting our sales focus from participating policies to traditional protection policies which generally generates lower per policy premiums but have a higher imbedded value. This shift was one of the major reasons for the drastic decline of our first year life insurance premiums and the lower-than-expected growth of our total net revenues, although the number of new life insurance policies during the period remained flat year-over-year. Despite the negative impact on life insurance business volume in the near-term, we believe this move is conducive to enhancing the long-term sustainability of our life insurance business and prepares us well for capitalizing on the growth opportunities arising from the deregulation of prices for traditional life insurance products.

"While margins remained under pressure during the second quarter of 2013, largely as a result of rising labor costs and increased competition in the property and casualty (the "P&C") insurance market, we were excited to see the progress in the promotion and use of CNpad, which aims to enhance efficiency and reduce operating expenses for sales agents and the Company. During the second quarter of 2013, CNpad sparked growing enthusiasm with our sales agents, sales channel partners and underwriters looking for more cost-effective ways to conduct business. Pilot operations or internal testing of CNpad has been extended to a total of five provinces, and auto insurance products from 12 P&C insurance companies are now available through the system. The aggregate number of CNpad units sold exceeded 480 as of June 30, 2013, and those units contributed over RMB30 million in premiums during the second quarter of 2013.

The roll out of our comprehensive financial services strategy is also progressing well. We sold RMB240 million worth of wealth management products during the quarter, and the total number of customers who purchased wealth management products through us increased by 460 from the previous quarter."

Mr. Wang concluded, "While there remains a lot of work to do, we are optimistic that CNpad and comprehensive financial services strategy will create value for our sales agents and clients, and position us well for long-term sustainable growth."

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues to grow by approximately 5% for the third quarter of 2013 compared with the corresponding period in 2012. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current view, which is subject to change.

First Quarter of 2013 Financial Results

• Total net revenues: RMB401.3 million (US$64.6 million), representing an increase of 18.9% from the corresponding period in 2012.
• Operating income: RMB1.6 million (US$0.3 million) representing a decrease of 95.8% from the corresponding period in 2012.
• Non-GAAP operating income: RMB14.4 million (US$2.3 million), which excludes share-based compensation expenses, representing a decrease of 66.3% from the corresponding period in 2012.
• Net income attributable to the Company's shareholders: RMB21.0 million (US$3.4 million), representing a decrease of 61.5% from the corresponding period in 2012.
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company's shareholders: RMB33.8 million (US$5.4 million), which excludes share-based compensation expenses, representing a decrease of 42.4% from the corresponding period in 2012.
• Basic and diluted net income per ADS: RMB0.42 (US$0.07) and RMB0.42 (US$0.07), respectively, representing decreases of 61.4% and 61.3%, respectively, from the corresponding period in 2012.
• Non-GAAP basic and diluted net income per ADS: RMB0.68 (US$0.11) and RMB0.67 (US$0.11), respectively, representing decreases of 42.2% and 42.1%, respectively, from the corresponding period in 2012.

Commenting on the first quarter financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, CNinsure's chief executive officer, stated, "The first quarter of 2013 continued to present challenges for the Chinese insurance industry. Although the property and casualty ("P&C") insurance market had solid premium growth, fiercer competition among P&C insurance companies resulted in a higher combined ratio and lower profitability for many P&C insurance companies. Life insurance premium growth remained sluggish with weak growth in new policy sales and a sharp increase in policy surrender ratios.

"Against this backdrop, during the first quarter of 2013, our total net revenues were up 18.9% year-on-year, beating our previous guidance, while gross margin declined. Revenue growth was largely attributable to volume growth in our claims adjusting and P&C businesses, as well as a further increase in commission rate for auto insurance due to intensified competition in the auto insurance market. These higher commission rates also directly squeezed our gross margin. In our life insurance segment, new policy sales continued to drop year-on-year, but at a slower pace as compared to the previous quarter, with net revenues derived from life insurance flat compared with the previous year, benefiting from our continued high persistency ratio. We believe that our high persistency ratio is a reflection of our high service levels and a defendable competitive advantage which will pay off as the life insurance business rebounds.

"The financial results for the first quarter of 2013 also reflect a key decision made by management during the Company's strategic transformation. In view of the continuing increases in the commission costs of our P&C business and the growth slowdown of our life insurance business, we have decided to focus resources on developing our e-commerce business and strengthening our ability to offer comprehensive financial products and services which we believe will become our new growth engines. However, before these two areas start to make meaningful contribution, it is crucial for us to keep the stability of our organization, sales team and operation, maintain our bargain power and safeguard our market position, in order to pave the way for a successful transition to these new areas of focus.

"We are encouraged by the achievements we made on these two initiatives during the first quarter of 2013. We are continuing the pilot of the CNpad, the workstation for our proprietary mobile sales support system, which contributed over RMB19 million insurance premiums during the first quarter of 2013. In addition, we distributed over RMB190 million worth of wealth management products during the first quarter of 2013.

Mr. Wang concluded, "We believe that we are on the right track and remain confident that the changes we are implementing will bring the Company back to high volume growth and strong profitability."

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues to grow by over 5% for the second quarter of 2013 compared with the corresponding period in 2012. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current view, which is subject to change.

¹This announcement contains translations of certain Renminbi (RMB) amounts into U.S. dollars (US$) at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from RMB to U.S. dollars are made at a rate of RMB6.2108 to US$1.00, the effective noon buying rate as of March 29, 2013 in The City of New York for cable transfers of RMB as set forth in H.10 weekly statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board.

First Quarter 2012 Results

• Total net revenues for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012 were RMB337.3 million (US$53.6 million), representing an increase of 7.5% from RMB313.7million for the corresponding period of 2011.
• Net income from continuing operations was RMB52.8 million (US$8.4 million) for the first quarter of 2012, representing a decrease of 34.1% from RMB80.1 million for the corresponding period of 2011.
• Non-GAAP Fully diluted net income per ADS was RMB1.16 (US$0.19) for the first quarter of 2012, representing a decrease of 26.4% from RMB1.58 for the corresponding period of 2011.

Commenting on the first quarter 2012 financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, CNinsure's chief executive officer, stated, "Entering 2012, the Chinese insurance market remained challenged by weak growth in total gross premiums written, primarily impacted by the continued decline of life insurance premiums. Driven by relatively stable growth in our property and casualty insurance and claims adjusting businesses, our total net revenues still beat our previous guidance, growing at 7.5%, despite negative growth in life insurance revenues. Margins were squeezed by higher sales costs and operating expenses due to continued inflationary pressure and market competition.

"In facing these challenges, we will continue to push forward the strategic transitioning of the Company within our three business segments, including 1) implementing a new higher-productivity sales model within the life insurance business segment that focuses on higher penetration into urban areas, provision of comprehensive wealth management products to customers and development of an elite sales team, 2) optimizing the business structure of our claims adjusting business by strengthening efforts to develop non-auto property and casualty insurance related claims adjusting business, and 3) building our e-commerce platform."

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues to decrease by less than 8% for the second quarter of 2012 compared to the corresponding period of 2011.

Fourth Quarter 2011 Results

• Total net revenues: RMB418.6 million (US$66.5 million), representing an increase of 15.1% from the corresponding period of 2010, which exceeded the previous guidance of 10-15%.
• Operating loss: RMB1.0 billion (US$161.1 million), compared to operating income of RMB130.2 million for the corresponding period of 2010.
• Non-GAAP operating income, excluding (1) goodwill and intangible assets impairment loss and (2) share-based compensation expenses: RMB73.2 million (US$11.6 million), representing a decrease of 48.0% from the corresponding period of 2010.
• Net loss attributable to the Company's shareholders: RMB718.6 million (US$114.2 million), compared to net income attributable to the Company's shareholders of RMB126.5 million for the corresponding period of 2010.
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company's shareholders, excluding (1) impairment losses in respect of goodwill and intangible assets attributable to the Company, net of tax,(2) share-based compensation expenses, (3) refunds from the selling shareholder of certain acquired subsidiaries, (4) investment income incurred by business combination achieved in stages, net of tax, and (5) net income from discontinued operations²: RMB76.0 million (US$12.1 million), representing a decrease of 41.0% from the corresponding period of 2010.
• Non GAAP basic net income per ADS: RMB1.517 (US$0.241), representing a decrease of 40.8%, respectively, from the corresponding period of 2010.
• GAAP basic net loss per ADS: RMB14.336 (US$2.278), compared to GAAP basic net income per ADS of RMB2.514 for the corresponding period of 2010.

Commenting on the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2011 financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, CNinsure's chief executive officer, stated, "The fourth quarter and full year 2011 results were mixed. Top line growth remained stable with total net revenues growing 15.1% and 22.9% year-over-year, for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year of 2011, respectively, which exceeded our previous guidance. Bottom line growth, however, was subdued due to increasing cost pressure arising from high inflation and intensified competition within the insurance market."

He continued, "In light of the challenges, in 2012, we will devote our efforts to implementing the Company's strategic transformation plan. Although our near-term earnings may be adversely impacted, we believe these efforts will help re-enforce the Company's long-term competitiveness and place the Company on a stronger base for a fruitful future."

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues to grow by less than 5% for the first quarter of 2012 compared to the corresponding period of 2011.

GUANGZHOU, China, Feb. 23, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNinsure Inc. (Nasdaq:CISG) ("CNinsure" or the "Company"), a leading independent insurance intermediary company operating in China, today announced that it expects to record a non-cash impairment charge in the range of RMB800 million to RMB1,181 million for intangible assets and goodwill in the fourth quarter of 2011, based on preliminary results of the Company's intangible assets impairment assessment and annual goodwill impairment test, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 350, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other. The above charge is an estimate subject to the completion of the Company's impairment assessments.

The intangible asset and goodwill impairment charge reflects a material decline in the fair value of the Company as of December 31, 2011 and the expected adverse impact of the overall economic uncertainties in China, growth slowdown within the Chinese insurance market and the Company's strategic business transition on its earnings in the next two to three years.

The Company does not expect the non-cash impairment charge to have an adverse impact on its normal business operations, cash position or cash flows from operating activities.

Third Quarter 2011 Results

• Total net revenues: RMB383.7 million (US$60.2 million), representing an increase of 18.9% from the corresponding period of 2010.
   
• Operating income: RMB72.7 million (US$11.4 million), representing a decrease of 32.6% from the corresponding period of 2010.
   
• Net income attributable to the company's shareholders: RMB78.2 million (US$12.3 million), representing a decrease of 28.8% from the corresponding period of 2010. Net income attributable to the Company's shareholders for the third quarter of 2011 included the following non-recurring items: (1) impairment losses in respect of goodwill for the claims adjusting segment and intangible assets; and (2) professional fees relating to a non-binding going-private proposal that was later withdrawn.
   
• Excluding net income from discontinued operations² and the non-recurring items mentioned above, adjusted net income attributable to the Company's shareholders (non-GAAP): RMB106.3 million (US$16.7 million), representing an increase of 5.3% from the corresponding period of 2010.
   
• Excluding net income from discontinued operations and the non-recurring items mentioned above, diluted net income per ADS (non-GAAP): RMB2.087 (US$0.327), representing an increase of 6.7%, respectively, from the corresponding period of 2010.

Commenting on the third quarter financial results, Mr. Chunlin Wang, CNinsure's chief executive officer, stated, "Due largely to the prevailing macroeconomic turmoil, during the third quarter of 2011 the Chinese insurance industry witnessed a slow-down of insurance premium growth and, for the first time in the past decade, the life insurance sector experienced negative growth. This was a major challenge to our third quarter financial operations."

Mr. Wang continued, "High inflation is expected to trigger profound changes to customer demand, sales and marketing models, the division of labor and the inherent growth drivers in the Chinese insurance industry. Against this backdrop, CNinsure is also at a critical junction in its existence. Historically, our business growth has relied primarily on a people-driven sales model. However, with rising labor costs and operating expenses, this sales model and the sustainability of our long-term growth is increasingly under pressure. In the coming two to three years, we intend to alter the factors that drive our growth by transforming our operating tactics and sales and marketing model to more clearly define our market positioning and target customers.

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its total net revenues from continuing operations to grow by approximately10-15% for the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to the corresponding period of 2010. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

GUANGZHOU, China, Sept. 20, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNinsure Inc. (Nasdaq:CISG) (the "Company" or "CNinsure"), a leading independent insurance intermediary company operating in China, today announced the signing of a corporate-to-corporate strategic partnership agreement with Chartis Insurance Company China Limited ("Chartis Insurance"), a subsidiary of Chartis, Inc., marking a new stage of cooperation between the two parties.

Pursuant to the agreement, CNinsure will work closely and efficiently with Chartis Insurance on product distribution, development of custom-designed insurance products and outsourcing of claims adjusting services.

GUANGZHOU, China, Sept. 15, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNinsure Inc. (Nasdaq:CISG) (the "Company" or "CNinsure"), a leading independent insurance intermediary company operating in China, today announced that the Special Committee of its Board of Directors has received a notice from TPG Asia V MU, Inc., Kingsford Resources Limited, a company controlled by Mr. Yinan Hu, chairman of the Board of Directors and chief executive officer of the Company, and entities affiliated with him, and CDH Inservice Limited that they have unanimously determined to withdraw the non-binding going private proposal dated May 14, 2011.

Mr. Yinan Hu, CNinsure's chairman and chief executive officer, stated, "Recent market conditions and near term volatility have made for a challenging deal environment." Mr. Hu continued, "Throughout the last four months, the Company has been conducting business as usual. We still have full confidence in the growth prospects of the Company in view of our strong cash position, industry leadership and well-proven growth model. We intend for the Company to continue to execute on its long-term growth strategies and to explore potential opportunities to maximize value for all shareholders."

GUANGZHOU, China, Aug. 31, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNinsure Inc. (Nasdaq:CISG) (the "Company" or "CNinsure"), a leading independent insurance intermediary company operating in China, today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire 100% equity interests in Guangzhou Huajie Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.("Huajie") and Dongguan Zhongxin Insurance Agency Co., Ltd.("Zhongxin") from Chengdu Jingshi Investment Co., Ltd. ("Chengdu Jingshi" or "Selling Shareholder"). The transactions are expected to close in September 2011, subject to certain consents, authorizations and other customary closing conditions.

Both of the acquisition considerations for Huajie and Zhongxin are RMB25 million, representing a PE multiple of ten times based on their guaranteed net profits in 2012. Meanwhile, the Selling Shareholder agrees to provide 50% of the considerations to CNinsure as security deposits to guarantee the performance of Huajie and Zhongxin in 2012 and 2013. It also agrees to return certain portion of the considerations to CNinsure if Huajie and Zhongxin fail to achieve the performance targets in 2012 and 2013.

Commenting on the acquisition, Mr. Yinan Hu, CNinsure's chairman and chief executive officer, stated, "The acquisition of Huajie and Zhongxin is a strategic step for us to strengthen our sales and service network in Guangdong Province, especially in the affluent Pearl River Delta cities. In addition, it enables us to turn potential competitors into allies and helps further entrench our leadership in the region."

Second Quarter 2011 Results

• Total net revenues: RMB400.7 million (US$62.0 million), representing an increase of 32.2% from the corresponding period of 2010.
• Excluding net income from discontinued operations, investment income incurred by business combination achieved in stages, net of tax, share-based compensation expense and strategic spending on e-commerce insurance business, diluted net income per ADS(non-GAAP): RMB2.114 (US$0.327), representing an increase of 11.2%, respectively, from the corresponding period of 2010(US$0.29).

Commenting on the second quarter financial results, Mr. Yinan Hu, CNinsure's chairman and chief executive officer, stated, "We are pleased to report another quarter of solid results that continued to outpace industry average and beat management's previous estimate despite inflation pressure and the industry slowdown."

Business Outlook

Going forward, the Company will offer quarterly guidance for total net revenues instead of net income attributable to the Company's shareholders in view of the increased uncertainty in its net income due to inflationary concerns, strategic spending on e-commerce insurance business and professional fees related to the non-binding going-private proposal that the Board received on May 14, 2011.

CNinsure expects its total net revenues from continuing operations to grow by approximately 22% for the third quarter of 2011 compared to the corresponding period of 2010. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

GUANGZHOU, China, Aug. 17, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNinsure Inc. (Nasdaq:CISG) (the "Company" or "CNinsure"), a leading independent insurance intermediary company operating in China, today announced that Shenzhen Inscom E-commerce Co. Ltd. ("Inscom"), an affiliated subsidiary of CNinsure, has entered into strategic partnership in e-commerce with China Pacific Property Insurance Co. Ltd. ("China Pacific"), a leading property and casualty insurance company in China.

Pursuant to the agreement, CNinsure and China Pacific will expand their current scope of cooperation to include online sales and telesales through Inscom's e-commerce platform. They agree to enhance collaboration on market development, product design and customer services. Both parties' network platforms will be interconnected to each other in order to facilitate transaction processing.

"This is the second strategic partnership agreement that we have signed so far with leading insurance companies for extensive collaboration on e-commerce business. We are excited about the opportunity to expand both parties' market presence and enhance profitability through channel innovation," commenting on the strategic partnership, CNinsure's chairman and chief executive officer, Mr. Yinan Hu, stated. "With full support from our product suppliers, we are optimistic about the outlook of our e-commerce insurance business."

We expect to require cash to fund our ongoing business needs, particularly the further expansion of our distribution and service network through acquisitions and establishment of new insurance intermediary companies and development of an e-commerce insurance platform.

We believe that our current cash and cash equivalents and anticipated cash flow from operations will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash needs, including our cash needs for working capital and capital expenditures, for at least the next 12 months. We may, however, require additional cash due to changing business conditions or other future developments, including any investments or acquisitions we may decide to pursue.

First Quarter Results:

• Total net revenues: RMB313.7 million (US$47.9 million), representing an increase of 28.3% from the corresponding period of 2010.
• Operating Income: RMB88.7 million (US$13.6 million), representing an increase of 33.8% from the corresponding period of 2010.
• Net income from continuing operations: RMB80.1 million (US$12.2 million), representing an increase of 23.1% from the corresponding period of 2010. After incorporating net income from discontinued operations of RMB157.3 million (US$24.0 million), total net income was RMB237.4 million (US$36.3 million), representing an increase of 240.0% from the corresponding period of 2010.
• Excluding net income from discontinued operations, investment income incurred by business combination achieved in stages, net of tax and share-based compensation expense, adjusted net income attributable to the Company's shareholders (non-GAAP): RMB81.1 million (US$ 12.4 million), representing an increase of 36.4% from the corresponding period of 2010.
• Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS"): RMB4.796 (US$0.732) and RMB4.693 (US$0.717), respectively, representing an increase of 224.9% and 228.4%, respectively, from the corresponding period of 2010.-- Basic and diluted net income per ADS from continuing operations: RMB1.665 (US$0.254) and RMB1.629 (US$0.249), respectively, representing an increase of 21.3% and 22.6%, respectively, from the corresponding period of 2010.-- Basic and diluted net income per ADS from discontinued operations: RMB3.131 (US$0.478) and RMB3.064 (US$0.468), respectively, representing an increase of 2,913.7% and 2,945.8%, respectively, from the corresponding period of 2010

Commenting on the first quarter financial results, Mr. Yinan Hu, CNinsure's chairman and chief executive officer, stated, "Despite a slower insurance sector growth, the Company continued to deliver solid results, with our property and casualty ("P&C") insurance business and life insurance business, in particular, growing 31.7% and 35.0% year over year, respectively, in terms of net revenues in the first quarter of 2011.

CNinsure expects its net income attributable to the Company's shareholders, excluding investment income incurred by business combination achieved in stages and the estimated strategic spending on e-commerce insurance, to grow by approximately 18% in the second quarter 2011 compared to the corresponding period of 2010. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

GUANGZHOU, China, May 16, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNinsure Inc. announced today that its Board of Directors has received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter dated May 14, 2011, from TPG Asia V MU, Inc. ("TPG Asia"), Kingsford Resources Limited, a company controlled by Mr. Yinan Hu, chairman of the Board of Directors and chief executive officer of the Company, and entities affiliated with him (collectively, the "Founder"), and CDH Inservice Limited ("CDH", together with TPG Asia and the Founder, the "Consortium Members"), to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares of the Company, other than certain American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") or ordinary shares held by the Founder and CDH, in a going private transaction for $19.00 per ADS, or $0.95 per ordinary share, in cash, subject to certain conditions. The Founder and CDH currently beneficially own, in the aggregate, approximately 34.3% of the Company's outstanding ordinary shares.

Fourth Quarter Highlights:

• Total net revenues: RMB449.0 million (US$68.0 million), representing an increase of 26.3% from the corresponding period of 2009.
• Income from operations: RMB132.7 million (US$20.1 million), representing an increase of 20.4% from the corresponding period of 2009.
• Net income attributable to the Company's shareholders: RMB126.5 million (US$19.2 million), representing an increase of 34.9% from the corresponding period of 2009. Excluding non-recurring investment income incurred by business combination achieved in stages, net income attributable to the Company's shareholders grew 32.4% from the corresponding period of 2009, which exceeded the previous guidance of approximately 32% year-over-year growth.
• Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS"): RMB2.514 (US$0.381) and RMB2.447 (US$0.371), respectively, representing an increase of 22.3% and 22.7%, respectively, from the corresponding period of 2009.

Commenting on the financial results, Mr. Yinan Hu, chairman and chief executive officer of the Company, stated, " I am pleased to report that CNinsure continued to deliver solid financial results in 2010 with total net revenues and net income attributable to the Company's shareholders growing 28.6% and 40.4%, respectively, and fully diluted EPS growing 31.6% to RMB 8.529, which exceeded the management target."

CNinsure expects its net income attributable to the Company's shareholders, excluding non-recurring investment income incurred by business combination achieved in stages and the estimated strategic spending on e-commerce insurance, to grow by approximately 20~23% for the first quarter 2011 compared to the corresponding period of 2010. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

Highlights for Third Quarter 2010

• Total net revenues: RMB388.2 million (US$58.0 million), representing an increase of 30.4% from the corresponding period of 2009.

• Income from operations: RMB119.1 million (US$17.8 million), representing an increase of 35.7% from the corresponding period of 2009.

• Net income attributable to the Company's shareholders: RMB109.8 million (US$16.4 million), representing an increase of 42.7% from the corresponding period of 2009, which exceeded the previous guidance of approximately 38% year-over-year growth.

• Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS"): RMB2.198 (US$0.329) and RMB2.128 (US$0.318), respectively, representing an increase of 30.4% and 29.7%, respectively, from the corresponding period of 2009.

Commenting on the financial results, Mr. Yinan Hu, chairman and chief executive officer of the Company, stated, "The Company maintained strong growth momentum in the third quarter with total net revenues and net income attributable to CNinsure's shareholders growing 30.4% and 42.7% year-over-year, respectively, exceeding our previous guidance. Although the follow-on public offering in July led to a dilution in our EPS, we still recorded a 29.7% year-over-year diluted EPS growth in the third quarter, demonstrating the strong execution capability of the management. Robust growth of our three existing business lines continued into the third quarter with the life insurance business and claims adjusting business growing 109.1% and 34.3% year-over-year, respectively. The overall commission rate from the property and casualty insurance business increased over the previous quarter, which led to a year-over-year growth of 6.7% in our property and casualty insurance business in the third quarter as compared to year-over-year decline of that in the second quarter. We believe there is still room for further improvement in our property and casualty insurance commission rate." Mr. Hu continued, "During the past decade, CNinsure has built a nation-wide sales and service network in 23 provinces, enabling the Company to change its role from an insurance product retailer with no bargaining power to a general agency with more influence in its cooperation with upstream product suppliers. To better meet customers' needs, we have placed more focus on customized products instead of merely distributing general products already prevalent in the market. Furthermore, we have been building new profits centers to sell multiple products to each of our customers in an effort to strengthen our profitability. We believe the ongoing insurance marketing system reform, coupled with the increasing demand for asset preservation and appreciation and financing service as a result of the growth in people's disposable income will provide CNinsure with greater opportunities for future development.

"Since our initial public offering in 2007, organic growth and growth through acquisitions have become the dual engines for our business development and we have maintained positive balance between the two strategies. Of the 30.4% year-over-year growth in terms of total net revenues in the third quarter, organic growth accounted for approximately 72% while growth through acquisitions accounted for approximately 28%. Due to the immature and fragmented nature of China's insurance intermediary industry, we have adopted a unique acquisition model to identify suitable acquisition targets while reducing risks, which has proved to be viable. Looking ahead, acquisition will continue to be one of our most important growth strategies. We will constantly review and refine our acquisition model to make it more simplified and straightforward, in terms of valuation matrix, payment method, and earn-out provisions. For the future potential acquisitions, we will, as always, place strong emphasis on restricting risk, enhancing cash flow and insisting on high growth and high return.

"We are now building the groundwork for our e-commerce insurance, insurance brokerage, consumer finance and wealth management businesses in an effort to turn our blueprint for the next five years into reality. Examining all the opportunities and challenges, we firmly believe that the Company will be able to continue its strong growth momentum for the next few years. We are confident in the growth prospects of the Company and China's financial services industry and committed to maximizing shareholder value by pursuing the long-term sustainable growth of the Company."

Business Outlook

CNinsure expects its net income attributable to the Company's shareholders excluding non-recurring investment income incurred by business combination achieved in stages to grow by approximately 32% for the fourth quarter 2010 compared to the corresponding period of 2009. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

Highlights for Second Quarter 2010:

• Total net revenues: RMB365.8 million (US$53.9 million), representing an increase of 28.1% from the corresponding period of 2009.
  
• Net income attributable to the Company's shareholders: RMB118.6 million (US$17.5 million), representing an increase of 40.2% from the corresponding period of 2009, which exceeded the previous guidance of approximately 35% year-over-year growth.
  
• Basic and diluted net income per American Depositary Share ("ADS"): RMB2.600 (US$0.383) and RMB2.494 (US$0.368), respectively, representing an increase of 40.2% and 35.9%, respectively, from the corresponding period of 2009.

"CNinsure reported another solid quarter and once again beat our previous guidance, with total net revenues and net income attributable to CNinsure's shareholders growing 28.1% and 40.2% year-over-year, respectively," commenting on the financial results, Mr. Yinan Hu, chairman and chief executive officer of CNinsure, stated. "We are thrilled to see that the strong growth momentum in our life insurance business continued into the second quarter, with life insurance growing over 138% year-over-year and accounting for 36.1% of our total net revenues, driven by the increases in first year commission rate, accumulation of renewal commissions and performance bonus. Meanwhile, the profitability and bargaining power of our P&C business was greatly enhanced by our initiatives to promote bundled sales, establish strategic partnership and co-develop customized products with more insurers and strengthen our insurance brokerage business to refine the mix of our P&C business which we believe will help improve our earnings stability in the long run."

CNinsure expects its net income attributable to the Company's shareholders to grow by approximately 38% for the third quarter 2010 compared to the corresponding period of 2009. This forecast reflects CNinsure's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

Commenting on the financial results, Mr. Yinan Hu, chairman and CEO of CNinsure stated: 'We are very pleased to achieve our operating targets with solid financial results, which has once again proved the viability of our business model. Amid the global financial crisis, the management has effectively capitalized on new growth opportunities and proactively explored new ways to develop the Company, which has further enhanced our competitiveness and laid a solid foundation for the Company's sustainable growth in the coming years.

^a The above forecasts reflect the Company's current and preliminary views and are therefore subject to change. Please refer to the Company's Safe Harbor Statement (usually in press releases) for the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

Commenting on the first quarter results, Yinan Hu, Chairman and CEO of CNinsure, stated: 'We are pleased to deliver another quarter of strong results amid the current financial and economic crisis, with total net revenues growing 58.0% year-on-year to RMB215.9 million, exceeding our previous guidance, and basic net income per ADS growing 30.0% year-on-year to RMB0.998.

He added, 'We believe that the strong will emerge from the financial crisis stronger while the weak will diminish. Our performance in the first quarter of 2009 was evidence of our leading position and competitiveness within the industry. With a clear vision of the current macro-economic and industry trends, our management has fully demonstrated their wisdom and execution ability to turn headwind into tailwind, and challenges into opportunities.

Guidance Report:

"As the global economic crisis deepens, more uncertainties are expected in the growth prospect of the Chinese economy in 2009. However, we believe CNinsure, as a retail distributor of insurance products and after-sales service provider, will not be as impacted by the macroeconomic environment as some other sectors since the insurance industry will still be a hotspot in China's economic development for the next decade and the insurance intermediary sector, in which CNinsure has gained a leading position, is a relatively more stable part of the whole industry value chain. We believe we have the right solutions and strategies to cope with the new situations and deliver another year of success in 2009."

First Quarter Fiscal 2009 Guidance Ending March

Source: PR Newswire (February 24, 2009)

Guidance Report: 

2008 Fourth Quarter Guidance Ending December

"Despite the recent economic slowdown in China, the Company expects to report net revenue for the quarter in line with the previous guidance. Gross margin will remain flat as compared with the previous quarter, while operating margin is expected to be lower than that in the third quarter of 2008."

Source: PR Newswire (January 20, 2009)