In late March, Renren.com released its fiscal year annual report.
According to regulations, non-US domiciled listed companies are required to publish annual reports using Form 20-F, with disclosure due no later than 4 months after the end of the fiscal year.
Furthermore, non-US domiciled listed companies can be exempted from the 10-Q requirement, meaning they are not mandated to publish quarterly reports.
They only need to file Form 6-K to disclose semi-annual reports, which coincidentally included the quarterly reports.
After the release of the previous year's financial report, Renren.com's stock price surged by 10% in after-hours trading due to its exceptionally strong data.
Benefiting from the outstanding performance of "League of Legends," "Dungeon & Fighter," and North American game studio Alpha, Renren.com's total annual revenue for the previous year reached 27.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 130.9%, with net profit reaching 14.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 96.8%.
Among these, Internet value-added service revenue was 17.307 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 110.5%; mobile and telecom value-added service revenue was 7.3056 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 66.2%; and online advertising business revenue was 3.0637 billion RMB, a year-on-year increase of 46.5%.
Basic earnings per share were 5.862 RMB, and diluted earnings per share were 5.791 RMB.
The board recommended a dividend of 0.40 USD per share, a proposal that requires final approval at the general meeting of shareholders to be held on May 12, 2010.
The proposed dividend will be distributed on May 26, 2010.
Key platform data is as follows:
- Renren.com's active accounts reached 343 million.
- Weibo's active accounts reached 198 million.
- "Dungeon & Fighter" peak concurrent online accounts reached 3.2 million.
- "League of Legends" peak concurrent online accounts reached 970,000.
- Internet value-added service paid monthly subscribers reached 51.6 million.
- Mobile and telecom value-added service paid monthly subscribers reached 20.3 million.
In response to this impressive financial report, major securities firms all released financial analyses and outlook forecasts.
At the same time, investment banks such as Morgan Stanley and UBS announced that they were upgrading Renren.com's rating from "Neutral" to "Overweight."
After the opening of US stocks that day, Renren.com's share price initially experienced slight fluctuations before narrowing slightly to 0.27%, and then surged rapidly after Renren.com released its financial report, with its share price rising over 10% by market close.
As disclosed in the financial report, Renren.com had a year of rapid strides last year.
Except for a slight decrease in Renren.com's active users due to the emergence of Weibo, all other businesses flourished across the board.
Renren Weibo captured 70% of the market share, and several social games from the North American game studio also reaped considerable rewards due to their boom on Facebook.
LOL and DNF, needless to say, have become the dominant products in their respective game categories, raking in countless profits.
Renren.com's stock price could still significantly increase after the user numbers of WeChat and Zhihu explode.
In short, they won big.
Currently, Renren.com's stock price has reached a high of 80 USD per share, with a total market value exceeding 50 billion USD.
In comparison, Baidu's current market value is approximately 38 billion USD, Tencent's market value is 30 billion USD, and Alibaba's valuation is 10 billion USD.
"You can't deny it, almost all lines are in the black, every business has seen significant growth, and it's almost always in the top two or even first in its category."
"Stocks of this kind of company are not suitable for T+0 trading; they are more suited for long-term value investment."
"Excuse me, how can I buy Renren.com stock?"
"Renren.com's market value alone is equal to Baidu + Alibaba or Tencent + Alibaba, and this doesn't even count Orange Phone and Renrengou. This world is just too crazy."
"May I ask, what is Chen Pingjiang's net worth now?"
"..."
In early April, the official website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosed an F144 filing showing that the Chen Pingjiang Family Trust, JC Properties Limited (a British Virgin Islands company), and JSP Investment Limited (a British Virgin Islands company) plan to divest 5 million shares of Renren.com founder stock respectively on April 10.
Based on Renren.com's stock price of 81.070 USD per share at April 3, Eastern Time, this divestment involved a total stock market value of 810.7 million USD.
This also led to a sharp drop in Renren.com's stock price when US stocks opened on April 4, with a decline that once exceeded 10%, closing down 6%, and evaporating 3 billion USD in market value.
Chen Pingjiang's office lawyer replied,
"The disclosed selling plan is a long-term plan. There has been no actual divestment under this plan yet. Chen Pingjiang is firmly optimistic about Renren.com; the current stock price is far below Renren.com's actual value, and he will continue to firmly hold Renren.com stock."
Chen Pingjiang also publicly stated that this divestment was merely for improving his life and making some personal investments.
......
In the middle of the month, Bu Housheng rushed back to Dongjiang with a special investigation report compiled by two teams.
"There are no major issues with AutoNavi or JD.com, so we can initiate the next negotiation plan."
In fact, this special investigation was merely a formality.
AutoNavi had just submitted its prospectus and had recently been investigated by other institutions; JD.com, on the other hand, had just completed its previous round of financing, and its financials were relatively standardized in all aspects.
Chen Pingjiang nodded, took the report without even looking at it, and said,
"I will go again in the latter half of the month for face-to-face meetings with them. This time, I will cash out a batch of stocks and then inject 300 million USD into Tianyuan Capital for operations, with the target still being high-tech stocks in US equities and investments in potential companies in China and North America."
"Understood, boss."
Bu Housheng immediately smiled; it felt great working for the big boss, never having to worry about money.
Once these two collaborations were finalized and announced, Chen Pingjiang didn't even need to imagine how grim Li Yanhong's and Old Ma's expressions would be.
By then, the heads of BAT would all be offended by him.
That thought was almost too "beautiful," making Chen Pingjiang's heart tremble just thinking about it.
Investing in JD.com would affect Alibaba's interests, and acquiring AutoNavi would also create a crisis for Baidu.
"Since I've already offended them all, I might as well go for broke."
After leaving the office, Chen Pingjiang went to find Ge Mengshi.
"Why are you here?"
Ge Mengshi smiled as she looked at Chen Pingjiang.
Today, she was unusually dressed in a white skirt suit.
The weather was gradually getting warmer, and Ge Mengshi's top was unbuttoned, left open.
Chen Pingjiang's gaze brazenly lingered on the swell of Ge Mengshi's chest.
Ge Mengshi rolled her eyes:
"You, you don't look like a boss at all. I never noticed you were so lewd before. You weren't like this when I first met you."
Chen Pingjiang chuckled,
"I was young and ignorant back then. Now I know how wonderful you are. I missed you, so I came to see you. I'll be off to Beijing again in a few days for a business trip."
"Huh? Didn't you just get back? You're leaving again?"
Chen Pingjiang nodded,
"This trip, I'll probably be staying for almost a month."
The negotiations with AutoNavi, the negotiations with JD.com, meeting with relevant leaders from the three major telecom operators, and leaders from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments – it's going to be very busy.
As Chen Pingjiang's words fell, Ge Mengshi thought for a moment, then walked to the office door and locked it.
Chen Pingjiang was stunned:
"You're allowing magistrates to set fires while forbidding the common people to light lamps! Just now you called me lewd, so why are you acting like this?"
Ge Mengshi blushed at his words and gave Chen Pingjiang a flirtatious eye-roll.
"Who told you to be so busy? Besides, isn't this exactly what you wished for?"
"Haha!"
While they were getting intimate, Chen Pingjiang was about to reach into the cabinet for a condom, but he was immediately held down by Ge Mengshi, whose eyes were as seductive as silk.
"I told you last time, I want a child."
Hearing this, Chen Pingjiang's expression also became serious.
He looked at Ge Mengshi and asked,
"Are you sure you've thought it through?"
"Yes, I have."
"It's not that I'm talking nonsense. Can your parents accept it? And wouldn't you be very disappointed without a marriage?"
Ge Mengshi shook her head, her eyes firm:
"I've considered this issue many times. If I have this person in my heart, what's the big deal about getting married or not? As long as you treat me well and treat our future child well, I don't care about anything else. Besides, would I be happy if I went out and found another man? Not necessarily.
The more you're involved in the business world, the more you understand the sorrow of marriage. For many bosses, having a wife at home while keeping mistresses outside is the norm; couples who treat each other with mutual respect and devotion are the minority."
"I've seen so much that I'm used to it now. Rather than a long but unhappy possession, it's better to shine brilliantly like a meteor."
At this point, Ge Mengshi gave a wry smile:
"Let me tell you some gossip: Xiao Qin looks very happy on the surface, right? But privately, she's cried countless times to me. Her husband was her college classmate; after graduation, he started a business, and Xiao Qin began working at a company I previously worked for.
Back then, everyone was poor, and their relationship was actually very good. As her husband's business succeeded, he spent less and less time at home and less and less time with her. If it weren't for their child, they might have divorced long ago."
"Not long ago, she checked her husband's phone, and in it, her husband was being intimate with another woman, calling each other 'husband' and 'wife.' Do you think such a marriage is meaningful?"
Xiao Qin was Qin Suqin.
Chen Pingjiang was speechless.
He hadn't expected that Qin Suqin, who seemed very lively on the outside, had such a story behind her.
The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.
After a long while, Ge Mengshi shook off her despondency and reached for Chen Pingjiang's belt.
"Hurry up, I have a meeting this afternoon. You just need... hmm, forty minutes!"
Chen Pingjiang chuckled when he heard that:
"Forty minutes, that's not even my average time!"
Since Ge Mengshi put it that way, Chen Pingjiang wasn't one to be shy or hesitant.
Although he might not be able to give her a proper status, he wouldn't hold back on anything else.
Chen Pingjiang, having reached this point, had almost no choice.
Dumping Ge Mengshi was definitely not an option.
Not to mention Ge Mengshi managed Zhizhen Catering very well, Chen Pingjiang himself couldn't accept it.
He had feelings for Ge Mengshi, and it was even more impossible for him to accept his woman being with another man in the future or even growing old alone.
Ge Mengshi was getting older; in another two or three years, she would be of advanced maternal age.
As for Yan Yan, he would hide it for as long as possible.
He would deal with future matters later.
The guilt he felt towards Yan Yan was definite, and he could only compensate her more in other ways in the future.
Chen Pingjiang gave a self-deprecating smile.
He, too, had become one of those "with the red flag not falling at home, but colorful flags fluttering outside."
(End of Chapter)