BEIJING, May 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SouFun Holdings Limited (NYSE: SFUN) ("SouFun"), the leading real estate Internet portal in China, announced today its unaudited financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2015.

First Quarter 2015 Highlights


    --  Total Revenue increased by 1.8% year-on-year to $123.5 million for the
        three months ended March 31, 2015.  Revenue from e-commerce services
        increased by 75.2% year-on-year to $51.5 million for the three months
        ended March 31, 2015.
    --  Operating income decreased by 84.9% year-on-year to $7.5 million for the
        three months ended March 31, 2015. Non-GAAP operating income decreased
        by 84.5% year-on-year to $7.9 million for the three months ended March
        31, 2015. A description of the adjustments from GAAP to non-GAAP
        operating income is set forth below.

    --  Net income attributable to SouFun's shareholders decreased by 85.3%
        year-on-year to $6.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015.
        Fully diluted earnings per ADS decreased by 90.0% year-on-year to $0.01
        for the three months ended March 31, 2015.

    --  Non-GAAP net income attributable to SouFun's shareholders decreased by
        84.2% year-on-year to $7.5 million for the three months ended March 31,
        2015. Non-GAAP fully diluted earnings per ADS decreased by 81.8%
        year-on-year to $0.02 for the three months ended March 31, 2015.
    --  GMV for the three months ended March 31, 2015 was $1.7 billion. Starting
        from the beginning of this year, the company's e-commerce business
        expanded into its new home, resale and rental, and home furnishing
        business lines across China's major cities. It's GMV grows rapidly since
        the beginning of this year as shown below:


    GMV: January-April, 2015 (in millions of US dollars)

                                               January       February     March     April       Total

     New
     Home
     *                                                   340          299       642         794       2,074

     Secondary
     Home                                                 22           42       320         705       1,089

     Home
     furnishing                                            1            1         2           5          10
                                                         ---          ---       ---         ---         ---

    Total                                                363          341       965       1,505       3,173
                                                         ===          ===       ===       =====       =====

    * Only including direct sales services.

"SouFun is aggressively penetrating into new home, resale and rental, and home furnishing transactions across China's major cities." said Vincent Mo, Chairman and CEO of SouFun. "We added more than 11,000 employees with attractive incentives this year to support our ecommerce expansions and we will continue to expand our ecommerce staffs to keep the current momentum, even if this in the short term will lead to rapid increases in our expenses and sharp decreases in our net income."

First Quarter 2015 Results

Revenues

SouFun reported total revenues of $123.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, representing an increase of 1.8% from $121.2 million for the corresponding period in 2014, primarily driven by the growth in e-commerce services, partially offset by the decline in marketing services and listing services.

Revenue from marketing services was $40.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, a decrease of 13.5% from $47.0 million for the corresponding period in 2014, primarily due to the weakness of the real estate market.

Revenue from e-commerce services was $51.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, a 75.2% increase from $29.4 million for the same period in 2014, primarily due to the growth of the direct sales services for new homes.

Revenue from listing services was $23.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, a decrease of 43.9% from $42.1 million for the corresponding period in 2014, primarily due to discounts which SouFun offered to agency clients beginning in June 2014 and the decline of the number of paying account members.

Revenue from internet financial services was $3.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015. Internet financial services was separated from other value-added services and recorded as a new revenue segment starting from the three months ended March 31, 2015. SouFun began to offer internet financial services in August 2014.

Revenue from other value-added services was $4.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, an increase of 53.3% from $2.7 million for the corresponding period in 2014, primarily due to the rapid growth of our research related products.

Cost of Revenue

Cost of revenue was $43.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, an increase of 75.2% from $24.9 million for the corresponding period in 2014. The increase in cost of revenue was mainly attributable to the direct sales services, which were launched in August 2014. In addition, increased staff cost also contributed to the increase in cost of revenues.

Gross margin was 64.7% for the three months ended March 31, 2015, compared to 79.5% for the corresponding period in 2014.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses were $71.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, an increase of 53.3 % from $46.9 million for the corresponding period in 2014.

Selling expenses were $48.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, an increase of 74.4% from $27.5 million for the corresponding period in 2014, primarily due to the direct sales services, which were launched in August 2014, increased staff cost, and increased advertising and promotional expenses.

General and administrative expenses were $23.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, an increase of 23.2% from $19.3 million for the corresponding period in 2014, primarily due to increased staff cost.

Operating Income

Operating income was $7.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, a decrease of 84.9% from $49.5 million for the corresponding period in 2014.

Income Tax Expenses

Income tax expense was $5.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, a 63.0% decrease compared to $15.2 million for the corresponding period in 2014. SouFun's effective tax rate was 48.0% for the three months ended March 31, 2015, as compared to 26.8% for the same period in 2014. The increase in the effective tax rate was primarily because the interest expenses for our convertible senior notes due 2018 and certain costs and expenses of our subsidiaries outside of China for the three months ended March 31, 2015 were not deductible for income tax purposes.

Net Income and EPS

Net income attributable to SouFun's shareholders was $6.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, an 85.3% decrease from $41.5 million for the corresponding period in 2014. Fully diluted earnings per ordinary share and per ADS was $0.07 and $0.01, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2015, a 90.0% decrease from $0.48 and $0.10 for the corresponding period in 2014.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA, defined as non-GAAP net income before income taxes, interest expenses, interest income, depreciation and amortization, was $11.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, a decrease of 79.4% as compared to $54.8 million for the corresponding period in 2014.

Cash

As of March 31, 2015, SouFun had cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $667.7 million, compared to $809.9 million as of December 31, 2014. Cash flow used in operating activities was $54.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, compared to cash flow generated from operating activities of $126.2 million for the same period in 2014. The decline in cash flows from operating activities was primarily due to a $35.4 million decrease of net income as compared to the first quarter of 2014, an approximately $28.6 million decrease in cash flows due to a decrease of deferred revenue, and a net cash outflow of $25.5 million in loans provided to home buyers under our internet financial services program.

Business Outlook

SouFun adjusts its revenue guidance for 2015 from $773.2 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 10%, to $808.3 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 15%. This forecast reflects SouFun's current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

Conference Call Information

SouFun's management team will host a conference call on May 20, 2015 at 8:00 AM U.S. EST (8:00 PM Beijing / Hong Kong time). The dial-in details for the live conference call are:

The dial-in details for the live conference call are:



    International Toll:                    +65 6723-9381

    Local Toll:

    United States                           +1 845-675-0437/+1
                                            866-519-4004

    Hong Kong                              +852 3018-6771/800-906-601

    Mainland China                          +86 400-620-8038 /+86
                                            800-819-0121

    Passcode:                              SFUN

A telephone replay of the call will be available after the conclusion of the conference call from 11:00 AM EST on May 20 through 11:59 PM EST May 28, 2015. The dial-in details for the telephone replay are:



    International Toll:                    +61 2-8199-0299

    Toll-Free:

    United States                           +1 855-452-5696 /+1
                                            646-254-3697

    Hong Kong                               +852 800-963-117 /+852
                                            3051-2780

    Mainland China                          +86 400-602-2065 /+86
                                            800-870-0205

    Conference ID number:                                    42214652

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on SouFun's website at http://ir.fang.com.

About SouFun

SouFun operates the leading real estate Internet portal in China in terms of the number of page views and visitors to its websites and mobile apps in 2014. Through its websites and mobile apps, SouFun provides marketing, e-commerce, listing, finance and other value-added services for China's real estate and home-related sectors. SouFun's Internet portal and mobile apps are highly focused on user experience, and support SouFun's users in seeking information on the real estate and home-related sectors in China. SouFun currently maintains about 100 offices to focus on local market needs and its websites, mobile apps and database contain real estate related content covering more than 370 cities in China. For more information about SouFun, please visit http://ir.fang.com.

Safe Harbor Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "is expected to," "anticipates," "aim," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "are likely to," "estimates," "may," "should" and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the revenue outlook for 2015, the success of various business strategies in the short and long-term, conditions in the PRC real estate market and the success of SouFun's strategic and operational plans and focus, the impact of government policies and China's real estate and home furnishings market. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about SouFun's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the impact of the slowdown in the PRC real estate market on SouFun and the impact on revenues of our existing and new service fees reductions, the ability of SouFun to retain real estate listing agencies as customers during challenging economic periods, the success of SouFun's new business initiatives, the ability of SouFun to manage its operating expenses, the impact of, measures taken or to be taken by the Chinese government to control real estate growth and prices and other events which could occur in the future, economic challenges in China's real estate market, the impact of competitive market conditions for our services, our ability to maintain and increase our leadership in China's home related internet sector, the uncertain regulatory landscape in China, fluctuations in our quarterly operating results, our continued ability to execute business strategies including our SouFun membership services and SouFun Online Shop, our ability to continue to expand in local markets, our reliance on online advertising sales and listing services for our revenues, any failure to successfully develop and expand our content, service offerings and features, including the success of new features to meet evolving market needs, and the technologies that support them, the quality of the loans we originate and resell and the performance of those loans in the future, our ability to successfully service and process customer loans for our own benefit and for the purchasers of those loans and, should we in the future make acquisitions, any failure to successfully integrate acquired businesses.

Further information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties is included in our annual report on Form 20-F and other documents we have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. SouFun does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements in this release and elsewhere, which apply only as of the date of this press release.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement SouFun's consolidated financial results presented in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), SouFun uses in this press release the following measures defined as non-GAAP financial measures by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission: (1) non-GAAP operating income, (2) non-GAAP net income and (3) non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ordinary share and (4) adjusted EBITDA. The presentation of the non-GAAP financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the table captioned "Reconciliation of GAAP and non-GAAP Results" set forth at the end of this press release.

SouFun believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information to investors regarding its operating performance by excluding share-based compensation expenses and the related tax effects, realized gain on available-for-sale security, interest income and expenses, income tax expenses, and depreciation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2015, which (1) may not be indicative of SouFun's recurring core business operating results or (2) are not expected to result in future cash payments. These non-GAAP financial measures also facilitate management's internal comparisons to SouFun's historical performance and assist its financial and operational decision making. A limitation of using these non-GAAP financial measures is that share-based compensation, interest income and expenses, income tax expenses, and depreciation expenses have been and will continue to be a significant recurring expense that will continue to exist in SouFun's business for the foreseeable future. Management compensates for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from each non-GAAP measure. The accompanying tables have more details on the reconciliation between non-GAAP financial measures and their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:
Dr. Hua Lei
Deputy CFO
Phone: +86-10-5631-8661
Email: leihua@soufun.com




                                                                                                   SouFun Holdings Limited

                                                                                            Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

                                                                            (in thousands of U.S. dollars, except share data and per share data )

    ASSETS                                                                                                                                                                   March 31,              December 31,

                                                                                                                                                             2015         2014

    Current assets:                                                                                                                                               (Unaudited)                             (Audited)

                                            Cash and cash equivalents                                                                                                                       463,852                      354,760

                                            Restricted cash, current                                                                                                                         97,618                       97,988

                                            Short-term investments                                                                                                                          203,867                      455,184

                                            Accounts receivable, net                                                                                                                         52,274                       49,691

                                            Funds receivable                                                                                                                                 89,628                       62,163

                                            Prepayment and other current assets                                                                                                              30,260                       30,161

                                            Customer deposits                                                                                                                                50,300                       47,312

                                            Loan receivable, current                                                                                                                        104,010                       79,641

                                            Amount due from related parties                                                                                                                     122                            -

                                            Deferred tax assets, current                                                                                                                      3,477                        2,991


    Total current assets                                                                                                                                                               1,095,408                    1,179,891

    Non-current assets:

                                            Property and equipment, net                                                                                                                     215,298                      217,105

                                            Intangible Assets                                                                                                                                   790                            -

                                            Loan receivable, non-current                                                                                                                      2,806                        2,009

                                            Restricted cash, non-current                                                                                                                    109,081                      109,495

                                            Deferred tax assets, non-current                                                                                                                  1,225                        1,570

                                            Deposit for non-current assets                                                                                                                   86,882                       86,515

                                            Long-term investments                                                                                                                           123,905                      121,292

                                            Prepayment for business acquisition                                                                                                               9,806                        9,806

                                            Other non-current assets                                                                                                                         17,039                       16,556


    Total non-current assets                                                                                                                                                             566,832                      564,348
                                                                                                                                                                                         -------                      -------

    Total assets                                                                                                                                                                       1,662,240                    1,744,239
                                                                                                                                                                                       =========                    =========


    LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

    Current liabilities:

                                            Short-term loans                                                                                                                                 80,750                       80,750

                                            Deferred revenue                                                                                                                                114,715                      119,042

                                            Accrued expenses and other liabilities                                                                                                          209,724                      221,901

                                            Income tax payable                                                                                                                               38,244                       35,394

                                            Customers' refundable fees                                                                                                                       50,551                       42,392

                                            Amounts due to a related party                                                                                                                        -                         660

    Total current liabilities                                                                                                                                                            493,984                      500,139

    Non-current liabilities:

                                            Long-term loans                                                                                                                                 100,000                      100,000

                                            Convertible senior notes                                                                                                                        400,000                      400,000

                                            Deferred tax liabilities, non-current                                                                                                           111,532                      111,026

                                            Other non-current liabilities                                                                                                                       273                          385


    Total non-current liabilities                                                                                                                                                        611,805                      611,411
                                                                                                                                                                                         -------                      -------

    Total Liabilities                                                                                                                                                                  1,105,789                    1,111,550
                                                                                                                                                                                       =========                    =========


    Equity:

                                            Class A ordinary shares, par value Hong Kong Dollar                                                                                               7,509                        7,495

                                            ("HK$") 1 per share, 600,000,000 shares authorized

                                            for Class A and Class B in aggregate, and

                                            58,477,084 shares and 58,364,924 shares issued and

                                            outstanding as at March 31, 2015 and December 31,

                                            2014, respectively

                                            Class B ordinary shares, par value HK$1 per share,

                                            600,000,000 shares authorized for Class A and Class

                                            B in aggregate, and  24,336,650 shares and

                                            24,336,650 shares issued and outstanding as at March                                                                                              3,124                        3,124

                                                                                                                    31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 , respectively

                                            Additional paid-in capital                                                                                                                      102,774                      101,072

                                            Accumulated other comprehensive income                                                                                                           47,560                       49,566

                                            Retained earnings                                                                                                                               394,708                      471,352


    Total SouFun Holdings Limited shareholders' equity                                                                                                                                   555,675                      632,609

                                            Noncontrolling interests                                                                                                                            776                           80


    Total equity                                                                                                                                                                         556,451                      632,689

    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND  EQUITY                                                                                                                                                      1,662,240                    1,744,239
                                                                                                                                                                                       =========                    =========


                                                                 SouFun Holdings Limited

                                                Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income

                                          ( in thousands of U.S. dollars, except share data and per share data)

                                                                                                                          Three months ended

                                                                                                                 March 31,        March 31,

                                                                                                                       2015             2014

                                                                                                                (Unaudited)                  (Unaudited)

    Revenues:

      Marketing services                                                                                             40,623                        46,983

      E-commerce services                                                                                            51,542                        29,415

      Listing services                                                                                               23,643                        42,145

    Internet financial services                                                                                       3,540                             -

      Other value-added services                                                                                      4,106                         2,678
                                                                                                                      -----                         -----

    Total revenues                                                                                                  123,454                       121,221


    Cost of Revenues:

      Cost of services                                                                                             (43,633)                     (24,905)
                                                                                                                    -------                       -------

    Total Cost of Revenues                                                                                         (43,633)                     (24,905)


    Gross Profit                                                                                                     79,821                        96,316


    Operating expenses and income:

      Selling expenses                                                                                             (48,015)                     (27,534)

    General and administrative expenses                                                                            (23,806)                     (19,316)

      Other income                                                                                                    (524)                           53
                                                                                                                       ----                           ---

    Operating Income                                                                                                  7,476                        49,519

      Foreign exchange gain  (loss)                                                                                    (14)                         (12)

      Interest income                                                                                                 8,044                        11,344

      Interest expense                                                                                              (4,101)                      (5,094)

    Government grants                                                                                                   302                           966

    Income before income taxes and
     noncontrolling interests                                                                                        11,707                        56,723

    Income tax expenses

      Income tax expenses                                                                                           (5,622)                     (15,201)
                                                                                                                     ------                       -------

    Net income                                                                                                        6,085                        41,522

      Net income attributable to
       noncontrolling                                                                                                  (22)                            -

    interests


    Net income attributable to SouFun
     Holdings                                                                                                         6,107                        41,522

    Limited shareholders

    Other comprehensive income, net of
     tax

    Foreign currency Translation                                                                                    (4,619)                      (7,834)

    Unrealized gain on available-for-
     sale security                                                                                                    2,613                             -
                                                                                                                      -----                           ---

    Total other comprehensive income, net
     of tax                                                                                                         (2,006)                      (7,834)
                                                                                                                     ------                        ------

    Comprehensive income                                                                                              4,079                        33,688
                                                                                                                      =====                        ======



    Earnings per share for Class A and
     Class B

    ordinary shares

    Basic                                                                                                              0.07                          0.51

    Diluted                                                                                                            0.07                          0.48

    Earnings per ADS

    Basic                                                                                                              0.01                          0.10

    Diluted                                                                                                            0.01                          0.10

    Weighted average number of Class A
     and Class

    B ordinary shares outstanding:

    Basic                                                                                                        82,731,556                    81,852,230

    Diluted                                                                                                      89,924,291                    92,606,216

    Weighted average number of ADSs

    outstanding:

    Basic                                                                                                       413,657,780                   409,261,150

    Diluted                                                                                                     449,621,455                   463,031,080




                                                   SouFun Holdings Limited

                                         Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results

                            (in thousands of U.S. dollars, except share data and per share data)

                                                                                                              Three months ended

                                                                                                 March 31,                   March 31,

                                                                                                         2015                      2014

    GAAP income from operations                                                                                      7,476                   49,519

    Share-based compensation
     expense                                                                                                           434                    1,524

    Non-GAAP income from
     operations                                                                                                      7,910                   51,043


    GAAP net income                                                                                                  6,085                   41,522

    Withholding tax related to
     dividends                                                                                                       1,005                    4,792

    Share-based compensation
     expense                                                                                                           434                    1,524

    Non-GAAP net income                                                                                              7,524                   47,838


    Net Income attributable to                                                                                       6,107                   41,522

    SouFun shareholders

    Withholding tax related to
     dividends                                                                                                       1,005                    4,792

    Share-based compensation
     expense                                                                                                           434                    1,524

    Non-GAAP net Income
     attributable to SouFun                                                                                          7,546                   47,838

       Holdings Limited
        shareholders


    GAAP earnings per share for
     Class A and Class B

    ordinary shares:

    Basic                                                                                                             0.07                     0.51

    Diluted                                                                                                           0.07                     0.48

    GAAP earnings per ADS:

    Basic                                                                                                             0.01                     0.10

    Diluted                                                                                                           0.01                     0.10

    Non-GAAP earnings per
     share for Class A and

    Class B ordinary shares:

    Basic                                                                                                             0.09                     0.58

    Diluted                                                                                                           0.08                     0.55

    Non-GAAP earnings per ADS:

    Basic                                                                                                             0.02                     0.12

    Diluted                                                                                                           0.02                     0.11

    Weighted average number of
     Class A and Class B

    ordinary shares
     outstanding:

    Basic                                                                                                       82,731,556               81,852,230

    Diluted                                                                                                     89,924,291               92,606,216

    Weighted average number of
     ADSs outstanding:

    Basic                                                                                                      413,657,780              409,261,150

    Diluted                                                                                                    449,621,455              463,031,080


                                     SouFun Holdings Limited

                          Reconciliation of Non-GAAP and Adjusted EBITDA

                                  (in thousands of U.S. dollars)

                                                                                        Three months ended

                                                                         March 31,           March 31,

                                                                              2015                 2014

    Non-GAAP Net income                                                              7,524                   47,838

    Add back:

    Interest expense                                                                 4,101                    5,094

    Income tax expenses                                                              4,617                   10,409

    Depreciation expenses                                                            3,073                    2,819

    Subtract:

    Interest income                                                                (8,044)                 (11,344)

    Adjusted EBITDA                                                                 11,271                   54,816

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SOURCE SouFun Holdings Limited