Gross profit was $2.6 million or 21.6% of sales compared to $2.2 million or26.1% of sales for the three months ended March 31, 2008. On April 27, 2009 Cavico announced that on April 22, 2009 the Company`ssubsidiary, Cavico Vietnam entered into an agreement with Laos Ministry ofPlanning and Investment to explore and exploit copper, gold, and other ores inMuang Hom district, Vientiane province, Laos. On April 20, 2009 Cavico announced that on March 19, 2009 the Company signed anadditional contract valued at $3 million with the Project Management ofIndustrial and Urban Development Corporation (IDICO) of Dak Mi 4 hydropowerplant. Totalcurrent liabilities were $92.2 million, which includes advance from customers of$18 million.
As of March 31, 2009, shareholders' equity reached $19.1 million,up 1.9% from shareholder's equity of $18.8 million as of December 31, 2008.During the three months ended March 31, 2009, the Company used $2.0 million inoperating activities. Subsequent EventsOn April 7, 2009, Cavico announced that on March 6, 2009 the Company was awardeda $4.9 million construction contract by Lilama, a state-owned company under themanagement of the Vietnamese Ministry of Construction. Financial ConditionAs of March 31, 2009, the Company has $3.6 million in cash, accounts receivableof $10.4 million and construction work in progress of $34.2 million. Earnings per share were $0.00 for boththree-month periods ended March 31, 2009 and 2008. Net income in the first quarter of 2009 was $0.4 million, up 50.6% from netincome in the same period last year. Interest expenses excluding increasein capitalized interest for the first quarter of 2009 was consistent to theperiod in 2008. The increase in other expense was mainly dueto decrease in interest income and gain from disposal of fixed assets which waspartially offset by gain on foreign currency exchange related to re-measurementof debts in debts in different currencies.
Other expense was $0.4 million in the first quarter of 2009, compared to otherexpense of $0.2 million a year ago. Theincrease in operating expenses was primarily due to the rise in payroll and rentexpenses which were offset by the decline in administrative costs for thecorporate office and subsidiaries. The Company reported an operating income of $1.1 million in the first quarter of2009, compared to $0.7 million in the first quarter of 2008. As a percentage of revenue, operating expenses declined to12.8% in the first quarter of 2009 from 17.8% in the same period a year ago. The decline in grossmargin was attributable to decreases in gross profit percentages in some majorprojects. Operating expenses totaled $1.6 million, up 7.9% from $1.5 million in the firstquarter of 2008. Steel-making ingredient nickel MNI3 closed at $12,425 from$12,550.