SHANGHAI, China, Nov. 17 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (Nasdaq: CTRP), a leading travel service provider for hotel accommodations, airline tickets and packaged tours in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2008.

    Highlights for the Third Quarter of 2008
    -- Net revenues were RMB370 million (US$55 million) for the third quarter
       of 2008, up 15% year-on-year.
    -- Gross margin was 77% for the third quarter of 2008, compared to 80% in
       the same period in 2007.
    -- Income from operations was RMB107 million (US$16 million) for the third
       quarter of 2008, down 4% year-on-year.  Excluding share-based
       compensation charges (non-GAAP), income from operations was RMB138
       million (US$20 million), up 3% year-on-year.
    -- Operating margin was 29% in the third quarter of 2008, compared to 34%
       in the third quarter of 2007.  Excluding share-based compensation
       charges (non-GAAP), operating margin was 37%, compared to 41% during
       the same period in 2007.
    -- Net income was RMB104 million (US$15 million) in the third quarter of
       2008, down 5% year-on-year.  Excluding share-based compensation charges
       (non-GAAP), net income was RMB136 million (US$20 million), up 2% year-
       on-year.
    -- Diluted earnings per ADS were RMB1.52 (US$0.22).  Excluding share-based
       compensation charges (non-GAAP), diluted earnings per ADS were RMB1.97
       (US$0.29).
    -- Share-based compensation charges were RMB31 million (US$5 million),
       accounting for approximately 8% of the net revenues, or RMB0.45
       (US$0.07) per ADS, for the third quarter of 2008.

"Although the travel industry had a tough time during the third quarter of 2008 in China, Ctrip continued to outperform our peers with a healthy growth in revenue year-on-year," said Min Fan, Chief Executive Officer of Ctrip. "While Ctrip is not immune from the current volatile economic environment, our team is focusing on gaining more market share and strengthening our leadership in the challenging market."

Third Quarter 2008 Financial Results

For the third quarter of 2008, Ctrip reported total revenues of RMB397 million (US$58 million), representing a 15% increase from the same period in 2007 and a 1% decrease from the previous quarter.

Hotel reservation revenues amounted to RMB186 million (US$27 million) for the third quarter of 2008, representing a 6% increase from the same period in 2007 primarily due to increased hotel booking volume and a 5% decrease from the previous quarter primarily due to decreased hotel booking volume .

Air-ticketing revenues for the third quarter of 2008 were RMB166 million (US$25 million), representing a 21% increase from the same period in 2007 primarily due to a 37% increase in air-ticketing sales volume, which was offset by a 12% decrease in commission per ticket primarily due to a decrease in ticket prices. Air-ticketing revenues remained relatively consistent with the previous quarter.

Packaged-tour revenues for the third quarter of 2008 were RMB28 million (US$4 million), up 37% from the same period in 2007 and up 19% from the previous quarter, primarily due to the increased leisure travel volume.

For the third quarter of 2008, net revenues were RMB370 million (US$55 million), a 15% increase from the same period in 2007. Net revenues remained relatively consistent with the previous quarter.

Gross margin was 77% in the third quarter of 2008, compared to 80% in the same period in 2007 and 79% in the previous quarter.

Product development expenses for the third quarter of 2008 increased by 28% to RMB61 million (US$9 million) from the same period in 2007 and increased by 8% compared to the previous quarter, primarily due to the increased product development personnel resources. Excluding share-based compensation charges (non-GAAP), product development expenses accounted for 14% of the net revenues, which was an increase from 13% in the same period last year and the previous quarter.

Sales and marketing expenses for the third quarter of 2008 increased by 12% to RMB71 million (US$10 million) from the same period in 2007 primarily due to the increased sales and marketing personnel resources and other marketing activities. Sales and marketing expenses increased by 4% from the previous quarter primarily due to the increased marketing activities. Excluding share-based compensation charges (non-GAAP), sales and marketing expenses accounted for 18% of the net revenues, decreased from 19% in the same period last year and increased from 17% in the previous quarter.

General and administrative expenses for the third quarter of 2008 increased by 24% to RMB45 million (US$7 million) from the same period in 2007 primarily due to the increased personnel resources and share-based compensation charges. General and administrative expenses increased by 4% from the previous quarter primarily due to increase of personnel resources. Excluding share-based compensation charges (non-GAAP), general and administrative expenses accounted for 7% of the net revenues, which remained consistent with the same period last year and increased from 6% in the previous quarter.

Income from operations for the third quarter of 2008 was RMB107 million (US$16 million), which represented a 4% decrease from the same period in 2007 and a 16% decrease from the previous quarter. Excluding share-based compensation charges (non-GAAP), income from operations was RMB138 million (US$20 million), representing a 3% increase from the same period in 2007 and a 13% decrease from the pervious quarter.

Operating margin was 29% in the third quarter of 2008, compared to 34% in the third quarter of 2007 and in the previous quarter. Excluding share-based compensation charges (non-GAAP), operating margin was 37% in the third quarter of 2008 compared to 41% in the third quarter of 2007 and 42% in the previous quarter.

Net income for the third quarter of 2008 was RMB104 million (US$15 million), representing a 5% decrease from the same period in 2007, and a 12% decrease from the previous quarter. Excluding share-based compensation charges (non-GAAP), net income was RMB136 million (US$20 million), representing a 2% increase from the same period in 2007 and a 10% decrease from the previous quarter.

The effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2008 was 17%, increased from 15% in the same period of 2007 primarily due to the application of a statutory tax rate of 25% under the new PRC Enterprise Income Tax Law, which became effective on January 1, 2008, to PRC enterprises that are not entitled to enjoy the grandfathering provision of transitional preferential tax rate. The effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2008 decreased from 26% in the previous quarter primarily due to the transitional preferential tax rate of 18% applied to one of the PRC enterprises established in Pudong New Area.

Diluted earnings per ADS were RMB1.52 (US$0.22) for the third quarter of 2008. Excluding share-based compensation charges (non-GAAP), diluted earnings per ADS were RMB1.97 (US$0.29) for the third quarter of 2008.

As of September 30, 2008, the balance of cash and short-term investment was RMB1.4 billion (US$207 million).

Business Outlook

For the fourth quarter of 2008, Ctrip expects the year-on-year net revenue growth rate to be in the range of 5-15%.

Conference Call

Ctrip's management team will host a conference call at 8:00PM US Eastern Time on November 17, 2008 (or 9:00AM on November 18, 2008 in the Shanghai/HK time zone) following the announcement.

The conference call will be available on Webcast live and replay at: http://ir.ctrip.com . The call will be archived for one month at this website.

The dial-in details for the live conference call: U.S. Toll Free Number 1.888.680.0869, International dial-in number +1.617.213.4854; Passcode 72507674. For pre-registration, please click https://www.theconferencingservice.com/prereg/key.process?key=PGAVKHKF9 .

A telephone replay of the call will be available after the conclusion of the conference call through November 25, 2008. The dial-in details for the replay: U.S. Toll Free Number +1.888.286.8010, International dial-in number +1.617.801.6888; Passcode 39879145.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These 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," "expect," "anticipate," "future," "intend," "plan," "believe" "estimate," and "confident" and similar statements. Among other things, quotations from management and the Business Outlook section in this press release, as well as Ctrip's strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. Ctrip may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Forms 20-F and 6-K, etc., in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Ctrip'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, a slow-down of economic growth or an economic downturn in China, inflation in China, disruptions in the financial markets and other macro-economic challenges currently affecting the economy of the United States and other parts of the world, declines or disruptions in the travel industry, volatility in the trading price of Ctrip's ADSs, Ctrip's reliance on the relationships with travel suppliers and strategic alliances, failure to further increase Ctrip's brand recognition to obtain new business partners and consumers, failure to compete against new and existing competitors, damage to or failure of Ctrip's infrastructure and technology, loss of services of Ctrip's key executives, risks and uncertainties associated with PRC laws and regulations governing internet content providers and affecting Ctrip's business in China and other risks outlined in Ctrip's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F and other filings. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of November 17, 2008, and Ctrip does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement Ctrip's unaudited consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with the United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), Ctrip uses non-GAAP financial information related to product development expenses, sales and marketing expenses, general and administrative expenses, income from operations, operating margin, net income, and diluted earnings per ordinary share and per ADS, each of which is adjusted from the most comparable GAAP result to exclude the share-based compensation charges recorded under Statement of Financial Accounting Standard 123R, "Share-Based Payment", for 2008 and 2007. Ctrip's management believes the non- GAAP financial measures facilitate better understanding of operating results from quarter to quarter and provides the management better capability to plan and forecast future periods.

The non-GAAP information is not in accordance with GAAP and may be different from non-GAAP methods of accounting and reporting used by other companies. The presentation of this additional information should not be considered a substitute for the GAAP results. A limitation of using these non-GAAP financial measures is that these non-GAAP measures exclude share- based compensation charges that have been and will continue to be significant recurring expenses in our business for the foreseeable future.

Reconciliations of Ctrip's non-GAAP financial data to the most comparable GAAP data included in the consolidated statement of operations are included at the end of this press release.

About Ctrip.com International, Ltd.

Ctrip.com International, Ltd. is a leading travel service provider of hotel accommodations, airline tickets and packaged tours in China. Ctrip aggregates information on hotels and flights and enables customers to make informed and cost-effective hotel and flight bookings. Ctrip also sells packaged tours that include transportation and accommodations, as well as guided tours in some instances. Ctrip targets primarily business and leisure travelers in China who do not travel in groups. These travelers form a traditionally under-served yet fast-growing segment of the travel industry in China. Since its inception in 1999, Ctrip has experienced substantial growth and become one of the best-known travel brands in China.

                       -- Financial Tables to Follow --



                        Ctrip.com International, Ltd.
                    Consolidated Balance Sheet Information


                                   December 31,  September 30, September 30,
                                      2007           2008          2008
                                      RMB            RMB           USD

                                   (unaudited)    (unaudited)   (unaudited)

    ASSETS
    Current assets:
    Cash                        1,064,418,278  1,197,541,068  176,370,943
    Restricted cash                 6,600,000      6,600,000      972,032
    Short-term investment         141,174,094    199,486,687   29,379,915
    Accounts receivable, net      260,683,770    365,955,042   53,896,971
    Prepayments and other
     current assets                63,489,599    114,935,749   16,927,458
    Deferred tax assets            11,275,767     11,625,338    1,712,152

    Total current assets        1,547,641,508  1,896,143,884  279,259,471

    Long-term deposits            147,092,990    144,764,157   21,320,514
    Land use rights                65,083,814    112,157,284   16,518,253
    Property, equipment and
     software                     267,194,788    276,810,487   40,767,977
    Investment                     80,416,250    208,046,406   30,640,570
    Goodwill                       14,595,849     15,560,658    2,291,736
    Other long-term assets          2,918,809      3,853,897      567,592

    Total assets                2,124,944,008  2,657,336,773  391,366,113

    LIABILITIES
    Current liabilities:
      Accounts payable            230,904,562    412,963,022   60,820,192
      Salary and welfare payable   65,497,142     62,448,966    9,197,332
      Taxes payable                49,079,149     81,461,286   11,997,420
      Advances from customers      96,672,341    137,378,063   20,232,708
      Accrued liability for
       customer reward program     44,659,657     57,356,218    8,447,285
      Dividend payable            119,497,083             --           --
      Other payables and
       accruals                    65,731,210     61,667,563    9,082,249

    Total current liabilities     672,041,144    813,275,118  119,777,186

    Other long-term payables        1,625,000        812,500      119,663

    Total liabilities             673,666,144    814,087,618  119,896,849

    Minority interests              1,158,767      1,425,908      210,004

    SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
      Share capital                 2,742,210      2,759,378      406,395
      Additional paid-in capital  791,336,910    931,313,846  137,161,644
      Statutory reserves           60,869,845     60,869,845    8,964,763
      Accumulated other
       comprehensive loss         (36,420,706)  (107,371,081) (15,813,352)
      Retained Earnings           631,590,838    954,251,259  140,539,810

    Total shareholders' equity  1,450,119,097  1,841,823,247  271,259,260

    Total liabilities and
     shareholders' equity       2,124,944,008  2,657,336,773  391,366,113



                        Ctrip.com International, Ltd.
               Consolidated Statement of Operations Information


                    Quarter Ended  Quarter Ended  Quarter Ended  Quarter Ended
                    September 30,     June 30,     September 30,  September 30,
                         2007           2008          2008          2008
                         RMB            RMB           RMB           USD

                       (unaudited)   (unaudited)   (unaudited)   (unaudited)

    Revenues:
      Hotel reservation 175,578,714   195,873,161   186,005,621   27,394,456
      Air-ticketing     137,659,009   168,818,839   166,420,800   24,510,052
      Packaged tour      20,683,731    23,831,611    28,371,045    4,178,419
      Others             11,909,481    13,361,644    16,248,986    2,393,111

    Total revenues      345,830,935   401,885,255   397,046,452   58,476,038

    Less: business
     tax and related
     surcharges         (23,160,551)  (26,841,572)  (26,909,297)  (3,963,136)

    Net revenues        322,670,384   375,043,683   370,137,155   54,512,902

    Cost of revenues    (64,011,659)  (79,671,771)  (86,404,046) (12,725,378)

    Gross profit        258,658,725   295,371,912   283,733,109   41,787,524

    Operating
     expenses:
     Product
      development *     (47,941,336)  (56,890,322)  (61,254,023)  (9,021,344)
     Sales and
      marketing *       (63,466,452)  (68,281,458)  (71,028,049) (10,460,839)
     General and
      administrative *  (36,269,362)  (42,902,709)  (44,819,506)  (6,600,908)

    Total operating
     expenses          (147,677,150) (168,074,489) (177,101,578) (26,083,091)

    Income from
     operations         110,981,575   127,297,423   106,631,531   15,704,433

    Interest income       4,670,322     9,272,875     8,012,955    1,180,128
    Other income         13,577,722    24,597,709    11,442,154    1,685,173

    Income before
     income tax
     expense and
     minority
     interests          129,229,619   161,168,007   126,086,640   18,569,734

    Income tax
     expense            (19,518,480)  (41,600,995)  (21,604,489)  (3,181,857)
    Minority
     interests              (32,723)     (251,471)       13,291        1,958

    Net income          109,678,416   119,315,541   104,495,442   15,389,835

    Earnings per
     ordinary share
     -- Basic                  3.32          3.58          3.13         0.46
     -- Diluted                3.21          3.44          3.03         0.45

    Earnings per ADS
     -- Basic                  1.66          1.79          1.56         0.23
     -- Diluted                1.60          1.72          1.52         0.22

    Weighted average
     ordinary shares
     outstanding
     -- Basic            33,070,087    33,339,364    33,400,258   33,400,258
     -- Diluted          34,197,196    34,648,516    34,447,448   34,447,448

    *Share-based
      compensation
      charges included
      are as follows:
      Product
       development        5,918,151     7,843,570     8,131,437    1,197,578
      Sales and
       marketing          3,540,669     4,516,199     4,496,630      662,253
      General and
       administrative    13,396,356    18,923,915    18,657,104    2,747,773



                        Ctrip.com International, Ltd.
                 Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results
                 (In RMB, except % and per share information)


                                     Quarter Ended September 30, 2008

                        GAAP  %of Net  Share-based  %of Net  Non-GAAP  %of Net
                       Result Revenue  Compensation Revenue   Result   Revenue

    Product
     development    (61,254,023)  17%   8,131,437     2%   (53,122,586)   14%
    Sales and
     marketing      (71,028,049)  19%   4,496,630     1%   (66,531,419)   18%
    General and
     Administrative (44,819,506)  12%  18,657,104     5%   (26,162,402)    7%
    Total operating
     expenses      (177,101,578)  48%  31,285,171     8%  (145,816,407)   39%

    Income from
     operations     106,631,531   29%  31,285,171     8%   137,916,702    37%

    Net income      104,495,442   28%  31,285,171     8%   135,780,613    37%

    Diluted earnings
     per ordinary
     share (RMB)           3.03   --         0.91     --          3.94    --

    Diluted earnings
     per ADS (RMB)         1.52   --         0.45     --          1.97    --

    Diluted earnings
     per ADS (USD)         0.22   --         0.07     --          0.29    --



                                     Quarter Ended June 30, 2008

                      GAAP     %of Net  Share-based  %of Net  Non-GAAP %of Net
                      Result   Revenue  Compensation Revenue   Result  Revenue

    Product
     development    (56,890,322)  15%    7,843,570     2%   (49,046,752)  13%
    Sales and
     marketing      (68,281,458)  18%    4,516,199     1%   (63,765,259)  17%
    General and
     administrative (42,902,709)  11%   18,923,915     5%   (23,978,794)   6%
    Total operating
     expenses      (168,074,489)  45%   31,283,684     8%  (136,790,805)  36%

    Income from
     operations     127,297,423   34%   31,283,684     8%   158,581,107   42%

    Net income      119,315,541   32%   31,283,684     8%   150,599,225   40%

    Diluted earnings
     per ordinary
     share (RMB)           3.44   --          0.90     --          4.35   --

    Diluted earnings
     per ADS (RMB)         1.72   --          0.45     --          2.17   --

    Diluted earnings
     per ADS (USD)         0.25   --          0.07     --          0.32   --



                                     Quarter Ended September 30, 2007

                        GAAP   %of Net Share-based  %of Net  Non-GAAP  %of Net
                       Result  Revenue Compensation Revenue   Result   Revenue

    Product
     development     (47,941,336)  15%    5,918,151    2%  (42,023,185)   13%
    Sales and
     marketing       (63,466,452)  20%    3,540,669    1%  (59,925,783)   19%
    General and
     administrative  (36,269,362)  11%   13,396,356    4%  (22,873,006)    7%
    Total operating
     expenses       (147,677,150)  46%   22,855,176    7% (124,821,974)   39%

    Income from
     operations      110,981,575   34%   22,855,176    7%  133,836,751    41%

    Net income       109,678,416   34%   22,855,176    7%  132,533,592    41%

    Diluted earnings
     per ordinary
     share (RMB)            3.21   --          0.67    --         3.88    --

    Diluted earnings
     per ADS (RMB)          1.60   --          0.33    --         1.94    --

    Diluted earnings
     per ADS (USD)          0.21   --          0.04    --         0.26    --


    Notes for all the financial schedules presented:

    Note 1: The conversion of Renminbi (RMB) into U.S. dollars (USD) is
            based on the noon buying rate of USD1.00=RMB6.7899 on September 30,
            2008 in The City of New York for cable transfers of RMB as
            certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New
            York.

    Note 2: Effective on July 31, 2007, Company changed ratio of the
            American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") to ordinary shares from one (1)
            ADS representing one (1) ordinary shares to two (2) ADS
            representing one (1) ordinary share.  The change is reflected
            retroactively in the numbers for all the periods presented above.



    For further information:

     Jade Wei
     Ctrip.com International, Ltd.
     Tel: +86-21-3406-4880 X 11543
     Email: yuwei@ctrip.com

SOURCE Ctrip.com International, Ltd.