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EX-32.2 - EX-32.2 - Lithium & Boron Technology, Inc. | ex32-2.htm |
EX-32.1 - EX-32.1 - Lithium & Boron Technology, Inc. | ex32-1.htm |
EX-31.1 - EX-31.1 - Lithium & Boron Technology, Inc. | ex31-1.htm |
EX-31.2 - EX-31.2 - Lithium & Boron Technology, Inc. | ex31-2.htm |
EX-21.1 - EX-21.1 - Lithium & Boron Technology, Inc. | ex21-1.htm |
EXCEL - IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT - Lithium & Boron Technology, Inc. | Financial_Report.xls |
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
þ
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ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
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For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014.
OR
¨
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TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
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For the transition period from to
Commission file number 001-34246
SMARTHEAT INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Nevada
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98 -0514768
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(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
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A-1, 10, Street 7
Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Zone
Shenyang, China 110141
(Address of principal executive offices)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:
+86 (24) 2519-7699
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Each Class:
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Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share
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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
Yes ¨ No þ
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.
Yes ¨ No þ
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Yes þ No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).
Yes ¨ No þ
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.
Yes þ No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer ¨
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Accelerated filer ¨
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Non-accelerated filer ¨
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Smaller reporting company þ
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(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).
Yes ¨ No þ
The aggregate market value of voting common stock held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common stock was last sold on June 30, 2014, was $0.15 per share. Accordingly, effective as of June 30, 2014, the registrant’s aggregate market value was less than $50 million and the registrant qualifies for “smaller reporting company” status under Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and is subject to the disclosure requirements and filing deadlines for smaller reporting companies.
As of May 6, 2015, there were 6,783,399 shares of common stock outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:
None.
SMARTHEAT INC.
Table of Contents
Page
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PART I
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Item 1.
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1
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Item 1A.
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14
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Item 1B.
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30
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Item 2.
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30
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Item 3.
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31
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Item 4.
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31
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PART II
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Item 5.
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32
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Item 6.
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32
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Item 7.
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33
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Item 7A.
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45
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Item 8.
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45
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Item 9.
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45
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Item 9A.
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45
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Item 9B.
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46
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PART III
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Item 10.
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47
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Item 11.
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50
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Item 12.
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52
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Item 13.
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54
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Item 14.
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55
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PART IV
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Item 15.
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56
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F-1
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57
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NOTE ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which include, but are not limited to, statements concerning our projected revenues, expenses, gross profit and income, mix of revenue, demand for our products, the benefits and potential applications for our products, the need for additional capital, our ability to obtain and successfully perform additional new contract awards and the related funding and profitability of such awards, the competitive nature of our business and markets and product qualification requirements of our customers. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management’s beliefs and certain assumptions made by us. Words such as “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “predicts,” “potential,” “believes,” “seeks,” “hopes,” “estimates,” “should,” “may,” “will,” “with a view to” and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Such factors include, but are not limited to the following:
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Our goals and strategies;
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Our expansion plans;
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Our future development, financials conditions and results of operations;
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The expected growth of the market for PHE products, heat meters and heat pumps in China;
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Our expectations regarding demand for our products;
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Our expectations regarding keeping and strengthening our relationships with key customers;
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Our ability to stay abreast oof market trends and technological advances;
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Our ability to protect our intellectual property rights effectively and not infringe on the intellectual property rights of others;
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Our ability to attract and retain quality employees;
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Our ability to pursue strategic acquisitions and alliances;
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Competition in our industry in China;
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General economic and business conditions in the regions in which we sell our products;
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Relevant government policies and regulations relating to our industry; and
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Market acceptance of our products.
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Additionally, this report contains statistical data that we obtained from various publicly available government publications and industry-specific third party reports. Statistical data in these publications also include projections based on a number of assumptions. The markets for PHEs, PHE Units, heat meters and heat pumps may not grow at the rates projected by market data, or at all. The failure of these markets to grow at the projected rates may have a material adverse effect on our business and the market price of our common stock. In addition, the changing nature of our customers’ industries results in uncertainties in any projections or estimates relating to the growth prospects or future condition of our market. Furthermore, if any one or more of the assumptions underlying the market data is later found to be incorrect, actual results may differ from the projections based on these assumptions.
Unless otherwise indicated, information in this report concerning economic conditions and our industry is based on information from independent industry analysts and publications, as well as our estimates. Except where otherwise noted, our estimates are derived from publicly available information released by third party sources, as well as data from our internal research, and are based on such data and our knowledge of our industry, which we believe to be reasonable. None of the market data from independent industry publications cited in this report was prepared on our or our affiliates’ behalf.
Additional information on the various risks and uncertainties potentially affecting our operating results are discussed in this report and other documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, or upon written request to our corporate secretary at: A-1, 10, Street 7, Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Zone, Shenyang, China 110141. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason, except as required by law. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
As used in this report, “SmartHeat,” “Company,” “we,” “our” and similar terms refer to SmartHeat Inc., unless the context indicates otherwise.
Our functional currency is the U.S. Dollar, or USD, while the functional currency of our subsidiaries in China are denominated in Chinese Yuan Renminbi, or RMB, the national currency of the People’s Republic of China, which we refer to as the PRC or China, and the functional currency of our subsidiary in Germany is denominated in Euros, or EUR. The functional currencies of our foreign operations are translated into USD for balance sheet accounts using the current exchange rates in effect as of the balance sheet date and for revenue and expense accounts using the average exchange rate during the fiscal year. See Note 2 of the consolidated financial statements included herein.
Effective February 7, 2012, we implemented a one-for-ten reverse stock split of our common stock. Unless otherwise indicated, all share amounts and per share prices in this Annual Report on Form 10-K were retroactively adjusted to reflect the effect of this reverse stock split. See Note 1 of the consolidated financial statements included herein.
PART I
Item 1. Business
General
We are a U.S. holding company with no material assets other than the ownership interests of our foreign subsidiaries that design, manufacture and sell PHEs and related systems in the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) and Germany. A PHE is a device that transfers heat from one fluid to another fluid across large metal plates. PHE products are used in the industrial, residential and commercial sectors to make energy use more efficient and to reduce pollution by reducing the need for coal fired boilers. Our subsidiaries design, manufacture, sell and service PHEs, PHE Units, which combine PHEs with various pumps, temperature sensors, valves and automated control systems, heat meters and heat pumps for use in commercial and residential buildings. They also design, manufacture and sell spiral heat exchangers and tube heat exchangers. Their products and related systems are an increasingly important element in providing a clean technology solution to energy consumption and air pollution problems in China and are commonly used in a wide variety of industrial processes where heat transfer is required. Common applications include energy conversion for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (“HVAC”), and industrial use in petroleum refining, petrochemicals, metallurgy, food and beverage and chemical processing. Our subsidiaries sell their products under the SmartHeat and Taiyu brand names and also sell PHEs under the Sondex brand name as an authorized dealer of Sondex PHEs in China.
Our History
We were incorporated in the State of Nevada on August 4, 2006, under the name Pacific Goldrim Resources, Inc., as an exploration stage corporation with minimal operations, to engage in the exploration for silver, lead and zinc. On April 14, 2008, we changed our name to SmartHeat Inc. and entered into a Share Exchange Agreement (the “Share Exchange Agreement”), to acquire Shenyang Taiyu Machinery & Electronic Equipment Co., Ltd., subsequently renamed SmartHeat Taiyu (Shenyang) Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (“Taiyu”), a privately held Sino-foreign joint venture company formed under the laws of the PRC on July 24, 2002, and engaged in the design, manufacture, sale and service of PHE products in China. The Share Exchange Agreement was entered into by SmartHeat, Taiyu and the shareholders of Taiyu. At the closing of the Share Exchange Agreement, all of the equitable and legal rights, title and interests in and to Taiyu’s share capital of Yuan 25,000,000 were exchanged for 1,850,000 shares of SmartHeat common stock (the “Share Exchange”). We received PRC government approval on May 28, 2008, of our subscription for 71.6% of the registered capital of Taiyu, and approval on June 3, 2009, of the transfer of the remaining 28.4% ownership of Taiyu from the original joint venture shareholders who had received shares of our common stock in the Share Exchange. As a result of the Share Exchange and subsequent transactions contemplated by the Share Exchange Agreement, and receipt of the above PRC government approvals, Taiyu became our wholly foreign-owned enterprise, or WFOE.
Prior to our acquisition of Taiyu, we had no interest in any property, but had the right to conduct exploration activities on 13 mineral title cells covering 27,027 hectares (66,785 acres) in the Slocan Mining Division of southeastern British Columbia, Canada. In connection with the acquisition of Taiyu, we transferred all of our pre-closing assets and liabilities (other than the obligation to pay a $10,000 fee to our audit firm) to a wholly owned subsidiary, PGR Holdings, Inc., a Nevada corporation (“SplitCo”), under the terms of an Agreement of Conveyance, Transfer and Assignment of Assets and Assumption of Obligations dated April 14, 2008. We sold all of the outstanding capital stock of SplitCo to Jason Schlombs, our former director and officer and one of our major shareholders, pursuant to a Stock Purchase Agreement dated April 14, 2008, in exchange for the return of his 250,000 shares of our common stock to us for cancellation.
As an expansion of our business following our acquisition of Taiyu, we acquired and established strategic subsidiaries in China and Germany. On September 25, 2008, we acquired SanDeKe Co., Ltd., or SanDeKe, a Shanghai-based manufacturer of PHEs. On June 16, 2009, we completed an asset purchase transaction with Siping Beifang Heat Exchanger Manufacture Co., Ltd., or Siping Beifang, to set up a new manufacturing facility under our newly incorporated subsidiary, SmartHeat Siping Beifang Energy Technology Co., Ltd., or SmartHeat Siping. On August 14, 2009, we formed Beijing SmartHeat Jinhui Energy Technology Co., Ltd., or Jinhui, a joint venture in Beijing of which we own 52%, to provide consulting services and expand our sales of PHEs into new industries and regions of China. On April 7, 2010, we formed SmartHeat (China) Investment Co., Ltd., or SmartHeat Investment, as an investment holding company in Shenyang for our investment in and establishment of new companies and businesses in China. On April 12, 2010, SmartHeat Investment formed SmartHeat (Shenyang) Energy Equipment Co., Ltd., or SmartHeat Energy, as its wholly owned subsidiary for the research, development, manufacturing and sales of energy products. On May 6, 2010, we formed SmartHeat (Shanghai) Trading Co., Ltd., or SmartHeat Trading, through a nominee, Cleantech Holdings Inc., a British Virgin Islands company, or Cleantech Holdings, to market and expand sales of our branded products in China. Effective as of November 9, 2011, we terminated the nominee-owner relationship and acquired direct control over SmartHeat Trading. On December 2, 2010, we formed Hohhot Ruicheng Technology Co., Ltd., or Ruicheng, a joint venture in Hohhot City, China, for the design and manufacture of heat meters, of which we acquired 51% of the equity interest on January 7, 2011. On March 1, 2011, we entered into a purchase agreement to acquire 95% of the equity interests in Shenyang Bingchuan Refrigerating Machine Limited Company, a Shenyang-based state-owned heat pump manufacturer and designer subsequently renamed SmartHeat (Shenyang) Heat Pump Technology Co., Ltd., or SmartHeat Pump. On November 1, 2011, we increased the registered capital of SmartHeat Pump and thereby increased our ownership percentage to 98.8%. On March 3, 2011, we completed the acquisition of Gustrower Warmepumpen GmbH, subsequently renamed SmartHeat Deutschland GmbH, or SmartHeat Germany, a designer and manufacturer of high efficiency heat pumps in Germany, to extend our clean technology heating solutions into the rapidly growing heat pump markets in Europe and China. We subsequently transferred ownership of SmartHeat Germany to SmartHeat Pump. On April 10, 2012, we established a new joint venture named Urumchi XinRui Technology Limited Liability Company (“XinRui”), of which we own 46%.
On December 30, 2013, SmartHeat closed a transaction contemplated by an Equity Interest Purchase Agreement dated October 10, 2013, whereby the buyers purchased 40% of the equity interests in Taiyu, SmartHeat Siping, SmartHeat Energy, Ruicheng and XinRui. The purchase price was RMB 5,000,000.
On November 28, 2014, Heat PHE entered into an Amended Equity Interest Purchase Agreement. Under the terms of the Amended EIPA Buyers agreed to purchase the remaining 60% of Target Companies (constituting all of our remaining equity interests in the companies being sold). The purchase price for the remaining 60% consists of: (i) consideration of RMB 8,500,000 and (ii) the forgiveness of all net indebtedness owing to the companies being sold by SmartHeat and each of its other subsidiaries which was $8.79 million as of December 31, 2014.
The effectiveness of the transaction is subject to the following conditions: (i) approval of its stockholders and (ii) receipt by the Board of Directors of the Company of an opinion that the sale is fair to the stockholders of SmartHeat from a financial point of view. The parties will execute a mutual release to be effective as of the Closing which will provide, in part, for the companies being sold to forgive all net indebtedness from SmartHeat and all of its other subsidiaries owing to such companies as of the effective date of the Closing. On December 24, 2014, the consideration and all documents were deposited into escrow and will be released when the conditions have been satisfied; provided that if the conditions are not satisfied on or before April 15, 2015, either party may terminate the Amended EIPA and the funds and documents will be returned to the depositing party. The termination deadline for the Amended EIPA was extended to May 15, 2015.
Our Business Segments
On August 23, 2013, the Company formed two new wholly-owned subsidiaries in the state of Nevada, Heat HP, Inc.(“Heat HP”) and Heat PHE, Inc. (“Heat PHE”), in order to reorganize the Company’s ownership structure over its subsidiaries. On August 23, 2013, the Company entered into an assignment agreement (“Assignment Agreement”) with each of Heat HP and Heat PHE which effected the reorganization. The reorganization was performed so the Company’s subsidiaries would be organized along their respective operating segments with Heat HP holding those subsidiaries that operated in the heat pumps and related products segment and Heat PHE holding those subsidiaries that operated in the plate heating equipment, meters and related products segment. The Company initially presented its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2013, in accordance with these operating segments and has continued segment reporting since that time.
Under the Assignment Agreement with Heat HP, the Company agreed to transfer, and in the case of indirectly owned subsidiaries, caused to be transferred, to Heat HP the following subsidiaries of the Company:
Heat HP
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SmartHeat (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
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SmartHeat (Shenyang) Heat Pump Technology Co., Ltd.
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SmartHeat Deutschland GmbH
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SmartHeat (Shanghai) Trading Co., Ltd.
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Beijing SmartHeat Jinhui Energy Technology Co., Ltd.
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Under the Assignment Agreement with Heat PHE, the Company agreed to transfer, and in the case of indirectly owned subsidiaries, caused to be transferred, to Heat PHE the following subsidiaries of the Company:
Heat PHE
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SmartHeat Taiyu (Shenyang) Energy Technology Co., Ltd.
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SanDeKe Co., Ltd.
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SmartHeat (Shenyang) Energy Equipment Co., Ltd.
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SmartHeat Siping Beifang Energy Technology Co., Ltd.
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Hohhot Ruicheng Technology Co., Ltd.
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For financial information regarding our business segments, see Note 2 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, included in Part II, Item 8 of this report.
Sale of Equity Interests
On December 30, 2013, the Company sold 40% of the Company’s equity interests in SmartHeat Taiyu (Shenyang) Energy; SmartHeat Siping Beifang Energy Technology Co., Ltd.; SmartHeat (Shenyang) Energy Equipment Co. Ltd.; Hohot Ruicheng Technology Co., Ltd.; and Urumchi XinRui Technology Limited Liability Company (collectively, the “Target Companies”). The purchase price was RMB 5,000,000. On November 28, 2014, Heat PHE entered into an Amended Equity Interest Purchase Agreement. Under the terms of the Amended EIPA Buyers agreed to purchase the remaining 60% of Target Companies (constituting all of our remaining equity interests in the companies being sold). The purchase price for the remaining 60% consists of: (i) consideration of RMB 8,500,000 and (ii) the forgiveness of all net indebtedness owing to the companies being sold by SmartHeat and each of its other subsidiaries which was $8.79 million as of December 31, 2014.
The effectiveness of the transaction is subject to the following conditions: (i) approval of its stockholders and (ii) receipt by the Board of Directors of the Company of an opinion that the sale is fair to the stockholders of SmartHeat from a financial point of view. The parties will execute a mutual release to be effective as of the Closing which will provide, in part, for the companies being sold to forgive all net indebtedness from SmartHeat and all of its other subsidiaries owing to such companies as of the effective date of the Closing. On December 24, 2014, the consideration and all documents were deposited into escrow and will be released when the conditions have been satisfied; provided that if the conditions are not satisfied on or before April 15, 2015, either party may terminate the Amended EIPA and the funds and documents will be returned to the depositing party. The termination deadline for the Amended EIPA was extended to May 15, 2015.
The buyers consisted of 25 natural PRC. citizens, including Wen Sha, Jun Wang and Xudong Wang, managers of the Company’s subsidiaries engaged in the PHE segment of its business, and Huajuan Ai and Yingkai Wang, the Company’s Corporate Secretary and Acting Chief Accountant, respectively. Huajuan Ai, Wen Sha, Jun Wang and Xudong Wang are also principals in Northtech Holdings Inc., the company that provided a credit line of $2.5 million to the Company.
Our Corporate Structure
Our corporate structure as of the date of this report is set forth in the following diagram. SanDeKe and SmartHeat Investment are WFOEs authorized by their respective business licenses to operate our businesses in China. SmartHeat Deutschland GmbH is wholly owned by Heat HP Inc. We own 52% and 30.6%, respectively, of the equity interests in our PRC-based joint venture companies, Jinhui and Ruicheng. SmartHeat Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of SmartHeat Investment. Taiyu owns 98.8% of the equity interests of SmartHeat Pump. Prior to November 9, 2011, we had no direct ownership interest in SmartHeat Trading; instead, we controlled and were entitled to 100% of the profit or loss of SmartHeat Trading under contractual arrangements. Effective as of November 9, 2011, we terminated the nominee-owner relationship and acquired direct control over SmartHeat Trading.
*On August 23, 2013, SmartHeat entered into Assignments agreements with each of Heat HP and Heat PHE in order to reorganize the structure of its subsidiaries. Under the Assignment Agreements SmartHeat agreed to be transfer, and in the case of indirectly owned subsidiaries, cause to be transferred, certain subsidiaries to each of Heat HP and Heat PHE. Further, under the Assignment Agreements, the SmartHeat agreed to cause its directly and indirectly owned subsidiaries to record these transfers with the applicable government agency in the People’s Rpublic of China, and in the case of SmartHeat Germany, in Germany. The restructured entity is reflected above after giving effect to the sale of 40% of the Company’s ownership interests in SmartHeat Taiyu (Shenyang) Energy; SmartHeat Siping Beifang Energy Technology Co., Ltd.; SmartHeat (Shenyang) Energy Equipment Co. Ltd.; Hohot Ruicheng Technology Co., Ltd.; and Urumchi XinRui Technology Limited Liability Company on December 31, 2014.
(1) We hold through 98.8% of the equity interest in SmartHeat Pump, with the remaining 1.2% of the equity interest held by Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Zone State-owned Assets Management Co., Ltd.
(2) We control 52% of Jinhui pursuant to a joint venture agreement entered into with the minority owner, Beijing Jun Tai Heng Rui Investment Consultancy Co. Ltd.
(3) We control 30.6% of Ruicheng pursuant to a joint venture agreement entered into with the minority owners, Hohhot Chengfa Heating Co. Ltd. and Beijing Taiyu Huineng Machinery and Electronic Equipment Co. Ltd. and our sale of 40% of our equity interests to the Chinese buying group.
Our Offices
Our principal offices are located at A-1, 10, Street 7, Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Zone, Shenyang, China 110141. Our telephone number is +86 (24) 2519-7699. Our website is www.smartheatinc.com. Copies of our annual, quarterly and current reports and any amendments thereto filed with or furnished to the SEC are available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Furthermore, a copy of this Annual Report is located at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room can be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. We make available free of charge on our website our Code of Conduct and the charters of our Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Recent Developments
In order to remedy structural economic issues and overheated growth in the real estate market, the PRC government tightened fiscal policies beginning approximately two years ago that contributed to a general slowdown in many sectors of China’s economy and restricted bank lending practices. Historically, approximately 40% of our subsidiaries’ customers, representing the majority of their total sales, consist of state-owned enterprises in China. Many of these customers, the majority of who are real estate developers, encountered difficulties in the past two to three years in obtaining grants from the PRC government and faced an extended bank loan application process, both of which typically are used to finance the purchase of our subsidaries’ products. These conditions continued into 2014. Accordingly, the continued deflationary policy of the PRC government still affects the rate of growth of our sales of PHEs and PHE Units as certain state-owned enterprises deferred bidding for new projects because of their working capital difficulties or abandoned existing projects. The decline in new projects among state-owned enterprises and increased peer competition contributed to a decline in sales of PHEs and PHE Units in the past two to three years. Our subsidiaries also canceled contracts in the past two to three years with certain of these state-owned customers that were unable to make payments or that had requested adjustments to their payment terms in response to their financial difficulties.
In the second quarter of 2012, we replaced our senior management and certain members of our Board of Directors as part of a broad restructuring plan. Jun Wang, our former Chief Executive Officer, Xudong Wang our former Vice President of Strategy and Development and Wen Sha, our former Vice President of Marketing, all resigned from their respective positions with us, but retained their positions with our subsidiaries. Zhijuan Guo, our former Chief Financial Officer, resigned from all of her positions with us and our subsidiaries. We appointed Oliver Bialowons and Michael Wilhelm to serve as our President and Chief Financial Officer, respectively. Mr. Bialowons was also appointed to our Board of Directors, in addition to Kenneth Scipta, who filled the vacancy left by Arnold Staloff, our former Audit Committee Chairman. We also hired Nimbus Restructuring Manager LLC (“Nimbus”) to act as our restructuring advisor.
On July 27, 2102, we entered into a secured, revolving credit facility under the terms of a Credit and Security Agreement (the “Credit Agreement") with Northtech Holdings, Inc., a British Virgin Islands business corporation (“Northtech”) owned by Jun Wang, Xudong Wang, Wen Sha and Jane Ai. As amended on December 21, 2012 and again on August 23, 2013, the Credit Agreement provides for borrowings of up to $2,500,000 with any amounts borrowed maturing on April 30, 2014. Borrowings under the Credit Agreement are secured by 55% of the equity interest in each of our wholly or directly-owned subsidiaries and are repayable, at our option, in shares of our common stock. On December 21, 2012, we elected to repay $1,301,300 of the $1,384,455 outstanding under the Credit Agreement with 1,300,000 restricted shares of our common stock, approximately 22.67% of our total issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock, as authorized by the Credit Agreement and approved by our shareholders. On August 23, 2013 the Credit Agreement was amended to decrease the interest rate to 10% annually, compounded quarterly and payable annually, effective January 1, 2013. The Company paid Northtech a fee of 100,000 restricted shares as consideration for the amendment and delivered 55% of its shares in Heat HP and Heat PHE as security.
On May 30, 2012, after the announcement of our initial restructuring actions and our proposed entry into the Credit Agreement referred to above, NASDAQ halted trading in our common stock pending a request for additional information with respect to these matters. We provided NASDAQ with additional information and clarification as requested, but on August 23, 2012, we received a notice from NASDAQ’s Listing Qualifications Department (the “Staff”), which stated that “the Staff has determined to apply more stringent criteria,” to the Company, accordingly, to delist the Company’s securities pursuant to the Staff’s broad discretionary authority under Listing Rule 5101. The Staff in its letter stated that it has concerns “regarding the Company’s solvency, viability, operational structure and suitability for listing.” In accordance with NASDAQ’s applicable procedures, we appealed NASDAQ’s delisting determination by appearing before a NASDAQ Hearings Panel, or the Panel, at an oral hearing that took place on October 11, 2012. On November 7, 2012, we received notice that the Panel affirmed the delisting determination made by NASDAQ and that effective as of November 9, 2012; shares of our common stock would be suspended from trading on the NASDAQ Stock Market. We appealed the Panel’s decision through a further appeal process with the NASDAQ Listing and Hearing Review Council on November 19, 2012. This appeal was denied on February 25, 2013. The Company has appealed the decision with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Our restructuring actions undertaken in 2012, including: the replacement of senior management; the retention of Nimbus; the execution of the Credit Agreement; and the potential issuance of shares under the Credit Agreement, were all approved by our shareholders at our 2012 Annual Meeting held on December 11, 2012.
On February 23, 2013, Michael Wilhelm resigned from his position as our Chief Financial Officer due to being “named personally in a groundless shareholder suit, where the alleged (unproven) actions in question are alleged to have taken place long before his involvement with the company.” Mr. Wilhelm was added as a defendant to the class action lawsuit filed against the Company, its directors, and certain of its former officers, originally captioned Steven Leshinsky v. James Wang, et. al, now captioned Stream Sicav, Dharanedra Rai et al. v. James Jun Wang, Smartheat Inc. et al., in an amended complaint filed by the Rosen Law Firm on January 28, 2012. We have had difficulty in retaining a suitable replacement for Mr. Wilhelm due to this class action lawsuit. The status of the class action and the Company’s response is detailed further under Item 3, “Legal Proceedings.”
In the interim, and so as to have a principal accounting officer that could sign the certifications under Sections 302(a) and 906 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 necessary to complete and file this Annual Report on Form 10K, we appointed Yangkai Wang as our Acting Chief Accountant on June 7, 2013. While Mr. Yingkai Wang has served as a financial manager to our subsidiaries since 2007, he has limited relevant education and training in U.S. GAAP and related SEC rules and regulations.
On June 25, 2013, the Board of Directors of the Company authorized the Company to commence a market canvass for additional sources of financing aside from the Credit Agreement. Pursuant to Board authorization, the Company began soliciting stalking horse proposals for purchase of all or part of, or joint venture investment in or with, the Company or one or more of its directly or indirectly owned subsidiaries. The Company selected a stalking horse proposal and the Company attempted to solicit competing bids. On October 10, 2013, the Company entered into the Equity Interest Purchase Agreement as contemplated by the stalking horse process and approved by the Company’s Board. A definitive restructuring proposal was submitted to the Company’s stockholders for an advisory vote at the Company’s Annual Meeting on December 10, 2013 and was approved by a majority of the Company’s stockholders. As discussed in the preceding section, on December 30, 2013, the Company completed the sale of 40% of its ownership in certain subsidiaries. On March 27, 2014, we received notice that the buyers exercised their option to purchase an additional 40% interest in such subsidiaries.
On November 28, 2014, Heat PHE entered into an Amended Equity Interest Purchase Agreement. Under the terms of the Amended EIPA Buyers agreed to purchase the remaining 60% of Target Companies (constituting all of our remaining equity interests in the companies being sold). The purchase price for the remaining 60% consists of: (i) consideration of RMB 8,500,000 and (ii) the forgiveness of all net indebtedness owing to the companies being sold by SmartHeat and each of its other subsidiaries which was $8.79 million as of December 31, 2014.
The effectiveness of the transaction is subject to the following conditions: (i) approval of its stockholders and (ii) receipt by the Board of Directors of the Company of an opinion that the sale is fair to the stockholders of SmartHeat from a financial point of view. The parties will execute a mutual release to be effective as of the Closing which will provide, in part, for the companies being sold to forgive all net indebtedness from SmartHeat and all of its other subsidiaries owing to such companies as of the effective date of the Closing. On December 24, 2014, the consideration and all documents were deposited into escrow and will be released when the conditions have been satisfied; provided that if the conditions are not satisfied on or before April 15, 2015, either party may terminate the Amended EIPA and the funds and documents will be returned to the depositing party. The termination deadline for the Amended EIPA was extended to May 15, 2015.
Products
Our subsidiaries design, manufacture, sell and service heat transfer products and systems including PHEs, PHE Units, heat meters and heat pumps. Their products are an increasingly important element in providing a solution to energy consumption and air pollution problems in China. Their products are used in the industrial, residential and commercial markets to make energy use more efficient and to reduce pollution by reducing the need for coal-fired boilers.
PHEs
A PHE is a device that transfers heat from one fluid to another fluid across large metal plates. Heat exchangers were invented in the mid-1920’s to control pressure and temperature during industrial production. Later innovations in heat transfer technology, including the development of PHEs, led to higher heat recovery rates, lower fuel consumption and reduced related pollution. In a PHE, steam, hot water or other heated fluid from an industrial process flows into the PHE from one location and cool fluid flows in from another source. As the hot and cold fluids move in opposite directions through the PHE, the hot fluid cools as it transfers heat to the cool fluid, which absorbs the heat and gets warmer. In addition to more efficient heat transfer, PHEs offer a more compact design, ease of maintenance and the ability to adjust performance simply by adding or removing plates. This flexibility makes PHEs a preferred solution and translates into lower expenditures on installation and equipment purchases. Our subsidiaries currently focus on the Chinese market, but also have sales in Germany.
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PHE
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PHEs consist of a set of plates made of stainless steel, titanium and nickel alloy that are sealed by gaskets and then bolted together in a large metal frame. Plates come in a variety of sizes and wave patterns, and have large heat transfer surfaces and have high thermal conductivity. The quantity and size of the plates used, along with the total size of the PHE, vary according to particular application requirements. Among the primary advantages of PHEs compared to traditional shell-and-tube heat exchangers are their efficiency, compact design and ease of customization. PHEs have larger heat transfer surface areas than traditional heat exchangers, resulting in greater thermal conductivity and higher heat transfer coefficient. As a result, despite its smaller size, a PHE can transfer the same amount of heat as a traditional shell-and-tube heat exchanger. Furthermore, PHEs can be installed as replacements for traditional heat exchangers in existing installations because of their compact design in addition in new buildings and facilities.
In addition to manufacturing their own PHEs, they import finished stainless steel plates from Sondex and assemble customized PHEs and PHE Units based on client specifications. All designs of PHEs and PHE Units are done in-house by engineers utilizing software and proprietary in-house Computer-aided design (“CAD”) software. Our subsidiaries sources plates from Sondex and from our Siping Beifang subsidiary, which manufactures plates, tubes, and gaskets, for the manufacture of PHE and PHE Units. The plates our subsidiaries produce provide solutions for a market segment with strong demand for PHE products that are priced 10%-15% lower than PHE products manufactured with Sondex plates. PHEs accounted for 26% and 11% of our sales in 2014 and 2013, respectively.
PHE Units
Taiyu commenced designing, manufacturing and selling PHE Units in May 2003. PHE Units integrate PHEs with various pumps, temperature sensors, valves and automated control systems to form a “unit.” While PHE Units are used in a variety of industrial processes, our subsidiaries have developed an expertise in designing and integrating PHE Units for HVAC systems in residential and commercial buildings. Often PHE Units are used along with other units to form a “PHE network” installed in a local district heating system. The production and sale of PHE Units have been central to our historical growth. PHE Units require a comparatively higher level of technical skill and knowledge of the applications in which they are used. As a result, PHE Units are generally sold at a higher selling price. Our subsidiaries’ PHE Units are designed by in-house by system engineers employing customized CAD software. PHE Units accounted for 52% and 8% of our sales in 2014 and 2013, respectively.
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PHE Unit
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Heat Meters
While heating companies in many Western countries have long used meters to measure customer heat usage and invoice customers, residents and commercial customers in China typically are billed based on the square footage of utilized space. Heat meters provide heat consumption information to users and measure the volume of heat used in commercial and residential facilities. As an important revenue gauge for utilities, the calibration of meters in many countries is regulated by government agencies and subject to local or national guidelines. In response to rising energy costs and the increased sensitivity to environmental issues, the PRC government and local utility companies made the use of heat meters compulsory in China. As of July 2003, heat meters were required nationally by law for new construction installed with central heating, and the requirement was extended in April 2008 by the Energy Conservation Law, Article 38, to cover existing buildings being retrofitted.
Using established relationships with provincial governments and utility companies throughout China, Taiyu introduced our patented heat meters to the market during the second quarter of 2006. Our subsidiaries will continue to work with national and local government entities to establish a national heating standard in China and become an active leader in China’s heat meter market. Sales to date have been small relative to our PHE and PHE Unit product lines. Heat meters accounted for 4% and 79% of our sales in 2014 and 2013, respectively.
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Heat Meter
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Heat Pumps
Heat pump systems provide heating, cooling and hot water for residential and commercial buildings and process heat for industrial applications by moving heat between two locations using small amounts of electricity. In a typical system, heat pumps draw heat from outside air or ground to warm the inside of a home or office building. Many heat pumps have reversible cycles, too, using the same system to cool the inside of a building by transferring heat outside. Heat pumps replace conventional energy sources such as oil, gas and coal with the energy stored in water, soil and air or heat recovered from wastewater or exhaust air. By transferring heat between locations, rather than burning fuel to create a heat source, heat pumps are extremely efficient energy transfer systems. Commercial users install heat pump systems not only to reduce energy consumption but also carbon dioxide, or CO2, emissions, a trend that is encouraged by policymakers in China. The advantages of heat pumps in terms of energy efficiency, operating cost, CO2 emission reduction and their ability to provide heating and cooling in one machine has made them the leading energy source for new buildings in Germany and Austria, and has replaced conventional fossil fuel based technology in these countries to a large degree. As the PRC government continues to focus on emissions reduction and energy conservation, we believe there are significant opportunities for strong incremental growth in the rapidly growing heat pump market in China. We also anticipate expanding sales of heat pumps manufactured in China under EU design standards to the European market. Heat pumps accounted for 18% and 2% of our sales in 2014 and 2013, respectively.
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Heat Pump
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Our Industry
Heat transfer technology was introduced to China in the 1960’s from Russia, mainly for applications in the petroleum industry. Today, heat exchangers are used in a wide range of industrial processes, including energy, such as conventional and nuclear power plants, HVAC, petroleum refining, petrochemicals, metallurgy, food and beverage and chemical processing. Heat transfer equipment also is employed in new energy applications such as wind, solar, biomass and waste disposal. Our subsidiaries serve the utility and industrial sectors throughout China, selling PHEs, PHE Units and related accessories principally to the petrochemical, power plant, HVAC, chemical and metallurgy industries. Our subsidiaries sell heat meters and heat pumps principally to participants in HVAC sector. They also offer after-sales services, including maintenance, repair and supplying spare parts, on all their products.
We believe there are social, economic, environmental and regulatory factors that will drive demand for environmentally friendly solutions over the long-term. These include:
Environmental Conditions in China. According to the report entitled “The Cost of Pollution in China,” published in 2007 by the World Bank, the combined health and non-health cost of air and water pollution in China amounts to an estimated $100 billion a year. Moreover, the report found that air pollution in China, especially in large cities, is leading to higher incidences of lung diseases, cancer, and respiratory problems. According to a report commissioned by the Energy Foundation published in 2008, these problems are directly attributable to the fact that 80% of China’s carbon dioxide emissions come from burning coal.
Growing Demand for Heating Water. China provides heating water to households in most of its northern provinces from centralized heating systems. As cities grow in these provinces along with the emerging middle class, so does the demand to expand this supply into new cities, industrial parks and other provinces. Heating water in China is generated by local power plants that pump emitted hot water through a closed loop system to sub-stations, which then pump the water through a network of pipes to households up to 50 kilometers from the local station. These systems of heating stations and sub-stations utilize numerous PHEs and PHE Units for the dual purpose of providing cooling systems for power plants and heat sources for residents and factories.
Heightened Environmental Awareness. The PRC government’s 12th Five-Year Plan continues to address environmental concerns and emphasize clean energy sources as part of the process towards ensuring sustainable growth in China. The Plan maintains long-term plans to cut CO2 output per unit of Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, by at least 40% by 2020 from 2005 levels. Furthermore, the Plan sets forth clear energy and CO2 emissions targets to help ensure energy policies are implemented with defined carbon goals. The implementation of PHEs and PHE Units in new construction facilities, and as replacements for legacy shell-and-tube heat exchangers, can help meet these goals because of the increased energy efficiency of these products.
Urbanization. According to a 2011 national sample survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, over 51% of China’s population lived in urban settings in 2011. Additionally, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, 15 cities near and around our sales and service centers have a population of more than five million. Eight of these cities are among the world’s fastest growing, increasing at an estimated annual rate of 2.3% or more according to the CIA World Factbook. China’s urbanization has lead to new infrastructure development and existing infrastructure improvements that require ongoing investment in heating solutions.
Emerging Wealth. The rapidly expanding middle class in China demands access to quality heating during the winter months. This demand is often met by using hot water supplied from a power station and district heating network that utilizes a system of PHEs and PHE Units.
Our Competitive Strengths
The market for heat transfer products and systems in China is highly competitive, with multiple overseas and domestic producers and no established leader in the fragmented and diverse end markets. We believe our subsidiaries have the following competitive strengths:
Provider of Key Elements Used to Improve Energy Efficiencies and Reduce Coal Pollution. Our subsidiaries offer a full line of PHEs, PHE Units, heat meters and heat pumps. The primary advantages of plate heat exchanger technology, compared to traditional shell-and-tube heat exchanger technology, are efficiency, compact design and ease of customization. PHEs have larger heat transfer surface areas and therefore also have greater thermal conductivity. As a result, PHEs can transfer the same amount of heat as a traditional shell-and-tube heat exchanger, but with the benefit of a smaller size unit.
Quality Engineering, Research and Development. Our subsidiaries emphasize efficiency, durability and quality engineering in all of their products. All of their products utilize the latest technologies, and their designs are created using advanced software systems. Our subsidiaries have 17 registered patents in China for PHE-related products and heat meters. To maintain their competitive edge in the marketplace and keep pace with new technologies, they fund research and development on an ongoing basis to find improved efficiencies in design, cost and energy capture. Research and development costs for 2013 and 2014 were $1.42 million and $.72 million, respectively. Our subsidiaries plan to continue to invest in research and development to identify new industry applications for PHEs, improve and expand product lines, develop multifunctional PHE Units and modify PHE designs to meet current market demand.
Strong Technical Support. The selection of PHEs and PHE Units requires technical knowledge regarding the operating temperature, pressure, corrosivity, viscosity and purity of the fluid used as well as the pressure loss within the system. Our subsidiaries’ design software enables them to provide high quality and timely technical support to ensure their customers receive the right equipment for each project. They also provide a streamlined and error-free installation process to minimize project complications.
Production and Control Systems for Efficient Pricing and Streamlined Manufacturing. Our subsidiaries’ CAD systems are integrated with real-time enterprise resource planning, or ERP, and finance systems. This platform allows field salespeople to input orders, obtain draft models, access quotes and confirm delivery dates within minutes. The platform also enables inventory and production personnel to accurately schedule and reduce lead production times.
Focus on Quality. Our manufacturing subsidiaries have a PRC National Safety Certification for PHE products, and are an ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified manufacturer, which together recognize development and implementation procedures that demonstrate the ability to consistently manufacture products meeting customer specifications, environmental standards and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
First-Rate Customer Service and Reliable Product Delivery. We believe that the employees of our subsidiaries provide first-rate customer service, technical expertise and product knowledge to streamline the selection, design and installation processes. Our subsidiaries provide after-sales service principally through local service centers and deliver products on time to meet tight project deadlines.
Diversified End Markets and Customers. PHEs and PHE Units are broadly used across a variety of industrial end markets including the energy, such as conventional and nuclear power plants, HVAC, petroleum refining, petrochemicals, metallurgy, food and beverage and chemical processing. Our subsidiaries also benefit from a diverse customer mix, with no individual customer accounting for greater than 10% of sales in 2014. This diversification of end markets and customer base helps to insulate us from sales volatility that would occur if we concentrated in specific industries. The majority of our subsidiaries’ customers are state-owned utilities, engineering and construction companies and industrial companies.
Experienced Personnel. The managers of our subsidiaries have extensive business and industry experience. Jun Wang, the general manger of our subsidiaries, was the founder of Taiyu in 2002 and previously was a sales manager for Honeywell International Inc. from 1996 to 1999 and a sales manager for Alfa Laval from 1994 to 1996. Mr. Wang obtained his master’s degree in Engineering from Tsinghua University in 1989. Wen Sha, our subsidiaries’ Vice President of Marketing, has extensive sales experience and industry contacts. Prior to joining us as a regional sales manager in 2005, he served as the general manager of Nanjing Hui Dun Ltd. and as sales director of APV Accessen in Shanghai, a leading international PHE firm. Feng Chen, Ph.D., our subsidiaries’ Chief Technology Officer, joined us in 2008 as part of our SanDeKe acquisition. Prior to founding SanDeKe, he served in a leading engineering position in China with Alfa Laval. Mr. Harald Kumpfert, the general manager of our heat pump business, is an experienced German engineering and marketing professional that has been working and living in China for more than 15 years. Prior to joining our subsidiaries he was the sales director of Siemens China and Honeywell China. Mr. Xu Wen Ke, the sales manager of our heat pump business, used to be the sales director of Haier China, a large manufacturer of air conditioners.
Growth Strategy
Our subsidiaries plan to expand into new distribution channels in China, further penetrating the many market segments throughout China for PHEs, PHE Units and related accessories, and expand sales of heat pumps in both China and Europe.
Continue Organic Growth Initiatives. We believe that the current PHE and related systems markets in China are fragmented and represent excellent opportunities for our subsidiaries to gain additional market share from their competitors. We expanded our business lines in recent years through strategic acquisitions and establishment of subsidiaries, including the acquisitions of SanDeKe, Siping Beifang, SmartHeat Pump and SmartHeat Germany. Each acquisition and new subsidiary has accelerated our strategic plans by: (i) adding manufacturing capacity; (ii) broadening our product offerings to include multiple heat exchange systems; (iii) facilitating access into new geographic regions throughout China; (iv) enhancing our engineering capabilities; and (v) helping us enter new and higher growth end markets both in China and Europe. Our subsidiaries intend to continue to market their brands to expand into new distribution channels, improve the quality of their products through their engineering capabilities and leverage their quality customer service and reliable product delivery to gain incremental business with their existing customers.
Pursue High Growth End Markets in China. Our subsidiaries target their sales efforts on a number of high growth end markets in China, such as the nuclear power, and petrochemical industries. They currently have a presence in these segments but believe there are significant opportunities to improve their market share by leveraging their premium product quality and high quality service. Their solutions are commonly used in many of these industries and customers continue to assess the cost savings and positive environmental attributes of PHEs.
We believe that heat pump systems are a rapidly growing market in China and the leading energy source for new buildings in Germany and Austria. Heat pumps have replaced conventional fossil fuel based technology to a large degree in these European countries for heating, cooling and hot water for residential and commercial buildings. As the PRC government continues to focus on emissions reduction and energy conservation, we believe there are significant opportunities for strong incremental growth in the residential and commercial markets in China. We anticipate our subsidiaries will expand sales of our heat pumps manufactured in China under EU design standards to the European market because our heat pump business has expanded its sales network.
Production
Our subsidiaries currently operate five manufacturing facilities in China, including our Taiyu plant in Shenyang, which is our principal manufacturing facility, and our SanDeKe, Siping Beifang, Ruicheng and SmartHeat Pump plants, and one manufacturing facility for heat pumps in Germany. If the stock sale is completed, we expect to retain our manufacturing capabilities in China and Germany for heat pumps. Our manufacturing facilities, in the aggregate, currently have the capacity to produce approximately 2,000 PHEs, 900 PHE Units, 12,000 heat meters and 400 heat pumps monthly. Our operations in China generally operate on an 8-hour shift, with the exception of the high season from May to November, during which we may operate for 11-12 hours per day. Production is driven by orders from clients and typically is scheduled on a just-in-time delivery basis.
Marketing
Since initiating operations, our subsidiaries have emphasized the development of the SmartHeat and Taiyu brands in China, which are recognized and associated with quality production and first-rate service. Our subsidiaries have long-standing positive relationships with local governments in Beijing, Shenyang, Urumqi, Shandong, Jiangsu and Shanghai, and formed new relationships with local governments in Yingkou, Qingdao, Jiamusi and Harbin. Our subsidiaries regularly appear at industry trade shows, attending HVAC trade fairs in Shanghai and environmental protection forums in China. They also maintain positive relationships with local utilities, oil refiners, steel producers and food and beverage companies. Marketing costs generally are funded through working capital and expensed as incurred.
Suppliers
Plates and components together constituted approximately 40% of our raw material purchases in 2014 and 42% in 2013. Plates for PHEs and PHE Units are manufactured in our subsidiaries’ facilities and also are purchased from Sondex under the terms of Taiyu’s Sondex authorized dealer arrangement. While Taiyu is an authorized dealer of Sondex products, annual or quarterly purchasing prices are not fixed and fluctuate according to Sondex’s most recent pricing list. Sondex plate purchases accounted for approximately % of our total annual raw material purchases in 2014.
Components generally include pumps, valves, pipes and electronic meters purchased from a number of premium international and domestic suppliers who have been certified to meet our quality specifications. Representative component suppliers include Siemens, Wilo A.G. and Honeywell, as well as others. Our subsidiaries typically maintain a relatively small inventory of component parts for resale.
Customers
Our subsidiaries sell both directly through their sales force and through a network of national distributors located throughout China. All of their work is performed based on written contracts with customers and there are no oral contracts. Their customer base consists primarily of state-owned enterprises diversified across a number of end markets in China, such as real estate development, with one customer accounting for 10% of our sales in 2014 but no other customer accounting for more than 10% of our sales in 2014.
Intellectual Property
Our subsidiaries use the SmartHeat and Taiyu brand names on their products in China and the SmartHeat brand on their heat pumps in Europe. They have registered trademarks for their brand names with the China Trademark Bureau, which expire in 2020. We believe our subsidiaries’ brand names are recognized in China’s heating industry for quality and efficiency. In addition, we have registered and maintain numerous internet domain names related to our business, including “smartheatinc.com.” Collectively, the trademarks and domain names that we and our subsidiaries hold are of material importance to us. We have 2 new registered patents in China in 2014 related to our products. We have altogether 25 registered patents in China related to our products, of which 4 expire in 2015, 2 in 2017, 2 in 2018, 5 in 2021, 4 in 2022 and 6 in 2023. We intend to apply for additional patents in China to protect our core product designs.
Research and Development
To maintain our subsidiaries’ competitive edge in the marketplace and keep pace with new technologies, we believe it is important to devote resources to ongoing research and development to find improved efficiencies in design, cost and energy capture. Research and development costs for 2014 and 2013 were $ $0.72 million and $1.42 million, respectively. Our subsidiaries plan to continue to invest in research and development to identify new industry applications for PHEs, improve and expand product lines, develop multifunctional PHE Units and modify PHE designs to meet current market demand. Our heat pump subsidiaries expect to continue to invest in research and development activities.
Competition
Our subsidiaries compete principally in the domestic China market. We believe their competitive advantages lie in superior engineering and design skills, the longevity and efficiency of the components they use, their ability to vertically integrate their manufacturing process, their just-in-time delivery and their reliable after-sales provided through local service centers. We also believe our subsidiaries’ position as a PRC-based producer of PHEs and PHE Units in a marketplace previously dominated by foreign manufacturers creates an advantage when seeking new customers. They receive contracts for their products through bidding processes and negotiations directly with customers.
Our subsidiaries’ principal competitors in the domestic China market for PHEs include Si Ping Ju Yuan Han Yang Plate Heat Exchange Co., Ltd.; Lan Zhou Lan Shi Heat Exchange Equipment Co., Ltd. , and foreign producers hold an approximately 50% market share. We believe the quality of our subsidiaries’ PHEs is equal to those sold by our competitors. In comparison with other domestic producers, our subsidiaries’ prices for PHEs are approximately 10%-15% higher, reflecting a premium we believe attributable to the quality of their products and after-sales services.
The market for heat meters is extremely fragmented with multiple overseas and domestic producers and no established leader. Our subsidiaries continue to seek to become a leading supplier of heat meters in China.
We expanded into the heat pump market in China and Europe with our acquisitions of SmartHeat Pump and SmartHeat Germany in 2011. The markets for heat pumps in these markets are highly fragmented. These subsidiaries intend to focus on the middle high-end market for heat pumps in China, competing on price and customization capabilities with foreign and joint venture producers by leveraging their domestic manufacturing and engineering skills and advanced technology from SmartHeat Germany.
Seasonality
Our subsidiaries typically experience stronger sales in the third and fourth calendar quarters, which is the start of fall and winter in China. Our quarterly revenues may fluctuate significantly due to the seasonal nature of central heating services in China, where the equipment used in residential buildings must be delivered and installed prior to the beginning of the heating season in late fall. We believe that as our subsidiaries expand their presence into other industries and sectors, this seasonality will be partially mitigated.
Governmental and Environmental Regulation
Product and Business Regulations
Our business and company registrations are in compliance in all material respects with the laws and regulations of their respective governing municipal and provincial authorities. Our subsidiaries and manufacturing facilities in China are subject to the national and local laws of the PRC. Other than as described following, our subsidiaries are not subject to any other government regulations that would require them to obtain a special license or approval from the PRC government to operate their business or manufacturing facilities in China.
Our subsidiaries’ PHEs and PHE Units are not subject to material regulation by the PRC government or other national agencies. They have obtained PRC National Safety Certification for PHE products and are ISO 9001 quality management certified, which together recognizes their commitment to safety and quality in the manufacturing processes. Although not required for the production and sale of PHE products in China, the PRC National Safety Certification is of critical importance in choosing a PHE provider for companies in industries utilizing high temperatures or pressure in their production processes.
Manufacture and sale of heat meters and heat pumps in China require licenses issued by the PRC government. Our subsidiaries that manufacture these products received these licenses in 2005 and 2008, respectively, and continue to maintain them through renewals. The Safety Bureau overseeing heat meter and heat pump production conducts site visits and inspections of documents on a periodic basis to verify adherence to PRC manufacturing standards. Additionally, due to rising energy costs and the increased sensitivity to environmental issues, PRC government and local utility companies have made the use of heat meters compulsory in China. As of July 2003, heat meters were required nationally by law for new construction installed with central heating and. In April 2008, the Energy Conservation Law, Article 38, extended the requirement to cover retrofitted buildings. SmartHeat Germany is not required to maintain any license for the manufacture and sale of heat pumps in Germany. The European Commission has promulgated standards, such as EN 378 Safety and Environmental Requirements, for heat pumps and products sold in the European Union must carry CE marking, indicating conformity with such requirements. We believe that SmartHeat Germany’s heat pumps sold in Europe comply with all currently applicable standards.
Environmental Regulations
Our subsidiaries’ manufacturing facilities in China are subject to the national environmental regulations of the PRC as well as local laws regarding pollutant discharge, air, water and noise pollution, including the Environmental Protection Law of the PRC, the Environmental Impact Appraisal Law of the PRC, the Law of the PRC on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, the Law of the PRC on Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution Caused by Solid Waste, the Law of the PRC on Prevention and Control of Air Pollution and the Law of the PRC on Prevention and Control of Environmental Noise Pollution. The Environmental Protection Law of the PRC sets out the legal framework for environmental protection in the PRC. The Ministry of Environmental Protection of the PRC, or the MEP, is primarily responsible for the supervision and administration of environmental protection work nationwide and formulating national waste discharge limits and standards. Local environmental protection authorities at the county level and above are responsible for environmental protection in their jurisdictions. Companies that discharge contaminants must report and register with the MEP or the relevant local environmental protection authorities. Companies discharging contaminants in excess of the discharge limits prescribed by the central or local authorities must pay discharge fees for the excess in accordance with applicable regulations and are also responsible for the treatment of the excessive discharge. Companies that directly or indirectly discharge industrial wastewater into the water or are required by law to obtain the pollutant discharge permit before discharging wastewater or sewage shall also obtain the pollutant discharge permit.
Our subsidiaries in China have received PRC government certification of their operating facilities in China indicating that their businesses are in material compliance with the relevant PRC environmental laws and regulations. Our manufacturing subsidiaries are ISO 9001 quality management and ISO 14001 environmental management systems certified, which together recognize their development and implementation of procedures that demonstrate an ability to consistently manufacture products meeting customer specifications, environmental standards and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. Our subsidiaries’ production processes mainly generate noise, wastewater and solid wastes. They currently do not incur any material costs in connection with their compliance with the applicable PRC environmental laws as our manufacturing processes generate minimal discharge. Furthermore, the cost of maintaining compliance has not, and we believe, in the future, will not, have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated results of operations and consolidated financial condition.
Labor Protection Regulations
The Labor Contract Law of the PRC, effective on January 1, 2008, governs the establishment of employment relationships between employers and employees, and the conclusion, performance, termination of and the amendment to employment contracts. To establish an employment relationship, a written employment contract must be signed by the employer and employee. In the event that no written employment contract was signed at the time of establishment of an employment relationship, a written employment contract must be signed within one month after the date on which the employer first engaged the employee. The Labor Contract Law also imposes greater liabilities on employers and significantly affects the cost of an employer’s decision to reduce its workforce. Further, it requires that certain terminations be based upon seniority and not merit. We believe that our subsidiaries in the PRC are in material compliance with the requirements of this law.
On June 29, 2002, the Work Safety Law of the PRC was adopted by the Standing Committee of the 9th National People’s Congress and came into effect on November 1, 2002, as amended on August 27, 2009. The Work Safety Law provides general work safety requirements for entities engaging in manufacturing and business activities within the PRC. We believe our PRC subsidiaries are in material compliance with all applicable laws and regulations related to work safety.
Foreign Currency Regulations
The principal regulations governing foreign currency exchange in China are the Foreign Exchange Administration Regulations promulgated by the State Council, as amended on August 5, 2008, or the Foreign Exchange Regulations. Under the Foreign Exchange Regulations, the RMB, the national currency of the PRC, is freely convertible for current account items, including the distribution of dividends, interest payments, trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, but not for capital account items, such as direct investments, loans, repatriation of investments and investments in securities outside of China, unless the prior approval of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or the SAFE, is obtained and prior registration with the SAFE is made.
On October 21, 2005, the SAFE issued Circular 75, the Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents’ Corporate Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Offshore Special Purpose Vehicles, which became effective as of November 1, 2005. Please refer to “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Business in China – PRC regulations relating to the registration requirements for PRC resident shareholders owning shares in offshore companies may subject our PRC resident shareholders to personal liability and limit our ability to acquire companies in China or to inject capital into our operating subsidiaries in China, limit our subsidiaries’ ability to distribute profits to us or otherwise materially and adversely affect our business” for a discussion of Circular 75.
On August 29, 2008, the SAFE promulgated Circular 142, the Notice on Perfecting Practices Concerning Foreign Exchange Settlement Regarding the Capital Contribution by Foreign-invested Enterprises, regulating the conversion by a foreign-invested company of foreign currency into RMB by restricting how the converted RMB may be used. Please refer to “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Business in China – Restrictions on currency exchange may limit our ability to receive and use our revenues effectively” for a discussion of Circular 142.
Dividend Distribution
Our ability to pay dividends is affected by the complex currency and capital transfer regulations in China that restrict the payment of dividends to us by our PRC subsidiaries. PRC regulations currently permit payment of dividends only out of accumulated profits as determined in accordance with accounting standards and regulations in China. Our PRC subsidiaries also are required to set aside at least 10% of net income after taxes based on PRC accounting standards each year to statutory surplus reserves until the cumulative amount of such reserves reaches 50% of registered capital. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. Our PRC subsidiaries also may allocate a portion of their after-tax profits to their staff welfare and bonus funds, which may not be distributed to equity owners except in the event of liquidation. If any of our subsidiaries incur debt, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us.
Employees
We do not have direct employees. However, as of December 31, 2014, our subsidiaries had 565 full time employees and 63 seasonal employees in China and Germany, among which 421 employees work in PHE segment while 144 employees work in HP segment. Our subsidiaries maintain strong ties with their employees and staff and retention is stable. Employee contracts in China adhere to both state and provincial employment regulations and all social security regulations. All compensation, including social insurance, is paid in a timely manner to authorities and employees. There have been no disputes to date and there are no collective bargaining agreements.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Our business and an investment in our securities are subject to a variety of risks. The following risk factors describe the most significant events, facts or circumstances that could have a material adverse effect upon our business, financial condition, results of operations, ability to implement our business plan, and the market price for our securities. Many of these events are outside of our control. If any of these risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operation may be materially adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline and investors in our common stock could lose all or part of their investment.
Risks Related to Our Business
We are a holding company that depends on cash flow from our wholly owned subsidiaries to meet our obligations, and any inability of our subsidiaries to pay us dividends or make other payments to us when needed could disrupt or have a negative impact on our business.
After our acquisition of Taiyu in 2008, we became a holding company with no material assets other than the ownership interests of our subsidiaries through which we conduct operations. We rely on dividends paid by our subsidiaries for our cash needs, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders, to service any debt we may incur and to pay our operating expenses. China has currency and capital transfer regulations that require us to comply with complex regulations for the movement of capital. PRC regulations currently permit payment of dividends only out of accumulated profits as determined in accordance with accounting standards and regulations in China. Our PRC subsidiaries also are required to set aside at least 10% of net income after taxes based on PRC accounting standards each year to statutory surplus reserves until the cumulative amount of such reserves reaches 50% of registered capital. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. Our PRC subsidiaries also may allocate a portion of their after-tax profits to their staff welfare and bonus funds, which may not be distributed to equity owners except in the event of liquidation. Furthermore, if any of our subsidiaries incur debt, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us. Accordingly, if our subsidiaries are unable to pay us dividends and make other payments to us when needed because of regulatory restrictions or otherwise, we may be materially and adversely limited in our ability to make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends or otherwise fund and conduct our business.
Our subsidiaries have generated losses from operations in the fiscal years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011. As such, our subsidiaries have been unable to remit funds to us for the payment of our obligations. To fulfill our need for short-term financing, on July 27, 2012, we executed a Credit Agreement with Northtech, which, as amended, provides us with a $3,250,000 revolving line of credit with amounts borrowed due to October 15, 2015. We believe this line of credit will be sufficient to satisfy our operating costs through 2015.
We are also pursuing other options, including restructuring operations at the subsidiary level to regain profitability and entering into management and services agreements with our subsidiaries, subject to the approval of regulatory agencies in China. However, we cannot provide any assurances that these measures will be adequate to satisfy our liquidity needs, and if we are not able to obtain sufficient funds from our subsidiaries to pay our obligations as they come due, our business could be negatively impacted.
We do not have sufficient cash to continue as a going concern through December 2015, and our independent registered public accounting firm expressed substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern in its audit opinion for our December 31, 2014 consolidated financial statements.
Our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2014 have been prepared under the assumption that we will continue as a going concern. Our independent registered public accounting firm has issued their report in connection with the audit of our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2014 that included an explanatory paragraph describing the existence of conditions that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern due to our liquidity. The fact that we have received this going concern qualification from our independent registered public accounting firm will likely make it more difficult for us to raise capital on favorable terms and could hinder, to some extent, our operations. We have limited capital. Because we do not have sufficient working capital for continued operations for at least the next 12 months, our continued existence is dependent upon us sustaining operating profitability or obtaining the necessary capital to meet our expenditures. The funding for our operations will primarily come from our existing line of credit with Northtech Holdings, proceeds from the proposed stock sale of our subsidiaries, as well as obtaining traditional lines of credit and loans to finance equipment, furniture, leasehold improvements and operations. Our credit line from Northtech is due on October 15, 2015. We cannot be assured we will have the funds to repay the outstanding principal and interest at that time. We cannot assure you that we will be able to generate sufficient sales, extend our credit terms with Northtech or raise adequate capital to meet our future working capital needs.
The markets served by our subsidiaries are subject to seasonality and cyclical demand, which could harm our business and make it difficult to project long-term performance.
Demand for our subsidiaries’ products depends in part upon the level of capital and maintenance expenditures of their customers and end users. These expenditures historically have been cyclical in nature and vulnerable to economic downturns. Decreased capital and maintenance spending by our subsidiaries’ customers could have a material adverse effect on the demand for their products and our business, financial condition and results of operations. In particular, an economic slowdown in the domestic China economy may result in reduced orders for PHEs from the steel processing and petrochemical sectors and lower orders for PHE Units from the HVAC sector. In response to inflationary concerns, the PRC government instituted tightened fiscal policies in 2011 that contributed to a general slowdown in many sectors of China’s economy and restricted bank lending practices. Accordingly, many state-owned enterprises in China, including real estate developers, encountered difficulties in 2011 and 2012 in obtaining grants from the PRC government and faced an extended bank loan application process, both of which typically are used to finance the purchase of our subsidiaries’ products. If the PRC government continues its deflationary policies and efforts to stabilize economic growth in China, such disruptions may continue to adversely impact the capital needs of our subsidiaries’ customers, which, in turn, could adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. Additionally, the historically cyclical nature of the demand for our subsidiaries’ products limits our ability to make accurate long-term predictions about our performance, however.
Furthermore, sales of heat exchangers and related systems may fluctuate significantly due to the seasonal nature of central heating services in the PRC because the equipment used in residential buildings must be delivered and installed prior to the beginning of the heating season in late fall, which occurs during the third and fourth calendar quarters in China. To date, our subsidiaries have not been adversely affected by these seasonality trends and, given the current demand visibility, we do not currently foresee weakening in the demand for their products going forward in the next year. However, the seasonality of our subsidiaries’ business may result in significant operational challenges to their production and inventory control functions.
Our subsidiaries’ accounts receivables remain outstanding for a significant period of time, which has a negative impact on our cash flow and liquidity.
Our subsidiaries’ agreements with their customers generally provide that 30% of the purchase price is due upon the placement of an order, 30% upon delivery and 30% upon installation and acceptance of the equipment after customer testing. As a common practice in the heating manufacturing business in China, payment of the final 10% of the purchase price is due no later than the termination date of the standard warranty period, which ranges from 3 to 24 months from the acceptance date. Due to the slowdown of the Chinese economy and tightened monetary policy, and in order to attract and retain customers, the Company’s subsidiaries have been forced to adjust their contract terms to permit for more flexible and longer payment terms.
We record revenue and corresponding accounts receivable when products are delivered to customers, and for PHE Units, when customer acceptance occurs following delivery. Payments received prior to product delivery, or customer acceptance for PHE Units, are recorded as unearned revenue. Our subsidiaries may experience payment delays from time to time, which historically have ranged from 1 to 3 months from the due date. While these payment delays are common in the heating manufacturing industry in China, such delays cause capital to be tied up in receivables, which may result in pressure on our cash flows and liquidity. In 2014, we had accounts receivable turnover of 2,42, with days sales outstanding of ____ and inventory turnover of____. In 2013, we had accounts receivable turnover of 1.94, with days sales outstanding of 151 and inventory turnover of 0.62. The low accounts receivable turnover and high days outstanding in 2014 is due to an unexpected abandonment of projects, cancelation of orders and delays in the performance of PHE and PHE Unit contracts from certain state-owned customers due to the tightened fiscal policy in China during the past two or three years. The low inventory turnover in 2014 was due to increased raw materials inventory on hand for the readiness of the high production season during the second half of 2014 and increased finished goods inventory resulting from orders that have been delayed or canceled in 2014. While historically collections have been reasonably assured, delays in collections and the significant period of time our subsidiaries’ accounts receivable remain outstanding may negatively impact our cash flow and liquidity.
Our subsidiaries acquire most components for the manufacture of their products from a limited number of suppliers, and if they are unable to obtain these components, they would experience manufacturing delays and our financial results could be adversely affected.
Our subsidiaries acquire most of the components for the manufacture of their products from a limited number of suppliers. To manufacture their products, these components must be available when needed, at the right level of quality and at the right price. If they are unable to obtain these components accordingly, they would experience delays in manufacturing their products and our financial results could be adversely affected. Suppliers of some of these components require our subsidiaries to place orders with significant lead-time to assure supply in accordance with their requirements. Certain of these suppliers are currently the sole source of one or more components upon which our subsidiaries are dependent and alternative sources would not be available for those components unless our subsidiaries were to redesign their products. Other components could be obtained from alternate suppliers without redesign, but only at higher prices than our subsidiaries currently pay or for delivery later than required by their production schedule. Our subsidiaries maintain a relatively small inventory of component parts for resale and their parts services business would suffer if the supply of replacement parts was reduced or terminated by their suppliers. If suppliers are not able to provide these critical components on the dates and at the prices scheduled, our subsidiaries may not be able to manufacture their products promptly and cost-effectively to meet customer orders, which could harm their credibility and the market acceptance and sales of their products.
Our subsidiaries are a major purchaser of certain goods and raw materials that they use in the manufacturing process of their products, and price changes for the commodities they depend on may adversely affect our profitability.
Our profitability depends upon the margin between the cost to our subsidiaries of certain goods used in the manufacturing process, such as plates, pumps, water tanks, sensors, controlling systems and other raw materials, as well as their fabrication costs associated with converting such goods and raw materials compared to the selling price of their products, and the overall supply of raw materials. Our subsidiaries have experienced and anticipate continued fluctuation in raw material costs as a result of world economic conditions, such as the price of stainless steel used to produce plates for their PHEs and PHE Units. Our subsidiaries monitor the commodities markets for pricing trends and changes, but do not engage in hedging transactions to protect against raw material fluctuations. Instead, our subsidiaries attempt to mitigate the short-term risks of price swings by purchasing raw materials in advance based on production needs and projected sales. However, they may not be able to pass all increases in raw material costs and ancillary acquisition costs associated with taking possession of the raw materials through to their customers. Although they are currently able to obtain adequate supplies of raw materials, it is impossible to predict future availability or cost. With the rapid growth of China’s economy, the demand for certain raw materials is great while the supply may be more limited. This may affect our subsidiaries ability to secure the necessary raw materials in a cost-effective manner for production of their products at the volume of purchase orders that they anticipate receiving. The inability to offset price increases of raw materials by sufficient product price increases, and an inability to obtain raw materials, would have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our subsidiaries may experience material disruptions to their manufacturing operations in China that could result in material delays, quality control issues, increased costs and loss of business opportunities, which may negatively impact our sales and financial results.
Our subsidiaries rely on our manufacturing facilities in China to operate our business and produce our products. While they seek to operate their facilities in compliance with applicable rules and regulations and take measures to minimize the risks of disruption at their facilities, a material disruption at one of our subsidiaries’ manufacturing facilities could prevent them from meeting customer demand, reduce their sales and negatively impact our financial results. Any of their manufacturing facilities, or any of their machines within an otherwise operational facility, could cease operations unexpectedly due to a number of events, including: prolonged power failures; equipment failures; disruptions in the transportation infrastructure including roads, bridges, railroad tracks; fires, floods, earthquakes or other catastrophes; and other operational problems. Any such material disruption may prevent our subsidiaries from shipping their products on a timely basis, reduce their sales and market share and negatively impact our financial results.
Our subsidiaries may not be able to obtain regulatory approvals for their products, which could result in a decrease in clients and revenue, unexpected expenses and loss of market share.
Some of our subsidiaries products are subject to PRC and international regulations related to the heating manufacturing industry. Manufacturers of heat meters and heat pumps in China require licenses issued by the PRC government to produce and sell these products in the domestic market. The Safety Bureau overseeing heat meter and heat pump production conducts site visits and inspections of documents on a periodic basis to verify adherence to the standards. PHEs and PHE Units are not subject to material regulation by the PRC government or other national agencies, but many purchasers of these products in industries utilizing high temperatures or pressure in the production process prefer to source from manufactures that have obtained a PRC National Safety Certification for their PHE products. The European Commission has promulgated standards, such as EN 378 Safety and Environmental Requirements, for heat pumps and products sold in the European Union must carry CE marking, indicating conformity with such requirements. As of December 31, 2014, our subsidiaries had no regulatory approvals pending for our products or that we need to obtain to conduct our business. Our subsidiaries received licenses to manufacture and sell heat meters and heat pumps in China in 2005 and 2008, respectively, which are continuing to be maintained through renewals. Our subsidiaries seek to manufacture all products to customer specifications and believe that their products meet all currently applicable national test standards. Any failure to manufacture and deliver products in compliance with all applicable standards and regulations for the markets in which our subsidiaries’ products are distributed may subject them to fines, penalties or business interruptions and could result in a decrease in clients or loss of market share. In addition, new or revised standards and regulations applicable to our subsidiaries’ products could require them to redesign existing and planned products, acquire new manufacturing equipment or incur other significant expenses. If our subsidiaries are not able to obtain regulatory approvals for our products based on the applicable standards and regulations, it could have material and adverse effects on our business, financial condition and prospects.
We cannot be certain that our subsidiaries’ product innovations will continue or that their technology will continue to satisfy the changing needs of their customers, which could result in a decrease in clients and revenue, unexpected expenses and loss of market share.
We believe that our subsidiaries’ past performance has been based on, and that their future success will depend, in part, upon their ability to continue to improve their existing products through product innovation and to develop, market and produce new products. We cannot assure you our subsidiaries will be successful in introducing, marketing and producing any new products or product innovations, or that they will develop and introduce in a timely manner innovations to their existing products which satisfy customer needs or achieve market acceptance. Our subsidiaries’ failure to develop new products and introduce them successfully and in a timely manner could harm our ability to grow our business and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
As with any technology, including the technology of our subsidiaries’ current and proposed products, there are risks that the technology may not successfully address all of customers’ needs. While our subsidiaries have already established successful relationships with their customers, customers needs may change or vary. This may affect the ability of our subsidiaries’ present or proposed products to address all of their customers’ ultimate technology needs in an economically feasible manner. Our success depends upon their ability to anticipate and respond in a timely manner to changes in the heating manufacturing industry. If they fail to identify and respond to these changes, their sales could decline and they could lose clients and market share, any of which could materially harm our business. Furthermore, if they are unable to continue to meet their clients’ needs with their current product lines, they may be required to redesign existing and planned products, acquire new manufacturing equipment or incur other significant expenses.
Our subsidiaries may not be able to keep pace with rapid technological changes and competition in their industry, which could adversely impact our business, revenues and operations.
Our subsidiaries believe they have hired or engaged personnel and outside consultants who have the experience and ability necessary to help them keep pace with advances in technology in the heating manufacturing industry. While they continue to seek out and develop “next generation” technology through their research and development efforts, there is no guarantee that they will be able to keep pace with technological developments and market demands in an evolving industry and market. In addition, our subsidiaries’ industry is highly competitive. Although we believe they have developed strategic relationships that will assist them to best penetrate the domestic China market, they face competition from other manufacturers of products similar to their products. Some of our competitors’ advantages over our subsidiaries in the areas of products, marketing and services include: substantially greater revenues and financial resources; stronger brand names and consumer recognition; the capacity to leverage marketing expenditures across a broader portfolio of products; pre-existing relationships with potential customers; more resources to make acquisitions; lower labor and development costs; and broader geographic presence. Furthermore, our subsidiaries may experience delays in bringing new products to market, due to design, manufacturing or distribution problems. Any such delays could adversely affect their ability to compete effectively and may adversely affect their relationship with their customers. If our subsidiaries are unable to keep pace with the rapid technological changes and competition in their industry and market, our business, revenues and operations could be adversely impacted.
Our subsidiaries products may contain defects, which if subject to product liability and warranty claims, could adversely affect our subsidiaries reputation and cause us to incur significant costs.
Due to the high pressures and temperatures at which many of our subsidiaries’ products are used, and the fact that some of their products are relied upon by customers or end users in their facilities or operations, or are manufactured for relatively broad consumer use, our subsidiaries face an inherent risk of exposure to claims in the event that the failure, use or misuse of our products results, or is alleged to result, in bodily injury, property damage or economic loss. We believe our subsidiaries meet or exceed existing professional specification standards recognized or required in the industries in which they operate. Despite testing, however, defects may be found in our subsidiaries’ existing or new products. If they deliver products with defects, their credibility and the market acceptance and sales of their products could be harmed. Any such defects could cause them to undertake a product recall program, which would result in significant return and exchange costs, re-engineering costs, divert the attention of their engineering personnel from product development efforts and cause significant problems with customer relations and business reputation. Our subsidiaries have been subject to product liability and warranty claims in the past, none of which has had a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations, and our subsidiaries may be subject to claims in the future. Although our subsidiaries currently maintain product liability coverage, which our subsidiaries believe is adequate for the continued operation of their business, such insurance may become difficult to obtain or may become unobtainable in the future on terms acceptable to our subsidiaries and may not cover warranty claims. A successful product liability claim or series of claims against our subsidiaries, including one or more consumer claims purporting to constitute class actions, in excess of our subsidiaries insurance coverage or a significant warranty claim or series of claims against our subsidiaries could materially decrease our liquidity and impair our financial condition.
Our subsidiaries could be subject to environmental liabilities in China, which could result in them incurring significant remediation costs, fines and loss of our business license.
As is the case with manufacturers of similar products, our subsidiaries use certain hazardous substances in our operations in China. Currently, their business is subject to the Environmental Protection Law of the PRC as well as other national and local laws in China regarding pollutant discharge, air, water and noise pollution. Although we believe our subsidiaries are in compliance in all material respects with the applicable PRC environmental laws and regulations, if it is determined that they are in violation of these regulations, they could be subject to financial penalties as well as the loss of their business license. Furthermore, if the national or local government in China adopts more stringent environmental regulations, our subsidiaries may incur significant costs in complying with such regulations. If our subsidiaries fail to comply with present or future environmental regulations, they may be required to pay substantial fines and remediation costs, suspend production or cease operations and may be subject to adverse publicity. Our subsidiaries currently do not incur any material costs in connection with their compliance with the applicable PRC environmental laws. However, the risk of environmental liability and charges associated with maintaining compliance with PRC environmental laws is inherent in the nature of their business, and there is no assurance that material environmental liabilities and compliance charges will not arise in the future.
Our subsidiaries insurance coverage in China may be inadequate to protect them from potential losses.
The insurance industry in China is in its early stage of development and the business interruption insurance and the product liability insurance available currently in China offers limited coverage compared to that offered in many other countries, especially in the U.S. Any business disruption or natural disaster could result in substantial costs and a diversion of resources, which would have a material and adverse effect on our business and results of operations. Our subsidiaries in China, particularly their production facilities in Shenyang, involve risks and hazards that could result in damage to, or destruction of, property and machinery, personal injury, business interruption and possible legal liability. Our subsidiaries currently carry property and casualty insurance for their buildings, plant and equipment, but we cannot assure you that the coverage will be adequate to fully replace damage to any of the foregoing. Should any natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, floods or any acts of terrorism occur where our subsidiaries’ primary operations are located and most of their employees are based, or elsewhere, our subsidiaries might suffer not only significant property damage, but also loss of revenues due to interruptions in their business operations. Our subsidiaries are unable to acquire product liability insurance in China because it is not currently available for their product lines, but our German subsidiary does maintain product liability coverage in that we believe is adequate for the continued operation of our business in Europe, but such insurance may become difficult to obtain or may become unobtainable in the future on terms acceptable to us and may not cover warranty claims. A successful product liability claim or series of claims against any of our subsidiaries, including one or more consumer claims purporting to constitute class actions, in excess of our subsidiaries’ insurance coverage or a significant warranty claim or series of claims against us could materially decrease our liquidity and impair our financial condition. The occurrence of a significant event for which our subsidiaries are not fully insured or indemnified, or the failure of a party to meet its underwriting or indemnification obligations, could materially and adversely affect our operations and financial condition. Moreover, no assurance can be given that our subsidiaries will be able to maintain adequate insurance in the future at rates they consider reasonable.
If our subsidiaries lose their key personnel or are unable to attract and retain additional qualified personnel, the quality of their services may decline and our business may be adversely impacted.
Our subsidiaries rely heavily on the expertise, experience and continued services of their management, including our former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jun Wang, who is now solely general manager of our subsidiaries in China. Loss of his services could adversely affect our subsidiaries ability to achieve their business objectives. Mr. Wang is a key factor in our subsidiaries success at developing and introducing new products and establishing new customer relationships because of his industry experience and reputation. The continued development of our subsidiaries’ business depends upon his continued employment. Our subsidiary Taiyu has entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Wang, which contains provisions prohibiting competition with our subsidiaries should he leave their employ.
We believe our future success will depend upon our subsidiaries’ ability to retain Mr. Wang and other key employees and their ability to attract and retain other skilled personnel. The rapid growth of the economy in China has caused intense competition for qualified personnel. We cannot guarantee that any employee will remain employed by our subsidiaries for any period of time or that they will be able to attract, train or retain qualified personnel in the future. Such loss of personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business and company. Qualified employees periodically are in great demand and may be unavailable in the time frame required to satisfy our subsidiaries’ customers’ requirements. There is no assurance our subsidiaries will be able to attract and retain sufficient numbers of highly skilled employees in the future. The loss of personnel or our subsidiaries inability to hire or retain sufficient personnel at competitive rates could impair the growth of their business.
Our subsidiaries’ bank accounts in China are not insured or protected against loss, and the failure of any bank in which our subsidiaries deposit funds could affect their ability to continue in business.
Our subsidiaries maintain their cash in China with various national banks in China. These cash accounts are not insured or otherwise protected against loss. Should any bank holding our cash deposits become insolvent, or if our subsidiaries are otherwise unable to withdraw funds, they would lose the cash on deposit with that particular bank. Depending upon the amount of cash our subsidiaries maintain in a bank that fails, their inability to have access to such cash deposits could impair their operations, and, if they are not able to access funds to pay their suppliers, employees and other creditors, they may be unable to continue in business.
We may need additional capital to execute our business plan and fund operations and may not be able to obtain such capital on acceptable terms or at all.
In connection with the ongoing development and expansion of our business, we may incur significant expenses. We believe that we can increase our sales and net income by implementing a growth strategy that focuses on increasing sales of our subsidiaries’ products in China by targeting high growth end markets and expanding sales of heat pumps in China and Europe. Management anticipates that our existing capital resources and proceeds from amounts borrowed under our Credit Agreement with Northtech will satisfy the liquidity requirements of our business until the end of 2015. However, if available funds are not sufficient to meet our current operating expenses, our plans include pursuing alternative financing arrangements, including bank loans based on our good credit rating or funds raised through offerings of our equity or debt, if and when we determine such offerings are required. Our ability to obtain additional capital on acceptable terms or at all is subject to a variety of uncertainties, including:
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Investors’ perceptions of, and demand for, companies in our industry;
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Investors’ perceptions of, and demand for, companies operating in China;
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Conditions of the US and other capital markets in which we may seek to raise funds;
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Our future results of operations, financial condition and cash flows;
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Governmental regulation of foreign investment in companies in particular countries;
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Economic, political and other conditions in the US, China and other countries; and
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Governmental policies relating to foreign currency borrowings.
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There is no assurance we will be successful in locating a suitable financing transaction in a timely fashion or at all. In addition, there is no assurance we will obtain the capital we require by any other means. Future financings through equity investments are likely to be dilutive to our existing shareholders. Also, the terms of securities we may issue in future capital transactions may be more favorable for our new investors. Newly-issued securities may include preferences or superior voting rights, be combined with the issuance of warrants or other derivative securities, or be the issuances of incentive awards under equity employee incentive plans, which may have additional dilutive effects. Furthermore, we may incur substantial costs in pursuing future capital and financing, including investment banking fees, legal fees, accounting fees, printing and distribution expenses and other costs. We may also be required to recognize non-cash expenses in connection with certain securities we may issue, such as convertible notes and warrants, which will adversely impact our financial condition.
If we cannot raise additional funds on favorable terms or at all, we may not be able to carry out all or parts of our strategy to maintain our growth and competitiveness or to fund our subsidiaries’ operations. If the amount of capital we are able to raise from financing activities, together with our revenues from operations, is not sufficient to satisfy our capital needs, even to the extent that we reduce our operations accordingly, we may be required to cease operations.
Our subsidiaries may not be able to protect their technology and other proprietary rights adequately, which could adversely affect their competitive position and reduce the value of their products and brands, and litigation to protect their intellectual property rights may be costly.
Our subsidiaries attempt to strengthen and differentiate their product lines by developing new and innovative product designs and functionality. As a result, their patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights are important assets to their business. Our success will depend in part on our subsidiaries ability to obtain and protect their products, methods, processes and other technologies, to preserve their trade secrets and to operate without infringing on the proprietary rights of third parties in China and abroad. Despite our subsidiaries’ efforts to preserve their intellectual property rights, any of the following occurrences may reduce the value of their intellectual property:
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Issued patents and trademarks may not provide our subsidiaries with any competitive advantages;
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Our subsidiaries’ efforts to protect their proprietary rights may not be effective in preventing misappropriation of their intellectual property;
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Our subsidiaries’ efforts may not prevent the development and design by other of products or technologies similar to our competitive with, or superior to those they develop; or
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Another party may obtain a blocking patent and our subsidiaries would need to either obtain a license or design around the patent in order to continue to offer the contested feature or service in their products.
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Effective protection of our subsidiaries intellectual property rights may be unavailable or limited in China or certain other countries. Policing the unauthorized use of our subsidiaries proprietary technology can be difficult and expensive. Litigation might be necessary to protect their intellectual property rights, which may be costly and may divert management’s attention away from their core business. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that litigation would result in an outcome favorable to our subsidiaries. If our subsidiaries are unable to protect their proprietary rights adequately, it would have a negative impact on our operations.
Our subsidiaries may be subject to claims that we have infringed the proprietary rights of others, which could require them to obtain a license or change their designs.
Although our subsidiaries do not believe any of their products infringe upon the proprietary rights of others, there is no assurance that infringement or invalidity claims, or claims for indemnification resulting from infringement claims, will not be asserted or prosecuted against them or that any such assertions or prosecutions will not have a material adverse effect on their business. Regardless of whether any such claims are valid or can be asserted successfully, defending against such claims could cause our subsidiaries to incur significant costs and could divert resources away from other activities. In addition, assertion of infringement claims could result in injunctions that prevent our subsidiaries from distributing their products. If any claims or actions are asserted against them, our subsidiaries may seek to obtain a license to the intellectual property rights that are in dispute. Such a license may not be available on reasonable terms, or at all, which could force our subsidiaries to change their designs.
If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to report our financial results accurately. Any inability to report and file our financial results accurately and timely could harm our business and adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.
We are required to establish and maintain internal controls over financial reporting, disclosure controls and procedures and to comply with other requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules promulgated by the SEC. Our management, including our President and Acting Chief Accountant, cannot guarantee our internal controls and disclosure controls will prevent all possible errors. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no system of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the company have been detected. These inherent limitations include the possibility that judgments in decision-making can be faulty and subject to simple error or mistake. Furthermore, controls can be circumvented by individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more persons, or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Over time, a control may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and may not be detected. Our inability or failure to report and file our financial results accurately and timely could harm our business and the trading price of our common stock.
Our management carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2014, because of one identified material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis. The material weakness identified relates to the lack of sufficient internal accounting personnel with appropriate levels of knowledge, experience and training in generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S., or U.S. GAAP, for the preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Furthermore, our management concluded that, as of December 31, 2014 our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective because of this identified material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. See “Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.” Our Board of Directors and management are evaluating remediation measures that we will undertake to address this material weakness and will continue this evaluation in order to implement a comprehensive remediation plan. Until such time as we hire qualified accounting staff or train our current accounting staff with the requisite U.S. GAAP experience, however, it is unlikely we will be able to remediate this material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
Our accounting personnel who are primarily responsible for the preparation and supervision of the preparation of our financial statements under U.S. GAAP have limited relevant education and training in U.S. GAAP and SEC rules and regulations pertaining to financial reporting, which could impact our ability to prepare our financial statements and convert our books and records to U.S. GAAP.
Our operations principally are in China and we have maintained our books and records in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the PRC, or PRC GAAP. Our accounting personnel in the PRC who have the primary responsibilities of preparing and supervising the preparation of financial statements under U.S. GAAP have limited relevant education and training in U.S. GAAP and related SEC rules and regulations. As such, they may be unable to identify potential accounting and disclosure issues that may arise upon the conversion of our books and records from PRC GAAP to U.S. GAAP, which could affect our ability to prepare our financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We have taken steps to ensure that our financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP, including our hiring of a U.S. accounting firm to work with our PRC accounting personnel and management to convert our books and records to U.S. GAAP and prepare our financial statements. However, the measures we have taken may not be sufficient to mitigate the foregoing risks associated with the limited education and training of our accounting personnel in U.S. GAAP and related SEC rules and regulations.
Risks Related to Doing Business in China
Changes in China’s political and economic policies could have a material adverse effect on the overall economic growth of China, which could reduce the demand for our subsidiaries’ products and adversely affect our business.
Substantially all of our manufacturing and productive assets are located in China and a significant percentage of our revenue is derived from our operations in China. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects are subject to the economic, political and legal developments in China. While China’s economy has experienced significant growth in the past twenty years, such growth has been uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy. The PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. Some of these measures may have a negative effect on us. For example, our operating results and financial condition may be adversely affected by PRC government control over capital investments or changes in tax regulations. In recent years, the PRC government has implemented measures emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform and the reduction of state ownership of productive assets, and the establishment of corporate governance in business enterprises; however, a substantial portion of productive assets in China are still owned by the PRC government. In addition, the PRC government continues to play a significant role in regulating industry development by imposing industrial policies. It also exercises significant control over China’s economic growth through the allocation of resources, the control of payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, the setting of monetary policy, the control of the housing and real estate market and the provision of preferential treatment to particular industries or companies. Any adverse change in the economic conditions or government policies in China could have a material adverse effect on the overall economic growth and level of capital expenditures in China, which in turn could lead to reduced demand for our subsidiaries’ products and consequently have a material adverse effect on our business. Furthermore, changes in policies, laws and regulations or in their interpretation or the imposition of confiscatory taxation, restrictions on currency conversion, restrictions or prohibitions on dividend payments to shareholders, or devaluations of currency could cause a decline in the price of our common stock.
We may have difficulty establishing adequate management, legal and financial controls in China, which could affect our ability to report our financial results accurately and timely.
Historically, China has not adopted an international style of management or financial reporting concepts and practices, nor modern banking, computer and other control systems. We may have difficulty in hiring and retaining a sufficient number of qualified employees to work in China. As a result of these factors, we may experience difficulty in establishing management, legal and financial controls, collecting financial data and preparing financial statements, books of account and corporate records and instituting business practices for our subsidiaries in China that meet international standards.
If relations between the U.S. and China worsen, our business could be adversely affected and investors may be unwilling to hold or buy our stock and our stock price may decrease.
At various times during recent years, the U.S. and China have had significant disagreements over political and economic issues. Controversies may arise in the future between these two countries. Any political or trade controversies between the U.S. and China, whether or not directly related to our business, could reduce the price of our common stock.
The nature and application of many laws of China create an uncertain environment for business operations and they could have a negative effect on our subsidiaries.
The legal system in China is a civil law system. Unlike the common law system, the civil law system is based on written statutes in which decided legal cases have little value as precedents. In 1979, China began to promulgate a comprehensive system of laws and has since introduced many laws and regulations to provide general guidance on economic and business practices in China and to regulate foreign investment. Progress has been made in the promulgation of laws and regulations dealing with economic and commercial matters, but these recently enacted laws and regulations may not cover all aspects of business activities in China sufficiently. In particular, because these laws and regulations are relatively new, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties, which may limit legal protections available to our subsidiaries. In addition, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of which are not published on a timely basis or at all) that may have a retroactive effect. As a result, there may be certain instances when we may not be aware of our subsidiaries violation of these policies and rules until some time after such violation. In addition, any litigation in China may be protracted and result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention.
The PRC government has enacted some laws and regulations dealing with matters such as corporate organization and governance, foreign investment, commerce, taxation and trade. Our subsidiaries’ ability to enforce commercial claims or to resolve commercial disputes under these laws and regulations is unpredictable, however, because the implementation, interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations is limited and, given their relative newness, involve uncertainties. For example, contracts governed by PRC law tend to contain less detail than those under U.S. law and generally are not as comprehensive in defining the rights and obligations of the contracting parties. Consequently, contracts in China are more vulnerable to disputes and legal challenges than those in the U.S. In addition, contract interpretation and enforcement in China is not as developed as in the U.S., and the result of any contract dispute is subject to significant uncertainties. Our subsidiaries currently are not subject to any contract dispute, but we cannot assure you that our subsidiaries will not be subject to future contract disputes with our suppliers, franchisees and other customers under contracts governed by PRC law, and if such disputes arise, we cannot assure you that our subsidiaries will prevail.
Furthermore, the political, governmental and judicial systems in China sometimes are impacted by corruption. There is no assurance our subsidiaries will be able to obtain recourse in any legal disputes with the suppliers, customers or other parties with whom they conduct business, if desired, through China’s developing and sometimes corrupt judicial systems. Any rights our subsidiaries may have under PRC law to specific performance or to seek an injunction are severely limited, and without a means of recourse by virtue of the PRC legal system, our subsidiaries may be unable to prevent these situations from occurring. The occurrence of any such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
It will be extremely difficult to acquire jurisdiction and enforce liabilities against our directors and assets based in China.
As several of our directors are citizens of the PRC, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to acquire jurisdiction over these persons in the event a lawsuit is initiated against us or our officers and directors by a shareholder or group of shareholders in the U.S. Also, because many of our operating subsidiaries and assets are located in China, it may be extremely difficult or impossible for individuals to access those assets to enforce judgments rendered against us or our directors or executive offices by U.S. courts. In addition, the courts in China may not permit the enforcement of judgments arising out of U.S. federal and state corporate, securities or similar laws. Accordingly, U.S. investors may not be able to enforce judgments against us for violation of U.S. securities laws.
Fluctuation of the Renminbi and Euro may affect our financial condition and the value of our securities.
Although we use the USD for financial reporting purposes, transactions effected by our subsidiaries in China are denominated in RMB and those by our subsidiary in Germany are denominated in EUR. The value of the RMB and EUR fluctuates and are subject to changes in the political and economic conditions in China and Europe, respectively. In particular, from June 2008 to June 2010, the RMB was pegged to the USD, but it has since been managed more flexibly. Because the PBOC regularly intervenes in the foreign exchange market to prevent significant short-term fluctuations in the exchange rate, the RMB may appreciate or depreciate significantly in value against the USD in the medium to long term. Moreover, it is possible that in the future the PRC authorities may lift restrictions on fluctuations in the RMB exchange rate and lessen intervention in the foreign exchange market.
Future movements in the exchange rate of the RMB could adversely affect our financial condition as substantially all of our operations and sales are transacted in RMB and we may suffer financial losses when transferring money raised outside of China into the country or paying vendors for services performed outside of China. Historically, we have not engaged in hedging activities to mitigate this risk of fluctuating exchange rates and have no current intention of doing so. Moreover, fluctuations in the exchange rate between the USD and RMB will affect our financial results reported in USD terms without giving effect to any underlying change in our business, financial condition or results of operations. The value of our common stock likewise will be affected by the foreign exchange rate between the USD and RMB, and between those currencies and other currencies in which our sales may be denominated. Fluctuations in the exchange rate will also affect the relative value of any dividend we may issue in the future that will be exchanged into USD and earnings from, and the value of, any USD-denominated investments we make in the future. For example, if we need to convert USD into RMB for our operational needs and the RMB appreciates against the USD at that time, our financial position, our business and the price of our common stock may be harmed. Conversely, if we decide to convert our RMB into USD for the purpose of declaring dividends on our common stock or for other business purposes and the USD appreciates against the RMB, the USD equivalent of our earnings from our subsidiaries in China would be reduced.
PRC regulations relating to mergers, offshore companies and PRC shareholders, if applied to us, may limit our ability to operate our business as we see fit.
PRC regulations govern the process by which we may participate in an acquisition of assets or equity interests and may make loans and direct investments to our subsidiaries in China. Depending on the structure of the transaction, these regulations require involved parties to make a series of applications and supplemental applications to various government agencies. In some instances, the application process may require the presentation of economic data concerning a transaction, including appraisals of the target business and evaluations of the acquirer, which are designed to allow the government to assess the transaction. Government approvals will have expiration dates by which a transaction must be completed and reported to the government agencies. Compliance with the new regulations is likely to be more time consuming and expensive than in the past and the government can now exert more control over the combination of two businesses. Accordingly, due to PRC regulations, our ability to engage in business combination transactions in China through our PRC subsidiaries has become significantly more complicated, time consuming and expensive, and we may not be able to negotiate transactions that are acceptable to us or sufficiently protective of our interests. Furthermore, loans and capital contributions from an offshore holding company such as us to its subsidiaries in China are subject to PRC regulations and approval. For example, loans by us to our subsidiaries in China, which are foreign-invested enterprises, to finance their activities cannot exceed statutory limits and must be registered with the SAFE. Similarly, the PRC Ministry of Commerce, or MOFCOM, or its local counterpart must approve any capital contribution by us to our PRC subsidiaries. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain these government approvals on a timely basis, if at all, with respect to future loans or capital contributions by us to our subsidiaries.
Restrictions on currency exchange may limit our ability to receive and use our revenues effectively.
The RMB is currently convertible under the “current account,” which includes dividends, trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions, but not under the “capital account,” which includes foreign direct investment and loans. Currently, our subsidiaries in China may purchase foreign currencies for settlement of current account transactions, including payments of dividends to us, without the approval of the SAFE. However, the relevant PRC government authorities may limit or eliminate their ability to purchase foreign currencies in the future. Since a significant amount of our future revenues will be denominated in RMB, any existing and future restrictions on currency exchange may limit our ability to utilize revenues generated in RMB to fund our business activities outside China that are denominated in foreign currencies.
On August 29, 2008, the SAFE promulgated Circular 142, the Notice on Perfecting Practices Concerning Foreign Exchange Settlement Regarding the Capital Contribution by Foreign-invested Enterprises, to regulate the conversion by foreign-invested enterprises, or FIEs, of foreign currency into RMB by restricting how the converted RMB may be used. Circular 142 requires that RMB converted from the foreign currency-dominated capital of a FIE may only be used for purposes within the business scope approved by the applicable government authority and may not be used for equity investments within the PRC unless specifically provided for otherwise. In addition, the SAFE strengthened its oversight over the flow and use of RMB funds converted from the foreign currency-dominated capital of a FIE. The use of such RMB may not be changed without approval from the SAFE, and may not be used to repay RMB loans if the proceeds of such loans have not yet been used. These limitations could affect the ability of our subsidiaries in China to obtain foreign exchange through debt or equity financing.
If the China Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC, or another PRC regulatory agency determines that its approval is required in connection with our public offerings, we may become subject to penalties.
On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies, including the CSRC, promulgated the Regulation on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors, or the M&A Regulations, which became effective on September 8, 2006. The M&A Regulations, among other things, have certain provisions that require offshore special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, formed for the purpose of acquiring PRC domestic companies and controlled by PRC individuals, to obtain the approval of the CSRC prior to listing their securities on an overseas stock exchange. We believe, based on the opinion of our PRC legal counsel, the Beijing Rondos Law Firm, that while the CSRC generally has jurisdiction over overseas listings of SPVs like us, CSRC’s approval is not required for the offerings of our securities because our current corporate structure was established before the new regulation became effective. However, there remains some uncertainty as to how this regulation will be interpreted or implemented in the context of an overseas offering. If the CSRC or another PRC regulatory agency subsequently determines that its approval is required for our public offerings, we may face sanctions by the CSRC or another PRC regulatory agency. If this happens, these regulatory agencies may impose fines and penalties on our operations in the PRC, limit our operating privileges in the PRC, delay or restrict the repatriation of the proceeds from our public offerings into the PRC, restrict or prohibit payment or remittance of dividends by our PRC subsidiaries to us or take other actions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our ordinary shares.
We operate in the PRC through our operating entities whose foreign-investment status has been approved by the local offices of MOFCOM. If MOFCOM subsequently determines that such approval procedures have not been completely satisfied for our foreign-invested enterprises, we may lose the WFOE status of certain of our subsidiaries, which could negatively impact our business in China.
Our operating entities in the PRC have received approval from their respective local offices of MOFCOM as WFOEs and foreign-invested joint ventures. We believe we have satisfied all MOFCOM approval procedures for having obtained such status, but there may be conditions subsequent to complete and maintain such status. In particular, we believe that our acquisition of Taiyu, a privately held Sino-foreign joint venture company, in 2008 was not subject to the 2006 M&A Regulations but instead the 1997 Provisions on Changes in Equity Interest of Foreign Investment Enterprises, which do not require the approval of MOFCOM’s central office in connection with the acquisition of interests in a foreign-invested entity operating in an industry not restricted or prohibited under PRC law. The meaning of many of the provisions of the M&A Regulations is still unclear, however, and PRC regulators have wide latitude in the enforcement of these and other relevant regulations. Consequently, the MOFCOM approval procedures or interpretations of its approval procedures may be different from our understanding or may change. If MOFCOM subsequently determines that we should have obtained the approval of MOFCOM’s central office for our investments in any or all of our PRC foreign-invested subsidiaries, we may need to apply for a remedial approval or waiver of such approval requirements, and may be subject to certain administrative punishments or other sanctions from PRC regulatory agencies. As a result, if we lose the WFOE status of any of our PRC operating subsidiaries for any reason, there may be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, reputation and prospects, as well as the trading price of our shares of common stock.
PRC regulations relating to the registration requirements for PRC resident shareholders owning shares in offshore companies may subject our PRC resident shareholders to personal liability and limit our ability to acquire companies in China or to inject capital into our operating subsidiaries in China, limit our subsidiaries’ ability to distribute profits to us or otherwise materially and adversely affect our business.
The SAFE issued a public notice in October 2005, Relevant Issues Concerning Foreign Exchange Control on Domestic Residents’ Corporate Financing and Roundtrip Investment through Offshore Special Purpose Vehicles, which we refer to as Circular 75, requiring PRC residents, including both legal persons and natural persons, to register with the competent local SAFE branch before establishing or controlling any company outside of China, referred to as an “offshore special purpose company,” for the purpose of acquiring any assets of or equity interest in PRC companies and raising funds from overseas. In addition, any PRC resident who is the shareholder of an offshore special purpose company is required to amend his or her SAFE registration with the local SAFE branch, with respect to that offshore special purpose company in connection with any increase or decrease of capital, transfer of shares, merger, division, equity investment or creation of any security interest over any assets located in China. If any PRC resident who is the shareholder of an offshore special purpose company fails to comply with the SAFE registration requirements, the PRC subsidiaries of the offshore special purpose company may be prohibited from distributing their profits and proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to their offshore parent company and the offshore parent company may be restricted in its ability to contribute additional capital into its PRC subsidiaries. Moreover, failure to comply with the SAFE registration requirements could result in liabilities under PRC laws for evasion of foreign exchange restrictions. Although we believe that our PRC subsidiaries are in compliance with these regulations, should these regulations or the interpretation of them by course or regulatory agencies change, we may not be able to pay dividends outside of China. We do not believe that we have incurred a liability because of noncompliance with Circular 75 under SAFE registration procedures, however. Accordingly, we cannot predict fully how Circular 75 will affect our business operations or future strategies because of ongoing uncertainty over how Circular 75 is interpreted and implemented, and how or whether SAFE will apply it to us.
We have requested our PRC resident beneficial owners, including our former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, to make the necessary applications, filings and amendments as required under SAFE regulations in connection with their equity interests in us and our acquisitions of equity interests in our PRC subsidiaries. We cannot provide any assurances that all of our present or prospective direct or indirect PRC resident beneficial owners have or will comply fully with all applicable registrations or required approvals. The failure or inability of our PRC resident beneficial owners to comply with the applicable SAFE registration requirements may subject these beneficial owners or us to fines, legal sanctions and restrictions described above.
On March 28, 2007, SAFE promulgated the Operating Procedures for Foreign Exchange Administration of Domestic Individuals Participating in Employee Stock Ownership Plans and Stock Option Plans of Offshore Listed Companies, or Circular 78. Under Circular 78, PRC citizens granted stock options by an offshore listed company are required, through an agent in China or a PRC subsidiary of the offshore listed company, to register with SAFE and complete certain other procedures, including applications for foreign exchange purchase quotas and opening special bank accounts. Failure to comply with these regulations may subject us or our PRC employees that receive stock option grants from us to fines and legal sanctions imposed by SAFE or other PRC government authorities and may prevent us from further granting stock options under our equity incentive plans to our PRC-citizen employees in China. Such events could adversely affect our business operations.
PRC labor laws may adversely affect our results of operations.
On June 29, 2007, the PRC government promulgated the Labor Contract Law of the PRC, effective on January 1, 2008, to govern the establishment of employment relationships between employers and employees, and the conclusion, performance, termination of and the amendment to employment contracts. The Labor Contract Law imposes greater liabilities on employers and significantly affects the cost of an employer’s decision to reduce its workforce. Further, it requires that certain terminations be based upon seniority and not merit. In the event our subsidiaries decide to significantly change or decrease their workforce in China, the Labor Contract Law could adversely affect their ability to effect such changes in a manner that is most advantageous to our business or in a timely and cost-effective manner, thus materially and adversely affecting our financial condition and results of operations.
Under the Enterprise Income Tax Law, we may be classified as a “resident enterprise” of China. Such classification will likely result in unfavorable tax consequences to us and our non-PRC resident shareholders.
China passed the Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law, and its implementing rules, both of which became effective on January 1, 2008. Under the EIT Law, an enterprise established outside of China with “de facto management bodies” within China is considered a “resident enterprise,” meaning that it must be treated as a PRC domestic enterprise for enterprise income tax purposes. The implementing rules of the EIT Law define de facto management as “substantial and overall management and control over the production and operations, personnel, accounting, and properties” of the enterprise.
On April 22, 2009, the PRC State Administration of Taxation, or the SAT, issued the Notice Concerning Relevant Issues Regarding Cognizance of Chinese Investment Controlled Enterprises Incorporated Offshore as Resident Enterprises pursuant to Criteria of de facto Management Bodies, or the Notice, further interpreting the application of the EIT Law and its implementation regarding non-PRC enterprise or group controlled offshore entities. Pursuant to the Notice, an enterprise incorporated in an off-shore jurisdiction and controlled by a PRC enterprise or group will be classified as a “non-domestically incorporated resident enterprise” if: (i) its senior management in charge of daily operations reside or perform their duties mainly in China; (ii) its financial or personnel decisions are made or approved by bodies or persons in China; (iii) its substantial assets and properties, accounting books, corporate chops, board and shareholder minutes are kept in China; and (iv) at least half of its directors with voting rights or senior management often reside in China. A “resident enterprise” would be subject to an enterprise income tax rate of 25% on its worldwide income and must pay a withholding tax at a rate of 10% when paying dividends to its non-PRC shareholders. However, detailed measures on imposition of tax from non-domestically incorporated resident enterprises are not yet available. Therefore, it is unclear how tax authorities will determine tax residency based on the facts of each case.
We may be deemed to be a “resident enterprise” by PRC tax authorities. If the PRC tax authorities determine that we are a “resident enterprise” for PRC enterprise income tax purposes, a number of unfavorable PRC tax consequences could follow. First, we may be subject to the enterprise income tax at a rate of 25% on our worldwide taxable income as well as PRC enterprise income tax reporting obligations. In our case, this would mean that income such as interest on financing proceeds and non-China source income would be subject to PRC enterprise income tax at a rate of 25%. Second, although under the EIT Law and its implementing rules dividends paid to us from our PRC subsidiaries would qualify as “tax-exempt income,” we cannot guarantee that such dividends will not be subject to a 10% withholding tax, as the PRC foreign exchange control authorities, which enforce the withholding tax, have not yet issued guidance with respect to the processing of outbound remittances to entities that are treated as “resident enterprises” for PRC enterprise income tax purposes. Finally, it is possible that future guidance issued with respect to the new “resident enterprise” classification could result in a situation in which a 10% withholding tax is imposed on dividends we pay to our non-PRC shareholders and with respect to gains derived by our non-PRC shareholders from transferring our shares. If we were treated as a “resident enterprise” by PRC tax authorities, we would be subject to taxation in both the U.S. and China, and our PRC tax may not be creditable against our U.S. tax.
Dividends distributed from our PRC subsidiaries to our non-PRC resident shareholders would be subject to U.S. and PRC withholding taxes.
We are a Nevada holding company and substantially all of our income is derived from dividends we receive from our subsidiaries, including those in China. Pretax earnings of a foreign subsidiary are subject to U.S. taxation when effectively repatriated. We currently consider the undistributed earnings of our PRC subsidiaries to be invested indefinitely and, accordingly, record no deferred U.S. tax expense on such earnings. If our PRC subsidiaries were to distribute dividends to us, the dividends would be subject to U.S. and PRC withholding taxes. Before the EIT Law came into effect on January 1, 2008, dividends paid to foreign investors by FIEs, such as dividends paid to us by our subsidiaries in China, were exempt from PRC withholding tax. Pursuant to the EIT Law, dividends generated after January 1, 2008, and distributed to us by our subsidiaries in China are subject to withholding tax at a rate of 5%, provided that we are determined by the relevant PRC tax authorities to be a “non-resident enterprise” under the EIT Law and hold at least 25% of the equity interest of our subsidiaries. If we are determined to be a “resident enterprise,” we cannot guarantee that such dividends will not be subject to a 10% withholding tax, as the PRC foreign exchange control authorities, which enforce the withholding tax, have not yet issued guidance with respect to the processing of outbound remittances to entities that are treated as “resident enterprises” for PRC enterprise income tax purposes.
The SAT promulgated “Notice on How to Understand and Determine the Beneficial Owners in Tax Agreement” on October 27, 2009, or SAT Circular 601, which provides guidance for determining whether a resident of a contracting state is the “beneficial owner” of an item of income under China’s tax treaties and tax arrangements. According to SAT Circular 601, a beneficial owner generally must be engaged in substantive business activities. An agent or conduit company will not be regarded as a beneficial owner and, therefore, will not qualify for treaty benefits. The agent or conduit company normally refers to a company that is registered in a jurisdiction other than China and merely meets the minimum legal requirements on organizational form and is not engaged in substantive operational activities for manufacturing, distribution or management. It is still unclear how SAT Circular 601 is implemented by SAT or its local counterparts in practice and whether we could be recognized as a “beneficial owner.” If we are deemed a non-resident enterprise but not qualified as a beneficial owner, we will not be entitled to a reduced 5% withholding tax and the 10% withholding tax would be imposed on any dividend income received from our subsidiaries in China. As a result, our net income would be reduced and our operating results would be adversely affected.
Tax laws and regulations in China are subject to revision, some of which may adversely affect our profitability, and the termination of certain preferential tax treatment for which our subsidiaries are eligible in China may adversely affect our net income.
The PRC corporate tax regime continues to undergo revision. Tax benefits that our subsidiaries presently enjoy may not be available to us in the wake of these changes, and our subsidiaries could incur tax obligations to the PRC government that are significantly higher than currently anticipated. These increased tax obligations could negatively affect our financial condition and our revenues, gross margins, profitability and results of operations may be adversely affected as a result.
Furthermore, certain tax exemptions that certain of our subsidiaries presently enjoy in China are scheduled to expire after 2013. Taiyu and SanDeKe are governed by the Income Tax Law of the PRC concerning privately run enterprises, which are generally subject to tax at a statutory rate of 25% on income reported in the statutory financial statements after appropriate tax adjustments. Taiyu has been classified as a high-tech enterprise eligible for certain tax benefits, including a preferential enterprise income tax rate of 15% through 2013. SanDeKe was entitled to a 50% discount on its income tax rate from 2010 through 2012, resulting in an income tax rate of 13% and 12% for 2012 and 2011, respectively. SanDeKe’s income tax rate increased to 25% in 2013. We received extensions for the tax benefits that expired. If these tax benefits enjoyed by Taiyu expire at any time without renewal, however, our income tax expenses will increase, which will reduce our net income.
Our compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act may put our subsidiaries at a competitive disadvantage, while our failure to comply with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act may result in substantial penalties.
We are required to comply with the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or the FCPA, which prohibits U.S. companies from engaging in bribery or other prohibited payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Although we inform our subsidiaries’ personnel that such practices are illegal, we cannot assure you that our subsidiaries’ employees or other agents will not engage in such conduct for which we might be held responsible. If our subsidiaries’ employees or other agents are found to have engaged in such practices, we could suffer severe penalties. Non-U.S. companies, including some of our subsidiaries’ competitors, are not subject to the provisions of the FCPA. Corruption, extortion, bribery, pay-offs, theft and other fraudulent practices occur from time to time in mainland China. If our subsidiaries’ competitors engage in these practices, they may receive preferential treatment from personnel of some companies, giving our subsidiaries’ competitors an advantage in securing business or from government officials who might give them priority in obtaining new licenses, which would put our subsidiaries at a disadvantage.
Risks Related to Our Securities
The application of the “penny stock” rules could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and increase your transaction costs to sell those shares.
Our common stock may be subject to the “penny stock” rules adopted under Section 15(g) of the Exchange Act. The penny stock rules apply to issuers whose common stock does not trade on a national securities exchange and trades at less than $5.00 per share, or that have a tangible net worth of less than $5,000,000 ($2,000,000 if the company has been operating for three or more years). The penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from those rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document prepared by the SEC that contains the following information:
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A description of the nature and level of risk in the market for penny stocks in both public offerings and secondary trading;
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A description of the broker’s or dealer’s duties to the customer and of the rights and remedies available to the customer with respect to violation to such duties or other requirements of securities laws;
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A brief, clear, narrative description of a dealer market, including “bid” and “ask” prices for penny stocks and the significance of the spread between the “bid” and “ask” prices;
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A toll-free telephone number for inquiries on disciplinary actions;
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Definitions of any significant terms in the disclosure document or in the conduct of trading in penny stocks; and
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such other information and is in such form (including language, type, size and format), as the SEC shall require by rule or regulation.
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Prior to effecting any transaction in a penny stock, the broker-dealer also must provide the customer with the following information:
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Bid and offer quotations for the penny stock;
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Compensation of the broker-dealer and our salesperson in the transaction;
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Number of shares to which such bid and ask prices apply, or other comparable information relating to the depth and liquidity of the market for such stock; and
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Monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer’s account.
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The penny stock rules further require that, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from those rules, the broker-dealer must make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive the purchaser’s written acknowledgment of the receipt of a risk disclosure statement, a written agreement to transactions involving penny stocks and a signed and dated copy of a written suitability statement.
Due to the requirements of the penny stock rules, many broker-dealers have decided not to trade penny stocks. As a result, the number of broker-dealers willing to act as market makers in such securities is limited. If we remain subject to the penny stock rules for any significant period, it could have an adverse effect on the market, if any, for our securities. Moreover, if our securities are subject to the penny stock rules, investors will find it more difficult to dispose of our securities.
The market price for our common stock may be volatile, which could make it more difficult or impossible for you to sell our common stock for a positive return on your investment.
The trading price of our common stock may fluctuate widely in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. These factors include, but are not limited to, our quarterly operating results or the operating results of other companies in our industry, announcements by us or our competitors of acquisitions, new products, product improvements, commercial relationships, intellectual property, legal, regulatory or other business developments and changes in financial estimates or recommendations by stock market analysts regarding us or our competitors. In addition, the stock market in general, and in particular the market for companies with substantial operations based in China, that became public by means of a reverse acquisition with a public shell company or that recently effected a reverse stock split, has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. This volatility has had a significant effect on the market prices of securities issued by many companies for reasons unrelated or disproportionate to their operating performance. These broad market fluctuations may have a material adverse effect on our stock price, regardless of our operating results. Further, the market for our common stock is limited and we cannot assure you that a larger market will ever be developed or maintained. Market fluctuations and volatility, as well as general economic, market and political conditions, could reduce our market price. As a result, these factors may make it more difficult or impossible for you to sell our common stock for a positive return on your investment.
Our quarterly results may be volatile, which could materially affect the per share price of our common stock.
Our operating results have varied on a quarterly basis during our operating history and are likely to fluctuate significantly in the future. Many factors, including the risk factors incorporated by reference herein, could cause our revenues and operating results to vary significantly in the future. Many of these factors are outside of our control. Accordingly, we believe that quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our operating results are not necessarily meaningful. Investors should not rely on the results of one quarter as an indication of our future performance. If our results of operations in any quarter do not meet analysts’ expectations, our stock price could materially decrease.
Future sales of our stock could depress the market price of our common stock and cause our stock price to decline.
Future sales of shares of our common stock could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our stock. If our significant stockholders sell a large number of shares, or if we issue a large number of shares, the market price of our common stock could significantly decline. Moreover, the perception in the public market that our significant stockholders might sell shares of our common stock could depress the market for our shares. If such shareholders sell substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, such sales could create a circumstance commonly referred to as an “overhang,” in anticipation of which the market price of our common stock could fall. The existence of an overhang, whether or not sales have occurred or are occurring, also could make it more difficult for us to raise additional financing through the sale of equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and price we deem reasonable or appropriate.
We may issue additional shares of our capital stock or debt securities to raise capital or complete acquisitions, which would reduce the equity interest of our stockholders.
Our Articles of Incorporation authorize the issuance of up to 75,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share. As of April 6, 2014, there were 68,216,601authorized and unissued shares of our common stock available for future issuance, based on 6,783,399 shares of our common stock outstanding and our reservation of 2,400 shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding options. Although we have no commitments as of the date of this report to issue our securities, we may issue a substantial number of additional shares of our common stock to complete a business combination, to raise capital or to repay outstanding debt obligation, including amounts we may borrow under the Credit Agreement with Northtech. The issuance of additional shares of our common stock may significantly reduce the equity interest of our existing stockholders and may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock.
We have not paid dividends in the past and do not expect to pay dividends in the future. Any return on investment may be limited to the value of our common stock.
We have never paid cash dividends on our common stock and do not anticipate doing so in the foreseeable future. The payment of dividends on our common stock will depend on earnings, financial condition and other business and economic factors affecting it at such time as the Board of Directors may consider relevant. Furthermore, China has currency and capital transfer regulations that require us to comply with complex regulations for the movement of capital. See “Risks Related to Our Business – We are a holding company that depends on cash flow from our wholly owned subsidiaries to meet our obligations.” Although our management believes that we are in compliance with these regulations, should these regulations or the interpretation of them by PRC courts or regulatory agencies change, we may not be able to pay dividends to our shareholders outside of China. Our management intends to follow a policy of retaining all of our earnings to finance the development and execution of our strategy and the expansion of our business. If we do not pay dividends, our common stock may be less valuable because a return on your investment will only occur if our stock price appreciates.
Provisions in the Nevada Revised Statutes and our Articles of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws could make it very difficult for you to bring any legal actions against our directors or officers for violations of their fiduciary duties or could require us to pay any amounts incurred by our directors or officers in any such actions.
Members of our Board of Directors and our officers will have no liability for breaches of their fiduciary duty of care as a director or officer, except in limited circumstances, pursuant to provisions in the Nevada Revised Statutes and our Articles of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws as authorized by the Nevada Revised Statutes. Specifically, Section 78.138 of the Nevada Revised Statutes provides that a director or officer is not individually liable to the company or its shareholders or creditors for any damages as a result of any act or failure to act in his or her capacity as a director or officer unless it is proven that (1) the director’s or officer’s act or failure to act constituted a breach of his or her fiduciary duties as a director or officer and (2) his or her breach of those duties involved intentional misconduct, fraud or a knowing violation of law. This provision is intended to afford directors and officers protection against and to limit their potential liability for monetary damages resulting from suits alleging a breach of the duty of care by a director or officer. Accordingly, you may be unable to prevail in a legal action against our directors or officers even if they have breached their fiduciary duty of care. In addition, our Amended and Restated Bylaws allow us to indemnify our directors and officers from and against any and all costs, charges and expenses resulting from their acting in such capacities with us. This means that if you were able to enforce an action against our directors or officers, in all likelihood, we would be required to pay any expenses they incurred in defending the lawsuit and any judgment or settlement they otherwise would be required to pay. Accordingly, our indemnification obligations could divert needed financial resources and may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock.
Risks Related to the Proposed Stock Sale of Our Subsidiaries.
If the stock sale is not consummated, we will continue to seek other financing alternatives and operate for as long as possible.
If the stock sale is not consummated we will continue to seek additional financing option and operate for as long as possible. If we are unable to find alternatives to finance and expand our PHE segment and we continue to operate at a loss we will need to consider options in bankruptcy as we will have not enough operating cash to continue our business.
We cannot be sure if or when the stock sale will be completed.
The effectiveness of the stock sale is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of various conditions, including the authorization of the stock sale by our stockholders and receipt of a fairness opinion to the effect that the sale of the remaining 60% of the Companies to be sold (constituting all of our remaining equity interests in the Companies to be sold) is fair to the stockholders of the Company from a financial point of view. We cannot guarantee that the conditions set forth in the Amended EIPA will be satisfied. If we are unable to satisfy such conditions in the Buyer’s favor or if other mutual conditions are not satisfied, the stock sale will not be complete.
If the stock sale is not completed, our board of directors, in discharging its fiduciary obligations to our stockholders, will evaluate other strategic alternatives that may be available. Such other strategic alternatives may not be as favorable to our stockholders as the stock sale. Any future sale of substantially all of our assets or other transactions may be subject to further stockholder approval.
While the stock sale is pending, it creates uncertainty about our future that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
While the stock sale is pending, it creates uncertainty about our future. As a result of this uncertainty, our current or potential business partners may decide to delay, defer or cancel entering into new business arrangements with us pending completion or termination of the stock sale. In addition, while the stock sale is pending, we are subject to a number of risks, including:
·
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The diversion of management and employee attention from our day-to-day business;
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·
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The potential disruption to business partners and other service providers; and
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·
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The possible inability to respond effectively to competitive pressures, industry developments and future opportunities.
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The occurrence of any of these events individually or in combination could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operation.
In addition, pending the completion of the stock sale, we may be unable to attract and retain key personnel and our management’s focus and attention and employee resources may be diverted from operational matters during the pendency of the stock sale.
In the event that the stock sale is not completed, the announcement of the termination of the Amended Equity Interest Purchase Agreement may also adversely affect the trading price of our Common Stock, our business or our relationships with lenders, customers, suppliers and employees.
Our former officers and current executive officers and managers of the Company’s subsidiaries have interests in the stock sale other than, or in addition to, the interests of our stockholders generally.
Buyers consist of a group of 25 natural persons, all of whom are PRC. citizens, including Wen Sha, Jun Wang and Xudong Wang, managers of the Company’s subsidiaries engaged in the PHE segment of its business, and Huajun Ai and Yingkai Wang, the Company’s Corporate Secretary and Acting Chief Accountant, respectively. Huajun Ai, Wen Sha, Jun Wang and Xudong Wang are also principals in Northtech Holdings Inc. Our board of directors was aware of these interests and considered them, among other matters, in approving the Amended Equity Interest Purchase Agreement.
We will continue to incur the expenses of complying with public company reporting requirements following the closing of the stock sale.
After the stock sale, we will continue to be required to comply with the applicable reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), even though compliance with such reporting requirements is economically burdensome.
If the stock sale is not completed and the Amended EIPA is terminated, there may not be any other offers from potential acquirers.
If the stock sale is not completed and the Amended Equity Interest Purchase Agreement is terminated, we may seek another purchaser for our assets. There can be no assurances that we would be able to enter into meaningful discussions or to otherwise complete any transaction with any other party who may have an interest in purchasing our assets on terms acceptable to us. Additionally, the inability to complete the stock sale could make potential acquirers more reluctant to engage in a transaction with us.
We may be exposed to litigation related to the stock sale from the holders of our Common Stock.
Transactions such as the stock sale are often subject to lawsuits by stockholders. Because the holders of our Common Stock will not receive any consideration from the stock sale, it is possible that they may sue the Company or its board of directors.
We will incur a substantial one-time loss for financial reporting purposes as a result of the stock sale.
The stock sale will result in an expected a loss of $35.27 million from the 100% equity interest sale of the sold entities consisting of a $44.06 million loss on sale resulting from the difference of the total selling price and the net assets of sold entities, netted with the $8.79 million due to the forgiveness of all net indebtedness owing to the companies to be sold by SmartHeat and each of its other subsidiaries. The Company determined that the restated carrying values of the assets and liabilities being sold are appropriate and comply with US GAAP.
We will incur significant expenses in connection with the Stock Sale.
We expect to pay legal fees, accounting fees and proxy filing costs whether or not the Stock Sale closes. Any significant expenses or payment obligations incurred by us in connection with the stock sale could adversely affect our financial condition and cash position.
The Company’s stockholders will not receive any of the proceeds of the Stock Sale.
If the stock sale is consummated, the cash purchase price will be paid directly to a subsidiary of Heat PHE located in China. None of the net proceeds of the purchase price will be received by the Company’s stockholders, unless the Board of Directors ultimately proposes a distribution to the stockholders.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
Not required.
Item 2. Properties
Our headquarters and principal manufacturing facilities are located in the Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Zone, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, PRC. We acquired land use rights in Shenyang by the municipal administration of state-owned land through 2055, on which we own two buildings, including our office headquarters and principal manufacturing facilities. Siping Beifang owns its manufacturing facilities and land use rights for three parcels of land in Siping through 2052, 2056 and 2060, respectively. SmartHeat Energy acquired land use rights in Shenyang that are valid through 2060. We temporarily halted construction on a factory project for SmartHeat Energy because we believe that economic and market conditions in China at this time make it unlikely for the factory to operate profitably if completed in 2013 as originally scheduled. SanDeKe, Ruicheng and SmartHeat Pump lease space for their business offices and manufacturing facilities. SmartHeat Germany owns manufacturing facilities and land in Güstrow, Germany. We have leased offices for our sales representatives in multiple PRC cities under short-term, renewable leases.
Properties owned or acquired by SmartHeat Taiyu (Shenyang) Energy Technology Co., Ltd, SanDeKe Co., Ltd, SmartHeat (Shenyang) Energy Equipment Co., Ltd, SmartHeat Siping Beifang Energy Technology Co., Ltd and Hohhot Ruicheng Technology Co., Ltd are used for Heat PHE; while properties owned or acquired by SmartHeat (Shenyang) Heat Pump Technology Co., Ltd and SmartHeat Deutschland GmbH are used for Heat HP. In general, our properties are well maintained, considered adequate and being utilized for their intended purposes.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
We may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. Litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties and an adverse result in these or other matters may arise from time to time that may have an adverse effect on our business, financial conditions or operating results. Aside from the proceeding described below, we are currently not aware of any such legal proceedings or claims that will have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or operating results.
On August 31, 2012, a putative class action lawsuit, Steven Leshinsky v. James Wang, et. al., which purported to allege federal securities law claims against the Company and certain of its former officers and directors, was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Thereafter, two plaintiffs filed competing motions to be appointed lead plaintiff in the proceeding. A lead plaintiff was appointed and an amended complaint was filed on January 28, 2013, by the Rosen Law Firm. The amended complaint included Oliver Bialowons, our President, and Michael Wilhelm, our former Chief Financial Officer, as defendants in the proceeding though they were not officers of the Company during the alleged class period. A second amended complaint was filed on April 8, 2013, under the caption Stream Sicav, Dharanendra Rai et al. v. James Jun Wang , SmartHeat, Inc. et al., removing Messrs. Wilhelm and Bialowons as defendants. The second amended complaint alleges two counts against the Company, both asserting violations of the federal securities laws arising from alleged insider sales or management sales of securities and alleged false disclosures relating to those sales. On May 8, 2013, the Company filed a motion to dismiss the second amended complaint which was denied. On March 17, 2014 the court, denied, the lead plaintiff's motion for class certification, without prejudice. On August 6, 2014, the lead plaintiff once again filed a motion for class certification. On September 19, 2014, the Company filed an opposition to the lead plaintiff’s motion for class certification, to which plaintiff filed a response on October 20, 2014. By Opinion and Order dated January 21, 2015, the Court denied plaintiffs’ class certification motion, finding that it failed to satisfy the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 23 for typicality, adequacy and predominance. Specifically, the Court found that plaintiffs’ theory of liability required a trade-by-trade inquiry as to whether the sale of the locked-up shares resulted in price inflation of the company’s stock, and that, as a result, the injury to all class members could not be established by common proof. In addition to finding a lack of predominance of common issues, the Court expressed substantial concerns about the adequacy of the class representative, and that his claims were typical of other class members. The Court also expressed doubts as to how plaintiffs would establish damages. The Court’s denial of class certification was without prejudice, and the Court gave plaintiffs until February 17, 2015 to file a “far more rigorous, and a far more convincing submission…”. The pleadings and court orders are publicly available.
The Company entered into an agreement to settle all claims in a US securities class action lawsuit. No findings of any wrongdoings were ever made against SmartHeat, any current or former officer or director of Smartheat or any of the defendants, and the Company and all other defendants continue to deny any wrongdoing. The default judgment previously entered against James Jun Wang was vacated and was dismissed with prejudice. The Company entered into the settlement in order to avoid further cost of defending any of the purported actions. According to the settlement, the Company paid the plaintiffs $120,000. In return, the plaintiffs dismissed all claims against the Company and all of the individual defendants with prejudice. As a result of the settlement, the case will not be allowed to be re-filed.
The settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing or acceptance of fault by the Company or any of the individual defendants. The Company has and continues to assert that the allegations made in the consolidated lawsuits lack merit and no evidence was ever asserted supporting the allegations made in the consolidated lawsuits. The Company has nevertheless agreed to the settlement in order to eliminate the uncertainties, burden and expense of further litigation. The Company believes that putting this matter behind it is in the best interest of its customers, employees and shareholders so that it can remain focused on growing and strengthening its business.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
Our common stock has traded on the over the counter market since November 9, 2012. Previously, and prior to NASDAQ halting trading in our common stock, our common stock was listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “HEAT” and had been trading on NASDAQ since January 29, 2009. The following table sets forth the range of the high and low sales prices of our common stock for each quarter in the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012.
2014
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2013
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High
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Low
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High
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Low
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First Quarter (through March 31)
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$
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0.30
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$
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0.05
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$
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0.70
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$
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0.30
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Second Quarter (through June 30)
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0.25
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0.10
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0.55
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0.22
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Third Quarter (through September 30)
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0.29
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0.05
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0.60
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0.21
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||||||||||||
Fourth Quarter (through December 31)
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0.18
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0.01
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0.50
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0.15
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Holders of Record
On April 6, 2014, there were approximately 50 shareholders of record based on information provided by our transfer agent. Many of our shares of common stock are held in street or nominee name by brokers and other institutions on behalf of shareholders and we are unable to estimate the total number of shareholders represented by these record holders.
Dividend Policy
We have not paid and do not expect to declare or pay any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future, and we currently intend to retain future earnings, if any, to finance the expansion of our business. The decision whether to pay cash dividends on our common stock will be made by our Board of Directors, in their discretion, and will depend on our financial condition, operating results, capital requirements and other factors deemed relevant by our Board of Directors.
Our ability to pay dividends may be affected by the complex currency and capital transfer regulations in China that restrict the payment of dividends to us by our subsidiaries in China. PRC regulations currently permit payment of dividends only out of accumulated profits as determined in accordance with accounting standards and regulations in China. Our subsidiaries in China also are required to set aside at least 10% of net income after taxes based on PRC accounting standards each year to statutory surplus reserves until the cumulative amount of such reserves reaches 50% of registered capital. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. Our subsidiaries in China also may allocate a portion of their after-tax profits to their staff welfare and bonus funds, which may not be distributed to equity owners except in the event of liquidation. If any of our subsidiaries incur debt, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us.
In addition, Circular 75 requires PRC residents, including both legal persons and natural persons, to register with the competent local SAFE branch before establishing or controlling any company outside of China. If the PRC subsidiaries of an offshore parent company do not report the need for their PRC investors to register to the local SAFE authorities, they may be prohibited from distributing their profits and proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to their offshore parent company. Although we believe that our subsidiaries in China are in compliance with these regulations, should these regulations or the interpretation of them by PRC courts or regulatory agencies change, we may not be able to pay dividends outside of China.
Item 6. Selected Financial Data
Not required.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Safe Harbor Declaration
The comments made throughout this Annual Report should be read in conjunction with our Financial Statements and the Notes thereto, and other financial information appearing elsewhere in this document. In addition to historical information, the following discussion and other parts of this document contain certain forward-looking information. When used in this discussion, the words, “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results, due to a number of factors beyond our control. We do not undertake to publicly update or revise any of our forward-looking statements, even if experience or future changes show that the indicated results or events will not be realized. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Readers are also urged to carefully review and consider our discussions regarding the various factors that affect our business, which are described in this section and elsewhere in this report.
Overview
Through our subsidiaries we design, manufacture and sell clean technology plate heat exchangers (“PHE”), heat pumps (“HPs”) and related systems marketed principally in the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”). Our subsidiaries’ products are used in the industrial, residential and commercial markets to improve energy utilization and efficiencies, and to reduce pollution by reducing the need for coal-fired boilers. Our subsidiaries design, manufacture, sell and service PHEs, PHE Units, which combine PHEs with various pumps, temperature sensors, valves and automated control systems in systems custom designed by our in-house engineers, heat meters and heat pumps for use in commercial and residential buildings. Our subsidiaries also design, manufacture and sell spiral heat exchangers and tube heat exchangers. Our subsidiaries’ products and systems are an increasingly important element in providing a clean technology, mission-critical solution to energy consumption and air pollution problems in China and are commonly used in a wide variety of industrial processes where heat transfer is required. Common applications include energy conversion for heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, and industrial use in petroleum refining, petrochemicals, metallurgy, food and beverage and chemical processing. Our subsidiaries sell their products under the SmartHeat and Taiyu brand names and also sell PHEs under the Sondex brand name as an authorized dealer of Sondex PHEs in China.
In addition, we offer HPs in China and in Germany under the Gustrower brand name. Our subsidiaries design and build HPs specific to customer specifications and particular operating conditions and are known for their high quality and efficiency. Our subsidiaries produce HPs in sizes that have applications in both the industrial and residential settings. We believe our subsidiaries’ HPs reduce the cost of heating and cooling by using recycled air as a heat source thereby reducing heat loss promoting energy saving and efficiency.
We are a US holding company with no material assets other than the ownership interests of our subsidiaries through which we design, manufacture and sell our clean technology PHEs, HPs and related systems. We were incorporated in the State of Nevada on August 4, 2006, under the name Pacific Goldrim Resources, Inc., as an exploration stage corporation with minimal operations to engage in the exploration for silver, lead and zinc. On April 14, 2008, we changed our name to SmartHeat Inc. and entered into a Share Exchange Agreement to acquire Shenyang Taiyu Machinery & Electronic Equipment Co., Ltd., subsequently renamed SmartHeat Taiyu (Shenyang) Energy Technology Co., Ltd., or Taiyu, a privately held Sino-foreign joint venture (“JV”) company formed under the laws of the PRC on July 24, 2002, and engaged in the design, manufacture, sale and servicing of plate heat exchange products in China. The Share Exchange Agreement was entered into by SmartHeat, Taiyu and the shareholders of Taiyu. We received PRC government approval on May 28, 2008, of our subscription for 71.6% of the registered capital of Taiyu, and approval on June 3, 2009, of the transfer of the remaining 28.4% ownership of Taiyu from the original JV shareholders who received shares of our common stock in the Share Exchange. As a result of the Share Exchange Agreement and subsequent transactions contemplated thereby, and receipt of the above PRC government approvals, Taiyu became our wholly foreign-owned enterprise, or WFOE.
As an expansion of our business following our acquisition of Taiyu, we acquired and established subsidiaries in China and Germany.
The following chart displays our subsidiaries according to which operating segment they operate in:
Plate Heat Exchangers (PHE)
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Heat Pumps (HP)
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SmartHeat Taiyu (Shenyang) Energy Technology Co., Ltd.
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SmartHeat (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
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SanDeKe Co., Ltd.
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SmartHeat (Shenyang) Heat Pump Technology Co., Ltd.
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SmartHeat (Shenyang) Energy Equipment Co., Ltd.
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SmartHeat Deutschland GmbH
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SmartHeat Siping Beifang Energy Technology Co., Ltd.
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SmartHeat (Shanghai) Trading Co., Ltd.
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SmartHeat Heat Exchange Equipment Co.
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Beijing SmartHeat Jinhui Energy Technology Co., Ltd.
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Principal Factors Affecting Our Financial Performance
Our revenues are subject to fluctuations due to the timing of sales of high-value products, the impact of seasonal spending patterns, the timing and size of projects our customers perform, changes in overall spending levels in the industry, changes in PRC government fiscal policies, inflation in China and other unpredictable factors that may affect customer ordering patterns. Our revenues may fluctuate due to the seasonal nature of central heating services in the PRC because the equipment used in residential buildings must be delivered prior to the beginning of the heating season in late fall, which occurs during the third and fourth calendar quarters in China. We also anticipate decreased sales volume in the first calendar quarter compared to other quarters, as our customers generally install and test our products during this period, and are in the process of budgeting their new projects. Additionally, any significant delays in the commercial launch or any lack or delay of commercial acceptance of new products, unfavorable sales trends in existing product lines or impacts from the other factors mentioned above, could adversely affect our revenue growth or cause a decline in quarterly revenue.
In response to inflationary concerns, the PRC government tightened fiscal policies beginning in 2011 that contributed to a slowdown in many sectors of China’s economy and restricted bank lending practices. China’s economy continues the growing at a very slow pace. Historically, approximately 40% of our customers, representing the majority of our total sales, consist of state-owned enterprises in China. Many of these customers, the majority of which are real estate developers, encountered difficulties in recent years in obtaining grants from the PRC government and faced an extended bank loan application process, both of which typically are used to finance the purchase of our products. These conditions continued into 2014. Accordingly, the continued deflationary policy of the PRC government affected the number of new sales of our PHEs and PHE Units as certain state-owned enterprises deferred bidding for new projects because of their working capital difficulties or abandoned existing projects. The decline in new projects among state-owned enterprises and increased peer competition contributed to a decline in sales of our PHEs and PHE Units in 2011 through 2014. We also canceled contracts in 2011 with certain of these state-owned customers that were unable to make payments or that had requested adjustments to their payment terms in response to their financial difficulties. Although these events caused a decrease in our sales in 2011 through 2014, a portion of the canceled year 2011 PHE and PHE Unit orders were reinstated in 2012, and additional orders and contracts that were canceled or partially delayed are performed in 2013 and 2014, which reduced the impact of the drop in our sales over the long term. Furthermore, the PRC government remains committed to the construction of affordable housing projects and emission-reduction and energy-saving policies, which we believe will continue to drive demand for our clean technology heat transfer products.
Our revenues also may fluctuate significantly due to material costs; we experienced and anticipate continued fluctuation in raw material costs as a result of world economic conditions, such as the price of stainless steel used to produce plates, our PHEs and PHE Units. We monitor the commodities markets for pricing trends and changes, but do not engage in hedging to protect against raw material fluctuations. Instead, we attempt to mitigate the short-term risks of price swings by purchasing raw materials in advance based on production needs and projected sales. We typically experience stronger sales during the second half of the year, which is the start of fall and winter in China, during which we historically generate the majority of our revenue. Accordingly, we increased our inventory and advances to suppliers during the first three quarters of each year in anticipation of our historical high season for production. Management believes our current levels of increased inventory resulting from the unexpected abandonment of projects and cancelation of orders by certain customers in 2011 and 2012 was consumed gradually in 2013 and 2014 and the following years as we fulfill new orders and delayed and reinstated contracts. Although we currently are able to obtain adequate supplies of raw materials, it is impossible to predict future availability or cost. Unfavorable fluctuations in the price, quality or availability of required raw materials could negatively affect our cash flows and ability to meet the demands of our customers, which could result in the loss of future sales.
Our profitability depends upon the margin between the cost to us of goods used in the manufacturing process, such as plates, pumps, water tanks, sensors, control systems and other raw materials, as well as our fabrication costs associated with converting such goods and raw materials compared to the selling price of our products, and the overall supply of raw materials. We intend to base the selling prices of our products upon the associated raw materials costs to us. We may not be able to pass all increases in raw material costs and ancillary acquisition costs associated with taking possession of raw materials through to our customers, however, and there may be a time lag as we bid on new projects and renegotiate pricing with our existing customers. Furthermore, to ease inflationary pressure on our costs, we implemented new controls over our purchasing process and raw material pricing by adopting a new budgetary control system to monitor our fixed costs and continued improvements to our manufacturing process to decrease labor cost and improve manufacturing efficiency.
The economic conditions our subsidiaries faced in recent years, made it impossible for our subsidiaries to pay dividends to our US parent company, which is dependent upon such dividends to meet its financial obligations. Relevant PRC statutory laws and regulations permit payments of dividends by the Company’s PRC subsidiaries only out of the subsidiary’s retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Further, the Company’s PRC subsidiaries are required to take certain reserves as detailed in Note 18 to our financial statements. As a result, we sought alternative sources of capital for our US parent company. On July 27, 2012, we entered into a secured, revolving credit facility with Northtech Holdings Inc., a British Virgin Islands business corporation owned by certain members of our former management, James Wang, Rhett Wang and Wen Sha. Jane Ai, our Corporate Secretary, is also a part owner of Northtech. As amended on December 21, 2012, the Credit Agreement provides for borrowings of up to $2,500,000 with any amounts borrowed maturing on April 30, 2014. Borrowings under the Credit Agreement are secured by 55% of the equity interest in each of our wholly, directly-owned subsidiaries and are repayable, at our option, in shares of our common stock. On December 21, 2012, we repaid $1,300,000 of the $1,384,455 outstanding under the Credit Agreement with 1,300,000 restricted shares of our common stock, approximately 22.67% of our total issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock, as authorized by the Credit Agreement and approved by our shareholders. On June 25, 2013, the Board approved second amendment to the credit and security agreement and on August 23, 2013, we entered into second amendment to the credit and security agreement with Northtech, which redefined the “base rate”, and adjusted the base rate to 10% annually, compounded quarterly, effective January 1, 2013. On March 26, 2014, we gave notice to Northtech pursuant to the terms of the Credit and Security Agreement between the Company and Northtech, dated July 27, 2012, as amended, extending the maturity date on the Credit Agreement from April 30, 2014 to January 31, 2015. On July 14, 2014, we entered the third amendment to the Credit Agreement with Northtech, the Amendment modifies the definition of “Average Share Price” in the Credit Agreement to decrease the minimum and maximum values for the “Average Share Price,” by 20% each from $0.50 to $0.40 and from $3.50 to $2.80, respectively. The Amendment also increases the maximum line which may be borrowed under the Credit Agreement from $2,500,000 to $3,250,000 and extends the maturity date for amounts borrowed from April 30, 2014 to October 31, 2015.
On December 30, 2013, we closed the transaction contemplated by the Equity Interest Purchase Agreement dated October 10, 2013, whereby the buyers purchased 40% of the Company’s equity interests in the following PHE segment subsidiaries: SmartHeat Taiyu (Shenyang) Energy; SmartHeat Siping Beifang Energy Technology Co., Ltd.; SmartHeat (Shenyang Energy Equipment) Co. Ltd.; Hohot Ruicheng Technology Co., Ltd.; and Urumchi XinRui Technology Limited Liability Company (collectively, the “Target Companies”). The purchase price was RMB5 million. Urumchi XinRui was 46% owned by SmartHeat US parent company.
On November 28, 2014, we entered into an Amended and Restated Equity Interest Purchase Agreement (the “Amended and Restated EIPA”), which amended and restated the Equity Interest Purchase Agreement (the “Equity Interest Purchase Agreement”) dated October 10, 2013 between the Company and the buyers. Under the terms of the Amended EIPA, the buyers had agreed to purchase the remaining 60% of the Company’s equity interests in the Target Companies effective as of December 31, 2014 (the “Closing Date”). The purchase price for the remaining 60% consists of: (i) consideration of RMB8.5 million and (ii) the forgiveness of all net indebtedness owing to the Target Companies by SmartHeat and each of its subsidiaries as of December 31, 2014. The effectiveness of the transaction is subject to the following conditions: (i) approval of its shareholders and (ii) receipt by the Board of Directors of the Company of an opinion that the purchase and sale transaction is fair to the shareholders of SmartHeat from a financial point of view. The parties will execute a mutual release to be delivered at the closing which will provide, in part, for the Target Companies to forgive all net indebtedness from SmartHeat and all of its other subsidiaries. In the event that the conditions are not met prior to December 31, 2014, the consideration and all documents will be deposited into escrow and released when the conditions have been satisfied; provided that if the conditions are not satisfied on or before March 31, 2015, either party may terminate the Amended EIPA and the funds and documents will be returned to the depositing party. The termination deadline of the Amended EIPA was extended to May 15, 2015.
The conditions were not met at December 31, 2014 and the consideration and all documents were deposited into the escrow. As of March 31, 2015, the conditions were not yet satisfied, but parties are proceeding towards the satisfaction of the conditions, and expect the conditions to be satisfied on May 11, 2015.
Significant Accounting Policies
While our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements, we believe the following accounting policies are the most critical to aid you in fully understanding and evaluating this management discussion and analysis.
Basis of Presentation
Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or US GAAP.
Principles of Consolidation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of SmartHeat’s US parent and its subsidiaries, Taiyu, SanDeKe, SmartHeat Siping, Jinhui, SmartHeat Investment, SmartHeat Energy, SmartHeat Trading, SmartHeat Heat Exchange, SmartHeat Germany and SmartHeat Pump. All significant inter-company accounts and transactions were eliminated in consolidation.
In preparing the financial statements in conformity with US GAAP, management makes estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Significant estimates, required by management, include the recoverability of long-lived assets, allowance for doubtful accounts, and the reserve for obsolete and slow-moving inventories. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Accounts Receivable
We maintain reserves for potential credit losses on accounts receivable. Management reviews the composition of accounts receivable and analyzes historical bad debts, customer concentrations, customer credit worthiness, current economic trends and changes in customer payment patterns to evaluate the adequacy of these reserves. Accounts receivable are net of unearned interest. Unearned interest represents imputed interest on accounts receivable with due dates over one year from the invoice date discounted at our borrowing rate for the year. Based on historical collection activity, we had bad debt allowances of $39.26 million and $48.25 million at December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.
Revenue Recognition
Our revenue recognition policies are in compliance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 605, “Revenue Recognition.” Sales revenue is recognized when PHEs, heat meters and HPs are delivered, and for PHE Units when customer acceptance occurs, the price is fixed or determinable, no other significant obligations of ours exist and collectability is reasonably assured. Payments received before all of the relevant criteria for revenue recognition are recorded as unearned revenue under “Advance from customers.”
Our agreements with our customers generally provide that 30% of the purchase price is due upon placement of an order, 30% upon delivery and 30% upon installation and acceptance of the equipment after customer testing. As a common practice in the heating manufacturing business in China, payment of the final 10% of the purchase price is due no later than the termination date of the standard warranty period, which ranges from three to 24 months from the acceptance date. Due to the slowdown of the Chinese economy and tightened monetary policy, and in order to attract and retain customers, the Company’s subsidiaries have adjusted their contract and payment terms on a case-by-case basis to permit for more flexible and longer payment terms.
Our standard warranty is provided to all customers and is not considered an additional service; rather, it is an integral part of the product sale. We believe the existence of its standard product warranty in a sales contract does not constitute a deliverable in the arrangement and thus there is no need to apply FASB ASC subtopic 605-25) separation and allocation model for a multiple deliverable arrangement. FASB ASC Topic 450, “Contingencies,” specifically addresses the accounting for standard warranties FASB ASC Topic 605 does not supersede FASB ASC Topic 450. We believe that accounting for its standard warranty pursuant to FASB ASC Topic 450 does not impact revenue recognition because the cost of honoring the warranty can be reliably estimated.
We charge for after-sales services provided after the expiration of the warranty period, with after-sales services mainly consisting of cleaning PHEs and repairing and exchanging parts. We recognize such revenue when service is provided. For the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, revenue from after-sales services after the expiration of the warranty period was $216,000 and $25,000, respectively.
Foreign Currency Translation and Comprehensive Income (Loss)
The accounts of the US parent company are maintained in USD. The functional currency of the Company’s China subsidiaries is the Chinese Yuan Renminbi (“RMB”) and the functional currency of SmartHeat Germany, the Company’s subsidiary in Germany, is the Euro (“EUR”). The accounts of the China subsidiaries and German subsidiary were translated into USD in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 830, “Foreign Currency Matters.” According to FASB ASC Topic 830, all assets and liabilities were translated at the exchange rate on the balance sheet date, stockholders’ equity was translated at the historical rates and statement of operations items were translated at the average exchange rate for the period. The resulting translation adjustments are reported under other comprehensive income in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 220, “Comprehensive Income).”
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
Long-lived assets, which include tangible assets, such as property and equipment and other intangible assets, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable.
Recoverability of long-lived assets to be held and used is measured by comparing the carrying amount of an asset to the estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its estimated undiscounted future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized based on the excess of the carrying amount over the fair value (“FV”) of the assets. FV generally is determined using the asset’s expected future discounted cash flows or market value, if readily determinable.
On December 30, 2013, the Company closed the transaction contemplated by the Equity Interest Purchase Agreement dated October 10, 2013, whereby certain buyers purchased 40% of the Company’s equity interests in the following PHE segment subsidiaries (“Target Companies”): Taiyu, SmartHeat Siping, SmartHeat Energy, Ruicheng and XinRui for the purchase price of RMB5 million ($0.82 million) (See Note 1). The buyers had the option to purchase remaining 60% equity interest in the Target Companies for an additional purchase price of RMB8.5 million.
According to FASB Subtopic ASC 360-10-35, a long-lived asset (asset group) shall be tested for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that its carrying amount may not be recoverable. The Company believed the following events or changes in circumstances indicated the carrying amount of its long-lived assets (asset group) may not be recoverable: 1) a current expectation that, more likely than not, a long-lived assets (asset group) will be sold or otherwise disposed of significantly before the end of its previously estimated useful life, and 2) a significant decrease in the market price of a long-lived asset (asset group). Since the Company has the option to sell 100% ownership in Target Companies for RMB13.5 million ($2.21 million), a significant decrease in the market price, before the end of its previously estimated useful life for their long-lived assets, the Company therefore performed assets recoverability testing by comparing the assets estimated future undiscounted cash flows with their carrying value, and concluded the long-lived assets were not recoverable as a result of future cash flows are less than the carrying amount. The Company further calculated the impairment loss amount of Target Companies by determining the FV for the long-lived asset group and recorded a write-down (loss) for the difference between their carrying value and their FV. FV is an asset’s purchase or sale price in a current transaction between willing parties. The best evidence of FV is prices quoted in active markets, although the Company has the option to sell 100% ownership in Target Companies for RMB13.5 million ($2.21 million), the market prices are not available for many long-lived assets such as equipment, the Company therefore used discounted cash flow method for estimating the FV of long-lived assets which are acceptable under FASB Subtopic ASC 360-10.
Based on its evaluation, the Company believed, as of December 31, 2013, the long-lived assets of Target Companies including construction in progress, property and equipment, and intangible assets were impaired for $13.73 million. In addition, the Company retained remaining 30.6% and 27.6% interest in Ruicheng and XinRui (after the 40% sale), respectively, at December 31, 2013, that was accounted for under the equity method of accounting, the Company recorded the long-term investment in Ruicheng and XinRui at FV as provided in FASB Subtopic ASC 323-10-30-2. The FV of the long-term investment was the prorated selling price for the remaining 60% equity interest that are allocated to Ruicheng and XinRui for $26,720; accordingly, the Company recorded $0.91 million impairment loss of long-term investment in Ruicheng and XinRui for the excess of the carrying amount over the FV for the year ended December 31, 2013.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
The FASB has issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-12, Compensation - Stock Compensation, FASB ASC Topic 718, “Accounting for Share-Based Payments,” When the Terms of an Award Provide That a Performance Target Could Be Achieved after the Requisite Service Period. This ASU requires that a performance target that affects vesting, and that could be achieved after the requisite service period, be treated as a performance condition. As such, the performance target should not be reflected in estimating the grant date FV of the award. This update further clarifies that compensation cost should be recognized in the period in which it becomes probable that the performance target will be achieved and should represent the compensation cost attributable to the period(s) for which the requisite service has already been rendered. The amendments in this ASU are effective for annual periods and interim periods within those annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015. Earlier adoption is permitted. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial position and results of operations.
The FASB has issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. This ASU supersedes the revenue recognition requirements FASB ASC 605 - Revenue Recognition and most industry-specific guidance throughout the Codification. The standard requires that an entity recognizes revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. This ASU is effective on January 1, 2017 and should be applied retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented or retrospectively with the cumulative effect of initially applying the ASU recognized at the date of initial application. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position and results of operations.
In April 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-08, Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205) and Property, Plant and Equipment (Topic 360): Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of an Entity. Under the new guidance, only disposals representing a strategic shift, such as a major line of business, a major geographical area or a major equity investment, should be presented as discontinued operations. The guidance will be applied prospectively to new disposals and new classifications of disposal groups as held for sale after the effective date. The guidance is effective for annual financial statements with fiscal years beginning on or after December 15, 2014 with early adoption permitted for disposals or classifications as held for sale which have not been reported in financial statements previously issued or available for issuance. The Company will adopt the guidance effective January 1, 2015. We are in the process of evaluating the impact of this standard on our consolidated financial statements and the impact is unknown at this time.
In January 2014, FASB issued, ASU 2014-05, Service Concession Arrangements (Topic 853). The objective of this Update is to specify that an operating entity should not account for a service concession arrangement within the scope of this Update as a lease in accordance with Topic 840, Leases. Service concession arrangements may become more prevalent in the United States as public-sector entities seek alternative ways to provide public services on a more efficient and cost-effective basis. The amendments apply to an operating entity of a service concession arrangement entered into with a public-sector entity grantor when the arrangement meets certain conditions. The amendments in this Update should be applied on a modified retrospective basis to service concession arrangements that exist at the beginning of an entity’s fiscal year of adoption. The modified retrospective approach requires the cumulative effect of applying this Update to arrangements existing at the beginning of the period of adoption to be recognized as an adjustment to the opening retained earnings balance for the annual period of adoption. The amendments are effective for a public business entity for annual periods, and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2014. The adoption of this ASU will not affect the Company’s financial statements.
As of December 31, 2014, there is no recently issued accounting standards not yet adopted that would have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Results of Operations
Year ended December 31, 2014 Compared to the Year ended December 31, 2013
The following table sets forth the consolidated results of our operations for the periods indicated as a percentage of net sales, certain columns may not add due to rounding.
2014
|
2013
|
|||||||||||||||
$
|
% of Sales
|
$
|
% of Sales
|
|||||||||||||
Sales
|
$
|
34,075,959
|
$
|
44,709,526
|
||||||||||||
Cost of sales
|
32,941,074
|
97
|
%
|
40,401,380
|
90
|
%
|
||||||||||
Gross profit
|
1,134,885
|
3
|
%
|
4,308,146
|
10
|
%
|
||||||||||
Operating expenses
|
13,137,446
|
38
|
%
|
58,550,417
|
131
|
%
|
||||||||||
Loss from operations
|
(12,002,561
|
)
|
(35
|
)%
|
(54,242,271
|
)
|
(121
|
)%
|
||||||||
Non-operating expenses, net
|
(834,536
|
)
|
(3
|
)%
|
(1,289,970
|
)
|
(3
|
)%
|
||||||||
Income tax expense (benefit)
|
48,717
|
-
|
%
|
(50,657
|
)
|
(0.1
|
)%
|
|||||||||
Less: loss attributable to noncontrolling interest
|
(3,317,826
|
)
|
(10
|
)%
|
(5,812,243
|
)
|
13
|
%
|
||||||||
Net Loss to SmartHeat Inc.
|
$
|
(9,567,988
|
)
|
(28
|
)%
|
$
|
(49,669,341
|
)
|
(111
|
)%
|
The following table sets forth the results of our operations for our PHE and heat meter segment for the periods indicated as a percentage of net sales, certain columns may not add due to rounding.
2014
|
2013
|
|||||||||||||||
$
|
% of Sales
|
$
|
% of Sales
|
|||||||||||||
Sales
|
$
|
28,010,658
|
$
|
38,882,321
|
||||||||||||
Cost of sales
|
28,330,463
|
101
|
%
|
36,076,054
|
93
|
%
|
||||||||||
Gross profit (loss)
|
(319,805
|
)
|
(1
|
)%
|
2,806,267
|
7
|
%
|
|||||||||
Operating expenses
|
7,421,988
|
26
|
%
|
51,723,608
|
133
|
%
|
||||||||||
Loss from operations
|
(7,741,793
|
)
|
(28
|
)%
|
(48,917,341
|
)
|
(126
|
)%
|
||||||||
Non-operating expenses, net
|
(1,076,229
|
)
|
(4
|
)%
|
(1,154,267
|
)
|
(3
|
)%
|
||||||||
Income tax expense
|
102,646
|
-
|
%
|
9,456
|
0.02
|
%
|
||||||||||
Less: loss attributable to noncontrolling interest
|
(3,287,149
|
)
|
(12
|
)%
|
(5,798,050
|
)
|
(15
|
)%
|
||||||||
Net Loss to SmartHeat Inc.
|
$
|
(5,633,519
|
)
|
(20
|
)%
|
$
|
(44,283,014
|
)
|
(114
|
)%
|
The following table sets forth the results of our operations for our HP segment for the periods indicated as a percentage of net sales, certain columns may not add due to rounding.
2014
|
2013
|
|||||||||||||||
$
|
% of Sales
|
$
|
% of Sales
|
|||||||||||||
Sales
|
$
|
6,065,301
|
$
|
5,959,011
|
||||||||||||
Cost of sales
|
4,610,611
|
76
|
%
|
4,457,132
|
75
|
%
|
||||||||||
Gross profit
|
1,454,690
|
24
|
%
|
1,501,879
|
25
|
%
|
||||||||||
Operating expenses
|
4,340,188
|
72
|
%
|
4,388,694
|
74
|
%
|
||||||||||
Loss from operations
|
(2,885,498
|
)
|
(48
|
)%
|
(2,886,815
|
)
|
(48
|
)%
|
||||||||
Non-operating income, net
|
474,750
|
8
|
%
|
717,301
|
12
|
%
|
||||||||||
Income tax benefit
|
(53,929
|
)
|
(1
|
)%
|
(60,113
|
)
|
(1
|
)%
|
||||||||
Less: loss attributable to noncontrolling interest
|
(30,677
|
)
|
(1
|
)%
|
(14,194
|
)
|
-
|
%
|
||||||||
Net Loss to SmartHeat Inc.
|
$
|
(2,326,142
|
)
|
(38
|
)%
|
$
|
(2,095,207
|
)
|
(35
|
)%
|
Sales. Net sales in the year ended December 31, 2014, were $34.08 million, consisting of $8.80 million for PHEs, $17.79 million for PHE Units, $1.42 million for heat meters and $6.07 million for HPs, while net sales in the year ended December 31, 2013, were $44.71 million, consisting of $27.39 million for PHEs, $10.49 million for PHE Units, $1.13 million for heat meters and $5.70 million for HPs, an overall decrease of $10.63 million or 24%. The 24% decrease in total revenue was due primarily to the decrease in sales of PHEs and PHE units in the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to the same period of 2013. Sales of HPs in China slightly increased while sales of HPs in Germany decreased by 8% in the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to the same period of 2013. The overall slow-down of the PRC economy and tight fiscal policy including restricted lending practice continued in 2014, which caused decline in new projects among state-owned enterprises and increased peer competition resulted in decreased selling price; despite a portion of the previously canceled or delayed orders were reinstated and performed in the year ending December 31, 2014, we obtained less new sales contracts in 2013 and 2014 for PHE unit which is more commonly used in the real estate industry; the real estate industry is very slow in the PRC in recent years with supply outpacing demand, decreased newly constructed properties put into market, and decreased trading volumes resulting from the slow PRC economy, government control on real estate price increases and tight bank lending policies.
We have a review process for approving each sales contract, including sales price. Sales price is determined under each contract in proportion to our estimated cost in order to ensure our gross profit. Our sales price varies according to each sale depending primarily on each customer’s specific requirements and our negotiation of the contract amount and term.
Cost of Sales. Cost of sales (“COS”) was $32.94 million in the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to $40.40 million in the same period of 2013, a decrease of $7.46 million or 18%. The decrease in our COS is attributable to decrease of sales. COS mainly consisted of the cost of materials, factory overhead and labor. Materials cost was 57% of total cost, while factory overhead cost was 38% and labor was 5% during the year ended December 31, 2014, as compared to 69%, 27% and 4%, respectively, for the same period of 2013. Our materials cost as a percentage of total costs decreased to 57% from 69% as a result of decreased raw material price. Our products are custom-made; the raw material prices vary based on the place of origin, which was chosen at customers’ choice. The COS as a percentage of sales was 97% in the year ended December 31, 2014 compared with 90% for the same period of 2013 due to decreased selling price resulting from increased competition.
We performed an inventory impairment assessment as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, for the write-down of raw materials and finished goods in inventory. We stock inventory, consisting of raw materials and finished goods, according to projected sales and customer orders, with steel plates and components for our products generally ordered two to three months in advance of anticipated production needs. As part of our impairment analysis, we performed an evaluation of raw materials stored over one year and not anticipated to be consumed, and an evaluation of potential impairment to the quality of these raw materials. If management anticipates that obsolete raw materials in inventory can be utilized and will be consumed within the next few months through new customer orders or substitute orders, no impairment is recorded. We collected information about delayed and canceled contracts and met with affected customers to discuss their financing situation and their projections of future orders. Finished goods manufactured for delayed and canceled contracts that we do not expect to be reinstated and contracts for which we have been unable to find substitute customers become impaired. We performed an evaluation of these finished goods stored over one year and recorded an impairment accordingly. We also analyzed whether to take a reserve for conversion costs of finished goods in inventory for resale to substitute customers. Following the completion of our impairment analysis, we had inventory impairment provision of $18,528,631 and $11,395,714 as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.
Gross Profit. Gross profit was $1.13 million in the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to $4.31 million in the same period of 2013. Gross margin was 3% and 10% for the year ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 respectively. The decrease in gross margin in the year ended December 31, 2014 was primarily due to decreased sales volume and decreased selling price.
Operating Expenses. Operating expenses consisting of selling, general and administrative expenses totaled $13.14 million in the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to $58.55 million in the same period of 2013, a decrease of $45.41 million or 78%. Operating expenses as a percentage of sales were 39% in the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to 131% in the same period of 2013. The decrease in operating expenses was mainly due to a reversal for the provision for bad debts of $(4.66) million and general and administrative expense of $7.77 million for the year ended December 31, 2014, compared with $24.98 million provision for bad debts and $10.40 million general and administrative expense for the year ended December 31, 2013.
We recorded a reversal of bad debt allowance of $(6.45) million for accounts, and retention receivable (consisting of $(6.54) million for reversal of bad debt allowance for PHEs and related products and $0.08 million reserve of bad debt allowance for HPs and related products), $1.79 million for bad debt allowance for other receivables (consisting of $1.79 million for PHEs and related products and $0 million for HPs and related products), and $3.47 million for allowance for advances to suppliers (consisting of $3.43 for PHEs related and $0.04 for HPs related), respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2014, compared with $18.81 million for accounts receivable (consisting of $18.64million for PHEs and related products and $0.17 million for HPs and related products), $6.17 million for bad debt allowance for other receivables (consisting of $6.15 million for PHEs and related products and $23,495 for HPs and related products), and $1.67 million for allowance for advances to suppliers (consisting of $1.58 million for PHEs related and $89,134 for HPs related), respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2013. The reversal of provision for bad debt allowance for accounts receivables was primarily due to our accounting policy on bad debt reserves, which we will adjust from time to time. Generally, we reserve for 50% of accounts receivable with aging over 180 days and 100% of accounts receivable with aging over 360 days as bad debt allowance. We do not expect a significant risk with respect to the overdue accounts receivable for which we took the bad debt allowance and continue to work to collect all amounts due. We believe the stringent fiscal policy impacting our customers in China will be temporary and the expansion and training of our marketing team and other employees will increase sales and improve the efficiency of our operations.
Non-Operating Expenses, net. Our net non-operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $0.83 million compared to $1.29 million for the same period of 2013, a decrease of expenses of $0.46 million or 35%. The decrease in non-operating expenses was due mainly to a loss on sale of equity interest of $0.84 million in 2013 while there was no such loss in 2014. The net other income of $952,470 for the year ended December 31, 2014 mainly consisted of income (net), from selling of raw material of $460,043, government subsidy of $174,364, tax refund for hiring disables of $228,133, and other non-operating income of $358,184, but offset by loss (net) from after-sales services of $268,254. The net other income of $1,314,945 for the year ended December 31, 2013 mainly consisted of income (net), from selling of raw material of $810,653, government subsidy of $457,717 and other non-operating income of $245,119, but offset by loss (net) from after-sales services of $198,544.
Income Tax Expense (Benefit). We had income tax expense of $48,717 for the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to income tax benefit of $50,657 for the same period of 2013. The effective income tax rate to taxable loss for the year ended December 31, 2014, was 0.4% compared to (0.1)% for the same period of 2013.
Net Loss. Our net loss for the year ended December 31, 2014, was $9.57 million compared to net loss of $49.67 million for the same period of 2013, a decrease of $40.1 million or 81%. Net loss as a percentage of sales was 28% in the year ended December 31, 2014, and net loss as a percentage of sales was 111% in the same period of 2013. This decrease in net loss was attributable to decreased operating expenses including decreased bad debt allowance and no loss on impairment of long-lived assets and long-term investment in 2014 while it was $14.64 million in 2014.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2014, we had cash and equivalents of $13.68 million. Working capital was $44.26 million at December 31, 2014. The ratio of current assets to current liabilities was 1.79:1 at December 31, 2014.
Presently, the Company’s US parent company is experiencing difficulty up streaming cash. As a consequence, the Company obtained a revolving line of credit providing for borrowings of up to $ $3.25 million, to address the cash needs of the Company’s US parent. The outstanding balance under the Credit Agreement as of December 31, 2014 was $2.75 million.
The following is a summary of cash provided by or used in each of the indicated types of activities during the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013:
2014
|
2013
|
|||||||
Cash provided by (used in):
|
||||||||
Operating activities
|
$
|
(3,804,266
|
)
|
$
|
(4,545,268
|
)
|
||
Investing activities
|
$
|
3,965,887
|
$
|
(1,621,293
|
)
|
|||
Financing activities
|
$
|
68,663
|
$
|
949,832
|
Net cash flow used in operating activities was $3.80 million in the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to net cash flow used in operating activities of $4.55 million in the same period of 2013. The decrease in net cash outflow in operating activities was due mainly to decreased net loss of $12.89 million for the year ended December 31, 2014, compared with net loss of $55.48 million in the same period of 2013; increased cash inflow from accounts receivable of $4.85 million in the year ended December 31, 2014, compared with cash inflow from accounts receivable of $1.13 million in the same period of 2013; decreased cash outflow for other receivables, prepayments and deposits of $4.20 million in the year ended December 31, 2014, compared with cash outflow of $6.85 million in the same period of 2013; decreased cash outflow of $0.50 million for inventories in the year ended December 31, 2014, compared with $2.75 million outflow in the same period of 2013; and cash inflow of $0.57 million from tax receivable in the year ended December 31, 2014 compared with cash outflow of $0.83 million in the same period of 2013.
Net cash flow provided by investing activities was $3.97 million in the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to net cash used in investing activities of $1.62 million in the same period of 2013. In the year ended December 31, 2014, we had $0.48 million cash inflow from note receivable, $1.38 million cash inflow from sale of equity interest on certain subsidiaries, $10.32 million cash inflow from government refund of land use right of SmartHeat Energy, $0.13 million cash inflow from assets disposal, offset with $7.42 million cash outflows for changes in restricted cash, $0.87 million cash outflows for purchase of fixed assets, and $0.06 million cash outflows from construction in progress; while in the same period of 2013, we had $0.80 million proceeds from sale of 40% equity interest on Taiyu, Siping, Shenyang Energy, Ruicheng and Xinrui, $0.12 million cash inflow from note receivable, offset with $1.50 million cash outflows for restricted cash, and $0.57 million for purchase of fixed assets
Net cash provided by financing activities was $0.07 million in the year ended December 31, 2014, compared to $0.95 million in the same period of 2013. The cash inflow in the year ended December 31, 2014 consisted primarily of proceeds from short-term loans of $28.87 million and proceeds from a credit line of $1.45 million, but offset with repayment on short-term loans of $30.26 million. In the year ended December 31, 2013, we had proceeds from a credit line of $1.31 million and proceeds from short-term loans of $24.48 million, but offset with repayment on short-term loans of $24.85 million.
Our agreements with our customers generally provide that 30% of the purchase price is due upon the placement of an order, 30% upon delivery and 30% upon installation and acceptance of the equipment after customer testing. As a common practice in the heating manufacturing business in China, payment of the final 10% of the purchase price is due no later than the termination date of the standard warranty period, which ranges from 3 to 24 months from the acceptance date, or up to 2 heating seasons. Our receipts from sales of our products depend on the complexity of the equipment ordered, which impacts manufacturing, delivery, installation, testing times and warranty periods. For example, PHEs and HPs are less complex than PHE Units and therefore have a shorter manufacturing, acceptance, warranty and payment schedule. We experience payment delays from time to time, which historically have been from 1 to 3 months from the due date, but given the temporary financial difficulties of some of our state-owned customers resulting from tightened fiscal policies in China, we have experienced longer payment delays from these customers. Our accounts receivable and inventory turnover are relatively low and days sales outstanding ratio relatively high. Consequently, collection on our sales is slow and capital is tied up in inventories, which may result in pressure on cash flows. The low accounts receivable turnover and high days outstanding in the year ended December 31, 2014, was due primarily to the financial difficulties of some of our state-owned customers that resulted in delays in payment. The low inventory turnover rate in the year ended December 31, 2014, was due to overall less purchase orders received from our state-owned customers in China who are having temporary financial difficulties as well as overall slowing down of the PRC economy especially the real estate industry.
As of December 31, 2014, we had gross accounts receivable (including retention receivable) of $58,981,506, of which $2,125,582 was with aging within 30 days, $10,235,703 with aging between 31 and 90 days, $7,398,108 with aging between 91 and 180 days, $11,852,549 with aging between 181 and 360 days, and $27,369,564 with aging over 360 days. At December 31, 2014, net accounts receivable was $16,052,184, or gross accounts receivable of $58,981,506 less bad debt allowance of $39,261,203, unearned interest of $26,558, and gross retention receivables of $3,641,560.
Our accounts receivable typically remain outstanding for a significant period of time based on the standard payment terms with our customers described above. The increase in amount of accounts receivable outstanding for more than 180 days was due mainly to payment delays from certain state-owned customers that experienced working capital difficulties because of the current deflationary fiscal policy of the PRC government. Bad debt allowance was reserved in accordance with the Company’s accounting policy, though the Company continues to work to collect all funds due.
We recognize the final 5-10% of the purchase price as retention receivable, which is due no later than the termination of our warranty period. The deferral of the final payment is a common practice in the heating manufacturing business in China. Sometimes our customers are required to deposit 5-10% of the sales price on high value products, like an assembled heat exchanger unit or the main part of a PHE, into designated bank accounts as restricted cash for securing the payment after such period expires. Based on our historical experience, there have been no defaults on such deferrals. Therefore, we believe the potential risks and uncertainty associated with defaults on such receivables are not material. As of this report date, the Company collected 58% of the accounts receivable that were outstanding as of December 31, 2012, and collected 36% of the accounts receivable that were outstanding as of December 31, 2013.
Dividend Distribution
We are a US holding company that conducts substantially all of our business through our wholly owned and other consolidated operating entities in China and Germany. We rely in part on dividends paid by our subsidiaries in China for our cash needs, including the funds necessary to pay dividends and other cash distributions to our shareholders, to service any debt we may incur and to pay our operating expenses. The payment of dividends by entities organized in China is subject to limitations. In particular, PRC regulations currently permit payment of dividends only out of accumulated profits as determined in accordance with accounting standards and regulations in China. Our PRC subsidiaries also are required to set aside at least 10% of their after-tax profit based on PRC accounting standards each year to a statutory surplus reserve fund until the accumulative amount of such reserve reaches 50% of registered capital. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. In addition, our PRC subsidiaries, at their discretion, may allocate a portion of their after-tax profit to their staff welfare and bonus fund, which may not be distributed to equity owners except in the event of liquidation. Moreover, if any of our subsidiaries incur debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing the debt may restrict such subsidiary’s ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us. Any limitation on the ability of one of our subsidiaries to distribute dividends and other distributions to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our businesses, pay dividends or otherwise fund and conduct our business.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We have not entered into any other financial guarantees or other commitments to guarantee the payment obligations of any third parties other than as described following under “Contractual Obligations.” We have not entered into any derivative contracts that are indexed to our shares and classified as stockholders’ equity or that are not reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Furthermore, we do not have any retained or contingent interest in assets transferred to an unconsolidated entity that serves as credit, liquidity or market risk support to such entity. We do not have any variable interest in any unconsolidated entity that provides financing, liquidity, market risk or credit support to us or engages in leasing, hedging or research and development services with us.
Contractual Obligations
The Company was obligated for the following short-term loans as of December 31, 2014 and 2013:
2014
|
2013
|
Subsidiary obligated
|
|||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 7,200,000 entered into on February 20, 2014.The loan bore interest at 6% with maturity on February 19, 2015. This loan was repaid at maturity.
|
$
|
1,176,663
|
$
|
-
|
Taiyu
|
||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 20,000,000 entered into on August 11, 2014. The loan bore interest at 7.2% with maturity on August 11, 2015. The loan was guaranteed by Heat Pump and SanDeKe.
|
3,268,508
|
-
|
Taiyu
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 20,000,000 entered into on August 19, 2014. The loan bore interest at 7.2% with maturity on August 19, 2015. The loan was guaranteed by Heat Pump and SanDeKe.
|
3,268,508
|
-
|
Taiyu
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 8,765,114 entered into on September 17, 2014. The loan bore interest at 7.2% with maturity on March 17, 2015. The loan was pledged by the Taiyu’s accounts receivable. This loan was repaid at maturity.
|
1,432,442
|
-
|
Taiyu
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 13,344,190 entered into on September 26, 2012. The loan bore interest at 6.16% with maturity on January 18, 2014. The loan was repaid at maturity.
|
-
|
2,188,684
|
Taiyu
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 10,000,000 entered into on November 30, 2012. The loan bore interest at 7.87% with maturity on November 22, 2014. The loan was guaranteed by Taiyu. This loan was repaid at maturity.
|
-
|
1,640,178
|
SmartHeat Siping
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 40,000,000 entered into on March 11, 2013. The loan bore interest at 6.60% with maturity on March 10, 2014. The loan was guaranteed by Siping, HeatPump and management of Chinese subsidiaries. This loan was repaid at maturity.
|
-
|
6,560,711
|
Taiyu
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 10,000,000 entered into on May 21, 2013. The loan bore interest at 6.60% with maturity on May 20, 2014. This loan was repaid at maturity.
|
-
|
1,640,178
|
Taiyu
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 5,000,000 entered into on August 29, 2013. The loan bore interest at 7.20% with maturity on August 29, 2014. The loan was guaranteed by Taiyu. This loan was repaid at maturity.
|
-
|
820,089
|
SmartHeat Siping
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 5,000,000 entered into on September 4, 2013. The loan bore interest at 7.20% with maturity on September 4, 2014. The loan was guaranteed by Taiyu. This loan was repaid at maturity.
|
-
|
820,089
|
SmartHeat Siping
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 30,000,000 entered into on August 8, 2013. The loan bore interest at 6.90% with maturity on August 7, 2014. The loan was paid in full at maturity.
|
-
|
4,920,533
|
Taiyu
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 9,900,000 entered into on September 18, 2013. The loan bore interest at 6.0% with maturity on September 17, 2014. This loan was pledged by Taiyu’s accounts receivable. This loan was repaid at maturity.
|
-
|
1,623,776
|
Taiyu
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 9,900,000 entered into on October 11, 2013. The loan bore interest at 6.0% with maturity on October 10, 2014. This loan was pledged by Taiyu’s accounts receivable. This loan was repaid at maturity.
|
-
|
1,623,776
|
Taiyu
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 16,000,000 entered into on July 10, 2013. The loan bore interest at 6.0% with maturity on January 9, 2014. This loan was pledged by Taiyu’s accounts receivable. This loan was repaid at maturity.
|
-
|
2,624,285
|
Taiyu
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 36,000,000 entered into on April 23, 2014. The loan bore interest at 7.2% with maturity on April 22, 2015. This loan was pledged by Siping, Heat Pump, SanDeKe, and two officers of the Chinese subsidiaries.
|
5,883,314
|
-
|
Taiyu
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 4,000,000 entered into on April 23, 2014. The loan bore interest at 7.2% with maturity on April 22, 2015. This loan was guaranteed by Siping, Heat Pump, SanDeKe, and two officers of the Chinese subsidiaries.
|
653,702
|
-
|
Taiyu
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 24,693,389 entered into on October 15, 2014. The loan bore interest at 7.2% with maturity on April 15, 2015.
|
4,035,527
|
-
|
Taiyu
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 13,000,000 entered into on October 30, 2013. The loan bore interest at 6.46% with maturity on October 29, 2015. The loan was pledged by the Taiyu’s land and building.
|
2,124,530
|
-
|
Taiyu
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 10,000,000 entered into on November 17, 2014. The loan bore interest at 7.00% with maturity on November 17, 2015. The loan was guaranteed by Taiyu.
|
1,634,254
|
- |
SmartHeat Siping
|
||||||
From a commercial bank in the PRC for RMB 10,000,000 entered into on October 13, 2014. The loan bore interest at 5.60% with maturity on September 19, 2015. The loan was guaranteed by Taiyu.
|
1,634,254
|
- |
SmartHeat Siping
|
||||||
TOTAL
|
$
|
25,111,702
|
$
|
24,462,299
|
The banks sometimes require loan guarantee provided by a third party to the Company, the third party loan guarantor was Liaoning Wugang Metal Trading Co., Ltd. (“Liaoning Wugang”), with a maximum guarantee of RMB46 million ($7.32 million). The guarantee was for the loans entered from February 20, 2012 to August 16, 2013, with the guarantee length equal to the loan term; the guarantee service was extended for the loans entered from September 18, 2013 to September 12, 2014 with the guarantee length equal to the loan term, the maximum guarantee amount was revised to RMB44 million ($7.05 million). The Company was not required to pay any guarantee fees. However, the Company has contracted to provide similar guarantees for up to RMB20 million ($3.18 million) to Liaoning Guorui Commercial Trading Co., Ltd. (“Guorui”). The guarantee was for the loans entered from January 12, 2012 to January 11, 2013 with the guarantee length equal to the loan term, the Company did not require Guorui to pay any guarantee fees. The Company did not extend the guarantee term for Guorui after January 11, 2013. These arrangements are common to the banking industry in China, and there are no other relationships between the Company and Liaoning Wugang or Guorui, both of whom were referred to the Company by the lending bank. As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, the Company did not have any loan guarantees from Liaoning Wugang.
The Company was obligated for the following long-term loan as of December 31, 2014:
Taiyu entered into a long-term loan of $2.11 million (RMB13 million) with China Construction Bank on November 30, 2013 with maturity on November 29, 2015. The interest rate for the loan is variable currently at 6.46%, and to be paid on the 20th of each month. This loan is guaranteed by Taiyu’s building and land. As of December 31, 2014, long-term bank loan was $0 due to this loan was reclassified as a short-term bank loan.
Contingencies
On August 31, 2012, a putative class action lawsuit, Steven Leshinsky v. James Wang, et. al., which purported to allege federal securities law claims against the Company and certain of its former officers and directors, was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Thereafter, two plaintiffs filed competing motions to be appointed lead plaintiff in the proceeding. A lead plaintiff was appointed and an amended complaint was filed on January 28, 2013, by the Rosen Law Firm. The amended complaint included Oliver Bialowons, our President, and Michael Wilhelm, our former Chief Financial Officer, as defendants in the proceeding though they were not officers of the Company during the alleged class period. A second amended complaint was filed on April 8, 2013, under the caption Stream Sicav, Dharanendra Rai et al. v. James Jun Wang , SmartHeat, Inc. et al., removing Messrs. Wilhelm and Bialowons as defendants. The second amended complaint alleges two counts against the Company, both asserting violations of the federal securities laws arising from alleged insider sales or management sales of securities and alleged false disclosures relating to those sales. On May 8, 2013, the Company filed a motion to dismiss the second amended complaint which was denied. On March 17, 2014 the court, denied, the lead plaintiff's motion for class certification, without prejudice. On August 6, 2014, the lead plaintiff once again filed a motion for class certification. On September 19, 2014, the Company filed an opposition to the lead plaintiff’s motion for class certification, to which plaintiff filed a response on October 20, 2014. By Opinion and Order dated January 21, 2015, the Court denied plaintiffs’ class certification motion, finding that it failed to satisfy the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 23 for typicality, adequacy and predominance. Specifically, the Court found that plaintiffs’ theory of liability required a trade-by-trade inquiry as to whether the sale of the locked-up shares resulted in price inflation of the company’s stock, and that, as a result, the injury to all class members could not be established by common proof. In addition to finding a lack of predominance of common issues, the Court expressed substantial concerns about the adequacy of the class representative, and that his claims were typical of other class members. The Court also expressed doubts as to how plaintiffs would establish damages. The Court’s denial of class certification was without prejudice, and the Court gave plaintiffs until February 17, 2015 to file a “far more rigorous, and a far more convincing submission…”. The pleadings and court orders are publicly available.
The Company has entered into an agreement to settle all claims in a US securities class action lawsuit. No findings of any wrongdoings were ever made against SmartHeat, any current or former officer or director of Smartheat or any of the defendants, and the Company and all other defendants continue to deny any wrongdoing. The default judgment previously entered against James Jun Wang was vacated and was dismissed with prejudice. The Company entered into the settlement in order to avoid further cost of defending any of the purported actions. According to the settlement, the Company paid the plaintiffs $120,000. In return, the plaintiffs dismissed all claims against the Company and all of the individual defendants with prejudice. As a result of the settlement, the case will not be allowed to be re-filed.
The settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing or acceptance of fault by the Company or any of the individual defendants. The Company has and continues to assert that the allegations made in the consolidated lawsuits lack merit and no evidence was ever asserted supporting the allegations made in the consolidated lawsuits. The Company has nevertheless agreed to the settlement in order to eliminate the uncertainties, burden and expense of further litigation. The Company believes that putting this matter behind it is in the best interest of its customers, employees and shareholders so that it can remain focused on growing and strengthening its business.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
Not required.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
Our financial statements, together with the report thereon, appear in a separate section of this Annual Report beginning on page F-1.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our management, with the participation of our President and Acting Chief Accountant, our principal executive officer and acting principal financial officer, respectively, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act as of the end of the period covered by this report. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our President and Acting Chief Accountant, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Based on this evaluation, our President and Acting Chief Accountant concluded that, as of December 31, 2014, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of such date because of a material weakness identified in our internal control over financial reporting related to our internal level of U.S. GAAP expertise. We lack sufficient personnel with the appropriate level of knowledge, experience and training in U.S. GAAP for the preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. None of our internal accounting staff, including our Acting Chief Accountant, that are primarily responsible for the preparation of our books and records and financial statements in compliance with U.S. GAAP holds a license such as Certified Public Accountant in the U.S., nor have any attended U.S. institutions or extended educational programs that would provide enough of the relevant education relating to U.S. GAAP.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and includes those policies and procedures that:
·
|
Pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company;
|
·
|
Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with US GAAP, and the receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and
|
·
|
Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
|
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect all misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Therefore, internal control over financial reporting determined to be effective provides only reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparations of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Our management carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in “Internal Control – Integrated Framework” issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based upon this evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2014, because of a material weakness related to our internal level of U.S. GAAP expertise. We lack sufficient personnel with the appropriate level of knowledge, experience and training in U.S. GAAP for the preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. None of our internal accounting staff, including our Chief Financial Officer, that are primarily responsible for the preparation of our books and records and financial statements in compliance with U.S. GAAP holds a license such as Certified Public Accountant in the U.S., nor have any attended U.S. institutions or extended educational programs that would provide enough of the relevant education relating to U.S. GAAP.
In order to mitigate the foregoing material weakness, we engaged an outside accounting consultant to assist us in the preparation of our financial statements to ensure that these financial statements are prepared in conformity to U.S. GAAP. Our outside accounting consultant is a Certified Public Accountant in the U.S. and has significant experience in the preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP. Our Chief Financial Officer and internal accounting personnel consult with our outside accounting consultant on an ongoing basis with regards to our treatment and conversion of financials from PRC GAAP to U.S. GAAP. We believe that the engagement of this outside accounting consultant lessens the possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis, and we will continue to monitor the effectiveness of this action and make any changes that our management deems appropriate. We expect to continue to rely on this outside consulting arrangement to supplement our current internal accounting staff for the foreseeable future.
Our Board of Directors and management are evaluating remediation measures that we will undertake to address this material weakness and will continue this evaluation in order to implement a comprehensive remediation plan. We expect that this plan will include but not be limited to (a) appointing a principal accounting officer with extensive U.S. GAAP training and experience, (b) hiring accounting personnel with appropriate knowledge and experience in U.S. GAAP and (c) providing more training on U.S. GAAP to accounting and other relevant personnel responsible for the preparation of books, records and financial statements. In the interim, our Acting Chief Accountant has attended U.S. GAAP training courses conducted by our outside Sarbanes-Oxley consultant and intends to continue attending training courses in U.S. GAAP. Until such time as we hire qualified accounting staff and train our current accounting staff with the requisite U.S. GAAP experience, however, it is unlikely we will be able to remediate this material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
We believe that the foregoing steps will remediate the material weakness identified above, and we will continue to monitor the effectiveness of these steps and make any changes that our management deems appropriate.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
The following table sets forth the names of our directors, executive officers and their ages, positions and biographical information as of the date of this report. Our executive officers are appointed by, and serve at the discretion of, our Board of Directors. Our directors hold office for one-year terms or until their successors have been elected and qualified. There are no family relationships between any of our directors, executive officers or other key personnel and any other of our directors, executive officers or key personnel. There are no arrangements or understandings between any of our directors or executive officers and any other persons pursuant to which such director or executive officer was selected in that capacity.
Name
|
Age
|
Position
|
||
Oliver Bialowons
|
46 |
President and Director
|
||
Yingkai Wang
|
42 |
Acting Chief Accountant
|
||
Huajun Ai
|
43 |
Corporate Secretary
|
||
Kenneth Scipta
|
73 |
Director
|
||
Weiguo Wang
|
49 |
Director
|
||
Xin Li
|
41 |
Director
|
||
Qingtai Kong
|
68 |
Director
|
Oliver Bialowons, President and Director
Oliver Bialowons was appointed as a Director and as President of the Company on May 25, 2012, to fill the roles formerly held by Jun Wang. Mr. Bialowons brings more than 20 years of experience as a turnaround executive to the Board of Directors and management of the Company. In 2009, Mr. Bialowons recently served as Chairman of Bowe Bell Howell Inc., a financially stressed U.S. based manufacturer of industrial logistics equipment with worldwide operations and distribution. Mr. Bialowons directed the restructuring of Boewe Bell Howell’s business and eventual sale of the Bell Howell business to Bell and Howell, LLC, a portfolio company of Versa Capital Management, LLC. Mr. Bialowons continued to serve as Chairman of Bowe Bell Howell in the United States until March of 2012. Since March of 2012, Mr. Bialowons has also served as the Chief Executive Officer of IHR Platz in Germany. From 2008 to 2010, Mr. Bialowons was Chief Executive Officer of Boewe Systec AG and Wanderer Werke AG, and from 2007-2008 he was Chief Operating Officer of neckermann.de GmBH. Prior to 2007, Mr. Bialowons held various management positions at Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG.
Yingkai Wang, Acting Chief Accountant
Yingkai Wang was appointed as our Acting Chief Accountant on June 7, 2013. Mr. Wang has served as our subsidiaries financial manager since 2007, and has been responsible for our internal financial reporting, establishing a budget and for analyzing our subsidiaries’ overall financial position. Mr. Wang was previously the financial manager of Shengyang Zhong Zhijie Electric Equipment Co., Ltd. from 2004-2007, and Shenyang Materials Group from August 1996 – April 2004. Mr. Wang is acquainted with our subsidiaries’ operations and was appointed to serve our Acting Chief Accountant by our Board of Directors as we continue to search for a new Chief Financial Officer.
Huajun Ai, Corporate Secretary
Ms. Ai was appointed our Corporate Secretary on April 14, 2008. Ms. Ai joined Taiyu in 2002 as its Corporate Secretary. From December 2000 to October 2002, she served as an accountant at Shenyang Dongyu International Trade Co., Ltd. From July 1994 to November 2000, Ms. Ai served as an accountant at Northeast Jin Cheng Industrial Corp. Ms. Ai obtained her bachelor’s degree in Foreign Trade Accounting from Shenyang North Eastern University in 1994.
Kenneth Scipta, Director
Kenneth Scipta was appointed to our Board of Directors and as Chairman of our Audit Committee on July 10, 2012. Mr. Scipta, a certified public accountant, has over 35 years of relevant accounting experience, and has served on several boards of directors. From 1993 to 1996, Mr. Scipta was the president and a board member of Mid-West Springs Manufacturing Company, a NASDAQ traded company, where he was responsible for day to day operations, planning, administration and financial reporting. Upon Mr. Scipta’s resignation he assumed the duties of president of the special products division, which included catalog sales, die springs and the development of international sales. Previously, from 1979-1993, Mr. Scipta served in various positions such as president, vice president of finance and vice president of sales and marketing for Mid-West’s primary subsidiary. From 1998 to 2006, Mr. Scipta was the chief executive officer and a board member of First National Entertainment Company, a multi-million dollar company traded on NASDAQ.
Weiguo Wang, Director
Mr. Wang was appointed to our Board of Directors on June 19, 2008, and serves currently as the Chairman of our Compensation Committee and member of our Audit Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Mr. Wang brings over eight years of relevant industry oversight and extensive engineering experience to the Board. Mr. Wang has served as a Director of the China Special Equipment Inspection and Research Agency since 2006. Prior positions include serving as a supervisor of the Lanzhou Heat Transfer & Save Energy Engineering Center in 2006, Assistant Secretary General of the China Standardization Committee on Boilers and Pressure Vessels in 2005 and Deputy General Manager of Boilers Standard (Beijing) Technology Services Center Co., Ltd. in 2004. From July 2001 to December 2003, Mr. Wang was a teacher at Tianjin University, China. Mr. Wang holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanics, a master’s degree in Fluid Mechanics and a PhD in Fluid Mechanics, all from Beijing University. His skills include business analysis, industry analysis, and long-range planning, especially as applied to manufacturing and standards implementation.
Xin Li, Director
Mr. Li was appointed to our Board of Directors on July 29, 2009, and serves as the Chairman of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and member of our Audit Committee and Compensation Committee. Mr. Li brings more than a decade of corporate governance and industrial operations management experience to the Board. He is a renowned management consultant in China and currently serves as the general manager of Beijing ShengGao Consulting Co., Ltd., a strategic advisory firm founded by him more than 10 years ago that focuses on providing strategic guidance and management training to global companies, including the Sangoal Metal Manufacturing Company in China. He also serves as an independent director and chairs the audit and various governance committees at several large Chinese domestic companies not listed in the United States. Mr. Li is a prolific writer in strategies and management issues. He has authored several books in the areas of management science and strategic planning. Mr. Li is proficient in Mandarin Chinese and English. He has an MBA and is a Research Fellow at the Management Science Center of Beijing University.
Qingtai Kong, Director
Mr. Kong was appointed to our Board of Directors on September 22, 2011, and serves as a member of our Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Mr. Kong is a senior engineer bringing over 20 years of management experience in the gas supply and heating industry in China to the Board, and he currently serves as commissioner of China’s Industrial Gas Committee. From 1995 to 2001, Mr. Kong served as Deputy Director overseeing district heating projects for the Qinhuangdao District Bureau of Municipal & Rural Construction in Hebei Province. From 1991 to 1995, Mr. Kong served as general manager of the state-owned utility Gas Supply Corporation of Qinhuangdao in Hebei Province. Mr. Kong’s career in the gas industry began in 1988 with his position as chief engineer of a gas network project in the city of Qinhuangdao.
Legal Proceedings
Oliver Bialowons, our President, was an executive officer of Bowe Bell & Howell Company, a U.S. based manufacturer of industrial logistics equipment with worldwide operations and distribution, which filed for bankruptcy in April of 2011. Bowe Bell & Howell Company acted as debtor in possession and no external receiver was appointed in the bankruptcy proceeding. The bankruptcy proceeding was subsequently dismissed in March of 2012.
Mr. Bialowons also served as chief executive officer of Wanderer-Werke AG from December 2008 to March 2010, and Boewe Systec AG from December 2008 to November 2010. Wanderer-Werke AG and Boewe Systec AG filed for insolvency in Germany in May of 2010.
Other than as disclosed above during the past ten years, none of our directors or executive officers has been:
·
|
The subject of any bankruptcy petition filed by or against any business of which such person was a general partner or executive officer either at the time of the bankruptcy or within two years prior to that time;
|
·
|
Convicted in a criminal proceeding or is subject to a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other minor offenses);
|
·
|
Subject to any order, judgment or decree, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any court of competent jurisdiction, permanently or temporarily enjoining, barring, suspending or otherwise limiting his involvement in an type of business, securities or banking activities;
|
·
|
Found by a court of competent jurisdiction (in a civil action), the SEC or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to have violated a federal or state securities or commodities law, that has not been reversed, suspended, or vacated;
|
·
|
Subject of, or a party to, any order, judgment, decree or finding, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, relating to an alleged violation of a federal or state securities or commodities law or regulation, respecting financial institutions or insurance companies, law or regulation prohibiting mail or wire fraud or fraud in connection with any business entity; or
|
·
|
Subject of, or a party to, any sanction or order, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any self-regulatory organization, any registered entity or any equivalent exchange, association, entity or organization that has disciplinary authority over its members or persons associated with a member.
|
None of our directors, officers or affiliates, or any beneficial owner of 5% or more of our common stock, or any associate of such persons, is an adverse party in any material proceeding to, or has a material interest adverse to, us or any of our subsidiaries.
Audit Committee and Audit Committee Financial Expert
We have established a separately-designated standing audit committee in accordance with Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act. Our Audit Committee consists of Messrs. Scipta, Wang, Li and Kong, each of whom is an independent director. Mr. Scipta, Chairman of the Audit Committee, is an “audit committee financial expert” as defined under Item 407(d) of Regulation S-K. The purpose of the Audit Committee is to represent and assist our Board of Directors in its general oversight of our accounting and financial reporting processes, audits of the financial statements and internal control and audit functions. As more fully described in its charter, a copy of which is available on our website at www.smartheatinc.com, the functions of the Audit Committee include the following:
·
|
Appointment of independent auditors, determination of their compensation and over sight of their work;
|
·
|
Review the arrangement for and scope of the audit by independent auditors;
|
·
|
Review the independence of the independent auditors;
|
·
|
Consider the adequacy and effectiveness of the internal controls over financial reporting;
|
·
|
Pre-approve audit and non-audit services;
|
·
|
Establish procedures regarding complaints relating to accounting, internal accounting controls, or auditing matters;
|
·
|
Review and approve any related party transactions;
|
·
|
Discuss with management our major financial risk exposures and our risk assessment and risk management policies; and
|
·
|
Discuss with management and the independent auditors our draft quarterly interim and annual financial statements and key accounting and reporting matters.
|
Procedures for Shareholder Recommendations of Nominees to the Board of Directors
During 2013, there were no material changes to the procedures described in our Proxy Statement relating to the 2012 Annual Meeting of Shareholders by which shareholders may recommend nominees to our Board of Directors.
Code of Ethics
Our Board of Directors has adopted a Code of Conduct, which applies to all of our directors, officers and employees, that constitutes our “code of ethics” within the meaning of Section 406 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The purpose of the Code of Conduct is to promote honest and ethical conduct. The Code of Conduct is posted on our website located at www.smartheatinc.com and is available in print, without charge, upon written request to SmartHeat Inc. at A-1, 10, Street 7, Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Zone, Shenyang, China 110141, Attn: Corporate Secretary. We intend to disclose any future amendments to our Code of Conduct, and any waivers of provisions of the Code of Conduct required to be disclosed under the rules of the SEC, on our website.
Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our executive officers and directors, and persons who own more than 10% of our common stock, to file reports regarding ownership of, and transactions in, our securities with the Commission and to provide us with copies of those filings. Based solely on our review of the copies received by us and on the written representations of certain reporting persons, we believe that all such Section 16(a) filing requirements were timely met during 2013.
Item 11. Executive Compensation
As a “smaller reporting company,” we have elected to follow the scaled disclosure requirements for smaller reporting companies with respect to the disclosures required by Item 402 of Regulation S-K. Under such scaled disclosure, we are not required to provide a Compensation Discussion and Analysis, Compensation Committee Report and certain other tabular and narrative disclosures relating to executive compensation.
Executive Compensation
The following table sets forth information concerning the compensation for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2013, of each of our named executive officers.
Summary Compensation Table
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name and Principal Position
|
Year
|
Salary
|
Bonus
|
Stock Awards
|
Option Awards
|
Nonequity Incentive Plan Compensation
|
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Earnings
|
All Other Compensation
|
Total
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
($)
|
($)
|
($)(1)
|
($)(1)
|
($)
|
($)
|
($)
|
($)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oliver Bialowons
|
2014
|
100,000
|
-
|
5,000
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
105,000
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
President
|
2013
|
100,000
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
100,000
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yingkai Wang
|
2014 |
21,242
|
- | - | - | - | - | - |
21,242
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Acting Chief Accountant
|
2013
|
21,242
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
21,242
|
(1)
|
Amounts shown reflect aggregate grant date fair value of awards and do not reflect whether the recipient actually has realized a financial benefit from such grant, such as by selling the stock or exercising the options.
|
The following table sets forth information concerning the outstanding equity awards held by each of our named executive officers at December 31, 2014.
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End for 2014
|
||||||||||||||||
Option Awards
|
||||||||||||||||
Number of Securities Underlying
Unexercised Options
|
Option
Exercise Price
|
Option
Expiration
|
||||||||||||||
Name
|
(#) Exercisable
|
(#) Unexercisable
|
($)
|
Date
|
||||||||||||
Oliver Bialowons
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
||||||||||||
Yingkai Wang
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Agreements with Personnel
On January 1, 2008, Taiyu entered into a 3-year employment agreement with Jun Wang, which agreement was renewed on the same terms through December 31, 2013, upon mutual agreement between Mr. Wang and Taiyu. Pursuant to the terms of his employment agreement, Mr. Wang shall receive a salary in an amount that is not less than the lowest minimum wage per month paid in Shenyang and shall be based on the uniform wage and incentive system in Shenyang. Effective on February 1, 2010, the Compensation Committee approved an increase in the annual compensation of Mr. Wang to a base salary of $150,000 per year from $18,000 per year. The Compensation Committee believed it in the best interests of the company to approve the increase in salary for Mr. Wang because of his continued importance to our long-term strategy and success and increased responsibilities since 2008 when his prior base salary was established under his employment agreement. However, he resigned in 2012.
On January 1, 2008, Taiyu entered into a 3-year employment agreement with Zhijuan Guo, which agreement was renewed on the same terms through December 31, 2013, upon mutual agreement between Ms. Guo and Taiyu. Pursuant to the terms of her employment agreement, Ms. Guo received a salary in an amount that is not less than the lowest minimum wage per month paid. Ms. Guo’s employment agreement was terminated concurrently with her resignation.
On February 1, 2010, SmartHeat entered into an executive agreement with Xudong Wang for a term ending on June 30, 2013. But he resigned as a member of Board of Directors in 2012. Mr. Wang was compensated at $120,000 per year and eligible for annual cash bonuses at the sole discretion of the Board of Directors during the term before he resigned. The Company terminated this executive agreement and issued a promissory note in the amount of $77,625 in satisfaction of the Company’s remaining commitment under the executive Agreement. The promissory note was subsequently paid in full with 77,625 shares of the Company’s common stock.
On July 10, 2012, SmartHeat entered into an agreement with Mr. Oliver Bialowons, the Company’s President, effective as of May 25, 2012 for a one-year term. His employment agreement is automatically renewed for another one year from May 25, 2013. Mr. Bialowons is compensated at $100,000 per year.
On March 27, 2014, Oliver Bialowons was granted by the Board of Directors 100,000 shares of the Company’s common stock.
Each of the above agreements contains provisions prohibiting competition by such officers following their services to us.
We currently do not have any defined pension plan for our named executive officers. Pursuant to their executive agreements, we shall provide to such officers all the necessary insurances and social welfares, including but not limited to medical, work injury, maternity, retirement and unemployment insurance and housing fund, according to our policies and the relevant laws and regulations of local governmental authorities and the PRC.
We currently do not have nonqualified defined contribution or other plans that provides for the deferral of compensation for our named executive officers nor do we currently intend to establish any such plan.
Grants of Plan-Based Awards
On May 25, 2010, our shareholders approved the 2010 Equity Incentive Plan authorizing the issuance of up to 100,000 shares of our common stock. The Compensation Committee administers the Plan and may grant awards, including restricted shares, incentive stock options and nonqualified stock options, under the Plan to our officers, directors and employees pursuant to the guidelines set forth in the Plan.
On November 28, 2011, Jun Wang and Xudong Wang each received a grant of 32,500 restricted shares of our common stock under the 2010 Equity Incentive Plan in recognition of their service and contributions to us. The restricted shares were fully vested on the grant date and issued pursuant to exemptions from registration under the Securities Act.
On April 14, 2011, Xudong Wang received a grant of 5,000 restricted shares of our common stock under the 2010 Equity Incentive Plan with the intent of reflecting his expected future performance and to further align Mr. Wang’s interests with those of our shareholders. The restricted shares were fully vested on the grant date and issued pursuant to exemptions from registration under the Securities Act.
On February 1, 2010, pursuant to his employment agreement, Xudong Wang received a grant of options to purchase 5,000 shares of our common stock at an exercise price per share of $118.50. The options have a life of 5 years and options to purchase 2,500 shares of our common stock vested on June 30, 2011, with the remaining options to purchase 2,500 shares of our common stock to vest on June 29, 2012, subject to Mr. Wang’s continued employment.
Change-In-Control and Separation Agreements
Our employment agreements with Jun Wang specified the conditions under which the agreements may be terminated and set forth minimum severance payments according to the relevant laws and regulations of local governmental authorities and the PRC.
Our employment agreement with Xudong Wang specifies the conditions under which the agreement may be terminated and stipulated that Mr. Wang shall not be entitled to severance payments upon termination.
We do not have any other existing arrangements providing for payments or benefits in connection with the resignation, severance, retirement or other termination of any of our named executive officers, or a change in control of the company or a change in the named executive officer’s responsibilities following a change in control.
Compensation of Directors
The following table sets forth information concerning the compensation of our directors for the year ended December 31, 2013.
Director Compensation Table for 2013
|
|||||||||||||
Fees Earned or
Paid in Cash
|
Option
Awards
|
All Other Compensation
|
Total
|
||||||||||
Name
|
($)
|
($)
|
($)
|
($)
|
|||||||||
Kenneth Scipta
|
25,000
|
-
|
$ |
2,500
|
27,500
|
||||||||
Weiguo Wang
|
12,000
|
-
|
-
|
12,000
|
|||||||||
Xin Li
|
17,910
|
-
|
-
|
17,910
|
|||||||||
Qingtai Kong
|
3,750
|
-
|
-
|
3,750
|
Our independent directors receive cash compensation, paid in equal quarterly installments, for their service. In addition, at the discretion of the non-interested members of the Compensation Committee, independent directors are eligible to receive bonuses for service to our company outside the normal duties as a director and grants of options to purchase our common stock under the 2010 Equity Incentive Plan. Messrs. Li and Kong receive compensation of $17,910 and $3,750 per year, respectively, paid in equal quarterly installments. Mr. Scipta receives $25,000 per year, paid in equal quarterly installments. We do not compensate our non-independent directors for serving as our directors. All directors are eligible to receive reimbursement of expenses incurred with respect to attendance at board meetings and meetings of committees thereof, which is not included in the above table. We do not maintain a medical, dental or retirement benefits plan for the directors. On March 27, 2014, Ken Scipta was granted 50,000 shares of our common stock.
The directors may determine remuneration to be paid to the directors with interested members refraining from voting. The Compensation Committee will assist the directors in reviewing and approving the compensation structure for the directors.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
The following sets forth information as of April 6, 2014, regarding the number of shares of our common stock beneficially owned by (i) each person that we know beneficially owns more than 5% of our outstanding common stock, (ii) each of our named executive officers, (iii) each of our directors and (iv) all of our named executive officers and directors as a group.
The amounts and percentages of our common stock beneficially owned are reported on the basis of SEC rules governing the determination of beneficial ownership of securities. Under the SEC rules, a person is deemed to be a “beneficial owner” of a security if that person has or shares “voting power,” which includes the power to vote or to direct the voting of such security, or “investment power,” which includes the power to dispose of or to direct the disposition of such security. A person is also deemed to be a beneficial owner of any securities of which that person has the right to acquire beneficial ownership within 60 days through the exercise of any stock option, warrant or other right. Under these rules, more than one person may be deemed a beneficial owner of the same securities and a person may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of securities as to which such person has no economic interest.
Unless otherwise indicated, each of the shareholders named in the table below, or his or her family members, has sole voting and investment power with respect to such shares of our common stock. Except as otherwise indicated, the address of each of the shareholders listed below is: c/o SmartHeat Inc., A-1, 10, Street 7, Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Zone, Shenyang, China 110141.
As of April 6, 2015, there were 6,783,399 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding.
Name of beneficial owner
|
Number of shares
|
Percent of class
|
|||||
5% Shareholders
|
|||||||
Northtech Holdings Inc.
Mill Mall 5, Wickhams Cay 1
P.O. Box 3085
Road Town, Tortola
British Virgin Islands
|
2,100,000
|
(5)
|
30.96
|
%
|
|||
Beijing YSKN Machinery & Electronic Equipment Co., Ltd.
Rm 1106, Huapu International Plaza No.19,
Chaowai Street, Chaoyang District
Beijing, China
|
680,800
|
(1)
|
10.04
|
%
|
|||
Yang In Cheol
#630-5, Namchon-Dong
Namdong-Yu
Incheon, South Korea 302-405
|
384,800
|
(2)
|
5.67
|
%
|
|||
William J & Mary Ann P McGrath Foundation
943 Edgemere Court
Evanston, IL 60202
|
300,000
|
(3)
|
4.42
|
%
|
|||
ShenYang ZhiCe Investment Co., Ltd
No. 1 Yuebin Street
Shenhe District
Shenyang, China 110027
|
296,000
|
(4)
|
4.36
|
%
|
|||
Directors and Named Executive Officers
|
|||||||
Oliver Bialowons
|
200,000
|
2.95
|
%
|
||||
Kenneth Scipta
|
50,000
|
0.74
|
%
|
||||
All Directors and Named Executive Officers as a Group (7 Persons)
|
250,000
|
3.96
|
%
|
* Represents less than 1% of shares outstanding.
(1)
|
Disclosed on Amendment No. 1 to the Schedule 13D for Beijing YSKN Machinery & Electronic Equipment Co., Ltd (“Beijing YSKN”) filed on June 30, 2008, for beneficial ownership as of May 7, 2008. Beijing YSKN has sole power to vote and dispose of the shares owned by it. Jun Wang and Fang Li each hold 50% of the equitable and legal rights, title and interests in and to the share capital of Beijing YSKN and, as a result of such ownership, each of Messrs. Wang and Li has the shared power to vote and dispose of the shares held by Beijing YSKN.
|
(2)
|
Disclosed on the Schedule 13G for Yang In Cheol filed on April 25, 2008, for beneficial ownership as of April 14, 2008.
|
(3)
|
Disclosed on the Schedule 13D for William J & Mary Ann P McGrath Foundation filed on November 7, 2013.
|
(4)
|
Disclosed on the Schedule 13G for ShenYang ZhiCe Investment Co., Ltd (“ShenYang ZhiCe”) filed on April 25, 2008, for beneficial ownership as of April 14, 2008. ShenYang ZhiCe has sole power to vote and dispose of the shares owned by it.
|
(5)
|
Disclosed on the Schedule 13D for Northtech Holdings filed on March 7, 2013, as amended on August 29, 2013 and Form 4 filed on 7/28/2015.
|
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans
The following table sets forth information regarding all equity compensation plans, including individual compensation arrangements, under which our common stock is authorized for issuance as of December 31, 2013.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
|
||||||||||||
Plan Category
|
(a)
Number of
Securities to
be
Issued Upon
Exercise of
Outstanding
Options
|
(b)
Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price
of
Outstanding
Options
|
(c)
Number of
Securities
Remaining
Available
for Future
Issuance
Under
Equity
Compensation
Plans
(excluding
securities
reflected
in column (a))
|
|||||||||
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders
|
||||||||||||
2010 Equity Incentive Plan
|
-
|
-
|
0
|
|||||||||
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders
|
1,000
|
(1)
|
$
|
46.00
|
-
|
|||||||
5,000
|
(2)
|
118.50
|
-
|
|||||||||
Total
|
6,000
|
$
|
106.40
|
0
|
(1)
|
Consists of options granted to Arnold Staloff on July 17, 2008, to purchase 1,000 shares of our common stock at an exercise price per share of $46.00. The options vested in full over a three-year period and expired after five years.
|
(2)
|
Consists of options granted to Xudong Wang on February 1, 2010, to purchase 5,000 shares of our common stock at an exercise price per share of $118.50. The options have a life of 5 years and options to purchase 2,500 shares of our common stock vested on June 30, 2011, with the remaining options to purchase 2,500 shares of our common stock to vest on June 29, 2012, subject to Mr. Wang’s continued employment.
|
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions
On July 27, 2012, we entered into a secured revolving credit facility under the terms of a Secured Credit Agreement with Northtech Holdings, Inc., an entity owned by certain members of the Company’s former management, Jun Wang, our former Chief Executive Officer, Xudong Wang, our former Vice President of Strategy and Development, and Wen Sha, our former Vice President of Marketing. Huajun Ai, our current Corporate Secretary, is also a part owner of Northtech. As amended on December 21, 2012, the Credit Agreement provides for borrowings of up to $2,500,000 with any amounts borrowed maturing on April 30, 2014. Borrowings under the Credit Agreement are secured by 55% of the equity interest in each of our wholly-, directly-owned subsidiaries and are repayable, at our option, in shares of our common stock. On December 21, 2012, we elected to repay $1,301,300 of the $1,384,455 outstanding under the Credit Agreement with 1,300,000 restricted shares of our common stock, 22.67% of our total issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock, as authorized by the Credit Agreement and approved by our shareholders.
On December 30, 2013, the Company closed the transactions contemplated by the Equity Interest Purchase Agreement discussed above (See Sale of Equity Interests). The buyers consist of a group of 25 natural persons, all of whom are PRC. citizens, including Wen Sha, Jun Wang and Xudong Wang, managers of the Company’s subsidiaries engaged in the PHE segment of its business, and Huajuan Ai and Yingkai Wang, the Company’s Corporate Secretary and Acting Chief Accountant, respectively.
Except as disclosed above, there were no transactions with any related persons (as that term is defined in Item 404 in Regulation S-K) during 2013 or 2012, or any currently proposed transaction, in which we were or are to be a participant and the amount involved was in excess of $120,000 and in which any related person had a direct or indirect material interest.
Our written policy for related party transactions provides that we will enter into or ratify a transaction with a related party only when our Board of Directors, acting through the Audit Committee, determines that the transaction is in the best interests of the company and our shareholders. The policy requires the review and approval by our Audit Committee for any transaction in which (i) the aggregate amount involved will or may be expected to exceed $120,000 in any fiscal year, (ii) we are a participant and (iii) any related person has or will have a direct or indirect interest. Related persons include our executive officers, directors, director nominees, persons known to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding common stock or immediate family members of any of the foregoing persons. In determining whether to approve or ratify a transaction with a related party, the Audit Committee will take into account, among other relevant factors, whether the transaction is on terms no less favorable than terms generally available to an unaffiliated third party under the same or similar circumstances. If advance approval of a transaction is not feasible, the Audit Committee may approve and ratify the transaction in accordance with the policy. Any member of the Audit Committee who is a related party with respect to a transaction under review may not participate in the deliberations or vote on the approval of the transaction.
Director Independence
Our Board of Directors has determined that each of Kenneth Scipta, Weiguo Wang, Xin Li and Qingtai Kong is an independent director as defined by the listing standards of NASDAQ currently in effect and all applicable rules and regulations of the SEC. We have established the following standing committees of the Board of Directors: Audit, Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance. All members of the Audit, Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees satisfy the independence standards applicable to members of each such committee. The Board of Directors made this affirmative determination regarding these directors’ independence based on discussions with the directors and on its review of the directors’ responses to a standard questionnaire regarding employment and compensation history; affiliations, family and other relationships; and transactions between us and the directors, if any. The Board of Directors considered relationships and transactions between each director, or any member of his immediate family, and our company, our subsidiaries and our affiliates. The purpose of the Board of Director’s review with respect to each director was to determine whether any such relationships or transactions were inconsistent with a determination that the director is independent under NASDAQ rules.
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services
Our Audit Committee selected GKM as the independent registered certified public accounting firm to audit the books and accounts of our company and subsidiaries for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2013. GKM has served as our independent accountant since April 14, 2008. The following table presents the aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered by GKM for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2013.
2013
|
2014
|
|||||||
Audit Fees | ||||||||
GKM
|
$
|
175,000
|
$
|
- | ||||
MJF
|
- |
110,000
|
||||||
Audit-related fees
|
||||||||
GKM
|
10,000
|
- | ||||||
Tax fees
|
-
|
-
|
||||||
All other fees
|
- |
-
|
In the above table, “audit fees” are fees billed for services provided related to the audit of our annual financial statements, quarterly reviews of our interim financial statements and services normally provided by the independent accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for those fiscal periods. “Audit-related fees” are fees not included in audit fees that are billed by the independent accountant for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit or review of our financial statements. “Tax fees” are fees billed by the independent accountant for professional services rendered for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning. “All other fees” are fees billed by the independent accountant for products and services not included in the foregoing categories.
Audit Committee’s Pre-Approval Policy
The Audit Committee pre-approves all audit and permissible non-audit services provided by the independent accountants. These services may include audit services, audit-related services, tax services and other services. The Audit Committee has adopted a written policy for the pre-approval of services provided by the independent accountants, under which policy the Audit Committee generally pre-approves services for up to one year and any pre-approval is detailed as to the particular service or category of services and is subject to a specific budget. In addition, the Audit Committee may also pre-approve particular services on a case-by-case basis. For each proposed service, the independent accountant is required to provide detailed back-up documentation at the time of approval. The Audit Committee may delegate pre-approval authority to one or more of its members. Such a member must report any decisions to the Audit Committee at the next scheduled meeting.
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules
The following documents are filed as part of or are included in this Annual Report:
1.
|
Financial statements listed in the Index to Financial Statements, filed as part of this Annual Report beginning on page F-1; and
|
|
2.
|
Exhibits listed in the Exhibit Index filed as part of this Annual Report.
|
SMARTHEAT INC.
Consolidated Financial Statements
Years Ended December 31, 2014 and 2013
Index to Financial Statements
Page | |
F-2 | |
F-3 | |
F-4 | |
F-5 | |
F-6 | |
F-7 | |
F-8 |
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of
SmartHeat Inc.
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of SmartHeat Inc. as of December 31, 2014, and the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for the year then ended. SmartHeat Inc.’s management is responsible for these financial statements. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of SmartHeat Inc. as of December 31, 2014, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
The accompanying financial statements were prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, the Company has incurred significant recurring losses from operations and has agreed to sell a significant part of its business at a loss. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management's plans are also discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements. These financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
/s/ MJF & Associates, APC
|
|
Los Angeles, CA
|
|
March 30, 2015
|
515 S. Flower Street, Suite 3600, Los Angeles, CA 90071 Telephone: (213) 626-2701 Fax: (866) 510-6726
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Board of Directors and Stockholders of
SmartHeat Inc.
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of SmartHeat, Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2013, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and comprehensive loss, and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2013. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audit.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall consolidated financial statements presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2013, and the consolidated results of their operations and their cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2013, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
/s/ Goldman Kurland and Mohidin LLP
Goldman Kurland and Mohidin LLP
Encino, California
April 11, 2014, except for Notes, 2,6,7,16, and 23 for which the date is October 21, 2014
SMARTHEAT INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
December 31, 2014
|
December 31, 2013
|
|||||||
ASSETS
|
||||||||
CURRENT ASSETS
|
||||||||
Cash and equivalents
|
$
|
13,682,624
|
$
|
13,602,399
|
||||
Restricted cash
|
9,913,104
|
2,458,758
|
||||||
Accounts receivable, net
|
16,052,184
|
12,167,565
|
||||||
Retentions receivable, net
|
1,309,057
|
4,202,109
|
||||||
Advances to suppliers, net
|
2,417,949
|
4,280,593
|
||||||
Other receivables (net), prepayments and deposits
|
5,068,411
|
4,948,761
|
||||||
Inventories, net
|
49,349,195
|
56,324,363
|
||||||
Taxes receivable
|
325,252
|
989,635
|
||||||
Notes receivable - bank acceptances
|
2,271,131
|
2,759,251
|
||||||
Total current assets
|
100,388,907
|
101,733,434
|
||||||
NONCURRENT ASSETS
|
||||||||
Long term investment
|
29,540
|
26,721
|
||||||
Restricted cash
|
123,002
|
135,926
|
||||||
Retentions receivable, net
|
-
|
237,882
|
||||||
Property and equipment, net
|
1,995,520
|
1,638,120
|
||||||
Intangible assets, net
|
576,999
|
11,042,719
|
||||||
Construction in progress
|
84,533
|
-
|
||||||
Total noncurrent assets
|
2,809,594
|
13,081,368
|
||||||
TOTAL ASSETS
|
$
|
103,198,501
|
$
|
114,814,802
|
||||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
||||||||
CURRENT LIABILITIES
|
||||||||
Accounts payable
|
$
|
7,384,756
|
$
|
6,683,860
|
||||
Advances from customers
|
2,714,603
|
2,630,061
|
||||||
Taxes payable
|
196,246
|
197,078
|
||||||
Accrued liabilities and other payables
|
19,319,461
|
17,215,006
|
||||||
Notes payable - bank acceptances
|
1,401,530
|
2,590,025
|
||||||
Loans payable
|
25,111,702
|
24,462,299
|
||||||
Total current liabilities
|
56,128,298
|
53,778,329
|
||||||
CREDIT LINE PAYABLE
|
2,749,335
|
1,396,378
|
||||||
LONG-TERM LOAN
|
-
|
2,132,231
|
||||||
DEFERRED TAX LIABILITY
|
66,024
|
17,177
|
||||||
TOTAL LIABILITIES
|
58,943,657
|
57,324,115
|
||||||
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
|
||||||||
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
||||||||
Common stock, $0.001 par value; 75,000,000 shares authorized, 6,783,399 shares and 6,133,399 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively
|
6,783
|
6,133
|
||||||
Paid-in capital
|
87,500,456
|
87,393,606
|
||||||
Statutory reserve
|
5,389,057
|
5,389,057
|
||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income
|
8,549,568
|
8,991,269
|
||||||
Accumulated deficit
|
(76,198,760
|
)
|
(66,630,772
|
)
|
||||
Total Company stockholders' equity
|
25,247,104
|
35,149,293
|
||||||
NONCONTROLLING INTEREST
|
19,007,740
|
22,341,394
|
||||||
TOTAL EQUITY
|
44,254,844
|
57,490,687
|
||||||