The demand for such experienced personnel is intense and the search for personnel with the relevant skills set can be time consuming. The loss of our key management personnel without timely and suitable replacements may reduce our revenues and profits.
Failure to compete successfully with our competitors and new entrants to the ceramics industry in the PRC may result in China Ceramics losing market share.
We operate in a competitive and fragmented industry. Given the growth potential of our industry, there is no assurance that we will not face competition from our existing competitors and new entrants. We compete with a variety of companies, some of which have advantages that include: longer operating history, larger clientele base, superior products, better access to capital, personnel and technology, or are better entrenched. Our competitors may be able to respond more quickly to new and emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements or succeed in developing products that are more effective or less costly than our products. Any increase in competition could have a negative impact on our pricing (thus eroding our profit margins) and reduce our market share. If we are unable to compete effectively with our existing and future competitors and do not adapt quickly to changing market conditions, we may lose market share. 5
中国陶瓷 2010年财报
We have not purchased product liability insurance and any loss resulting from product liability claims must be paid by us. Accidents may arise as a result of defects in our products. If there are any defects in the products designed and/or manufactured by us, we may face claims from our customers or third parties for the personal injury or property damage suffered as a result of such defects. We have not purchased insurance coverage for product liability or third party liability and are therefore not covered or compensated by insurance in respect of losses, damages, claims and liabilities arising from or in connection with product liability or third party liability.
Our production facilities may be affected by power shortages which could result in a loss of business.
Our production facilities consume substantial amounts of electrical power, which is the principal source of energy for our manufacturing operations. Although we have a back-up generator at both our production facilities, we may experience occasional temporary power shortages disrupting production due to power rationing activities conducted by the authorities, thunderstorms or other natural events beyond our control. Accordingly, these production disruptions could result in a loss of business. Our research and development efforts may not result in marketable products.
Our research and development team develops products which we have identified as having good potential in the market. There is no assurance that we will not experience delays in future product developments. There is also no assurance that the products which we are currently developing or may develop in the future will be successful or that we will be able to market these new products to our customers successfully. If our new products are unable to gain the acceptance of our customers or potential customers, we will not be able to generate future sales from our investment in research and development.
We may not be able to ensure the successful implementation of our future plans and strategies, resulting in reduced financial performance.
We intend to expand our production capacity, expand our market presence and explore opportunities in strategic investments or alliances and acquisitions. These initiatives involve various risks including, but not limited to, the investment costs in setting up new production facilities, offices and sales offices and working capital requirements. There is no assurance that any future plan can be successfully implemented as the successful execution could depend on several factors, some of which are not within our control. Failure to successfully implement our future plans or to effectively manage cost, may lead to a material adverse change in our operating environment or affect our ability to respond to market or industry changes, resulting in reduced financial performance. If we fail to successfully complete and integrate strategic acquisitions, including our recent acquisition of Hengdali, we may not be able to expand our scope of operations or increase our revenues.
In January 2010, we completed the acquisition of Hengdali and are continuing to integrate our operations with the operations of Hengdali. In the future, we may expand our production capacity through strategic acquisitions. Expansion through strategic acquisitions is subject to a number of risks:
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中国陶瓷 2010年财报
·We may fail to locate suitable acquisition candidates with business operations that are consistent with our growth strategy and at prices and on terms that are satisfactory. Alternatively, we may have to compete with other Chinese ceramic tile producers in bidding to acquire production facilities or companies in regions where we expect demand for production of our products to increase. Some of these competitors may have greater capital resources than us.