·To finance part or all of our acquisition costs, we may need to issue shares, incur debt and assume contingent liabilities. Such acquisitions may also create additional expenses related to amortizing intangible assets. Any of these factors might harm our financial results and lead to volatility in the price of our shares. Further, any financing we might need for future acquisitions may be available only on terms that restrict our business or impose costs that decrease our profits.
·Any integration of acquisitions, including the continuing integration of Hengdali, may produce unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures and may absorb significant management attention that would otherwise be available for the ongoing development of our business. Among others, we may be unable to discover during due diligence all contingent liabilities and adverse issues, giving rise to unexpected delays or difficulties during integration.
·Some acquisition targets, due to their limited operating history, may possess different technological standards and operational models than ours. We may need to devote significant time and resources upon completion of an acquisition to amend and transform the acquired target. We may, prior to the implementation of an acquisition, fail to predict the appropriate amount of time and resources required to complete such transformation. It is even possible that we may not be able to rectify the situation at all. Due to the foregoing uncertainties, we may be subject to substantial costs and unexpected delays arising out of an acquisition.
We plan to construct the manufacturing facilities operated by Hengdali in Gaoan, Jiangxi Province (the “Hengdali facility”) in three phases. So far, we have completed the construction of the first phase (with an output capacity of 10 million square meters of tile per year). Currently, we are in the process of applying for acceptance permits from relevant local governmental authorities including, without limitation, the environmental protection authority and the fire administration, for the first phase. However, as the timing and procedures for issuing such permits is under the control of the local governmental authorities, we cannot assure you that we will successfully obtain such permits, or that our operation will not be affected if we fail to obtain such permits for the continuation of the operations of Hengdali. Our applications for such permits are currently being processed. As we are currently operating without the permits, the relevant authorities may suspend our Hengdali operations and may impose fines, though they have not done so to date. We believe our future success depends on our ability to increase our production capacity by expanding our existing facilities and acquiring or developing new production facilities. If we are unable to grow our operations by expanding our facilities or through strategic acquisitions or realize anticipated benefits from past and future acquisitions, we may not be able to achieve the growth we anticipate and our overall business results may be negatively affected.
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中国陶瓷 2010年财报
We may lose revenue if our intellectual property rights are not protected and counterfeit HD, Hengda, HDL, Hengdeli or TOERTO brand products are sold in the market.
We believe our intellectual property rights are important to our success and competitive position. A portion of our products are manufactured and marketed under our “HD” or “Hengda,” “HDL” or “Hengdeli,” “TOERTO” and “WULIQIAO” labels. We have filed our labels as trademarks in the PRC. WULIQIAO is a trademark owned by Fujian Province Jinjiang City Hengda Construction Materials Co., Ltd. Hengda signed a Trademark Licensing Contract with Fujian Province Jinjiang City Hengda Construction Materials Co., Ltd. and has been licensed the exclusive right to use WULIQIAO during the terms of that trademark. In addition, we own four utility model patents, have exclusive licenses to use 11 design patents owned by our CEO, Huang Jia Dong, and have certain trade secrets and unpatented proprietary technology. We cannot assure you that there will not be any unauthorized usage or misuse of our trademarks and patent rights or that our intellectual property rights will be adequately protected as it may be difficult and costly to monitor any infringements of our intellectual property rights in the PRC. If we cannot adequately protect our intellectual property, we may lose revenue.
In addition, we believe the branding of our products and the brand equity in our “HD” or “Hengda,” “HDL or Hengdeli,” “TOERTO” and “WULIQIAO” trademarks is critical to our expansion effort and the continued success of our business. Our efforts to build our brand may be undermined by the sale of counterfeit goods. The counterfeiting of our products may increase if our products become more popular.
In order to preserve and enforce our intellectual property rights, we may have to resort to litigation against the infringing or counterfeiting parties. Such litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of management resources which may have an effect on our financial performance.