Posts Tagged ‘Industrial Stocks’

Highway Holdings Limited (HIHO) higher profits boost stock price

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

Highway Holdings Limited (Nasdaq:HIHO) shares vaulted 38.6% to $4.13, after the company reported net income for fiscal year 2011 climbed sharply to $1.7 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, from $420,000, or $0.11 per diluted share, in fiscal 2010. Volume for the stock totaled 261,123 shares, trouncing an all-day average of just over 4,600.

“Results for fiscal 2011 reflect a strongly improved business environment and the benefits of streamlining operations to enhance operating efficiencies,” according to CEO Roland Kohl, who in the June 29 press release, highlighted the two key strategic initiatives implemented during the past few years that have greatly enhance profitability; reducing the company’s operations from four factories to one, and the utilization of automation in its manufacturing process.

“As a consequence, the company was able to further improve its balance sheet and increase its cash position to take advantage of future strategic growth opportunities,” Kohl said.

Gross profits improved for both the fiscal 2011 fourth quarter and year — increasing by $367,000, or 26.16%, and $1,853,000, or 39.4%, respectively, compared with the same periods in fiscal 2010. Gross profit as a percentage of net sales remained essentially unchanged at approximately 21% percent for the fiscal year, despite initiatives noted above to reduce the company’s manufacturing expenses.

Highway Holdings produces a wide variety of high-quality products for blue chip original equipment manufacturers — from simple parts and components to sub-assemblies and finished products. Highway Holdings’ administrative offices are located in Hong Kong, and its manufacturing facilities are located in Shenzhen in the People’s Republic of China.

ADA-ES Inc. (ADES) stock hikes after sale of joint-venture interest

Monday, June 6th, 2011

ADA-ES Inc. (Nasdaq: ADES) stock surged 54.7% to $15.47 Monday afternoon, on word it was selling its Clean Coal Solutions LLC holdings to an affiliate of Goldman Sachs. Volume of 594,000 shares proved nearly six times its normal daily average.

The sale concerns a 15.8% equity interest in Clean Coal, ADA’s 50:50 joint venture with an affiliate of NexGen Resources Corporation, by ADA and NexGen for $60 million to GSFS Investments I Corp., an affiliate of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. Closing of the transaction was simultaneous with signing.

Clean Coal’s patented coal technology, CyClean, is a cost-effective coal technology to produce Refined Coal, which reduces emissions of NOx and mercury.

Dr. Michael D. Durham, CEO of ADA-ES said, “We are very pleased to welcome this additional investment by Goldman Sachs. We believe that their continued financial interest in Clean Coal further validates the environmental and financial benefits of this proven emissions control technology.

“As we continue to assess ADA’s liabilities resulting from the arbitration panel’s recent interim award to Norit Americas, Inc. and related indemnity obligations, this cash infusion enhances our balance sheet and our ability to fulfill those obligations.”

ADA-ES is a leader in clean coal technology and the associated specialty chemicals, serving the coal-fueled power plant industry.

Yongye International Inc. (YONG) stock soars after major investment

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

Yongye International Inc. (Nasdaq: YONG) U.S.-listed shares rose 51.7% to $5.69 after the Chinese reverse-merger company announced a $50-million investment from Morgan Stanley’s Asian private-equity unit. Volume for the stock totaled nearly 8.5 million shares, or about seven times its full-day average.

Yongye intends to use the proceeds from this investment for capacity expansion, repayment of commercial bank debt, working capital, and general corporate purposes.

Yongye Chief Executive Officer, Zishen Wu commented, “We are pleased that MSPE Asia, one of the leading private equity investors in the region, has decided to make a significant investment in our company. Yongye and MSPE Asia have structured a long-term cooperation based on our mutual belief in the strong prospects for our products and nationwide distribution network.”

Wu continued, “Specifically, we are providing multi-year profit commitments to MSPE Asia which, upon their achievement, results in up to a $15.00-per-share conversion price for the convertible preferred stock we are issuing. This investment will assist us in strengthening our balance sheet and positioning us to meet the growing demand for our Shengmingsu agricultural nutrient products.”

Yongye International is a leading agricultural nutrient company headquartered in Beijing, with its production facilities located in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Yongye produces and markets two lines of organic nutrient products: a liquid nutrient product which is sprayed on plants and a powder nutrient product which is added to animal feed.

Central Vermont Public Service Corp. (CV) hikes on Fortis buyout

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

Central Vermont Public Service Corp. (NYSE: CV) shares surged 40.1% to $34.06, a day after Canadian utility Fortis Inc. said it would acquire the electricity distributor for about $470 million. Volume for the stock neared 406,000 late Tuesday morning, more than 10 times its full-day average.

The all-cash transaction will provide CVPS shareholders $35.10 per share, a 44% premium over the CVPS common share closing price of $24.32 on Friday, May 27.

“CVPS is a well-run utility whose operations and operating philosophy are very similar to those of our Canadian regulated utilities,” said Fortis CEO Stan Marshall.

“The commitment of CVPS to customers, as evidenced by the company’s stellar customer service record, is very much aligned with the operating philosophy of Fortis — to provide our customers with safe, reliable service in the most cost-efficient and environmentally responsible manner possible,” he explained.

CVPS will remain headquartered in Rutland, Vermont with Larry Reilly as President and CEO, and Marshall added “There are no job losses anticipated with this transaction.”

“Fortis and CVPS share a deep commitment to the environment, our workers and the people and places that host our businesses,” Reilly said. “While the share offer price by Fortis was a critical consideration by the CVPS Board, the fact that CVPS would essentially be preserved as a stand-alone autonomous company within the Fortis Group was also an important consideration for the CVPS Board.

The Fortis Group of Companies has regulated utility companies operating in five provinces of Canada — British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland — and three Caribbean countries.

PURE Bioscience Inc. (PURE) leaps on encouraging tests

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

PURE Bioscience Inc. (Nasdaq: PURE) jumped out of the starting blocks Thursday, gaining 27.2% in price to $1.31, on word of encouraging results for one of its products. Volume for the stock was 3.5 million shares, or about 20 times its all-day average.

The creator of the patented silver dihydrogen citrate (SDC) antimicrobial announced preliminary in vitro laboratory results demonstrating SDC’s effectiveness against biofilm in tests conducted by the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey.

A professor at the school reported, “We have used SDC against single species biofilms of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, a causative agent in localized aggressive periodontitis, and S. epidermidis, a pathogen associated with hospital settings. Our results show that these bacteria in the biofilm state are killed within minutes at 30 ppm of SDC. Not only did SDC kill biofilm bacteria, but also it inhibited the biofilm formation at levels as low as 1.5 ppm in a citrate-containing medium.”

Michael L. Krall, President and CEO of PURE Bioscience, commented, “SDC’s ability to eliminate and even prevent biofilm presents a phenomenal market opportunity for PURE. We’re directing ongoing research projects on biofilm not only in public health, but also in industrial environments, including food processing, and oil and gas, as we begin to present SDC as a viable solution to this costly and dangerous problem.”

SDC is a new molecular entity, developed and patented worldwide by PURE Bioscience, a company based in El Cajon, California, which develops and markets technology-based bioscience products that provide solutions to numerous global health challenges.