10-K 1 v353718_10k.htm FORM 10-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

(Mark One)

 

xANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended: June 30, 2013

 

oTRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ____________ to _____________

 

Commission File No. 001-33959

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED

 

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Nevada 87-0578370
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or
organization)
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

 

No. 8, Huaye Road

Dongbang Industrial Park

Changshu, 215534

People’s Republic of China

 

(Address of principal executive offices)

 

(86) 512-52680988

 

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class   Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share   NASDAQ Capital Market

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange 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 x

 

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 x

 

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 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 x 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 (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x No ¨

 

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. ¨

 

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.

 

  Large Accelerated Filer  o Accelerated Filer  o
  Non-Accelerated Filer  o (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) Smaller reporting company  x

 

Indicate by check mark whether registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes o No x

 

As of December 31, 2012 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter), the aggregate market value of the shares of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates (based upon the closing sale price of such shares as reported on the NASDAQ Capital Market) was approximately $9.9 million. Shares of the registrant’s common stock held by each executive officer and director and by each person who owns 10% or more of the outstanding common stock have been excluded from the calculation in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates of the registrant. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

 

There were a total of 41,416,429 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding as of September 17, 2013.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 

None.

 

 
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED

 

Annual Report on FORM 10-K

 For the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2013

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

  PART I  
ITEM 1. BUSINESS. 2
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS. 11
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS. 22
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES. 22
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS. 23
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES. 23
     
  PART II  
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES. 24
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA. 25
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS. 25
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK. 35
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA. 36
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE. 36
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES. 36
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION. 37
     
  PART III  
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE. 38
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION. 42
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS. 44
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE. 46
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES. 48
     
  PART IV  
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES. 48

 

 
 

 

Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

 

In addition to historical information, this report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We use words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “target,” “plan,” “optimistic,” “intend,” “aim,” “will” or similar expressions which are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements include, among others, those concerning market and industry segment growth and demand and acceptance of new and existing products; any projections of sales, earnings, revenue, margins or other financial items; any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; and any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance, as well as all assumptions, expectations, predictions, intentions or beliefs about future events. You are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions, which, if they were to ever materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among other things, factors such as:

 

·Downturns in the steel industry;
·Competition and competitive factors in the markets in which we compete;
·Our heavy reliance on Shanghai Huaye;
·Market perception of U.S. listed Chinese companies;
·Fluctuations in our raw material costs;
·General economic and business conditions in China and in the local economies in which we regularly conduct business, which can affect demand for our products and services; and
·Changes in laws, rules and regulations governing the business community in China in general and the steel industry in particular.

 

Additional disclosures regarding factors that could cause our results and performance to differ from results or anticipated performance are discussed in Item 1A, “Risk Factors” included herein. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation and do not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

 

Use of Terms

 

Except as otherwise indicated by the context, references in this report to:

 

·“Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” are to the combined business of Sutor Technology Group Limited, a Nevada corporation, and its subsidiaries: Changshu Huaye, Jiangsu Cold-Rolled, Ningbo Zhehua, Sutor BVI, and Sutor Technology PRC; 
·“Changshu Huaye” are to our wholly-owned subsidiary Changshu Huaye Steel Strip Co., Ltd., a PRC company;
·“Jiangsu Cold-Rolled” are to our wholly-owned subsidiary Jiangsu Cold-Rolled Technology Co., Ltd., a PRC company;
·“Ningbo Zhehua” are to our wholly-owned subsidiary Ningbo Zhehua Heavy Steel Pipe Manufacturing Co., Ltd., a PRC company;
·“Shanghai Huaye” are to Shanghai Huaye Iron & Steel Group Co., Ltd., a PRC company of which Lifang Chen, our major shareholder and chief executive officer, and her husband Feng Gao, are 100% owners, and its subsidiaries;
·“Sutor BVI” are to our wholly-owned subsidiary Sutor Steel Technology Co., Ltd., a British Virgin Islands company;
·“Sutor Technology PRC” are to our wholly-owned subsidiary Sutor Technology Co., Ltd., a PRC company;
·“SEC” are to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission;
·“Securities Act” are to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended;
·“Exchange Act” are to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
·“China” and “PRC” are to People’s Republic of China;
·“RMB” are to Renminbi, the legal currency of China; and
·“U.S. dollar,” “$” and “US$” are to the legal currency of the United States.
1
 

 

PART I

 

ITEM 1.BUSINESS.

 

Overview

 

We are one of the leading China-based, non-state-owned manufacturers of fine finished steel products. We utilize a variety of processes and technological methodologies to convert steel manufactured by third parties into fine finished steel products. Our product offerings are focused on higher margin, value-added finished steel products, specifically hot-dip galvanized steel, or HDG steel, and pre-painted galvanized steel, or PPGI. In addition, we produce acid pickled steel, or AP steel, and cold-rolled steel, which represent the least processed of our finished products. Since November 2009, our product offerings have included welded steel pipe products. We use a large portion of our AP steel and cold-rolled steel to produce our HDG steel and PPGI products. Our vertical integration has allowed us to maintain more stable margins for our HDG steel and PPGI products.

 

We sell most of our products to customers who operate primarily in the green energy, appliances, automobile, construction, infrastructure, medical equipment and water resource industries. Most of our customers are located in China. Our primary export markets are Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and South America.

 

Our manufacturing facilities, located in Changshu, China, have three HDG steel production lines, one PPGI production line, one AP steel production line and one cold-rolled steel line. Our current annual production capacity is approximately 700,000 metric tons, or MT, for HDG steel, 200,000 MT for PPGI, 500,000 MT for AP steel and 250,000 MT for cold-rolled steel. Ningbo Zhehua, our subsidiary located in Ningbo, currently has an annual capacity of 400,000 MT for welded steel pipe products.

 

History and Corporate Structure

 

We were incorporated on May 1, 1997 in the State of Nevada under the name Bronze Marketing, Inc. and changed our name to Sutor Technology Group Limited effective March 6, 2007 as a result of our reverse acquisition of Sutor BVI in February 2007.Sutor BVI was incorporated in the BVI on August 15, 2006. Sutor BVI presently has two direct, wholly owned operating subsidiaries: Changshu Huaye and Jiangsu Cold-Rolled. Changshu Huaye was incorporated in China as a foreign investment enterprise on January 17, 2003 with registered capital of $10 million. Jiangsu Cold-Rolled was incorporated in China on August 28, 2003 as a foreign investment enterprise with registered capital of $36 million.

 

On February 1, 2007, we acquired Sutor BVI through a share exchange transaction pursuant to which the shareholders of Sutor BVI transferred all capital stock of Sutor BVI to us in exchange for 85.2% ownership of our Company. Our acquisition of Sutor BVI was accounted for as a recapitalization effected by a share exchange, wherein Sutor BVI is considered the acquirer for accounting and financial reporting purposes. The assets and liabilities of the acquired entity have been brought forward at their book value and no goodwill has been recognized.

 

In November 2009, our subsidiary Changshu Huaye acquired 100% equity interest in Ningbo Zhehua for the total purchase price of RMB 45.2 million (approximately $6.6 million).

 

On February 24, 2010, we established Sutor Technology PRC as a wholly-owned subsidiary incorporated in China. We plan to consolidate all R&D activities into this subsidiary in the future.

 

2
 

 

The following chart reflects our organizational structure as of the date of this annual report:

 

 

Segment Information

 

Our four operating segments are categorized according to our four operating subsidiaries:

 

·Changshu Huaye, which manufactures and sells HDG steel and PPGI products;
·Jiangsu Cold-Rolled, which manufactures and sells HDG steel, AP steel and cold-rolled steel;
·Ningbo Zhehua, which manufactures and sells welded steel pipe products; and
·Sutor Technology PRC, which primarily sells Sutor products.

 

Changshu Huaye and Jiangsu Cold-Rolled are located adjacent to each other in Changshu, China and use largely the same management resources. Ningbo Zhehua is located in Ningbo, China. For additional information about each segment, see Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Result of Operations” and Note 16, “Segment Information” to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report.

 

Our Products

 

Our current products include HDG steel, PPGI, AP steel, cold-rolled steel and welded steel pipe products. Our HDG steel and PPGI products are primarily manufactured by Changshu Huaye and our AP steel and cold-rolled steel products are primarily manufactured by Jiangsu Cold-Rolled. Jiangsu Cold-Rolled added two new HDG steel production lines and has manufactured HDG of both cold-rolled steel and hot-rolled steel since September 2008. Ningbo Zhehua manufactures our welded steel pipe products.

 

In 2008, we were certified ISO 9001:2008 for our quality management system, ISO 14001:2004 for our environmental management system, and GB/T28001-2001 for our occupational health and safety management system.

 

3
 

 

The following table set forth sales information about our approximate product mix in last two fiscal years.

 

(All amounts, other than percentages, in millions of U.S. dollars)

 

   Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2013   Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2012 
Product  Revenue   % of Total
Revenue
   Revenue   % of Total
Revenue
 
HDG Steel  $335.3    54.8%  $339.3    63.8%
PPGI   50.0    8.2%   46.1    8.7%
AP Steel   127.3    20.8%   64.8    12.2%
Cold-Rolled Steel   52.4    8.6%   16.0    3.0%
Welded Steel Pipe Products   27.0    4.4%   36.4    6.8%
Other   20.1    3.2%   29.0    5.5%
Total  $612.1    100.0%  $531.6    100.0%

 

HDG Steel

 

Using a technology called hot-dip galvanizing, we manufacture corrosion-resistant and zinc-coated HDG steel in different dimensions and using different materials and specifications requested by our customers. HDG steel products are manufactured from steel substrate of cold-rolled or hot-rolled pickled coils by applying zinc to the surface of the material to enhance its corrosion protection. HDG steel products are principally used in the electrical household appliances and construction markets.

 

We produce not only common industrial specifications, but also extreme specifications that we believe only a few other large PRC state-owned steel manufacturers can produce. The following table compares our technical manufacturing capabilities for most of our products:

 

  Width (mm)   Thickness (mm)   Galvanized Layer Weight (g/m2 )
Our Specification Scope 700-1250   0.18-4.5   70-280
Common Industrial Specification Scope 700-1250   0.3-1.2   100-180

 

We also are technologically capable of manufacturing more extreme specifications of up to 1300mm wide and 0.16mm thick HDG of cold-rolled steel. As a result, we maintain a competitive advantage in extreme specification technology in terms of thickness and the weight of the galvanized layer of our products. We have the flexibility to adjust production specifications to meet changes in market demand.

 

Sales of HDG steel products amounted to approximately 505,415 MT in fiscal year 2013, representing approximately 54.8% of our total revenue. Currently, our HDG steel products are manufactured by Changshu Huaye and Jiangsu Cold-Rolled. Changshu Huaye produces only HDG of cold-rolled steel. Jiangsu Cold-Rolled has two HDG steel production lines which are capable of galvanizing both hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel with both zinc and aluminum. Our production capacity of HDG steel is 700,000 MT per year.

 

With the production lines of Jiangsu Cold-Rolled, we offer HDG of hot-rolled steel, which we believe is more cost-efficient than production of HDG of cold-rolled steel because production of HDG steel products occurs directly on hot-rolled steel and, therefore, avoids the procedure of cold rolling hot-rolled steel. HDG of hot-rolled steel is generally thicker than HDG of cold-rolled steel with a specification range of 1.5mm to 4.5mm in terms of thickness.

 

PPGI Products

 

PPGI products are typically made to order based on customer specifications. Our PPGI products’ specification generally ranges from 700mm to 1250mm in width and from 0.2mm to 1.2mm in thickness. Our PPGI products are used mostly in solar energy, appliances and construction materials. We produce our PPGI by color-coating on HDG of cold-rolled steel and then coating them in various colors according to customer requirements. Our PPGI production line is equipped with the latest twice baking and coating technology, which together with indirect heating, enhances the color coated layers adhesion to the galvanized zinc layer.

 

Sales of PPGI products amounted to approximately 56,428 MT in fiscal year 2013, representing approximately 8.2% of our total revenue. Through our vertical integration strategy, we currently self-supply approximately 100% of HDG of cold-rolled steel to our PPGI production.

 

4
 

 

AP Steel

 

Our AP steel production line is located at Jiangsu Cold-Rolled, which became operative in September 2006. Acid pickling is a process that removes scales and oxides from the steel surface by pickling, cold rolling and annealing. AP steel products are used mostly as a raw material for cold-rolled steel strip, HDG steel, as well as components of automobile and manufacturing equipment. AP steel products come in several different dimensions and using different materials and different specifications.

 

Most of our AP steel products are used for our own production of HDG steel and full-hard cold-rolled steel. We also sell a portion of our AP steel products to the market. In fiscal year 2013, our sales of AP steel products were approximately 223,160 MT, representing approximately 20.8% of our total revenue.

 

Full-Hard, Cold-rolled Steel Products

 

We commenced manufacturing of full-hard cold-rolled steel products in January 2007. Full-hard cold-rolled steel strips are treated in an annealing process and are used to produce HDG of cold-rolled steel. We produce full-hard cold-rolled steel strips through a reverse cold rolling mill.

 

We use most of the full-hard cold-rolled steel strips for our production of HDG of cold-rolled steel. Our sales of full-hard cold-rolled steel products amounted to approximately 91,119 MT in fiscal year 2013, representing approximately 8.6% of our total revenue. In addition, approximately 78.4% of cold-rolled steel products were used for our own production.

 

Welded Steel Pipe Products

 

Our subsidiary Ningbo Zhehua has one advanced JCOE(which represents the first letters of the production processes) production line with characteristics of high forming accuracy and efficiency as well as balanced distribution of forming stress, for large-diameter, double-side, submerged-arc welded steel pipes, three US Lincoln production lines for spiral seam, double-side, submerged-arc welded steel pipes, and two REF production lines for roll-bending, double-side, submerged-arc welded steel pipes. Ningbo Zhehua is specialized in manufacturing large-diameter, double-side, submerged-arc welded steel pipes and spiral seam steel pipes. The finished products are extensively used for oil and gas transmission, municipal water supply projects, sewage treatment projects, and piling. Sales of welded steel pipe products amounted to approximately 37,971 MT in fiscal year 2013, representing approximately 4.4% of our total sales revenue.

 

Manufacturing

 

Our manufacturing facilities are located in Changshu and Ningbo, China. Our facilities in Changshu currently have three HDG steel production lines, one PPGI production line, one AP steel production line and one cold-rolled steel line. Our facilities in Ningbo have six welded steel pipe production lines. Our current annual production capacity is approximately 700,000 MT for HDG steel, 200,000 MT for PPGI, 500,000 MT for AP steels, 250,000 MT for cold-rolled steel and 400,000 MT for welded steel pipe products.

 

We utilize modern automated production technology which is strictly maintained. There are generally only 15 workers on a continuous cold-rolled galvanizing line and 11 workers on the PPGI production line per shift. The chart below demonstrates our production process.

 

5
 

 

 

Raw Materials and Suppliers

 

The principal raw materials used in producing our products are steel coil, zinc, oil paint and acid. We source our raw materials from various suppliers, including our affiliate Shanghai Huaye which supplied approximately 48.8% of our raw materials in fiscal year 2013. We believe that our suppliers are sufficient to meet our present needs.

 

Steel coil accounted for approximately 95%of total production costs in fiscal year 2013. We generally purchase steel coil after receiving orders from customers and are generally able to pass on increased costs to customers. We purchase steel strips primarily from Chinese companies, both state-owned enterprises and private companies. State-owned enterprises can ensure a consistent large supply, but do not react quickly to the fluctuations in prevailing market prices. Private companies normally react quickly to price changes, but are not as reliable as state-owned enterprises in terms of consistent supply. By sourcing raw materials from a combination of state-owned enterprises and private companies, we enjoy both a reliable source of raw materials and competitive prices.

 

Zinc is an important raw material for HDG of cold-rolled steel and accounted for approximately 4% of our total production costs of HDG steel in fiscal year 2013. We have established long-term relationships with several Chinese suppliers. We compare the prevailing domestic prices and choose the lower price and can generally pass price fluctuations onto customers. Zinc prices are closely guided by the London Metal Exchange quotation and are the most volatile among those of all of our raw materials.

 

Our global sourcing network is designed to ensure the highest quality-to-price ratio of the raw materials we purchase. Our internal specialists collect Chinese domestic and global market information everyday and track domestic and global market price fluctuations closely, which allows us to react rapidly to any price changes.

 

Because we produce a portfolio of products of various specifications, amounts and delivery horizon, we use Shanghai Huaye extensively for our raw material supplies as we often cannot buy a variety of products in small quantities from large steel companies on contract terms favorable to us. When we buy from these steel companies we are usually required to sign long term contracts and pay cash advances up to a year in advance of the receipt of goods. The up-front cash payment may include collateral money, cash deposit and prepayment. Further, if we cannot take required amount of the delivery as specified in the contracts, the cash deposit for the collateral money would be forfeited. However, when we buy raw materials from Shanghai Huaye, we pay cash advances and the amount of up-front cash requirements would be similar to the amount if conducted with similar non-related party vendors in the industry. However, with cash advances to Shanghai Huaye we will not lose the advance payments if later we do not take enough of the delivery.  In addition, as our customers are primarily small and medium size companies with small orders and various products specifications, it would not be in our best interest to sign many annual contracts with steel-making companies risking the loss of deposits on large orders.

 

6
 

 

Customers

 

We sell most of our steel products to customers who operate in the green energy, appliances, automobile, construction, infrastructure, medical equipment and water resource industries.

 

Approximately 35.4% of our revenue was derived from Shanghai Huaye and its affiliates in fiscal year 2013. We currently do not have a long-term written contract with Shanghai Huaye and negotiate the terms of each transaction based on then current market condition. We believe such arrangement will afford us more flexibility and allow us to obtain more favorable prices based on the changing market. We believe we have a good relationship with Shanghai Huaye and expect Shanghai Huaye to remain as our major customer in the foreseeable future.  We plan to further expand our sales channel and increase our direct sales to end customers in the future. Other than Shanghai Huaye, none of our customers accounted for more than 10% of our total revenue in fiscal year 2013.

 

Sales and Marketing

 

China is our most important market. Domestic sales represented approximately 90.4% of our total revenue in fiscal year 2013. Within China, the biggest market for our products is eastern China, which includes Shanghai, Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces. Since September 2004, we have exported our products to Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and South America. Our foreign sales accounted for approximately 11.3% and 9.6% of our total revenue in fiscal years 2012 and 2013, respectively.

 

Our sales network covers most provinces and regions in China. We are developing a diversified sales network which allows us to effectively market products and services to our customers. We sold approximately 65.8% of our products through our own sales and marketing department in fiscal year 2013. Our sales and marketing department consists of approximately 83 employees as of the date of this annual report.

 

Competition

 

Competition within the steel industry, both in China and worldwide, is intense. We compete with both large state-owned enterprises and smaller private companies. In addition, we also face competition from international steel manufacturers.

 

Even though the demand for fine finished steel products has increased in recent years, due to the over expansion of the total production capacity of HDG steel and PPGI products, supply for low-end HDG steel and PPGI products has outpaced demand. Due to the high requirements for production technology and equipment, we believe that demand for high-end HDG steel and PPGI market remains strong. Currently, only Sutor and a few large state-owned enterprises are capable of producing high-end HDG steel and PPGI products in China.

 

Private steel product manufacturers in China generally focus on low-end products. Many of our competitors are much smaller than us and use older equipment and production techniques. In contrast, our products are aimed at the high-end markets so we attempt to manufacture them with superior quality and broader range of specifications. We use advanced manufacturing equipment that we have purchased from developed countries, such as France and Italy, and employ engineers and researchers who are experienced with different production techniques. This allows us to provide a broad array of products in terms of thickness, zinc layer weight and width of steel coil, which helps us target high-end customers whose manufacturing specifications are extreme. In addition, through cooperation with our strategic partners, we have also established a vertically integrated business model that provides processing, distribution and customized logistic solutions. We believe this business model is difficult to duplicate and very few private companies have this capability.

 

There are several state-owned steel manufacturers that produce comparable products to our products. As compared with those competitors, we believe we differentiate ourselves by the following:

 

·We satisfy customers’ orders with shorter lead times and guarantee lead times for urgent orders, even very small orders, in as short as one or two days;

 

7
 

 

·We have flexibility in sales arrangements and can take orders in a variety of sizes;
·We operate more efficiently than our state-owned competitors and have lower total labor costs, therefore, lower product prices; and
·We provide more customer-oriented services.

 

We also compete with international steel product manufacturers in the global market, such as Mitel Corporation and Posco Steel. As compared to our competitors in Europe, Korea and the United States, we believe we have lower production costs and can offer more competitive pricing. In addition, competitors in developing countries lag behind due to low product quality and limited product specification ranges. We began exporting our products in September 2004 and our products are now sold to Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and South America. Our export sales accounted for approximately 9.6% of our total sales for fiscal year 2013.

 

Our operating subsidiaries, Changshu Huaye Jiangsu Cold-Rolled and Sutor Technology PRC, are located in Changshu, which provides us a transportation cost advantage. Changshu is situated in the eastern coastal part of China, the largest market for coated steel products in China. In addition, our affiliate Shanghai Huaye has a logistic center in Changshu port, which provides us with convenient and low cost transportation for both raw materials and finished products. Further, our subsidiary Ningbo Zhehua is located in Ningbo which is one of the largest and most important sea port cities in China with easy access to both domestic and international markets.

 

Research and Development

 

We believe that the development of new products and production methods is important to our success. We established our high-performance steel sheet research center in 2007, which was recognized as the “Jiangsu Province Foreign Invested Research Center” by the Jiangsu Science and Technology Bureau. As of June 30, 2013, we had 51 research and development personnel and staff.

 

We set up Sutor Technology PRC in 2010, a wholly-owned subsidiary incorporated in China, and plan to consolidate all R&D activities into this subsidiary in the future. We plan to build a facility in Sutor Technology PRC to be used solely for research and development of new products and technologies. We expect Sutor Technology PRC will help attract talent and enhance our leading position in the fine processed steel industry in China. Sutor Technology PRC is anticipated to enjoy preferential tax treatment when in full operation.

 

Intellectual Property

 

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to maintain and protect our proprietary technology and to conduct our business without infringing on the proprietary rights of others. We rely primarily on a combination of patents, trademarks and trade secrets, as well as employee and third-party confidentiality agreements, to safeguard our intellectual property. As of June 30, 2013, we held 57 patents and had 12 patent applications pending.

 

All of our products are sold with the trademark of “,” which is known by Chinese and international clients. In August 2005, Shanghai Huaye agreed to transfer the trademark of “” to us without consideration. Such transfer was approved by the Trademark office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of China in August 2006. As a result, we have all the legal rights for the trademark, the term of which expires in July 2015. We expect that this trademark will be renewed upon expiration.

 

All our key employees, especially engineers, have signed confidentiality and non-competition agreements with us. In addition, all our employees are obligated to protect our confidential information. Where appropriate for our business strategy, we will continue to take steps to protect our intellectual property rights.

 

Employees

 

As of June 30, 2013, we had approximately 690 full-time employees. Approximately 235 are employees of Changshu Huaye, approximately 272 are employees of Jiangsu Cold-Rolled and approximately 183 are employees of Ningbo Zhehua.

 

8
 

 

The following table sets forth the number of our full-time employees by function.

 

Function   Number of Employees
Manufacturing   411
General and administration   145
Marketing and sales   83
Research and development   51

 

We believe that we maintain a good working relationship with our employees and we have not experienced any significant labor disputes or any difficulty in recruiting staff for our operations. Our employees are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We have not experienced any work stoppages.

 

We are required under PRC law to make contributions to the employee benefit plans at specified percentages of the after-tax profit. In addition, we are required by the PRC law to cover employees in China with various type of social insurance. We believe that we are in material compliance with the relevant PRC laws.

 

Regulation

 

General Regulation of Business

 

As a producer of steel products in China, we are regulated by the national and local laws of the PRC.

 

We are subject to various governmental regulations related to environmental protection. The major environmental regulations applicable to us include: the Environmental Protection Law of the PRC, the Law of PRC on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, Implementation Rules of the Law of PRC on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, the Law of PRC on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, Implementation Rules of the Law of PRC on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, the Law of PRC on the Prevention and Control of Solid Waste Pollution, and the Law of PRC on the Prevention and Control of Noise Pollution.

 

We believe that we are in material compliance with all registrations and requirements for the issuance and maintenance of all licenses required by the governing bodies, and that all license fees and filings are current.

 

Taxation

 

On March 16, 2007, the National People’s Congress of China passed the Enterprise Income Tax Law, or the EIT Law, and on November 28, 2007, the State Council of China passed its implementing rules, both of which took effect on January 1, 2008. The EIT Law and its implementing rules impose a unified earned income tax, or EIT, rate of 25.0% on all domestic-invested enterprises and foreign invested enterprises, or FIEs, unless they qualify under certain limited exceptions.  Changshu Huaye was subject to an EIT of 15% from calendar years 2010 to 2012 because it qualified as a high-tech enterprise for the calendar years 2010, 2011, 2012. In 2013, Changshu Huaye applied to renew its certificate as a high-tech enterprise. We expect the application will be approved and the certificate issued soon. Upon issuance of the renewed certificate, we expect Changshu Huaye to continue to have an EIT of 15% from calendar years 2013 to 2015. Jiangsu Cold-Rolled’s tax holiday expired at the end of 2011, and therefore, it was subject to an EIT rate of 12.5% in calendar year 2011 and is subject to an EIT rate of 25% starting in calendar year 2012. Ningbo Zhehua and Sutor Technology PRC are subject to an EIT of 25% and have no preferential tax treatments.

 

In addition to the changes to the current tax structure, under the EIT Law, an enterprise established outside of China with “de facto management bodies” within China is considered a resident enterprise and will normally be subject to an EIT of 25% on its global income. The implementing rules define the term “de facto management bodies” as “an establishment that exercises, in substance, overall management and control over the production, business, personnel, accounting, etc., of a Chinese enterprise.” If the PRC tax authorities subsequently determine that we should be classified as a resident enterprise, then our organization’s global income will be subject to PRC income tax of 25%. For detailed discussion of PRC tax issues related to resident enterprise status, see Item 1A, “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Doing Business in China – Under the New 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 stockholders.”

 

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Foreign Currency Exchange

 

All of our sales revenue and expenses are denominated in RMB. Under the PRC foreign currency exchange regulations applicable to us, RMB is convertible for current account items, including the distribution of dividends, interest payments, trade and service-related foreign exchange transactions. Currently, our PRC operating subsidiaries may purchase foreign currencies for settlement of current account transactions, including payments of dividends to us, without the approval of the PRC State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, by complying with certain procedural requirements. Conversion of RMB for capital account items, such as direct investment, loan, security investment and repatriation of investment, however, is still subject to the approval of SAFE. In particular, if our PRC operating subsidiaries borrow foreign currency through loans from us or other foreign lenders, these loans must be registered with SAFE, and if we finance the subsidiaries by means of additional capital contributions, these capital contributions must be approved by certain government authorities, including the PRC Ministry of Commerce, or MOFCOM, or their respective local branches. These limitations could affect our PRC operating subsidiaries’ ability to obtain foreign exchange through debt or equity financing.

 

Dividend Distributions

 

Our revenues are earned by our PRC subsidiaries. However, PRC regulations restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to make dividends and other payments to their offshore parent company.  PRC legal restrictions permit payments of dividend by our PRC subsidiaries only out of their accumulated after-tax profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Each of our PRC subsidiaries is also required under PRC laws and regulations to allocate at least 10% of our annual after-tax profits determined in accordance with PRCGAAP to a statutory general reserve fund until the amounts in such fund reaches 50% of its registered capital. These reserves are not distributable as cash dividends. Our PRC subsidiaries have the discretion to allocate a portion of their after-tax profits to staff welfare and bonus funds, which may not be distributed to equity owners except in the event of liquidation.

 

In addition, under the EIT Law, the Notice of the State Administration of Taxation on Negotiated Reduction of Dividends and Interest Rates, which was issued on January 29, 2008, and the Notice of the State Administration of Taxation Regarding Interpretation and Recognition of Beneficial Owners under Tax Treaties, which became effective on October 27, 2009, dividends from our PRC operating subsidiaries paid to us through our subsidiaries may be subject to a withholding tax at a rate of 10%. Furthermore, the ultimate tax rate will be determined by treaty between the PRC and the tax residence of the holder of the PRC subsidiary. Dividends declared and paid from before January 1, 2008 on distributable profits are grandfathered under the EIT Law and are not subject to withholding tax.

 

The Company intends on reinvesting profits, if any, and does not intend on making cash distributions of dividends in the near future.

 

Environmental Matters

 

Our manufacturing facilities are subject to various pollution control regulations with respect to noise, water and air pollution and the disposal of waste and hazardous materials. We are also subject to periodic inspections by local environmental protection authorities. Our operating subsidiaries have received certifications from the relevant PRC government agencies in charge of environmental protection indicating that their business operations are in material compliance with the relevant PRC environmental laws and regulations. We are not currently subject to any pending actions alleging any violations of applicable PRC environmental laws.

 

Seasonality

 

Our operating results and operating cash flows historically have not been subject to any significant seasonal variations. However, extended holidays in China such as the Lunar Chinese New Year and October holidays will impact the Company’s operations due to holiday shut downs. This pattern may change, however, as a result of new market opportunities or new product introductions.

 

Available Information

 

Our Internet website is at www.sutorcn.com. Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, including exhibits, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, are available free of charge on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Copies of these reports may also be obtained free of charge by sending written requests to our Secretary, Sutor Technology Group Limited, No. 8 Huaye Road, Dongbang Industrial Park, Changshu, China, 215534. The information posted on our website is not part of this or any other report we file with or furnish with the SEC. Investors can also read and copy any materials filed by us with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room which is located at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. Information about the operation of the Public Reference Room can be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Our filings can also be accessed at the SEC’s website: www.sec.gov.

 

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.

 

RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS

 

We maintain a close business relationship with Shanghai Huaye and any disruption of this relationship or the financial stability of Shanghai Huaye could damage our business.

 

Our company and Shanghai Huaye, which is 100% owned by our majority shareholder, Chairperson and CEO, Lifang Chen and her husband Feng Gao, have a close business relationship. Approximately 35.4% of our revenue was derived from Shanghai Huaye and its affiliates in fiscal year 2013, which distribute our products. In addition, a large portion of our raw materials were supplied by Shanghai Huaye in fiscal year 2013. We believe that the larger size of Shanghai Huaye gives it greater bargaining power than us and our arrangement with Shanghai Huaye allows us to leverage its bargaining power and purchase raw materials at relatively lower purchase prices from suppliers. We do not have long-term written contracts with Shanghai Huaye.  In the past, Shanghai Huaye also has provided credit support on our behalf and guaranties for our benefit in connection with loans to us from third party lenders.

 

If our business relationship with Shanghai Huaye changes negatively or Shanghai Huaye’s financial condition deteriorates, this would harm our business in many ways.   We would be forced to rely on other third parties for raw materials and product distribution if Shanghai Huaye ceases to be a supplier of our raw materials and/or a distributor of our products at current levels.  We may not be able to negotiate terms with these third parties that are as favorable as our arrangements with Shanghai Huaye.  For instance, we may be requested to sign long-term agreements with other suppliers and pay a significant amount of cash deposit. If we fail to accept enough of the contracted products from these suppliers, our deposit could be forfeited. If this happens, our revenues could decrease, our production costs could increase and our profit margin could be strained.  In addition, a material adverse change in the financial condition and creditworthiness of Shanghai Huaye could impair our existing credit facilities and ability to obtain loans in the future.

 

Any decrease in the availability, or increase in the cost, of raw materials could materially affect our earnings.

 

Our operations depend heavily on the availability of various raw materials and energy resources, including steel coil, zinc, oil paint, electricity and natural gas. Steel coil has historically made up approximately 90.0% of our total cost of sales. The availability of raw materials and energy resources may decrease and their prices may fluctuate greatly. We purchase a large portion of our raw materials from our affiliate Shanghai Huaye and we have long-term relationships with several other suppliers. However, if Shanghai Huaye or any other important suppliers are unable or unwilling to provide us with raw materials on terms favorable to us, we may be unable to produce certain products. This could result in a decrease in profit and damage to our reputation in our industry. In the event our raw material and energy costs increase, we may not be able to pass these higher costs on to our customers in full or at all. Any increase in the prices for raw materials or energy resources could materially increase our costs and therefore lower our earnings.

 

Our industry is highly fragmented and competitive, and increased competition could reduce our operating income.

 

The steel manufacturing and processing business is highly fragmented and competitive. We compete with a number of other steel manufacturers and processors in China, on a region-by-region basis, and with foreign steel manufacturers on a worldwide basis. Our goal is to market our products to customers who demand the highest quality products and precision in the end product so we compete primarily on the precision and range of achievable tolerances, the quality of our products and the raw materials used in our products. We compete with companies of various sizes, some of which have more established brand names and relationships in certain markets we serve than we do. Increased competition could force us to lower our prices or offer services at a higher cost to us, which could reduce our margins and operating income.

 

A downturn or negative changes in the highly volatile steel industry will harm our business and profitability.

 

The steel industry as a whole is cyclical and pricing can be volatile as a result of general economic conditions, energy costs, labor costs, competition, import duties, tariffs and currency exchange rates. These macroeconomic factors have historically resulted in wide fluctuations in the steel industry both in China and globally. In our case, future economic downturns, stagnant economies or currency fluctuations in China or globally could decrease the demand for products or increase the amount of imports of steel into China, which could negatively impact our sales, margins and profitability.

 

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We may be exposed to potential risks relating to our internal controls over financial reporting and our ability to have the operating effectiveness of our internal controls attested to by our independent auditors.

 

As directed by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the SEC adopted rules requiring public companies to include a report of management on the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting in their annual reports and, for companies that are not small reporting companies, the independent registered public accounting firm auditing a company’s financial statements to attest to and report on the operating effectiveness of such company’s internal controls. Our management had previously identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting in fiscal years 2008 and 2009. Although our management believes that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of June 30, 2013, we can provide no assurance that we will comply with all of the requirements imposed thereby and we will receive a positive attestation from our independent auditors in the future, when required. In the event we identify significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in our internal controls that we cannot remediate in a timely manner or we are unable to receive a positive attestation from our independent auditors with respect to our internal controls when such attestation is required, investors and others may lose confidence in the reliability of our financial statements.

 

Our auditor, like other independent registered public accounting firms operating in China, is not inspected by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, or the PCAOB, and as such, our investors currently do not have the benefits of PCAOB oversight.

 

Auditors of companies that are registered with the SEC and traded publicly in the United States, including our independent registered public accounting firm, must be registered with the PCAOB and are required by U.S. law to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB to assess their compliance with U.S. law and professional standards in connection with their audits of public company financial statements filed with the SEC. Because our auditor is located in China, a jurisdiction where the PCAOB is currently unable to conduct inspections without the approval of the Chinese authorities, the audit work and practices of our auditor, like other registered audit firms operating in China, is currently not inspected by the PCAOB.

 

The inability of the PCAOB to conduct inspections of auditors in China also makes it more difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of our auditor’s audit procedures or quality control procedures as compared to auditors outside of China that are subject to PCAOB inspections. As a result, investors may be deprived of the benefits of PCAOB inspections and may lose confidence in our reported financial information and procedures and the quality of our financial statements.

 

If we become directly subject to the recent scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity involving U.S.-listed Chinese companies, we may have to expend significant resources to investigate and resolve the matter which could harm our business operations, stock price and reputation and could result in a loss of your investment in our stock, especially if such matter cannot be addressed and resolved favorably.

 

Recently, U.S. public companies that have substantially all of their operations in China, particularly companies like us which have completed so-called reverse merger transactions, have been the subject of intense scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity by investors, financial commentators and regulatory agencies, such as the SEC. Much of the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity has centered around financial and accounting irregularities and mistakes, a lack of effective internal controls over financial accounting, inadequate corporate governance policies or a lack of adherence thereto and, in many cases, allegations of fraud.  As a result of the scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity, the publicly traded stock of many U.S. listed Chinese companies has sharply decreased in value and, in some cases, has become virtually worthless.  Many of these companies are now subject to shareholder lawsuits, SEC enforcement actions and are conducting internal and external investigations into the allegations.  It is not clear what effect this sector-wide scrutiny, criticism and negative publicity will have on our Company, our business and our stock price.  If we become the subject of any unfavorable allegations, whether such allegations are proven to be true or untrue, we will have to expend significant resources to investigate such allegations and/or defend our Company.  This situation will be costly and time consuming and distract our management from growing our company.  If such allegations are not proven to be groundless, our Company and business operations may be severely and adversely affected and your investment in our stock could be rendered worthless.

 

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We may be unable to fund the substantial ongoing capital and maintenance expenditures that our operations require.

 

Our operations are capital intensive and our business strategy may require additional substantial capital investment. We require capital for building new production lines, acquiring new equipment, maintaining the condition of our existing equipment and complying with environmental laws and regulations. We plan to fund our capital expenditures from operating cash flow and our credit facilities and may require additional debt or equity financing. We cannot assure you, however, that financing will be available or, if financing is available, it may result in increased interest and amortization expense, increased leverage, dilution and decreased income available to fund further expansion. In addition, future debt financings may limit our ability to withstand competitive pressures and render us more vulnerable to economic downturns. If we are unable to fund our capital requirements, we may be unable to implement our business plan, and our financial performance may suffer.

 

Our level of indebtedness may make it more difficult for us to fulfill all of our debt obligations and may reduce the amount of cash available for maintaining and growing our operations, which could have an adverse effect on our revenues.

 

Our major source of liquidity is borrowing through short-term bank and private loans. Our total debt under existing loans as of June 30, 2013 was approximately $147.6 million, of which approximately $146.4 million are short-term loans to non-related third parties. We expect to renew our short-term loans when they become due. Our inability to renew these loans upon maturity may cause us working capital constraints. This substantial indebtedness could also impair our financial condition and our ability to fulfill all of our debt obligations, especially during a downturn in our business, in the industry in which we operate or in the general economy. Our indebtedness and the incurrence of any new indebtedness could (i) make it more difficult for us to satisfy our existing obligations, which could in turn result in an event of default on such obligations, (ii) require us to seek other sources of capital to finance cash used in operating activities, thereby reducing the availability of cash for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, general corporate purposes or other purposes, (iii) impair our ability to obtain additional financing in the future for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, general corporate purposes or other purposes; (iv) diminish our ability to withstand a downturn in our business, the industry in which we operate or the economy generally, (v) limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industry in which we operate, or (vi) place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to competitors that have proportionately less debt. If we are unable to meet our debt service obligations, we could be forced to restructure or refinance our indebtedness, seek additional equity capital or sell assets.

 

We may be unable to obtain financing or sell assets on satisfactory terms, or at all, which could cause us to default on our debt service obligations and be subject to foreclosure on such loans. Additionally, we could incur additional indebtedness in the future and, if new debt is added to our current debt levels, the risks above could intensify.

 

Unexpected equipment failures may damage our business due to production curtailments or shutdowns.

 

Our manufacturing processes are extremely specialized and depend on critical pieces of equipment, such as air knife machines, welding tools and apparatus, color-coating machines, roll mills, ABB roll and tension knives. This machinery is highly specialized and cannot be repaired or replaced without significant expense and time delay. On occasion, our equipment may be out of service as a result of unanticipated failures which may result in material plant shutdowns or periods of reduced production. Interruptions in production capabilities will inevitably increase production costs and reduce our sales and earnings. In addition to equipment failures, our facilities are also subject to the risk of catastrophic loss due to unanticipated events such as fires, explosions or adverse weather conditions. Furthermore, any interruption in production capability may require us to make large capital expenditures to remedy the situation, which could have a negative effect on our profitability and cash flows. Although we have business interruption insurance, we cannot provide any assurance that the insurance will cover all losses that we experience as a result of the equipment failures. In addition, longer-term business disruption could result in a loss of customers. If this were to occur, our future sales levels, and therefore our profitability, could be adversely affected.

 

Our revenue will decrease if there is less demand for construction materials or electrical household appliances.

 

Our products often serve as important components in construction materials and electrical household appliances. Therefore, we are subject to the general changes in economic conditions affecting the construction and household appliance segments of the economy. Demand for our products is typically affected by a number of economic factors, including, but not limited to, consumer interest rates, consumer confidence, retail trends, sales of existing homes, and the level of mortgage financing. If there is a decline in economic activity in China and the other markets in which we operate or a decrease of sales of construction materials and electrical household appliances, demand for our products and our revenue will likewise decrease.

 

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Environmental regulations impose substantial costs and limitations on our operations.

 

We are subject to various national and local environmental laws and regulations in China concerning issues such as air emissions, wastewater discharges, and solid waste management and disposal. These laws and regulations can restrict or limit our operations and expose us to liability and penalties for non-compliance. While we believe that our facilities are in material compliance with all applicable environmental laws and regulations, the risks of substantial unanticipated costs and liabilities related to compliance with these laws and regulations are an inherent part of our business. It is possible that future conditions may develop, arise or be discovered that create new environmental compliance or remediation liabilities and costs. While we believe that we can comply with existing environmental legislation and regulatory requirements and that the costs of compliance have been included within budgeted cost estimates, compliance may prove to be more limiting and costly than anticipated.

 

If our customers and/or the ultimate consumers of products that use our products successfully assert product liability claims against us due to defects in our products, our operating results may suffer and our reputation may be harmed.

 

Our products are widely applied in the manufacturing of many products, including electrical household appliances, medical instruments and large industrial equipment. Significant property damage, personal injuries and even death can result from malfunctioning products. If our products are not properly manufactured or installed and/or if people are injured as a result of our products, we could be subject to claims for damages based on theories of product liability and other legal theories in some jurisdictions in which our products are sold. The costs and resources to defend such claims could be substantial and, if such claims are successful, we could be responsible for paying some or all of the damages. We do not have product liability insurance. The publicity surrounding these sorts of claims is also likely to damage our reputation, regardless of whether such claims are successful. Any of these consequences resulting from defects in our products would hurt our operating results and stockholder value.

 

We might fail to adequately protect our intellectual property and third parties may claim that our products infringe upon their intellectual property.

 

As part of our business strategy, we intend to accelerate our investment in new technologies in an effort to strengthen and differentiate our product portfolio and make our manufacturing processes more efficient. As a result, we believe that the protection of our intellectual property will become increasingly important to our business. Currently, we have 57 patents and 12 patent applications pending. We expect to rely on a combination of patents, trade secrets, trademarks and copyrights to provide protection in this regard, but this protection might be inadequate. For example, our pending or future patent applications might not be approved or, if allowed, they might not be of sufficient strength or scope. Conversely, third parties might assert that our technologies infringe their proprietary rights. In either case, litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources, and whether or not we are ultimately successful, the litigation could hurt our business and financial condition.

 

Expansion of our business may strain our management and operational infrastructure and impede our ability to meet any increased demand for our fine finished steel products.

 

Our growth strategy includes growing our operations by meeting the anticipated growth in demand for existing products, introducing new product offerings, and identifying and acquiring or investing in suitable candidates on acceptable terms. In 2009, we acquired a 100% ownership interest in Ningbo Zhehua. Over time, we may acquire or make investments in other providers of products that complement our business and other companies in our industry. Growth in our business may place a significant strain on our personnel, management, financial systems and other resources. Our business growth also presents numerous risks and challenges, including:

 

·our ability to successfully and rapidly expand sales to potential customers in response to potentially increasing demand;
·our ability to integrate and retain key management, sales, research and development, production and other personnel;
·our ability to incorporate the acquired products or capabilities into our offerings from an engineering, sales and marketing perspective;
·integration and support pre-existing supplier, distribution and customer relationships;
·adverse effects on our reported operating results due to possible write-down of goodwill associated with acquisitions;
·potential disputes with sellers of acquired businesses, technologies, services, products and potential liabilities;
·the costs associated with such growth, which are difficult to quantify, but could be significant; and
·rapid technological change.

 

To accommodate this growth and compete effectively, we may need to obtain additional funding to improve information systems, procedures and controls and expand, train, motivate and manage existing and additional employees. Funding may not be available in a sufficient amount or on favorable terms, if at all. If we are not able to manage these activities and implement these strategies successfully to expand to meet any increased demand, our operating results could suffer.

 

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We depend heavily on key personnel, and turnover of key employees and senior management could harm our business.

 

Our future business and results of operations depend in significant part upon the continued contributions of our key technical and senior management personnel, including Lifang Chen, our Chief Executive Officer, and Naijiang Zhou, our Chief Financial Officer. They also depend in significant part upon our ability to attract and retain additional qualified management, technical, marketing and sales and support personnel for our operations. If we lose a key employee, if a key employee fails to perform in his or her current position, or if we are not able to attract and retain skilled employees as needed, our business could suffer. Significant turnover in our senior management could significantly deplete our institutional knowledge held by our existing senior management team. We depend on the skills and abilities of these key employees in managing the manufacturing, technical, marketing and sales aspects of our business, any part of which could be harmed by turnover in the future.

 

Changes in our effective tax rate or tax liability may have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

 

Because we are a U.S. company with operating subsidiaries in China and we engage in international sales, we are subject to federal and state tax in the U.S., state and local tax in China and other foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in determining our worldwide provision for income taxes. In the ordinary course of our business, there are some transactions where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Additionally our calculations of income taxes are based on our interpretations of applicable tax laws in the jurisdictions in which we file. Although we believe our tax estimates are appropriate, there is no assurance that the final determination of our income tax liability will not be materially different than what is reflected in our income tax provisions and accruals. We are also subject to the periodic examination of our income tax returns by tax authorities. The outcomes from these examinations may have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition. Furthermore, our provision for income tax could increase as we expand our international operations, adopt new products, implement changes to our operating structure or undertake intercompany transactions in light of acquisitions, changing tax laws, and our current and anticipated business and operational requirements. Should additional taxes be assessed as a result of new legislation, an audit or litigation; or if our effective tax rate should change as a result of changes in federal, international or state and local tax laws, there could be a material adverse effect on our income tax provision and results of operations.

 

Ms. Lifang Chen’s association with Shanghai Huaye could pose a conflict of interest.

 

Ms. Lifang Chen, our chairman and beneficial owner of approximately 73.3% of our common stock, also beneficially owns 100% of Shanghai Huaye, which is a major distributor of our products and provider of our raw materials. As a result, conflicts of interest may arise from time to time. We will attempt to resolve any such conflicts of interest in our favor. Our officers and directors are accountable to us and our shareholders as fiduciaries, which requires that such officers and directors exercise good faith and integrity in handling our affairs.

 

We may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or Chinese anti-bribery law, and any determination that we violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or Chinese anti-bribery law could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

We are subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act, or FCPA, and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments and their officials and political parties by U.S. persons and issuers as defined by the statute for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. The PRC also strictly prohibits bribery of any government officials. We have operations, agreements with third parties and make sales in China, which may experience corruption. Our activities in China create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by one of the employees, consultants, sales agents or distributors of our company, because these parties are not always subject to our control. It is our policy to implement safeguards to discourage these practices by our employees. Also, our existing safeguards and any future improvements may prove to be less than effective, and the employees, consultants, sales agents or distributors of our Company may engage in conduct for which we might be held responsible. Violations of the FCPA or Chinese anti-bribery law may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions, and we may be subject to other liabilities, which could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, the U.S. government may seek to hold our Company liable for successor liability FCPA violations committed by companies in which we invest or that we acquire.

 

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RISKS RELATED TO DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA

 

Adverse changes in political and economic policies of the PRC government could impede the overall economic growth of China, which could reduce the demand for our products and damage our business.

 

We conduct substantially all of our operations and generate most of our revenue in China. Accordingly, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects are affected significantly by economic, political and legal developments in China. The PRC economy differs from the economies of most developed countries in many respects, including:

 

·a higher level of government involvement;
·an early stage of development of the market-oriented sector of the economy;
·a rapid growth rate;
·a higher level of control over foreign exchange; and
·the allocation of resources.

 

As the PRC economy has been transitioning from a planned economy to a more market-oriented economy, the PRC government has implemented various measures to encourage economic growth and guide the allocation of resources. While these measures may benefit the overall PRC economy, they may also have a negative effect on us.

 

Although the PRC government has in recent years implemented measures emphasizing the utilization of market forces for economic reform, the PRC government continues to exercise significant control over economic growth in China through the allocation of resources, controlling the payment of foreign currency-denominated obligations, setting monetary policy and imposing policies that impact particular industries or companies in different ways.

 

Any adverse change in economic conditions or government policies in China could have a material adverse effect on the overall economic growth in China, which in turn could lead to a reduction in demand for our services and consequently have a material adverse effect on our business and prospects.

 

Uncertainties with respect to the PRC legal system could limit the legal protections available to you and us.

 

We conduct substantially all of our business through our operating subsidiaries in the PRC. Our operating subsidiaries are generally subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign investments in China and, in particular, laws applicable to foreign-invested enterprises. The PRC legal system is based on written statutes, and prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value. Since 1979, a series of new PRC laws and regulations have significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investments in China. However, since the PRC legal system continues to rapidly evolve, the interpretations of many laws, regulations and rules are not always uniform and enforcement of these laws, regulations and rules involve uncertainties, which may limit legal protections available to you and us. In addition, any litigation in China may be protracted and result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and management attention. In addition, most of our executive officers and directors are residents of China and not of the United States, and substantially all the assets of these persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it could be difficult for investors to affect service of process in the United States or to enforce a judgment obtained in the United States against our Chinese operations and subsidiaries.

 

If we are found to have failed to comply with applicable laws, we may incur additional expenditures or be subject to significant fines and penalties.

 

Our operations are subject to PRC laws and regulations applicable to us. However, many PRC laws and regulations are uncertain in their scope, and the implementation of such laws and regulations in different localities could have significant differences. In certain instances, local implementation rules and/or the actual implementation are not necessarily consistent with the regulations at the national level. Although we strive to comply with all the applicable PRC laws and regulations, we cannot assure you that the relevant PRC government authorities will not later determine that we have not been in compliance with certain laws or regulations.

 

In addition, our facilities and products are subject to many laws and regulations. Our failure to comply with these and other applicable laws and regulations in China could subject us to administrative penalties and injunctive relief, as well as civil remedies, including fines, injunctions and recalls of our products. It is possible that changes to such laws or more rigorous enforcement of such laws or with respect to our current or past practices could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. Further, additional environmental, health or safety issues relating to matters that are not currently known to management may result in unanticipated liabilities and expenditures.

 

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The PRC government exerts substantial influence over the manner in which we must conduct our business activities.

 

The PRC government has exercised and continues to exercise substantial control over virtually every sector of the Chinese economy through regulation and state ownership. Our ability to operate in China may be harmed by changes in its laws and regulations, including those relating to taxation, import and export tariffs, environmental regulations, land use rights, property and other matters. We believe that our operations in China are in material compliance with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements. However, the central or local governments of the jurisdictions in which we operate may impose new, stricter regulations or interpretations of existing regulations that would require additional expenditures and efforts on our part to ensure our compliance with such regulations or interpretations.

 

Accordingly, government actions in the future, including any decision not to continue to support recent economic reforms and to return to a more centrally planned economy or regional or local variations in the implementation of economic policies, could have a significant effect on economic conditions in China or particular regions thereof and could require us to divest ourselves of any interest we then hold in Chinese properties or joint ventures.

 

Restrictions on currency exchange may limit our ability to receive and use our sales effectively.

 

The majority of our revenues will be settled in RMB and U.S. dollars, and any future restrictions on currency exchanges may limit our ability to use revenue generated in RMB to fund any future business activities outside China or to make dividend or other payments in U.S. dollars. Although the Chinese government introduced regulations in 1996 to allow greater convertibility of the RMB for current account transactions, significant restrictions still remain, including primarily the restriction that foreign-invested enterprises may only buy, sell or remit foreign currencies after providing valid commercial documents, at those banks in China authorized to conduct foreign exchange business. In addition, conversion of RMB for capital account items, including direct investment and loans, is subject to governmental approval in China, and companies are required to open and maintain separate foreign exchange accounts for capital account items. We cannot be certain that the Chinese regulatory authorities will not impose more stringent restrictions on the convertibility of the RMB.

 

Fluctuations in exchange rates could adversely affect our business and the value of our securities.

 

The value of our common stock will be indirectly affected by the foreign exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and RMB and between those currencies and other currencies in which our revenues may be denominated. Appreciation or depreciation in the value of the RMB relative to the U.S. dollar would affect our financial results reported in U.S. dollar terms without giving effect to any underlying change in our business or results of operations. Fluctuations in the exchange rate will also affect the relative value of any dividend we issue that will be exchanged into U.S. dollars, as well as earnings from, and the value of, any U.S. dollar-denominated investments we make in the future.

 

Since July 2005, the RMB has no longer been pegged to the U.S. dollar. Although the People’s Bank of China 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 U.S. dollar in the medium to long term. Moreover, it is possible that in the future PRC authorities may lift restrictions on fluctuations in the RMB exchange rate and lessen intervention in the foreign exchange market.

 

Very limited hedging transactions are available in China to reduce our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we have not entered into any hedging transactions. While we may enter into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of these transactions may be limited, and we may not be able to successfully hedge our exposure at all. In addition, our foreign currency exchange losses may be magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to convert RMB into foreign currencies.

 

Sometimes we may need to import some of our raw materials and major equipment. In the event that the U.S. dollars appreciate against RMB, our costs will increase. If we cannot pass the resulting cost increases onto our customers, our profitability and operating results may suffer. In addition, since our sales to international customers are growing rapidly, we are increasingly subject to the risk of foreign currency depreciation.

 

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Restrictions under PRC law on our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to make dividends and other distributions could materially and adversely affect our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could benefit our business, pay dividends to you, and otherwise fund and conduct our business.

 

Substantially all of our revenues are earned by our PRC subsidiaries. However, PRC regulations restrict the ability of our PRC subsidiaries to make dividends and other payments to its offshore parent company. PRC legal restrictions permit payments of dividends by our PRC subsidiaries only out of their accumulated after-tax profits, if any, determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Our PRC subsidiaries are also required under PRC laws and regulations to allocate at least 10% of their annual after-tax profits determined in accordance with PRC generally accepted accounting principles to a statutory general reserve fund until the amounts in said fund reaches 50% of our registered capital. Allocations to these statutory reserve funds can only be used for specific purposes and are not transferable to us in the form of loans, advances, or cash dividends. Any limitations on the ability of our PRC subsidiary to transfer funds to us could materially and adversely limit our ability to grow, make investments or acquisitions that could be beneficial to our business, pay dividends and otherwise fund and conduct our business.

 

You may have difficulty enforcing judgments against us.

 

We are a Nevada holding company and most of our assets are located outside of the United States. Almost all of our operations are conducted in the PRC. In addition, most of our directors and officers are nationals and residents of countries other than the United States. A substantial portion of the assets of these persons is located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for you to effect service of process within the United States upon these persons. It may also be difficult for you to enforce in U.S. courts judgments on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us and our officers and directors, most of whom are not residents in the United States and the substantial majority of whose assets are located outside of the United States. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the PRC would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts. Although the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments are generally provided for under the PRC Civil Procedures Law, courts in China may recognize and enforce foreign judgments in accordance with the requirements of the PRC Civil Procedures Law based on treaties between China and the country where the judgment is made or on reciprocity between jurisdictions. China does not have any treaties or other arrangements that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments with the United States. In addition, according to the PRC Civil Procedures Law, courts in the PRC will not enforce a foreign judgment against us or our directors and officers if they decide that the judgment violates basic principles of PRC law or national sovereignty, security or the public interest. So it is uncertain whether a PRC court would enforce a judgment rendered by a court in the United States.

 

Failure to comply with PRC regulations relating to the establishment of offshore special purpose companies by PRC residents may subject our PRC resident stockholders to personal liability, limit our ability to acquire PRC companies or to inject capital into our PRC subsidiaries, limit our PRC subsidiaries’ ability to distribute profits to us or otherwise materially adversely affect us.

 

Our ability to conduct foreign-exchange activities in the PRC is subject to uncertainties surrounding the interpretation of SAFE regulations, one of which is Circular 75. Under the Notice on Relevant Issues in the Foreign Exchange Control over Financing and Return Investment Through Special Purpose Companies by Residents Inside China (as amended and supplemented, “Circular 75”), PRC residents must register with a local branch of SAFE (1) before they establish or gain control of an overseas special purpose vehicle, or SPV, for the purpose of overseas equity financing (including convertible debt financing); (2) when they contribute their assets or equity interests in a domestic enterprise to an SPV or engage in overseas financing after contributing assets or equity interests to an SPV; and (3) when their SPV undergoes a material change outside of China, such as a change in share capital or merger or acquisition. If any PRC resident who holds stock in an SPV fails to make the required SAFE registration and make any amended registration, the onshore PRC subsidiaries of that offshore company may be prohibited from distributing their profits and the proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to the offshore SPV. Failure to comply with the SAFE registration and amendment registration requirements described above could result in liability for evading PRC laws applicable to foreign exchange restrictions.

 

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We have advised our shareholders who are PRC residents, as defined in Circular 75, to register with the relevant branch of SAFE, as currently required, in connection with their equity interests in us and our acquisitions of equity interests in our PRC subsidiaries. However, we cannot provide any assurances that their existing registrations have fully complied with, and they have made all necessary amendments to their registration to fully comply with, all applicable registrations or approvals required by Circular 75. Moreover, because of uncertainty over how Circular 75 will be interpreted and implemented, and how or whether SAFE will apply it to us, we cannot predict how it will affect our business operations or future strategies. For example, our present and prospective PRC subsidiaries’ ability to conduct foreign exchange activities, such as the remittance of dividends and foreign currency-denominated borrowings, may be subject to compliance with Circular 75 by our PRC resident beneficial holders. In addition, such PRC residents may not always be able to complete the necessary registration procedures required by Circular 75. We also have little control over either our present or prospective direct or indirect shareholders or the outcome of such registration procedures. A failure by our PRC resident beneficial holders or future PRC resident shareholders to comply with Circular 75, if SAFE requires it, could subject these PRC resident beneficial holders to fines or legal sanctions, restrict our overseas or cross-border investment activities, limit our subsidiaries’ ability to make distributions or pay dividends or affect our ownership structure, which could adversely affect our business and prospects.

 

Under the New 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 stockholders.

 

Under the PRCEIT Law, an enterprise established outside of China with “de facto management bodies” within China is considered a “resident enterprise,” meaning that it can be treated in a manner similar to a Chinese 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 State Administration of Taxation 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 against non-Chinese enterprise or group controlled offshore entities. Pursuant to the Notice, an enterprise incorporated in an offshore jurisdiction and controlled by a Chinese enterprise or group will be classified as a “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 resident in China. A resident enterprise would be subject to an enterprise income tax rate of 25% on its worldwide income and its non-PRC stockholders would be subject to a withholding tax at a rate of 10% when dividends are paid to such non-PRC stockholders. However, it remains unclear as to whether the Notice is applicable to an offshore enterprise incorporated by a Chinese natural person. Nor are detailed measures on enforcement of PRC tax against non-domestically incorporated resident enterprises are 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 Chinese 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 subsidiary 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 stockholders and with respect to gains derived by our non-PRC stockholders 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.

 

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We face uncertainty from China’s Circular on Strengthening the Administration of Enterprise Income Tax on Non-Resident Enterprises' Share Transfer, or Circular 698, that was released in December 2009 with retroactive effect from January 1, 2008.

 

The Chinese State Administration of Taxation released a circular on December 15, 2009 that addresses the transfer of shares by nonresident companies, generally referred to as Circular 698. Circular 698, which is effective retroactively to January 1, 2008, may have a significant impact on many companies that use offshore holding companies to invest in China. Circular 698, which provides parties with a short period of time to comply with its requirements, indirectly taxes foreign companies on gains derived from the indirect sale of a Chinese company. Where a foreign investor indirectly transfers equity interests in a Chinese resident enterprise by selling the shares in an offshore holding company, and the latter is located in a country or jurisdiction where the effective tax burden is less than 12.5% or where the offshore income of his, her, or its residents is not taxable, the foreign investor is required to provide the tax authority in charge of that Chinese resident enterprise with the relevant information within 30 days of the transfers. Moreover, where a foreign investor indirectly transfers equity interests in a Chinese resident enterprise through an abuse of form of organization and there are no reasonable commercial purposes such that the corporate income tax liability is avoided, the PRC tax authority will have the power to re-assess the nature of the equity transfer in accordance with PRC’s “substance-over-form” principle and deny the existence of the offshore holding company that is used for tax planning purposes. There is uncertainty as to the application of Circular 698. For example, while the term "indirectly transfer" is not defined, it is understood that the relevant PRC tax authorities have jurisdiction regarding requests for information over a wide range of foreign entities having no direct contact with China. It is also unclear, in the event that an offshore holding company is treated as a domestically incorporated resident enterprise, whether Circular 698 would still be applicable to transfer of shares in such offshore holding company. Moreover, the relevant authority has not yet promulgated any formal provisions or formally declared or stated how to calculate the effective tax in the country or jurisdiction and to what extent and the process of the disclosure to the tax authority in charge of that Chinese resident enterprise. In addition, there are not any formal declarations with regard to how to decide “abuse of form of organization” and “reasonable commercial purpose,” which can be utilized by us to balance if our Company complies with the Circular 698. If Circular 698 is determined to be applicable to us based on the facts and circumstances around such share transfers, we may become at risk of being taxed under Circular 698 and we may be required to expend valuable resources to comply with Circular 698 or to establish that we should not be taxed under Circular 698, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

The disclosures in our reports and other filings with the SEC and our other public pronouncements are not subject to the scrutiny of any regulatory bodies in the PRC.  Accordingly, our public disclosure should be reviewed in light of the fact that no governmental agency that is located in China where all of our operations and business are located have conducted any due diligence on our operations or reviewed or cleared any of our disclosure.

 

We are regulated by the SEC and our reports and other filings with the SEC are subject to SEC review in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC under the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. Unlike public reporting companies whose operations are located primarily in the United States, however, all of our operations are located in China. Since all of our operations and business takes place in China, it may be more difficult for the Staff of the SEC to overcome the geographic and cultural obstacles that are present when reviewing our disclosure.  These same obstacles are not present for similar companies whose operations or business take place entirely or primarily in the United States. Furthermore, our SEC reports and other disclosure and public pronouncements are not subject to the review or scrutiny of any PRC regulatory authority.  For example, the disclosure in our SEC reports and other filings are not subject to the review of the CSRC, a PRC regulator that is tasked with oversight of the capital markets in China. Accordingly, you should review our SEC reports, filings and our other public pronouncements with the understanding that no local regulator has done any due diligence on our company and with the understanding that none of our SEC reports, other filings or any of our other public pronouncements has been reviewed or otherwise been scrutinized by any local regulator.  

 

The enforcement of the Labor Contract Law and other labor-related regulations in China may adversely affect our business and our results of operations.

 

The Labor Contract Law, which came into effect January 1, 2008, established more restrictions and increased costs for employers to dismiss employees under certain circumstances, including specific provisions relating to fixed-term employment contracts, non-fixed-term employment contracts, task-based employment, part-time employment, probation, consultation with the labor union and employee representative's council, employment without a contract, dismissal of employees, compensation upon termination and for overtime work, and collective bargaining. Under the Labor Contract Law, unless otherwise provided by law, an employer is obligated to sign a labor contract with a non-fixed term with an employee, if the employer continues to hire the employee after the expiration of two consecutive fixed-term labor contracts, or if the employee has worked for the employer for 10 consecutive years. Severance pay is required if a labor contract expires and is not renewed because of the employer's refusal to renew or seeking to renew with less favorable terms. In addition, under the Regulations on Paid Annual Leave for Employees, which became effective on January 1, 2008, employees who have served more than one year for an employer are entitled to a paid vacation for five to 15 days, depending on the employee's number of years of employment. Employees who waive such vacation at the request of employers are entitled to compensation that equals to three times their regular daily salary for each waived vacation day. As a result of these new labor protection measures, our labor costs are expected to increase, which may adversely affect our business and our results of operations. It is also possible that the PRC government may enact additional labor-related legislations in the future, which would further increase our labor costs and affect our operations.

 

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RISKS RELATED TO THE MARKET FOR OUR STOCK

 

Certain of our stockholders hold a significant percentage of our outstanding voting securities.

 

Ms. Lifang Chen, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is the beneficial owner of approximately 73.3% of our outstanding voting securities. As a result, she possesses significant influence and can elect a majority of our board of directors and authorize or prevent proposed significant corporate transactions. Her ownership and control may also have the effect of delaying or preventing a future change in control, impeding a merger, consolidation, takeover or other business combination or discourage a potential acquirer from making a tender offer.

 

Although publicly traded, the trading market in our common stock has been substantially less liquid than the average trading market for a stock quoted on the Nasdaq Stock Market and this low trading volume may adversely affect the price of our common stock.

 

Our common stock started trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “SUTR” in February 2008. The trading volume of our common stock has been comparatively low to other companies listed on Nasdaq. Limited trading volume will subject our shares of common stock to greater price volatility and may make it difficult for you to sell your shares of common stock at a price that is attractive to you.

 

Certain provisions of our Articles of Incorporation may make it more difficult for a third party to effect a change- in-control.

 

Our articles of incorporation authorize the board of directors to issue up to 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock. The preferred stock may be issued in one or more series, the terms of which may be determined at the time of issuance by the board of directors without further action by the stockholders. These terms may include voting rights including the right to vote as a series on particular matters, preferences as to dividends and liquidation, conversion rights and redemption rights provisions. The issuance of any preferred stock could diminish the rights of holders of our common stock, and therefore could reduce the value of such common stock. In addition, specific rights granted to future holders of preferred stock could be used to restrict our ability to merge with, or sell assets to, a third party. The ability of the board of directors to issue preferred stock could make it more difficult, delay, discourage, prevent or make it more costly to acquire or effect a change-in-control, which in turn could prevent the stockholders from recognizing a gain in the event that a favorable offer is extended and could materially and negatively affect the market price of our common stock.

 

The market price of our common stock is volatile, leading to the possibility of its value being depressed at a time when you want to sell your holdings.

 

The market price of our common stock is volatile, and this volatility may continue. Numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate significantly. These factors include:

 

·our earnings releases, actual or anticipated changes in our earnings, fluctuations in our operating results or our failure to meet the expectations of financial market analysts and investors;
·changes in financial estimates by us or by any securities analysts who might cover our stock;
·speculation about our business in the press or the investment community;
·significant developments relating to our relationships with our customers or suppliers;
·stock market price and volume fluctuations of other publicly traded companies and, in particular, those that are in the steel industries;
·customer demand for our products;
·investor perceptions of the steel industries in general and our company in particular;
·the operating and stock performance of comparable companies;
·general economic conditions and trends;
·major catastrophic events;
·announcements by us or our competitors of new products, significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships or divestitures;
·changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretation or principles;
·loss of external funding sources;
·sales of our common stock, including sales by our directors, officers or significant stockholders; and
·additions or departures of key personnel.

 

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Securities class action litigation is often instituted against companies following periods of volatility in their stock price. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs to us and divert our management’s attention and resources. Moreover, securities markets may from time to time experience significant price and volume fluctuations for reasons unrelated to operating performance of particular companies. For example, in July 2008, the securities markets in the United States, China and other jurisdictions experienced the largest decline in share prices since September 2001. These market fluctuations may adversely affect the price of our common stock and other interests in our company at a time when you want to sell your interest in us.

 

If the trading price of our common shares fails to comply with the continued listing requirements of The NASDAQ Capital Market, we would face possible delisting, which would result in a limited public market for our common stock and make obtaining future debt or equity financing more difficult for us.

 

Companies listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market, or NASDAQ, are subject to delisting for, among other things, failure to maintain a minimum closing bid price per share of $1.00 for 30 consecutive business days. On June 25, 2012, we received a deficiency letter from NASDAQ, indicating that for the last 30 consecutive business days our common stock, had a closing bid price below the $1.00 minimum closing bid as required for continued listing set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), we were provided a grace period of 180 calendar days, or until December 24, 2012, to regain compliance with this requirement. On November 9, 2012, we received notification from NASDAQ that the Company had regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. As of September 17, 2013, the closing price of our common stock was $2.02 per share. We cannot be sure that our share price will comply with the requirements for continued listing of our common stock on The NASDAQ Capital Market in the future. If our common stock loses its status on The NASDAQ Capital Market, our common stock would likely trade in the over-the-counter market. If our shares were to trade on the over-the-counter market, selling our common stock could be more difficult because smaller quantities of shares would likely be bought and sold, transactions could be delayed, and security analysts’ coverage of us may be reduced. In addition, in the event our common stock is delisted, broker-dealers have certain regulatory burdens imposed upon them, which may discourage broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our common stock, further limiting the liquidity of our common stock. These factors could result in lower prices and larger spreads in the bid and ask prices for our common stock. Such delisting from The NASDAQ Capital Market and continued or further declines in our share price could also greatly impair our ability to raise additional necessary capital through equity or debt financing, and could significantly increase the ownership dilution to shareholders caused by our issuing equity in financing or other transactions.

 

We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.

 

For the foreseeable future, we intend to retain any earnings to finance the development and expansion of our business, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock. Accordingly, investors must be prepared to rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation to earn an investment return, which may never occur. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our results of operations, financial condition, contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and other factors our board deems relevant.

 

ITEM 1B.UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.

 

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 2.PROPERTIES.

 

There is no private land ownership in China. Individuals and companies are permitted to acquire land use right for special purposes. Changshu Huaye and Jiangsu Cold-rolled currently have land use rights to six parcels of land located in DongbangTown, Changshu, China with approximately 360,000 square meters in aggregate, consisting of manufacturing facilities, office buildings and land reserved for future expansion. The land use rights for these properties will expire in 2054. This period may be renewed at the expiration of the initial and any subsequent terms. Granted land use rights are transferable and may be used as security for borrowings and other obligations. We have fully paid the land use fees. Some of our real property is subject to lien to secure certain bank loans.

 

Ningbo Zhehua leased a factory building located in the Ningbo Camel Machinery & Electronics Industrial Park, Ningbo, China. The lease will expire on August 5, 2014 and we expect to renew the lease annually after it expires.

 

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We have three principal manufacturing facilities: Changshu Huaye, Jiangsu Cold-Rolled and Ningbo Zhehua. Changshu Huaye and Jiangsu Cold-Rolled are located in Dongbang Industrial park, Changshu, China and Ningbo Zhehua is located in Ningbo, China. Changshu Huaye was established in January 2003 and started operation in June 2004, with an annual production capacity of 300,000 MT of HDG of cold-rolled steel and 200,000 MT of PPGI. In fiscal year 2013, the capacity utilization rates for the HDG production line and PPGI production line were approximately 78.4% and 29.0%, respectively. Jiangsu Cold-Rolled was established in August 2003 and its AP steel production line started operation in September 2006 with an annual production capacity of 500,000 MT. The cold-rolled steel production line started operation in January 2007 and has an annual production capacity of 250,000 MT. In fiscal year 2013, the capacity utilization rates for the AP steel production line and cold-rolled steel production line were approximately 149.7% and 168.5%, respectively. Jiangsu Cold-Rolled constructed two new HDG steel production lines with annual manufacturing capacity of 400,000 MT which became operational at the end of September 2008. As of June 30, 2013, their capacity utilization rate was approximately 79.8%. The new HDG steel production lines are capable of galvanizing both hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel with both zinc and aluminum, allowing us to better meet the needs of our customers and minimizing any excess capacity strains on our current HDG steel production lines. Ningbo Zhehua was established in 2004. It has one JCOE production line for large-diameter, double-side, submerged-arc welded steel pipes, three US Lincoln production lines for spiral seam, double-side, submerged-arc welded steel pipes and two REF production lines for roll-bending, double-side, submerged-arc welded steel pipes. In fiscal year 2013, the average utilization rate of our weld steel pipe production lines were approximately 9.8%.

 

We believe that all our properties have been adequately maintained, are generally in good condition, and are suitable and adequate for our business.

 

ITEM 3.LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

 

From time to time, we may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings which arise in the ordinary course of business.  However, litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in these or other matters may arise from time to time that may harm our business.  We are currently not aware of any such legal proceedings or claims that we believe will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or operating results.

 

ITEM 4.MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.

 

Not applicable.

 

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PART II

 

ITEM 5.MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.

 

Market Information

 

Our common stock is quoted on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “SUTR.” 

 

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the high and low closing prices of our common stock.  These prices reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, mark-down or commission, and may not represent actual transactions.

 

   Closing Bid Prices(1) 
   High   Low 
Year Ended June 30, 2013          
1st Quarter  $0.98   $0.72 
2nd Quarter   1.13    0.80 
3rd Quarter   2.43    0.95 
4th Quarter   2.05    1.40 
           
Year Ended June 30, 2012          
1st Quarter  $1.52   $0.86 
2nd Quarter   1.37    0.85 
3rd Quarter   1.30    1.02 
4th Quarter   1.14    0.85 

 

(1) The above table sets forth the range of high and low closing prices per share of our common stock as reported by www.quotemedia.com for the periods indicated.

 

Approximate Number of Holders of Our Common Stock

 

As of September 17, 2013, there were approximately 21 holders of record of our common stock.  This number excludes the shares of our common stock owned by stockholders holding stock under nominee security position listings.

 

Dividend Policy

 

We have never declared dividends or paid cash dividends. Our board of directors will make any future decisions regarding dividends. We currently intend to retain and use any future earnings for the development and expansion of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the near future.

 

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

 

See Item 12, “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters — Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans.”

 

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

 

We did not sell any equity securities during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013 that were not previously disclosed in a quarterly report on Form 10-Q or a current report on Form 8-K that was filed during the 2013 fiscal year.

 

Purchases of Equity Securities

 

On August 29, 2011, the Board of Directors of the Company authorized a repurchase of up to $5 million of the Company’s common stock over 12 months pursuant to a stock repurchase program, or the Repurchase Program. Under the terms of the Repurchase Program, the Company may repurchase shares through open market, negotiated private or block transactions. The Repurchase Program does not obligate the Company to repurchase any dollar amount or number of shares of its common stock, and the program may be extended, modified, suspended or discontinued at any time. The Repurchase Program expired on August 31, 2012.

 

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During the three-month period ended June 30, 2013, we did not repurchase any shares of our common stock. No repurchase plans expired or were terminated during the three-month period ended June 30, 2013, nor do any plans exist under which we do not intend to make further purchases.

 

ITEM 6.SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA.

 

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 7.MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

 

The following management’s discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the notes thereto and the other financial information appearing elsewhere in this report. In addition to historical information, the following discussion contains certain forward-looking information. See “Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements” above for certain information concerning those forward looking statements. Our financial statements are prepared in U.S. dollars and in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

 

Overview

 

We are one of the leading Chinese non-state-owned manufacturers of fine finished steel products. We utilize a variety of processes and technological methodologies to convert steel manufactured by third parties into fine finished steel products. Our product offerings are focused on higher-margin, value-added finished steel products, specifically, HDG steel and PPGI products. In addition, we produce AP steel and cold-rolled steel, which represent the least processed of our finished products. As a result of our acquisition of Ningbo Zhehua in November 2009, our product offerings have included welded steel pipe products. We use a large portion of our AP steel and cold-rolled steel to produce our HDG steel and PPGI products. Our vertical integration has allowed us to maintain more stable margins for our HDG steel and PPGI products.

 

We sell most of our products to customers who operate primarily in the solar energy, appliances, automobile, construction, infrastructure, medical equipment and water resource industries. Most of our customers are located in China. Our primary export markets are Europe, the Middle East, Asia and South America.

 

Our manufacturing facilities, located in Changshu, China, have three HDG steel production lines, one PPGI production line, one AP steel production line and one cold-rolled steel line. Our current annual production capacity is approximately 700,000 MT for HDG steel, 200,000 MT for PPGI, 500,000 MT for AP steel and 250,000 MT for cold-rolled steel. Ningbo Zhehua, our subsidiary located in Ningbo, currently has an annual capacity of 400,000 MT for welded steel pipe products.

 

Revenue

 

Our revenue is generated from sales of our HDG steel, PPGI, AP steel and cold-rolled steel products. As a result of our acquisition of Ningbo Zhehua, we also generate revenue from sales of steel pipe products, such as longitudinally welded steel pipes and spiral welded steel pipes. Our revenue has historically been affected by sales volume, sales price of our products and our product mix.

 

We have four reportable business segments including our three principal manufacturing facilities, Changshu Huaye, Jiangsu Cold-Rolled and Ningbo Zhehua and one newly established facility with limited operations, Sutor Technology PRC. Changshu Huaye manufactures HDG steel and PPGI products. In fiscal years 2013 and 2012, Changshu Huaye generated revenue of approximately $175.8million and $170.5 million, which represented approximately 28.7% and 32.1% of our total revenue, respectively. Jiangsu Cold-Rolled manufactures AP steel, cold-rolled steel and HDG steel products. Jiangsu Cold-Rolled generated revenue of approximately $391.8 million and $311.3 million in fiscal years 2013 and 2012, which represented approximately 64.0% and 58.6% of our total revenue, respectively. Ningbo Zhehua manufactures steel pipe products. In fiscal years 2013 and 2012, Ningbo Zhehua generated revenue of approximately $34.2 million and $42.4 million, which represented approximately 5.6% and 7.9% of our total revenue, respectively. In fiscal years 2013 and 2012, Sutor Technology PRC generated revenue of approximately $10.3 million and $7.4 million, which represented approximately 1.7% and 1.4% of our total revenue, respectively. A portion of our products are sold through our affiliate Shanghai Huaye, which also supplies to us a significant portion of our raw materials. Approximately 35.4% of our revenue was derived from Shanghai Huaye and its affiliates in fiscal year 2013, as compared to approximately 31.3% last year. We expanded our own sales channel this year in effort to gain more market share. At the same time, we continue to take advantage of Shanghai Huaye’s extensive sales network and to build brand value.

 

25
 

 

Cost of Revenue

 

Cost of revenue includes direct costs to manufacture our products, including the cost of raw materials, labor, overhead, energy cost, handling charges, and other expenses associated with the manufacture and delivery of product. Direct costs of manufacturing are generally highest when we first introduce a new product due to higher start-up costs and higher raw material costs. As production volume increases, we typically improve manufacturing efficiencies and are able to strengthen our purchasing power by buying raw materials in greater quantities.

 

In fiscal year 2013, approximately $261.8 million of raw material procurement was conducted through Shanghai Huaye and its affiliates. Due to the size of Shanghai Huaye and the economy of scale, it has stronger bargaining power than we do and our arrangement with Shanghai Huaye allows us to purchase raw materials at relatively lower prices than we could obtain from suppliers ourselves.

 

Gross Profit and Gross Margin

 

Gross profit is equal to the difference between our revenue and the cost of revenue. Gross margin is equal to gross profit divided by revenue. In fiscal year 2013, gross margin for domestic and international sales were approximately 7.1% and 11.2%, respectively. On a segment basis, Changshu Huaye, Jiangsu Cold-Rolled and Ningbo Zhehua’s gross margins were approximately 12.0%, 5.5% and 7.5%, respectively. Sutor Technology PRC has a gross margin of 3.8% in fiscal year 2013.

 

To gain market penetration, we price our products at levels that we believe are competitive. We continually strive to improve manufacturing efficiencies and reduce our production costs in order to offer superior products and services at competitive prices. General economic conditions, the cost of raw materials, and supply and demand of fine finished steel products within our markets influence sales prices. Our high-end, value-added products, such as the PPGI products, generally tend to have higher profit margins.

 

We implemented a vertical integration strategy where we use our own AP steel and cold-rolled steel products as raw materials for HDG steel and PPGI products. We believe our vertically integrated operations will allow us to provide customers with one-stop services, build customer loyalty, and maintain stable operating margins.

 

Operating Expenses

 

Our operating expenses primarily consist of general and administrative expenses and selling expenses.

 

General and Administrative Expenses

 

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation and benefits for our general management, finance and administrative staff, professional and advisory fees, bad debts reserves, and other expenses incurred in connection with general corporate purposes. We expect most components of our general and administrative expenses will increase as our business grows and as we incur increased costs as a public company.

  

Selling Expenses

 

Selling expenses consist primarily of compensation and benefits for our sales and marketing staff, sales commissions, the cost of advertising, promotional and travel activities, transportation expenses, after-sales support services and other sales related costs.

 

Our selling expenses are generally affected by the amount of international sales and our sales to unrelated parties. The transportation costs for our international sales are generally higher than domestic sales. In addition, when we sell products to Shanghai Huaye and its affiliates, Shanghai Huaye generally arranges and bears the cost of transportation. In contrast, when we sell products to customers other than Shanghai Huaye, we generally bear the transportation costs, but we are able to charge a higher price.

 

26
 

 

Provision for Income Taxes

 

Sutor Technology Group Limited is subject to United States federal income tax at a tax rate of 34%. Sutor BVI was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and, under the current laws of the British Virgin Islands, is not subject to income taxes.

 

The EIT Law gives existing FIEs a five-year grandfather period during which they can continue to enjoy their existing preferential tax treatments. Changshu Huaye was subject to an EIT of 15% from calendar years 2010 to 2012 because it qualified as a high-tech enterprise for the calendar years 2010, 2011 and 2012.Changshu Huaye was subject to an EIT of 15% from calendar years 2010 to 2012 because it qualified as a high-tech enterprise for the calendar years 2010, 2011, 2012. In 2013, Changshu Huaye applied to renew its certificate as a high-tech enterprise. We expect the application will be approved and the certificate issued soon. We expect it to continue to have an EIT of 15% from calendar years 2013 to 2015. Jiangsu Cold-Rolled was subject to an EIT of 12.5% for the calendar years 2010 and 2011 and is subject to an EIT of 25% for the calendar year 2012 and beyond. Ningbo Zhehua and Sutor Technology PRC are subject to an EIT of 25% and have no preferential tax treatments. See Item 1, “Business – Regulation – Taxation” for a detailed description of the EIT Law and tax regulations applicable to our Chinese subsidiaries.

 

Reportable Operating Segments

 

We have four reportable operating segments which are categorized based on manufacturing facilities and nature of operations – Changshu Huaye, Jiangsu Cold-Rolled, Ningbo Zhehua and Sutor Technology PRC. Changshu Huaye manufactures and sells HDG steel and PPGI products. Jiangsu Cold-Rolled manufactures and sells AP steel, cold-rolled steel and HDG steel. Ningbo Zhehua manufactures and sells steel pipe products. Changshu Huaye and Jiangsu Cold-Rolled are adjacent to each other and use largely the same management resources. Ningbo Zhehua is located in Ningbo, China. Sutor Technology PRC is intended to cover R&D operations of the Company and so far had limited trading operations. See Note 13, “Segment Information” to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report.

 

Recent Development

 

On July 5, 2013, we entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain investors, pursuant to which, we issued and sold an aggregate of 1,041,665 shares of common stock to the investors, for an aggregate purchase price of $1.5 million. The issuance of the shares to the investors was made in reliance on the exemption provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act for the offer and sale of securities not involving a public offering, Regulation D and Regulation S promulgated thereunder.

 

Results of Operations

 

Comparison of Fiscal Years Ended June 20, 2013 and June 30, 2012

 

The following table sets forth key components of our results of operations for the periods indicated, both in dollars and as a percentage of our net sales.

 

(All amounts, other than percentages, in thousands of U.S. dollars)

 

   June 30, 2013   June 30, 2012 
   Amount   Percentage
of Revenue
   Amount   Percentage
of Revenue
 
Revenue:  $        $      
Revenue from unrelated parties   395,434    64.6%   365,059    68.7%
Revenue from related parties   216,642    35.4%   166,564    31.3%
Total   612,076    100.0%   531,623    100.0%
Cost of Revenue:                    
Cost of revenue from unrelated parties   (367,211)   (60.0)%   (336,196)   (63.3)%
Cost of revenue from related parties   (199,929)   (32.7)%   (153,704)   (28.9)%
Total   (567,140)   (92.7)%   (489,900)   (92.2)%
Gross Profit   44,936    7.3%   41,723    7.8%
Operating Expenses:                    
Selling expense   (8,267)   (1.3)%   (7,236)   (1.4)%
General and administrative expense   (10,516)   (1.7)%   (10,781)   (2.0)%
Total Operating Expenses   (18,783)   (3.0)%   (18,017)   (3.4)%
Income from Operations   26,153    4.3%   23,706    4.5%
Other Income (Expense):                    
Interest income   3,414    0.6%   2,832    0.5%
Other income   458    0.1%   409    0.0%
Interest expense   (10,210)   (1.7)%   (13,318)   (2.5)%
Other expense   (460)   (0.1)%   (918)   (0.0)%
Changes in fair value of warrant liabilities   (97)   (0.0)%   352    0.0%
Income from equity method investments   371    0.0%   -    - 
Total Other Income (Expense)   (6,524)   (1.1)%   (10,643)   (2.0)%
Income Before Taxes   19,629    3.2%   13,063    2.5%
Provision for income taxes   (2,723)   (0.4)%   (998)   (0.2)%
Net Income  $16,906    2.8%  $12,065    2.3%

 

27
 

 

Revenue. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013, revenue was $612.1 million compared to $531.6 million last year, an increase of approximately 15.1%. The increase was mainly attributable to increased total sales volume of approximately 37.3% in fiscal year 2013 as compared to last fiscal year, of which sales volume for AP products and cold- rolled products at Jiangsu Cold Rolled significantly increased by 123.5% and 280.3%, respectively. The effect of increased sales volume on revenue was partly offset by the decline in average selling price (ASP) of approximately 15.9% as compared with last year. The lower ASP was primarily due to lower costs of raw materials.

 

To protect the environment, the Chinese government halted issuing permits for building new AP production lines in 2011, which we believe limits the market supply of AP products. As a result, our sales of AP products, an indispensable feedstock for processing a variety of value-added steel products, rose by approximately 98.0% as compared to last year. Additionally, the sales volume generated from cold-rolled products for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013 was approximately 222.6% higher than last year, mainly resulted from our developing a new SOE customer whose purchase volume accounted for approximately 30% of the total cold-rolled products sales as well as the recovery in the household appliance industry. Moreover, to cope with the periodic economic volatility in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013, we adjusted our sales strategies, including increasing experienced sales force to gain access to more end customers in diverse downstream industries, adopting aggressive pricing policies to gain price sensitive customers, and shortening the delivery time to capture more time sensitive customers.

 

The following table sets forth revenue by geography and the percentage of our total revenue and total revenue by business segments for fiscal years 2013 and 2012.

 

(All amounts, other than percentages, in thousands of U.S. dollars)

 

   June 30, 2013   June 30, 2012 
   Amount   Percentage
of Revenue
   Amount   Percentage
of Revenue
 
Geographic Data:                    
China  $553,207    90.4%  $471,557    88.7%
Other Countries   58,869    9.6%   60,067    11.3%
                     
Segment Data:                    
Changshu Huaye  $175,823    28.7%  $170,549    32.1%
Jiangsu Cold-Rolled   391,752    64.0%   311,307    58.6%
Ningbo Zhehua   34,183    5.6%   42,407    7.9%
Sutor Technology PRC   10,318    1.7%   7,361    1.4%

 

On a geographic basis, revenue generated from outside of China was $58.9 million, or 9.6% of total revenue, for fiscal year 2013, as compared to $60.1 million, or 11.3% of the total revenue, for fiscal year 2012. From fiscal year 2012 to 2013, we increased our total export shipment tonnage, but the effect on revenue was offset by lower ASP. There are a number of factors contributed to our increased sales volume. During fiscal 2013, our products are sold to more customers in more countries than in the last fiscal year. We believe our focus on developing high-end products helped us maintain export momentum.

 

28
 

 

On a segment basis, after eliminating intercompany sales, revenue contributed by Changshu Huaye was $175.8 million for fiscal year 2013, reflecting an increase of $5.3 million, or 3.1%, from $170.5 million in fiscal year 2012. The increase was mainly attributable to increased sales volume as a result of our aggressive sales strategies mentioned above. Besides, due to strong demands for HDG products of certain specifications that the HDG production line at Changshu Huaye was more efficient to produce, we transferred some production of HDG products to Changshu Huaye from Jiangsu Cold-Rolled. As a result, revenue contributed by Changshu Huaye’s HDG production line increased by 11.0% year over year.

 

After eliminating inter-company sales, revenues contributed by Jiangsu Cold-Rolled were $391.8 million for fiscal year 2013, an increase of $80.5 million from $311.3 million last fiscal year, mainly as a result of the higher sales generated from AP products and cold rolled products, which increased by 98.0% and 222.6%, respectively, as compared to last year.

 

Revenues contributed by Ningbo Zhehua were $34.2 million for fiscal year 2013, a decrease of approximately $8.2 million from $42.4 million in fiscal year 2012, primarily resulting from the lower shipment and ASP. Our pipe products are mainly used for construction and infrastructure investment purposes. We think the on-going structural change in the Chinese economy, i.e. from investment and export driven to domestic consumption driven, and from pursuing growth at all cost to seeking sustainable growth, temporarily depressed the demand for our pipe products. We are actively seeking new markets for our products and have been targeting such applications as urban water transportation and recycling to expand our sales.

 

Revenues contributed by Sutor Technology PRC were $10.3 million for fiscal year 2013, an increase of approximately $2.9 million from $7.4 million in fiscal year 2012.

 

In terms of sales to related parties as compared with sales to unrelated parties, our direct sales to unrelated parties in fiscal year 2013 increased $30.3 million, or 8.3%, to $395.4 million from $365.1 million in fiscal year 2012.

 

Cost of revenue.  Cost of revenue increased $77.2 million, or 15.8%, to $567.1 million in fiscal year 2013 from $489.9 million in fiscal year 2012. As a percentage of revenue, cost of revenue increased to 92.7% in fiscal year 2013 from 92.2% last year.  The increase in cost of revenue was mainly due to the increase in sales revenue.

 

Gross profit and gross margin. Gross profit increased $3.2 million to $44.9 million in fiscal year 2013 from $41.7 million in fiscal year 2012. Gross profit as a percentage of revenue (gross margin) was 7.3% in fiscal year 2013, as compared to 7.8% in fiscal year 2012. The decreased gross margin mainly resulted from changes in the product mix where lower margin products like AP steel and cold rolled steel products made a larger percentage of the total revenue in fiscal 2013 than last year. In addition, the lower ASP also contributed to the lower gross margin.

 

On a segment basis, gross margin for Changshu Huaye increased to 12.0% in fiscal year 2013 from 10.4% last year, mainly due to higher capacity utilization of both HDG and PPGI production lines. Gross margin for Jiangsu Cold-Rolled decreased to 5.5% in fiscal year 2013 from 6.5% last year, mainly due to lower sales of its main HDG products as some of the production was transferred to Changshu Huaye. Gross margin for Ningbo Zhehua decreased to 7.5% in fiscal year 2013, as compared to 7.8% in fiscal year 2012, mainly because of lower steel pipe sales for the reasons discussed above. Gross margin for Sutor Technology PRC was 3.8% in fiscal year 2013, as compared to 3.8% in fiscal year 2012.

 

Total operating expenses. Our total operating expenses increased approximately $0.8 million to $18.8 million in fiscal year 2013 from $18.0 million in fiscal year 2012. As a percentage of revenue, our total operating expenses decreased to 3.0% in fiscal year 2013 from 3.4% in fiscal year 2012.  

 

Selling expenses. Our selling expenses increased approximately $1.1 million to $8.3 million in fiscal year 2013, from $7.2 million in fiscal year 2012. As a percentage of revenue, our selling expense was 1.3% in fiscal year 2013 as compared to 1.4% in fiscal 2012. The dollar amount increase was primarily due to the increased domestic shipping and shipping-related expenses as a result of higher sales in fiscal 2013 than last year.

 

General and administrative expenses.  General and administrative expenses decreased $0.3 million, or 2.8%, to $10.5 million, or 1.7% of revenue, in fiscal year 2013, from $10.8 million, or 2.0% of revenue, in fiscal year 2012. The lower general and administrative expenses were primarily due to lower office, insurance and professional consulting expenses in fiscal 2013 than last year.

 

29
 

 

Interest expense. Our interest expense decreased $3.1 million to $10.2 million in fiscal year 2013, from $13.3 million in fiscal year 2012. As a percentage of revenue, our interest expenses decreased to 1.7% in fiscal year 2013, from 2.5% in fiscal year 2012.  The decrease in interest expense was mainly attributable to the decrease in discounted interest expenses on bank notes. To control interest expenses, we stopped using bank notes at the beginning of calendar year 2013.

 

Provision for income taxes. We incurred income tax expense of $2.7 million in fiscal year 2013 as compared to $1.0 million in fiscal year 2012. In addition to lower taxable income, we received tax rebates and waiver of tax obligations for using certain domestic equipment, leading to a lower effective income tax rate in fiscal 2012 than fiscal 2013.

 

Net income. Net income, without including the foreign currency translation adjustment, increased $4.8 million, or approximately 39.7%, to $16.9 million in fiscal year 2013, from $12.1 million in fiscal year 2012, as a cumulative result of the above factors.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Our major sources of liquidity for the periods covered by this annual report were borrowings through short-term bank and private loans and long-term notes payable.  Our operating activities used approximately $20.5million of cash in fiscal year 2013. As of June 30, 2013, our total indebtedness to non-related parties under existing short-term loans was approximately $146.4 million. We also had approximately $1.2 million under long-term notes payable to non-related parties. We had no notes payable to related parties, however, approximately $20.2 million of our short-term notes payable were guaranteed by Shanghai Huaye and its affiliates. As of June 30, 2013, the Company also had an unused line of credit with banks of approximately $16.2 million (RMB100 million) which entitled us to draw bank loans for general corporate purposes.

 

Short-term bank and private loans and notes payable are likely to continue to be our key sources of financing for the foreseeable future, although in the future we may raise additional capital by issuing shares of our capital stock in an equity financing. We expect to renew our short term loans when they become due.

 

Our liquidity and working capital may be affected by a material decrease in cash flow due to factors such as the continued use of cash in operating activities resulting from a decrease in sales due to the current global economic crisis, increased competition, decreases in the availability, or increases in the cost of raw materials, unexpected equipment failures, or regulatory changes.

 

As stated above, a portion of our operations is funded through short-term bank loans and we expect to renew our short term loans when they become due. We are exposed to a variety of risks associated with short-term borrowings including adverse fluctuations in fixed interest rates for short-term borrowings and unfavorable increases in variable interest rates, potential inability to service our short term indebtedness through cash flow from operations and the overall reduction of credit in the current economic environment.

 

Our liquidity and working capital may also be affected by the substantial amount of our outstanding short-term loans, which represent our primary source of financing in China. Depending on the level of cash used in our operating activities and the level of our indebtedness, (i) it may become more difficult for us to satisfy our existing or future liabilities or obligations, which could in turn result in an event of default on such obligations, (ii) we may have to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flows from borrowings to our operating activities and to debt service payments, thereby reducing the availability of cash for working capital and capital expenditures, acquisitions, general corporate purposes or other purposes, (iii) our ability to obtain additional financing in the future for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, general corporate purposes or other purposes may become impaired, (iv) our ability to withstand a downturn in our business, the industry in which we operate or the economy generally may be diminished, (v) we may experience limited flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industry in which we operate and (vi) we may find ourselves at a competitive disadvantage compared to competitors that have proportionately less debt. If we are unable to meet our debt service obligations, we could be forced to restructure or refinance our indebtedness, seek additional equity capital or sell assets. We may be unable to obtain financing or sell assets on satisfactory terms, or at all, which could cause us to default on our debt service obligations and be subject to foreclosure on such loans. Additionally, we could incur additional indebtedness in the future and, if new debt is added to our current debt levels, the risks above could intensify.

 

As some of our loans become due, we may elect to refinance, rather than repay, the indebtedness. However, there is no assurance that additional financing will become available on terms acceptable to us. We believe that we will have the ability to refinance our indebtedness when and if we elect to do so. While we currently are not in a position to know the terms of such refinancing, we expect to refinance our indebtedness at prevailing market rates and on prevailing market terms.

 

30
 

 

As of June 30, 2013, we had cash and cash equivalents (excluding restricted cash) of $3.6 million and restricted cash of $108.8 million. The following table provides detailed information about our net cash flow for all financial statement periods presented in this report.

 

Cash Flow

(all amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars)

 

(Unaudited)  Fiscal Years Ended June 30, 
   2013   2012 
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities   (20,469)   13,169 
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities   (9,318)   (30,528)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities   23,756    5,205 
Effect of foreign currency translation on cash and cash equivalents   102    360 
Net cash flows   (5,929)   (11,794)

 

Operating Activities

 

Net cash used in operating activities was $20.5 million for fiscal year 2013 compared to $13.2 million net cash provided by operating activities for the last fiscal year. The major source of cash inflows from operations included net income and depreciation and amortization of $16.9 million and $8.9 million respectively, increased account payable of $45.0 million and higher advances from customers of $3.1 million. The outflows of the operating cash during the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013 were mainly attributable to increased restricted cash of $20.7 million and increased advances to suppliers of $71.7 million.

 

According to our arrangements with Shanghai Huaye, our cash advances will not be forfeited if we fail to take all of the deliveries. In addition, we do not have long-term contracts with Shanghai Huaye. We place orders from them based on our current needs and market prices. If we purchase products from other steel companies, we may not be able to negotiate terms with these companies that are as favorable as our arrangements with Shanghai Huaye. We expect that we will be required to enter into long-term supply agreements with them including paying cash deposit in an amount similar to our prepayment to Shanghai Huaye. Further, some of the deposit will be forfeited if we do not take required amount of the products as specified in the contracts. Because our customers are primarily small and medium size companies and their orders are relatively small with various product specifications, we believe it will be in our best interest not to enter into any large long-term arrangements with the suppliers.

 

Investing Activities

 

Our main uses of cash for investing activities are payments relating to the acquisition of property, plant and equipment and restricted cash pledged as deposits for bankers’ acceptance bills.

 

Net cash used in investing activities during fiscal year 2013 was $9.3million as compared to $30.5 million net cash used in investing activities for fiscal year 2012. In fiscal year 2013, our net cash used in investing activities includes the purchase of equipment of $5.3 million for an on-going construction project which is expected to be completed by the end of calendar 2103, purchase of land use rights of $3.6 million and investment in a joint-venture in an amount of approximately $6.2 million, offset by proceeds from sales of short-term investments of approximately $4.9 million.

 

Financing Activities

 

Net cash provided by financing activities for fiscal year 2013 totaled $23.8 million, as compared to $5.2 million net cash provided by financing activities for fiscal year 2012. The increase in net cash provided by financing activities was mainly due to the cash released from restricted cash account in the amount of approximately $25.8 million. Some of the changes in restrict cash are considered as operating activities while others are financing activities.

 

As of June 30, 2013, the amount, maturity date and term of each of our loans were as follows.

 

31
 

 

(All amounts in millions of U.S. dollars)

 

Lender  Amount*   Starting
Date
  Maturity
Date
  Guarantor**
The Agricultural Bank of China, Singapore Branch   10.00   2012-07-29  2013-07-29  Jiangsu Cold-Rolled
Bank of Communications, Changshu Branch   3.24   2012-11-02  2013-11-01  Shanghai Huaye
China Construction Bank, Changshu Branch   6.47   2012-11-09  2013-11-08  None
The Agricultural Bank of China, Changshu Branch   4.04   2012-12-19  2013-12-13  Jiangsu Cold-Rolled, ShanghaiHuaye
The Agricultural Bank of China, Changshu Branch   6.47   2013-04-27  2013-10-26  Jiangsu Cold-Rolled, ShanghaiHuaye
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Changshu Branch   3.24   2013-06-07  2014-06-03  None
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Changshu Branch   1.29   2013-06-20  2014-06-16  None
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Changshu Branch   3.56   2013-06-25  2014-06-24  Shanghai Huaye
Bank of Communications, Changshu Branch   5.74   2011-09-27  2014-09-11  Changshu Huaye
The Agricultural Bank of China, Changshu Branch   7.44   2012-07-20  2013-07-19  Changshu Huaye, Shanghai Huaye
The Agricultural Bank of China, Changshu Branch   6.47   2012-08-13  2013-08-12  Changshu Huaye,
Shanghai Huaye
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Changshu Branch   3.24   2012-08-08  2013-08-06  Changshu Huaye
The Agricultural Bank of China, Changshu Branch   4.85   2012-08-30  2013-08-29  Changshu Huaye, Shanghai Huaye
The Agricultural Bank of China, Changshu Branch   6.47   2012-09-19  2013-09-18  None
The Agricultural Bank of China, Changshu Branch   4.21   2012-10-12  2013-10-11  Changshu Huaye,
Shanghai Huaye
The Agricultural Bank of China, Changshu Branch   8.09   2012-10-23  2013-10-22  None
The Agricultural Bank of China, Changshu Branch   5.50   2012-11-07  2013-11-06  Changshu Huaye, Shanghai Huaye
The Agricultural Bank of China, Changshu Branch   8.90   2012-12-11  2013-12-10  Changshu Huaye, Shanghai Huaye
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Changshu Branch   1.62   2012-12-28  2013-12-26  Changshu Huaye
The Agricultural Bank of China, Changshu Branch   2.43   2013-01-05  2013-12-04  Changshu Huaye, Shanghai Huaye
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Changshu Branch   0.65   2013-04-15  2014-04-11  Changshu Huaye
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Changshu Branch   2.59   2013-04-15  2014-04-11  Changshu Huaye
Chinatrust Commercial Bank, Hong Kong Branch   9.50   2012-12-13  2013-12-12  None
Shenzhen Development Bank   1.13   2012-09-12  2013-09-12  Changshu Huaye, Shanghai Huaye
The Agricultural Bank of China, Ningbo Branch   3.24   2013-03-28  2013-09-24  Shanghai Huaye
Lin, Guihua   2.86   2008-11-20  2013-12-31  None
Macao International Bank Co., LTD   7.44   2013-02-20  2014-02-12  Shanghai Huaye
Macao International Bank Co., LTD   5.26   2013-03-11  2014-03-02  Shanghai Huaye
Macao International Bank Co., LTD   4.80   2013-03-25  2014-03-16  Shanghai Huaye
Macao International Bank Co., LTD   5.11   2013-04-03  2014-03-24  Shanghai Huaye
Macao International Bank Co., LTD   1.73   2013-04-11  2014-04-03  Shanghai Huaye
Total  $147.6          

 

* Calculated on the basis that $1 = RMB6.1807

 

** We do not pay any consideration to Shanghai Huaye or its affiliated companies, which are controlled by our CEO and her spouse, for the guarantees of our loans.

 

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The loan agreements with banks generally contain debt covenants that require us to maintain certain inventory levels, among other things. We were incompliance with these debt covenants as of June 30, 2013.

 

In the coming 12 months, we have approximately $146.4million in bank loans that will mature. We plan to replace these loans with new bank loans in approximately the same aggregate amounts.

 

We believe that our currently available working capital, credit facilities referred to above and the expected additional credit facility should be adequate to sustain our operations at the current level for at least the next twelve months. However, depending on our future needs and changes and trends in the capital markets affecting our shares and the Company, we may determine to seek additional equity or debt financing in the private or public markets.

 

Critical Accounting Policies

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires our management to make assumptions, estimates and judgments that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements, including the notes thereto, and related disclosures of commitments and contingencies, if any.

 

We consider the policies discussed below to be critical to an understanding of our consolidated financial statements as their application places significant demands on the judgment of our management. We believe the following critical accounting policies are the most significant to the presentation of our financial statements and some of which may require the most difficult, subjective and complex judgments and should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements, the risks and uncertainties described under “Risk Factors” and other disclosures included in this annual report.

 

Revenue Recognition - We recognize revenues from the sale of products when they are realized and earned. We consider revenue realized and earned when (1) it has persuasive evidence of an arrangement, (2) delivery has occurred, (3) the sales price is fixed or determinable, and (4) collectability is reasonably assured. Revenues are not recognized until products have been shipped to the client, risk of loss has transferred to the client and client acceptance has been obtained, client acceptance provisions have lapsed, or we have objective evidence that the criteria specified in client acceptance provisions have been satisfied.

 

We sell some products to related parties, who in turn sell the products to various other unrelated party customers. The price, terms and conditions on the sales to related parties are the same as those to unrelated parties. Revenue is considered realized or realizable and earned when the related parties ship the products to unrelated party customers. A fee of 0.5% of the sales is paid to the related parties for handling the products. Handling fees were approximately $109,167 and $83,739 for the year ended June 30, 2013 and 2012 respectively and have been recorded in selling expenses in the statement of operations.

 

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts- We provide a general provision for doubtful accounts for the outstanding trade receivable balances based on historical experience and information available. Additionally, we make specific bad debt provisions based on (i) specific assessment of the collectability of all significant accounts; and (ii) any specific knowledge the Company has acquired that might indicate that an account is uncollectible. The facts and circumstances of each account may require us to use substantial judgment in assessing its collectability.

 

Impairment of Long-lived Assets - We evaluates its long-lived assets or asset group, including intangible assets with finite lives, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances (such as a significant adverse change to market conditions that will impact the future use of the assets) indicate that the carrying amount of an asset or a group of long-lived assets may not be recoverable. When these events occur, we evaluates for impairment by comparing the carrying amount of the assets to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to result from the use of the assets and their eventual disposition. If the sum of the expected undiscounted cash flow is less than the carrying amount of the assets, we would recognize an impairment loss based on the excess of the carrying amount of the asset group over its fair value. Fair value is generally determined by discounting the cash flows expected to be generated by the assets, when the market prices are not readily available for the long-lived assets. No impairment charge was recognized for each of the year ended June 30, 2013 and 2012.

 

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Income Taxes–We accounts for income taxes using the liability method whereby deferred income taxes are recognized for the tax consequences of temporary differences by applying statutory tax rates applicable to future years to the differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and the tax bases of certain assets and liabilities, changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities, if any, include the impact of any tax rate changes enacted during the year. ASC Topic350, “Accounting for Income Taxes,” requires that deferred tax assets be reduced by a valuation allowance if, based on all available evidence, it is considered more likely than not that some portion or all of the recorded deferred tax assets will not be realized in future periods. Additionally, we account for uncertainty in income taxes using a two-step approach to recognize and measure uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely of being realized upon settlement. The Company classifies the liability for unrecognized tax benefits as current to the extent that we anticipate payment (or receipt) of cash within one year. Interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions are recognized in the provision for income taxes. We did not have any uncertain tax positions for the year ended June 30, 2013 and 2012. If the amount of our taxable income or income tax liability is a determinant of the amount of a grant, the grant is treated as a reduction of the income tax provision in the year the grant is realized.

 

Stock-based Compensation – Share options granted to employees are accounted for under ASC 718, “Compensation – Stock Compensation”, which requires that share-based awards granted to employees be measured based on the grant date fair value and recognized as compensation expense over the requisite service period (which is generally the vesting period) in the consolidated statements of operations. We has elected to recognize compensation expense using the straight-line method for all share options granted with service conditions that have a graded vesting schedule.ASC 718 requires forfeitures to be estimated at the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from initial estimates. Forfeiture rate is estimated based on historical and future expectation of employee turnover rate and are adjusted to reflect future change in circumstances and facts, if any. Share-based compensation expense is recorded net of estimated forfeitures such that expense is recorded only for those share-based awards that are expected to vest. To the extent we revise this estimate in the future, the share-based payments could be materially impacted in the period of revision, as well as in following periods.

 

Transactions in which goods or services are received in exchange for equity instruments are accounted for based on the fair value of the consideration received or the fair value of the equity instrument issued, whichever is more reliably measurable. The measurement date of the fair value of the equity instrument issued is the date on the earlier of: (1) the performance commitment date, or (2) the date the services required under the arrangement have been completed.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-11, “Balance Sheet (Topic 210)”. The objective of this Update is to provide enhanced disclosures that will enable users of its financial statements to evaluate the effect or potential effect of netting arrangements on an entity’s financial position. This includes the effect or potential effect of rights of setoff associated with an entity’s recognized assets and recognized liabilities within the scope of this Update. The amendments require enhanced disclosures by requiring improved information about financial instruments and derivative instruments that are either (1) offset in accordance with either Section 210-20-45 or Section 815-10-45 or (2) subject to an enforceable master netting arrangement or similar agreement, irrespective of whether they are offset in accordance with either Section 210-20-45 or Section 815-10-45.An entity is required to apply the amendments for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and interim periods within those annual periods. An entity should provide the disclosures required by those amendments retrospectively for all comparative periods presented. The adoption of ASU 2011-11 will not have a material effect on the financial position, results of operations or cash flows of the Company.

 

In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-02 (“ASU 2013-02”), Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which is intended to improve the reporting of reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income. It does not change the current requirements for reporting net income or other comprehensive income in financial statements. However, the standard requires an entity to provide information about the amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by component. For public entities, the amendments are effective prospectively for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2012, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of ASU 2013-02 will not have a material effect on the financial position, results of operations or cash flows of the Company.

 

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In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-04, “Obligations Resulting from Joint and Several Liability Arrangements for Which the Total Amount of the Obligation is Fixed at the Reporting Date”. This update provides guidance for the recognition, measurement and disclosure of obligations resulting from joint and several liability arrangements for which the total amount of the obligation within the scope of this update is fixed at the reporting date, except for obligations addressed within existing guidance in U.S. GAAP. The guidance requires an entity to measure those obligations as the sum of the amount the reporting entity agreed to pay on the basis of its arrangement among its co-obligors and any additional amount the reporting entity expects to pay on behalf of its co-obligors. The guidance in this update also requires an entity to disclose the nature and amount of the obligation as well as other information about those obligations. This update is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2013. This update should be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented for those obligations resulting from joint and several liability arrangements within this update’s scope that exist at the beginning of an entity’s fiscal year of adoption. An entity may elect to use hindsight for the comparative periods (if it changed its accounting as a result of adopting the amendments in this update) and should disclose that fact. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have any impact on the Company’s financial position.

 

In March 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-05, “Parent’s Accounting for the Cumulative Translation Adjustment upon Derecognition of Certain Subsidiaries or Groups of Assets within a Foreign Entity or of an Investment in a Foreign Entity”. This update provides that when a reporting entity (parent) ceases to have a controlling financial interest in a subsidiary or group of assets that is a non-profit activity or a business (other than a sale of in substance real estate or conveyance of oil and gas mineral rights) within a foreign entity, the parent is required to apply the guidance in Subtopic 830-30 to release any related cumulative translation adjustment into net income. Accordingly, the cumulative translation adjustment should be released into net income only if the sale or transfer results in the complete or substantially complete liquidation of the foreign entity in which the subsidiary or group of assets had resided. For an equity method investment that is a foreign entity, a pro rata portion of the cumulative translation adjustment should be released into net income upon a partial sale of such an equity method investment. However, this treatment does not apply to an equity method investment that is not a foreign entity. In those instances, the cumulative translation adjustment is released into net income only if the partial sale represents a complete or substantially complete liquidation of the foreign entity that contains the equity method investment. Additionally, the amendments in this update clarify that the sale of an investment in a foreign entity includes both (1) events that result in the loss of a controlling financial interest in a foreign entity (that is, irrespective of any retained investment) and (2) events that result in an acquirer obtaining control of an acquiree in which it held an equity interest immediately before the acquisition date (sometimes also referred to as a “step acquisition”). Accordingly, the cumulative translation adjustment should be released into net income upon the occurrence of those events. This update is effective prospectively for fiscal years (and interim reporting periods within those years) beginning after December 15, 2013. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have any impact on the Company’s financial position or operating results.

 

On July 18, 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-11, "Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists” (Income Taxes - Topic 740). This update applies to all entities that have unrecognized tax benefits when a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward exists at the reporting date. An unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of an unrecognized tax benefit, should be presented in the financial statements as a reduction to a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward, unless otherwise provided in the update. To the extent that a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward is not available at the reporting date under the tax law of the applicable jurisdiction to settle any additional income taxes that would result from the disallowance of a tax position or the tax law of the applicable jurisdiction does not require the entity to use, and the entity does not intend to use, the deferred tax asset for such purpose, the unrecognized tax benefit should be presented in the financial statements as a liability and should not be combined with deferred tax assets. The assessment of whether a deferred tax asset is available is based on the unrecognized tax benefit and deferred tax asset that exist at the reporting date and should be made presuming disallowance of the tax position at the reporting date. For example, an entity should not evaluate whether the deferred tax asset has expired before the statute of limitations on the tax position or whether the deferred tax asset may be used prior to the unrecognized tax benefit being settled. The amendments in this update do not require new recurring disclosures. The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2013. Early adoption is permitted. The amendments should be applied prospectively to all unrecognized tax benefits that exist at the effective date. Retrospective application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this update on its financial statements.

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

We do not have any off-balance arrangements.

 

ITEM 7A.QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.

 

Not applicable.

 

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ITEM 8.FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.

 

The full text of our audited consolidated financial statements as of June 30, 2013 and 2012 begins on page F-1 of this report.

 

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 chief executive officer and chief financial officer, Ms. Lifang Chen and Mr. Naijiang Zhou, respectively, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures. The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports, such as this report, that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Based on that evaluation, Ms. Chen and Mr. Zhou concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of June 30, 2013.

 

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

 

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting for the Company. Internal control over financial reporting refers to the process designed by, or under the supervision of, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, and effected by our Board of Directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. GAAP, 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 our assets;
·provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with the authorization of our management and directors; and
·provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

 

Management conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2013 based on the framework set forth in the 1992 Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on the evaluation, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2013 was effective.

 

Because we are a smaller reporting company, this annual report does not include an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by our registered public accounting firm.

 

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

 

There were no changes in our internal controls over financial reporting during the fourth quarter of our fiscal year ended June 30, 2013 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

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ITEM 9B.OTHER INFORMATION.

 

We have no information to disclose that was required to be disclosed in a report on Form 8-K during fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013, but was not reported.

 

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PART III

 

ITEM 10.DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.

 

Directors and Executive Officers

 

The following sets forth the name and position of each of our current executive officers and directors.

 

NAME   AGE   POSITION
Lifang Chen   42   Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President
Naijiang Zhou   50   Director, Chief Financial Officer
Gerard Pascale   43   Director
Guoyou Shao   64   Director
Xinchuang Li   50   Director

 

LifangChen. Ms. Chen is the founder of the Company. She became our Chairwoman on February 1, 2007 and our CEO in May 2008. Under her leadership, the Company became a leading finished steel manufacturer in China with a vertically integrated business model offering unique one-stop customer services that are difficult to replicate. At the Company, Ms. Chen has cultivated a seasoned management team of professionals that are focused on growing the Company’s business and that are well known in the industry. Prior to founding the Company in 2002, Ms. Chen directed the civil administration bureau of Xiaoshan municipal government in China from September 1993 to May 2001 where she helped design various policies to strengthen the operations of local companies, coordinated businesses between private enterprise and local banks, and reviewed and approved IPOs for large companies. Ms. Chen is an accomplished entrepreneur in the Chinese fine finished steel industry and excels in enterprise management and industry and government relations. She obtained an MA degree in Philosophy from Zhejiang University.

 

Naijiang Zhou. Mr. Zhou became our director on January 28, 2013 and has been our Chief Financial Officer since December 14, 2012. Prior to that, Mr. Zhou was the Vice President of Finance of the Company since February 1, 2010. Before that, Mr. Zhou served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Rich Fields Investment, Ltd., a private equity investment firm since 2008. From April 2007 to July 2008, Mr. Zhou worked as international research analyst at Roth Capital Partners, a full service U.S. investment banking firm. Mr. Zhou also worked for seven years as principal financial planner and principal financial analyst at American Electric Power, where he was responsible for strategic planning, financial planning and analysis, and corporate development. Prior to that, he worked for the Wing Group as financial analyst for international project development and U.S. Global Investors as senior research analyst and co-managed mutual fund investments. His extensive experience covers financial planning, analysis and reporting for multinational corporations, buy-side and sell-side investment research, and private equity investment and management. Mr. Zhou received both a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary Energy and Mineral Resources and an MBA degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and a B.Sc. (honor) in Petroleum Engineering from China Petroleum University. In addition to having completed 25 credit hours in Accounting, he also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute.

 

Gerard Pascale. Mr. Pascale has been a member of our Board since January 15, 2010. Mr. Pascale has extensive experience in financial accounting, financial analysis and planning, marketing research, corporate governance and securities. He is the Chief Financial Officer with Chile Mining Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: LVEN), a mineral extraction company based in the Republic of Chile, whom he advised in preparing for their public transaction and fund raise. For the past four years he has served as President and CEO of SC Financial Group, LLC, where he specializes in advising both US and international clients on valuation, financial modeling and the responsibilities of publicly traded US companies.  Previously, he was the Director of Finance at Heritage Management Consultants, Inc. where Mr. Pascale specialized in providing finance and SEC support throughout the entire process of listing on a US exchange.  Mr. Pascale has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Virginia Tech and an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago.

 

Guoyou Shao. Mr. Shao has been a member of our Board since February 2008. Since April 2003, Mr. Shao has served as Board Chairman of Fortis Haitong Investment Management Co., Ltd., one of the first Sino-foreign joint ventures specializing in fund management to gain approval in China. Prior to this, Mr. Shao served as Manager of the Investor Relations Department of Haitong Securities Co. Ltd. since July 1998. Mr. Shao has extensive securities investment and asset management experience and holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Hong Kong Science Management Institute.

 

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Xinchuang Li. Mr. Li has been a member of our Board since February 2008. Since 2009, Mr. Li has served as the Director of China Metallurgical Industry Planning & Research Institute (CMIPRI) in Beijing. From 2008 to 2009, Mr. Li served as the Executive Director of CMIPRI. From 2002 to 2008, Mr. Li served as the Vice Director and Chief Engineer of CMIPRI. From 1998 to 2002, Mr. Li served as the Vice-Chief Engineer of CMIPRI. Mr. Li has significant experience in the operations of companies engaged in steel production with a particular focus and specialization in the operations, planning and strategic focus of companies operating in the Chinese steel industry. Mr. Li holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Fordham University and Beijing University.

 

There are no agreements or understandings for any of our executive officers or director to resign at the request of another person and no officer or director is acting on behalf of nor will any of them act at the direction of any other person.

 

Directors are elected until their successors are duly elected and qualified.

 

Director Qualifications

 

Directors are responsible for overseeing the Company’s business consistent with their fiduciary duty to shareholders. This significant responsibility requires highly-skilled individuals with various qualities, attributes and professional experience. The Board believes that there are general requirements for service on the Company’s Board of Directors that are applicable to all directors and that there are other skills and experience that should be represented on the Board as a whole but not necessarily by each director. The Board and the Governance and Nominating Committee of the Board consider the qualifications of directors and director candidates individually and in the broader context of the Board’s overall composition and the Company’s current and future needs.

 

Qualifications for All Directors

 

In its assessment of each potential candidate, including those recommended by shareholders, the Governance and Nominating Committee considers the nominee’s judgment, integrity, experience, independence, understanding of the Company’s business or other related industries and such other factors the Governance and Nominating Committee determines are pertinent in light of the current needs of the Board. The Governance and Nominating Committee also takes into account the ability of a director to devote the time and effort necessary to fulfill his or her responsibilities to the Company.

 

The Board and the Governance and Nominating Committee require that each director be a recognized person of high integrity with a proven record of success in his or her field. Each director must demonstrate innovative thinking, familiarity with and respect for corporate governance requirements and practices, an appreciation of multiple cultures and a commitment to sustainability and to dealing responsibly with social issues. In addition to the qualifications required of all directors, the Board assesses intangible qualities including the individual’s ability to ask difficult questions and, simultaneously, to work collegially.

 

The Board does not have a specific diversity policy, but considers diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, age, cultural background and professional experiences in evaluating candidates for Board membership. Diversity is important because a variety of points of view contribute to a more effective decision-making process.

 

Qualifications, Attributes, Skills and Experience to be Represented on the Board as a Whole

 

The Board has identified particular qualifications, attributes, skills and experience that are important to be represented on the Board as a whole, in light of the Company’s current needs and business priorities. The Company’s services are performed in areas of future growth located outside of the United States. Accordingly, the Board believes that international experience or specific knowledge of key geographic growth areas and diversity of professional experiences should be represented on the Board. In addition, the Company’s business is multifaceted and involves complex financial transactions. Therefore, the Board believes that the Board should include some directors with a high level of financial literacy and some directors who possess relevant business experience members of senior management teams. Our business involves complex technologies in a highly specialized industry, and therefore, the Board believes that extensive knowledge of the Company’s business and industry should be represented on the Board.

 

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Summary of Qualifications of Directors

 

Set forth below is a narrative disclosure that summarizes some of the specific qualifications, attributes, skills and experiences of our directors. For more detailed information, please refer to the biographical information for each director set forth above.

 

Lifang Chen. Ms. Chen has extensive senior management experience in the industry in which we operate, having served as our Chairman since February 2007 and Chief Executive Officer since May 2008. In addition, Ms. Chen has worked extensively with various governmental agencies in connection with our industry.

 

Naijiang Zhou. Mr. Zhou is a financial expert with extensive experience in our industry as well as on corporate accounting, finance and capital management matters.

 

Gerard Pascale. Mr. Pascale brings to the Board a high level of financial literacy and sophistication, and extensive financial and capital markets experience, including M&A, debt and equity financings, restructuring and business expansion. In addition, Mr. Pascale has extensive experience dealing with corporate governance matters and filings with the SEC.

 

GuoyouShao.Mr. Shao has extensive securities investment, asset management and investor relations experience. 

 

Xinchuang Li. Mr. Li has significant experience in the operations of companies engaged in steel production with a particular focus and specialization in the operations, planning and strategic focus of companies operating in the Chinese steel industry.

 

Family Relationships

 

There are no family relationships among our directors or officers.

 

Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings

 

To the best of our knowledge, none of our directors or executive officers has, during the past ten years:

 

·been convicted in a criminal proceeding or been subject to a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and other minor offences);
·had any bankruptcy petition filed by or against the business or property of the person, or of any partnership, corporation or business association of which he was a general partner or executive officer, either at the time of the bankruptcy filing or within two years prior to that time;
·been subject to any order, judgment, or decree, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any court of competent jurisdiction or federal or state authority, permanently or temporarily enjoining, barring, suspending or otherwise limiting, his involvement in any type of business, securities, futures, commodities, investment, banking, savings and loan, or insurance activities, or to be associated with persons engaged in any such activity;
·been found by a court of competent jurisdiction in a civil action or by the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to have violated a federal or state securities or commodities law, and the judgment has not been reversed, suspended, or vacated;
·been the subject of, or a party to, any federal or state judicial or administrative order, judgment, decree, or finding, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated (not including any settlement of a civil proceeding among private litigants), relating to an alleged violation of any federal or state securities or commodities law or regulation, any law or regulation respecting financial institutions or insurance companies including, but not limited to, a temporary or permanent injunction, order of disgorgement or restitution, civil money penalty or temporary or permanent cease-and-desist order, or removal or prohibition order, or any law or regulation prohibiting mail or wire fraud or fraud in connection with any business entity; or
·been the subject of, or a party to, any sanction or order, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any self-regulatory organization (as defined in Section 3(a)(26) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(26))), any registered entity (as defined in Section 1(a)(29) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1(a)(29))), or any equivalent exchange, association, entity or organization that has disciplinary authority over its members or persons associated with a member.

 

Except as set forth in our discussion below in Item 13, “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence – Transactions with Related Persons,” none of our directors, director nominees or executive officers has been involved in any transactions with us or any of our directors, executive officers, affiliates or associates which are required to be disclosed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.

 

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Board Composition and Committees

 

Our board of directors is comprised of Lifang Chen, Naijiang Zhou, Gerard Pascale, Guoyou Shao and Xinchuang Li.

 

Messrs. Gerard Pascale, Guoyou Shao, and Xinchuang Li each serves on our board of directors as an “independent director” as defined by as defined by Rule 5605(a)(2) of the NASDAQ Listing Rules. Our board of directors has determined that Gerard Pascale possesses the accounting or related financial management experience that qualifies him as financially sophisticated within the meaning of Rule 5605(c)(2)(A) of the NASDAQ Listing Rule and that he is an “audit committee financial expert” as defined by the rules and regulations of the SEC.

 

Our board of directors currently has three standing committees which perform various duties on behalf of and report to the board of directors: (i) audit committee, (ii) compensation committee and (iii) governance and nominating committee. Each of the three standing committees is comprised entirely of independent directors. From time to time, the board of directors may establish other committees.

 

Audit Committee

 

Our board of directors established an audit committee in February 2008. Our audit committee consists of three members: Gerard Pascale, Guoyou Shao, and Xinchuang Li. Our audit committee oversees our accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of the financial statements of our company. Mr. Pascale serves as our audit committee chairman.

 

Our audit committee is responsible for, among other things:

 

·selecting our independent auditors and pre-approving all auditing and non-auditing services permitted to be performed by our independent auditors;
·reviewing with our independent auditors any audit problems or difficulties and management’s response;
·reviewing and approving all proposed related-party transactions, as defined in Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act;
·discussing the annual audited financial statements with management and our independent auditors;
·reviewing major issues as to the adequacy of our internal controls and any special audit steps adopted in light of significant internal control deficiencies;
·annually reviewing and reassessing the adequacy of our audit committee charter;
·meeting separately and periodically with management and our internal and independent auditors;
·reporting regularly to the full board of directors; and
·such other matters that are specifically delegated to our audit committee by our board of directors from time to time.

 

Compensation Committee

 

Our board of directors established a compensation committee in February 2008. Our compensation committee consists of three members: Gerard Pascale, Guoyou Shao, and Xinchuang Li. Mr. Shao serves as the chairman of our compensation committee. Our compensation committee assists the board of directors in reviewing and approving the compensation structure of our directors and executive officers, including all forms of compensation to be provided to our directors and executive officers. Our Chief Executive Officer may not be present at any meeting of our compensation committee during which her compensation is deliberated.

 

Our compensation committee is responsible for, among other things:

 

·approving and overseeing the compensation package for our executive officers;
·reviewing and approving corporate goals and objectives relevant to the compensation of our Chief Executive Officer;
·evaluating the performance of our Chief Executive Officer in light of those goals and objectives, and setting the compensation level of our Chief Executive Officer based on this evaluation; and
·reviewing periodically and making recommendations to the board of directors regarding any long-term incentive compensation or equity plans, programs or similar arrangements, annual bonuses, employee pension and welfare benefit plans.

 

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Governance and Nominating Committee

 

Our board of directors established a governance and nominating committee in February 2008. Our governance and nominating committee consists of three members: Gerard Pascale, Guoyou Shao, and Xinchuang Li. Mr. Li serves as the chairman to our governance and nominating committee. The governance and nominating committee assists the board of directors in identifying individuals qualified to become our directors and in determining the composition of the board of directors and its committees.

 

Our governance and nominating committee is responsible for, among other things:

 

·identifying and recommending to the board of directors nominees for election or re-election to the board of directors, or for appointment to fill any vacancy;
·reviewing annually with the board of directors the current composition of the board of directors in light of the characteristics of independence, age, skills, experience and availability of service to us; and
·identifying and recommending to the board of directors the directors to serve as members of the committees.

 

Section 16(A) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

 

Under U.S. securities laws, directors, certain executive officers and persons holding more than 10% of our common stock must report their initial ownership of the common stock, and any changes in that ownership, to the SEC. The SEC has designated specific due dates for these reports. In fiscal year 2013, all such reports were timely filed. In making these statements, we have relied upon examination of the copies of all Section 16(a) forms provided to us and the written representations of our executive officers, directors and beneficial owner of more than 10% of a registered class of our equity securities.

 

Code of Ethics

 

On January 31, 2007, our board of directors adopted a new code of ethics that applies to all of our directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer. The new code replaces our prior code of ethics that applied only to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller and any person who performed similar functions, and addresses, among other things, honesty and ethical conduct, conflicts of interest, compliance with laws, regulations and policies, including disclosure requirements under the federal securities laws, confidentiality, trading on inside information, and reporting of violations of the code.  A copy of the Code of Ethics has been filed as Exhibit 14 to our current report on Form 8-K, filed on February 2, 2007.

 

ITEM 11.EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.

 

Summary Compensation Table – Fiscal Years Ended June 30, 2013 and 2012

 

The following table sets forth information concerning all cash and non-cash compensation awarded to, earned by or paid to the named persons for services rendered in all capacities during the noted periods. No other executive officer received total annual salary and bonus compensation in excess of $100,000.

 

Name and Principal Position  Year  Salary
($)
   Bonus
($)
   Stock
Awards
($)(1)
   All Other
Compensation
($)
   Total
($)
 
Lifang Chen, CEO (2)  2013   150,000         20,926         170,926 
   2012   120,831    -    25,530    -    146,361 
Naijiang Zhou, CFO(3)  2013   110,880         55,750         166,630 
   2012   101,426    -    70,327    -    171,753 

 

(1) This amount represents the compensation expense that the Company recognized for financial statement reporting purposes in the applicable fiscal year for the portion of the fair value of equity awards granted to the named executive officer in such fiscal year, in accordance with ASC 718-10, “Share-Based Payment,” and ASC 505-50, “Accounting for Equity Instruments That Are Issued to Other Than Employees for Acquiring, or in Conjunction with Selling Goods or Services,” respectively.  Such amount thus does not reflect the amount of compensation actually received by the named executive officer during the applicable fiscal year.  For a description of the assumptions used in calculating the fair value of these equity awards, see Note 10 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report.

 

42
 

  

(2) Pursuant to the Company’s 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, we granted options to purchase 40,000 shares of our common stock to Ms. Chen with an exercise price of $2.71 per share on April 27, 2010. One-third of the option vested on the first, second and third anniversary of the date of grant, respectively.

 

(3) Pursuant to the Company’s 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, we granted options to purchase 20,000 shares of our common stock to Mr. Zhou with an exercise price of $2.71 per share on April 27, 2010. One-third of the option vested on the first, second and third anniversary of the date of grant, respectively. In addition, Mr. Zhou received 20,000 restricted shares of common stock as part of his compensation for services from February 1, 2010 to January 31, 2011. According to the amendment to the employment agreement entered into on February 23, 2011, Mr. Zhou received 30,000 additional restricted shares of common stock as part of his annual compensation to be vested over a twelve month period. On February 9, 2012, the parties amended Mr. Zhou’s employment agreement further, under which amendment Mr. Zhou’s monthly base salary was increased from RMB 50,000 to RMB 58,000 (approximately $9,200) and the Company granted 50,000 restricted shares to Mr. Zhou on February 21, 2012 under the 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, which shares vest on the 12-month anniversary date of the grant date. On December 14, 2012, the Company granted Mr. Zhou 50,000 shares of restricted stock under the 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, which will vest on the one-year anniversary date of the grant date.

 

Employment Agreements

 

On February 9, 2012, our subsidiary, Sutor BVI entered into an employment agreement with Ms. Chen, our Chief Executive Officer, under which Ms. Chen will receive an annual salary of $150,000. Ms. Chen’s employment with us is at-will and can be terminated by either party at any time with or without cause.

 

On December 14, 2012, the Company and Sutor BVI entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Zhou, under which Mr. Zhou will receive an annual salary of RMB 696,000 (approximately $111,360). In addition, the Company granted Mr. Zhou 50,000 restricted shares of the Company’s common stock under the Company’s 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, which shares will vest on the first anniversary of the grant date. The term of the employment agreement is for one year, which will be renewed automatically when it expires unless the employment is terminated by the parties. Mr. Zhou’s employment with the Company is at-will and can be terminated by either party at any time with or without cause, and with or without notice.

 

We have not provided retirement benefits (other than a state pension scheme in which all of our employees in China participate) or severance or change of control benefits to our named executive officer.

 

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End

 

The following table sets forth the equity awards outstanding at June 30, 2013 for each of our named executive officers.

 

   OPTION AWARDS(1)  STOCK AWARDS 
Name  Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
Exercisable
   Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
Unexercisable
   Equity
Incentive
Plan Awards:
Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Unearned
Options
(#)
   Option
Exercise
Price
($)
   Option
Expiration
Date
  Number of
Shares or
Units of
Stock That
Have Not
Vested
(#)(2)
   Market Value
of Shares or
Units of Stock
That Have Not
Vested
($)(3)
   Equity
Incentive Plan
Awards:
Number of
Unearned
Shares, Units
or Other
Rights That
Have Not
Vested
(#)
   Equity
Incentive
Plan Awards:
Market or
Payout Value of
Unearned
Shares, Units or
Other Rights
That Have Not
Vested
(#)
 
Lifang Chen   40,000    -    -    2.71   4/27/2015   -    -    -    - 
Naijiang Zhou   20,000    -    -    2.71   4/27/2015   50,000    76,000    -    - 

 

(1)On April 27, 2010, we issued options to our executive officers under the Sutor Technology Group Limited 2009 Equity Incentive Plan. One-third of the option will each vest on the first, second and third anniversaries of the date of grant.

 

43
 

  

(2)Pursuant to the amendment to the employment agreement dated February 23, 2011, we granted Mr. Zhou 30,000 shares to be vested over a twelve month period. On February 21, 2012, we granted additional 50,000 restricted shares to Mr. Zhou, vesting on the 12-month anniversary date of the grant date. On December 14, 2012, the Company granted Mr. Zhou 50,000 shares of restricted stock under the 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, which will vest on the one-year anniversary date of the grant date.

 

(3)Values are based on the closing stock price of $1.52 per share on June 28, 2013.

 

Compensation of Directors

 

The table below sets forth the compensation of our directors for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013:

 

Name  Fees Earned
or Paid in Cash
($)
   Stock
Awards
($)
   Option
Awards
($)
   Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)
   All Other
Compensation
($)
   Total
($)
 
Gerard Pascale   55,000    7,677         -    -    62,677 
Guoyou Shao   21,019    -    -    -    -    21,019 
Xinchuang Li   21,019    -    -    -    -    21,019 

 

Under the terms of the independent director contract that we entered into with each above independent directors in 2013, Mr. Pascale is entitled to $55,000 in cash and 10,000 restricted shares of the Company, vesting on the 12-month anniversary date of the grant date, Mr. Shao is entitled to RMB 132,000 (approximately $21,019) and Mr. Li is entitled to RMB132,000 (approximately $21,019), as annual compensation for their service as independent directors, and as chairpersons of various board committees, as applicable. Mr. Pascale’s compensation is greater because he has greater responsibilities as the Audit Committee Chairman. Under the terms of the agreements, we will reimburse our directors for reasonable travel expenses related to attendance at board and committee meetings.

 

Additionally, we entered into Indemnification Agreements with each of Messrs. Pascale, Shao and Li.  Under the terms of these Indemnification Agreements, the Company agreed to indemnify the independent directors against expenses, judgments, fines, penalties or other amounts actually and reasonably incurred by the independent directors in connection with any proceeding (other than a proceeding by or in the right of the Company) if the independent director acted in good faith and in the best interests of the Company, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the independent director’s conduct was unlawful.  The Company also agreed to pay any such expenses to an independent director in advance of the final disposition of any such proceeding if the director agrees to repay such amount to the extent it is ultimately determined they are not entitled to indemnification; provided, however, that the Company is not obligated to make any such advance payment if the board of directors determines, in its sole discretion, that it does not appear that such director has met the standards of conduct which make it permissible under applicable law to indemnify such director, and that the advancement of expenses would not be in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders.

 

ITEM 12.SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.

 

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management

 

The following table sets forth information regarding beneficial ownership of our common stock as of September 17, 2013 (i) by each person who is known by us to beneficially own more than 5% of our common stock; (ii) by each of our officers and directors; and (iii) by all of our officers and directors as a group. Unless otherwise specified, the address of each of the persons set forth below is in care of Sutor Technology Group Limited, No. 8, Huaye Road, Dongbang Industrial Park Changshu, China, 215534.

 

44
 

  

Name & Address of
Beneficial Owner
  Office, If Any  Title of Class  Amount &
Nature of
Beneficial
Ownership(1)
   Percent
of
Class(2)
 
Officers and Directors
Lifang Chen  Chairman and Chief Executive Officer  Common Stock   30,378,050(3)(4)   73.3%
Naijiang Zhou  Chief Financial Officer  Common Stock   170,000(5)   * 
Gerard Pascale  Director  Common Stock   26,625(7)   * 
Guoyou Shao  Director  Common Stock   -   * 
Xinchuang Li  Director  Common Stock   -   * 
All Officers and Directors as a group (5 persons named above)         30,574,675    73.8%
5% Security Holders
Total Raise Investments Ltd.     Common Stock   30,338,050    73.3%
Lifang Chen     Common Stock   30,378,050(3)   73.3%

 

* Less than 1%.

 

(1)Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC and generally includes voting or investment power with respect to securities.

 

(2)A total of 41,416,429 shares of our common stock are considered to be outstanding pursuant to SEC Rule 13d-3(d)(1) as of September 17, 2013. For each beneficial owner above, any options exercisable within 60 days have been included in the denominator.

 

(3)Includes 30,338,050 shares of common stock owned by Total Raise Investments Ltd., a BVI company wholly owned by Ms. Chen. Ms. Chen disclaims beneficial ownership of such shares except to the extent of her pecuniary interest therein.

 

(4)Pursuant to the Company’s 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, we granted Ms. Chen an option to purchase 40,000 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $2.71 per share on April 27, 2010. One-third of the option vested on the first, second and third anniversary of the date of grant, respectively.

 

(5)On February 1, 2010, Mr. Zhou received 20,000 shares of our common stock in accordance with the terms of the employment agreement, to vest in equal installments over a twelve month period. On February 23, 2011, Mr. Zhou was granted 30,000 shares of our common stock in accordance with the terms of the employment agreement, to vest in equal installments over a twelve month period. Pursuant to the Company’s 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, we also granted Mr. Zhou an option to purchase 20,000 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $2.71 per share on April 27, 2010. One-third of the option will each vest on the first, second and third anniversaries of the date of grant. On February 9, 2012, the parties amended Mr. Zhou’s employment agreement further, under which amendment the Company granted 50,000 restricted shares to Mr. Zhou on February 21, 2012, vesting on the 12-month anniversary date of the grant date. On December 14, 2012, the Company granted Mr. Zhou 50,000 shares of restricted stock under the 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, which will vest on the one-year anniversary date of the grant date.

 

(6)Pursuant to the Company’s 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, we granted Mr. Pascale an option to purchase 5,000 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $2.71 per share which vested monthly in equal installments over a 12-month period starting February 23, 2011. On February 21, 2012, we granted 10,000 restricted shares to Mr. Pascale, which vested on the one-year anniversary date of the grant date. On March 7, 2013, Mr. Pascale was granted 10,000 shares of restricted stock under the Company's 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, which will vest on the one-year anniversary date of the grant date.

 

Changes in Control 

 

There are no arrangements known to us, including any pledge by any person of our securities, the operation of which may at a subsequent date result in a change in control of the Company.

 

45
 

  

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

 

The following table includes the information as of the end of fiscal year 2013 for each category of our equity compensation plan:

 

Plan category  Number of securities
to be issued upon
exercise of
outstanding options,
warrants and rights
(a)
   Weighted-average
exercise price of
outstanding
options, warrants
and rights
(b)
   Number of securities
remaining available for
future issuance under
equity compensation plans
(excluding securities
reflected in column (a))
(c)
 
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders(1)   105,000(2)  $2.71    1,725,000 
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders   -    -    - 
Total   105,000   $2.71    1,725,000 

 

(1)On April 15, 2009, our board of directors authorized the establishment of the Sutor Technology Group Limited 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, whereby we are authorized to issue shares of our Common Stock to certain employees, directors and consultants. The maximum aggregate number of shares of our common stock that may be issued under the Plan is 2,000,000 shares. The Plan was approved by our stockholders on June 16, 2009.

 

(2)On April 27, 2010, we granted options to purchase a total of 100,000 shares of our common stock to certain officers, directors and employees with an exercise price of $2.71 per share. One third of the option will vest and become exercisable on the first, second and third anniversaries of the date of grant.  On February 1, 2010, Mr. Naijiang Zhou received 20,000 shares of our common stock in accordance with the terms of the employment agreement, to vest in equal installments over a twelve month period.  On February 23, 2011, we issued 30,000 shares of our common stock to Mr. Naijiang Zhou under the 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, to vest in equal installments over a twelve month period. On February 21, 2012, the Company granted 50,000 restricted shares to Mr. Zhou, vesting on the 12-month anniversary date of the grant date. On December 14, 2012, the Company granted Mr. Zhou 50,000 shares of restricted stock under the 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, which will vest on the one-year anniversary date of the grant date. On February 23, 2011, we granted Mr. Pascale an option to purchase 5,000 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $2.71 per share which will vest monthly in equal installments over a 12-month period starting February 23, 2011. On February 21, 2012, we granted 10,000 restricted shares to Mr. Pascale, which will vest on the one-year anniversary date of the grant date. On March 7, 2013, Mr. Pascale was granted 10,000 shares of restricted stock under the Company's 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, which will vest on the one-year anniversary date of the grant date.

 

ITEM 13.CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.

 

Transactions with Related Persons

 

The following includes a summary of transactions since the beginning of our 2013 fiscal year, or any currently proposed transaction, in which we were or are to be a participant and the amount involved exceeded or exceeds the lesser of $120,000 or one percent of the average of our total assets at year-end for the last two completed fiscal years, and in which any related person had or will have a direct or indirect material interest (other than compensation described under Item 11, “Executive Compensation”). We believe the terms obtained or consideration that we paid or received, as applicable, in connection with the transactions described below were comparable to terms available or the amounts that would be paid or received, as applicable, in arm’s-length transactions.

 

·We sell our products to and buy raw materials from various companies which are beneficially owned or controlled by our CEO and President, Ms. Lifang Chen. The amounts charged for products to our Company by such related party are under the same pricing, terms and conditions as those charged to third parties. See Note 10 “Related Parties” to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report. The transactions relating to the sale of our products are set forth below:

 

46
 

  

      Amount of Transaction 
Related Party  Nature of Transaction  Fiscal 2013   Fiscal 2012 
Ningbo Huaye Steel Processing Co., Ltd.  Sale of products by Company  $88,503   $671,302 
CChangshu Baojin Steel Processing Co., Ltd.  SSale of products by Company   7,156,007    10,888,276 
Hangzhou Xiaoshan Southern Co., Ltd.  Sale of products by Company   -    297,253 
Shanghai Huaye Steel Processing Co., Ltd.  Sale of products by Company   26,592,113    4,341,513 
Shanghai Huaye Steel Group Co., Ltd.  Sale of products by Company   138,518,128    138,156,998 
Wuxi Haide Steel Processing Co., Ltd.  Sale of products by Company   10,202,517    7,058,099 
Zhejiang Nanye Metal Cutting & Delivery Co., Ltd.  Sale of products by Company   285,757    487,476 
Guangzhou Qiyuan Steel Processing Co., Ltd.  Sale of products by Company   7,591,233    4,663,808 
Tianjin Huaye Steel processing Co., Ltd.  Sale of products by Company   5,836,853    - 
Tanggang Huaye (Tianjin) Steel Marketing Co., Ltd.  Sale of products by Company   20,370,377    - 

 

For the years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, purchases from related parties beneficially owned or controlled by Ms. Chen totaled $261,808,367 and $175,009,675, respectively.

 

·At June 30, 2013 and 2012, the Company had letters of credit totaling $83,081,204 and $82,669,496, respectively, in the form of banker’s acceptance notes that are held by related parties in connection with purchases from related parties. The banker’s acceptance notes carry a 0% interest rate, can be presented to the respective banks in 90 to 180 days from the dates they were written, are secured by cash on deposit with the respective banks and are guaranteed by related parties.

 

·During the years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, the Company repaid nil and nil loans from related parties. As of June 30, 2013 and 2012, the Company had loans from related parties totaling $8,182,019and $8,182,019, respectively; and accrued interest totaling $1,961,940 and $1,621,842, respectively. The loans from related parties and accrued interest have been recorded as a reduction of advances to suppliers, related parties in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2013 and 2012.

 

·Some of our notes payables are guaranteed by Shanghai Huaye and its affiliates, as disclosed under Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Liquidity and Capital Resources.” We did not pay any stated or unstated consideration to Shanghai Huaye or its affiliates for their guarantees of our note payables.

 

·On August 6, 2004, our subsidiary Ningbo Zhehua entered into a lease agreement with Ningbo Huaye Steel Processing Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Shanghai Huaye, pursuant to which Ningbo Zhehua leased a factory building located at the Ningbo Camel Machinery & Electronics Industrial Park. The lease agreement has a term of 10 years and expires on August 5, 2014.We expect that the lease will be renewed annually after the initial term expires.

 

·On May 29, 2013, Ningbo Zhehua entered into a Disposition and Equity Transfer Agreement with Ningbo Huaye Steel Processing Co., Ltd, or Ningbo Huaye, a subsidiary of Shanghai Huaye. According to the agreement, Ningbo Zhehua sold 100% equity interest in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ningbo Taixiang Investment Co., Ltd., or Ningbo Taixiang, to Ningbo Huaye for a cash price of $4.1 million (RMB 25,110,644.47). The valuation of Ningbo Taixiang was conducted by an independent professional appraiser engaged by Ningbo Zhehua. The transfer of ownership of Ningbo Taixiang was completed on June 25, 2013.

 

Except as set forth in our discussion above, none of our directors, director nominees or executive officers has been involved in any transactions with us or any of our directors, executive officers, affiliates or associates which are required to be disclosed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.

 

Promoters and Certain Control Persons

 

We did not have any promoters at any time during the past five fiscal years.

 

Parents of the Company

 

Total Raise Investments Ltd., an entity owned and controlled by Ms. Lifang Chen, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, currently owns approximately 73.3% of our common stock.

 

47
 

  

Director Independence

 

Messrs. Gerard Pascale, Guoyou Shao, and Xinchuang Li each serves on our board of directors as an “independent director” as defined by Rule 5605(a) (2) of the NASDAQ Listing Rules.

 

ITEM 14.PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES.

 

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm’s Fees

 

The following is a summary of the fees billed to the Company by its independent registered public accounting firms for professional services rendered for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012:

 

(in thousands of U.S. dollars)

 

   June 30, 2013   June 30, 2012 
Audit fees(1)  $425.6   $411.6 
Audit-related fees(2)    8.4    7.0 
Tax fees   -    - 
All other fees   -    - 
Total   434.0    418.6 

 

(1)Consists of fees billed for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of financial statements included in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and services that are normally provided by the accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements.

 

(2)Consists of assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit and reviews of our financial statements and are not included in “audit fees” in this table. The services provided by our accountants within this category consisted of advice relating to SEC matters and employee benefit matters.

 

Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures

 

Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, all audit and non-audit services performed by our auditors must be approved in advance by our Board to assure that such services do not impair the auditors’ independence from us. In accordance with its policies and procedures, our Board pre-approved the audit service performed by our principal accountant for the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended June 30, 2013.

 

 

PART IV

 

ITEM 15.EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.

 

Financial Statements and Schedules

 

The financial statements are set forth under Item 8 of this annual report on Form 10-K. Financial statement schedules have been omitted since they are either not required, not applicable, or the information is otherwise included.

 

Exhibit List

 

The list of exhibits in the Exhibit Index to this Report is incorporated herein by reference.

 

48
 

  

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

Date: September 20, 2013

  SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED
     
  By: /s/Lifang Chen  
    Lifang Chen
    Chief Executive Officer
     
  By: /s/Naijiang Zhou  
    Naijiang Zhou
    Chief Financial Officer

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signature   Title   Date
         
/s/ Lifang Chen   Chairman and Chief Executive Officer   September 20, 2013
Lifang Chen   (Principal Executive Officer)    
         
/s/ Naijiang Zhou   Director, Chief Financial Officer   September 20, 2013
Naijiang Zhou   (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)    
         
/s/ Gerard Pascale   Director   September 20, 2013
Gerard Pascale        
         
/s/ Guoyou Shao   Director   September 20, 2013
Guoyou Shao        
         
/s/ Xinchuang Li   Director   September 20, 2013
Xinchuang Li        

 

49
 

 

 

 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

    Page
     
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm   F-1
     
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of June 30, 2013 and 2012   F-2 – F-3
     
Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income for the Years Ended June 30, 2013 and 2012   F-4
     
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the Years Ended June 30, 2013 and 2012   F-5
     
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended June 30, 2013 and 2012   F-6
     
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for the Years Ended June 20, 2013 and 2012   F-7 – F-32

 

 
 

 

 

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

Board of Directors and Shareholders

Sutor Technology Group Limited and subsidiaries

 

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Sutor Technology Group Limited and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of June 30, 2013 and 2012, and the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended June 30, 2013. Our audits of the basic consolidated financial statements included the financial statement schedule listed in the index appearing under Item 15. These consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule 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. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audit 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 also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, 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 consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Sutor Technology Group Limited and subsidiaries as of June 30, 2013 and 2012, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended June 30, 2013, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also, in our opinion, the related financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein.

 

 

 

Beijing, China

September 20, 2013

 

F-1
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

 

   June 30,   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
         
ASSETS          
Current Assets:          
Cash and cash equivalents  $3,601,385   $9,530,531 
Restricted cash   108,825,425    111,582,149 
Short-term investments   -    4,849,112 
Trade accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $623,742 and $1,306,099, respectively   7,331,291    7,023,880 
Notes receivable   320,888    475,112 
Other receivables and prepayments, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $248,128 and $351,372, respectively   3,446,187    4,275,817 
Advances to suppliers, unrelated parties, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $796,026 and $366,697, respectively   43,175,047    27,446,626 
Advances to suppliers, related parties, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of nil   185,615,973    121,884,833 
Inventories, net   52,377,135    50,432,279 
Deferred tax assets   952,417    709,688 
Total Current Assets   405,645,748    338,210,027 
Non-current Assets:          
Advances for purchase of long term assets   17,085,958    15,001,088 
Property, plant and equipment, net   71,508,912    77,231,273 
Intangible assets, net   3,074,372    3,082,877 
Equity method investments   6,686,539    - 
Total Non-current Assets   98,355,781    95,315,238 
TOTAL ASSETS  $504,001,529   $433,525,265 

 

F-2
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(CONTINUED)

 

   June 30,   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
         
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY          
Current Liabilities:          
Short-term loans  $138,968,845   $111,166,838 
Long-term loans, current portion   7,418,003    27,762,975 
Accounts payable, unrelated parties   82,602,243    57,079,617 
Accounts payable, related parties   20,162,069    - 
Other payables and accrued expenses   7,291,220    8,820,064 
Advances from customers   11,008,550    7,924,812 
Warrant liabilities   144,535    47,404 
Total Current Liabilities   267,595,465    212,801,710 
Long-Term Loans   1,180,877    8,490,772 
Total Liabilities   268,776,342    221,292,482 
           
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 15)          
           
Stockholders' Equity          
Undesignated preferred stock - $0.001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; nil shares outstanding   -    - 
Common stock - $0.001 par value;
authorized: 500,000,000 shares as of June 30, 2013 and June 30, 2012;
issued: 40,965,602 shares and 40,805,602 shares as of June 30, 2013 and June 30, 2012, respectively
   40,965    40,805 
Additional paid-in capital   41,793,142    41,344,306 
Statutory reserves   20,426,971    18,100,361 
Retained earnings   132,311,592    117,732,738 
Accumulated other comprehensive income   41,304,026    35,622,241 
Less: Treasury stock, at cost, 590,838 and 544,477 shares as of June 30, 2013 and June 30, 2012, respectively   (651,509)   (607,668)
Total Stockholders' Equity   235,225,187    212,232,783 
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY  $504,001,529   $433,525,265 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements

 

F-3
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

 

   For The Year Ended 
   June 30 
   2013   2012 
         
Revenue:          
Revenue from unrelated parties  $395,433,973   $365,059,554 
Revenue from related parties   216,641,488    166,564,169 
    612,075,461    531,623,723 
           
Cost of Revenue          
Cost of revenue from unrelated parties   (367,211,097)   (336,196,285)
Cost of revenue from related parties   (199,928,842)   (153,704,170)
    (567,139,939)   (489,900,455)
           
Gross Profit   44,935,522    41,723,268 
           
Operating Expenses:          
           
Selling expenses   (8,266,533)   (7,236,095)
General and administrative expenses   (10,516,116)   (10,781,178)
Total Operating Expenses   (18,782,649)   (18,017,273)
Income from Operations   26,152,873    23,705,995 
           
Other Incomes/(Expenses):          
Interest income   3,414,416    2,831,798 
Interest expense   (10,209,681)   (13,317,274)
Changes in fair value of warrant liabilities   (97,131)   352,168 
Income from equity method investments   370,814    - 
Other income   457,735    408,703 
Other expense   (460,412)   (918,090)
Total Other Incomes/(Expenses)   (6,524,259)   (10,642,695)
           
Income Before Taxes   19,628,614    13,063,300 
Income tax expense   (2,723,150)   (998,309)
Net Income  $16,905,464   $12,064,991 
           
Other Comprehensive Income:          
Foreign currency translation adjustment   5,681,785    5,552,680 
Comprehensive Income   22,587,249    17,617,671 
           
Basic Earnings per Share  $0.42   $0.30 
Diluted Earnings per Share  $0.42   $0.30 
           
Basic Weighted Shares Outstanding   40,251,218    40,533,158 
Diluted Weighted Shares Outstanding   40,251,218    40,533,158 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements

 

F-4
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

 

   Common Stock   Additional
Paid-in
   Statutory   Retained   Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
   Treasury     
   Number   Amount   Capital   Reserves   Earnings   Income   Stock   Total 
                                 
Balance as of June 30, 2011   40,745,602   $40,745   $41,216,546   $15,662,039   $108,106,069   $30,069,561   $-   $195,094,960 
Stock-based compensation   60,000    60    127,760    -         -    -    127,820 
Provision of statutory reserves   -    -    -    2,438,322    (2,438,322)   -    -    - 
Net income for the year   -    -    -    -    12,064,991    -    -    12,064,991 
Foreign currency translation adjustment   -    -    -    -    -    5,552,680    -    5,552,680 
Repurchase of common stock   -    -    -    -    -    -    (607,668)   (607,668)
Balance as of June 30, 2012   40,805,602   $40,805   $41,344,306   $18,100,361   $117,732,738   $35,622,241   $(607,668)  $212,232,783 
Deemed contribution from stockholders in connection with the disposal of Ningbo Taixiang Investment Co., Ltd.   -    -    119,420    -    -    -    -    119,420 
Stock-based compensation   160,000    160    329,416    -         -    -    329,576 
Provision of statutory reserves   -    -    -    2,326,610    (2,326,610)   -    -    - 
Net income for the year   -    -    -    -    16,905,464    -    -    16,905,464 
Foreign currency translation adjustment   -    -    -    -    -    5,681,785    -    5,681,785 
Repurchase of common stock   -    -    -    -    -    -    (43,841)   (43,841)
Balance as of June 30, 2013   40,965,602   $40,965   $41,793,142   $20,426,971   $132,311,592   $41,304,026   $(651,509)  $235,225,187 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements

 

F-5
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

 

   For The Year Ended 
   June 30 
   2013   2012 
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:          
Net income  $16,905,464   $12,064,991 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities          
Depreciation and amortization   8,868,707    8,623,056 
Reversal for doubtful accounts   (392,969)   (30,366)
Write downs of inventories   141,173    25,015 
Stock-based compensation   193,518    127,820 
Foreign currency exchange gain   (454,657)   (402,700)
Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment   16,240    36,422 
Interest income from short-term investments carried at amortized cost   (31,059)   (97,412)
Income from equity method investments   (370,814)   - 
Deferred income taxes   (223,911)   (335,604)
Changes in fair value of warrant liabilities   97,131    (352,168)
Changes in current assets and liabilities:          
Restricted cash   (20,674,295)   (16,778,737)
Trade accounts receivable   544,243    (3,392,490)
Notes receivable   161,978    (301,319)
Other receivables and prepayments   1,150,326    (2,022,785)
Advances to suppliers, unrelated parties   (15,318,614)   15,660,580 
Advances to suppliers, related parties   (56,319,904)   (2,051,343)
Inventories   (982,823)   (3,149,913)
Accounts payable, unrelated parties   25,161,900    6,196,904 
Accounts payable, related parties   19,853,697    - 
Other payables and accrued expenses   (1,668,531)   3,999,210 
Other payables, related parties   -    (604,544)
Advances from customers   2,874,317    (4,045,719)
Net Cash (Used In)/Provided by Operating Activities   (20,468,883)   13,168,898 
           
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:          
Purchase of property, plant and equipment   (5,310,774)   (25,868,522)
Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment   889,743    63,526 
Purchase of intangible assets   (3,565,706)   - 
Payment for equity method investments   (6,213,456)   - 
Payments for short-term investments   -    (4,722,996)
Disposal of subsidiary, net of cash disposed of $27,401 and nil, respectively   (27,401)   - 
Proceeds from sale of short-term investments   4,909,220    - 
Net Cash Used In Investing Activities   (9,318,374)   (30,527,992)
           
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:          
Proceeds from loans   117,603,938    155,351,324 
Payments of loans   (119,567,659)   (128,992,840)
Changes in restricted cash   25,763,889    (20,545,678)
Payments on repurchase of common stock   (43,841)   (607,668)
Net Cash Provided By Financing Activities   23,756,327    5,205,138 
           
Effect of Exchange Rate Changes on Cash   101,784    359,556 
           
Net Change in Cash and Cash Equivalents   (5,929,146)   (11,794,400)
Cash and Cash Equivalents at Beginning of Year   9,530,531    21,324,931 
Cash and Cash Equivalents at End of Year  $3,601,385   $9,530,531 
           
Supplemental Non-Cash Information:          
Offset of notes payable to related parties against receivable from related parties  $10,791,134   $10,437,344 
Supplemental Cash Flow Information:          
Cash paid during the year for interest expense  $(8,670,207)  $(12,809,907)
Cash paid during the year for income tax  $(2,595,402)  $(1,015,879)

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements

 

F-6
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 1 - ORGANIZATION AND NATURE OF OPERATIONS

 

Sutor Technology Group Limited (“Sutor”) was incorporated on May 1, 1997 in the State of Nevada under the name of Bronze Marketing, Inc. and changed the name to Sutor Technology Group Limited effective March 6, 2007. Its principal activity is investment holding. The principal activities of its subsidiaries are described in the table below. Sutor together with its subsidiaries listed below are referred to as the “Company” hereinafter.

 

As of June 30, 2013, Sutor’s subsidiaries and affiliate included the following entities:

 

Name of subsidiary or affiliate  Date of
incorporation/
acquisition
  Place of
incorporation
  Percentage of
shareholding
   Principal activities
              

Sutor Steel Technology Co., Ltd.

(“Sutor BVI”)

  August 15, 2006  British Virgin
Islands
   100%  Investment holding
               

Changshu Huaye Steel Strip Co., Ltd.

(“Changshu Huaye”)

  January 17, 2003  PRC   100%  Manufactures of hot-dip galvanized steel (“HDG”) and pre-painted galvanized steel (“PPGI”)
               

Jiangsu Cold-Rolled Technology Co., Ltd.

(“Jiangsu Cold-Rolled”)

  August 28, 2003  PRC   100%  Manufacture of cold-rolled steel, acid pickled steel and hot-dip galvanized steel
               

Ningbo Zhehua Heavy Steel Pipe Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

(“Ningbo Zhehua”)

  April 5, 2004  PRC   100%  Manufactures heavy steel pipe
               

Sutor Technology Co., Ltd.

(“Sutor Technology”)

  February 24, 2010  PRC   100%  Trading of steel products
               

China Railway Materials Suzhou Company Limited.

(“CRM Suzhou”)

  August 10, 2012  PRC   39%  Metal materials trading

  

In October 2012, Ningbo Zhehua established a wholly owned subsidiary, Ningbo Taixiang Investment Co., Ltd (“Ningbo Taixiang”). The principle activity of Ningbo Taixiang is investment. Ningbo Taixiang has not incurred any operations since its establishment. In June 2013, the Company disposed 100% equity interest in Ningbo Taixiang to its related party (Note 10). The disposal of Ningbo Taixiang was accounted for as a transaction between entities under common control. Therefore the transaction was recorded at carryover basis and any difference between the carrying value and the amount received are recorded in stockholder’s equity.

 

NOTE 2 - SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

Basis of Presentation - The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“US GAAP”).

 

Principles of Consolidation – The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts and transactions of Sutor and its subsidiaries for all years presented. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

 

F-7
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 2 - SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued

 

Functional Currency and Translating Financial Statements - Transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency are translated into the functional currency at the exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in currencies other than the functional currency are translated into the functional currency using the applicable exchange rates at the balance sheet dates. The resulting exchange differences are recorded in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income.

 

The reporting currency of the Company is the United States Dollars (“US$”). Sutor and Sutor BVI maintain their books and records in US$, their functional currency. The Company's subsidiaries in the PRC maintain their books and records in its local currency, the Renminbi Yuan (“RMB”), which is their functional currency as being the primary currency of the economic environment in which these entities operate. In general, for consolidation purposes, assets and liabilities of its subsidiaries whose functional currency is not the US$ are translated into US$, in accordance with ASC Topic 830-30, “Translation of Financial Statement”, using the exchange rate on the balance sheet date. Revenues and expenses are translated at average rates prevailing during the period. The gains and losses resulting from translation of financial statements of foreign subsidiaries are recorded as other comprehensive income.

 

Translation of amounts from RMB into US$1 has been made at the following exchange rates for the respective years:

 

   June 30, 
2013
   June 30,
2012
 
Closing RMB : US$ exchange rate at the year end   6.1807    6.3143 
Average RMB : US$ exchange rate for the year   6.2767    6.3519 

 

The RMB is not freely convertible into foreign currency and all foreign exchange transactions must take place through authorized institutions. No representation is made that the RMB amounts could have been, or could be, converted into US$ at the rates used in translation.

 

Accounting EstimatesThe preparation of financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. The estimates and assumptions that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities are provision for doubtful accounts on trade accounts receivable, notes receivable, other receivables and prepayments, advances to suppliers, reserves for inventories, estimated useful lives of property, plant and equipment, valuation allowance for deferred tax assets and valuation of warrant liabilities.

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents - Cash and cash equivalents are stated at cost, which approximates fair value, and consist of cash on hand and bank deposits, which are unrestricted as to withdrawal and use and have original maturities of less than 90 days.

 

Restricted Cash - Restricted cash represents amounts held by banks in escrow as security for either notes payable that have yet to be drawn down or bank loans and therefore are not available for the Company’s use.

 

Short-term investments - Investments with stated maturities of greater than 90 days but less than 365 days are mainly time deposits that are classified as short-term investments. Short-term investments are classified as held-to-maturity and recorded at amortized cost when the Company has both the positive intent and ability to hold investments to maturity. As of June 30, 2012, all the short-term investments of the Company were classified as held-to-maturity. There was no short-term investment as of June 30, 2013.

 

Trade Accounts Receivable - Trade accounts receivable are carried at original invoiced amounts less an allowance for doubtful accounts.

 

Allowance for doubtful accounts – The Company provides a general provision for doubtful accounts for the outstanding trade receivable balances based on historical experience and information available. Additionally, the Company makes specific bad debt provisions based on (i) specific assessment of the collectability of all significant accounts; and (ii) any specific knowledge the Company has acquired that might indicate that an account is uncollectible. The facts and circumstances of each account may require the Company to use substantial judgment in assessing its collectability.

 

F-8
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 2 - SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued

 

Inventories - Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market. The cost of inventories is determined using first-in-first-out method, and includes expenditure incurred in acquiring the inventories and bringing them to their existing location and condition. In case of finished goods and work in progress, cost includes an appropriate share of production overhead based on normal operating capacity. The Company regularly reviews the cost of inventories against their estimated fair market value and records a lower of cost or market write-down for inventories that have cost in excess of estimated market value.

 

Property, Plant and Equipment – Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost and are depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows:

 

   Life
Buildings and plant  20 years
Machinery  10 years
Office and other equipment  10 years
Vehicles  5 years

 

Repair and maintenance costs are charged to expense as incurred, whereas the costs of betterments that extend the useful life of property, plant and equipment are capitalized as additions to the related assets. Retirements, sale and disposals of assets are recorded by removing the cost and accumulated depreciation with any resulting gain or loss reflected in the consolidated statements of operations.

 

Property, plant and equipment that are purchased or constructed which require a period of time before the assets are ready for their intended use are accounted for as construction-in-progress. Construction-in-progress is recorded at acquisition cost, including installation costs. Construction-in-progress is transferred to specific property, plant and equipment accounts and commences depreciation when these assets are ready for their intended use.

 

Interest costs are capitalized if they are incurred during the acquisition, construction or production of a qualifying asset and such costs could have been avoided if expenditures for these assets have not been made. Capitalization of interest costs commences when the activities to prepare the asset are in progress and expenditures and borrowing costs are incurred. Interest costs are capitalized until the assets are ready for their intended use.

 

Foreign invested enterprises and foreign enterprises running business in the PRC are generally able to receive a refund of the value-added tax paid on property, plant and equipment purchased and manufactured within the PRC. The Company recognizes refunds of value-added tax as a reduction of property, plant and equipment when the refunds are collected.

 

Intangible Assets – Intangible assets are land use rights. Acquisition costs of land use rights are capitalized and amortized using the straight-line method over the land lease term of 50 years.

 

Impairment of Long-lived Assets - The Company evaluates its long-lived assets or asset group, including intangible assets with finite lives, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances (such as a significant adverse change to market conditions that will impact the future use of the assets) indicate that the carrying amount of an asset or a group of long-lived assets may not be recoverable. When these events occur, the Company evaluates for impairment by comparing the carrying amount of the assets to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to result from the use of the assets and their eventual disposition. If the sum of the expected undiscounted cash flow is less than the carrying amount of the assets, the Company would recognize an impairment loss based on the excess of the carrying amount of the asset group over its fair value. Fair value is generally determined by discounting the cash flows expected to be generated by the assets, when the market prices are not readily available for the long-lived assets. No impairment charge was recognized for each of the year ended June 30, 2013 and 2012.

 

F-9
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 2 - SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued

 

Equity method investments – Affiliated company (partially owned affiliate) is an entity over which the Company has significant influence, but which it does not control. Investments in affiliated company (“Investee”) are accounted for as equity method investments. Under equity method, the Company’s share of the post-acquisition profits or losses of Investee is recognized in the consolidated statements of operations. Unrealized gains on transactions between the Company and its Investee are eliminated to the extent of the Company’s interest in Investee; unrealized losses are also eliminated unless the transaction provides evidence of an impairment of the asset transferred. When the Company’s share of losses in Investee equals or exceeds its interest in the Investee, the Company does not recognize further losses, unless the Company has incurred obligations or made payments on behalf of the Investee.

 

The Company continually reviews its equity method investments to determine whether a decline in fair value below the carrying value is other than temporary. The primary factors the Company considers in its determination are the length of time that the fair value of the investment is below the Company’s carrying value and the financial condition, operating performance and near term prospects of Investee. In addition, the Company considers the reason for the decline in fair value, including general market conditions, industry specific or Investee specific reasons, changes in valuation subsequent to the balance sheet date and the Company’s intent and ability to hold the investments for a period of time sufficient to allow for a recovery in fair value. If the decline in fair value is deemed to be other than temporary, the carrying value of the investments is written down to fair value. There was no impairment for equity method investments as of June 30, 2013.

 

Fair Values of Financial Instruments - The Company adopted ASC 820 “Fair value measurements and disclosures”. This guidance defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (an exit price). The guidance outlines a valuation framework and creates a fair value hierarchy in order to increase the consistency and comparability of fair value measurements and the related disclosures. Under US GAAP, certain assets and liabilities must be measured at fair value, and the guidance details the disclosures that are required for items measured at fair value.

 

The three levels are defined as follows: Level 1 – Valuations based on quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. Level 2 – Valuations based other than quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in inactive markets, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities. Level 3 – Valuations based on inputs that are generally unobservable and typically reflect management’s estimates of assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability.

 

Financial instruments of the Company primarily comprise of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term investments, trade accounts receivable, other receivables, loans, accounts payable, other payables and warrant liabilities. As of June 30, 2013 and 2012, carrying values of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term investments, trade accounts receivable, other receivables, short-term loans, current portion of long-term loans, accounts payable and other payables approximated their fair values because of their generally short maturities. The estimated fair value of long-term loan approximated the carrying amount as of June 30, 2013 and 2012 as they bear floating interest rate and the market rate approximate the floating interest rates at the respective balance sheet dates. Warrants are recorded as liabilities at their estimated fair value at the date of issuance, with subsequent changes in estimated fair value recorded in changes in fair value of warrant liabilities on the Company’s statement of operations in each subsequent period. The warrants were measured at estimated fair value using the Black Scholes valuation model, which was based, in part, upon inputs for which there is little or no observable market data, requiring the Company to develop its own assumptions. Inherent in this model were assumptions related to expected stock-price volatility, expected life, risk free interest rate and dividend yield. We estimated the volatility of our common stock at the date of issuance, and at each subsequent reporting period, based on historical volatility that matches the expected remaining life of the warrants. The risk-free interest rate was based on the U.S. Treasury zero-coupon yield curve on the grant date for a maturity similar to the expected remaining life of the warrants. The expected life of the warrants was assumed to be equivalent to their remaining contractual term. The dividend rate was based on our historical rate, which we anticipated to remain at zero. The assumptions used in calculating the estimated fair value of the warrants represent our best estimates. However these estimates involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management judgment. As a result, if factors change and different assumptions were used, the warrant liability and the changes in estimated fair value could be materially different.

 

F-10
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 2 - SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued

 

Assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis are summarized below:

 

   Balance as of June 30, 2012 
       Fair Value Measurements 
   Carrying Value   Level 1   Level 2   Level 3 
Short-term investments                    
- Fixed rate time deposits  $4,849,112   $4,849,112   $-   $- 

 

Liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis are summarized below:

 

   Balance as of June 30, 2013 
       Fair Value Measurements 
   Carrying Value   Level 1   Level 2   Level 3 
                 
Warrant liabilities  $144,535   $-   $-   $144,535 

 

   Balance as of June 30, 2012 
       Fair Value Measurements 
   Carrying Value   Level 1   Level 2   Level 3 
                 
Warrant liabilities  $47,404   $-   $-   $47,404 

 

For a summary of changes in short-term investments for the year ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, please see Note 4.

 

For a summary of changes in warrant liabilities for the year ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, please see Note 12.

 

Statutory Reserves - In accordance with the PRC Regulations on Enterprises with Foreign Investment, an enterprise established in the PRC with foreign investment is required to provide for certain statutory reserves, namely (i) General Reserve Fund, (ii) Enterprise Expansion Fund and (iii) Staff Welfare and Bonus Fund, which are appropriated from net profit as reported in the enterprise’s PRC statutory accounts. A wholly owned foreign enterprise (“WOFE”) is required to allocate at least 10% of its annual after-tax profit to the General Reserve Fund until the balance of such fund has reached 50% of its respective registered capital. A non-wholly owned foreign invested enterprise is permitted to provide for the above allocation at the discretion of its board of directors. Appropriations to the Enterprise Expansion Fund and Staff Welfare and Bonus Fund are at the discretion of the board of directors for all foreign invested enterprises. The aforementioned reserves can only be used for specific purposes and are not distributable as cash dividends.

 

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income - Accumulated other comprehensive income presented in the accompanying consolidated financial statements consists of foreign currency translation adjustments.

 

Revenue Recognition - The Company recognizes revenues from the sale of products when they are realized and earned. The Company considers revenue realized and earned when (1) it has persuasive evidence of an arrangement, (2) delivery has occurred, (3) the sales price is fixed or determinable, and (4) collectability is reasonably assured. Revenues are not recognized until products have been shipped to the client, risk of loss has transferred to the client and client acceptance has been obtained, client acceptance provisions have lapsed, or the Company has objective evidence that the criteria specified in client acceptance provisions have been satisfied.

 

The Company sells some products to related parties, who in turn sell the product to various other unrelated party customers. The price, terms and conditions on the sales to related parties are the same as those to unrelated parties. Revenue is considered realized or realizable and earned when the related parties ship the products to unrelated party customers. A fee of 0.5% of the sales is paid to the related parties for handling the product. Handling fees were $109,167 and $83,739 for the year ended June 30, 2013 and 2012 respectively and have been recorded in selling expenses in the statement of operations.

 

Cost of Revenue - Cost of products sold includes wages, materials, handling charges, and other expenses associated with the manufacture and delivery of product.

 

Shipping and Handling Costs - Shipping and handling costs are billed to customers and recorded as revenue, and the associated costs are included in cost of revenues.

 

F-11
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 2 - SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued

 

Employee Benefits - The full-time employees of the Company’s PRC subsidiaries are entitled to staff welfare benefits including medical care, housing fund, pension benefits and unemployment insurance, which are governmental mandated defined contribution plans. These entities are required to accrue for these benefits based on certain percentages of the employees’ respective salaries, subject to certain ceilings, in accordance with the relevant PRC regulations, and make cash contributions to the state-sponsored plans out of the amounts accrued.

 

Stock-based Compensation – Share options granted to employees are accounted for under ASC 718, “Compensation – Stock Compensation”, which requires that share-based awards granted to employees be measured based on the grant date fair value and recognized as compensation expense over the requisite service period (which is generally the vesting period) in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company has elected to recognize compensation expense using the straight-line method for all share options granted with service conditions that have a graded vesting schedule.

 

ASC 718 requires forfeitures to be estimated at the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from initial estimates. Forfeiture rate is estimated based on historical and future expectation of employee turnover rate and are adjusted to reflect future change in circumstances and facts, if any. Share-based compensation expense is recorded net of estimated forfeitures such that expense was recorded only for those share-based awards that are expected to vest. To the extent the Company revises this estimate in the future, the share-based payments could be materially impacted in the period of revision, as well as in following periods.

 

Transactions in which goods or services are received in exchange for equity instruments are accounted for based on the fair value of the consideration received or the fair value of the equity instrument issued, whichever is more reliably measurable. The measurement date of the fair value of the equity instrument issued is the date on the earlier of: (1) the performance commitment date, or (2) the date the services required under the arrangement have been completed.

 

Income Taxes – The Company accounts for income taxes using the liability method whereby deferred income taxes are recognized for the tax consequences of temporary differences by applying statutory tax rates applicable to future years to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and the tax bases of certain assets and liabilities, changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities, if any, include the impact of any tax rate changes enacted during the year. ASC Topic 350, “Accounting for Income Taxes,” requires that deferred tax assets be reduced by a valuation allowance if, based on all available evidence, it is considered more likely than not that some portion or all of the recorded deferred tax assets will not be realized in future periods. Additionally, the Company accounts for uncertainty in income taxes using a two-step approach to recognize and measure uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely of being realized upon settlement. The Company classifies the liability for unrecognized tax benefits as current to the extent that the Company anticipates payment (or receipt) of cash within one year. Interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions are recognized in the provision for income taxes. The Company did not have any uncertain tax positions for the year ended June 30, 2013 and 2012.

 

If the amount of the Company’s taxable income or income tax liability is a determinant of the amount of a grant, the grant is treated as a reduction of the income tax provision in the year the grant is realized.

 

Earnings Per Share – Earnings per share are calculated in accordance with ASC subtopic 260-10 (“ASC 260-10”), Earnings Per Share: Overall. Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing net income attributable to holders of ordinary shares by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share are computed using the weighted average number of shares and dilutive equivalent shares outstanding during the period. Dilutive equivalent shares consist of ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options granted, with an exercise price less than the average fair market value for such period, using the treasury stock method. Dilutive equivalent shares are excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share if their effects would be anti-dilutive.

 

F-12
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 2 - SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES – continued

 

Share Repurchase Program – Pursuant to a Board of Directors’ resolution on August 29, 2011, the Company’s management is authorized to repurchase up to $5 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock over the next year in the open market, in privately negotiated transactions or as otherwise may be determined by the Chief Executive Offer and the Chief Financial Officer (“Authorized Officers”) and will be funded from available working capital. The timing and extent of any purchases depend upon the trading price of the Company’s common stock, general business and market conditions and other investment opportunities. The Company accounted for those shares repurchase as Treasury Stock at cost in accordance to ASC Subtopic 505-30 (“ASC 505-30”), Treasury Stock and is shown separately in the stockholders’ equity as the Company has not yet decided on the ultimate disposition of those repurchased stocks. The treasury stock may be retired or used by the Company to finance or execute acquisitions or other arrangements. As of June 30, 2013 and 2012, the Company had repurchased 590,838 and 544,477 shares of its common stock at a total cost of $651,509 and $607,668, respectively.

 

Treasury stock reissuance – Shares of common stock repurchased by the Company that are not retired are recorded at cost as treasury stock and result in a reduction of stockholders' equity in the Company's consolidated balance sheets. From time to time, treasury shares may be reissued as part of the Company's stock-based compensation programs. When shares are reissued, the Company uses the weighted average cost method for determining cost. If the issuance price is higher than the cost, the excess of the issuance price over cost is credited to additional paid-in capital (“APIC”). If the issuance price is lower than the cost, the difference is first charged against any credit balance in APIC from treasury stock and the balance is charged to retained earnings. During the years ended June 30, 2013 and June 30, 2012, the Company did not reissue shares from treasury stock.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-11, “Balance Sheet (Topic 210)”. The objective of this Update is to provide enhanced disclosures that will enable users of its financial statements to evaluate the effect or potential effect of netting arrangements on an entity’s financial position. This includes the effect or potential effect of rights of setoff associated with an entity’s recognized assets and recognized liabilities within the scope of this Update. The amendments require enhanced disclosures by requiring improved information about financial instruments and derivative instruments that are either (1) offset in accordance with either Section 210-20-45 or Section 815-10-45 or (2) subject to an enforceable master netting arrangement or similar agreement, irrespective of whether they are offset in accordance with either Section 210-20-45 or Section 815-10-45. An entity is required to apply the amendments for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013, and interim periods within those annual periods. An entity should provide the disclosures required by those amendments retrospectively for all comparative periods presented. The adoption of ASU 2011-11 will not have a material effect on the financial position, results of operations or cash flows of the Company.

 

In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-02 (“ASU 2013-02”), Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which is intended to improve the reporting of reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income. It does not change the current requirements for reporting net income or other comprehensive income in financial statements. However, the standard requires an entity to provide information about the amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by component. For public entities, the amendments are effective prospectively for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2012, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of ASU 2013-02 will not have a material effect on the financial position, results of operations or cash flows of the Company.

 

In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-04, “Obligations Resulting from Joint and Several Liability Arrangements for Which the Total Amount of the Obligation is Fixed at the Reporting Date”. This update provides guidance for the recognition, measurement and disclosure of obligations resulting from joint and several liability arrangements for which the total amount of the obligation within the scope of this update is fixed at the reporting date, except for obligations addressed within existing guidance in U.S. GAAP. The guidance requires an entity to measure those obligations as the sum of the amount the reporting entity agreed to pay on the basis of its arrangement among its co-obligors and any additional amount the reporting entity expects to pay on behalf of its co-obligors. The guidance in this update also requires an entity to disclose the nature and amount of the obligation as well as other information about those obligations. This update is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2013. This update should be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented for those obligations resulting from joint and several liability arrangements within this update’s scope that exist at the beginning of an entity’s fiscal year of adoption. An entity may elect to use hindsight for the comparative periods (if it changed its accounting as a result of adopting the amendments in this update) and should disclose that fact. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have any impact on the Company’s financial position.

 

F-13
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 2 - SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES – continued

 

In March 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-05, “Parent’s Accounting for the Cumulative Translation Adjustment upon Derecognition of Certain Subsidiaries or Groups of Assets within a Foreign Entity or of an Investment in a Foreign Entity”. This update provides that when a reporting entity (parent) ceases to have a controlling financial interest in a subsidiary or group of assets that is a non-profit activity or a business (other than a sale of in substance real estate or conveyance of oil and gas mineral rights) within a foreign entity, the parent is required to apply the guidance in Subtopic 830-30 to release any related cumulative translation adjustment into net income. Accordingly, the cumulative translation adjustment should be released into net income only if the sale or transfer results in the complete or substantially complete liquidation of the foreign entity in which the subsidiary or group of assets had resided. For an equity method investment that is a foreign entity, a pro rata portion of the cumulative translation adjustment should be released into net income upon a partial sale of such an equity method investment. However, this treatment does not apply to an equity method investment that is not a foreign entity. In those instances, the cumulative translation adjustment is released into net income only if the partial sale represents a complete or substantially complete liquidation of the foreign entity that contains the equity method investment. Additionally, the amendments in this update clarify that the sale of an investment in a foreign entity includes both (1) events that result in the loss of a controlling financial interest in a foreign entity (that is, irrespective of any retained investment) and (2) events that result in an acquirer obtaining control of an acquiree in which it held an equity interest immediately before the acquisition date (sometimes also referred to as a “step acquisition”). Accordingly, the cumulative translation adjustment should be released into net income upon the occurrence of those events. This update is effective prospectively for fiscal years (and interim reporting periods within those years) beginning after December 15, 2013. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have any impact on the Company’s financial position or operating results.

 

On July 18, 2013, the FASB issued ASU 2013-11, "Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists” (Income Taxes - Topic 740). This update applies to all entities that have unrecognized tax benefits when a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward exists at the reporting date. An unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of an unrecognized tax benefit, should be presented in the financial statements as a reduction to a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward, unless otherwise provided in the update. To the extent that a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward is not available at the reporting date under the tax law of the applicable jurisdiction to settle any additional income taxes that would result from the disallowance of a tax position or the tax law of the applicable jurisdiction does not require the entity to use, and the entity does not intend to use, the deferred tax asset for such purpose, the unrecognized tax benefit should be presented in the financial statements as a liability and should not be combined with deferred tax assets. The assessment of whether a deferred tax asset is available is based on the unrecognized tax benefit and deferred tax asset that exist at the reporting date and should be made presuming disallowance of the tax position at the reporting date. For example, an entity should not evaluate whether the deferred tax asset has expired before the statute of limitations on the tax position or whether the deferred tax asset may be used prior to the unrecognized tax benefit being settled. The amendments in this update do not require new recurring disclosures. The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2013. Early adoption is permitted. The amendments should be applied prospectively to all unrecognized tax benefits that exist at the effective date. Retrospective application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this update on its financial statements.

 

F-14
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 3 – REVISION OF PRIOR YEAR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

During the year ended June 30, 2013, the Company identified an error related to the classification between revenue from unrelated parties and revenue from related parties. Previously, the Company reported the revenue from the sales to a related party under revenue from nonrelated parties. In addition, the Company failed to disclose the purchases from this related party as related party transaction. The Company assessed the materiality of this error on prior periods’ financial statements in accordance with the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 99 (“SAB 99”), and concluded that the error was not material to any of its prior annual or interim financial statements. As a result, the Company elected to revise its previously issued consolidated financial statements the next time they are filed as permitted in SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin No.108 (“SAB 108”) regarding immaterial revisions. As each subsequent filing is made in the future, the previous period consolidated financial statements affected by the errors will be revised. The Company has revised the consolidated statements of operations for the year ended June 30, 2012 included herein to reflect the correct numbers. The impact of correcting this error on net income as reported for the year ended June 30, 2012 was nil.

 

Set out below are the line items within the consolidated statement of operations for the year ended June 30, 2012 have been affected by the revisions. The revisions had no impact on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets and consolidated statements of cash flows.

 

   For the year ended June 30, 2012 
   Previously
reported
   Adjustments   Revised 
Consolidated Statement of Operations               
                
Revenue from unrelated parties  $375,947,830   $(10,888,276)  $365,059,554 
Revenue from related parties   155,675,893    10,888,276    166,564,169 
Cost of revenue from unrelated parties   (347,052,327)   10,856,042    (336,196,285)
Cost of revenue from related parties   (142,848,128)   (10,856,042)   (153,704,170)

 

F-15
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 4 – SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS

 

Short-term investments as of June 30, 2012 consisted of the following:

 

   Carrying   Unrealized   Estimated 
   Value   Gains/(Losses)   Fair Value 
             
Held-to-maturity securities               
- Fixed rate time deposits  $4,849,112   $-   $4,849,112 

 

The following table summarizes the movement of short-term investments for the years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012:

 

   For The Year Ended 
   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
Balance at beginning of the year  $4,849,112   $- 
Payment for fixed rate time deposits   -    4,722,996 
Interest income recognized during the year   31,059    97,412 
Foreign currency translation difference   29,049    28,704 
Disposal of short-term investments   (4,909,220)   - 
Balance at end of the year  $-   $4,849,112 

 

NOTE 5 – INVENTORIES

 

Inventories consisted of the following:

 

   June 30,   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
Raw materials  $28,844,850   $21,486,439 
Finished goods   23,793,747    29,061,437 
    52,638,597    50,547,876 
Less: allowance for obsolescence   (261,462)   (115,597)
Inventories, net  $52,377,135   $50,432,279 

 

NOTE 6 – PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

 

Property, plant and equipment as of June 30, 2013 and 2012 consisted of the following:

 

   June 30,   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
Buildings and plant  $46,704,868   $43,402,250 
Machinery   73,096,228    71,825,535 
Office and other equipment   1,346,734    1,383,305 
Vehicles   471,456    488,268 
    121,619,286    117,099,358 
Less: accumulated depreciation   (53,682,239)   (44,421,165)
    67,937,047    72,678,193 
Construction in progress   3,571,865    4,553,080 
Property, Plant and Equipment, net  $71,508,912   $77,231,273 

 

As of June 30, 2013 and 2012, certain of the Company’s property, plant and equipment amounted to approximately $39 million and $45 million, respectively, was pledged to banks to secure the loan granted to the Company (Note 9).

 

Depreciation expense for the years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012 was $8,705,240 and $8,549,938, respectively.

 

F-16
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 7 – INTANGIBLE ASSETS

 

Intangible assets as of June 30, 2013 and 2012 consisted of the following:

 

   June 30,   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
Cost  $3,757,157   $3,677,663 
Less: Accumulated amortization   (682,785)   (594,786)
  Intangible Assets, net  $3,074,372   $3,082,877 

 

The Company’s intangible assets represented several land use rights, which are amortized using the straight-line method over the lease term of 50 years. Amortization expense for the years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012 was $163,468 and $73,118, respectively.

 

As of June 30, 2013 and 2012, certain of the Company’s intangible assets amounted to approximately $2.9 million and nil, respectively, was pledged to banks to secure the loan granted to the Company (Note 9).

 

The following schedule sets forth the estimated amortization expense for the periods presented:

 

ESTIMATED AMORTIZATION EXPENSE     
For the year ending June 30, 2014   75,143 
For the year ending June 30, 2015   75,143 
For the year ending June 30, 2016   75,143 
For the year ending June 30, 2017   75,143 
For the year ending June 30, 2018   75,143 
For the year ending June 30, 2019 and thereafter   2,698,657 
Total  $3,074,372 

 

NOTE 8 – EQUITY METHOD INVESTMENTS

 

In August 2012, the Company together with other two unrelated companies jointly established CRM Suzhou. The Company holds 39% equity interest in CRM Suzhou with the consideration of $6,165,326 in cash. The Company evaluated its interest in CRM Suzhou under relevant guidance in ASC 810 and ASC 323 pertaining to consolidation and equity method accounting, respectively. The Company determined that it does not have a controlling financial interest in the investee, but rather possesses significant influence. Accordingly, the Company has accounted for this investment under the equity method.

 

   Balance as of
June 30, 2012
   Equity
investment
   Share of
income
   Translation
difference
   Balance as of
March 31, 2013
 
Equity interest in CRM Suzhou   -    6,165,326    370,814    150,399    6,686,539 

 

NOTE 9 – LOANS

 

Loans are as follows as of the respective balance sheet dates:

 

   June 30,   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
Short-term loans  $138,968,845   $111,166,838 
Long-term loans, current portion   7,418,003    27,762,975 
    146,386,848    138,929,813 
Long-term loans, non-current portion   1,180,877    8,490,772 
Total loans  $147,567,725   $147,420,585 

 

The short-term loans outstanding as of June 30, 2013 and June 30, 2012 bore a weighted average interest rate of 5.11% and 5.81% per annum, respectively. These loans were obtained from financial institutions and have contract terms of three months to one year.

 

The long-term loans outstanding as of June 30, 2013 and June 30, 2012 bore a weighted average interest rate of 7.10%% and 5.13% per annum, respectively. These loans were obtained from financial institutions and one individual. Long-term loans have contract terms of one to three years.

 

F-17
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 9 – LOANS - continued

 

Short-term loans as of June 30, 2013 were secured/guaranteed by the following:

 

Secured/guaranteed by    
Jointly guaranteed by (i) a related party, and (ii) the Company's property, plant and equipment  $45,464,106 
Guaranteed by a related party   40,351,593 
Guaranteed by the Company's property, plant and equipment   28,152,151 
Guaranteed by the Company's cash deposit   10,000,000 
Jointly guaranteed by (i) the Company's cash deposit, (ii) the Company's notes receivable   9,500,000 
Unsecured   5,500,995 
Total short-term loans  $138,968,845 

 

Short-term loans as of June 30, 2012 were secured/guaranteed by the following:

 

Secured/guaranteed by    
Jointly guaranteed by (i) a related party, and (ii) the Company's property, plant and equipment  $35,633,403 
Guaranteed by a related party   23,280,490 
Guaranteed by the Company's cash deposit   19,500,000 
Guaranteed by the Company's property, plant and equipment   19,004,482 
Unsecured   7,918,534 
Jointly guaranteed by (i) a related party, and (ii) the Company's notes receivable   4,814,469 
Guaranteed by the Company's trade accounts receivable   1,015,460 
Total short-term loans  $111,166,838 

 

Long-term loans, current portion as of June 30, 2013 were secured/guaranteed by the following:

 

Secured/guaranteed by    
Guaranteed by the Company's property, plant and equipment   4,558,008 
Unsecured   2,859,995 
Total long-term loans, current portion  $7,418,003 

 

Long-term loans, current portion as of June 30, 2012 were secured/guaranteed by the following:

 

Secured/guaranteed by    
Guaranteed by the Company's cash deposit  $23,626,900 
Guaranteed by the Company's property, plant and equipment   4,136,075 
Total long-term loans, current portion  $27,762,975 

 

An amount of $7,418,003 and $27,762,975 has been reclassified from long-term loans, non-current to long-term loans, current as of June 30, 2013 and June 30, 2012, respectively, to reflect amounts will be due and paid within 12 months.

  

Long-term loans, non-current portion as of June 30, 2013 were secured/guaranteed by the following:

 

Secured/guaranteed by    
Guaranteed by the Company's property, plant and equipment  $1,180,877 

 

F-18
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 9 – LOANS - continued

 

Long-term loans, non-current portion as of June 30, 2012 were secured/guaranteed by the following:

 

Secured/guaranteed by    
Guaranteed by the Company's property, plant and equipment  $5,630,777 
Unsecured   2,859,995 
Total long-term loans, non-current portion  $8,490,772 

 

The Company must use the loans for the purpose specified in borrowing agreements, pay interest at the interest rate described in borrowing agreements. The Company also has to repay the principal outstanding on the specified date as described in borrowing agreements. Management believes that the Company had complied with such financial covenants as of June 30, 2013, and will continue to comply with them.

 

NOTE 10 – RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

 

The Company’s related parties mainly include Shanghai Huaye and its subsidiaries, which were ultimately controlled by the same party as the Company; and CRM Suzhou, which is the Company’s equity investee.

 

Annual Related Party Activities

 

   For The Year Ended 
   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
Sales to Shanghai Huaye and its subsidiaries  $216,641,488   $166,564,169 
Purchases from Shanghai Huaye and its subsidiaries   261,808,367    175,009,675 
Purchases from CRM Suzhou   98,372,902    - 
Disposal of Ningbo Taixiang to Ningbo Huaye Steel Processing Co., Ltd.   4,062,751    - 
Rental fees to Ningbo Huaye Steel Processing Co., Ltd. (1)   152,947    150,254 
Interest expenses to Shanghai Huaye   340,098    371,030 

 

(1) Ningbo Huaye Steel Processing Co., Ltd. (“Ningbo Huaye”) is a subsidiary of Shanghai Huaye. Ningbo Zhehua entered into agreements with Ningbo Huaye to lease buildings from Ningbo Huaye, and Ningbo Zhehua pays rental fees at a pre-determined rate.

 

Year-End Related Party Balances

 

   June 30,   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
Advances to Shanghai Huaye and its subsidiaries (1)  $183,936,990   $121,884,833 
Advances to CRM Suzhou   1,678,983    - 
Accounts payable to CRM Suzhou   20,162,069    - 

  

(1) The amounts charged for products to the Company by Shanghai Huaye and its subsidiaries under the same pricing, terms and conditions as those charged to third parties. Different to nonrelated party suppliers, the Company does not have to enter into a long-term contract with related party suppliers in which case is more flexible for the Company.

 

F-19
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 11 – INCOME TAXES

 

Sutor is registered in United States and subject to the enterprise income tax within the United States at the applicable rate of 34% on the taxable income.

 

Sutor BVI is a tax-exempt company incorporated in British Virgin Islands.

 

The Company’s subsidiaries registered in the PRC are subject to income taxes within the PRC at the applicable tax rate of 25% on the taxable income as reported in their PRC statutory financial statements in accordance with the relevant income tax laws applicable to foreign invested enterprise.

 

In 2007, Jiangsu Cold-Rolled was granted an enterprise income tax holiday of a 100% enterprise income tax exemption for two years commencing from calendar year 2007, and a 50% enterprise income tax deduction for the next three years thereafter, from calendar years 2009 to 2011.

 

In September 2010, Changshu Huaye was awarded the title of High-New-Tech Enterprises (“HNTE”) by Jiangsu provincial government. According to the PRC income tax laws, it is subject to enterprise income tax at a rate of 15% for calendar years 2010, 2011 and 2012. Changshu Huaye paid enterprise income tax (“EIT”) at the 25% tax rate for the period between January and June 2010 and the Company received a refund on the over-paid portion of the EIT in July 2011.

 

Income tax payable as of June 30, 2013 and 2012 were $3,391,728 and $2,998,368, respectively, which were presented as a component of other payables and accrued expenses in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

 

The reconciliation of tax computed by applying the statutory income tax rate applicable to PRC operations to income tax expense is as following:

 

   For The Year Ended 
   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
Income before tax  $19,628,615   $13,063,300 
Income tax calculated at PRC statutory rate of 25%   4,907,154    3,265,825 
Benefit of favorable rates   (860,134)   (904,633)
Tax refund due to HNTE Certificate   -    (337,031)
Tax refund due to purchase of Domestic Equipments   (865,846)   (1,137,457)
Effect of differences in foreign tax rate   (2,459,965)   (49,650)
Changes in valuation allowance   1,820,858    521,173 
Others   181,083    (359,918)
Total Income tax expense  $2,723,150   $998,309 

  

Deferred tax assets as of June 30, 2013 and 2012 comprised of the following:

 

   June 30,   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
Net tax loss carry forward  $2,836,510   $811,951 
Stock-based compensation   162,324    96,528 
Allowance for doubtful trade accounts receivable   137,611    309,792 
Allowance for doubtful other receivables   54,555    82,895 
Allowance for doubtful advances to suppliers   186,186    74,965 
Allowance for inventory obsolescence   65,365    28,899 
Less: Valuation allowance   (2,490,134)   (695,342)
Total Deferred tax assets  $952,417   $709,688 

 

As of June 30, 2013, the Company has a tax loss for PRC enterprise income tax purposes of $3,464,561 which are available to offset future taxable income, if any, through 2018; the Company has a tax loss for United States federal income tax purposes of $5,795,203 which are available to carry back two years or offset future taxable income, if any, through 2033.

 

F-20
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 11 – INCOME TAXES - continued

 

The income tax expense for the years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012 comprised of the following:

 

   For The Year Ended 
   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
Current  $2,947,061   $1,333,913 
Deferred   (223,911)   (335,604)
Total Income tax expense  $2,723,150   $998,309 

 

NOTE 12 – WARRANTS

 

On March 10, 2010, The Company issued warrants to purchase up to 685,000 shares of common stock in connection with the Company’s registered direct offering. The warrants are exercisable for a five year period, expiring March 9, 2015, with an exercise price of $3.76 per share, adjustable for stock dividends, stock splits and upon occurrence of a fundamental transaction as defined in the warrant agreement.

 

The fair values of the warrants at the issuance date and the end of each reporting period were calculated using Black-Scholes pricing model and based on the following assumptions:

 

   June 30, 2013   June 30, 2012 
   Year end date   Year end date 
Warrants indexed to common stock   685,000    685,000 
Trading market price  $1.52   $0.92 
Exercise price  $3.76   $3.76 
Estimated Term (Year)   1.67    2.67 
Expected volatility   75.40%   62.64%
Risk-free rate   0.36%   0.72%
Dividend yield rates   0.00%   0.00%
Fair value of warrants  $144,535   $47,404 

 

The Warrants were recorded as liabilities at their estimated fair value at the date of issuance, with subsequent changes in estimated fair value recorded in changes in fair value of warrant liabilities on the Company’s consolidated statement of operations in each subsequent period.

  

The following table summarizes the movement of warrant liabilities for the years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012:

 

   For The Year Ended 
   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
Balance at beginning of the year  $47,404   $399,572 
Changes in fair value   97,131    (352,168)
Balance at end of the year  $144,535   $47,404 

 

F-21
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 13 – STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

 

2009 Equity Incentive Plan

 

In April 2009, the Company authorized an equity incentive plan (“2009 Equity Incentive Plan”) that provides for issuance of up to 2,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. Under the 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, the management may, at their discretion, grant any employees and directors of the Company, and consultants (i) options to subscribe for common stocks, (ii) stock appreciation rights to receive payment, in cash and/or the Company’ common stocks, equals to the excess of the fair market value of the Company’ common stocks, (iii) Restricted stock awards and restricted stock units, or (iv) other types of compensation based on the performance of the Company’ common stocks. The exercise price of the options may not be less than the fair market value of the share on the grant date and the option term may not exceed ten years.

 

Non-Vested Stock Grants to employees and directors

 

On February 23, 2011, the Company granted an executive 30,000 shares of restricted common stock with a grant date fair value of $1.82 per share as part of his remuneration for his service commencing February 23, 2011 for a one year period. The restricted common stock will vest over a 12-month period.

 

On February 21, 2012, the Company granted an executive and a director 60,000 shares of restricted common stock with a grant date fair value of $1.23 per share as part of their remuneration for their service commencing February 21, 2012 for a one year period. The restricted common stock will vest on the one-year anniversary date of the grant date.

 

On December 14, 2012, the Company granted an executive 50,000 shares of restricted common stock with a grant date fair value of $1.00 per share as part of his remuneration for his service commencing December 14, 2012 for a one year period. The restricted common stock will vest on the one-year anniversary date of the grant date.

 

On March 7, 2013, the Company granted a director 10,000 shares of restricted common stock with a grant date fair value of $2.43 per share as part of his remuneration for the service commencing March 7, 2013 for a one-year period. The restricted common stock will vest on the one-year anniversary date of the grant date.

 

Stock-based compensation expense for the years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012 was $82,260 and $61,965, respectively. The remaining $39,425 stock-based compensation will be expensed over the remainder of the one year service period. The value of the non-vested stock at June 30, 2013 is $91,200.

 

Non-Vested Stock Grants to non-employees

 

On April 29, 2013 (“Agreement Date”), the Company entered into a consultancy agreement with a Company’s external consultant. In accordance with the agreement, the consultant will provide financing consultancy service to the Company and the Company will grant 200,000 restricted common stocks as consideration, out of which, 100,000 restricted common stock will vest 30 days after the Agreement Date (e.g. May 20, 2013) and the other 100,000 restricted common stock will vest 180 days after the Agreement Date (e.g. October 26, 2013). The service period is one year from April 29, 2013 to April 29, 2014.

  

The Company accounted for equity instruments granted to non-employees in accordance with ASC 505-50 “Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees”. Restricted stocks granted to non-employees are measured at the fair value of the equity instrument as of the earlier of (a) the date at which a commitment for performance by the counterparty to earn the equity instruments is reached (a performance commitment) or (b) the date at which the counterparty's performance is complete. Because the restricted stocks will vest 30 and 180 days after the Agreement Date for first and second half of the grant of 200,000 restricted stocks, respectively, a measurement date has been or will be reached on May 20, 2013 and October 26, 2013 for first 100,000 and second 100,000 grant of restricted stocks, respectively. Since the service will be performed during the year started from April 29, 2013, the Company recognized a prepayment at the date of grant based on fair value of the measurement date.

 

Stock-based compensation expense for the years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012 was $58,942 and nil, respectively. The remaining $288,058 stock-based compensation will be expensed over the remainder of the one year service period. The value of the non-vested stock at June 30, 2013 is $152,000.

 

F-22
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 13 – STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION - continued

 

Options to employees

 

Stock Options granted to key employees

 

On April 27, 2010, the Board of Directors approved the grant of stock options to purchase 100,000 shares of the Company’s common stock under the “2009 Equity Incentive Plan” to certain key employees as reward for past services and to promote future performance. These options have an exercise price of $2.71 per share, expiring on the fifth anniversary of the grant date, and vest in three equal installments on each of the first, second and third anniversary of the vesting commencement date, which is April 27, 2010. The fair value of the options, determined using the Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model, was calculated using the following assumptions: risk free interest rate of 2%, expected dividend yield of 0%, expected volatility of 90% and an expected life of 5 years.

 

Stock Options granted to a director

 

On February 23, 2011, the Board of Directors approved the grant of stock options to purchase 5,000 shares of the Company’s common stock under the “2009 Equity Incentive Plan” to a director as compensation for his service. These options have an exercise price of $2.71 per share, expiring on the fifth anniversary of the grant date, and vest in the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date, which is February 23, 2011. The fair value of the options, determined using the Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model, was calculated using the following assumptions: risk free interest rate of 2%, expected dividend yield of 0%, expected volatility of 50% and an expected life of 5 years.

 

Stock-based compensation expense for the years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012 on the stock options were $52,316 and $65,855, respectively.  The remaining unrecognized stock-based compensation is nil.

 

The following table summarizes the options activity for the years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012:

 

   Options   Weighted-average
exercise price
   Weighted average remaining
contractual life (years)
   Aggregate Intrinsic
Value
 
Outstanding as of June 30, 2011   105,000   $2.71    3.87   $- 
Issued   -    -    -    - 
Exercised   -    -    -    - 
Expired   -    -    -    - 
Outstanding as of June 30, 2012   105,000    2.71    2.86    - 
Issued   -    -    -    - 
Exercised   -    -    -    - 
Expired   -    -    -    - 
Outstanding as of June 30, 2013   105,000   $2.71    1.86   $- 

 

Total intrinsic value of stock options outstanding as of June 30, 2013 and 2012 was nil.

 

F-23
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 14 – EARNINGS PER SHARE

 

Basic earnings per share are computed on the basis of the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the years. Diluted earnings per share is computed on the basis of the weighted-average number of shares of common stock plus the effect of dilutive potential common shares outstanding during the year. The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share:

 

   For The Year Ended 
   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
         
Net income attributable to the common stockholders  $16,905,464   $12,064,991 
           
Basic weighted-average common shares outstanding   40,251,218    40,533,158 
Dilutive effect of warrants and options   -    - 
Diluted weighted-average common shares outstanding   40,251,218    40,533,158 
           
Earnings per share:          
Basic  $0.42   $0.30 
Diluted  $0.42   $0.30 

 

Warrants and options to purchase 685,000, and 105,000 shares of common stock, respectively were outstanding during the year ended June 30, 2013, but were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share as their effect would have been anti-dilutive because the exercise prices of the warrants and options were larger than the average share price during the year.

 

NOTE 15 - COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

 

Operating lease commitments - As of June 30, 2013, the Company has future minimum lease payments under non-cancelable operating leases in relation to office premises consisting of the following:

 

   Lease Payment 
For the year ending June 30, 2014   155,322 
For the year ending June 30, 2015   12,944 
Total  $168,266 

  

Capital commitments – The Company entered into agreements with suppliers to purchase property, plant and equipment. As of June 30, 2013 and 2012, the Company had purchase obligations totaled $5,627,858 and $8,153,319, respectively.

 

Indemnification Obligations – The Company entered into agreements whereby its directors are indemnified for certain events or occurrences while the director is, or was, serving at the Company's request in such capacity. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification agreements is unlimited; however, the Company has a directors' liability insurance policy that reduces its exposure and enables the Company to recover a portion of future amounts paid. As a result of the Company's insurance policy coverage, the Company believes the estimated fair value of these indemnification agreements is minimal. Accordingly, no liabilities have been recorded for these agreements as of June 30, 2013.

 

F-24
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 16 – SIGNIFICANT CONCENTRATIONS

 

Concentration of credit risk

 

Assets that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, trade accounts receivable and advances to suppliers. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations with respect to the financial condition of its debtors, but does not require collateral. As of June 30, 2013 and 2012, substantially all of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash were held in major financial institutions located in the PRC, which management considers to be of high credit quality. However, the deposit accounts in PRC were not insured in any manner. Trade accounts receivable are generally unsecured and denominated in RMB, and derived from revenues earned from operations primarily in the PRC. Advances to suppliers are typically unsecured and arise from deposits paid in advance for future purchases of raw materials. In order to determine the value of the Company’s trade accounts receivable and advances to suppliers, the Company records a provision for doubtful accounts to cover probable credit losses. Management reviews and adjusts this allowance periodically based on historical experience and its evaluation of the collectability of outstanding trade accounts receivable and advances to suppliers.

 

Concentration of customers

 

The Company currently sold a substantial portion of its products to Shanghai Huaye and its subsidiaries. As a percentage of revenues, 35.4% and 31.3% of the Company’s revenue was derived from Shanghai Huaye and its subsidiaries for the years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively. The loss of sales from Shanghai Huaye and its subsidiaries would have a significant negative impact on the Company’s business. Sales to customers were mostly made through non-exclusive, short-term arrangements. Due to the Company’s dependence on Shanghai Huaye and its subsidiaries, any negative events with respect to Shanghai Huaye and its subsidiaries may cause material fluctuations or declines in the Company’s revenue and have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.

 

Concentration of suppliers

 

A significant portion of the Company’s raw materials were sourced from Shanghai Huaye and its subsidiaries who collectively accounted for an aggregate of 48.8% and 37.8% of the Company’s total purchases for the years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively. Failure to develop or maintain relationships with these suppliers may cause the Company to be unable to source adequate raw materials needed to manufacture its products. Any disruption in the supply of raw materials to the Company may adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

F-25
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 17 – SEGMENT INFORMATION

 

The Company has four reportable segments represented by its four subsidiaries Changshu Huaye, Jiangsu Cold-Rolled, Ningbo Zhehua and Sutor Technology as described in Note 1.

 

Factors Management Used to Identify the Enterprise’s Reportable Segments - The Company’s reportable segments are business units that offer different products and are managed separately and require reporting to the various regulatory jurisdictions. Changshu Huaye mainly produces HDG products and PPGI products.  Jiangsu Cold-Rolled offers cold-rolled steel strips, acid pickled steel and hot-dip galvanized steel products. Ningbo Zhehua trades steel and manufactures heavy steel pipe products and Sutor Technology engages in trading of steel products.

 

Certain segment information is presented below:

 

As of June 30, 2013 and for the
year then ended
  Changshu
Huaye
   Jiangsu
Cold-Rolled
   Ningbo
Zhehua
   Sutor
Technology
   Inter-Segment and
Reconciling Items
   Total 
                         
Revenue from unrelated parties  $153,545,396   $204,229,745   $27,474,831   $10,177,247   $6,754   $395,433,973 
Revenue from related parties   22,270,356    187,521,768    6,708,359    141,005    -    216,641,488 
Revenue from other operating segments   19,437,557    93,904,065    -    -    (113,341,622)   - 
Total operating expenses   9,617,720    4,443,065    3,089,320    839,290    793,254    18,782,649 
Interest income   1,938,031    1,249,928    225,924    481    52    3,414,416 
Interest expense   1,853,979    6,671,915    151,582    -    1,532,205    10,209,681 
Depreciation and amortization expense   2,320,712    5,053,639    959,080    535,276    -    8,868,707 
Income tax expense   1,386,618    2,819,641    (161,302)   -    (1,321,807)   2,723,150 
Net segment profit/(loss)   7,214,717    11,633,050    (490,628)   (405,853)   (1,045,822)   16,905,464 
Capital expenditures   534,039    3,148,883    4,276,561    -         7,959,483 
Segment assets   251,793,786   $343,704,650   $48,037,358   $33,699,875   $(173,234,140)  $504,001,529 

 

As of June 30, 2012 and for the
year then ended
  Changshu
Huaye
   Jiangsu
Cold-Rolled
   Ningbo
Zhehua
   Sutor
Technology
   Inter-Segment and
Reconciling Items
   Total 
                         
Revenue from unrelated parties  $127,165,249   $173,594,137   $41,249,710   $7,360,539   $15,689,919   $365,059,554 
Revenue from related parties   27,694,660    137,712,815    1,156,694    -    -    166,564,169 
Revenue from other operating segments   44,951,540    92,509,764    -    -    (137,461,304)   - 
Total operating expenses   10,414,725    2,668,532    3,467,917    726,112    739,987    18,017,273 
Interest income   1,507,134    1,174,303    149,698    622    41    2,831,798 
Interest expense   2,682,449    8,762,409    360,824    -    1,511,592    13,317,274 
Depreciation and amortization expense   2,322,866    4,843,075    928,189    528,926    -    8,623,056 
Income tax expense   (128,032)   1,167,647    (152,861)   -    111,555    998,309 
Net segment profit/(loss)   1,605,687    12,191,611    (401,965)   (694,061)   (636,281)   12,064,991 
Capital expenditures   2,002,863    17,279,316    123,283    355,261    -    19,760,723 
Segment assets   227,683,067    326,710,440    29,900,694    33,556,064    (184,325,000)   433,525,265 

 

F-26
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

NOTE 18 – GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

 

The following schedule summarizes the sources of the Company’s revenue by geographic regions for the years ended June 30, 2013 and 2012:

 

   For the Year Ended June 30, 
Geographic Area  2013   2012 
PRC  $553,207,007   $471,556,992 
Other Countries   58,868,454    60,066,731 
Total  $612,075,461   $531,623,723 

  

NOTE 19 – SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

 

On July 5, 2013, the Company entered into a purchase agreement with several investors to sell an aggregate of 1,041,665 shares of unregistered common stock at $1.44 per share, in a private placement for gross proceeds of approximately $1.5 million, before deducting offering expenses. The purposes of this transaction were to diversify and improve the shareholder structure of the Company.

 

F-27
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED

(Unconsolidated – based on the parent company)

Condensed Balance Sheets

 

   June 30,   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
         
ASSETS        
Current Assets:        
Cash and cash equivalents  $44,880   $58,096 
Other receivables   136,083    101,973 
Total Current Assets   180,963    160,069 
           
Investments in Subsidiaries   261,384,561    238,493,233 
TOTAL ASSETS  $261,565,524   $238,653,302 
           
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY          
Current Liabilities:          
Short-term loans  $24,333,990   $- 
Long-term loans, current portion   -    23,626,900 
Other payables and accrued expenses   8,736    1,330,543 
Other payables, related parties   1,853,076    1,415,672 
Warrant liabilities   144,535    47,404 
Total Current Liabilities   26,340,337    26,420,519 
           
Stockholders' Equity          
Common stock   40,965    40,805 
Additional paid-in capital   83,097,168    76,966,547 
Retained earnings   152,738,563    135,833,099 
Less: Treasury stock, at cost   (651,509)   (607,668)
Total Stockholders' Equity   235,225,187    212,232,783 
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY  $261,565,524   $238,653,302 

 

F-28
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED

(Unconsolidated – based on the parent company)

Condensed Statements of Operations

 

   For The Years Ended 
   June 30 
   2013   2012 
         
Operating Expenses:        
General and administrative expenses  $(379,725)  $(138,180)
Loss from Operations   (379,725)   (138,180)
           
Other Incomes/(Expenses):          
Investment income   17,090,123    12,981,008 
Interest income   28    42 
Interest expense   (1,020,507)   (1,018,492)
Changes in fair value of warrant liabilities   (97,131)   352,168 
Other expenses   (9,131)   - 
Total Other Income/(Expense)   15,963,382    12,314,726 
           
Income Before Taxes   15,583,657    12,176,546 
Income tax benefit/(expense)   1,321,807    (111,555)
Net Income  $16,905,464   $12,064,991 

 

F-29
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED

(Unconsolidated – based on the parent company)

Condensed Statements of Cash Flows

 

   For The Years Ended 
   June 30 
   2013   2012 
         
Net Cash Used In Operating Activities  $(379,725)  $(138,180)
           
Net Cash Used In Investing Activities   -    (10)
           
Net Cash Provided By Financing Activities   366,509    138,123 
           
Net Change in Cash and Cash Equivalents   (13,216)   (67)
Cash and Cash Equivalents at Beginning of Year   58,096    58,163 
Cash and Cash Equivalents at End of Year  $44,880   $58,096 
           

 

F-30
 

 

SUTOR TECHNOLOGY GROUP LIMITED

(Unconsolidated – based on the parent company)

Notes to the condensed financial statements

 

 

Note 1 – Basis of presentation

 

The accompanying condensed financial statements reflect the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of Sutor Technology Group Limited (“Sutor”) on a separate, parent company basis. All subsidiaries of Sutor are reflected as investments in subsidiaries accounted for using the equity method. For accounting policies and other information, see the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere herein.

 

Note 2 – Other payables and accrued expenses

 

Other payables and accrued expenses as of June 30, 2013 and 2012 comprised of the following:

 

   June 30,   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
Income tax payable  $-   $1,321,807 
Accrued expenses   8,736    8,736 
Total Other payables and accrued expenses  $8,736   $1,330,543 

 

Note 3 – Loans

 

Short-term loans as of June 30, 2013 and 2012 comprised of the following:

 

       June 30,   June 30, 
   Maturity Date   2013   2012 
Long-term bank loan at 3.46% interest, guaranteed by a related party   2/12/2014    7,436,745    - 
Long-term bank loan at 3.43% interest, guaranteed by a related party   3/2/2014    5,257,800    - 
Long-term bank loan at 3.44% interest, guaranteed by a related party   3/16/2014    4,801,070    - 
Long-term bank loan at 3.43% interest, guaranteed by a related party   3/24/2014    5,105,280    - 
Long-term bank loan at 3.42% interest, guaranteed by a related party   4/3/2014    1,733,095    - 
Total Long-term loans       $24,333,990   $- 

 

Long-term loans, current portion as of June 30, 2013 and 2012 comprised of the following:

 

       June 30,   June 30, 
   Maturity Date   2013   2012 
Bank loan at 3.99% interest, secured by cash deposit    2/21/2013    -    17,124,500 
Bank loan at 3.97% interest, secured by cash deposit    2/21/2013    -    6,502,400 
Total Long-term loans, current portion       $-   $23,626,900 

 

An amount of $23,626,900 has been reclassified from long-term loans, non-current to long-term loans, current as of June 30, 2012 to reflect amounts paid during the year ending June 30, 2013.

 

Note 4 – Related party transactions and balances

 

Annual Related Party Activities

 

   For The Years Ended 
   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
Payment of other payables to Sutor Steel Technology Co., Ltd.  $97,000   $- 
Receipt of advances from Sutor Steel Technology Co., Ltd.   534,404    1,738,394 

 

Year-End Related Party Balances

 

   June 30,   June 30, 
   2013   2012 
Other payables due to Sutor Steel Technology Co., Ltd.  $1,853,076   $1,415,672 

 

F-31
 

 

Note 5 – Income taxes

 

As of June 30, 2013, Sutor has a tax loss for United States federal income tax purposes of $5,795,203 which are available to carry back two years or offset future taxable income, if any, through 2033.

 

Note 6 – Subsequent events

 

On July 5, 2013, the Company entered into a purchase agreement with several investors to sell an aggregate of 1,041,665 shares of unregistered common stock at $1.44 per share, in a private placement for gross proceeds of approximately $1.5 million, before deducting offering expenses. The purposes of this transaction were to diversify and improve the shareholder structure of the Company.

 

F-32
 

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit No.   Description
1.1   Placement Agency Agreement, dated as of March 4, 2010, by and among the registrant and Roth Capital Partners, LLC. [Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 1.1 to the registrant’s current report Form 8-K filed on March 8, 2010]
3.1   Articles of Incorporation of the registrant as filed with the Secretary of State of Nevada, as amended to date. [incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s annual report on Form 10K-SB filed on March 30, 2007]
3.2   Amended and Restated Bylaws of the registrant. [Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on March 8, 2013]
4.1   Sutor Technology Group Limited 2009 Equity Incentive Plan [Incorporated by reference to Exhibit B to the registrant’s proxy statement dated May 13, 2009 relating to the registrant’s 2009 Annual Meeting of Shareholders]
10.1   Form of Subscription Agreement, dated as of March 4, 2010, by and between the registrant and each of the purchasers identified on the signature pages thereto. [Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s current report Form 8-K filed on March 8, 2010]
10.2   Employment Agreement, dated December 18, 2009, by and between the registrant and Naijiang Zhou [Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s current report Form 8-K filed on January 4, 2010]
10.3   Amendment to Employment Contract, dated February 23, 2011, by and between the registrant and Naijiang Zhou. [Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registrant’s current report Form 8-K filed on February 24, 2011]
10.4   Independent Director’s Contract, dated as of January 20, 2010, by and between the registrant and Gerard Pascale [Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s current report Form 8-K filed on January 20, 2010]
10.5   Amendment to Independent Director’s Contract, dated February 23, 2011, by and between the registrant and Gerard Pascale. [Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s current report Form 8-K filed on February 24, 2011]
10.6   Indemnification Agreement, dated as of January 20, 2010, by and between the registrant and Gerard Pascale [Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registrant’s current report Form 8-K filed on January 20, 2010]
10.7   Lease Agreement, dated August 6, 2004, by and between Ningbo Zhehua and Ningbo Huaye Steel Processing Co., Ltd. [Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.14 to the registrant’s annual report Form 10-K filed on September 28, 2010]
10.8   Amendment No. 2 to Independent Director’s Contract, dated February 9, 2012, by and between the Company and Gerard Pascale [Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 15, 2012]
10.9   Employment Agreement, dated December 14, 2012, by and among the Company, Sutor Steel Technology Co., Ltd. and Naijing Zhou. [Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on December 19, 2012]
10.10   Employment Agreement, dated February 9, 2012, by and between Sutor Steel Technology Co., Ltd. and Lifang Chen [Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 15, 2012]
10.11   Form of Securities Purchase Agreement [Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on July 9, 2013]
14   Amended and Restated Business Ethics Policy and Code of Conduct. [Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 14 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 2, 2007]
21   List of subsidiaries of the registrant. [Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 21 to the registrant’s annual report Form 10-K filed on September 28, 2010]
23.1*   Consent of Grant Thornton , the China member firm of Grant Thornton International
31.1*   Certifications of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
31.2*   Certifications of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.1*   Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.2*   Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
101   Interactive data files pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (furnished herewith).

 

* Filed herewith