Dear Valuebuddies,
Hyperion and Tree would like to point out that GP Batteries and GP Industries have suffered serious factory safety issues in the past since 2002 and the lawsuits are ongoing as of 2010. Apparently according to reports by Globalization Monitor, many factory workers in China AND Hong Kong suffered from cadmium poisoning which might result in cancer. Sicknesses due to cadmium poisoning takes many years to cure and do not immediately appear to affect the patient. However, Globalization Monitor alleged that Gold Peak's management had attempted to cover up the issue and suspicious circumstances surrounding the court cases resulted in a fine of RMB160,000 only while many workers did not receive adequate compensation. The articles can be found here:
http://www.globalmon.org.hk/search/node/gold%20peak
Globalization Monitor also said that Gold Peak had since outsourced the production of the nickel cadmium batteries to another company but continues to benefit from it. If the reports by Globalization Monitor is true, this seriously calls into question the management's integrity.
There is not much mention of this important contingent liability in the Annual Reports except in the section on commitments (page 80, 2014 Annual Report, Note 28 Commitments, point c "Trust Fund") about a trust fund which is unlikely to be sufficient to pay for medical expenses for the amount of workers and children affected by the poisoning. The Trust Fund has HKD 10mil, and GP Batteries contributed HKD 6 mil which suggests that GP Batteries do bear some responsibility in the issue. Given the drive to eradicate corruption in China recently, there is actually significant uncertainty on whether the cadmium poisoning case will return to haunt GP Industries and GP Batteries. One would just need to look at the case of Kaisa, a property developer whose property sales were suspended by the government due to possible investigations about corruption between the company and the local government, to appreciate the level of uncertainty here.
The most worrisome scenario would be a sudden discovery of severe safety violations in all of Gold Peak's factories. This might result in suspension of factory operations by authorities and cause the net assets to be worth very little. Hyperion is not sure if the assets would be worth the carrying amount written on the balance sheet in such a scenario.
Further, various media channels in Hong Kong and China have reported this issue about cadmium poisoning to the public and this will likely have an effect on the brand value of GP.
As such, please proceed with care.
Regards,
HyperionTree