Highpower International Inc (NASDAQ:HPJ)

SHENZHEN, China, Oct. 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (HPJ) ("Highpower" or the "Company"), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium ion and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, battery management systems, and a provider of battery recycling, today announced the consummation of the Company's acquisition by HPJ Parent Limited ("Parent"), an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and formed for the benefit of a consortium consisting of Mr. Dang Yu (George) Pan, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and a stockholder of the Company, Mr. Wen Liang Li, a director and stockholder of the Company, Mr. Wen Wei Ma, a stockholder of the Company, and Essence International Capital Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong, through a merger of the Company with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (the "Merger").   In the Merger, each outstanding share of Highpower common stock, other than shares held by Parent (representing shares contributed to Parent by members of the consortium) and shares as to which holders exercise appraisal rights under Delaware law, have been converted into the right to receive US$4.80 per share.  As a result of the Merger, Highpower is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent, and the shares of Highpower common stock no longer trade on the NASDAQ Global Market ("NASDAQ").

In connection with the consummation of the Merger, the Company notified NASDAQ of its intent to delist its common stock from NASDAQ and requested that NASDAQ file with the SEC a Form 25 relating to the delisting of the Company's common stock from NASDAQ. The Company intends to file a Form 15 with the SEC under the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), requesting the deregistration of the Company's shares of common stock, under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and the suspension of the Company's reporting obligations under Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. 

SHENZHEN, China, Oct. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (HPJ) ("Highpower" or the "Company"), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium ion and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, battery management systems, and a provider of battery recycling, today announced that at the Company's special meeting of stockholders held on October 29, 2019, the stockholders of the Company approved the Company's acquisition by HPJ Parent Limited ("Parent"), an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and formed for the benefit of a consortium consisting of Mr. Dang Yu (George) Pan, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and a stockholder of the Company, Mr. Wen Liang Li, a director and stockholder of the Company, Mr. Wen Wei Ma, a stockholder of the Company, and Essence International Capital Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong, through a merger of the Company with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (the "Merger").

Stockholders owning a total of 11,793,273 shares of the 15,690,605 shares of common stock issued and outstanding on the record date were present in person or by proxy at the meeting. A total of 11,238,615 shares, representing 71.63% of the total outstanding shares, voted in favor of the Merger, 532,167 shares voted against the Merger and stockholders holding 22,491 shares abstained. Of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, not including shares held by Messrs. Dang Yu (George) Pan, Wen Liang Li, Wen Wei Ma and Essence International Financial Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited, or any of their respective affiliates, 6,188,358 shares representing 58.16% of the eligible outstanding shares voted in favor of the Merger.

SHENZHEN, China, Oct. 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (HPJ) ("Highpower" or the "Company"), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium ion and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, battery management systems, and a provider of battery recycling, today announced that independent proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis & Co. ("Glass Lewis") has joined Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") in recommending that Highpower's stockholders vote FOR the proposal to adopt the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of June 28, 2019, by and among HPJ Parent Limited ("Parent"), HPJ Merger Sub Corp., a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent ("Merger Sub"), and the Company (the "Merger Agreement"), which provides for the Company's acquisition by Parent through a merger of the Company with Merger Sub (the "Merger"). Parent is an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and formed for the benefit of a consortium consisting of Mr. Dang Yu (George) Pan, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and a stockholder of the Company, Mr. Wen Liang Li, a director and stockholder of the Company, Mr. Wen Wei Ma, a stockholder of the Company, and Essence International Capital Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong.

The Highpower Special Meeting of Stockholders is scheduled to take place on October 29, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. China Standard Time. The meeting will be held at the Company's principal executive offices located at Building A1, 68 Xinxia Street, Pinghu, Longgang, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518111, People's Republic of China. All stockholders of record of Highpower common stock as of the close of business on September 16, 2019 will be entitled to vote their shares either in person or by proxy at the stockholder meeting.

Highpower urges stockholders to follow the recommendations of Glass Lewis and ISS by returning the previously mailed proxy/voting instruction card to vote FOR the adoption of the Merger Agreement. If Highpower stockholders have any questions or require assistance in voting their shares of Highpower stock, they should call Okapi Partners, LLC, Highpower's proxy solicitor for its special meeting, toll-free at (877) 629-6357 (US), at (212) 297-0720 (US) or at (86) 17091046371 (China).

SHENZHEN, China, Oct. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (HPJ) ("Highpower" or the "Company"), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium ion and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, battery management systems, and a provider of battery recycling, today announced that independent proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has recommended that Highpower's stockholders vote FOR the proposal to adopt the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of June 28, 2019, by and among HPJ Parent Limited ("Parent"), HPJ Merger Sub Corp., a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent ("Merger Sub"), and the Company (the "Merger Agreement"), which provides for the Company's acquisition by Parent through a merger of the Company with Merger Sub (the "Merger"). Parent is an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and formed for the benefit of a consortium consisting of Mr. Dang Yu (George) Pan, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and a stockholder of the Company, Mr. Wen Liang Li, a director and stockholder of the Company, Mr. Wen Wei Ma, a stockholder of the Company, and Essence International Capital Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong.

The Highpower Special Meeting of Stockholders is scheduled to take place on October 29, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. China Standard Time. The meeting will be held at the Company's principal executive offices located at Building A1, 68 Xinxia Street, Pinghu, Longgang, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518111, People's Republic of China. All stockholders of record of Highpower common stock as of the close of business on September 16, 2019 will be entitled to vote their shares either in person or by proxy at the stockholder meeting.

Highpower urges stockholders to follow the recommendation of ISS by returning the previously mailed proxy/voting instruction card to vote FOR the adoption of the Merger Agreement. If Highpower stockholders have any questions or require assistance in voting their shares of Highpower stock, they should call Okapi Partners, LLC, Highpower's proxy solicitor for its special meeting, toll-free at (877) 629-6357 (US), at (212) 297-0720 (US) or at (86) 17091046371 (China).

Second Quarter 2019 Financial Results

• Net sales increased 16.8% to $75.8 million from $64.9 million.
• Net income attributable to the Company was $4.7 million, or earnings of $0.3 per diluted share, compared to net income attributable to the Company of $2.7 million, or earnings of $0.17 per diluted share.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "During the second quarter of 2019, net sales in our lithium ion battery and battery solution business continued to see strong growth. Our gross margin also improved compared to that of the same period of 2018 due to our continued efforts to optimize our product mix and improve our efficiency while raw material costs stayed at a relatively low level."

"At the same time, our top line began to feel pressure from the uncertain macro environment, including a general economic slowdown, an ongoing trade war, and increasingly fierce competition in the industry. We will continue to pursue efficiencies in our operations and ensure that we have the right talent, technology, and capacity. We will remain adaptable to market forces while focusing on our mission to provide clean, safe, and efficient power solutions to meet society's needs," concluded Mr. Pan.

Financial Outlook

For the third quarter of 2019, the Company expects net revenues to grow slightly year over year. Gross margin is expected to be similar or slightly lower than that of the second quarter of 2019.

Going Private Transaction Update

Highpower announced in June 2019 that it has entered into a definitive Agreement and Plan of Merger (the "Merger Agreement") with HPJ Parent Limited, an entity owned by Mr. Dang Yu Pan, our CEO and Chairman of the Board, Mr. Wen Liang Li, a director of the Company, Mr. Wen Wei Ma, a stockholder of the Company, and Essence International Capital Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong (the "Buyer Group"), pursuant to which all of the outstanding shares, other than shares held by the Buyer Group and their affiliates or stockholders who have validly exercised their appraisal rights, will be converted into the right to receive $4.80 in cash without interest. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2019, pending approval by Highpower stockholders and satisfaction of certain other closing conditions.

SAN DIEGO and SHENZHEN, China, June 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ) ("Highpower" or the "Company"), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium ion and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, battery management systems, and a provider of battery recycling, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger (the "Merger Agreement") under which HPJ Parent Limited ("Parent"), an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and formed by a consortium consisting of Mr. Dang Yu (George) Pan, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and a stockholder of the Company, Mr. Wen Liang Li, a director and stockholder of the Company, Mr. Wen Wei Ma, a stockholder of the Company, and Essence International Capital Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong, will acquire Highpower through a merger with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (the "Merger").

Subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the Merger, Highpower stockholders will be entitled to receive US$4.80 in cash for each share of Highpower common stock (collectively, "Shares"), except Shares held by the consortium that are contributed to Parent prior to the effective time and dissenting shares seeking appraisal rights. The merger consideration represents a premium of approximately 67% over the Company's closing price of US$2.88 per share on June 1, 2018, the last trading day prior to the Company's announcement of its receipt of a "going-private" proposal.  Parent intends to fund the Merger consideration with the proceeds from an equity investment of US$51,136,733 by Essence International Capital Limited (the "Sponsor"), pursuant to the terms of an equity commitment letter.

The Board of Directors of Highpower, acting on the recommendation of a special committee of independent and disinterested directors (the "Special Committee"), unanimously approved the Merger Agreement with directors Pan and Li abstaining.  

The Merger, which is currently expected to close during the third quarter, is subject to various closing conditions, including the adoption of the Merger Agreement by Highpower's stockholders and an affirmative vote of at least a majority of all outstanding Shares unaffiliated with the consortium. If completed, the Merger will result in the Company becoming a privately-held company, and its Shares will no longer be listed on the NASDAQ Global Market.

For further information regarding the terms and conditions contained in the Merger Agreement, please see Highpower's Current Report on Form 8-K, which will be filed in connection with the proposed transaction.

As previously mentioned, Roth Capital Partners is serving as financial advisor to the Special Committee, and Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP is serving as legal advisor to the Special Committee. Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP is serving as legal advisor to the Company; Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is serving as legal advisor to the consortium; and O'Melveny & Myers LLP is serving as legal advisor to Essence.

First Quarter 2019 Financial Results

• Net sales for the first quarter of 2019 increased 16.7% to $58.1 million from $49.8 million.
• Net income attributable to the Company was $0.3 million, or earnings of $0.02 per diluted share, compared to net loss attributable to the Company of $1.1 million, or loss of $0.07 per diluted share.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "Our first quarter results show a good start to 2019. Top line performance beat our guidance in RMB terms, driven by continued growth in our battery solutions businesses. We also continued to optimize our product mix and improve labor efficiency, which successfully increased our margins, which also exceeded our expectations."

"We believe that raw material prices will stabilize in 2019. However, potential trade conflicts may place downward pressure on the broader global economic environment, creating uncertainties to our business. To offset these effects, we intend to adapt to market forces and remain focused on executing our strategy while ensuring that we have the talent, technology, and capacity necessary to continue our growth. We remain dedicated to sustainable long-term growth and to providing clean, safe, and efficient power solutions to meet society's needs," Mr. Pan concluded.

Financial Outlook

For the second quarter of 2019, the Company expects net revenues to grow over 20% year over year. Gross margin is expected to be similar or slightly lower than that of the first quarter of 2019.

SAN DIEGO and SHENZHEN, China, April 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Highpower International, Inc. (HPJ) ("Highpower" or the "Company"), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium ion and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, battery management systems, and a provider of battery recycling, today announced that the consortium of Mr. Dang Yu (George) Pan, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and a stockholder of the Company, Wen Liang Li, a director and stockholder of the Company, Wen Wei Ma, a stockholder of the Company, and Essence International Financial Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited has committed to a non-waivable condition, requiring the approval by holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company not currently owned by the consortium, as part of the consortium's preliminary non-binding "going private" proposal. Pursuant to a letter dated June 2, 2018, and reaffirmed on March 13, 2019, the consortium has proposed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company not currently owned by the consortium at a cash purchase price of $4.80 per share through a merger of the Company with a newly formed acquisition vehicle that the consortium would control (the "Proposed Transaction").

The Special Committee, consisting of independent and disinterested directors Ping (David) Li and T. Joseph Fisher, III, is evaluating the Proposed Transaction, as well as the Company's current risks, opportunities and other possible strategic alternatives, with the assistance of its financial advisor, Roth Capital Partners, and its legal counsel, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. The Special Committee has not made any decision with respect to its response to the Proposed Transaction. Subject to applicable laws and regulations, the Special Committee does not currently intend to provide updates or make further statements regarding the Proposed Transaction, any revised proposals that may be received or the status of discussions with the consortium, unless and until a definitive agreement is reached or such discussions are terminated.

Fourth Quarter 2018 Financial Results

• Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2018 increased 12.0% to $88.7 million from $79.2 million. Excluding the impact of the deconsolidation of Ganzhou Highpower Technology Co., Ltd. ("GZ Highpower"), net sales increased 40.7% to $88.7 million from $63.0 million.
• Net income attributable to the Company for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $5.4 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, compared to $4.8 million, or $0.31 per diluted share. Excluding the impact of the deconsolidation of GZ Highpower, net income attributable to the Company increased 20.9% to $5.4 million from $4.5 million.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "We are pleased to report that our top-line performance beat our guidance for both the fourth quarter and full year 2018, thanks to growing demand for high quality and high safety rechargeable batteries and total solutions from the high-end consumer product, industrial application, artificial intelligence and wearable product industries. Our strategy of focusing on target applications and customers started to yield results, with net sales growing more than 20% year over year in 2018."

Mr. Pan continued, "Looking forward to 2019, we expect continued challenges and opportunities from changes in the macro environment and in the industry supply chain. We will stay true to our mission of producing high quality and safe battery products and services and our strategy of focusing on applications and customers where we can best add value with our core strengths. At the same time, we will manage our operations and customer expectations to minimize the impact."

Financial Outlook

For the first quarter of 2019, the Company expects net revenues to grow over 20% year over year. Gross margin is expected to be around 20% for the first quarter of 2019. The Company will closely monitor all potential risks and uncertain impacts related to the trade conflict between the U.S. and China, raw material prices, and exchange rates.

SAN DIEGO and SHENZHEN, China, March 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ) ("Highpower" or the "Company"), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium ion and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, battery management systems, and a provider of battery recycling, today announced that Mr. Dang Yu (George) Pan, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, entered into a Consortium Agreement with Wen Liang Li, a director and stockholder of the Company, Wen Wei Ma, a stockholder of the Company, and Essence International Financial Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited pursuant to which the consortium members agreed to, among other things, form a consortium to work together on the proposed transaction (the "Proposed Transaction") to acquire the Company pursuant to the terms of the preliminary and non-binding proposal submitted by Mr. Pan to the Company on June 2, 2018 (the "Proposal") to acquire certain outstanding shares of the common stock of the Company, at a cash purchase price of $4.80 per share. On June 25, 2018, the Board of Directors of the Company formed a Special Committee consisting of Ping (David) Li and T. Joseph Fisher, III to consider the Proposal.

The Company cautions the its stockholders and others considering trading in its securities that the Special Committee is reviewing the Proposal and no decisions have been made with respect to the Company's response to the Proposal. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made by the parties that entered into the Consortium Agreement or any other person, that any definitive agreement will be executed relating to the Proposed Transaction, or that the Proposed Transaction or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not undertake any obligation to provide any updates with respect to this or any other transaction, except as required under applicable law.

Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results

• Net sales for the third quarter of 2018 increased 26.8% to $90.6 million from $71.4 million.
• Net income attributable to the Company increased 21.7% to $6.1 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, compared to $5.0 million, or $0.32 per diluted share. Excluding GZ Highpower, net income attributable to the Company increased 29.4% to $6.1 million from $4.7 million.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "During the third quarter of 2018, we once again achieved net sales growth that surpassed our guidance thanks to healthy growth in both our lithium ion and Ni-MH battery businesses. New and existing customers in the high-end consumer product, industrial application, and artificial intelligence product industries in particular grew our lithium ion battery business. In addition, our Ni-MH battery business benefited from increased demand generated by the trend of consumer electronics providers switching from one-time-use batteries and nickel-cadmium batteries to clean re-chargeable batteries.

"The high price of raw materials in the third quarter declined slightly quarter over quarter. We were also able to improve production efficiency and scale, which helped us maintain our gross margin from the prior year period. At the same time, we are concerned about the uncertain impacts from global trade conflicts in the near future. However, we will spare no effort to execute on our strategy of producing higher quality and safer battery products and services while managing our prices, operations, and customer expectations to minimize the impact," Mr. Pan concluded.

Financial Outlook

For the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company expects net revenues to grow around 30% year over year, excluding the impact from GZ Highpower. Gross margin is expected to be similar to that of the third quarter of 2018. The Company will closely monitor all potential risks and uncertain impacts related to the trade conflict between the U.S. and China, raw material prices, and exchange rates.

SAN DIEGO and SHENZHEN, China, June 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (HPJ) ("Highpower" or the "Company"), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium ion and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, battery management systems, and a provider of battery recycling, today announced  that its Board of Directors has formed a Special Committee comprised solely of independent directors (the "Special Committee") to consider the previously announced preliminary non-binding "going private" proposal (the "Proposal") from Mr. Dang Yu (George) Pan, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Pan has proposed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company not currently owned by him at a cash purchase price of $4.80 per share through a merger of the Company with a newly formed acquisition vehicle that Mr. Pan would control.

Ping (David) Li and T. Joseph Fisher, III will serve on the Special Committee and Mr. Li will serve as Chairman. The Special Committee has retained Roth Capital Partners as its independent financial advisor and Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP as its legal counsel to assist the Special Committee in its evaluation of the Proposal and any other alternative transaction. Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP serves as U.S. securities and corporate counsel to Highpower.

The Company cautions its stockholders and others considering trading in its securities that neither the Board nor the Special Committee has made any decision with respect to the Company's response to the Proposal. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be executed or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not undertake any obligation to provide any updates with respect to this or any other transaction, except as required under applicable law.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA and SHENZHEN, China, June 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (HPJ) ("Highpower" or the "Company"), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium ion and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, battery management systems, and a provider of battery recycling, today announced that its Board of Directors received a non-binding proposal from Mr. Dang Yu (George) Pan, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, to acquire certain outstanding shares of common stock of the Company at a cash purchase price of $4.80 per share.  In the proposed potential transaction, Mr. Pan would acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company not currently owned by him through a merger of the Company with a newly formed acquisition vehicle that Mr. Pan would control.  The Board intends to form a special committee consisting of independent directors to consider this proposal.

Mr. Pan's proposal letter states that he intends to finance the proposed transaction with debt or equity capital. Furthermore, the proposal letter specifies that Mr. Pan's proposal constitutes only a preliminary indication of interest, and is subject to negotiation and execution of definitive agreements relating to the proposed transaction.

The Board cautions the Company's stockholders and others considering trading in its securities that the Board just received the non-binding proposal letter from Mr. Pan and no decisions have been made with respect to the Company's response to the proposal. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made by Mr. Pan or any other person, that any definitive agreement will be executed relating to the proposed transaction, or that the proposed transaction or any other transaction will be approved or consummated.

First Quarter 2018 Financial Results

• Net sales for the first quarter of 2018 increased by 18.9% to $49.8 million from $41.9 million. Excluding the impact of Ganzhou Highpower Technology Co., Ltd. ("GZ Highpower"), net sales increased 24.1% to $49.8 million from $40.1 million.
• Net loss attributable to the Company was $1.1 million, or loss of $0.07 per diluted share, compared to net income attributable to the Company of $2.5 million, or earnings of $0.17 per diluted share. Excluding GZ Highpower, net loss attributable to the Company was $1.1 million compared to net income attributable to the Company of $2.3 million.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "Despite the ongoing industry challenge of high raw material prices, we are pleased to beat our top-line guidance for the first quarter, driven by continued strong growth in our lithium business. During the quarter, we continued to focus on our core lithium products, such as by attending the 2018 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where we showcased our advanced rechargeable battery products for notebooks, smart phones, wearable devices, smart house appliances, portable power stations, and other digital products. We also increased our R&D efforts in order to fine-tune and develop new technologies that improve product safety and reliability as well as to provide solutions that fulfill the innovations of our international customer base."

"While we continue to face industry cost headwinds, we are committed to improving our production efficiency and maintaining an efficient supply chain. As always, we remain focused on sustainable growth and on providing clean, safe, and efficient power solutions to meet society's needs," Mr. Pan concluded.

Financial Outlook

For the second quarter of 2018, the Company expects net revenues to grow over 30% year over year. Factoring in the impact of expected, continued high raw material prices, gross margin is expected to be similar or slightly lower than first quarter of 2018. For the full year 2018, the Company expects net revenues to grow at least 20% compared to 2017 and gross margin levels to exceed that of the first quarter of 2018.

Fourth Quarter 2017 Financial Results

• Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2017 increased by 47.0% to $79.2 million from $53.9 million.
• Net income attributable to the Company for the fourth quarter of 2017 was $4.8 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, as compared to $1.8 million, or $0.12 per diluted share.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "We are pleased to report top-line performance that beat our guidance for both the fourth quarter and full year 2017. In addition, our bottom line, including EBITDA, grew significantly for both the fourth quarter and full year, thanks to continued progress in our efforts to strengthen our product offering, improve our production capacity and efficiency, and maintain an efficient supply chain."

Mr. Pan continued, "We are living in a digital age where power is central to the functioning of our homes and jobs. We have seen an unprecedented expansion in the number of electrical products available to customers in recent years, not only among public consumers, but also among companies and governments worldwide, resulting in a surge in global energy demand and solutions. Due to this high demand, we expect continued high prices for raw materials such as cobalt in 2018, and we will endeavor to combat its effect on margins by improving production efficiency, maintaining proper inventory buildup, and hedging. We will continue to invest more on R&D, further improve the product safety and reliability, which are essential and critical to end users, especially in the age of artificial intelligence. With such improvement, we will further strengthen our core competitiveness which will partially offset the negative impact from raw material price increasing."

"To drive our growth in the year ahead, we will continue to focus on our core lithium ion battery products. We are setting up a new production workshop in our Huizhou facility, which is expected to reach a target daily production volume of 100,000 pieces by the second quarter of 2018. In addition, a new building in Huizhou facility will be completed by May 2019 to further expand our production capacity to fulfill increasing international brand customer demand."

"With our top-tier customer base and strong branding, we are optimistic about our growth in 2018 and beyond. At Highpower, we remain committed to providing clean, safe, and efficient power solutions to meet society's needs," Mr. Pan concluded.

Financial Outlook

For the first quarter of 2018, the Company expects net revenues to grow over 10% year over year excluding Ganzhou Highpower impact. Factoring in the impact of expected, continued high raw material prices, gross margin is expected to be between 15% and 17% due to lower volume in first quarter by seasonality impact. For the full year 2018, the Company expects net revenues to grow at least 20% compared to 2017 and gross margin levels to exceed that of the fourth quarter of 2017 excluding Ganzhou Highpower impact.

Fourth Quarter 2017 Financial Results

• Net sales for the fourth quarter of 2017 is estimated to be in the range of $78.2 to $80.2 million, a 45% to 49% increase from $53.9 million in the same quarter of 2016.
• Fourth quarter 2017 gross profit is estimated to be in the range of $10.8 to $12.8 million, or 13.8%-16.0% as a percent of net sales, from $10.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. Full year 2017 gross profit is estimated to be in the $46.4 to $48.4 million range, or 19.1%-19.7% as a percent of full year net sales, compared to $38.1 million in 2016, or an increase of 22% to 27%. Excluding the impact of Ganzhou Highpower, fourth quarter 2017 gross profit is estimated to be in the range of $10.3 to $11.0 million, or 16.5%-17.5% as a percent of net sales. Full year 2017 gross profit is estimated to be in the range of $43.1 to $45.0 million, or 20%-21% as a percent of full year net sales.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "We are pleased to report top-line performance that beats guidance. We continue to make progress with our R&D efforts to strengthen our product offering, improving our production capacity and efficiency, and maintaining an efficient supply chain. We've seen an unprecedented expansion in the number of electrical products available to customers in recent years, not only among public consumers, but also among companies and governments worldwide resulting in a surge in global energy demand and solutions. We are living in a digital age where power is central to the functioning of our homes and jobs. At Highpower, we will continue providing cleaner, safer and more efficient power solutions to meet society's needs."

The Company's financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017, are not finalized until they are filed in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. The Company is required to consider all available information through the finalization of its financial statements and the possible impact of such information on its financial condition and results of operations for the reporting period, including the impact of such information on the complex and subjective judgments and estimates made in preparing certain of the preliminary information included in this press release. Subsequent information or events may lead to material differences between the preliminary results of operations described in this press release and the results of operations that will be described in the Company's subsequent earnings release and between such subsequent earnings release and the results of operations described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. Those differences may be adverse. Readers should consider this possibility in reviewing the earnings information in this press release.

SAN DIEGO and SHENZHEN, China, December 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (HPJ) ("Highpower International" or the "Company"), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium ion and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, battery management systems, and a provider of battery recycling, today announced that its subsidiary, Ganzhou Highpower Technology Co., Ltd. ("Ganzhou Highpower"), has signed an agreement to receive a total of RMB 92.76 million (approximately USD $14.16 million), including RMB 78.85 million (approximately USD $12.04 million) from Xiamen Tungsten Co., Ltd. ("Xiamen Tungsten"), in exchange for 47% ownership of Ganzhou Highpower, and RMB 13.91 million (approximately USD $2.12 million) from Mr. Hancheng Ou, the General Manager of Ganzhou Highpower, in exchange for 8.29% ownership of Ganzhou Highpower. In a separate transaction related to the agreement, Mr. Hancheng Ou will invest RMB 2.25 million (approximately USD $340,000 ) to receive shares from another individual shareholder. After the execution of this agreement, Mr. Hancheng Ou will increase his shares of Ganzhou Highpower from 6.71% to 16.34%. This transaction was initially made public on August 10, 2017, within the press release announcing Highpower's unaudited second quarter and first half 2017 financial results.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "We are pleased to welcome Xiamen Tungsten, one of our top suppliers of NiMH and Lithium ion battery materials, as a new strategic partner and shareholder of our subsidiary, Ganzhou Highpower. Xiamen Tungsten is a leading battery material provider and has many years of material recycling and processing experience, which will help Ganzhou Highpower strengthen its recycling technology and expand its material procurement and sales capabilities. In addition to the technology and marketing advantages, Xiamen Tungsten's investment will also help increase Ganzhou Highpower's capacity utilization. Under this new partnership with Xiamen Tungsten, we will be able to improve our relationship with a key supplier, grow our top and bottom lines by expanding the scale of our battery recycling business, and invest in our future growth by leveraging Xiamen Tungsten's expertise in material recovery processing. We will be able to support the growth of our third business line, enhance our competitive advantage for future growth in this high-potential market, and capitalize on the opportunities ahead to achieve rapid growth in the future."

"Furthermore, RMB 40 million (approximately USD $6.1 million) of the proceeds will be returned to Highpower International in the form of repayments of loans and related interests that were previously extended to Ganzhou Highpower by Highpower International. These funds will allow us to upgrade our technology and continue investing in our research and development efforts, ultimately leading to further improvements in our competitive position in our core business," Mr. Pan concluded.

Prior to the signing of this agreement, Shenzhen Highpower Technology Co., Ltd. held 70% of Ganzhou Highpower's equity. After the capital increase, Shenzhen Highpower Technology Co., Ltd. will hold 31% of Ganzhou Highpower's equity.

Third Quarter 2017 Financial Results

• Net sales for the third quarter of 2017 increased by 31.9% to $71.4 million from $54.1 million in the prior year period.
• Net income attributable to the Company for the third quarter of 2017 was $5.0 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, as compared to $2.7 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, in the prior year period.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "We are pleased to deliver strong top-line results in a challenging third quarter of 2017. Our lithium ion battery business revenue increased 42.8% year over year, driven by continued high demand for power storage systems and consumer devices including smart wearables, smart phones, and notebooks.

"We expect that raw material prices will continue to rise and impact our gross margins in the fourth quarter and the foreseeable future. However, we are actively improving our production capacity and efficiency, maintaining a strong and cost competitive supply chain, and shifting to a higher-margin product mix, which will aid our growth in the coming year. To further strengthen our technology and product offerings in anticipation of future customer demand, Highpower will increase investment in R&D focused on strategic hiring and partnerships with leading universities and institutes. We also remain committed to exploring more strategic business partnerships to further grow our business and create lasting shareholder value," Mr. Pan concluded.

Financial Outlook

For the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company expects net revenues to grow 12.0% year-over-year. Factoring in the impact of higher expected raw material prices, gross margin is expected to be between 16.0% and 17.0% in the fourth quarter of 2017. For full year 2018, the Company expects net revenues to grow at least 20.0% compared to 2017 and gross margin levels to exceed that of the fourth quarter of 2017.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. and SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (HPJ) ("Highpower" or the "Company"), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium ion and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, battery management systems, and a provider of battery recycling, today announced  that its Board of Directors approved the adoption of a stockholder rights plan (the "Rights Plan") and declared a dividend distribution of one right ("Right") for each outstanding share of common stock. The record date for such dividend distribution is September 21, 2017.

The adoption of the Rights Plan is intended to protect Highpower and its stockholders from the actions of third parties that the Board of Directors determines are not in the best interests of Highpower and its stockholders, and to enable all stockholders to realize the long-term value of their investment in Highpower. The Board of Directors believes that the Rights Plan will ensure that the Board of Directors remains in the best position to discharge its fiduciary duties to Highpower and its stockholders. The Rights Plan is not intended to interfere with any sale, merger, tender or exchange offer or other business combination approved by the Board of Directors. Nor does the Rights Plan prevent the Highpower Board of Directors from considering any offer that it considers to be in the best interest of Highpower's stockholders.

The Rights Plan is similar to other plans adopted by publicly-held companies. Under the Rights Plan, the rights generally would become exercisable only if a person or group (including a group of persons who are acting in concert with each other) acquires beneficial ownership of 15% or more of Highpower's common stock in a transaction not approved by Highpower's Board of Directors. In that situation, each holder of a right (other than the acquiring person or group, whose rights will become void and will not be exercisable) will have the right to purchase, upon payment of the exercise price and in accordance with the terms of the Rights Plan, a number of shares of Highpower common stock having a market value of twice such price. In addition, if Highpower is acquired in a merger or other business combination after an acquiring person acquires 15% or more of Highpower's common stock, each holder of the right would thereafter have the right to purchase, upon payment of the exercise price and in accordance with the terms of the Rights Plan, a number of shares of common stock of the acquiring person having a market value of twice such price. The acquiring person or group would not be entitled to exercise these Rights. In the Rights Plan, the definition of "beneficial ownership" includes derivative securities.

Second Quarter 2017 Financial Results

• Net sales for the second quarter of 2017 increased by 40.7% to $51.7 million from $36.7 million in the prior year period.
• Net income attributable to the Company for the second quarter of 2017 was $4.4 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, as compared to $2.1 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, in the prior year period.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "We are extremely pleased to deliver yet another quarter of strong top- and bottom-line results in the second quarter of 2017. Our lithium ion battery and battery solution business continued to enjoy healthy growth, driven by continued high demand for energy storage systems, smart wearable devices, and other digital products. Our gross margins performed well as we continued to benefit from efficiencies of scale, and we continued to invest in areas that are critical to our business.

As we enter the second half of 2017, we expect a stronger cash position and reasonable growth given our much higher baseline. We believe that the cash received from the previously announced equity transfer of our Yipeng ownership will help us expand our production capacity and research and development efforts. We also look forward to seeing the financial benefits of the previously announced partnerships for supplying batteries to industry-leading smart vacuum brands as well as supplying PHEV and EV to Yipeng. We will continue to drive our business forward by focusing on strategic partnerships. We are well-positioned to take advantage of strong growth opportunities and expand current partnerships with leading brands."

SAN DIEGO, Calif. and SHENZHEN, China, July 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (HPJ) ("Highpower" or the "Company"), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium ion and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, battery management systems, and a provider of battery recycling, today announced that it received RMB 71.0 million (approximately $10.5 million) on July 27th from Xiamen Jiupai Yuanjiang New Power Equity Investment Partnership ("New Power") in relation to the previously announced Huizhou Yipeng Energy Technology Co., Ltd equity transfer agreement. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement signed on May 5, 2017, Highpower will transfer 29.58% of its shares to New Power and New Power will invest RMB 60 million for a 20% stake in Yipeng. The transaction has been completed, and Highpower's remaining stake in Yipeng is 4.65%.

Highpower, as a major and long term partner with Yipeng, will maintain its strategic cooperation in supplying power cells to Yipeng. The two parties signed an agreement in July for over 2,000 PHEV and EV bus power cells with sales reaching an estimated $12.0 million for the remainder of 2017.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International commented, "The equity transfer transaction enables Highpower to further invest in research and development and to boost production capacity for our products, including power cells for electric vehicles. Through continued investment in the research and development of cells, Highpower continues to focus on providing clients and consumers safe, reliable, and consistent cell products. With growing market demand and our successful field experience accumulated over the last five years, we are well positioned to advance our technology and core cell business expansion. We are excited by this opportunity to supply power cells for over 2,000 PHEV and EV buses for the remainder of the year, which will further strengthen our market position as a quality supplier to industry leaders."

Mr. Sunny Pan, CFO of Highpower International commented, "We are pleased to have the equity transfer transaction closed. Pursuant to the announcement on May 5, 2017, Highpower's benefits from the transaction include:

Approximately RMB 20 million (approximately $2.9 million) of investment income since 2016;
Approximately RMB 45 million (approximately $6.5 million) of investment in equipment returned in cash;
Approximately RMB 50 million (approximately $7.3 million) in outstanding accounts receivable from Yipeng has been settled.
Highpower's competitive edge lies in our cell technology and manufacturing capabilities, and we are focused on strengthening our core cell business including Ni-MH and Li-ion batteries. By adhering to our development strategy, we are well positioned to capture the opportunities associated with the growing demand for high-quality cells, Highpower's principal strength."

Second Quarter 2017 Financial Results

• Net sales is estimated to be in the range of $50.0 to $52.0 million, a 36% to 42% increase from $36.7 million in the same quarter of 2016. First half 2017 net sales are estimated to be in the range of $92.0 to $94.0 million, a 39% to 43% increase from $65.8 million in the same time period last year.
• EPS $0.23 to $0.26 vs $0.14 in the prior year.

Mr. George Pan, Highpower Chairman and CEO, stated, "We are very pleased to have continued our growth momentum from the first quarter of 2017 to deliver solid top-line and bottom-line preliminary results for the second quarter of 2017. Driven by market demand for energy storage systems, smart devices, and other high end digital products, our lithium ion batteries and battery solutions businesses continued to accelerate. Our net income also increased at a rapid pace fueled by economies of scale and efficiency improvements.  We are also pleased with our progress in making strategic investments in critical business areas and developing partnerships with leading industry names. We remain optimistic about the remaining quarters of 2017 and look forward to providing additional updates when we report audited second quarter results in August."

The results are preliminary and unaudited, have not been reviewed by external auditors and are subject to completion and, as such, may be revised as a result of management's further review of the Company's results; that there can be no assurance that the Company's final results for the period will not differ from these estimates; that any changes could be material;  the Company may identify items that may require it to make material adjustments to the preliminary financial information; and other developments that may arise between now and the time the financial results are finalized.

SAN DIEGO and SHENZHEN, China, July 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ) ("Highpower" or the "Company"), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium ion and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, battery management systems, and a provider of battery recycling, today announced that it has reached strategic partnership agreements with industry-leading appliance brands from Europe and the U.S. to develop and supply power solutions for high-end smart vacuum robots.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "Under the swift development of smart home, people are relying more and more on smart appliances such as vacuum robots with greater power and endurance as well as compact and sleek design. With our deep knowledge of power solution design and strong base of household-name customers during the past 16 years, we are well positioned to serve customers in the smart vacuum industry. Highpower pays close attention to the end user as well as developing trends and work jointly with our industry-leading clients to provide quality products and services. These two partnerships will further strengthen our market share in smart home application and Highpower will continue to supply convenience and style to our consumers."

The two agreements are expected to provide Highpower with top-line revenues of $4 million in 2017 and $15 million in 2018, with which Highpower has been involved in designing power solutions for three new models of smart vacuums, which are expected to be launched in 2018.

First Quarter 2017 Financial Results

• Net sales for the first quarter of 2017 increased by 43.9% to $41.9 million from $29.1 million in the prior year period.
• Net income attributable to the Company per diluted share for the first quarter of 2017 increased to $0.17 from net loss attributable to the Company per diluted share of $0.02 in the prior year period.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "We are extremely pleased to have delivered another quarter of strong top- and bottom-line results in the first quarter of 2017. Importantly, growth in our lithium ion batteries business, including battery solutions, continued to accelerate driven by demand for energy storage systems, smart wearable devices, and other digital products. Looking forward, we will continue to invest in areas that are critical to our business and capture the market opportunities ahead of us. With our solid product reputation and business foundations in the industry, we are confident that we will be able to maintain our strong growth momentum and continue to develop our business for years to come."

SAN DIEGO and SHENZHEN, China, May 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (HPJ) ("Highpower" or the "Company"), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium ion and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, battery management systems, and a provider of battery recycling, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Huizhou Highpower Technology Co., Ltd ("Huizhou Highpower"), has entered into an equity transfer and capital increase agreement ("Agreement") whereby Huizhou Highpower will sell most of its shares of Huizhou Yipeng Energy Technology Co., Ltd. ("Yipeng"), an electric vehicle power battery system solutions provider specializing in the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and electric vehicle (EV) bus market in China, to Xiamen Jiupai Yuanjiang New Power Equity Investment Partnership ("New Power") for an aggregate consideration of RMB71.0 million (approximately $10.3 million).

Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, the Company will receive RMB71.0 million (approximately $10.3 million) in cash for the transfer of 29.58% of equity of Yipeng. In connection with the transfer, the Company will also receive approximately RMB50 million (approximately $7.3 million) in outstanding accounts receivable due from Yipeng. To date, the Company has invested a total of approximately RMB65 million (approximately $9.4 million, including $6.5 million in equipment) in Yipeng. New Power will also make an additional equity investment of RMB60 million (approximately $8.7 million) in Yipeng based on Yipeng's post valuation of RMB300 million (approximately $43.6 million). As a result of the equity transfer and New Power's additional investment, Huizhou Highpower's equity ownership of Yipeng will decrease from 35.4% to 4.654%.

Highpower's potential benefits from the transaction include:

Approximately RMB20 million (approximately $2.9 million) of potential investment income from 2016;
Approximately RMB45 million (approximately $6.5 million) of investment in equipment will be returned in cash;
Yipeng will pay to Huizhou Highpower  approximately RMB50 million (approximately $7.3 million) related to outstanding accounts receivable; and 
With the cash received from the transaction, Highpower plans to invest more capital in R&D as well as additional production capacity for batteries, including power cells for electric vehicles.
Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "We are pleased to have entered into an agreement to transfer our equity interest in Yipeng to New Power. Highpower's competitive edge lies in our cell technology and manufacturing capabilities, and we are deeply focused on strengthening our core cell business including Ni-MH and Li-ion batteries. Power solutions are becoming the main bottleneck of the rapidly developing EV and energy storage devices, and cells are the core focal point for emerging power solutions. We believe we are well positioned to capture the opportunities associated with the growing demand for high-quality cells, which we consider to be our principal strength."

Fourth Quarter 2016 Financial Results

• Net sales for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2016 increased 43.0% to $53.9 million from $37.9 million in the same period in 2015.
• Non-GAAP net income attributable the Company was $1.81 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, compared to a non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company of $0.30 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, in the prior year period.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "We were pleased to deliver exceptional operating results for fiscal 2016. This growth was driven by double digit growth of our lithium battery business due to the rapid increase in demand for electric vehicles, mobile/portable and power storage system products both in China and worldwide. In 2016, Highpower was very proactive in regional expansion through a series of marketing initiatives across China, and domestic sales taking up a larger share of our revenue percentage. We continue to focus on enhancing our battery technology while adapting to this rapidly evolving market."

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, March 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, battery management systems, and a provider of battery recycling, announced today that the Company expects improved financial results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2016.  Highpower is providing this information in advance of its participation in an upcoming investor conference and prior to meetings with existing and potential shareholders in the United States.

2016 Fourth Quarter and Year End Expectations (unaudited data)

Revenue

For the fourth quarter of 2016, the Company expects revenue to be approximately $53.9 million, which represents a 42.3% increase from the prior year period.  For year-end 2016, Highpower expects revenue to be approximately $173.9 million, which represents a 18.9% increase from the prior year.  The increase was largely due to the growing sales of the Company's lithium ion battery products, coming from some multi-national customers.

Gross Profit

For the fourth quarter of 2016, the Company expects gross profit to be approximately $10.9 million, which represents a 64.8% increase from the prior year period.  For year-end 2016, Highpower expects gross profit to be approximately $38.1 million, which represents a 36.3% increase from the prior year. The increase in gross profit is primarily the result of both sales revenue growth and improved production labor efficiency.

Net Income

For the fourth quarter of 2016, the Company expects net income attributable to the Company be approximately $1.8 million, which represents a 952.5% increase from the prior year period.  For year-end 2016, Highpower expects net income attributable to the Company to be approximately $6.1 million, which represents a 58.7% increase from the prior year.  The increase is primarily the result of both higher revenues and improving gross margin due to greater sales of lithium batteries as a percentage of the overall business.

The Company will also provide more financial data when it reports its full financial results on March 28, 2017.

SAN FRANCISCO, USA and SHENZHEN, CHINA, Feb. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, battery management systems, and a provider of battery recycling, announced today that it has appointed Mr. Sunny Pan as the Chief Financial Officer (the "CFO"), effective February 12, 2017.  Mr. Pan has served as the Company's Interim Chief Financial Officer since August 2016.

Mr. Sunny Pan has over 20 years' experience in Finance & IT management positions in several multi-national companies, and has worked with Highpower since January 2015 as Financial Controller and has served as General Manager of Huizhou Highpower Technology Co., Ltd. since January 2016.  Prior to his position at Highpower, Mr. Sunny Pan served as Financial Controller for Philips Luminaire Manufacturing (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. He has ACCA (UK) and CICPA (China) qualifications, and has extensive experience in OX IFRS / China GAAP / US GAAP. He holds a Bachelor's Degree from Shanxi Financial and Economical Institution and MBA from New York Institution of Technology (NYIT). Mr. Sunny Pan has no relation to Chairman George Pan at Highpower.

Mr. George Pan, Highpower's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are pleased to officially appoint Sunny as CFO.  He has handled the role exceptionally since his appointment as Interim CFO last year, which provided Highpower with a seamless executive management transition.  Sunny's intimate knowledge of our operations and strong financial acumen are a valuable resource for the Company.  He has continued to build out a strong financial and accounting team and we will rely on his professional leadership to guide Highpower while we expand and grow our market position as a leading battery manufacturer."

Mr. Sunny Pan stated, "It is incredibly rewarding to work with a company that has not only been successful, but also has the potential for significant growth for many years to come.  I feel privileged to have the opportunity to serve Highpower's customers, employees, and shareholders."

Third Quarter 2016 Financial Results

• Net sales were $54.1 million, an increase of 44.2% from $37.6 million, primarily due to an increase in net sales of lithium batteries.
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company was $2.7 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company of $1.6 million, or $0.10 per diluted share.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "We are pleased to achieve improvements across each metric of our operating results during the third quarter of 2016, largely due to accelerating demand for lithium batteries in the second half of the year. Throughout the past year, Highpower has dedicated significant time and resources to expand our R&D efforts to ensure that our Company is at the forefront of providing state-of –art lithium battery technology to the market.  Many of our customers are long-standing customers, and it is imperative that we can evolve to meet consumer demand."

Mr. Pan continued, "We were excited to announced Highpower's investment in Huizhou Yipeng during the quarter.  This is a leading electric vehicle power battery system solutions provider, specializing in the plug-in PHEV and EV bus market in China. We believe that our investment in Yipeng will be wholly complementary to our existing growth strategies, and believe that our combined resources will allow Huizhou Highpower to expand more rapidly in the PHEV and EV power battery market in China."

Second Quarter 2016 Financial Results

• Net sales were $36.7million, compared to $38.6 million, primarily due to exchange rate difference.
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company was $2.1 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company of $2.1 million, or $0.13 per diluted share.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "We are pleased to announce strong results for the second quarter, especially the overall net income is performing well and lithium battery business has a good momentum of progress since the second quarter. We have maintained a solid gross margin in the competitive battery market. We also indicated that growth would accelerate in the second half of 2016 with the battery sales peak season coming. As we have focused on our corporate objectives, we have also established a lean production culture of continuous improvements, which allows us to provide our customers with the best cost performance products and allows Highpower's sustainable and healthy growth in the future. "

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, August 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), ("Highpower," or the "Company") a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Huizhou Highpower Technology Co., Ltd, has entered into an agreement ("Agreement") to acquire up to 50% equity interest in Huizhou Yipeng Energy Technology Co., Ltd. ("Huizhou Yipeng"), an electric vehicle power battery system solutions provider specializing in the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and electric vehicle (EV) bus market in China.

Pursuant to the Agreement, the Company will invest RMB114.75 million (approximately $17.3 million) consisting of an aggregate of $5.2 million in cash and $12.1 million of power battery equipment into Huizhou Yipeng for a 50% equity interest. On August 10, 2016, the Company consummated the first purchase of 30.4% for RMB 15 million in cash (approximately $2.3 million) and power equipment equivalent to RMB 45 million (approximately $6.8 million). The purchase of the remaining equity interest of 14.6% for RMB 19.75 million in cash (approximately $2.9 million) and power equipment equivalent to RMB 35 million (approximately $5.3 million) is scheduled to close prior to November 5, 2016 subject to Huizhou Yipeng being approved prior to October 31, 2016 to be listed in the catalogue of industrial Standards of Auto Mobile Power Battery Cell, which is formulated by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China. The Company intends to fund the equity purchase with cash on hand, expected future cash flow, and if needed, approximately $2.0 million in borrowings under existing credit arrangements. Prior to entering into the Agreement, Highpower already held an existing 5% equity interest in Huizhou Yipeng. Highpower also has the right to purchase from existing Huizhou Yipeng shareholders additional equity for $0.4, million which would give Highpower a total of 51% equity interest in Huizhou Yipeng.

Huizhou Yipeng was founded in Huizhou City, Guangdong Province in January 2014, and is a new high-tech enterprise focusing on lithium-ion power battery systems in new energy vehicle application. Mr. Hongze Yu, the CEO of Huizhou Yipeng, has over twenty years of experience in driving growth strategy for companies in the Chinese-vehicle industry. Prior to Huizhou Yipeng, Mr. Yu was co-founder of Beijing JAYA Technology Co., Ltd., a company specializing in smart transportation started in 2005.

First Quarter 2016 Financial Results

• Net sales were $29.1 million compared to $32.1 million
• Non-GAAP net loss attributable to the Company was $0.4 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared to a non-GAAP net loss attributable to the Company of $0.3 million, or $0.02 per diluted share.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "Despite challenging market conditions in the first quarter of 2016, our Company delivered solid results for the period. We faced pricing pressures from both lithium and Ni-MH batteries, as well as a decline of sales of iPhone backup power products. We continue to allocate resources to enhancing our lithium battery technology and seek to expand and develop new products and solutions in new and emerging technology sectors, such as drones and robotics. We also continue to expand our domestic sales channels and explore potential collaborations with strategic partners with large scale enterprises in both China and overseas markets."

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, April 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. ("Highpower International" or "the Company")  (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that the Company recently began to receive orders, and started shipping lithium polymer batteries to DJI, a globally recognized manufacturer of commercial and recreational unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones.

Highpower International has received DJI's supplier qualification approval and began to provide lithium polymer batteries for its drones. The Company has provided its batteries for use in DJI's Phantom 3 and Phantom 4 drone products and Highpower expects to develop its relationship with DJI further continuously.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Highpower International, stated, "We are pleased to have passed DJI's requirements as a product manufacturer and supplier, which we feel is a strong verification of both our flexibility and capability to cover a wider spectrum of products at a global reach.  We have worked with the leaders in innovative and developing technologies, including the expansion of drone technology for recreational use and commercial enterprises.  Working with DJI is a significant milestone in Highpower's lithium battery business development and represents a new and exciting segment.  As a world-leading drone brand, DJI is famous for its cutting-edge technology and rigorous requirements for its products and suppliers. Considering Highpower's comparative lithium battery advantages and DJI's high-end technologies, we feel that this is a mutually beneficial relationship that could grow over time."

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, Nov. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. ("Highpower International" or "the Company") (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that its board of directors (the "Board") has received a non-binding investment proposal letter from Anshan Co-Operation (Group) Co., Ltd. ("Anshan Co-Operation"), joined with Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO, and certain management of Highpower International, and China Innovative Capital Management Ltd.

Anshan Co-Operation (Group) Co., Ltd. ("Anshan Co-Operation"), proposes to purchase newly issued shares of Shenzhen Highpower Technology Co., Ltd., Springpower Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. and Icon Energy System (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., the three subsidiaries in the People's Republic of China (the "PRC") wholly-owned by Highpower International, Inc. with not less than RMB650 million, or approximately US$101.7 million (based on an exchange rate of $6.39 as of November 26, 2015) based on the valuation ofRMB280 million, or approximately US$43.8 million (based on an exchange rate of $6.39 as of November 26, 2015) for the three subsidiaries, in exchange for more than 50% of the equity of each of the three subsidiaries and become the controlling shareholder of each of the subsidiaries after the subscription.

The Company's Board of Directors has formed a special committee consisting of the following independent directors to consider this proposal: Ping Li, who will serve as chairman, Xin Hai Li and T. Joseph Fisher, III. The special committee intends to retain independent legal and financial advisors to assist it in this process.  The Board cautions the Company's stockholders and others considering trading in its securities that the Board just received the non-binding proposal letter from Anshan Co-Operation and no decisions have been made with respect to the transaction. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be executed or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not undertake any obligation to provide any updates with respect to this or any other transaction, except as required under applicable laws.

Third Quarter 2015 Financial Results

• Net sales were $37.6 million compared to $44.5 million.
• Net income attributable to the Company was $1.9 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, an increase of 122.3% from net income of $874,167, or $0.06 per diluted share; non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company was $1.6 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, compared to $2.3 million, or $0.15 per diluted share.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "We were pleased to remain profitable and grow EBITDA during the period despite an overall challenging environment of China's economic slowdown and pricing pressure from competition and the decline in commodity prices. We continue to see newer electronic products and modern wearable devices being introduced to the market, with demand for more robust rechargeable batteries. In the meantime, lower commodity prices, especially in the oil industry, have created a challenging environment for clean energy related industries. The recent devaluation of the Chinese currency RMB also affected our US dollar denominated sales numbers. We remain  confident in growing our business in the long term."

Outlook for 2015

Based on the recent economic slowdown and continued downward pressure for global commodity prices, and the depreciation pressure of RMB versus USD exchange rate, the Company expects its total net sales for the full year of 2015 to be between $142.0 million and $146.0 million, and both GAAP and non-GAAP net income to be between $4.0 and 5.0 million .

Chairman Pan concluded, "Based on the current impact of the short-term pricing pressures, we have realigned our expectations for Highpower for the year.  We revised our 2015 net sales and non-GAAP net income guidance to take account of the aforementioned change, but still feel confident in achieving our previously announced net income bottom line guidance.  We are focused on optimizing our customer base and seeking new business opportunities with multi-national customers. We feel that Highpower is well positioned as we enter 2016."

 Second Quarter 2015 Financial Results

• Net sales were $38.6 million, an increase of 1.3% from $38.1 million.
• Net income attributable to the Company was $1.9 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, an increase of 129.8% from net income of $0.8 million, or $0.05 per diluted share; non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company was $2.1 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, compared to $1.3 million, or $0.08 per diluted share. 

Commentary

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "Revenue growth of lithium battery products was driven by continuous global demand for mobile devices as well as the electric bus market in China, offset by a more challenging environment for nickel-metal hydride business. We continue to leverage the flexibility of our operations to take advantage of these trends in the marketplace, and our ability to manufacture lithium battery products to a wide variety of customers largely drove our double-digit increases for the quarter. This led to overall top-line improvement despite lower Ni-MH sales as a result of commodity-driven pricing pressures. We have made progress towards further improving the Company's profitability through lean manufacturing, and delivered improved gross and operating margins. We also plan to commercialize portable energy storage systems in the international market by the end of year, and to channel all of our attention on positioning Highpower for sustainable and profitable growth."

Outlook for 2015

Based on current expectations for global demand in the rechargeable battery market in 2015 and the continued trends toward mobile power sources, higher-value energy storage systems and transportation products, the Company is reaffirming its 2015 guidance of revenues to be between $160 million to $170 million, and non-GAAP net income of between $5.0 million and $6.0 million, and net income of between $4.0 million and $5.0 million.

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, July 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ:HPJ), ("Highpower," or the "Company") a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted a patent for Highpower's safety technology on rechargeable battery. This technology relates to a structural innovation to improve safety features. The patent number is US13/673634

Safety remains a critical issue for the entire battery industry. Highpower's safety-enhanced rechargeable battery consists of a shell, anode cap, sealing ring and a separating structure that ensures safe and efficient venting in the event of excessive internal air pressure inside the battery. Highpower's proprietary design was created and submitted after extensive research and development efforts. 

Mr. Wenliang Li, Chief Technology Officer of Highpower International, stated, "Patents represent a company's ability to innovate and protect intellectual property, which in turn strengthen the core competence of a company. Highpower has always placed an emphasis on innovation, and has been granted in total 149 patents in China and the United States. This invention patent, authorized by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, serves as a milestone event as well as international recognition for our technology. Our safety-enhanced rechargeable battery has gone through rigorous experimentation and testing. We expect to achieve more technological breakthroughs, and to make such technologies applicable and practical, and eventually deliver more safe and powerful battery products to consumers worldwide."

2015 First Quarter Financial Results

• Net sales for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015 were $32.1 million compared to $29.2 million for the same period in 2014. The 10.2% increase in net sales compared to the same period in 2014 was mainly due to a $3.4 million improvement in net sales of Lithium batteries and $274,983 increase in net sales from new materials business, offset by a decline of $0.7 million in sales of Ni-MH batteries.
• Net loss attributable to the Company was $0.1 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, compared to net loss of $0.9 million or $0.07 per diluted share; non-GAAP net loss attributable to the Company was $0.3 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared to $0.5 million, or $0.06 per diluted share.

Management Commentary

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "We are pleased to see strong year-over-year improvement in performance of sales in lithium batteries and our new material business. This was a result of growing global demand for mobile and portable products and electrical vehicles and increasing awareness of our value-added service from our customers. As we are reaching capacity of our lithium battery production, we expect to further expand our lithium battery facilities on our Huizhou campus. We anticipate continued growth throughout the remainder of 2015."

Outlook for 2015

Based on current expectations for global demand in the rechargeable battery market in 2015 and the continued shift toward mobile power sources, higher-value energy storage systems and transportation products, the Company is reaffirming its 2015 guidance of revenues to be between $160 million to $170 million, and non-GAAP net income of between $5.0 million and $6.0 million, and net income of between $4.0 million and $5.0 million.

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, May 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), ("Highpower," or the "Company") a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that its large format lithium batteries are now installed on 155 hybrid electric buses in China as of March 31, 2015, mostly being operated in municipal areas in Shanghai.  

In the first quarter of 2015, the Company's large format lithium batteries were installed on another 74 hybrid electric buses in additional to 81 buses installed in 2014.  The hybrid electric buses are mainly manufactured by Shanghai Wanxiang Daewoo, a Chinese and Korean automobile joint venture.

According to market data estimates, there are around 1.5 million buses in operation in China today, with a mandate that they can only be on the road for eight years. This equates to a changeover market of around 190,000 buses every year in China, without taking into account any growth.

Today, only 6% of the Chinese population owns a vehicle. The figure is growing, but 94% of 1.4 billion people still need transportation, and they do this largely by bus. A recent announcement stipulated that starting in 2016, 20% of government vehicle purchases must have zero emission technology. A report by Navigant Research, by 2018 it is expected that 75,000 electric buses will be on the roads globally, with the Asia-Pacific market making up 75% of the market.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower, commented, "Electrical transportation is a strategic and important market for Highpower. China's central and local governments are committed to fighting air pollution. Since our large format lithium batteries were certified by China's National Quality Control & Inspection Center for Buses last August, we have been actively exploring the electric bus market in China along with our partners. We are optimistic about the growth opportunities of the market in the coming years."

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, May 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. ("Highpower International" or "the Company") (HPJ), developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, management systems and recycling services announce today it has secured a contract to produce a 100KWH energy storage system (ESS) for China Southern Power Grid Co., Ltd. (CSPG).  This ESS system is designed to maintain a balance of supply and demand over the south China grid as part of a long-term energy storage project developed by CSPG.  While financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, the contract is expected to be filled, with all batteries and battery management system (BMS) delivered, by the end of May 2015.

GSPG invests, constructs and operates power networks in regions of south China and is one of the largest utility suppliers in the world. This order makes up a critical part of their energy storage station. Power plants take advantage of grid integrated ESS in dealing with fluctuating energy demand. This demand differs over the course of the day, with greater needs during peak hours and lower demand at night. ESS systems such as the one Highpower is producing for CSPG are used for feeding power to the grid at times when consumption that cannot be deferred or delayed exceeds production. In this way, electricity production need not be drastically scaled up and down to meet momentary consumption. Instead, transmission from the combination of generators plus storage facilities is maintained at a more constant level. 

George Pan, President and CEO of Highpower, stated, "ESS systems have far reaching applications, not just in integrated grid technologies or stand-alone systems, and there is a real possibility this technology will be entering the residential market.  This is a promising market, aspolicies and incentives are making it more economically feasible to sell battery systems to businesses, utilities, and residences.  We intend to leverage our expertise in developing battery technologies to take advantage of the growing energy storage market as a manufacturer, and believe that projects such as our agreement with CSPG represent an exciting new era our Company's development."

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, April 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), ("Highpower" or the "Company") a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, management systems as well as battery recycling services, today announced that it recently began shipping lithium batteries to Seiko in Japan for its watch and wireless digital products.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower, commented, "We are looking forward to working with Seiko on its innovative digital products. The wearable device market presents tremendous opportunities for Highpower. We are very proud that our lithium batteries are adopted by Seiko, a world famous watch brand. Battery performance is critical to today's ever-developing smart devices. Highpower will continue to target the wearable device market, utilizing its superior quality and manufacturing flexibility to win customer orders. We are excited by the potential of our comprehensive product offerings, and are committed to upholding our reputation as a diversified power solution provider."

A recent survey conducted by Accenture showed that wearable devices will become more popular worldwide over the next five years. The survey was conducted online between October and November 2014, with 24,000 respondents in 24 countries, including China, Australia, Brazil, France, Turkey and the United States. The survey states that 73 percent of Chinese consumers want to purchase a smart watch in the next five years. At present, wearable devices are marketed by a number of companies, including Timex, Apple, Samsung, and China's Xiaomi.

Fourth Quarter 2014 Financial Results

• Net sales for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2014 were $35.3 million compared to $38.4 million for the same period in 2013.
• Net income attributable to the Company was $2.0 million, or $0.13 per diluted share based on 15.5 million weighted average diluted shares outstanding, compared to net income of $1.2 million, or $0.09 per diluted share based on 13.9 million weighted average diluted shares outstanding.

Management Commentary

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "We are pleased to report record sales, and solid operating results in 2014, with considerable improvement on net income. We are very excited with the new world-class customers we have acquired during 2014, and the quality of these customers is a real reflection of Highpower's value to our investors and market influence around the world. In the meantime, we have advanced our R&D initiatives throughout the year to continuously improve our lithium batteries. In 2015, with the ramp-up of our Huizhou Lithium Battery facility, we are confident we will continue to monetize on the explosive demand for mobile devices with our valuable and long-term customer base. We plan to launch new product lines in the energy storage area, and progress in electrical transportation. We anticipate higher revenue growth and continued earnings improvement, and are committed to building a healthy business for sustainable growth."

Outlook for 2015

Mr. Pan continued, "We were particularly pleased to announce the multi-million dollar order for backup power products for smart phones in February, which is a rapidly growing segment of the consumer market. We feel Highpower is well-positioned for growth in the coming year due to the growing market need for our battery products in a wide array of customer applications. We intend to leverage our strong financial position and operating flexibility to meet the needs of our customer base."

Based on current expectations for global demand in the rechargeable battery market in 2014 and the continued shift toward mobile power sources, higher-value energy storage systems and transportation products, the Company expects 2015 revenues to be between $160 million to $170 million, and non-GAAP net income of between $5.0 million and $6.0 million, and net income of between $4.0 million and $5.0 million.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. and SHENZHEN, China, February 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. ("Highpower International" or "the Company") (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced an update to a previously announced release concerning an order that Highpower received from a world-renowned company providing lithium polymer batteries for backup power products for smartphones. At that company's request, Highpower has not disclosed its name in this correction. The Company still expects this multi-million dollar order to have a meaningful impact on sales for the year ending December 31, 2015.

Company Adjusts Net Income Guidance Up; Revenue Guidance Lower Due to Order Timing

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, stated, "This order is quite significant to Highpower's annual plan for 2015. We have been very pleased with the progression of our business over the course of 2014, with a strong sales pipeline being supported by improving margins. We continued to focus on our core competencies, which are providing high-quality battery products to a diverse customer base, while investing in our business to provide sustainability over the long-term as the market continues to transition to lithium battery technology. During the fourth quarter, we continued to see improved margins, while penetrating the market with higher-end battery products and properly utilizing our scale to contain raw material costs. As a result, we are raising our 2014 guidance range for adjusted net income of $3.8 to $4.2 million from previously announced $2.5 to $4.0 million, and net income of $2.6 to $3.0 million from previously announced $1.5 to $3.0 million. While we are pleased with our order pipeline, a few orders were delayed until the first quarter of 2015, which has resulted in Highpower adjusting its revenue guidance for 2014 to $146 - $148 million. We have been very pleased with the Company's operational results in 2014, and have continued to balance our need to position Highpower for long-term growth while also providing stable returns for our shareholders. We are very confident in our ability to generate sales growth through working with top notch international customers in 2015 and look forward to updating investors further when we report our 2014 financial results in March."

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, February 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. ("Highpower International" or "the Company") (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that the Company has received an order providing lithium polymer batteries for Mophie™'s battery case products designed for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus. Mophie, a California-based, award-winning designer and manufacturer, is the #1 selling battery case manufacturer in North America. The Company expects the multi-million dollar order to have a meaningful impact on sales for the year ending December 31, 2015.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, stated, "This order is quite significant to both Highpower and Mophie's annual plan for 2015, as Mophie is a certified backup power product supplier for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus. Highpower has worked with the engineers and designers at Mophie in the past on battery case products for the iPhone 5 series, and it is their continued trust on Highpower's quality and reliability that enables our cooperation to succeed. We are very pleased to continue to work with Mophie on the iPhone 6 series products that will be widely used by consumers around the world."

Mophie's battery power products can be found at various retail stores, AT&T, and also on Amazon.

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, Dec. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that Huizhou Highpower Technology Ltd., Highpower International's wholly-owned subsidiary, officially qualified for addition to Samsung's supply chain as a supplier of lithium-based battery products.

The Samsung team commented, "Highpower International is one of the world's leading lithium battery manufacturers with distinct advantages in technology, cost and quality control. After a comprehensive evaluation covering a wide spectrum of manufacturing capabilities and compliances, we believe Highpower International'sHuizhou subsidiary is capable of producing high quality products for Samsung. Highpower is a fast developing international company and we welcome them to be part of our supply chain."

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Highpower International, stated, "We have continued to expand our capabilities at Highpower's Huizhou facility, with new and advanced production lines for lithium battery products. In addition, we have remained at the forefront of improving our manufacturing processes customized for large scale customers. We are pleased to have passed Samsung's requirements as a product manufacturer and supplier, which we feel is a strong verification of both our flexibility and capability to cover a wider spectrum of products at a global reach. With sufficient capacity potential and state-of-the-art equipment and technologies, we are very confident our new Huizhou facility has the capability to produce superior products for world-class customers in the years to come."

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, November 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc.("Highpower International" or "the Company") (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that two of the Company's wholly-owned subsidiaries, including its new lithium battery facility, have received Sony's Green Partner Certification.

The certification recognizes that Highpower's two subsidiaries have successfully passed Sony's rigorous environmental requirements, and highlights the Company's commitment to environment and sustainability. The Sony Green Partner certification enables Highpower to be a "preferred supplier" to Sony and to other companies who seek a supplier who has achieved Green Partner status.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Highpower International, commented, "We are pleased to receive Sony's Green Partner Certification, and believe it reflects Highpower's strict environmental standards on its production process. Highpower became Sony's supplier in April and our Company has begun shipping lithium polymer batteries for Sony's wireless products. Sony is a world-leading electronics company with rigorous requirements on its products and its suppliers, and environmental impact is a major consideration. Highpower is dedicated to creating value for its customers while ensuring that its manufacturing processes remain among the highest quality in our industry."

Third Quarter 2014 Financial Results

• Net sales increased 14.5% to $44.5 million, driven mainly by the growing lithium battery business
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company increased 186.2% to $2.3 million, or $0.15 per share, from $0.8 million, or $0.06 per share

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of the Company, commented, "We are pleased to report strong operating results during the third quarter, which was mainly driven by the result of increased sales in our lithium battery business. We continue to see growing global demand for lithium batteries from the mobile, portable products, electrical vehicles and energy storage sectors. Our new Huizhou facility is on the right track to ramp up production in this quarter over the first half of the year. We believe that we will continue to attract global customers with this state-of-the-art facility. In the meantime, we are committed to working with globally recognized brands and companies, and investing in research and development to advance our product offerings to meet our customers continuously evolving needs."

Outlook for 2014

Based on current expectations for global demand in the rechargeable battery market in 2014 and the continued shift toward mobile power sources, higher-value energy storage systems and transportation products, the Company reiterates the 2014 guidance of revenues of between $150 million to $170 million, and non-GAAP net income of between $2.5 million and $4.0 million, and net income of between $1.5 million and $3.0 million.

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, Oct. 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. ("Highpower International" or "the Company")  (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Icon Energy System Co. Ltd. ("Icon"), and Ganzhou Highpower Technology (Shenzhen Highpower holds 60% of its equity interest) have been awarded National High-Tech Enterprise status and certification by the Science and Technology Innovation Commission of Shenzhen and Science and Technology Department of Jiangxi Province.

"Technological excellence is a core competency of Highpower. Today, the fact that four out of the five subsidiaries of Highpower International, Inc. have received China's national high-tech enterprise status proves our commitment to the technological advancement of our Company," stated Mr. George Pan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Highpower International. "In addition, Icon and Ganzhou Highpower will benefit from a reduced corporate income tax rate of 15% as China's National High-Tech Enterprises, compared to 25% for companies without the national high-tech status. We have always put R&D efforts as a top strategic priority. We believe technological advancements will continue to drive Highpower's long-term growth," concluded Mr. Pan.

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, Oct. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. ("Highpower International" or "the Company") (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that the Company has successfully delivered an advanced electric vehicle ("EV") battery system to the Harbin Institute of Technology ("HIT"). The EV battery system was installed on an electric race car designed by HIT for Formula SAE China that was held in Xiangyang, Hubei Province from October 15th to October 18th, 2014.

Mr. George Pan, CEO of Highpower International, stated, "This is the second time we delivered complex EV battery systems to Harbin Institute of Technology for their electric race cars for the Annual Formula SAE competition. The Formula SAE China is a great forum to allow Highpower to demonstrate its technical capabilities for designing EV battery systems. Since earlier this year, we have already started shipping electric bus batteries to our domestic customers. We will continue to address the growing EV market in China and explore opportunities worldwide." 

Mr. Wenliang Li, CTO of Highpower International, added, "Highpower's engineers designed a 7.3 KWh battery system with Li(NiCoMn)O2 lithium polymer batteries and a voltage at 400V for Harbin Institute of Technology. Our power battery system can achieve active energy balancing and has a real-time remote management system to track its working status. Highpower will continue to dedicate its R&D resources for the electric vehicle applications and we look forward to our continued progress."

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, Oct. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/-- Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that it has started shipping its advanced lithium batteries to VTech� for its high-end children's tablet and electronic toy products.

Mr. Bryan Bai, Vice President of International Sales of Highpower, commented, "We are very pleased to become a supplier to VTech�, a world leader in the electronic educational toys and learning products, and also the world's largest provider of cordless phones. We are very happy to play a role in children's education. This demonstrates how pervasively our batteries are being applied and popularly used in people's everyday life, including kids."

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that it will collaborate with Energous Corporation, the developer of WattUp�, a disruptive wire-free charging technology for electronic devices that provides power at a distance with complete mobility under full software control, to develop batteries with Energous' wire-free charging technologies, which was already announced by Energous earlier.

"Highpower is committed to cutting-edge technologies," said Terry Guo, Vice President of Highpower International. "We expect the collaboration of Highpower and Energous on the wire-free charging technologies to yield the industry's most exciting power sources to date -- and to deliver advanced products differentiating from others in today's market."

"Right now, battery charging methods are one of the limiting factors in the use of smartphones, wearables and IoT devices," said Stephen R. Rizzone, CEO of Energous Corporation. "WattUp-enabled Highpower batteries will deliver the freedom to charge without wires and will therefore make an impact on the whole battery industry."

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, September 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that it has started shipping its 4600 mAh lithium battery product developed for the newly introduced Acer Iconia Tab 8, a tablet offering consumers high-end features including 7.5 hours of continuous video watch time.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower, commented, "Acer is a world-famous brand, and we are pleased to serve as a contributor to this newest high-end tablet. We feel that our battery performance and quality, along with our extensive industry experience will allow us to gain more market share as a provider to a growing worldwide tablet market in the coming years. Highpower is a battery manufacturer capable of applying our expertise to a number of different markets, and our new relationship with Acer is strong evidence that our product offering is gaining traction in the rapidly growing mobile device market."

The Acer Iconia Tab 8 is an 8-inch Android tablet featuring an Intel Atom Z3745 processor, 1920x1200 resolution, and 2GB RAM. The Acer Iconia Tab 8 is now available for purchase at Gome, one of China's largest electronic device chain stores, and may be available at the worldwide markets in the coming months.

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, August 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that its 20Ah lithium-ion battery (Model: IESPD201E) has received the product approval issued by China's National Quality Control & Inspection Center for Buses.

The battery model IESPD201E is designed for and best suited for Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs). The product approval was based on comprehensive tests according to China's automobile industry standard QC/T 743-2006 "Lithium-ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles".

Mr. Wenliang Li, Chief Technology Officer of Highpower, commented, "China has begun to emerge as a leading green transportation adopter. China will become the largest market for electric buses within the decade. This is another significant milestone for Highpower to get positioned for wider national adoption of our batteries in the HEV and PHEV market. We dedicate meaningful resources to developing the new generation lithium batteries to address the immense EV market in China. Receiving the approval from China's National Quality Control & Inspection Center for Buses is one solid step in order to commercialize our high power density lithium batteries in the EV market at the national level. We expect further progress in the years ahead."

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, August 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that it started shipping its advanced compact lithium battery product developed for the newly introduced TIMEX® IRONMAN® ONE GPS+, a smartwatch offering consumers stand-alone wireless connectivity without a phone.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower, commented, "Timex is an iconic watch brand. We are excited to work with Timex as a contributor to this innovative smartwatch technology. We feel that wearables represent an exciting area of growth for mobile devices, and smartwatches could provide a natural progression from current applications to help consumers further embrace wearable technology. We feel that our battery performance, seamlessness of services, and quality will allow us to compete for a proportionate market share of batteries for these products. Highpower is a flexible battery manufacturer capable of applying our expertise to a number of different markets, and this initial order is strong evidence that our product offering is gaining traction in the rapidly growing wearable device market."

The TIMEX® IRONMAN® ONE GPS+ will be available for purchase this fall at timex.com, att.com, AT&T stores, select sports specialty and electronic stores.

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Andalay Solar (WEST), a leading manufacturer of integrated solar power systems, announced a collaboration with Highpower International, Inc. (HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, to launch a pilot project that will provide technologically advanced energy storage systems for Andalay Solar customers and enhance system performance while keeping the cost reasonably affordable and viable.

Given the relatively high cost of the power grid, this energy system is designed to help customers avoid and reduce utility grid fees by going "off-grid" or employing a hybrid system. Highpower's energy storage system has six 2.4KWh lithium-ion battery modules and an output inverter that allows for a powerful energy load capacity and expandability. For the hybrid system, when combined with Andalay's integrated solar system, energy will be generated both by the solar system as well as by the utility grid network. With both energy inputs, the energy output to the home is expected to provide enough power to sustain household and electronic appliances and all power outlets.

Andalay selected Highpower for their strong energy storage R&D capability and their leadership and commitment to clean energy manufacturing, which includes waste recycling processes, environmentally safe disposal, and industry leading design, manufacturing and testing of storage devices.

"Energy storage has become an important focus of the solar industry and will be an essential component of system design and installation," said Steven Chan, CEO of Andalay Solar. "This pilot project in solar energy storage is an example of Andalay's determination to stay at the leading edge of the market to build upon our patented technology, while maintaining a principle focus on our customers' solar energy needs, cost-savings, and return on investment." 

"We are excited to collaborate with Andalay Solar," commented Bryan Bai, Vice President of Sales at Highpower International. "Andalay Solar's extensive technical know-how, first-hand experiences and understanding about the demand from end customers in the solar market is ideal for commercializing our advanced storage solution with enhanced functionalities and performance, while keeping costs affordable to a wide range of market needs in North America."

Second Quarter 2014 Financial Results

• Net sales increased 22.3% to $38.1 million, driven by sales increases across all of Highpower's product lines
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company increased 756.9% to $1.3 million, or $0.09 per share, from $0.2 million, or $0.01 per share

Management Commentary

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of the Company, commented, "We are pleased to report improved sales and gross margin in the second quarter of 2014, which was the result from increased volume sold of both lithium batteries and Ni-MH batteries. We have expanded our customer base through growing global demand for our lithium battery products in many areas including mobile, portable, wearable, industrial, solar, and electrical vehicle markets, and new sales channels for our Ni-MH products."

Outlook for 2014

• The Company reiterates its 2014 guidance of revenues of between $150 million to $170 million
• Net income attributable to the Company of between $1.5 million to $3.0 million
• Non-GAAP net income attributable to the Company of between $2.5 million to $4.0 million

SAN FRANCISCO and SHENZHEN, China, July 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that the Company has received funding of RMB3,860,000 (approximately $622,580) from Shenzhen Strategic Emerging Industry Development Specialty Funds, set up by the Development and Reform Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, to further develop the Company's production line for its in-house developed solar celled and off-grid home-use energy storage systems products. The funds will be used to purchase development and production equipment making such residential systems.

Highpower previously announced a line of commercial ready off-grid energy storage system (ESS) products, ranging from 0.5KWH to 15KWH, through its subsidiary, Icon Energy Systems, Ltd. These products were designed to serve the needs of commercial and residential power systems, solar power, back-up emergency power, and outdoor uses. With the additional funding from Shenzhen's government, the Company intends to accelerate production of its residential focused product offering and increasing its budget for further technological advancements.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO, commented, "We are delighted to have received funding from the local Shenzhen government, which will assist Highpower in both accelerating the production of its current product line while also increasing our research and development for next-generation systems. Both central and local governments of China are committed to nurturing and favoring the development of the clean energy industry, and we look forward to positioning our Company as a market leader both internationally and domestically within China. We continue to benefit from increasing government support and intend to leverage our expertise and production capability to increase our pipeline of rechargeable battery products. There are numerous applications that a nimble company with operational leverage like Highpower can take advantage of, and we look forward to keeping investors updated on our progress."

Highpower's ESS products include power capacities of 0.5KWH, 1.5KWH, 3KWH, 5KWH, and 15KWH, coupled with dual charging input modes, i.e. city grid and solar power compatible. The output modes are flexible with AC, DC at varying voltages. The switch between charging and discharging is intelligently designed, and the switch time is only 5-8 milliseconds, generating no impact to electrical appliances connected. GPRS-enabled real-time wireless monitoring is also built in for remote management.

Major countries around the world including the United States, Germany, U.K., Australia, Japan, Korea, and China, have all initiated favorable policies to promote the use of energy storage system products in developing the clean energy industry. The energy storage market is expected to experience tremendous growth over the next few years. According to Navigant Research, the world micro grid market will increase from $4.3 billion in 2013 to $19.9 billion in 2020, using conservative estimates.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and SHENZHEN, CHINA--(Marketwired - Jun 18, 2014) - Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that the Company has delivered two containers of its Ni-MH rechargeable batteries to Costco as an initial trial order that will be used as power sources for general solar light products.

Highpower manufactured the products for one of its branded customers with specific power requirements to power a wide variety of solar light products. The initial order is expected to be sold from Costco to customers directly. Highpower's nickel-metal hydride rechargeable batteries are ideal replacements for the traditional nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries in the solar lighting market because cadmium is a toxic heavy metal and is known to be damaging to the environment.

"We are delighted to have received an initial order from Costco, and are hopeful that this will lead to a new sales channel for our Company. Highpower is committed to developing and expanding long-lasting relationships with world-class customers such as Costco, which is a widely admired Fortune 100 company," commented Mr. Bryan Bai, Vice President of Sales at Highpower International. "This first trial order for solar light products is quite exciting because lighting is one of the key industrial applications for our products. We believe that larger retail and wholesale chains such as Costco will increasingly look towards selling environmentally friendly products to customers, and feel that this has lasting benefits to Highpower given our dedication to products that result in energy savings and pollution reduction. We believe that our green and environmentally friendly products will continue to experience increased demand."

First Quarter 2014 Financial Results

• Net sales increased 19.5% year-over-year to $29.2 million
• Net loss attributable to the Company for the first quarter of 2014 was $0.9 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, based on 14.0 million weighted average shares outstanding. This compares with first quarter 2013 net loss attributable to the company of $0.6 million or $0.04 per diluted share, based on 13.6 million weighted average shares outstanding.

Management Commentary

"The first quarter was transformational in Highpower's corporate evolution," said Mr. George Pan, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Highpower International. "We have achieved a number of important milestones since beginning the year, including: we received our first ever electric vehicle order for large format lithium polymer batteries to be used in electric buses; we became an approved supplier for two Fortune 500 companies, Philips from Europe and SONY from Asia; we began shipping product from our new Huizhou facility; we continued to grow into new innovative markets such as wearable products, mobile payment, and electric lawn mowers; we initiated the roll-out of our solar compatible energy storage system line of products; and we successfully accessed the capital markets to strengthen our balance sheet by over $5 million. We accomplished all of this while executing on our sales initiatives and delivering solid financial performance in what is typically our weakest quarter seasonally.

"We are excited that Highpower's value and potential was acknowledged by institutional investors. This is the first time since we went public in 2008 that we raised capital in the equity markets. Over the past six years, we have experienced strong growth in terms of the breadth of our product offerings, technological advancements and global customer expansion. We have been disciplined on the timing of issuing new equity, with the goal of maximizing shareholder value. At present, our lithium battery business is experiencing robust growth and we believe this new capital will help us fund that growth and enable us to continue executing on our strategy of strengthening our global leadership position in the clean energy industry," concluded Mr. Pan.

"We are pleased with our revenue growth and gross margin level during the first quarter as our business continues to expand with the ramp up of our new Huizhou facility. Our first quarter's results have been on track with our forecast," said Mr. Henry Sun, Chief Financial Officer of Highpower International. "With our recent key customer additions and other accounts we are working on in the pipeline, we believe that we are well positioned for growth throughout 2014."

Outlook

Based on our current expectations for global demand in the rechargeable battery market in 2014 and our continued shift toward mobile power sources, higher-value energy storage systems and transportation products, we are reaffirming our 2014 guidance of revenues to range between $150 million to $170 million and net income in the range of $2.5 million to $4.0 million.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and SHENZHEN, CHINA--(Marketwired - Apr 28, 2014) - Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that the Company's subsidiary, Icon Energy Systems, Ltd., has successfully developed its first series of commercial ready off-grid energy storage system (ESS) products, ranging from 0.5KWH to 15KWH.

"This is another substantial milestone for Highpower in expanding our product mix as we are methodically executing on our plan of evolving from solely a consumer electronics based battery company to a sophisticated large-scale battery application solution company. The industry demand for ESS products is widely expected to take off in the coming years and we believe this is a very valuable product offering for customers in the clean energy market," said Mr. George Pan, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Highpower International. "Icon Energy was created with a vision to provide clean energy solutions because clean renewable energy solutions are undoubtedly the future for our society. Highpower is well positioned to enter into the promising energy storage market and capitalize on this higher margin business, leveraging our extensive research and development expertise in various battery products over the past ten years."

Major countries around the world including the United States, Germany, U.K., Australia, Japan, Korea, and China, have all initiated favorable policies to promote the use of ESS products in developing the clean energy industry. The ESS market is expected to experience tremendous growth over the next few years. According to Navigant Research, the world micro grid market will increase from $4.3 billion in 2013 to $19.9 billion in 2020, using conservative estimates.

"Our ESS series is designed not only to appeal to the developed countries that are promoting clean energy initiatives but also to countries that lack sufficient electrical infrastructure. Our products can be adopted to a wide range of applications including commercial, residential, telecommunication, and disaster rescue, among others," commented Mr. Bryan Bai, Vice President of Sales at Highpower International. "There has been a strong demand for high-quality and commercially feasible ESS products. Our series of ESS products are designed to address this market need."

The series of ESS products, designed and developed by Highpower's subsidiary, Icon Energy, will serve the needs of commercial and residential power systems, solar power, back-up emergency power, and outdoor uses. Highpower's ESS products include power capacities of 0.5KWH, 1.5KWH, 3KWH, 5KWH, and 15KWH, coupled with dual charging input modes, i.e. city grid and solar power compatible. The output modes are flexible with AC, DC at varying voltages. The switch between charging and discharging is intelligently designed, and the switch time is only 5-8 milliseconds, generating no impact to electrical appliances connected. GPRS-enabled real-time wireless monitoring is also built in for remote management.

Item 1.01 Entry Into a Material Definitive Agreement.

 
On April 14, 2014, Highpower International, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Highpower” or the “Company”) and certain institutional investors entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which Highpower agreed to sell 1,000,000 shares of common stock and warrants exercisable for 500,000 shares of common stock in a registered direct offering at a price of $5.05 per fixed combination for aggregate proceeds of $5.05 million (the “Offering”). The shares and warrants will be sold in multiples of a fixed combination consisting of (i) one share of common stock and (ii) one immediately exercisable warrant to purchase 0.50 shares of common stock. The Offering is expected to close on or about April 17, 2014, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Highpower estimates that the net proceeds from the Offering, excluding proceeds, if any, from the exercise of the warrants issued in the Offering, will be approximately $4.6 million, after deducting fees due the placement agent and estimated offering expenses of $125,000.

Pursuant to the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement, until the 12 month anniversary of the closing date of the Offering, upon any issuance by Highpower of common stock or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for, common stock for cash consideration, debt or a combination of units, each investor will have the right to participate in up to an amount of such financing aggregating up to 50% of the financing for all investors. The securities purchase agreement also contains customary representations, warranties and indemnification by the Company.

The warrants will have an initial exercise price of $6.33 per share and will be immediately exercisable until April 17, 2017. The exercise price of the warrants, and in some cases the number of shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, will be subject to appropriate adjustment in relation to certain events, such as stock dividends or other distributions on shares of common stock or any other equity or equity equivalent securities payable in shares of common stock, stock splits, stock combinations, reclassifications or similar events affecting Highpower’s common stock, and also, subject to limitations, upon any distribution of assets, including cash, stock or other property to its stockholders. In addition, if Highpower issues shares in the future at a price below $6.33 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be reduced to such lower price. No adjustment will be made to the number of shares purchasable in such event.

The number of warrant shares that may be acquired by any holder upon any exercise of the warrants will be limited to the extent necessary to insure that, following such exercise (or other issuance), the total number of shares of common stock then beneficially owned by such holder and its affiliates and any other persons whose beneficial ownership of common stock would be aggregated with the holder’s for purposes of Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act does not exceed either 4.99% or 9.99%, depending on the holder’s initial election, of the total number of issued and outstanding shares of common stock (including for such purpose the shares of common stock issuable upon such exercise). The holder may elect to increase or decrease this beneficial ownership limitation to any other percentage, but not in excess of 9.99% of the total number of issued and outstanding shares of common stock (including for such purpose the shares of common stock issuable upon such exercise), provided that any such increase or decrease will not be effective until 61 days after such written notice is delivered. If, at the time of exercise, there is no effective registration statement registering, or no current prospectus available for, the issuance to the holder of the shares of common stock underlying the warrant, the holder may exercise, in whole or in part, the warrant on a cashless basis. When exercised on a cashless basis, a portion of the warrant is cancelled in payment of the purchase price payable in respect of the number of shares of our common stock purchasable upon such exercise.

If Highpower sells or grants any common stock equivalents or rights to purchase stock, warrants or securities or other property to its stockholders on a pro rata basis, it will provide the holders of the warrants with the right to acquire, upon the same terms, the securities subject to such purchase rights as though the warrants had been exercised immediately prior to the declaration of such rights; provided that to the extent that the holder’s right to participate in such purchase rights would result in the holder exceeding the beneficial ownership limitation described above, then the holder will not be entitled to participate in the purchase right to such extent and such purchase right, to such extent, will be held in abeyance for the holder until its right to such purchase right would not result in the holder exceeding the beneficial ownership limitations.

If Highpower consummates a merger or consolidation with or into another person or other reorganization event in which its common stock is converted or exchanged for securities, cash or property, or Highpower sells, leases, licenses or otherwise disposes of all or substantially all of its assets, or Highpower or another person acquire 50% or more of its outstanding common stock, each, a “Fundamental Transaction,” then following such event, the holders of the warrants would be entitled to receive, upon exercise of the warrants, the same kind and amount of securities, cash or property that the holders would have received had they exercised the warrants immediately prior to such Fundamental Transaction. Any successor to Highpower or surviving entity must assume the obligations under the warrants.

On April 13, 2014, Highpower entered into an engagement letter (the “Engagement Letter”) with Ardour Capital Investments, LLC (“Ardour”), pursuant to which Ardour agreed to serve as placement agent for an offering of Highpower’s securities. Highpower has agreed to pay Ardour an aggregate fee equal to 6% of the gross proceeds received in the Offering and warrants to purchase 40,000 shares of common stock. The warrants will have the same terms as the warrants issued to the purchasers in the Offering, except for the price-based anti-dilution provision, and such warrants will not be transferable for six months from the date of issue as permitted by FINRA Rule 5110. Pursuant to the Engagement Letter, Highpower also agreed to reimburse Ardour for reasonable non-accountable expenses equal to $15,0000. The Engagement Letter contains customary representations, warranties, and indemnification by the Company.

The shares of common stock, warrants to purchase common stock and shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the investor warrants will be issued pursuant to a prospectus supplement, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with a takedown from Highpower’s shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-192168), which became effective on December 23, 2013. A copy of the opinion of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP relating to the legality of the issuance of the shares of common stock and the warrants is attached hereto as Exhibit 5.1.

The description of terms and conditions of the Engagement Letter, the form of warrant and the form of securities purchase agreement set forth herein do not purport to be complete and are qualified in their entirety by the full text of the Engagement Letter, the form of warrant and the form of securities purchase agreement, which are attached hereto as Exhibits 1.1, 4.1 and 10.1, respectively, and incorporated herein by reference.

The Engagement Letter and the Securities Purchase Agreement contain representations and warranties that the parties made to, and solely for the benefit of, the other in the context of all of the terms and conditions of that agreement and in the context of the specific relationship between the parties. The provisions of the Engagement Letter and the securities purchase agreement, including the representations and warranties contained therein, are not for the benefit of any party other than the parties to such agreements and are not intended as documents for investors and the public to obtain factual information about the current state of affairs of the parties to those documents and agreements. Rather, investors and the public should look to other disclosures contained in Highpower’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SAN FRANCISCO, USA and SHENZHEN, CHINA--(Marketwired - Apr 15, 2014) - Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management solution and recycling provider, today announced that the Company's subsidiary, Huizhou Highpower, has officially become a supplier to SONY and has begun receiving orders and shipping products. The initial orders for Highpower's lithium polymer batteries will be used for SONY's wireless products.

"We are pleased that after a rigorous review and audit of our new facility at Huizhou, SONY qualified Highpower to become their official supplier," said Gerry Wang, Quality Director at Highpower International. "SONY's approval of our Huizhou facility is a tremendous endorsement to our new facility's state-of the-art design and advancements, which include the industry-leading Class 100,000 Clean Room, world-class production management methodology, modern automation equipment and technology, and our unparalleled quality control mechanisms."

"Huizhou Highpower's ability to become SONY's battery supplier further demonstrates our industry expertise in providing quality, cutting-edge battery products to our customers," commented Mr. Wenliang Li, Chief Technology Officer of Highpower International. "SONY is a world-leading electronics company with vast understanding and experiences with batteries and battery production. SONY's standards for battery production are second to none. It is an extraordinary achievement to have passed SONY's audit and become one of its suppliers. We believe that our advanced battery products and new facility are well positioned to continue to attract Fortune 500 customers."

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and SHENZHEN, CHINA--(Marketwired - Apr 14, 2014) - Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of lithium and nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable batteries, and a battery management systems and battery recycling provider, today announced that it has entered into definitive purchase agreements with several institutional investors for the sale of its common stock in a registered direct offering. The Company is selling 1,000,000 shares of common stock at a price of $5.05 per share, including warrants to purchase an additional 500,000 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $6.33 per share, for total estimated gross proceeds of approximately $5.05 million. The offering is expected to close on or about April 17, 2014, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Highpower International intends to use the proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes, including research and development, sales and marketing, general and administrative, manufacturing, and capital expenditures.

Ardour Capital Investments, LLC acted as the exclusive placement agent for the offering.

The securities described above are being offered pursuant to a shelf registration statement (File No. 333-192168), which was previously filed with and declared effective by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). A prospectus supplement relating to the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

Fourth Quarter 2013 Results

• Net sales increased 24.7% to $38.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2013 over the fourth quarter of 2012.
• Net income of $1.21 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, a 114% increase from $0.57 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2012.

"The fourth quarter of 2013 was a quarter of extraordinary growth and development for Highpower," stated Mr. George Pan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Highpower International. "We are excited to end the year on such an exceptional note having once again achieved record revenues in our lithium battery segment and overall record revenues for Highpower. Our lithium battery business, including the increased capacity from our newly opened facility in Huizhou, and our recently announced first major order in the electrical vehicle market, gives us tremendous momentum and increased brand recognition, positioning us well for a strong 2014."

"Several key end markets that we serve with our batteries -- mobile and portable devices, and electric vehicles -- show no signs of slowing and we expect increased demand for our products throughout 2014. We remain committed to our pioneering efforts in the battery recycling space and are very excited about our new recycling facility planned to come online in the second quarter of 2014. Some of our existing large customers, as well as potential customers in the pipeline, are attracted to our recycling initiatives. This recycling platform helps serve as a key differentiator for us to win additional business in the future. Being on the forefront of this trend makes sense from both a business and environmental perspective, especially over the next few years when increasing amounts of complex energy storage system and electric vehicle batteries need to be disposed of," concluded Mr. Pan.

"We delivered strong revenue growth, healthy gross margins, improved management efficiency, and profitability in the fourth quarter," said Mr. Henry Sun, Chief Financial Officer of Highpower International. "In 2014, we expect these positive trends to continue, which we believe will translate into strong top and bottom line growth for the full year. We are planning for lower capital expenditures in 2014 and will continue to invest in R&D to improve our overall technical capabilities and sustainable core competencies. In addition, the percentage of operating expenses as a percentage of sales is expected to be lower in fiscal 2014."

Business Outlook

Based on our current expectations for global demand for the rechargeable and recycling battery markets in 2014 and our continued shift toward mobile power sources, higher-value energy storage systems and transportation products, we are issuing 2014 guidance of revenues to range between $150 million to $170 million and net income to range between $2.5 million to $4 million.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and SHENZHEN, CHINA--(Marketwired - Feb 25, 2014) - Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) and lithium rechargeable batteries, and a battery management solution and recycling provider, today announced that the company has received its first-ever order for large format lithium batteries to be used in electric buses from Huizhou Yipeng Energy Technology Ltd. ("Huizhou Yipeng"), a system integrator serving various large bus manufactures throughout China. This order marks Highpower's first large scale entrance into the EV segment.

Highpower will deliver to Huizhou Yipeng two formats of product including16 ampere hour and 20 ampere hour NCM [Li(NiCoMn)O2] lithium polymer batteries that have passed the quality test from China National Quality Center (CNQC) and Huizhou Yipeng. These batteries will be used in some of China's well-known brands of hybrid electric buses and plug-in hybrid electric buses. It is estimated that each hybrid electric bus will be using 96 of 16-ampere-hour battery while each plug-in hybrid electric bus will use 288 of 20-ampere-hour battery. Highpower expects sales to Huizhou Yipeng will range between $4 million and $5 million during fiscal year 2014.

Mr. George Pan, Chairman and CEO of Highpower International, commented, "This order represents a significant milestone for Highpower, as we now have expanded our target market from the traditional consumer electronics market into the rapidly growing electric vehicles segment. We are also pleased to have teamed up with a great customer in the EV market. The founder of Huizhou Yipeng, who worked for the Ministry of Transportation for many years, has not only accumulated deep knowledge and understanding of the national EV policy, but is also extremely resourceful in the EV industry. Many key members of Huizhou Yipeng's technical team, most notably in its battery management system (BMS), have years of prior R&D and business development experiences with global auto companies such as General Motor, Ford, Eaton Corp and ZF. By collaborating with Huizhou Yipeng, we expect to fast track our penetration into the EV market."

Mr. Pan continued, "In 2008 and 2010, we supplied a small test quantity of rechargeable lithium polymer batteries to be used on some electric buses for the Beijing Olympic Games and the Shanghai World Expo. Building on this experience, over the past few years we have strengthened our R&D efforts in battery technology and new material, accumulated extensive technical know-how, and improved production capabilities on rechargeable lithium batteries. In conjunction with the ramping up of our new lithium battery factory in Huizhou, we believe now is the appropriate time for us to evolve, penetrate and capitalize on the electric transportation space and meet tremendous demand for advanced lithium battery products from the fast-emerging EV market. The Chinese Government is highly committed to the EV market with the "Energy Saving and New Energy Car Industry Development Plan" aiming to increase annual production of pure EV and plug-in hybrid EVs to 500,000 by 2015 and over 5 million by 2020."

"We are confident that Highpower is on the right track to diversify our rechargeable battery businesses from not only consumer electronics but also to the electrical transportation and industrial energy storage markets, ultimately becoming a global leader in every aspect of rechargeable battery applications, including recycling, processing and reusing," concluded Mr. Pan.

Third Quarter 2013 Results

• Net sales for the third quarter ended September 30, 2013 totaled $38.9 million, a year-over-year increase of 21.9% compared with $31.9 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2012.
• Net income attributable to the company for the third quarter of 2013 was $742,228, or $0.05 per diluted share, based on 13.7 million weighted average shares outstanding. This compares with third quarter 2012 net income attributable to the company of $644,362 or $0.05 per diluted share, based on 13.6 million weighted average shares outstanding.

"We are extremely pleased with the record revenue levels we saw during the quarter for both our major battery business lines," said Mr. George Pan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Highpower International. "Furthermore, we were able to gain market share in Europe for Ni-MH batteries during the quarter. While our Ni-MH battery business is in a maturing industry, we believe we are very well positioned to continue to be in an advantageous position to capitalize on trends of consolidation in this space.

"Highpower's lithium battery business continues to deliver dramatic growth and we are very excited about the new automated facility in Huizhou. This new factory will be focused on producing lithium batteries for smart phones, tablets, energy storage and electrical vehicles, which we believe are areas with high growth potential in the coming years. The new facility will allow us to triple our existing lithium production capacity in the years to come and service some of the lithium business we are currently unable to address out of our existing lithium battery facilities. We have started small batch production and expect to see material volumes out of the new facility in the first quarter of 2014," concluded Mr. Pan.

"We are delighted with our current business trajectory. Despite our continued investments to grow our lithium capacity, we are on track to deliver solid revenue growth and remain profitable in 2013," said Mr. Henry Sun, Chief Financial Officer of Highpower International. "While we are unlikely to see much additional growth in the Ni-MH battery sector, we do think we can be a strong consolidation leader and deliver sound margins because of our industry reputation, product quality, and global customer base. Moreover, we believe our lithium battery business will continue to be our primary growth driver and allow for gross margin expansion over the next few years. At the same time, we remain focused on cost control measures and the prudent use of capital."

 Outlook

Based on our current expectations for global demand for the rechargeable battery market in 2013 and our continued shift toward mobile power sources, higher-value energy storage systems and transportation products, we are reaffirming our full-year 2013 revenue guidance to be 15% to 20% higher than our 2012 revenue levels. We also reaffirm our expectation that we will be profitable for the full year in 2013.

S-3 filed on November 7, 2013

We may offer to the public from time to time in one or more series or issuances at prices and on terms that we will determine at the time of each offering, shares of our common stock, shares of our preferred stock, warrants to purchase shares of our common stock, preferred stock and/or debt securities, debt securities consisting of debentures, notes or other evidences of indebtedness, units consisting of a combination of the foregoing securities, or any combination of these securities. The aggregate initial offering price of all securities sold by us pursuant to this prospectus will not exceed $50,000,000.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and SHENZHEN, CHINA--(Marketwired - Oct 28, 2013) - Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer, and marketer of nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) and lithium rechargeable batteries and battery solutions, today announced that it successfully delivered an advanced electric vehicle (EV) battery system to the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT).The EV battery was installed on an electric race car designed by HIT and was used for electrical car racing at Formula SAE China, which took place in Xiangyang, Hubei Province from October 15^th to October 19^th, 2013.

"The Formula SAE China is a perfect forum to showcase this significant milestone for Highpower as it allows us to display our capabilities to design and manufacture effective power battery systems for electric high speed racing cars. We plan to continue to pursue the growing EV market," said Mr. George Pan, CEO of Highpower International.

Mr. Wenliang Li, CTO of Highpower International, added, "Highpower's engineers selected 7.5Ah high-rate discharging cells which are made of ternary lithium manganese, to satisfy weight, size, power, and energy density required by the Harbin Institute of Technology. Our power battery system can achieve active energy balancing and has a real-time, remote management system to track the battery system's working status."

Second Quarter 2013 Financial Results

• Net sales for the second quarter ended June 30, 2013 totaled $31.2 million, a year-over-year increase of 6.1% compared with $29.4 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012
• Gross profit decreased to $5.7 million, as compared with $6.0 million for the second quarter of 2012. Gross profit margin was 18.4% for the second quarter of 2013, as compared with 20.5% for the second quarter of 2012.
• Net income attributable to the company for the second quarter of 2013 was $109,289, or $0.01 per diluted share, based on 13.6 million weighted average shares outstanding. This compares with second quarter 2012 net income attributable to the company of $503,714 or $0.04 per diluted share, based on 13.6 million weighted average shares outstanding.

Management Commentary
"Our lithium battery business continues to deliver excellent results. This was the strongest quarter ever for our lithium battery business," said Mr. George Pan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Highpower International. "Though our Ni-MH battery sales declined slightly for the quarter, we believe we are faring much better than some of our competitors. That said, our Ni-MH battery segment remains a sustainable business line with strong and valuable relationships.

"We are very excited about our new automated facility in Huizhou coming online later this year. It will help us address the increased demand for our lithium batteries, as we are currently operating at full capacity for this product line. With the addition of this automated facility, we believe that we are well positioned to attract larger customers and capitalize on the growing global demand for rechargeable batteries."

"We continue to make up-front investments that are required to prepare us for accelerated growth in our lithium battery business," said Mr. Henry Sun, Chief Financial Officer of Highpower International. "Our investments in manufacturing, research and development, sales, and marketing have all increased in anticipation of growth and have impacted our current profitability. However, we remain focused on continued profitability in the second half of 2013."

Outlook

Based on our current expectations for global demand for the rechargeable battery market in 2013 and our continued shift toward mobile power sources, higher-value energy storage systems and transportation products, we are reaffirming our full-year 2013 revenue guidance to be 15% to 20% higher than our 2012 revenue levels. We also reaffirm our expectation that we will be profitable for the full year in 2013.

First Quarter 2013 Financial Results

• Net sales for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013 totaled $24.4 million, a year-over-year increase of 18.4% compared with $20.6 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012
• Gross profit increased to $4.8 million, as compared with $3.7 million for the first quarter of 2012. Gross profit margin was 19.5% for the first quarter of 2013, as compared with 17.8% for the first quarter of 2012, or a 170 basis point increase. 
• Net loss for the first quarter of 2013 was $(608,880), or $(0.04) per diluted share, based on 13.6 million weighted average shares outstanding. This compares with first quarter 2012 net income of $3,185 or breakeven per diluted share, based on 13.6 million weighted average shares outstanding.

Management Commentary

"We were pleased to deliver solid year-over-year revenue growth in what is typically our slowest quarter due to the Chinese New Year," said Mr. George Pan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Highpower International. "Our lithium battery business continues to produce solid numbers and we believe we are making clear inroads on showcasing our higher capacity, cleaner energy batteries to many international customers. Overall, we feel confident in our outlook for the year as we continue to position Highpower as the premier global rechargeable battery leader."

"Although volume levels and pricing pressure reflected typical seasonal weakness during the first quarter, our gross margin improved as we benefitted from lower commodity prices and increased sales of higher capacity batteries in our lithium segment," said Mr. Henry Sun, Chief Financial Officer of Highpower International. "Additionally, some of our competitors are facing difficulty delivering quality products while trying to maintain competitive pricing, and we plan to seize the potential new customer opportunities in 2013. As we anticipated, the second half of the year should be pivotal as well as strong for Highpower and we remain upbeat in our outlook."

Outlook

Based on our current expectations for global demand for the rechargeable battery market in 2013 and our continued shift toward mobile power sources, higher-value energy storage systems and transportation products, we expect revenues to grow between 15% to 20% over 2012 revenue levels. We expect to remain profitable for the full year in 2013.

Second Quarter 2012 Highlights

• Grew net sales by 43% sequentially for the second quarter of 2012 to $29.4 million from $20.6 million in the first quarter 2012
• Achieved record-level sales in both major battery segments -- Lithium battery net sales up 56% over the second quarter of 2011 and 72% sequentially; Ni-MH battery net sales up 10% over the second quarter of 2011 and 32% sequentially
• Improved gross margins to 20.5% in the second quarter of 2012 from 16.0% in the second quarter 2012
• Returned to profitability; EPS attributable to Highpower International of $0.04 for second quarter of 2012
• Completed new facility; production to begin in August 2012

Management Commentary

"We are pleased with the strong performance we saw across our business in the second quarter, with exceptional growth in both our major battery segments and a return to profitability for the first time in a year," said Mr. George Pan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Highpower International. "Not only did our lithium business turn in its strongest results in the history of the company across all metrics, but we also had a nice recovery in our traditional Ni-MH business. We expect that our lithium business can grow rapidly for the foreseeable future with strong end-market demand for our cleaner lithium battery solutions. Moreover, we believe our Ni-MH business will continue to be a steady source of revenue and is well positioned to capitalize on consolidation trends emerging in the Ni-MH space. We are committed to building Highpower into a highly sustainable and profitable company and will achieve this by providing high-end, environmentally sound rechargeable batteries and future battery and e-waste recycling solutions."

"Lastly, we also achieved another major corporate milestone recently when we completed the long awaited build out of our factory in Huizhou, Guangdong Province. This new facility will allow us to more efficiently manufacture batteries for our customers while meeting the increasing demand for our products. Production will begin in August," concluded Mr. Pan.

Mr. Henry Sun, Chief Financial Officer of Highpower International, added, "The second quarter proved to be a positive turning point for Highpower despite weaker global macro concerns in both Europe and Asia. As expected, our Nickel-Metal Hydride battery business regained its growth momentum this quarter and we also benefited from lower commodity costs in comparison to the same period last year. Our Materials business continues the shift to a full-scale, more profitable battery and e-waste recycling model and we expect this business to begin to ramp up in 2013."

Outlook

Based on our current expectations for global demand for the rechargeable battery market in 2012 and our continued shift toward higher-end products, we expect revenues from our battery business to grow between 15% and 25% over 2011 revenue levels. The revenue growth in our Ni-MH and lithium businesses will be offset by the shift away from our traditional Materials business to a full scale materials recycling business that will ramp up in 2013. We expect to remain profitable for the remainder of fiscal 2012.

First Quarter 2012 Results

• Breakeven EPS for the first quarter of 2012 vs loss of $0.03 in prior year period
• Sustained growth in lithium battery segment -- lithium battery net sales up 40% in the first quarter of 2012 over the first quarter of 2011; total lithium battery pieces sold increased 30%; and a 42% increase in volume per ampere hour
• Reaffirms 2012 guidance of year-over-year revenue growth of 15% to 25%

Management Commentary

"Lithium batteries continued to be a bright spot for us in the first quarter, with volumes up over 40% from last year's first quarter based on strong demand for our products in a number of end markets, particularly in e-bikes and scooters, which will remain a focus for the rest of the year," said Mr. George Pan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Highpower International. "We are well positioned to meet this demand in these high growth markets and look forward to another year of solid growth in our lithium battery business."

Mr. Henry Sun, Chief Financial Officer of Highpower International, added, "We are pleased with the improvements we saw on the profitability front this quarter, ending the first quarter breakeven. Traditionally the first quarter has always been our slowest quarter due to the Chinese New Year. However, in addition to normal seasonality, one of our nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH) customers underwent an inventory readjustment during the first quarter, resulting in lower overall Ni-MH revenues. We also continued to shift our Materials business to a full-scale, more profitable e-waste and recycling model, which had a negative impact on our revenue."

"We are confident that our Ni-MH business will see a recovery in the second quarter. Moreover, our lithium business is well positioned to continue to show excellent growth and the investments we are making in our full-scale recycling program will be a strong contributor to our profitability in the future," concluded Mr. Sun.

SHENZHEN, CHINA and SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - May 10, 2012) - Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), leading provider of rechargeable batteries and battery solutions, today announced a new customer contract with one of the world's most respected manufacturer and marketer of outdoor apparel, footwear and equipment brands. Highpower's high capacity ultra-thin lithium polymer batteries will be used in an innovative new line of self-heating outerwear targeted to the outdoor enthusiast.

"We are excited to utilize our advanced lithium polymer battery technology in an internationally well-regarded branded sportswear company's innovative products," said Mr. George Pan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Highpower International. "At Highpower International, we pride ourselves on being an innovative company, and we believe this partnership is a testament to that commitment. While it may be unusual to see a battery company partner with a sportswear company, it is further evidence that there are an increasing number of end market applications for our cleaner battery solutions."

Fourth Quarter 2011 Results

• Net sales for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011 totaled $26.4 million, a year-over-year decrease of 5% compared with $27.7 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2010.
• Income from operations for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $96,000, as compared with income from operations of $1.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2010.
• Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $1.6 million, or ($0.12) per diluted share, based on 13.6 million weighted average shares outstanding. This compares with fourth quarter 2010 net income of $1.4 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, based on 13.6 million weighted average shares outstanding. Included in the fourth quarter 2011 results was a $1.5 million litigation settlement expense for a fire incident that occurred in 2006 and $39,000 of non-cash stock-based compensation.

"We continued to execute on our strategy to expand our business into new market segments," said Mr. George Pan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Highpower International. "Our lithium battery segment posted solid growth in 2011 as market demand shifted towards higher-performance and cleaner batteries. We also focused on strategic investments in R&D to further our position in this attractive market segment. However, our Ni-MH business faced a tough operating environment in 2011 due to weaker global demand, volatile commodity prices, and increased labor costs in China."

"In 2012, our emphasis will be on higher margin and growing business segments such as energy storage systems and transportation, including e-bikes and scooters for the Asian and European end-markets. In our Materials segment, we plan to shift to a more profitable, full-scale battery and electronic waste recycling business. Overall, we have made the right investments for our future growth and we should begin to see the positive results from these efforts in our sales and profitability in 2012," concluded Mr. Pan.

Mr. Henry Sun, Chief Financial Officer of Highpower International, added, "We believe we are well positioned to deliver improved results in 2012 because of our diversified geographic and end market mix. While we expect that our Ni-MH business will improve slightly from its lower levels in 2011, we expect to continue to see strong growth from our lithium business. Across all of our products, we will opportunistically look to raise prices where we can and we will continue our drive towards selling higher-value and therefore higher margin products."

Outlook

Based on our current expectations for global demand for the rechargeable battery market in 2012 and our continued shift toward higher-value energy storage systems and transportation products, we expect revenues to grow between 15% to 25% over 2011 revenue levels.

Third Quarter 2011 Results

• Net sales for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011 totaled $28.1 million, a year-over-year increase of 1% compared with $27.8 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2010.
• Loss from operations for the third quarter of 2011 was $839,000, as compared with income from operations of $1.7 million for the third quarter of 2010.
• Net loss for the third quarter of 2011 was $665,000, or ($0.05) per diluted share, based on 13.6 million weighted average shares outstanding. This compares with third quarter 2010 GAAP net income of $1.4 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, based on 13.7 million weighted average shares outstanding.

"Although our lithium battery segment has strengthened, we have faced a tough global macro operating environment this year, which has certainly impacted our Ni-MH segment growth and profitability. Despite the lower sales volume and increasing raw material and labor costs, we remain committed to our mission of creating a world-class, international clean battery company. To that end, we are expanding our global sales team to pursue growth opportunities in both our Ni-MH and lithium segments. These investments today in our business, staffing, and infrastructure, will position us for growth, profitability, and increased shareholder returns in 2012," concluded Mr. Pan.

Mr. Henry Sun, Chief Financial Officer of Highpower International, added, "Through the first nine months, we have faced headwinds from uncertain global demand, raw material price swings and pricing pressure. We continue to work with our major customers on price increases to reflect our existing cost structure, as well as our supply chain to secure longer-term contracts and we expect much of this margin pressure to be alleviated in the next few quarters. In addition, we have focused on reorganizing our management structure and have dedicated more attention on employee training to enhance efficiency."

Outlook

Based on our current expectations for global demand for the rechargeable battery market in 2011, the outlook for our key raw material input prices and our planned increased investment in sales and marketing and research and development, we are updating our financial guidance for 2011. We expect net sales to be between $110 million and $120 million. We expect net income to be approximately break-even on a GAAP basis, which includes non-cash stock-based compensation expenses.

NEW YORK, NY and SHENZHEN, CHINA--(Marketwire - Oct 6, 2011) - Highpower International, Inc. (NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) and lithium batteries and related products, today announced that it has engaged Marcum Bernstein & Pinchuk (MarcumBP) as the Company's new independent registered public accounting firm replacing Highpower International's previous independent auditor, Dominic K.F. Chan & Co.

The change in the independent registered public accounting firm is effective as of September 30, 2011. There were no disagreements between Highpower International and Dominic K.F. Chan & Co. on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedures.

"We believe MarcumBP has the strong local resources and auditing expertise required to ensure that our financial reports continue to be prepared with the highest level of accuracy and integrity, and they possess the scale required to accommodate our auditing needs as we continue to mature as a larger public company," said Mr. George Pan, Chairman & CEO of Highpower International. "At Highpower, we are committed to providing our shareholders with the highest level of transparency, financial reporting standards, and corporate governance."

Second Quarter 2011 Financial Results

• Net sales for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011 totaled $29.7 million, a year-over-year increase of 2.5% compared with $29.0 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010, and up sequentially 10% from $27.0 million in the first quarter of 2011. The increase in sales for the second quarter was primarily driven by increased demand for our Li-ion batteries.
• Net income for the second quarter of 2011 was $0.1 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, based on 13.8 million weighted average shares outstanding. This compares with second quarter 2010 net income of $1.6 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, based on 13.7 million weighted average shares outstanding. As previously mentioned, the 2011 second quarter's results were negatively impacted mainly by commodity prices and the timing of pricing increases to customers.

Outlook

Based on our current expectations for global demand for the rechargeable battery market in 2011, the outlook for our key raw material input prices and our planned increased investment in sales and marketing and research and development, we are updating our financial guidance for 2011. We expect net sales to be between $120 million and $125 million. We expect net income to be in the range of $2 million to $3 million.

Rodman and Renshaw on HPJ                                          6/27/2011

HPJ: Share Buyback Program Announced

$5.0 MM Stock Repurchase Program: HPJ announced a stock repurchase plan to buyback up to $5.0 MM of common shares from open market. The timing and exact amount will be dependant on market conditions. The repurchase program does not require the Company to acquire a specific number of shares, and the repurchase program may be limited or terminated at any time without prior notice.

Key Takeaways: In the current environment, we view this is as a pro-active effort by management to boost investors’ confidence and repurchase shares at depressed levels. On a YTD basis, HPJ shares has been down 48.0% amid the overall negative sentiment toward US listed Chinese companies, even though both top-line and bottom-line have been growing. We believe this program should provide support to HPJ stock depending on the manner in which it is executed.

Valuation: At current levels HPJ is trading at P/E multiples of ~7.9x and ~4.5x to our FY11 and FY12 EPS estimates. These multiples compare to industry averages of 12.1x and 9.5x for FY11 and FY12 consensus earnings. Our price target of $4.00 translates into a P/E multiple of 9.9x to our estimates for FY12. We maintain our Market Outperform rating.

Notice Regarding Privacy and Confidentiality:


This material has been prepared for informational purposes only. While it is based on information generally available to the public from sources we believe to be reliable, no representation is made that the subject information is accurate or complete. Past performance is not a guarantee nor does it necessarily serve as an indicator of future results. Price and availability are subject to change without notice. Additional information is available upon request.

Since Rodman & Renshaw, LLC is not a tax advisor, transactions requiring tax consideration should be reviewed carefully with your tax advisor. Similarly, Rodman & Renshaw, LLC is not a law firm and provides no legal opinions or legal advice.

Rodman & Renshaw, LLC may make a market in the securities being discussed.

Rodman & Renshaw, LLC and/or its officers or employees may have positions in any of the securities of this (these) issuer(s).

Member FINRA.
Member SIPC.

NEW YORK, NY and SHENZHEN, CHINA--(Marketwire - Jun 27, 2011) - Highpower International, Inc.(NASDAQ: HPJ), a developer, manufacturer and marketer of nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) and lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries and related products, today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the implementation of a share repurchase plan to repurchase up to $5.0 million outstanding shares of the Company's common stock in open market purchases, with block trades being permitted, from time to time in the discretion of the Company's management and as market conditions allow. The timing of purchases and the exact number of shares to be purchased will depend upon market conditions. The repurchase program does not require the Company to acquire a specific number of shares, and the repurchase program may be limited or terminated at any time without prior notice.

The Company intends to effect the share repurchases in compliance with the Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Stock repurchases may be made through a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. The acquired shares will be retired and cancelled upon repurchase.

The Board of Directors believes that a share repurchase program at this time is in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders, and will not impact the Company's ability to execute its growth plans.

George Pan, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented, "The Board's authorization of the share repurchase program reflects our confidence in our company's future and the fundamental strength of our business. We remain committed to maximizing long-term stockholder value and believe that the stock repurchase program is in the best interests of our stockholders and is a prudent use of our cash, especially given our current share price."

 

Rodman and Renshaw on HPJ                        5/13/2011

HPJ: Lowering Price Target On Margin Pressure

1Q11 Results: HPJ reported 1Q11 revenue and net loss of $27.0 MM and $(0.46 MM), with diluted EPS of $(0.03) based on diluted share count of 13.8 MM, compared to our expectations of $24.1 MM, $1.4 MM, and $0.10, respectively.

Lowering PT to $4.00: We are lowering our gross margin expectations for HPJ from 19%-20% levels to ~17.00% to account for higher raw material prices. This change results in our EPS expectations for 2011 to drop from $0.44 to $0.23. In line with this we are lowering our price target from $7.00 to $4.00. However we continue to maintain our Market Outperform rating as we believe the longer term outlook remains relatively positive with the company’s move into the lithium ion battery business. We will be looking for the company to follow through on re-negotiating customer contracts / pricing and improve on raw material inventory / purchase management. At current levels HPJ is trading at P/E multiples of ~11x and ~6.3x to our FY11 and FY12 EPS estimates. These multiples compare to industry averages of 13.1x and 10.1x for FY11 and FY12 consensus earnings. Our new price target of $4.00 translates into a P/E multiple of 9.9x to our estimates for FY12. We justify this by pointing investors to the company’s low PEG ratio of ~ 0.30 at these multiples.

Lithium-ion Momentum Strong: Revenue came in stronger than we expected, with Li-ion battery sales growing by 50.7% y-o-y, much faster than 9.5% for Ni-MH batteries. While HPJ remains a leader in Ni-MH space, with over 10% plus market share, we believe Li-ion should continue to be the major growth driver in the foreseeable future. On a going forward basis, management expects Li-ion battery sales to continue growing at a faster pace compared to Ni-MH.

Rising Commodity Price Continues To Weigh On Margins: Gross margin declined significantly from 21% a year ago to 14.8%, driven by rising nickel price and related rare earth materials. During the first quarter, the LME Nickel spot price had been volatile, rising by 16.6% from $25,110/ton on January 4 to $29,281/ton on February 21, and then declined to $26,075/ton on March 31, 2011. Management stated that it is renegotiating pricing with its major customers, in order to at least partially pass on the higher costs, and it expects to see the gross margin to improve steadily as the negotiation moves forward for the rest of 2011.

Updated Guidance: Management reiterated its full year revenue guidance at the range of $125 MM ~ $135 MM, while lowering the net income guidance to $3 MM ~ $4 MM from previously announced $6 MM ~ $7 MM.

Our Estimates: For 2Q11, we are now projecting revenue and net income of $35.4 MM and $1.14 MM, with diluted EPS of $0.08. For full year FY11, our estimates are $130.5 MM, $3.25 MM, and $0.23 per share, respectively. Additionally we are introducing the FY12 estimates of $150.6 MM for top-line, $5.9 MM for bottom-line, and $0.40 for diluted EPS, implying a 15.6% top-line growth and 82% bottom-line growth.


Notice Regarding Privacy and Confidentiality:


This material has been prepared for informational purposes only. While it is based on information generally available to the public from sources we believe to be reliable, no representation is made that the subject information is accurate or complete. Past performance is not a guarantee nor does it necessarily serve as an indicator of future results. Price and availability are subject to change without notice. Additional information is available upon request.

Since Rodman & Renshaw, LLC is not a tax advisor, transactions requiring tax consideration should be reviewed carefully with your tax advisor. Similarly, Rodman & Renshaw, LLC is not a law firm and provides no legal opinions or legal advice.

Rodman & Renshaw, LLC may make a market in the securities being discussed.

Rodman & Renshaw, LLC and/or its officers or employees may have positions in any of the securities of this (these) issuer(s).

Member FINRA.
Member SIPC.

First Quarter Results:

• Net sales for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 totaled $27.0 million, a year-over-year increase of 33.3% compared with $20.2 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010
• Net loss for the first quarter of 2011 was $0.5 million, or $(0.03) per diluted share, based on 13.8 million weighted average shares outstanding. This compares with first quarter 2010 net income of $1.6 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, based on 13.6 million weighted average shares outstanding.

GeoTeam® Note: First Quarter 2011 vs. 2010 Adjusted EPS was $0.02 vs. $0.12.

Based on our current expectations for global demand for the rechargeable battery market in 2011, the outlook for our key raw material input prices and our planned increased investment in sales and marketing and research and development, we are updating the following financial guidance for 2011. We are reaffirming that we expect net sales to be between $125 million and $135 million. However, due to volatile commodity prices, we are updating our guidance for net income, which we expect will now range between $3.0 million and $4.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2011.

"During the first quarter, our margins were negatively affected by substantial increases in raw material prices, including nickel and rare earth materials," said Mr. George Pan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Highpower International. "Despite these headwinds, we still experienced strong end market demand and significant growth for both our Ni-MH and Lithium-ion batteries. We grew Li-ion sales by 51% year-over-year and Ni-MH sales by almost 10%."

On April 25, 2011, Chao Li resigned as a member of the Board of Directors of Highpower International, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”) including his positions on the Company’s Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating Committee, effective April 30, 2011. Mr. Li’s resignation is for personal reasons and is not due to any disagreement with the Company.

Based upon our present plans, we believe that cash on hand, cash flow from operations and funds available under our bank facilities will be sufficient to fund our capital needs for the next 12 months.

Rodman and Renshaw on HPJ                                         3/28/2011

HPJ: 4Q10 Earnings Update

4Q10 Results: HPJ reported 4Q10 revenue and net income of $27.9 MM and $1.4 MM, with diluted EPS of $0.11 based on diluted share count of 13.7 MM, compared to our expectations of $24.3 MM, $1.5 MM, and $0.11, respectively. Top-line grew by 23.8% Y-o-Y and 0.38% sequentially. Gross profit was $6.3MM or 22.4% in margin, compared to $4.3 MM or 19.3% in margin in 4Q09 and $5.9 MM or 21.2% in margin in 3Q10. HPJ generated $1.7 MM in EBIT for the quarter, implying an EBIT margin of 6.0%, in line with 6.2% in the last quarter but higher than 4.33% in 4Q09. Net income was $1.4 MM, or 5.2% in net margin, an increase of 233 bps 4Q09’s 2.84%. HPJ ended the quarter with $8.5 MM in cash and $10.15 MM in working capital, accounts receivable and inventory stood at $20.9 MM and $13.5 MM, respectively.

Volume Growth Strong: HPJ reported 18% y-o-y growth in total volume for FY10, of which Li-ion battery products grew by 89% and Ni-MH products grew by 18% from FY09. ASPs for Li-ion and Ni-MH were up by 17% and 2% for the year, leading to revenue growth of 49%. New Materials increased from $1.0 MM in FY09 to $12.6 MM in FY10.

Margins: 4Q margin came in strong at 22.4%, higher than 19.3% in 4Q09 and 21.2% in 3Q10. The improved 4Q margin was primarily driven by a faster increase in ASP than COGS. ASP in 4Q10 increased by 15% y-o-y while COGS per unit was up by 9%. Full year gross margin of 20.8% was slightly lower than 21.4% in FY09, due to higher cost incurred in Li-ion battery capacity ramp-up and a greater contribution from the lower-margin New Materials business.

Liquidity: The company ended the year with cash balance of $8.5 MM. Operating cash flow generated in FY10 was $2.8 MM, compared to $3.3 MM in FY09. HPJ currently had bank borrowing of $22.5 MM, with $38.7 MM available as unused credit facility.

FY11 Guidance: HPJ is guiding for revenue and net income of $125 MM~$135 MM and $6.0 MM~$7.0 MM. The company also expects a higher cost of raw materials and human capital as the company continues to expand its international sales and marketing team.

Revising Estimates: For 1Q11, we are now expecting revenue and net income of $24.1 MM and $1.4 MM, with diluted EPS of $0.10. For full year FY11, our projections are in line with guidance at $127.6 MM, $6.2 MM, and $0.44, respectively. Our gross margin and EBIT margin are projected to be ~19.1% and ~6.1%.

Valuation: At current levels HPJ is trading at P/E multiples of ~7.8x to our FY11EPS estimates. These multiple is well below current industry averages of 8.8x for FY11 consensus earnings. Our $7.00 price target translates into a P/E multiple of 16x to our estimates for 2011. We justify this by pointing investors to the company’s low PEG ratio of ~0.30 at these multiples.

Notice Regarding Privacy and Confidentiality:

This material has been prepared for informational purposes only. While it is based on information generally available to the public from sources we believe to be reliable, no representation is made that the subject information is accurate or complete. Past performance is not a guarantee nor does it necessarily serve as an indicator of future results. Price and availability are subject to change without notice. Additional information is available upon request.

Since Rodman & Renshaw, LLC is not a tax advisor, transactions requiring tax consideration should be reviewed carefully with your tax advisor. Similarly, Rodman & Renshaw, LLC is not a law firm and provides no legal opinions or legal advice.

Rodman & Renshaw, LLC may make a market in the securities being discussed.

Rodman & Renshaw, LLC and/or its officers or employees may have positions in any of the securities of this (these) issuer(s).

Member FINRA.
Member SIPC.

 

For the fourth quarter of 2010, the Company expects

• revenue to be in the range of $27.5 to $28.0 million
• net income to be in the range of $1.3 to $1.5 million.

At the midpoint of the range, this represents a 23% increase in revenue and a 119% increase in net income as compared to the fourth quarter of 2009.

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, the Company expects

• revenue to be in the range of $104.5 to $105.0 million
• net income to be in the range of $5.9 to $6.1 million.

 At the midpoint of the range, this represents a 49% increase in revenue and a 35% increase in net income as compared to the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009.

"We are proud of the strong results that we achieved in the fourth quarter and fiscal year of 2010," said Mr. George Pan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Highpower International. "We are benefiting from increasing global demand for rechargeable batteries and our success in selling our batteries into an increasing number of next generation consumer electronics products. We remain focused on expanding our sales and marketing efforts worldwide and advancing our position as a leading provider of clean energy solutions for consumer products and alternative energy applications."

On January 3, 2010, Highpower International, Inc. appointed Henry Sun as its Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary. Mr. Sun replaces Henry Ngan, who resigned on January 3, 2010.

Rodman & Renshaw on HPJ                               01/03/2011

HPJ: New CFO Appointed 

Appointment: HPJ announced that it has appointed Henry Sun to replace Henry Ngan as the company’s new CFO. Before joining HPJ, Henry Sun served as CFO at Zoomlion Concrete Machinery Company (a subsidiary of Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Development Co., Ltd, 000157-SHG, Not Rated), where he was in charge of accounting and finance, strategic planning, corporate finance, as well as investor relations. Prior to that, he was the Finance Director at Yasheng Group (YHGG, Not Rated) and was responsible for corporate finance and investor relations. Sun graduated from School of Global Management at Thunderbid.

Key Takeaways: We believe this was a mutually agreed upon separation between Henry Ngan and HPJ driven by contract expiry.

Valuation: At current levels HPJ is trading at P/E multiples of ~7.4x and ~5.4x to our FY10 and FY11estimates. These multiples are below current industry averages of 11.2x and 10.9x for FY10 and FY11 consensus earnings. Our $7.00 price target translates into a P/E multiple of 11.4x to our estimates for 2011. We justify this by pointing investors to the company’s low PEG ratio of ~0.30 at these multiples.

Notice Regarding Privacy and Confidentiality:

This material has been prepared for informational purposes only. While it is based on information generally available to the public from sources we believe to be reliable, no representation is made that the subject information is accurate or complete. Past performance is not a guarantee nor does it necessarily serve as an indicator of future results. Price and availability are subject to change without notice. Additional information is available upon request.

Since Rodman & Renshaw, LLC is not a tax advisor, transactions requiring tax consideration should be reviewed carefully with your tax advisor. Similarly, Rodman & Renshaw, LLC is not a law firm and provides no legal opinions or legal advice.

Rodman & Renshaw, LLC may make a market in the securities being discussed.

Rodman & Renshaw, LLC and/or its officers or employees may have positions in any of the securities of this (these) issuer(s).

Member FINRA.
Member SIPC.

Rodman & Renshaw on HPJ

Overview: HPJ reported 3Q10 revenue and net income of $27.8 MM and $1.4 MM, with diluted EPS of $0.10 based on diluted share count of 13.73 MM, compared to our expectations of $24.2 MM, $1.5 MM, and $0.11, respectively. Top-line grew by 31.9% Y-o-Y but declined 4.15% sequentially. Gross profit was $5.9 MM or 21.2% in margin, compared to $5.2 MM or 24.8% in margin in 3Q09 and $5.4 MM or 18.6% in margin in 2Q10. HPJ generated $1.7 MM in EBIT, implying an EBIT margin of 6.2%, lower than 8.8% and 6.6% in 3Q09 and 2Q10. Net income was $1.4 MM, down from $2.4 MM in 3Q09. Diluted EPS was $0.10 based on 13.73 MM of diluted shares, compared to $0.18 in 3Q09 and $0.12 in 2Q10. HPJ ended the quarter with $5.4 MM in cash and $8.7 MM in working capital, accounts receivable and inventory stood at $19.5 MM and $14.8 MM, respectively.

Healthy Top-Line Growth: Revenue for the quarter was $27.8 MM, a Y-o-Y increase of 31.9% from $21.1 MM in 3Q09. This was primarily driven by an improvement in ASP of battery products and the revenue contribution from New Material business, which generated approximately $2.7 MM, or 10% of total sales. Management expects 4Q10 to be an inflection point for its Lithium-ion battery products, which should grow decently into 2011. During 3Q10 HPJ produced a total of 1.2 MM units of Lithium-ion battery products.

Margin Volatility: Gross margin was 21.2% for the quarter, compared to 24.8% in 3Q09 and 18.6% in 2Q10. The volatility was mainly driven by the price movement in raw materials including Nickel and Lithium. For the near-term, management anticipates a similar level of raw material cost to the past few quarters, and expects gross margin to be maintained at the current level.

Growth Drivers For FY11: Going into 2011, the company expects the growth to be driven by (1) increase in shipment volume for Ni-MH products (2) stronger momentum in Lithium-ion products. (3) New Material business; should continue to grow and generating profits, also potentially enable HPJ to secure lower cost / high quality raw materials. HPJ should be able to fulfill additional demand by adding capacity at its existing facility located in Shenzhen. Construction of its facility in Huizhou is expected to be completed in 2011 and begin production in 4Q11.

4Q10 & FY11 Estimates: For 4Q10 we are maintaining our estimates for revenue and net income at $24.2 MM and $1.5 MM, with fully diluted EPS of $0.11. This implies a full year revenue, net income, and EPS of $101.3 MM, $6.1 MM, and $0.44, respectively. For FY11, our estimates are now $116.6 MM, $8.7 MM, and $0.61.

Valuation: At current levels HPJ is trading at P/E multiples of ~8.8x and ~6.4x to our FY10 and FY11 estimates. These multiples are below current industry averages of 11.2x and 10.3x for FY10 and FY11 consensus earnings. Our $7.00 price target translates into a P/E multiple of 11.4x to our estimates for 2011.


Notice Regarding Privacy and Confidentiality:

This material has been prepared for informational purposes only. While it is based on information generally available to the public from sources we believe to be reliable, no representation is made that the subject information is accurate or complete. Past performance is not a guarantee nor does it necessarily serve as an indicator of future results. Price and availability are subject to change without notice. Additional information is available upon request.

Since Rodman & Renshaw, LLC is not a tax advisor, transactions requiring tax consideration should be reviewed carefully with your tax advisor. Similarly, Rodman & Renshaw, LLC is not a law firm and provides no legal opinions or legal advice.

Rodman & Renshaw, LLC may make a market in the securities being discussed.

Rodman & Renshaw, LLC and/or its officers or employees may have positions in any of the securities of this (these) issuer(s).

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Based upon our present plans, we believe that cash on hand, cash flow from operations and funds available under our bank facilities will be sufficient to fund our capital needs for the next 12 months

Third Quarter 2010 Financial Results

• Net sales for the third quarter ended September 30, 2010 totaled $27.8 million, a year-over-year increase of 32% compared with $21.1 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009.

• Third quarter 2010 gross profit increased 13% to $5.9 million, compared with $5.2 million for the third quarter 2009. Gross margin was 21.1% for the third quarter 2010, compared with 24.8% for the third quarter 2009.

• Net income for the third quarter of 2010 was $1.4 million or $0.11 per diluted share, based on 13.6 million weighted average shares outstanding. This compares with a particularly strong third quarter 2009 net income of $2.4 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, based on 13.6 million weighted average shares outstanding.

"The third quarter proved to be another strong quarter of year-over-year revenue growth," said Mr. George Pan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Highpower International. "We also accomplished an important corporate branding milestone this quarter by changing our name to Highpower International. Our new name helps position us for further worldwide growth in the years ahead. Highpower International better reflects our global initiatives to continue to expand our sales and marketing efforts worldwide and advance our position as a leading, profitable, eco-friendly focused solution provider of green energy."

Mr. Henry Ngan, Chief Financial Officer of Highpower International, added, "We are pleased with the continued revenue strength we saw in the third quarter. We remain optimistic that these revenue trends will continue throughout the end of the year. Despite our net income being down year-over-year in the third quarter, will still anticipate that our overall profitability in FY 2010 will exceed the record profitability levels we saw in 2009, which remains consistent with our commentary from earlier this year."

Financial and Business Highlights:

• Recorded $28.9 million in net sales for second quarter 2010, a 88% increase year-over-year, and 43% increase sequentially;
• Achieved gross profit of $5.4 million for second quarter 2010, compared to $3.1 million in second quarter 2009;
• Earned net income of $0.12 per diluted share for second quarter 2010, a 71% increase over the second quarter of 2009;
• Debt-to-capital ratio remained healthy consistent with prior quarter;
• Formed Springpower International, a research & development unit for advanced high performance battery materials and clean energy materials.

"Our business trends in the second quarter clearly indicate that the overall level of demand for our battery products remains healthy," said Mr. George Pan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Highpower Technology. "Our ability to deliver strong second quarter results in the face of a slow and gradual macro economic recovery signifies that we are taking the right steps and executing well on our strategy to be a leading, profitable, eco-friendly focused, world battery player."

Mr. Henry Ngan, Chief Financial Officer of Hong Kong Highpower Technology, added, "We produced another solid quarter of results. We are now six months through FY 2010, and our sales and profitability are tracking well ahead of 2009 levels. Therefore, we remain optimistic that we can achieve greater levels of sales and profitability in FY 2010 in comparison to last year's full year results."

Hong Kong Highpower Tech (NYSE AMEX:HPJ), GeoSpecial

As suggested in our “Hidden Clues Yield Opportunities” article on November 2, 2009, HPJ came through and crushed third quarter analyst EPS estimates.

Article excerpt:

Although one of our prime concerns is the estimated decline in revenues, a clue pointing towards opportunity lies in Highpower's September 21, 2009 press release. The Company mentioned that revenues for the first two months of its 2009 third quarter were up 8% to $13.3 million. The GeoTeam® is speculating that HPJ will exceed estimates due to this information.

The following table illustrates these thoughts:

Year Ends December	3rd Quarter 2009	3rd Quarter 2008	Period Change	Analyst Estimate
GAAP Revenue	$21.1million	$20.5 million	2.8%	$18.5
GAAP EPS	$0.18	$0.02	800.0%	$0.09

We are recoding HPJ to a GeoBargain from a GeoSpecial. Please note that we would prefer a higher current ratio, which currently stands at around 1.2 to 1.

See HPJ news release

Hidden Clues Yield Opportunities

The GeoTeam® continually scours press releases and SEC filings to uncover clues on which companies will outperform expectations. Two companies that may fit this bill are Amcon Distributing (NYSE AMEX:DIT) and Hong Kong Highpower Technology (NYSE AMEX:HPJ)

The first company is Amcon Distributing, a leading wholesale distributor of consumer products including beverages, candy, tobacco, groceries, food service, frozen and chilled foods, and health and beauty care products. The Company also operates health and natural product retail stores.

Amcon has posted nine straight quarters of solid quarterly EPS gains, a large reason why we have owned the Company's stock for a some time. Annual EPS has grown from $1.33 in 2006 to $6.56 in 2008. For the 2009 nine month period, EPS has grown 67% to $7.47. Revenue gains have not been as strong, which may be part of the reason why the stock sells at a modest trailing P/E of 6.6.

Can this EPS trend continue? We haven’t had success scheduling an interview with management so we need to search for clues that will guide us.

1. Insider buying- Management has been buying stock rather routinely over the past year, even as the stock attains new 52-week highs. We view this as a strong signal from management about near term growth prospects.

2. Today, the company announced that it will acquire a wholesale distribution firm boasting $60 million in revenues and over 300 customers. We don’t have any details on the growth trend or margins of the firm to be acquired. Using Amcon's current margins, $60 million in revenues would equate to additional $0.74 EPS. Also, keep in mind that the Company can now push its own products through this new customer base.

3. On October 29, 2009, Amcon announced that it increased its quarterly dividend by 80%.

4. Amcon recently paid down $8.6 million in debt.

5. The third and fourth quarters are Amcon's strongest periods.

6. The Company has just seven retail operations, leaving room for expansion.

Of course, these are only clues and we need to be aware of certain risks:

• At $60.00 DIT has performed extraordinarily with a 52-week low of $13.43.
• DIT has a tiny float of about 400 thousand shares.
• Not being able to interview the Company also adds an element of risk.
• Amcon is a $1 billion company which could make top line growth challenging.
• The wholesale distribution business is in a mature, highly competitive industry
• While Amcon does have some recession resistant product categories such as food and tobacco, its customers are highly susceptible to a weak economy.
• Although Amcon has reduced its long-term debt, it still stands at $5.2 million on the books, with a debt to equity ratio over 20% (higher than we prefer). This combined with razor thin margins will likely place a cap on P/E expansion.

The Second company Hong Kong Highpower Technology Inc (HPJ), a manufacturer of rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) and Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries.

The GeoTeam® is pondering the Company's ability to meet or exceed analyst 2009 third quarter estimates.

	3rd Quarter 2009 Estimate	3rd Quarter 2008 Reported	Period Change
Revenue	$18.56 million	$20.47million	-9.3%
EPS	$0.09	$0.02	350.0%

Although one of our prime concerns is the estimated decline in revenues, a clue pointing towards opportunity lies in Highpower's September 21, 2009 press release. The Company mentioned that revenues for the first two months of its 2009 third quarter were up 8% to $13.3 million. The GeoTeam® is speculating that HPJ will exceed estimates due to this information.

The stock has recently  fallen hard along with most of U.S listed China stocks. Astute investors may see this as buying opportunity, especially as analysts expect Highpower's 2010 EPS to grow over 40% to $0.40 equating to a PEG ratio of 0.49.

Note: We have not interviewed HPJ management.

Hong Kong Highpower (NYSE Amex:HPJ) reported strong 2009 second quarter bottom line results this morning.  At first glance this appears to be the company's first positive growth quarter in over a year.  On the flip side the sales growth is still negative.  The GeoTeam® is taking a closer look at Hong Kong Highpower for possible inclusion as a GeoSpecial, pending further due diligence on three issues:

• Has the company reached an inflection point that will lead to sustained earnings per share growth?
• How close is the company to sustainable revenue growth.
• Clarification on some items in the company's cash flow statement.

For those interested in technicals, the stock price has been on a steady decline for several months. 

We are initially encouraged by the following verbiage in its 2009 2nd quarter financial press release.

"We believe the worst effects from the global financial crisis on our business are now behind us," Mr. Pan said. "Sales are up 36.6% over our first quarter 2009, and we are seeing encouraging signs heading into the third quarter with positive July sales trends. In addition, the cost control measures that we have implemented over the past six months will enable us to gain efficiency and emerge an even stronger company over time."

More details will be provided if warranted.

2nd Quarter 2009 vs. 2008 Financial Snapshot Ended June 2009

	2nd Quarter 2009	2nd Quarter 2008	Period Change
GAAP Revenue	$15.4 million	$19.0 million	-18.9%
GAAP EPS	$0.07	$0.05	40.0%
Tax Rate	19.1%	8.6%	122.1%
Fully Tax-Adjusted EPS a	$0.06	$0.04	50.0%
Fully Diluted Shares	13,812,547	12,906,483	7.0%
Price	$1.68	n/a	n/a
Tax Adjusted  trailing EPS	$0.12	n/a	n/a
Tax Adjusted P/E	14.00	n/a	n/a

Source: See Release, August 10, 2009 

^a Hong Kong Highpower is not paying a full U.S. tax rate.  Therefore, all EPS numbers have been adjusted by the GeoTeam® to reflect a U.S. tax rate of 36%.