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EX-32.1 - China Ritar Power Corp.v179573_ex32-1.htm
EX-31.2 - China Ritar Power Corp.v179573_ex31-2.htm
EX-31.1 - China Ritar Power Corp.v179573_ex31-1.htm
EX-32.1 - China Ritar Power Corp.v179573_ex32-2.htm

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

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

For the fiscal year ended: December 31, 2009

OR

¨
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 or 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from __________ to ____________

Commission File Number: 000-51908

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Nevada
87-0422564
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)
 
Room 405, Tower C, Huahan Building,
16 Langshan Road, North High-Tech Industrial Park, Nanshan District,
Shenzhen, China, 518057
(Address of principal executive office and zip code)
 
(86) 755-83475380
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
 
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None.
 
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: Common Stock, par value $0.001

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ¨      No x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ¨      No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x      No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ¨      Nox

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer ¨
Accelerated filer ¨
Non-accelerated filer  ¨
Smaller reporting
company x

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

As of June 30, 2009, the aggregate market value of the shares of the Registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates (based upon the closing price of such shares as reported on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board) was approximately $12,664,263 million. Shares of the Registrant’s common stock held by each executive officer and director and by each person who owns 10 percent or more of the outstanding common stock have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates of the Registrant. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

As of March 24, 2010 there were 21,858,925 shares of the Registrant’s common stock outstanding.
 
 
 

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP.

FORM 10-K
For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2008

     
Page
 
PART I
   
       
Item 1.
Business
    1
         
Item 1A.
Risk Factors
    8
         
Item 2.
Properties
    15
         
Item 3.
Legal Proceedings
    15
         
Item 4.
Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
    16
         
 
PART II
     
         
Item 5.
Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
    16
         
Item 6.
Selected Financial Data
    16
         
Item 7.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
    16
         
Item 8.
Financial Statements and Supplementary Financial Data
    26
         
Item 9.
Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
    26
         
Item 9A(T)
Controls and Procedures
    26
         
Item 9B.
Other Information.
    27
         
 
PART III
     
         
Item 10.
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
    28
         
Item 11.
Executive Compensation
    30
         
Item 12.
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
    31
         
Item 13.
Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions, and director independence
    33
         
Item 14.
Principal Accountant Fees and Services
    34
         
 
PART IV
     
         
Item 15.
Exhibits, Financial Statements Schedules
    34
 
 
 

 

Use of Term

Except as otherwise indicated by the context, all references in this annual report to (i) “Ritar,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our” are to China Ritar Power Corp., a Nevada corporation, and its direct and indirect subsidiaries; (ii) “Ritar BVI” are to our subsidiary Ritar International Group Limited, a British Virgin Islands corporation, and/or its operating subsidiaries, as the case may be; (iii) “Shenzhen Ritar” are to our subsidiary Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd., a corporation incorporated in the People’s Republic of China; (iv) “Shanghai Ritar” are to our subsidiary Shanghai Ritar Power Co., Ltd., a corporation incorporated in the People’s Republic of China; (v)“Securities Act” are to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended; (vi) “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; (vii) “RMB” are to Renminbi, the legal currency of China; (viii) “U.S. dollar,” “$” and “US$” are to the legal currency of the United States; (ix) “China” and “PRC” are to the People’s Republic of China; (x) “BVI” are to the British Virgin Islands; and (xi) “SEC” are to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this annual report include forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual financial or operating results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements not to occur or be realized. Forward-looking statements made in this Report generally are based on our best estimates of future results, performances or achievements, predicated upon current conditions and the most recent results of the companies involved and their respective industries. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “project,” “expect,” “believe,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “continue,” “potential,” “opportunity” or similar terms, variations of those terms or the negative of those terms or other variations of those terms or comparable words or expressions. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among other things, such factors as:

 
·
our heavy reliance on limited number of consumers;
 
·
strong competition in our industry;
 
·
increases in our raw material costs; and
 
·
an inability to fund our capital requirements.

Additional disclosures regarding factors that could cause our results and performance to differ from results or performance anticipated by this annual report are discussed in Item 1A. “Risk Factors.” Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by us in this annual report and our other filings with the SEC. These reports attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and prospects. The forward-looking statements made in this annual report speak only as of the date hereof and we disclaim any obligation to provide updates, revisions or amendments to any forward-looking statements to reflect changes in our expectations or future events.
 
 
 

 

PART I

ITEM 1.
BUSINESS

Overview

We are one of the leading manufacturers of lead-acid batteries in China. Through our Chinese subsidiaries, we design, develop, manufacture and sell environmentally friendly lead-acid batteries with a wide range of applications and capacities, including telecommunications, uninterrupted powers source devices, light electric vehicles and alternative energy production (solar and wind power). We conduct all of our operations in China. Our access to China’s supply of low-cost skilled labor, raw materials, machinery and facilities enables us to price our products competitively in an increasingly price-sensitive market. We market, sell and service our 6 series and 197 models of “Ritar” branded, cadmium-free, valve-regulated lead-acid, or VRLA, batteries in China and internationally.

Our client base mainly includes alternative energy production manufacturers such as Suntech, and Servico e Desenvolvimento S.A, Angola, international uninterruptible power source, or UPS, manufacturers, including Delta Electronics (Jiangsu) Ltd. and SSB Battery Service GmbH, and telecommunications operators such as Bharti Infratel Limited, India, Smart communications Inc ., Philippines , China Telecom Corporation Limited, China Mobile Communication Corporation, China Network Communications Group Corporation, Siemens AG, and Lucent Technologies. A majority of our products are sold outside of China, with overseas sales accounting for 66.19% of our total revenue in fiscal year 2009. Our major export markets are India, Italy, Germany, the United States, Australia and Brazil.

Through our manufacturing facilities located in Shenzhen and Hengyang, we currently have 19 lead acid battery production lines that are operational. Eight of them are located at Hengyang Ritar, eleven production lines are located at Shenzhen Ritar. Our current annual designed production capacity of lead acid battery is approximately 2.51 million kilowatt-hours. We have completed construction of the first phase of our new technical and manufacturing complex in Hengyang City, Hunan Province and Lead acid battery production at this facility began in April 2008. In addition, in July of 2008, production of lead plates began at the Hengyang facility. We sold all of our ownership interest in Shanghai Ritar on October 15, 2009 and no longer maintain any manufacturing facility in Shanghai.

History and Corporate Structure

We were originally organized under the laws of the State of Utah on May 21, 1985 under the name Concept Capital Corporation. On July 7, 2006, in order to change the domicile of Concept Capital Corporation from Utah to Nevada, Concept Capital Corporation merged with and into Concept Ventures Corporation, a Nevada corporation. From our inception in 1985 until February 16, 2007 when we completed a reverse acquisition transaction with Ritar International Group Limited, a BVI company, whose subsidiary companies originally commenced business in May 2002, we were a blank check company and did not engage in active business operations other than our search for, and evaluation of, potential business opportunities for acquisition or participation.

On February 16, 2007, we acquired Ritar BVI through a share exchange transaction pursuant to which the stockholders of Ritar BVI transferred all capital stock of Ritar BVI to us in exchange for a majority ownership of our Company. Our acquisition of Ritar BVI is accounted for as a recapitalization effected by a share exchange, wherein Ritar BVI is considered the acquirer for accounting and financial reporting purposes. The assets and liabilities of the acquired entity have been brought forward at their book value and no goodwill has been recognized.
 
 
1

 

The following chart reflects our organization structure as of the date of this annual report.


Business Strategy

Our goal is to build on our existing strengths to become a global leader in the development and manufacturing of lead-acid batteries. We are committed to providing high quality products, responsive service and competitive prices in the niche market of lead-acid batteries. We intend to profitably grow our business by pursuing the following strategies:

 
·
Increase production capacity. The construction of the first phase of our new technical and manufacturing complex at our wholly-owned subsidiary Hengyang Ritar Power Co., Ltd., or Hengyang Ritar, has been completed and our lead acid battery production began in April of 2008. The new production lines increased our production capacity for lead acid batteries by about 100% by the end of 2008. In addition, in July of 2008, the production of lead plates commenced at Hengyang Ritar.

 
·
Improve production cost-efficiency through vertical integration. Hengyang Ritar is strategically located near lead mining reserves in Shuikou Shan, Hunan, which will allow us to more readily secure a long-term supply of lead for our batteries. In July of 2008, Hengyang Ritar commenced production of lead plates, which comprises approximately 70.2% of the total cost of lead acid batteries. We expect that vertically integrating the production of lead plates will provide an approximate 3%-5% improvement in gross margins for the Company in the long-term.

 
·
Targeting niche applications. We target niche applications within the lead acid battery market, avoiding the highly competitive automotive market. Our batteries are primarily used in UPS, telecommunications, alternative energy (solar and wind power), and LEV applications. We expect that in these markets, where our gel compound/photovoltaic batteries have demonstrated competitive advantages, our revenues will grow at faster rates than the overall economy for the next few years.

 
·
Strengthen our research and development efforts. We intend to continue to strengthen our research and development capacities in order to provide high-quality products and a wide spectrum of value-added services and further build up our brand in both Chinese and the international market. In particular, our research and development efforts will focus on the following:

 
-
Developing our Nano Battery, which has a higher storage capacity, longer life cycle and higher discharge rate than our other lead acid battery products with the same storage capacity, yet will be smaller and lighter. We expect to be the first company in China for commercial production of this product.

 
2

 

 
-
Developing United Liquid Alloy Batteries, which have longer life cycle and weigh less than half of our other lead acid batteries with the same storage capacity.

Our Products

We market, sell and service our six series and 197 models of “Ritar” branded valve regulated lead-acid batteries in China and Internationally.

Our battery series, applicable voltage, capacity and applications are as follows:

Series Name
 
Voltage
 
Capacity (Ampere-
hour or AH)
 
Application
RT Series
 
2V
 
Less than or equal to
 
UPS
   
4V
 
28AH
 
Emergency lights
   
6V
     
Automatic control systems
   
8V
     
Medical equipment
   
10V
     
Electric toys and tools
   
12V
       
   
18V
       
   
24V
       
   
36V
       
RA Series
 
6V
 
28AH – 240AH
 
UPS
   
12V
     
Telecommunications and power systems
           
Automatic control systems
           
Solar and wind powered systems
           
Medical equipment
RL Series
 
2V
 
200AH
 
Emergency power system, or EPS
           
Telecommunications and power systems
           
Automatic control systems
           
Solar and wind powered systems
Gel Series
 
2V
     
UPS
           
Telecommunications and power systems
           
Automatic control systems
           
Solar and wind powered systems
LEV Series
 
12V
 
14AH
 
Electric bicycles
       
22AH
 
Electric motorcycles
       
24AH (20 hours)
 
Electric three wheelers
           
Golf carts
           
Electric scooters
FT Series
 
12V
 
55AH – 180AH
 
UPS
           
EPS
           
Telecommunications and power systems
           
Automatic control systems
           
Solar and wind powered systems

Sales of our products can be categorized among the different applications for our products. These applications consist of:

 
·
UPS – a device which maintains a continuous supply of electric power to connected equipment by supplying power from a separate source when utility power is not available. While not limited to any particular type of equipment, a UPS is typically used to protect computers, telecommunication equipment or other computer-controlled electrical equipment where an unexpected power disruption could cause injuries, fatalities, serious business disruption or data loss

 
·
LEV – basically electric bicycles, electric motorcycles, electric scooters, electric three wheelers, and electric golf carts

 
·
Telecommunications – such as wireless, wire line and internet access systems, central and local switching systems, satellite stations and radio transmission stations

 
·
Power – used in electric utilities and energy pipelines
 
 
3

 

 
·
EPS and alarm systems

 
·
Others (electric toys, solar power and wind power)

Manufacturing

Our manufacturing facilities are located in Shenzhen and Hengyang in the PRC. We currently have 19 lead acid battery production lines that are operational. Eleven production lines are located at Shenzhen Ritar, eight production lines are located at Hengyang Ritar. Our current annual designed production capacity of lead acid battery is approximately 2.51 million kilowatt-hours. We have completed construction of the first phase of our new technical and manufacturing complex in Hengyang City, Hunan Province and Lead acid battery production at this facility began in April 2008. In addition, in July of 2008, production of lead plates began at the Hengyang facility. We sold all of our ownership interest in Shanghai Ritar on October 15, 2009 and no longer maintain any manufacturing facility in Shanghai.

Raw Materials

We have developed a complete supply chain utilizing a group of primarily Chinese material and equipment suppliers.

The major components of lead-acid batteries are the positive and negative lead plates, which account for approximately 78% of the total cost of raw materials, and the battery case, including the battery container, cover and top lid, accounting for over 12% of the total cost of raw materials. The remaining portion of our raw materials cost is comprised of the separators, electrolytes, active substances and other miscellaneous raw materials used in the production of our products. The prices of these raw materials are determined according to prevailing market conditions, supply and demand.

Our sourcing system and good business relationships with leading raw materials manufacturers, particularly manufacturers of positive and negative lead plates (an important factor for lead-acid battery manufacturers), ensures quality, stability and availability of the raw materials used to produce our products. We have maintained stable and good relationships with all of these suppliers since the commencement of our business in 2002.

Lead is the most important raw material used in the production of our products. The cost of lead accounts for approximately 80.5% of the total cost of positive and negative lead plates, and approximately 62.8% of the total cost of raw materials.

We take the following measures to mitigate the adverse effects of fluctuations in the cost of lead:

 
·
We enter into fixed-term (generally one year) and fixed-priced agreements with plate suppliers.

 
·
Since 2004, we have provided in our agreements with our clients that the price of our products will rise 0.6% every time the price of lead increases by 1%. Because lead is traded on the world’s commodity markets and its price fluctuates daily, our lead price is based on the average price in Shanghai Nonferrous Metals (the net web). Meanwhile, we also agree that the price changes of our products only occur if the lead price rises or decreases over RMB 500 (approximately $73) per ton.

 
·
Our research and development department and production department jointly initiated a design improvement process intended to reduce the costs of raw materials without sacrificing product quality.

 
·
Hengyang Ritar is strategically located near lead mining reserves in Shuikou Shan, Hunan, which will allow us to more readily secure a long-term supply of lead for our batteries.

China has also already announced new measures to adjust the export tax rebate. This announcement came on September 14, 2006 and was effective September 15, 2006. As a result of this measure, the export rebate tax previously imposed on lead-acid batteries was abolished. We expect the Chinese government to introduce other measures which will increase the supply of lead to the Chinese lead market and which should reduce the cost of lead in the Chinese market. Regardless of the introduction of such governmental measures, lead prices have decreased as a result of the downturn in the global economy.

Customers

We serve about 800 clients in 81 countries with approximately $33.35 million, or 33.81%, of our net sales in fiscal year 2009 attributable to China and $65.28 million, or 66.19%, attributable to other countries. Our overseas sales cover 80 countries, such as India, Italy, Germany, the United States, Australia and Brazil. Our overseas sales accounted for approximately 66.19%, 78.53% and 64.6% of total sales for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.

 
4

 

We market, sell and service our products nationally and globally through a combination of company-owned offices and independent manufacturers’ representatives. We believe we are well positioned to meet our clients’ delivery and servicing requirements. We have targeted our approach to meet local market conditions, which we believe provides the best possible service for our regional clients and our global accounts.

We serve a broad client base of LEV manufacturers, international UPS manufacturers, and telecommunications operators. The following table provides information on our top ten clients in fiscal years 2009.

TOP TEN CLIENTS IN 2009
 
No.
 
Name
 
Description of
Client
 
Sales
(in
thousands
of US
dollars)
   
Percentage
of
Total Sales
 
                     
1
 
Emerson Network Power Co,.Ltd
 
a global network power solutions supplier
   
4,358
     
4.4
%
                         
2
 
Ascent Battery Supply, LLC
 
UPS distributor in USA
   
3,816
     
3.9
%
                         
3
 
Lianzheng Electronic (Shenzhen) Co.,Ltd
 
UPS manufacturer in China
   
2,910
     
3.0
%
                         
4
 
Effekta Regeltechnik Gmbh
 
UPS manufacturer in Germany
   
2,432
     
2.5
%
                         
5
 
Alco Battery Sales Aust
 
Solar energy  product distibutor in Australian
   
2,295
     
2.3
%
                         
6
 
Luminous Power Technologies
 
UPS manufacturer in India
   
2,061
     
2.1
%
                         
7
 
Jiaxing Refined Mechanics Hi-Tech Co., Ltd.
 
Linear motion actuators manufacturer in China
   
2,023
     
2.1
%
                         
8
 
Beghelli Asia Pacific Ltd
 
UPS distributor in Hongkong
   
1,996
     
2.0
%
                         
9
 
OKIN America, LLC
 
Furniture  manufacturer in USA
   
1,750
     
1.8
%
                         
10
 
Power Safe Importaco, Exportacao Ltd
 
UPS distributor in Brazil
   
1,745
     
1.8
%
                         
   
Total
       
25,188
     
25.5
%
 
Sales and Marketing

For domestic sales, we have about 500 domestic original equipment manufacturers, or OEM clients that we sell our products to directly. Our domestic sales accounted for about 33.81%, 21.47% and 35.4% of total sales for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively.

Our overseas (outside of China) sales cover 80 countries, such as India, Italy, Germany, the United States, Australia and Brazil. Our overseas sales accounted for approximately 66.19%, 78.53% and 64.6% of total sales for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively. Our sales staff continually works to explore new and better ways to provide services, as a core part of the company’s business strategy.
 
 
5

 

Our marketing approach focuses on the demands of our clients. We develop new business by identifying and contacting potential new clients through referrals or as a result of new clients contacting us because of our reputation in the industry. Prospective clients are invited to evaluate our research and development capabilities, tour our production facilities, review our quality control functions, and discuss other operating aspects of our business with our management. If a prospective client retains us, we normally initially enter into small volume sales contracts. We undertake a series of tests on the performance of the products that we will produce for the new client and then begin to supply these products to the client in small batches. Typically, the purchase volume will then grow over time. Eventually, we strive to become a major supplier to each of our clients. The time that this process takes varies for different product segments, different markets and different clients. For example, it usually takes from one week to one month for Chinese LEV market clients and one to two months for the UPS market segment. While in the overseas market, it usually takes half a year to one year for us to become the supplier because all of our overseas clients are high-end OEMs. Furthermore, sales in China have relatively higher margins, a larger potential market and large number of potential customers, but the overseas sales are relatively more stable, and are less of a credit risk.

We work to strengthen our market presence through various types of campaigns. We participate in several domestic and international trade fairs such as CeBIT, which is the world’s largest trade fair showcasing digital IT and telecommunications solutions for home and work environments. We also participate in SuperComm, the world’s premier annual communications and information technology exhibition and conference, each year to raise our recognition and promote our products internationally. These trade fairs not only promote our company reputation, but also our brand name.

Competition

Foreign battery companies are seeking to take advantage of growth of the Chinese battery market. These foreign battery manufacturers also desire to reduce production costs. Many foreign battery manufacturers are investing in joint ventures or investing directly in China. At present, Japanese companies like Panasonic are setting up plants in China.

Many new energy storage technologies, other than lead acid, which have been introduced over the past several years, also compete with our products for customers who may decide to use these new battery technologies instead of our products. In addition, we now face potential competition from fuel cell manufacturers as a result of recent developments in fuel cell technology.

We compete based upon the price and quality of our products, ability to produce a diverse range of products and customer service. In the UPS and telecommunication product segments, which we believe are our fastest growing segments, we compete principally with Harbin Guangyu Battery Co., Ltd., or Guangyu, and Exide Technologies, or Exide.

We believe that the price of our products is significantly lower than that of Exide and approximately equivalent to the prices charged by our other competitors. We believe that the quality of our products is superior to the quality of Guangyu’s products, but is equivalent to the quality of Exide’s products. Our product mix is more diverse than the product mix of all of our competitors. Finally, we believe that our customer service is better than that of our competitors.

Intellectual Property

We currently have the following patents either issued or pending approval:

Patent Name
 
Patent type
 
Patent
No./Application No.
 
Expiration
Date
 
Status
Construct of Sealed
                 
terminal of VRLA battery
 
Utility Model
   
ZL 200420042736.7
 
February 17, 2014
 
Approved
Nano-Silicon Fiber Stationary
Storage lead acid battery
 
Invention Patent
   
200610061139.2
 
N/A
 
Pending
Nano-Silicon Fiber Stationary
Storage lead acid battery
 
Utility Model
   
ZL 200620014068.6
 
May 18, 2016
 
Approved

We have registered the trademark for the logo with the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of China. We use our trademark for the sales and marketing of our products. Our trademark expires in August 2013 and may be continually renewed thereafter.

In addition, we protect our know-how technologies through confidentiality provisions of the employment contracts we enter into with our employees.

Research and Development Efforts

We currently operate one research and development center located in Shenzhen. As of December 31, 2009, we had 79 research and development staff (26 of whom hold Master/PhD degrees) who independently manage new product development projects. Our research and development center’s mission is to develop advanced technologies, advanced battery materials, new gel and photovoltaic battery development, and training.

 
6

 

Unlike other major lead-acid battery manufacturers, we do not solely depend on joint-development programs with universities. Instead, we emphasize the independent development of proprietary technology. Our Chief Technology Officer, Mr. He, has led our research and development team’s efforts relating to the development of several series of new products, including, the LEV battery series, and gel battery series (including solar energy storage batteries), all of which are revenue generating products for us. All of these new products contribute and we expect that they will continue to contribute revenues to us in the future.

During the fiscal years 2009, 2008 and 2007, our research and development expenses amounted to approximately $0.56 million, $0.47 million and $0.27 million, representing approximately 0.57%, 0.39% and 0.36% of our sales, respectively. These expenses were mainly composed of staff costs and depreciation of testing equipment used in a variety of projects and other research and development expenses.

Employees

As of December 31, 2009, we had about 1700 full-time employees. The following table illustrates the allocation of these employees among the various job functions conducted at our company.

Department
 
Number of
Employees
 
Production
   
1,274
 
Quality Control
   
132
 
Domestic Sales
   
35
 
After Sales Service
   
15
 
Human Resources
   
45
 
Planning and Material Center
   
35
 
Research and Development
   
79
 
International Sales
   
70
 
Finance
   
15
 
Total
   
1,700
 

We believe that our relationship with our employees is good. The remuneration payable to employees includes basic salaries and allowances. We have not experienced any significant problems or disruption to our operations due to labor disputes, nor have we experienced any difficulties in recruitment and retention of experienced staff.

As required by applicable Chinese laws, we have entered into employment contracts with all of our officers, managers and employees.

Our employees in China participate in a state pension scheme organized by Chinese municipal and provincial governments. We are required to contribute to the scheme at a rate of 8% of the average monthly salary. In addition, we are required by Chinese laws to cover employees in China with various types of social insurance. We have purchased required social insurance for all of our employees.

Regulation

Since our operating subsidiaries Shenzhen Ritar and Hengyang Ritar are located in China, we are subject to a variety of PRC environmental laws and regulations related to air emission, noise, water discharge and storage and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes. The primary environmental regulations applicable to us include the PRC Environmental Protection Law, the PRC Law on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution and its Implementation Rules, the PRC Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution and its Implementation Rules, the PRC Law on the Prevention and Control of Solid Waste Pollution, and the PRC Law on the Prevention and Control of Noise Pollution. Our production sites in the PRC are also subject to regulation and periodic monitoring by the relevant environmental protection authorities.

We believe that it is important to carry out our operations in an environmentally friendly manner. As such, we attempt to reduce the consumption of natural resources in our operations as much as possible. We also take steps to ensure that waste and by-products produced as a result of our operations are properly disposed of in accordance with applicable laws so as to minimize adverse effects to the environment. These steps include : (1) making sure there is no waste water drained off from our operations; (2) entering into an agreement with Waste Disposal Station, Bao’an District, Shenzhen for wasted acid and hazardous materials disposal; (3) collectively recycling the wasted old materials of the productions by Qiaotou Village Committee; (4) hiring professional waste battery recycling companies to be in charge of waste batteries within the territory of PRC; and (5) being a member of Portable Rechargeable Battery Association, or PRBA an international organization which endeavors to obtain consistent domestic and international solutions to environmental and other selected issues affecting the use, recycling and disposal of small sealed rechargeable batteries. We have signed a recycling agreement with PRBA which authorizes PRBA to be in charge of battery recycling outside the territory of PRC.

 
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In addition, we are also subject to PRC’s foreign currency regulations. The PRC government has control over RMB reserves through, among other things, direct regulation of the conversion or RMB into other foreign currencies. Although foreign currencies which are required for “current account” transactions can be bought freely at authorized Chinese banks, the proper procedural requirements prescribed by Chinese law must be met. At the same time, Chinese companies are also required to sell their foreign exchange earnings to authorized Chinese banks and the purchase of foreign currencies for capital account transactions still requires prior approval of the Chinese government.

ITEM 1A.
RISK FACTORS

RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS

We operate in an extremely competitive industry and are subject to continual pricing pressure that could negatively affect our financial results.

We compete with a number of major domestic and international manufacturers and distributors of lead-acid batteries, as well as a large number of smaller, regional competitors. Due to excess capacity in some sectors of our industry, consolidation among industrial battery purchasers and the financial difficulties experienced by several of our competitors, we have been subject to continual and significant pricing pressures. Several of our competitors have strong technical, marketing, sales, manufacturing, distribution and other resources, as well as significant name recognition, established positions in the market and long-standing relationships with original equipment manufacturers and other customers. In addition, some of our competitors own lead smelting facilities which, during periods of lead cost increases or price volatility, may provide a competitive pricing advantage and reduce their exposure to volatile raw material costs. Our ability to maintain and improve our operating margins has depended, and continues to depend, on our ability to control and reduce our costs. We cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to reduce our operating expenses, to raise or maintain our prices or increase our unit volume, in order to maintain or improve our operating results.

Cyclical industry conditions have adversely affected, and may continue to adversely affect, the results of our operations.

Our operating results are affected by the general cyclical pattern of the industries in which our major customer groups operate, and the overall economic conditions in which we and our customers operate. All of our target client segments are heavily dependent on the end-user markets they serve, such as LEV, telecommunications, and uninterruptible power systems. A weak capital expenditure environment in these markets has had, and can be expected to have, a material adverse effect on the results of our operations.

Our results of operations can be significantly affected by the volatility in the prices of the raw materials that we use to produce our products.

Our raw materials costs are volatile and expose us to significant fluctuations in our product costs. We employ significant amounts of lead, plastics, and other materials in our manufacturing processes. Lead is our most significant raw material and represents approximately 62.8% of our total raw materials costs. The costs of these raw materials, particularly lead, are volatile and beyond our control. Volatile raw materials costs can significantly affect our operating results and make period-to-period comparisons extremely difficult. We may not be able to hedge our raw material requirements at a reasonable cost or to pass on to our customers the increased costs of our raw materials.

Compliance with environmental regulations can be expensive, and our failure to comply with these regulations may result in adverse publicity and a material adverse effect on our business.

As a manufacturer, we are subject to various Chinese environmental laws and regulations on air emission, waste water discharge, solid wastes and noise. Although we believe that our operations are in substantial compliance with current environmental laws and regulations, we may not be able to comply with these regulations at all times as the Chinese environmental legal regime is evolving and becoming more stringent. Therefore, if the Chinese government imposes more stringent regulations in the future, we will have to incur additional and potentially substantial costs and expenses in order to comply with new regulations, which may negatively affect our results of operations. If we fail to comply with any of the present or future environmental regulations in any material aspects, we may suffer from negative publicity and may be required to pay substantial fines, suspend or even cease operations. Failure to comply with Chinese environmental laws and regulations may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 
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Our failure to introduce new products and product enhancements and broad market acceptance of new technologies introduced by our competitors could adversely affect our business.

Many new energy storage technologies, other than lead-acid, have been introduced over the past few years. In addition, recent advances in fuel cell and flywheel technology have been introduced for use in selected applications that compete with the end uses for lead-acid industrial batteries. For many important and growing markets, such as aerospace and defense, lithium-based battery technologies have large and growing market shares and lead-acid technologies have decreasing market shares. Our ability to achieve significant and sustained penetration of key developing markets, including aerospace and defense, will depend upon our success in developing or acquiring these and other technologies, either independently, through joint ventures or through acquisitions. If we fail to develop or acquire, and to manufacture and sell, products that satisfy our customers’ demands, or if we fail to respond effectively to new product announcements by our competitors by quickly introducing competitive products, market acceptance of our products could be reduced and our business could be adversely affected.

We may not be able to adequately protect our proprietary intellectual property and technology, which may harm our competitive position and result in increased expenses incurred to enforce our rights.

We rely on a combination of copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws, non-disclosure agreements and other confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions to establish, protect and maintain our proprietary intellectual property and technology and other confidential information. Some of these technologies, especially in thin plate pure lead technology, are important to our business and are not protected by patents. Despite our efforts, the steps we have taken to protect our proprietary intellectual property and technology and other confidential information may not be adequate to preclude misappropriation of our proprietary information or infringement of our intellectual property rights. Protecting against the unauthorized use of our products, trademarks and other proprietary rights is also expensive, difficult and, in some cases, impossible. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce or defend our intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets or to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. Such litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of management resources, either of which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

Product branding is important to us and if our brands are misappropriated or our reputation otherwise harmed, our operations and financial results could be negatively impacted.

We rely upon a combination of trademark, licensing and contractual covenants to establish and protect the brand names of our products. We have registered our trademark in the Trademark Office of China. In many market segments, our reputation is closely related to our brand names. Monitoring unauthorized use of our brand names is difficult, and we cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent their unauthorized use, particularly in foreign countries where the laws may not protect our proprietary rights as fully as in China. Our brand names may be misappropriated or utilized without our consent and such actions may have a material adverse effect on our reputation and on the results of our operations.

If we grow through acquisitions and fail to successfully integrate acquired companies, our operations could be disrupted and management could become distracted by integration issues.

As part of our business strategy, we plan to grow in part by acquiring other product lines, technologies or facilities that complement or expand our existing business. We may be unable to implement this part of our business strategy and may not be able to make acquisitions to continue our growth. There is significant competition for acquisition targets in the industrial battery industry. We may not be able to identify suitable acquisition candidates or negotiate attractive terms. In addition, we may have difficulty obtaining the financing necessary to complete transactions that we pursue. Future acquisitions may involve the issuance of our equity securities as payment, in part or in full, for the businesses or assets acquired. Any future issuances of equity securities would dilute your ownership interests. In addition, future acquisitions might not increase, and may even decrease, our earnings or earnings per share and the benefits derived by us from an acquisition might not outweigh or might not exceed the dilutive effect of the acquisition. We also may incur additional debt or suffer adverse tax and accounting consequences in connection with any future acquisitions, although we currently do not have any identified future acquisition targets.

Where we are successful in completing acquisitions, we might experience difficulties in integrating the acquired business or assets. Acquisitions might result in unanticipated liabilities, unforeseen expenses and distraction of management’s time and attention. We cannot assure you that our acquisition strategy will be successful.
 
 
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A significant portion of our sales are derived from a limited number of customers, and results from operations could be adversely affected and stockholder value harmed if we lose these customers.

A significant portion of our revenues has been historically derived from a limited number of customers. For the fiscal years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, over 25.5%, 32.2 % and 41% of our revenues, respectively, were derived from our ten largest customers. The loss of any of these significant customers that is not accompanied by the retention of new business in similar volume would adversely affect our revenues and stockholder value.

Our products could be subject to product liability claims by customers and/or consumers, which would adversely affect our profit margins, results of operations and stockholder value.

A significant portion of our products are used in light electric vehicles, such as electric scooters. If our products are not properly designed or built and/or personal injuries are sustained as a result of our equipment, we could be subject to claims for damages based on theories of product liability and other legal theories. The costs and resources to defend such claims could be substantial and, if such claims are successful, we could be responsible for paying some or all of the damages. Also, our reputation could be adversely affected, regardless of whether such claims are successful. Any of these results would adversely affect our profit margins, results from operations and stockholder value.

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

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

Expansion of our business may put added pressure on our management and operational infrastructure impeding our ability to meet any increased demand for our cadmium-free, valve-regulated lead-acid products and possibly hurting our operating results.

Our business plan is to significantly grow our operations to meet anticipated growth in demand for existing products, and by the introduction of new product offerings. Our planned growth includes the construction of new production lines to be put into operation over the next twelve months. Growth in our business may place a significant strain on our personnel, management, financial systems and other resources. The evolution of our business also presents numerous risks and challenges, including:

 
·
our ability to successfully and rapidly expand sales to potential customers in response to potentially increasing demand;

 
·
the costs associated with such growth, which are difficult to quantify, but could be significant; and

 
·
rapid technological change.

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

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

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

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

As directed by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or SOX 404, the SEC adopted rules requiring public companies to include a report of management on the company’s internal controls over financial reporting in their annual reports, including Form 10-K. In addition, the independent registered public accounting firm auditing a company’s financial statements must also attest to and report on the operating effectiveness of our internal controls. We are subject to this requirement commencing with our fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 and a report of our management on our internal control over financial reporting for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 is included under Item 9A(T) of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our management has concluded that our internal controls over our financial reporting are effective for the period covered by this Annual Report. However, in the future, our management may conclude that our internal controls over our financial reporting are not effective due to the identification of one or more material weaknesses, or our independent registered public accounting firm may issue an adverse opinion on our internal control over financial reporting if one or more material weaknesses are identified. We can provide no assurance that we will comply with all of the requirements imposed by SOX 404 and there can be no positive assurance that we will receive a positive attestation from our independent auditors. In the event we identify significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in our internal controls that we cannot remediate in a timely manner or we are unable to receive a positive attestation from our independent auditors with respect to our internal controls, investors and others may lose confidence in the reliability of our financial statements.

Our holding company structure may limit the payment of dividends to our stockholders.

China Ritar Power Corp. has no direct business operations, other than its ownership of our subsidiaries. While we have no current intention of paying dividends, should we decide in the future to do so, as a holding company, our ability to pay dividends and meet other obligations depends upon the receipt of dividends or other payments from our operating subsidiaries and other holdings and investments. In addition, our operating subsidiaries, from time to time, may be subject to restrictions on their ability to make distributions to us, including as a result of restrictive covenants in loan agreements, restrictions on the conversion of local currency into U.S. dollars or other hard currency and other regulatory restrictions as discussed below. If future dividends are paid in RMB, fluctuations in the exchange rate for the conversion of RMB into U.S. dollars may reduce the amount received by U.S. stockholders upon conversion of the dividend payment into U.S. dollars.

PRC regulations currently permit the payment of dividends only out of accumulated profits as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. Our subsidiaries in China are also required to set aside a portion of their after tax profits according to PRC accounting standards and regulations to fund certain reserve funds. Currently, our subsidiaries in China are the only sources of revenues or investment holdings for the payment of dividends. If they do not accumulate sufficient profits under PRC accounting standards and regulations to first fund certain reserve funds as required by PRC accounting standards, we will be unable to pay any dividends.

RISKS RELATED TO DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA

Adverse changes in China’s political or economic situation could harm us and our operational results.

Economic reforms adopted by the Chinese government have had a positive effect on the economic development of the country, but the government could change these economic reforms or any of the legal systems at any time. This could either benefit or damage our operations and profitability. Some of the things that could have this effect are:

 
Level of government involvement in the economy;

 
Control of foreign exchange;

 
Methods of allocating resources;

 
Balance of payments position;

 
International trade restrictions; and

 
International conflict.
 
 
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The Chinese economy differs from the economies of most countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, in many ways. As a result of these differences, we may not develop in the same way or at the same rate as might be expected if the Chinese economy were similar to those of the OECD member countries.

Our business is largely subject to the uncertain legal environment in China and your legal protection could be limited.

The Chinese legal system is a civil law system based on written statutes. Unlike common law systems, it is a system in which precedents set in earlier legal cases are not generally used. The overall effect of legislation enacted over the past 20 years has been to enhance the protections afforded to foreign invested enterprises in China. However, these laws, regulations and legal requirements are relatively recent and are evolving rapidly, and their interpretation and enforcement involve uncertainties. These uncertainties could limit the legal protections available to foreign investors, such as the right of foreign invested enterprises to hold licenses and permits such as requisite business licenses. In addition, all of our executive officers are residents of China and not of the U.S., and substantially all the assets of these persons are located outside the U.S. As a result, it could be difficult for investors to effect service of process in the U.S., or to enforce a judgment obtained in the U.S. against us or any of these persons.

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

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

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

Future inflation in China may inhibit our ability to conduct business profitably in China.

In recent years, the Chinese economy has experienced periods of rapid expansion and high rates of inflation. During the past ten years, the rate of inflation in China has been as high as 20.7% and as low as -2.2%. These factors have led to the adoption by the Chinese government, from time to time, of various corrective measures designed to restrict the availability of credit or regulate growth and contain inflation. High inflation may in the future cause the Chinese government to impose controls on credit and/or prices, or to take other action, which could inhibit economic activity in China, and thereby harm the market for our products.

Any recurrence of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, or another widespread public health problem, could harm our operations.

A renewed outbreak of SARS or another widespread public health problem in China, where our operations are conducted, could have a negative effect on our operations.

Our operations may be impacted by a number of health-related factors, including the following:

 
·
quarantines or closures of some of our offices which would severely disrupt our operations,
     
 
·
the sickness or death of our key officers and employees, and
     
 
·
a general slowdown in the Chinese economy.

Any of the foregoing events or other unforeseen consequences of public health problems could damage our operations.
 
 
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Restrictions on currency exchange may limit our ability to receive and use our revenues effectively.

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

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

In October 2005, the PRC State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, issued the Notice on Relevant Issues in the Foreign Exchange Control over Financing and Return Investment Through Special Purpose Companies by Residents Inside China, generally referred to as Circular 75, which required PRC residents to register with the competent local SAFE branch before establishing or acquiring control over an offshore special purpose company, or SPV, for the purpose of engaging in an equity financing outside of China on the strength of domestic PRC assets originally held by those residents. Internal implementing guidelines issued by SAFE, which became public in June 2007 (known as Notice 106), expanded the reach of Circular 75 by (i) purporting to cover the establishment or acquisition of control by PRC residents of offshore entities which merely acquire “control” over domestic companies or assets, even in the absence of legal ownership; (ii) adding requirements relating to the source of the PRC resident’s funds used to establish or acquire the offshore entity; (iii) covering the use of existing offshore entities for offshore financings; (iv) purporting to cover situations in which an offshore SPV establishes a new subsidiary in China or acquires an unrelated company or unrelated assets in China; and (v) making the domestic affiliate of the SPV responsible for the accuracy of certain documents which must be filed in connection with any such registration, notably, the business plan which describes the overseas financing and the use of proceeds. Amendments to registrations made under Circular 75 are required in connection with any increase or decrease of capital, transfer of shares, mergers and acquisitions, equity investment or creation of any security interest in any assets located in China to guarantee offshore obligations, and Notice 106 makes the offshore SPV jointly responsible for these filings. In the case of an SPV which was established, and which acquired a related domestic company or assets, before the implementation date of Circular 75, a retroactive SAFE registration was required to have been completed before March 31, 2006; this date was subsequently extended indefinitely by Notice 106, which also required that the registrant establish that all foreign exchange transactions undertaken by the SPV and its affiliates were in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Failure to comply with the requirements of Circular 75, as applied by SAFE in accordance with Notice 106, may result in fines and other penalties under PRC laws for evasion of applicable foreign exchange restrictions. Any such failure could also result in the SPV’s affiliates being impeded or prevented from distributing their profits and the proceeds from any reduction in capital, share transfer or liquidation to the SPV, or from engaging in other transfers of funds into or out of China.

We believe our stockholders who are PRC residents as defined in Circular 75 have registered with the relevant branch of SAFE, as currently required, in connection with their equity interests in us and our acquisitions of equity interests in our PRC subsidiaries. However, we cannot provide any assurances that their existing registrations have fully complied with, and they have made all necessary amendments to their registration to fully comply with, all applicable registrations or approvals required by Circular 75. Moreover, because of uncertainty over how Circular 75 will be interpreted and implemented, and how or whether SAFE will apply it to us, we cannot predict how it will affect our business operations or future strategies. For example, our present and prospective PRC subsidiaries’ ability to conduct foreign exchange activities, such as the remittance of dividends and foreign currency-denominated borrowings, may be subject to compliance with Circular 75 by our PRC resident beneficial holders. In addition, such PRC residents may not always be able to complete the necessary registration procedures required by Circular 75. We also have little control over either our present or prospective direct or indirect stockholders or the outcome of such registration procedures. A failure by our PRC resident beneficial holders or future PRC resident stockholders to comply with Circular 75, if SAFE requires it, could subject these PRC resident beneficial holders to fines or legal sanctions, restrict our overseas or cross-border investment activities, limit our subsidiaries’ ability to make distributions or pay dividends or affect our ownership structure, which could adversely affect our business and prospects.
 
 
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We may be unable to complete a business combination transaction efficiently or on favorable terms due to complicated merger and acquisition regulations that became effective on September 8, 2006.

On August 8, 2006, six PRC regulatory agencies promulgated the Regulation on Mergers and Acquisitions of Domestic Companies by Foreign Investors, which became effective on September 8, 2006. This new regulation, among other things, governs the approval process by which a PRC company may participate in an acquisition of assets or equity interests. Depending on the structure of the transaction, the new regulation will require the PRC parties to make a series of applications and supplemental applications to the government agencies. In some instances, the application process may require the presentation of economic data concerning a transaction, including appraisals of the target business and evaluations of the acquirer, which are designed to allow the government to assess the transaction. Government approvals will have expiration dates by which a transaction must be completed and reported to the government agencies. Compliance with the new regulations is likely to be more time consuming and expensive than in the past and the government can now exert more control over the combination of two businesses. Accordingly, due to the new regulation, our ability to engage in business combination transactions has become significantly more complicated, time consuming and expensive, and we may not be able to negotiate a transaction that is acceptable to our stockholders or sufficiently protect their interests in a transaction.

The new regulation allows PRC government agencies to assess the economic terms of a business combination transaction. Parties to a business combination transaction may have to submit to the Ministry of Commerce and other relevant government agencies an appraisal report, an evaluation report and the acquisition agreement, all of which form part of the application for approval, depending on the structure of the transaction. The regulations also prohibit a transaction at an acquisition price obviously lower than the appraised value of the PRC business or assets and in certain transaction structures, require that consideration must be paid within defined periods, generally not in excess of a year. The regulation also limits our ability to negotiate various terms of the acquisition, including aspects of the initial consideration, contingent consideration, holdback provisions, indemnification provisions and provisions relating to the assumption and allocation of assets and liabilities. Transaction structures involving trusts, nominees and similar entities are prohibited. Therefore, such regulation may impede our ability to negotiate and complete a business combination transaction on financial terms that satisfy our investors and protect our stockholders’ economic interests.

The value of our securities will be affected by the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollars and RMB.

The value of our common stock will be affected by the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollars and RMB, and between those currencies and other currencies in which our sales may be denominated. For example, to the extent that we need to convert U.S. dollars into RMB for our operational needs and should the RMB appreciate against the U.S. dollar at that time, our financial position, the business of the company, and the price of our common stock may be harmed. Conversely, if we decide to convert our RMB into U.S. dollars for the purpose of declaring dividends on our common stock or for other business purposes and the U.S. dollar appreciates against the RMB, the U.S. dollar equivalent of our earnings from our subsidiaries in China would be reduced.

RISKS RELATED TO THE MARKET FOR OUR STOCK

We may be subject to penny stock regulations and restrictions and you may have difficulty selling shares of our common stock.

The SEC has adopted regulations which generally define so-called “penny stocks” to be an equity security that has a market price less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exemptions. If our common stock becomes a “penny stock”, we may become subject to Rule 15g-9 under the Exchange Act, or the “Penny Stock Rule”. This rule imposes additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers that sell such securities to persons other than established customers and “accredited investors” (generally, individuals with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or annual incomes exceeding $200,000, or $300,000 together with their spouses). For transactions covered by Rule 15g-9, a broker-dealer must make a special suitability determination for the purchaser and have received the purchaser’s written consent to the transaction prior to sale. As a result, this rule may affect the ability of broker-dealers to sell our securities and may affect the ability of purchasers to sell any of our securities in the secondary market.

For any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, the rules require delivery, prior to any transaction in a penny stock, of a disclosure schedule prepared by the SEC relating to the penny stock market. Disclosure is also required to be made about sales commissions payable to both the broker-dealer and the registered representative and current quotations for the securities. Finally, monthly statements are required to be sent disclosing recent price information for the penny stock held in the account and information on the limited market in penny stock.

There can be no assurance that our common stock will qualify for exemption from the Penny Stock Rule. In any event, even if our common stock were exempt from the Penny Stock Rule, we would remain subject to Section 15(b)(6) of the Exchange Act, which gives the SEC the authority to restrict any person from participating in a distribution of penny stock, if the SEC finds that such a restriction would be in the public interest.
 
 
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Our largest stockholder, Jiada Hu, holds a significant percentage of our outstanding voting securities and accordingly may make decisions regarding our daily operations, significant corporate transactions and other matters that other stockholders may believe are not in their best interests.

Mr. Jiada Hu, our CEO and President, is the beneficial owner of approximately 43% of our outstanding voting securities. As a result, he possesses significant influence over the election of our board of directors and significant corporate transactions. His ownership may also have the effect of delaying or preventing a future change in control, impeding a merger, consolidation, takeover or other business combination or discourage a potential acquirer from making a tender offer. Other stockholders may believe that these future decisions made by Mr. Hu are not in their best interests.

ITEM 2.
PROPERTIES

All land in China is owned by the State or collectives. Individuals and companies are permitted to acquire rights to use land or land use rights for specific purposes. In the case of land used for industrial purposes, the land use rights are granted for a period of 50 years. This period may be renewed at the expiration of the initial and any subsequent terms according to the relevant Chinese laws. Granted land use rights are transferable and may be used as security for borrowings and other obligations.

Our main production facilities are located at our headquarters in Shenzhen, China. The total site area is approximately 25,027 square meters. Among them are two properties occupying 9,859 square meters and 6,100 leased from Shenzhen Qiaotou Equity Cooperation Co. The term of the leases were renewed in January 2009 for an additional one year term. About 6,968 square meters were leased from Shenzhen Huadelin Investment Co., Ltd. The term of this lease is from July 9, 2007 through June 30, 2010. The other 2,100 square meters were leased from Fuyong Yingfeng Machinery & Equipment Factory. The term of lease is renewed for another 12 months period in March 2009. We manufacture all of our product types at these facilities.

We had a secondary production facility in Shanghai, China which manufactured LEV lead-acid batteries. The total site area of this facility is approximately 13,000 square meters. We leased this facility under a lease with Shanghai Fengxian Livestock and Fishery Co., Ltd. The term of this lease is from July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2016.  We sold all of our ownership interest in Shanghai Ritar on October 15, 2009 and no longer maintain any manufacturing facility in Shanghai.

Our other production facility is located in Hengyang, China. On April 15, 2007, Shenzhen Ritar entered into an agreement for stationing project into industrial park, or Songmu Investment Agreement, with the Administrative Committee of Songmu Industrial Park, Henyang City, Hunan Province, China, or Songmu Industrial Park. Under the Songmu Investment Agreement, as amended, Songmu Industrial Park agreed to grant to Shenzhen Ritar the land use rights over a land plot with an area about 266,667 square meters at approximately $9.35 per square meter. We have completed the first phase construction of Hengyang Ritar facility and its lead acid battery production commenced in April 2008. In addition, in July 2008, production of lead plates began at Hengyang Ritar. Approximately 46,000 square meters of factory space has already been constructed. Another 40,000-60,000 square meters of factory space are expected to be constructed during the second phase over the next three years which will be allocated to both lead acid battery and lead plate production.

We currently have 19 assembly lines. Most of the key production equipment was purchased in China. Production equipment consists of charging/discharging machines, testing equipment, ultrasonic welders and filling machines of electrolyte.

Our about 1,400 production workers currently work in two work shifts of eight to ten hours over seven working days a week each, to maximize the capabilities of our assembly lines.

We modify our production to cater to client demands. Due to the similar construct of different series of our products, our assembly lines are flexible and allow us to change to the production of different batteries for different applications. This helps us to change with market trends.

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

ITEM 3.
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

From time to time, we may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings, which arise, in the ordinary course of business. However, litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in these or other matters may arise from time to time that may harm our business. We are currently not aware of any such legal proceedings or claims that we believe will have a material adverse affect on our business, financial condition or operating results.
 
 
15

 

ITEM 4.
SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS

No matters were submitted to a vote of our security holders during the fourth quarter of 2009.

PART II

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

Market for Our Common Stock

Prior to August 3, 2009, our common stock was quoted on the Over-the-counter Bulletin Board (“OTCBB”) under the symbol “CRTP.” On August 3, 2009, we terminated our listing on OTCBB and listed our common stock on NASDAQ Global Market also under the symbol “CRTP.” The following table sets forth, for the indicated period, the high and low sale prices for our common stock as reported on NASDAQ, and prior to August 3, 2009, as reported on OTCBB. These prices reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, mark-down or commission, and may not represent actual transactions.

   
Common Stock Market Price
 
   
High
   
Low
 
Year Ended December 31, 2009
           
1st Quarter
 
$
1.79
   
$
1.65
 
2nd Quarter
 
$
3.00
   
$
2.78
 
3rd Quarter
 
$
6.10
   
$
5.71
 
4th Quarter
 
$
5.00
   
$
4.65
 
                 
Year Ended December 31, 2008
               
1st Quarter
 
$
11.25
   
$
2.35
 
2nd Quarter
 
$
5.38
   
$
2.59
 
3rd Quarter
 
$
4.95
   
$
2.86
 
4th Quarter
 
$
4.20
   
$
1.01
 

On March 11, 2009, there were approximately 71 stockholders of record of our common stock.

Dividend Policy

We anticipate that we will retain all of our future earnings, if any, for use in the expansion and operation of our business and do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination relating to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our board of directors, based on our financial condition, results of operations, earnings, contractual restrictions, capital requirements, business prospects and other factors our board of directors may deem relevant.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

We currently do not have any equity compensation plans.

ITEM 6.
SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

Not applicable.

ITEM7.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

Overview

We are a holding company that only operates through our indirect Chinese subsidiaries. Through our Chinese subsidiaries, we design, develop, manufacture and sell environmentally friendly lead-acid batteries with a wide range of applications and capacities, especially in the LEV segment, in China. We market, sell and service our 6 series and 197 models of “Ritar” branded, cadmium-free, VRLA batteries in China and internationally.
 
 
16

 

Our revenue decreased by 12% from $112.3 million in fiscal year 2008 to $98.6 million in fiscal year 2009. The decreases is due to a 12% decline in our average selling price of which was caused by the decrease in the prices of main raw materials as a result of the global financial crisis and recession. We continually seek to broaden our market reach by introducing new production lines and improving our profit margin through vertical integration.

We currently have 19 lead acid battery production lines, eleven of which are located at Shenzhen Ritar and eight of which are located at Hengyang Ritar. We have completed construction of the first phase of our new technical and manufacturing complex in Hengyang City, Hunan Province in March 2008 and lead acid battery production at this facility began in April 2008. In July of 2008, we began production of lead plates at the Hengyang facility as well.

Revenue

All of our revenue is generated from the sales of our lead-acid batteries. The following table sets forth the breakdown of our revenues by battery cell type for the periods indicated.

(All amounts in thousands of U.S. dollar)
 
     Years Ended December 31,  
   
2009
   
2008
 
Components of Revenues
           
Total revenue
  $ 98,630     $ 112,312  
Revenue by Product
               
UPS
  $ 34,521     $ 36,482  
Telecom
  $ 29,589     $ 48,112  
Renewable Energy
  $ 24,658     $ 17,808  
LEV
  $ 9,862     $ 9,910  

Cost of Revenue

Cost of revenue includes the cost of our raw materials, employee remuneration for staff engaged in production activity, and other related expenses that are directly attributable to the manufacturing of our products.

Gross Profit and Gross Margin

Between fiscal years 2008 and 2009, we were able to maintain our gross margins at between approximately 19% and 21% consisting of approximately 19% for domestic sales and 21% for international sales. Changes in our gross margins are primarily driven by cost of goods sold as percentage of revenues which comprised mainly of cost of raw materials and direct labor cost per unit product.

To gain market share in our industry, we price our products at levels that we believe are competitive. Through our continuous efforts to improve manufacturing efficiencies and to reduce our production costs, we believe that we are able to offer products with comparable quality to our Chinese and international competitors at lower prices. General economic conditions, cost of raw materials as well as supply and demand of lead-acid batteries within our markets influence sales prices. Our high-end, value-added products generally tend to have higher profit margins.

Operating Expenses

Our operating expenses consist of salaries, sales commission and other selling expenses and general and administrative expenses. We expect most components of our operating expenses will increase as our business grows and as we incur increased costs related to being a public company.

Provision for Income Taxes

United States

The Company was incorporated in the United States of America and is subject to U.S. tax.  No provisions for income taxes have been made as the Company has no taxable income for the years presented.

British Virgin Islands

Ritar International was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and is not subject to income taxes under the current laws of the British Virgin Islands.
 
 
17

 

PRC

Our subsidiary, Shenzhen Ritar is subject to PRC enterprises income tax at the applicable tax rates on the taxable income as reported in its Chinese statutory accounts in accordance with the relevant enterprises income tax laws applicable to foreign enterprises.  Pursuant to the same enterprises income tax laws, being classified as a high technology company, Shenzhen Ritar is fully exempted from PRC enterprises income tax for two years starting from the first profit-making year, followed by a 50% tax exemption for the next three years (“Tax Holiday”). Consequently, Shenzhen Ritar was exempted from enterprise income tax for the fiscal years 2003 and 2004.  For the following three fiscal years from 2005 to 2007, Shenzhen Ritar was subject to enterprise income tax at rate of 15%. Shenzhen Ritar was charged on preferential enterprise income tax rate at 18% and 20% in 2008 and 2009, respectively, which is determined by the tax authority.

Shanghai Ritar is charged at 2.31% of its total revenue in 2007 while the tax rate will be charged on the taxable income with tax rate 25% from 2008.

Hengyang Ritar commenced its business on April 27, 2008 and is subject to an income tax rate of 25%.

Huizhou Ritar had never commenced business since incorporation. In 2009, the Company initiated the liquidation of Huizhou Ritar.

The Company uses the asset and liability method, where deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined  based on the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial and income tax reporting  purposes.  There are no material timing differences and therefore no deferred tax asset or liability at December 31, 2008 and 2007.  There are no net operating loss carry forwards at December 31, 2008 and 2007.

The provision for income taxes consists of the following:

   
2009
   
2008
Current tax
         
- PRC
 
$
2,063,339
   
$
2,400,314
- Deferred tax provision
   
(115,017)
     
-
               
Total
 
$
1,948,322
   
$
 2,400,314

Results of Operations

The following tables set forth key components of results of our operations for the periods indicated, both in dollars and as a percentage of sales revenues and key components of our revenues for the periods indicated in dollars.
 
   
Year Ended December 31,
2009
   
Year Ended December 31,
2008
 
   
In Thousands
   
As a
percentage of
revenues
   
In Thousands
   
As a
percentage of
revenues
 
                         
Revenues
   
98,630
     
100.00
%
   
112,312
     
100.00
%
Cost of Sales
   
(79,684
)
   
(80.79
)%
   
(90,013
)
   
(80.15
)%
   
   
  
     
  
     
  
   
 
 
Gross Profit
   
18,946
     
19.21
%
   
22,299
     
19.85
%
                           
 
 
Operating Expenses
                               
Salaries
   
(2,040
)
   
(2.07
)%
   
(5,225
)
   
(4.65
)%
Sales Commission
   
(1,597
)
   
(1.62
)%
   
(1,566
)
   
(1.39
)%
Shipping and handling cost
   
(1,051
)
   
(1.07
)%
   
(1,483
)
   
(1.32
)%
Other selling, general and administrative expenses
   
(3,672
)
   
(3.72
)%
   
(4,888
)
   
(4.35
)%
     
(8,360
)
   
(8.48
)%
   
(13,162
)
   
(11.71
)%
                                 
Operating Profit
   
10,586
     
10.73
%
   
9,137
     
8.14
%
                                 
Other Income and (Expenses)
                               
Interest Income
   
116
     
0.12
%
   
192
     
0.17
%
Government grants
   
-
     
-
     
-
     
-
 
Other income
   
160
     
0.16
%
   
2
     
0.002
%
Interest expenses
   
(716
)
   
(0.73
)%
   
(512
)
   
(0.46
)%
Foreign currency exchange loss
   
(51
)
   
(0.05
)%
   
(557
)
   
(0.50
)%
Other expenses
   
(7
)
   
(0.01
)%
   
(9
)
   
(0.01
)%
                                 
Other income (expenses)
   
(498
)
   
(0.50
)%
   
(884
)
   
(0.79
)%
                                 
Income from continuing operations before income taxes
   
10,088
     
10.23
%
   
8,253
     
7.35
%
                                 
Income taxes
   
(1,948
)
   
(1.98
)%
   
(2,400
)
   
(2.14
)%
                                 
Income from continuing operations
   
8,140
     
8.25
%
   
5,853
     
5.21
%
                                 
Discontinued operations
                               
Loss from discontinued operations, net of taxes
   
(377
)
   
(0.38
)%
   
(719
)
   
(0.64
)%
Loss on disposal of discontinued operations, net of taxes
   
911
     
0.92
%
   
-
     
-
 
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax
   
534
     
0.54
%
   
(719
)
   
(0.64
)%
                                 
Net income
   
8,674
     
8.79
%
   
5,134
     
4.57
%
                                 
Add: Loss from discontinued operations attributable to noncontrolling interest
   
19
     
0.02
%
   
30
     
0.03
%
                                 
Net income attributable to China Ritar stockholders
   
8,693
     
8.81
%
   
5,164
     
4.60
%
 
 
18

 

Comparison of Years Ended December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008

Revenues.  Revenues decreased by approximately $13.68 million, or 12.18% to approximately $98.63million for the year ended December 31, 2009 from approximately $112.31 million for the same period in 2008. This decrease was mainly attributable to a 12% decrease in our average selling price which was caused by the decrease in the prices of main raw materials as a result of the global financial crisis and recession. We expect that our revenue will be positively impacted as the global economic recovery in 2010.

Lead is the most important raw material used in the production of our products. Lead is traded on the world’s commodity markets and its price fluctuates daily. Our lead price is based on the average price in Shanghai Nonferrous Metals (the net web). The cost of lead accounts for approximately 62.8% of the total cost of raw materials. We have provided a sales policy with our clients that the price of our products will fluctuate 0.6% every time the price of lead fluctuate by 1%.

Cost of Sales.  Our cost of sales decreased by approximately $10.33 million, or 11.47% to approximately $79.68million for the year ended December 31, 2009 from approximately $90.01 million for the same period in 2008.  This decrease was due to the decrease in prices of main raw materials as discussed above.  As a percentage of revenues, the cost of sales increased to 80.79% during the year ended December 31, 2009 from 80.15% for the same period in 2008.

Gross Profit.  Our gross profit decreased by approximately $3.35 million, or 15.04% to approximately $18.95 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 from approximately $22.30 million for the same period in 2008.  Gross profit as a percentage of revenues was 19.21% for the year ended December 31, 2009, a slight decrease of 0.64% from 19.85% for the same period of 2008. Such decrease was mainly due to the decrease in our average selling price, and the increase of unit manufacturing cost as a result of low capacity utilization for the new factory in Hengyang.

Salaries.  Salaries decreased by approximately $3.19 million, or 60.97% to approximately $2.04 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 from $5.22 million for the same period in 2008.  As a percentage of revenues, salaries decreased to 2.07% for the year ended December 31, 2009 from 4.65% for the same period in 2008. The decrease of salaries was mainly attributable to the provision for the stock-based compensation of $3.85 million for the year ended December 31, 2008 required by the release of shares of our common stock to our CEO from escrow.  We made no such provision for the stock-based compensation for the year ended December 31, 2009. Except for the provision of such expenses, salaries as a percentage of revenues increased 0.85% to 2.07% for the year ended December 31, 2009 from 1.22% for the same period of 2008. The increase was mainly attributable to a significant increase of the staff of sales team and the new factory scale expansion.

Stock-based compensation. We made no provision for stock-based compensation for the year ended December 31, 2009, however, stock-based compensation was approximately $3.85 million for the year ended December 31, 2008.  The stock-based compensation was attributable to the provision of a “make good provision” expense for the year ended December 31, 2008.  In connection with the private placement on February 16, 2007, our largest stockholder, Mr. Jiada Hu entered into an escrow agreement with the private placement investors pursuant to which he agreed to certain make good provisions.  In the escrow agreement, we established minimum after tax net income thresholds of $5,678,000 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 and $8,200,000 for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2008.  Mr. Hu deposited a total of 3,601,309 shares, to be equitably adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends and similar adjustments, of the common stock of the Company into escrow with Securities Transfer Corporation under the escrow agreement. In the event that the minimum after tax net income thresholds for the fiscal year 2007 or the fiscal year 2008 are not achieved, then the investors will be entitled to receive additional shares of our common stock deposited in escrow based upon on a pre-defined formula agreed to between the investors and Mr. Hu.  Pursuant to SFAS No. 123R, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation, if the net income threshold is met, the shares will be released back to the make good pledger and treated as an expense equal to the grant date fair value of the shares.  Approximately $3.85 million was recognized as an expense in accordance with SFAS No. 123R for the year ended December 31, 2008.

 
19

 

Sales Commission.  Sales commission increased by approximately $0.03 million, or 1.98% to approximately $1.60 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 from approximately $1.57 million for the same period in 2008.  As a percentage of revenues, sales commission increased to 1.62% for the year ended December 31, 2009 from 1.39 % for the same period of 2008. Such increase was because we exerted greater efforts in developing new customers, which resulted in the tremendous increase in orders from new customers and sales commission increased correspondingly.

Shipping and handling cost.  Shipping and handling cost decreased by approximately $0.43 million, or 29.16% to approximately $1.05 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 from approximately 1.48 million for the same period in 2008.  As a percentage of revenues, shipping and handling cost decreased to 1.07% for the year ended December 31, 2009 from 1.32% for the same period of 2008. The percentage decrease was mainly attributable to the change in our shipping and handling policy during this period which resulted in our customers being partially responsible for the shipping and handling costs.

Other Selling, General and Administrative Expenses.  Other selling, general and administrative expenses decreased approximately $1.22 million, or 24.86% to approximately $3.67 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 from approximately $4.89 million for the same period of 2008.  As a percentage of revenues, other selling, general and administrative expenses decreased to 3.72% for the year ended December 31, 2009 from 4.35% for the same period of 2008. The dollar decrease was mainly attributable to our great efforts to cut and control expenses.

Income from Continuing Operations before Income Taxes.  Income from continuing operations before income taxes increased by approximately $1.83 million or 22.23% to approximately $10.08 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 from approximately $8.25 million for the same period in 2008.  Income from continuing operations before income taxes as a percentage of revenues increased to 10.23% for the year ended December 31, 2009 from 7.35% for the same period of 2008. The increase was mainly attributable to stock-based compensation of $3.85 million related to the make good provisions for the year ended December 31, 2009 as discussed above.

Income Taxes.  Income taxes decreased by approximately $0.45 million to approximately $1.95 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 from approximately $2.40 million for the same period of 2008.  We paid fewer taxes in 2009 mostly because of the decreased income before income taxes during this period compared to the same period of 2008 (except for non-cash stock-based compensation of $3.85 million).

Net Income.  Net income increased approximately $3.54 million, or 68.95% to approximately $8.67 million for the year ended December 31, 2009 from approximately $5.13 million for the same period of 2008. The increase of net income was mainly attributable to the factors discussed above.
 
 
20

 
 
Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of December 31, 2009, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $20.5 million. The following table provides detailed information about our net cash flow for all financial statements periods presented in this report.

   
Year Ended December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
Net cash provided by operating activities
  $ 8,264,882     $ 4,082,227  
Net cash (used in) investing activities
  $ (3,653,218 )   $ (7,916,106 )
Net cash provided by financing activities
  $ 8,281,930     $ 6,289,029  
Net cash inflow
  $ 12,917,664     $ 2,884,834  

Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities was approximately $8.26 million for the year ended December 31, 2009, which is an increase of approximately $4.18 million from net cash provided by operating activities of approximately $4.08 million for the same period in 2008.  The increase of cash provided by operating activities was mainly attributable to increased accounts payable, increased income and other tax payable and increased bills payable, partially offset by an increase in accounts receivable and advance to suppliers.

Investing Activities

Our main uses of cash for investing activities are payments for the acquisition of property, plant and equipment and land use right associated with the expansion of our capacity.

Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2009 was approximately $3.65 million, a decrease of approximately $4.27 million as compared to net cash used in investing activities of approximately $7.92 million for the same period in 2008.  The decrease of cash used in investing activities was mainly due to the decrease of payments to acquire property, plant and the equipment and land use right in our subsidiary Hengyang Ritar to build new production lines.

Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities was approximately $8.28 million for the year ended December 31, 2009, an increase of approximately $1.99 million from net cash provided by financing activities of $6.29 million in the same period in 2008. The increase of cash provided by financing activities was mainly attributable to the increase of $12.06 million net proceeds from issuance of common stock, partially offset by net outflow of bank borrowings in 2009.
 
 
21

 

Loan Facilities

We believe we currently maintain a good business relationship with many banks. As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, the maturities for our bank loans are as follows.

Short-term loans consist of the following:

       
Interest
     
As of December 31,
 
Bank
 
Loan period
 
rate
 
Securities
 
2009
   
2008
 
                         
Citibank
 
2008-10-24 to 2009-1-16
 
9% p.a.
 
Bank deposits and directors’ personal guarantees
  $     $ 146,314  
                             
Citibank
 
2008-10-24 to 2009-1-21
 
9% p.a.
 
Bank deposits and directors’ personal guarantees
          540,470  
                             
Citibank
 
2008-10-24 to 2009-1-16
 
9% p.a.
 
Bank deposits and directors’ personal guarantees
          132,576  
                             
Citibank
 
2008-10-26 to 2009-1-23
 
9% p.a.
 
Bank deposits and directors’ personal guarantees
          389,059  
                             
Citibank
 
2008-10-26 to 2009-1-23
 
9% p.a.
 
Bank deposits and directors’ personal guarantees
          1,074,085  
                             
DBS Bank
 
2008-10-21 to 2009-2-6
 
8% p.a.
 
Bank deposits
          85,239  
                             
DBS Bank
 
2008-12-10 to 2009-2-13
 
7% p.a.
 
Bank deposits
          481,630  
                             
Citibank
 
2008-12-15 to 2009-3-13
 
7% p.a.
 
Bank deposits and directors’ personal guarantees
          585,257  
                             
DBS Bank
 
2008-12-30 to 2009-4-10
 
7% p.a.
 
Bank deposits
            162,325  
                             
DBS Bank
 
2009-10-22 to 2010-2-8
 
6% p.a.
 
Property, plant and equipment, land use right and personal guarantee
    864,064        
                             
DBS Bank
 
2009-11-12 to 2010-3-3
 
6% p.a.
 
Property, plant and equipment land use right and directors’ personal guarantee
    251,897        
                             
DBS Bank
 
2009-12-31 to 2010-4-21
 
6% p.a.
 
Property, plant and equipment land use right and directors’ personal guarantee
    348,554        
                $ 1,464,515     $ 3,596,955  
 
 
22

 

Long-term loans consist of the following:
   
As of December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Loan from DBS Bank, bearing interest at 6.91% (2008: 9.072%) p.a., repayable by monthly installments from 2009-04-18 to 2013-09-18, secured by certain property, plant and equipment and land use right of the Company as disclosed in Note 9 and Note 11 to our financial statement.
  $ 3,661,288     $ 4,389,431  
                 
Loan from DBS Bank, bearing interest at 5% p.a., repayable by monthly installments from 2009-07-12 to June 2011-06-12, secured by machinery and equipment of Hengyang Ritar as disclosed in Note 9 and joint guarantees given by Shenzhen Ritar, China Ritar, Mr. Jiada Hu, Ms. Hengying Peng and Mr. Jianjun Zeng
    562,373       -  
                 
Other borrowing from Department of Science and Technology of Bao An, interest free, term from 2007-12-20 to 2009-12-20, and secured by the Shenzhen Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Center
    -       146,314  
Total loans
    4,223,661       4,535,745  
Less: Current maturities
    1,342,473       877,886  
Long-term loans, less current maturities
  $ 2,881,188     $ 3,657,859  
                 
Future maturities of long-term loans are as follows:
               
Payable within the years ending December 31,
               
2009
  $ -     $ 877,886  
2010
    1,342,473       975,429  
2011
    1,172,588       975,429  
2012
    976,343       975,429  
2013
    732,257       731,572  
Total
  $ 4,223,661     $ 4,535,745  

In October 2009, the Company completed the sale of 2,150,000 shares of common stock to selected institutional investors for $6.00 per share and raised proceeds of $12,059,499, net of placement agent fees and other direct expenses.

On April 15, 2007, our Chinese subsidiary Shenzhen Ritar entered into the Songmu Investment Agreement with the Songmu Industrial Park. Under the Songmu Investment Agreement, Shenzhen Ritar agreed to invest approximately $103.34 million in aggregate to produce lead-acid batteries in its new subsidiary Hengyang Ritar, located in this industrial park. The project will be constructed in three phases within the next four years. Songmu Industrial Park agreed to grant to Shenzhen Ritar the land use rights over a land plot with an area about 266,667 square meters at approximately $9.35 per square meter, subject to the approval of relevant governmental authority. On June 26, 2007, Shenzhen Ritar and Songmu Industrial Park entered into a supplemental agreement, or Supplemental Agreement, that revised the structure of Shenzhen Ritar’s investment requirement contained in the Songmu Investment Agreement, which, among other things, provided the following:

 
·
decreased Shenzhen Ritar’s required investment amount during the first phase construction from RMB 0.2 billion (approximately $26.2 million) to RMB 0.12 billion (approximately $15.7 million);

 
·
provided Shenzhen Ritar with the option, exercisable in its sole discretion, to proceed to the second and third phase investments depending on the investment environment in the Songmu Industrial Park and the availability of Shenzhen Ritar’s capital;

 
·
granted Shenzhen Ritar the land use rights at RMB 48,000/mu (approximately $9.35 per square meter) for the first phase construction regardless whether Shenzhen Ritar elects to conduct the investment in the second and third phases; and

 
·
reserved the land contemplated by the Songmu Investment Agreement for Shenzhen Ritar’s second and third phase investments until December 2008 and October 2009, respectively.

The Company invested approximately $15.5 million to complete the first phase, of which $10.7 million came from funds raised through the Company's private placement financing in February 2007 and the remaining $4.8 million came from internally generated funds. The second phase is expected to require $18.5 million which the Company plans to finance using internally generated funds and bank loans. We do not have plans to implement the second and third phase investments in Hengyang project in 2009.

 
23

 

On August 1, 2007, Shenzhen Ritar entered into a short-term credit facility agreement with Citibank (China) Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Branch, pursuant to which the bank has agreed to make available to Shenzhen Ritar a $5 million or an equivalent amount in RMB revolving credit facility. There are three months to twelve months financing terms for different types of credit facility covered under this agreement. If the credit facility is granted in RMB, Shenzhen Ritar agrees to pay a penalty interest at a minimum rate permitted by the People’s Bank of China for any overdue balance (including both the principal and accrued interests). If the credit facility is granted in US dollar, the bank has the right to determine the penalty interest rate. There are no financial covenants or ratios under this credit facility agreement. As of December 31, 2009, Shenzhen Ritar had Nil outstanding loans borrowed from Citibank (China) Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Branch.

During the third quarter of 2008, our subsidiary, Hengyang Ritar entered into a long-term loan agreement with DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited Shenzhen Branch, or DBS, pursuant to which Hengyang Ritar borrowed an aggregate of approximately $4.39 million from DBS with an interest rate of 9.07% per annum (6.91% per annum in 2009).  Hengyang Ritar agreed to make a monthly principal payment of $81,286 by 54 installment starting April 2009.  The loan is secured by the properties of Mr. Jiada Hu and Ms Henying Peng, land use right of Henyang Ritar and was jointly guaranteed by Shenzhen Ritar, China Ritar, Mr Jiada Hu, Ms. Henying Peng and Mr. Jianjun Zeng.  Hengyang Ritar also entered into a short-term loan agreement with DBS borrowing approximately $1.46 million with an interest rate of 6% per year.  The loan was secured by personal properties of Mr. Jiada Hu and Ms Henying Peng, land use right of Hengyang Ritar and jointly guaranteed by Shenzhen Ritar, China Ritar, Mr Jiada Hu, Ms. Henying Peng and Mr. Jianjun Zeng.

During the second quarter of 2009, our subsidiary, Hengyang Ritar entered into a long-term loan agreement with DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited Shenzhen Branch, or DBS, pursuant to which Hengyang Ritar borrowed an aggregate of approximately $0.73 million from DBS with an interest rate of 5% per annum. Hengyang Ritar agreed to make a monthly principal payment of $30,494 by 24 installment starting July 2009. The loan is secured by the machinery and equipment of Henyang Ritar and was jointly guaranteed by Shenzhen Ritar, China Ritar, Mr. Jiada Hu, Ms. Henying Peng and Mr. Jianjun Zeng.

We believe that our currently available working capital, after receiving the aggregate proceeds of our capital raising activities and the credit facilities referred to above, should be adequate to sustain our operations at our current levels through at least the next twelve months. However, depending on our future needs and changes and trends in the capital markets affecting our shares and the Company, we may determine to seek additional equity or debt financing in the private or public markets.

Obligations Under Material Contracts

Below is a table setting forth our material contractual obligations as of December 31, 2009:

Payments in thousands of U.S. dollars

   
Total
   
Less than
one year
   
1-3 years
   
3-5 years
   
More than 5
years
 
Contractual loans obligations
 
$
5,688
   
$
2,807
   
$
2,881
     
-
     
-
 
Operating lease obligations
   
828
     
468
     
360
     
-
     
-
 
Capital Lease Obligations
   
581
     
581
     
-
     
-
     
-
 
Purchase Obligations
                   
-
     
-
     
-
 
Total
 
$
7,097
   
$
3,856
   
$
3,241
     
-
     
-
 

Other than the contractual obligations and commercial commitments set forth above, we did not have any other long-term debt obligations, operating lease obligations, capital commitments, purchase obligations or other long-term liabilities as of December 31, 2009.

Critical Accounting Policies

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires our management to make assumptions, estimates and judgments that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements, including the notes thereto, and related disclosures of commitments and contingencies, if any. We consider our critical accounting policies to be those that require the more significant judgments and estimates in the preparation of financial statements, including the following:

Ÿ
Inventory- Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or market, determined by the weighted average method.  Work-in-progress and finished goods inventories consist of raw materials, direct labor and overhead associated with the manufacturing process.
 
 
24

 

Ÿ
Trade accounts receivable – Trade accounts receivable is stated at billed amounts, net of allowance for doubtful accounts. Management provides an allowance for doubtful debts arising from amounts that are due for one year or more from the expiry of credit periods allowed by the Company.  The Company grants credit terms to customers varying from “cash on delivery” to 210 days from delivery.  Additional specific provision is made against trade receivables aged less than 1 year to the extent they are considered to be doubtful.

Ÿ
Property, plant and equipment- Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost including the cost of improvements.  Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred.  Assets under construction are not depreciated until construction is completed and the assets are ready for their intended use.  Depreciation and amortization are provided on the straight-line method based on the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows:
 
Buildings
30 years
Leasehold improvement
5 years
Plant and machinery
5 years – 10 years
Furniture, fixtures and equipment
5 years
Motor vehicles
5 years

Ÿ
Valuation of long-lived assets- The Company reviews the carrying value of long-lived assets, including property, plant, and equipment and intangible assets subject to amortization, for impairment whenever events and circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable from the estimated future cash flows expected to result from its use and eventual disposition. In cases where undiscounted expected future cash flows are less than the carrying value, an impairment loss is recognized equal to an amount by which the carrying value exceeds the fair value of assets. The factors considered by management in performing this assessment include current operating results, trends, and prospects, as well as the effects of obsolescence, demand, competition, and other economic factors.

Derivative instruments - The Company entered into forward foreign currency contracts with banks to manage a portion of foreign currency risk related to U.S. Dollar denominated asset balances against the functional currency, Renminbi (the lawful currency of China), of its PRC subsidiary. The forward foreign currency contracts did not qualify for hedge accounting and were carried at fair value as assets or liabilities, with unrealized gains and losses recognized based on changes in fair value in the caption “Foreign Currency Exchange Gain (Loss)” in the Company’s consolidated statement of income and comprehensive income. In the third quarter of fiscal 2009, all of the Company’s forward foreign currency contracts had expired. The fair value of these forward foreign exchange contracts had been determined using standard calculations/models that use as their basis readily observable market parameters including spot and forward rates and a net present value stream of cash flows model.

Revenue recognition- Revenue from sales of the Company’s products is recognized when the significant risks and rewards of ownership have been transferred to the buyer at the time when the products are delivered to and accepted by its customers, the price is fixed or determinable as stated on the sales contract, and collectibility is reasonably assured.  Customers do not have a general right of return on products shipped. Products returns to the Company were insignificant during past years.  There are no post-shipment obligations, price protection and bill and hold arrangements.

Research and development expenses- Research and development costs are charged to expense when incurred and are included in operating expenses. During the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, research and development costs expensed to operating expenses were approximately $561,357 and $469,530, respectively.

Post-retirement and post- employment benefits-The Company’s subsidiaries contribute to a state pension scheme in respect of its PRC employees.  Other than the above, neither the Company nor its subsidiaries provide any other post-retirement or post-employment benefits.

Basic Income/Loss Per Common Share- The computation of income/loss per share is based on the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the year presented in accordance with FASB ASC 260-10, “Earnings Per Share.”

Use of estimates- The preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The financial statements include some amounts that are based on management’s best estimates and judgments. These accounts and estimates include, but are not limited to, the valuation of accounts receivable, other receivables, inventories, deferred income taxes, and the estimation on useful lives of property, plant and equipment. These estimates may be adjusted as more current information becomes available, and any adjustment could be significant.

 
25

 

Significant Estimates Relating to Specific Financial Statement Accounts and Transactions Are Identified- The financial statements include some amounts that are based on management’s best estimates and judgments. The most significant estimates relate to allowance for uncollectible accounts receivable, inventory work in process valuation and obsolescence, depreciation, useful lives, taxes, and contingencies.  These estimates may be adjusted as more current information becomes available, and any adjustment could be significant.

Recent Changes in Accounting Standards

Please refer to “Note 3—Recent Changes in Accounting Standard” to our Financial Statements.

Seasonality

Our operating results and operating cash flows historically have not been subject to seasonal variations. This pattern may change, however, as a result of new market opportunities or new product introductions.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any off-balance arrangements.

ITEM 8.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY FINANCIAL DATA

Consolidated Financial Statements

The full text of our audited consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2009, and 2008 begins on page F-1 of this Report.

ITEM 9.
CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.

None.

ITEM 9A(T).
  CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, with the participation of our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, Messrs. Jiada Hu and Aijun Liu, respectively, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures. The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports, such as this report, that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Based on that evaluation, Messrs. Hu and Liu concluded that as of December 31, 2009, and as of the date that the evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures was completed, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to satisfy the objectives for which they are intended.
 
 
26

 

(b) Management’s annual report on internal control over financial reporting

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting for the Company. Internal control over financial reporting refers to the process designed by, or under the supervision of, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, and effected by our Board of Directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. GAAP, and includes those policies and procedures that:

(1)
pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets;

(2)
provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with the authorization of our management and directors; and

(3)
provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2009. In making this assessment, management used the framework set forth in the report entitled Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on that evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, as of December 31, 2009.

This annual report does not include an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by our registered public accounting firm pursuant to temporary rules of the SEC that permit the Company to provide only management’s report in this annual report.

(c) Changes in internal control over financial reporting

During the year ended December 31, 2009, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation performed during the fiscal year covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect our internal control over financial reporting.

ITEM 9B.
OTHER INFORMATION.

In the normal course of business, the Company is requested by certain of its suppliers to settle trade liabilities incurred in the ordinary course of business by issuance of bills that is guaranteed by a bank acceptable to the supplier.  The bills are interest-free with maturity dates of either three months or six months from date of issuance. In order to provide such guarantees for the bills, Shenzhen Ritar and Hengyang Ritar have obtained relevant credit facilities from China CITIC Bank, Shenzhen Branch, Citibank, Shenzhen Branch, DBS bank, Shenzhen Branch and Bank of China, Hengyang Branch, and Bank of China (the “Banks”).  Pursuant to the Banks’ facilities letters and loan agreements, as of December 31, 2009, the Company had available facilities for such bank acceptances up to approximately $30,852,451, of which $13,498,001 was utilized and recorded as bills payable as of December 31, 2009. Plus, $556,516 was utilized by Shengzhen Ritar for payable to Hengyang Ritar.

 The Company is required to place bank deposits, classified as restricted cash as disclosed in Note 5, equal to 30-100%, subject to bank’s decision, of the bills amount as collaterals against the Banks’ guarantees for such bills. Such bank acceptance facilities up to approximately $9,519,346 granted by Citibank, Shenzhen Branch, are additionally secured by guarantees provided by Shanghai Ritar, Hengyang  Ritar, Mr. Jiada Hu (CEO and principal stockholder of the Company) and Ms. Henying Peng (director of certain subsidiaries of the Company and the spouse of Mr. Jiada Hu). Under this kind of arrangement, Shenzhen Ritar is obligated to pay 0.05% of the bills amount as handling charges.

The foregoing description does not purport to be a complete statement of the parties’ rights and obligations under the bank acceptance agreements. The foregoing description is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Form of Bank Acceptance Agreement filed as Exhibit 10.24 to our Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed on January 16, 2008.
 
 
27

 

ITEM 10.
DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.

Directors and Executive Officers

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

Name
 
Age
 
Position
Jiada Hu
 
46
 
Chief Executive Officer, President, Secretary, Treasurer and Director
Jianjun Zeng
 
43
 
Chief Operating Officer and Director
Degang He
 
70
 
Chief Technology Officer
Zhenghua Cai(1)
 
40
 
Chief Financial Officer
Aijun Liu(1)
 
34
 
Chief Financial Officer
Charles C. Mo
 
58
 
Director
Yaofu Tang
 
63
 
Director
Xiongjie Wang
 
60
 
Director
(1) Mr. Cai resigned as our CFO on January 18, 2010 and Mr. Liu was appointed as our CFO on the same date.

JIADA HU. Mr. Hu has been our Chief Executive Officer, President, Secretary and Treasurer since February 16, 2007 and our director since March 11, 2007. Mr. Hu has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of our subsidiary, Shenzhen Ritar, since June 2002. Before founding Shenzhen Ritar in June 2002, Mr. Hu was the Vice President of Sales at Shenzhen Senry Power Co., Ltd, a major lead-acid battery manufacturer in China from December 1998 to June 2002. Mr. Hu holds a B.S. degree from Jilin University and Master’s degree in Business Administration from TsingHua University.

JIANJUN ZENG. Mr. Zeng became our Chief Operating Officer on February 16, 2007 and has been the Chief Operating Officer of our subsidiary, Shenzhen Ritar, since June 2002. Prior to joining Shenzhen Ritar, Mr. Zeng was the Vice President of one of the major lead-acid battery manufacturers, ZhongShan Enduring Battery Co., Ltd from April 2000 to April 2002. From October 1999 to March 2000, Mr. Zeng was the Vice President of Sales of Shenzhen Jinxingguang Power Co., Ltd., a VRLA manufacturer and prior to that, Mr. Zeng had been chief of the production department of HengYang City TianYuan Inc. a metallurgy company. Mr. Zeng holds a bachelor’s degree from Hunan University and Master’s degree in Business Administration from Zhongshan University.

DEGANG HE. Mr. He became our Chief Technology Officer on February 16, 2007 and has been the Chief Technology Officer of our subsidiary, Shenzhen Ritar, since July 2003. Prior to joining Shenzhen Ritar, Mr. He was the Chief Technology Officer of Guangdong Panyu Storage Battery Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of VRLA and starting, lighting, and ignition motive and stationary lead-acid batteries from February 1993 to May 2003 and a large state-owned lead-acid battery enterprise in Hunan Province from July 1963 to February 1993. He holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Guangxi University that he received in 1963.

ZHENGHUA CAI. Mr. Cai became our Chief Financial Officer on February 16, 2007 and has been the manager of the Finance Department of our subsidiary, Shenzhen Ritar since November 2002. Prior to joining Shenzhen Ritar, Mr. Cai was chief of the Finance Department of DaDa Electronics (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of electronic products from September 1999 to October 2002. Mr. Cai holds a bachelor’s degree from SouthWestern University of Finance and Economics in Chongqing, China.

AIJUN LIU. From April 2007 to December 2009, Mr. Liu was the Chief Accounting Officer of the Company’s subsidiary, Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. and was in charge of accounting and finance. Prior to this, Mr. Liu served as a Director of Investment Bank Department with China US Venture Capital Group Limited and provided investment banking service for listing on America for Chinese enterprises from September 2005 to March 2007. From August 2002 to August 2005, Mr. Liu served as an Audit Manager with the Shenzhen Zhongheng Certified Public Accountants Co., Ltd. From June 1997 to July 2002, Mr. Liu was the Financial Manager of Shenzhen Wanji Pharmacy Co.,Ltd., a big company engaged in the business of research, manufacturing and selling medicines. Mr.Liu is a CPA and holds a lawyer’s certificate of qualification in China. Mr. Liu received a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Jinan University and obtained a Master’s degree in Law from Wuhan University.

CHARLES C. MO. Mr. Mo is a Certified Public Accountant with twenty seven years of experience in public and corporate accounting and finance. Mr. Mo has held his CPA license since 1980. Mr. Mo has served in his current position as the General Manager of Charles Mo & Co. since June of 2005, focusing on general management duties. From October of 1999 to May of 2005, Mr. Mo served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Coca-Cola Shanghai. His duties included finance, logistics, production, and general management. From December of 1998 to September of 1999, Mr. Mo served as Finance Director of Fisher Rosemount Shanghai. From August 1996 to November 1998, he also served as Chief Financial Officer of Nike China, and his responsibilities included overseeing finance, human resources, and logistics. From January of 1995 to August 1996, Mr. Mo served as Controller for Polaroid China. From August of 1982 to December of 1994, Mr. Mo served as Finance and Audit Manager for Wang Laboratories. From 1978 to 1982, Mr. Mo served as an Accountant and Auditor for Ernst & Young and Thomas Allen, CPA. Mr. Mo received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a Business Administration major in 1974 from HK Baptist College. Mr. Mo received an MBA in accounting in 1976 from California State University-Fullerton. Mr. Mo has been the Vice Chairman of AMCHAM Shanghai since 2006, and was re-elected in November 2007. Mr. Mo has served on the Board of Governors of AMCHAM Shanghai since 2005 and will continue to do so during 2009. Mr. Mo was the Treasurer for AMCHAM Shanghai in 2005. He is a director of OmniaLuo, Inc. (OTC BB: OLOU).
 
 
28

 
 
YAOFU TANG. Mr. Tang has more than 35 years of experience in computer industry. He was one of major developers of the first Chinese PC, Chinese MS-DOS and ROM dot-matrix Chinese Character font base. From 1996 to 2005, Mr. Tang was a director, group vice president of Beijing Funder Group, one of China’s most innovative and influential high-tech companies. Mr. Tang is currently the vice chairman of China Computer Industry Association and the chairman of Shenzhen Computer Industry Association. He has also served as President and CEO of Tangy Mobile Device, President of Joychips Technology Corporation and President of Wonderview Technology Co. Mr. Tang holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics from Peking University.

XIONGJIE WANG. Mr. Wang has over 20 years of working experience in the Chinese patent industry. From December 2002 to June 2005, Mr. Wang was the executive director and general manager of Shenzhen Zhongzhi Patent Agent Co., Ltd. Since June 2005, Mr. Wang has been the executive director, general manager of Shenzhen Xiongjie Patent & Trademark Agent Co., Ltd. Mr. Wang is currently a standing board member of All-China Patent Agents Association. Mr. Wang holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electric Automatic Control from Guizhou University of Technology in China.

Board Composition and Committees

The board of directors is currently composed of five member, Messrs. Jiada Hu, Jianjun Zeng, Charles C. Mo, Yaofu Tang, and Xiongjie Wang. All Board action requires the approval of a majority of the directors in attendance at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The Board has determined that each of Messrs. Mo, Wang and Tang is an “independent director” (the “Independent Director”) as defined by Rule 4200(a)(15) of the Marketplace Rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (the “Nasdaq Marketplace Rules”).

There are no arrangements or understandings between any of the directors and any other persons pursuant to which they were selected as directors. There are no transactions between the Company and any director that would require disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.

The Company has entered into separate Independent Director’s Contracts and Indemnification Agreements with each of the Independent Directors. Under the terms of the Independent Director’s Contracts, the Company agreed to pay Mr. Mo an annual fee of $12,000, Mr. Tang an annual fee of $10,000 and Mr. Wang an annual fee of $10,000, as compensation for the services to be provided by them as Independent Directors. Under the terms of the Indemnification Agreements, the Company agreed to indemnify the Independent Directors against expenses, judgments, fines, penalties or other amounts actually and reasonably incurred by the Independent Directors in connection with any proceeding if the Independent Director acted in good faith and in the best interests of the Company.

Except as noted above, there are no other agreements or understandings for any of our executive officers or directors to resign at the request of another person and no officer or director is acting on behalf of nor will any of them act at the direction of any other person. Our current director holds no directorships in any other reporting companies.

On August 4, 2008, the Board of the Company, including the Independent Directors, established an Audit Committee, a Compensation Committee, and a Governance and Nominating Committee. The Audit Committee consists of Messrs. Mo, Wang and Tang with Mr. Mo serving as the Chair of the Audit Committee. The Compensation Committee consists of Messrs. Mo, Wang and Tang with Mr. Tang serving as the Chair of the Compensation Committee. The Governance and Nominating Committee consists of Messrs. Mo, Wang and Tang with Mr. Wang serving as the Chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee. The Board also determined that Mr. Mo possesses accounting or related financial management experience that qualifies him as financially sophisticated within the meaning of Rule 4350(d)(2)(A) of the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules and that he is an “audit committee financial expert” as defined by the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of the Audit Committee Charter, the Compensation Committee Charter, and the Governance and Nominating Committee Charter are attached as Exhibits 99.1, 99.2 and 99.3 to our current report on Form 8-K filed on August 5, 2008, respectively, and are incorporated herein by reference. Each committee charter will also be posted on the corporate governance page of the Company's website at www.ritarpower.com as soon as practicable.

Family Relationships

Except with respect to Mr. Zeng and Mr. Hu, there are no family relationships among our director or officers. Jianjun Zeng, our Chief Operating Officer is the brother-in-law of our Chief Executive Officer and director, Jiada Hu.

 
29

 

Section 16(A) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Under U.S. securities laws, directors, certain executive officers and persons holding more than 10% of our common stock must report their initial ownership of the common stock, and any changes in that ownership, to the SEC. The SEC has designated specific due dates for these reports. Based solely on our review of copies of such reports filed with the SEC by and written representations of our directors and executive offers, we believe that our directors and executive offers filed the required reports on time in 2009 fiscal year.

Involvement in Certain Legal Proceedings

To the best of our knowledge, none of our directors or executive officers has been convicted in a criminal proceeding, excluding traffic violations or similar misdemeanors, or has been a party to any judicial or administrative proceeding during the past five years that resulted in a judgment, decree or final order enjoining the person from future violations of, or prohibiting activities subject to, federal or state securities laws (except where not subsequently dismissed without sanction or settlement), or from engaging in any type of business practice, or a finding of any violation of federal or state securities laws. To the best of our knowledge, no petition under the federal bankruptcy laws or any state insolvency law was filed by or against, or a receiver, fiscal agent or similar officer was appointed by a court for the business or property of any of our directors or officers, or any partnership in which any of our directors or officers was a general partner at or within two years before the time of such filing, or any corporation or business association of which any of our directors or officers was an executive officer at or within two years before the time of such filing. Except as set forth in our discussion below in “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence,” none of our directors, director nominees or executive officers has been involved in any transactions with us or any of our directors, executive officers, affiliates or associates which are required to be disclosed pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.

Code of Ethics

On February 16, 2007, our board of directors adopted a code of ethics that applies to all of our directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, and principal accounting officer. The code of ethics addresses, among other things, honesty and ethical conduct, conflicts of interest, compliance with laws, regulations and policies, including disclosure requirements under the federal securities laws, confidentiality, trading on inside information, and reporting of violations of the code. A copy of the code of ethics has been filed as Exhibit 14 to our current report on Form 8-K filed on February 22, 2007. We are in the process of making our code of ethics available on our website, which is located at www.ritarpower.com. Once the code of ethics is available on our website, any amendments or waivers to the code of ethics will be posted on our website within four business days of such amendment or waiver. Until such time, any amendments or waivers to our code of ethics will be filed with the SEC in a Current Report on Form 8-K.

ITEM 11.
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Summary Compensation Table

The following table sets forth information concerning all compensation awarded to, earned by or paid to the following persons for services rendered in all capacities during 2009 and 2008. No executive officers received total compensation in excess of $100,000.

Name and
Principal Position
  
Year
 
Salary
($)
 
Bonus
($)
 
Stock
Awards
($)
 
Total
($)
  
Jiada Hu Director,
   
2009
 
52,700
   
40,405
 
-
   
93,105
 
CEO, President, Secretary, Treasurer (1)
   
2008
 
51,980
   
5,288
 
3,853,401
   
3,910,669
 
                             
Zhenghua Cai, Chief Financial Officer
   
2009
 
26,350
   
-
 
-
   
26,350
 
     
2008
 
25,990
   
-
 
-
   
25,990
 

 
30

 

(1)
On February 16, 2007, we acquired Ritar in a reverse acquisition transaction that was structured as a share exchange and in connection with that transaction, Mr. Hu became our Chief Executive Officer, President, Secretary and Treasurer. On March 11, 2007, Mr. Hu became our sole director. Prior to the effective date of the reverse acquisition, Mr. Hu served Shenzhen Ritar as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman. The compensation shown in this table includes the amount Mr. Hu received from Shenzhen Ritar prior to the consummation of our reverse acquisition of Ritar on February 16, 2007 in addition to the compensation Mr. Hu received for his services for the remainder of 2007. In addition, in 2007, we recognized stock-based compensation of approximately $3.85 million. The 2007 stock-based compensation was attributable to the recognition of the make good provision expense for the year ended December 31, 2007. In connection with the private placement on February 16, 2007, our largest shareholder, Mr. Jiada Hu entered into an escrow agreement with the private placement investors pursuant to which he agreed to certain “make good” provisions. In the escrow agreement, we established minimum after tax net income thresholds of $5,678,000 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 and $8,200,000 for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2008. Mr. Hu deposited a total of 3,601,309 shares, to be equitably adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends and similar adjustments, of the common stock of China Ritar Power Corp. into escrow with Securities Transfer Corporation under the escrow agreement. In the event that the minimum after tax net income thresholds for the fiscal year 2007 or the fiscal year 2008 are not achieved, then the investors will be entitled to receive additional shares of our common stock deposited in escrow based upon on a pre-defined formula agreed to between the investors and Mr. Hu. Pursuant to SFAS No. 123R, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation, if the net income threshold is met, the shares will be released back to the make good pledgor and treated as an expense equal to the grant date fair value of the shares. We achieved our net income threshold for 2007 and 2008 and as a result, approximately $3.85 million separately was recognized as an expense for 2007 and 2008 in accordance with SFAS No. 123R.

Employment Agreements

On August 1, 2006, our subsidiary, Shenzhen Ritar, entered into employment agreements with Jiada Hu, our Chief Executive Officer, President, Secretary and Treasurer, and Zhenghua Cai, our Chief Financial Officer. The term of each employment agreement is three years. The employment agreements provide the amount of each executive officer’s salary and establish their eligibility to receive a bonus. Mr. Hu’s employment agreement provides for an annual salary of approximately 360,000, and Mr. Cai’s employment agreement provides for an annual salary of approximately 180,000. The employment agreements do not entitle the executives to severance payments or payments following a change in control.
 
Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year End

There was no unexercised option, stock that has not vested or equity incentive plan award for any named executive officer as of December 31, 2008 and 2009.

Director Compensation

The table below sets forth the compensation of our directors for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009:

Name
 
Fees
Earned or
Paid in
Cash ($)
   
Stock
Awards
($)
   
Option
Awards
($)
   
Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)
   
All Other
Compensation
($)
   
Total ($)
 
                                     
Jiada Hu(1)
   
93,105
     
-
     
-
     
-
     
-
     
93,105
 
Jianjun Zeng(2)
   
28,741
     
-
     
-
     
-
     
-
     
28,741
 
Charles C. Mo
   
12,000
     
-
     
-
     
-
     
-
     
12,000
 
Yaofu Tang
   
10,000
     
-
     
-
     
-
     
-
     
10,000
 
Xiongjie Wang
   
10,000
     
-
     
-
     
-
     
-
     
10,000
 

(1) Mr. Hu does not receive additional compensation for his service as our director. The compensation disclosed herein is his compensation for serving as our CEO and President as disclosed in the Summary Compensation Table above.
(2) Mr. Zeng does not receive additional compensation for his service as our director. The compensation disclosed herein is his compensation for serving as our Chief Operating Officer as disclosed in the Summary Compensation Table above.

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

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management

The following table sets forth information regarding beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 24, 2010 (i) by each person who is known by us to beneficially own more than 5% of our common stock; (ii) by each of our officers and directors; and (iii) by all of our officers and directors as a group.

 
31

 

Unless otherwise specified, the address of each of the persons set forth below is in care of China Ritar Power Corp., Room 405, Tower C, Huahan Building, 16 Langshan Road, North High-Tech Industrial Park, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, 518057, China.

Name & Address of
Beneficial Owner
 
Office, If Any
 
Title of Class
 
Amount &
Nature of
Beneficial
Ownership(1)
   
Percent of
Class(2)
 
Officers and Directors  
Jiada Hu(3)(4)(5)
 
CEO, President, Secretary, Treasurer and Director
 
Common Stock $0.001 par value
   
7,713,594
     
35.28
%
Jianjun Zeng
 
Chief Operating Officer
 
Common Stock $0.001 par value
   
0
     
0
 
Degang He
 
Chief Technology Officer
 
Common Stock $0.001 par value
   
0
     
0
 
Zhenghua Cai
 
Chief Financial Officer
 
Common Stock $0.001 par value
   
0
     
0
 
All officers and directors as a group (4 persons named above)
     
Common Stock $0.001 par value
   
7,713,594
     
35.28
%
  5% Securities Holder
Pope Asset Management, LLC
5100 Poplar Ave., Suite 805
Memphis, TN 38137(6)
     
Common stock $0.001 par value
   
4,166,627
     
19.06
%
Pope Investments LLC(7)
c/o Pope Asset Management
5100 Poplar Ave., Suite 805
Memphis, TN 38137
     
Common Stock $0.001 par value
   
2,111,075
     
9.65
%
Pope Investments II LLC
c/o Pope Asset Management
5100 Poplar Ave., Suite 805
Memphis, TN 38137
     
Common Stock $0.001 par value
   
511,200
     
2.33
%
William P. Wells(8)
c/o Pope Asset Management
5100 Poplar Ave., Suite 805
Memphis, TN 38137
     
Common Stock $0.001 par value
   
4,166,627
     
19.06
%
Henying Peng(5)(9)
     
Common Stock $0.001 par value
   
7,713,594
      35.28%
 
* Less than 1%
 
(1)Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC and generally includes voting or investment power with respect to securities.

(2)A total of 21,858,925 shares of our common stock as of March 24, 2010 are considered to be outstanding pursuant to SEC Rule 13d-3(d)(1). For each beneficial owner above, any options or warrants exercisable within 60 days have been included in the denominator.

(3)In order to induce certain individuals to loan money to us in the aggregate amount of approximately $762,500, Mr. Jiada Hu, in July 2006 granted these lenders a right to purchase from Mr. Hu 161,408 shares of our common stock in aggregate. The right to purchase Mr. Hu’s shares of our common stock can be exercised within three years at the exercise price of $2.14 per share.

(4)Includes 401,680 shares of our common stock owned by Henying Peng, Mr. Jiada Hu’s wife.

(5)Includes 3,601,309 shares that have been placed in escrow, pursuant to a make good escrow agreement, dated as of February 16, 2007.

(6)Includes 1,544,352 shares of common stock held by Pope Asset Management, LLC on behalf of its clients, 2,111,075 shares of common stock held by Pope Investments LLC and 511,200 shares of common stock held and owned by Pope Investments II LLC. Pope Asset Management, LLC is the investment advisor for Pope Investments LLC and Pope Investments II LLC. The foregoing information is derived from a Schedule 13D filed with the SEC on February 17, 2010, excluding the 411,215 shares of underlying the warrant to purchase shares of common stock that expired on February 15, 2010.

 
32

 

(7)Includes 2,111,075 shares of common stock. The foregoing information is derived from a Schedule 13D filed with the SEC on February 17, 2010, excluding the 411,215 shares of underlying the warrant to purchase shares of common stock that expired on February 15, 2010.

(8) )Includes 1,544,352 shares of common stock held by Pope Asset Management, LLC on behalf of its clients, 2,111,075 shares of common stock held by Pope Investments LLC and 511,200 shares of common stock held and owned by Pope Investments II LLC. Pope Asset Management, LLC is the investment advisor for Pope Investments LLC and Pope Investments II LLC. Mr. Wells is the Chief Manager of Pope Asset Management, LLC and Pope Asset Management, LLC is investment advisor to Pope Investments LLC and Pope Investments II LLC, therefore Mr. Wells could be deemed to be beneficial owner of these securities. The foregoing information is derived from a Schedule 13D filed with the SEC on February 17, 2010, excluding the 411,215 shares of underlying the warrant to purchase shares of common stock that expired on February 15, 2010.
 
(9)Includes 7,614,145 shares of our common stock owned by Mr. Hu, Henying Peng’s husband.

Changes in Control

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

ITEM 13.
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS.

Transactions with Related Persons

The following includes a summary of transactions since the beginning of the last fiscal year, or any currently proposed transaction, in which we were or are to be a participant and the amount involved exceeded or exceeds $120,000, or one percent of the average of the Company’s total assets at year end of 2008 and 2009. We believe the terms obtained or consideration that we paid or received, as applicable, in connection with the transactions described below were comparable to terms available or the amounts that would be paid or received, as applicable, in arm's-length transactions.

On February 16, 2007, we consummated the transactions contemplated by a share exchange agreement between Concept Ventures Corporation and the owners of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Ritar International Group Limited, including Jiada Hu, our Chief Executive Officer, President, and largest stockholder and certain of our other officers and stockholders. Pursuant to the share exchange agreement, we acquired 100 percent of the outstanding capital stock of Ritar International Group Limited in exchange for 11,694,663 shares of our common stock. As a result of this transaction, Mr. Hu became the beneficial owner of approximately 43.87% of our outstanding capital stock as of February 16, 2007.

On May 1, 2005, Shenzhen Ritar entered into a lease with Mr. Jiada Hu, pursuant to which Shenzhen Ritar leased Room 2201 Tower A, Cyber Times Building, Tian’an Cyber Park, Futian District, Shenzhen from Mr. Hu for office use at a monthly rental of approximately $2,330. The site area is approximately 233 square meters. On June 29, 2006, Shenzhen Ritar reached a supplemental agreement with Mr. Hu, by which the monthly rental of the same office was increased to approximately $3,495. This lease was terminated by the parties on May 5, 2007.

On September 30, 2006, we loaned RMB 6,358,259.95 (approximately $800,000) to Mr. Jiada Hu. The annual interest rate for the loan was 6%. The loan is due on September 30, 2007 and secured with a lien on Mr. Hu’s personally owned real estate. On February 16, 2007, at the same time that we closed our private placement, Mr. Hu sold 864,486 of the shares that he received upon the consummation of the share exchange transaction to the investors in the private placement. The approximate $1,850,000 in proceeds received from the sale of these shares were used to repay in full this outstanding indebtedness.

On September 5, 2006, our subsidiary Shenzhen Ritar entered into a financial advisory agreement with HFG International, Limited, a Hong Kong corporation. Under the financial advisory agreement, HFG International, Limited agreed to provide Shenzhen Ritar with financial advisory and consulting services in implementing a restructuring plan, advising Shenzhen Ritar on matters related to a capital raising transaction and facilitating Shenzhen Ritar’s going public transaction. In consideration for these services, HFG International, Limited was paid a fee of $480,000 upon the closing of the going public transaction. Our former director and officer Timothy P. Halter is the principal stockholder and the Chief Executive Officer of HFG International, Limited.

In order to induce certain individuals to loan money to us in the aggregate amount of approximately $762,500, Mr. Jiada Hu, in July 2006 granted these lenders a right to purchase from Mr. Hu 161,408 shares of our common stock in aggregate. The right to purchase Mr. Hu’s shares of our common stock can be exercised within three years at the exercise price of $2.14 per share.

 
33

 

In 2007, the Company loaned money to our executive officers, Jiada Hu and Jianjun Zeng. The loans are unsecured, non-interest bearing and repayable on demand. The balances due from the officers were $206,175 as of December 31, 2007. Mr. Hu and Mr. Zeng paid off the loans in July 2008.

Certain of the Company’s short-term and long-term  loans (see Notes 16 and 17 to our financial statement) and bills payable (see Note 15 to our financial statement) are secured by personal guarantees provided by Mr. Jiada Hu (CEO and principal stockholder of the Company) and Ms. Henying Peng (director of certain subsidiaries of the Company and the spouse of Mr. Jiada Hu).

On October 15, 2009, Shenzhen Ritar entered into an agreement with a family member of Ms. Henying Peng (director of certain subsidiaries of the Company and the spouse of Mr. Jiada Hu, CEO and principal stockholder of the Company) to sell 95%, representing all of Shenzhen Ritar’s ownership interest in Shanghai Ritar, for RMB2,850,000 (or $417,216), payable in cash within 6 months from the date of the agreement.

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

Promoters and Certain Control Persons

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

Director Independence

We currently have three independent directors, as the term “independent” is defined by the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market. Our independent directors are Messrs. Mo, Wang and Tang.

ITEM 14.
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.

AGCA, Inc. (f/n/a Yu and Associates CPA Corporation) served as our independent accountants for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008

During the fiscal years ended December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008, fees for services provided by AGCA, Inc. were as follows:

  
 
2009
   
2008
 
Audit fees(1)
 
$
200,000
   
$
120,000
 
Audit-related fees
               
Tax fees(2)
   
 5,000
     
1,000
 
All other fees
               
Total
   
205,000
     
121,000
 
(1)
Consists of fees billed for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of financial statements included in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and services that are normally provided by the accountant in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements.
(2)
“Tax Fees” consisted of fees billed for professional services rendered by the principal accountant for tax compliance, tax advice, and tax planning.

Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures

Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, all audit and non-audit services performed by our auditors must be approved in advance by our Board to assure that such services do not impair the auditors’ independence from us. In accordance with its policies and procedures, our Board pre-approved the audit service performed by AGCA, Inc. for our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2009.

PART IV

ITEM 15.           EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS SCHEDULES.

Exhibits (including those incorporated by reference).

Exhibit No.
  
Description
     
2.1
 
Share Exchange Agreement, dated September 6, 2006, among the registrant, Ritar International Group Limited and its stockholders (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on September 11, 2006, in commission file number 0-25901).
 
 
34

 

2.2
 
Amendment No. 1 to the Share Exchange Agreement, dated February 16, 2007, among the registrant, Ritar International Group Limited and its stockholders (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.2 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 22, 2007).
     
3.1
 
Article of Incorporation of the registrant as filed with the Secretary of State of Nevada on June 15, 2006 (Incorporated by reference to Appendix A to the registrant’s definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A filed on June 15, 2006, in commission file number 0-25901).
     
3.2
 
Certificate of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation of the registrant as filed with the Secretary of State of Nevada on March 26, 2007 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on March 30, 2007).
     
3.3
 
Amended and Restated Bylaws of the registrant adopted on August 4, 2008 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on August 5, 2008).
     
10.1
 
Form of Sales Contract with Buyer (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 22, 2007).
     
10.2
 
Employment Agreement, dated August 1, 2006, by and between Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. and Jiada Hu (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 22, 2007).**
     
10.3
 
Employment Agreement, dated August 1, 2006, by and between Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. and Jianjun Zeng (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 22, 2007).**
     
10.4
 
Employment Agreement, dated August 1, 2006, by and between Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. and Degang He (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 22, 2007).**
     
10.5
 
Employment Agreement, dated August 1, 2006, by and between Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. and Zhenghua Cai (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 22, 2007).**
10.6
 
Credit Facility Letter Agreement, dated March 6, 2006, by and between Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. and DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited Shenzhen Branch (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.9 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 22, 2007).
     
10.7
 
Supplemental Credit Facility Agreement, dated November 22, 2006, by and between Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. and DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited Shenzhen Branch (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.10 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 22, 2007).
     
10.8
 
Financial Advisory Agreement, dated September 5, 2006, by and between HFG International, Limited and Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 22, 2007).
     
10.9
 
Consulting Agreement, dated October 19, 2006, by and between Heritage Management Consultants, Inc. and Ritar International Group Limited (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.12 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 22, 2007).
     
10.10
 
Consulting Agreement, dated January 19, 2007, by and between the registrant and Heritage Management Consultants, Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on January 22, 2007).
     
10.11
 
Consulting Agreement, dated January 19, 2007, by and between the registrant and Zhang Qiang (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on January 22, 2007).
     
10.12
 
Lease Agreement, dated March 9, 2007, by and between Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. and Shenzhen Huahan Pipelines Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.15 to the registrant's registration statement on Form S-1 filed on May 14, 2007).
 
 
35

 

10.13
 
Lease Agreement, dated March 15, 2007, by and between Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. and Fuyong Yingfeng Machinery & Equipment Factory. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.16 to the registrant's registration statement on Form S-1 filed on May 14, 2007).
     
10.14
 
Lease Agreement, dated April 1, 2007, by and between Ritar Power (Huizhou) Co., Ltd. and Huiyang Sanlian Iron Products Factory. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.17 to the registrant's registration statement on Form S-1 filed on May 14, 2007).
     
10.15
 
Real Property Lease Agreement, dated April 24, 2007, by and between Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. and Shenzhen Qiaotou Equity Cooperation Co. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.18 to the registrant's registration statement on Form S-1 filed on May 14, 2007).
     
10.16
 
Factory Buildings Lease Agreement, dated March 28, 2006, by and between Shenzhen Qiaotou Equity Cooperation Co. and Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.17 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 22, 2007).
     
10.17
 
Real Property Lease Agreement, dated July 1, 2003, by and between Shanghai Fengxian Livestock and Fishery Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Ritar Power Co., Ltd. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.18 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 22, 2007).
     
10.18
 
Guarantee Agreement, dated March 7, 2006, by and among Jiada Hu, Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. and DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Ltd. Shenzhen Branch. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.22 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 22, 2007).
10.19
 
Non-Commitment Short-Term Revolving Credit Facility Agreement, dated August 1, 2007, between Citibank (China) Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Branch and Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed on August 17, 2007).
     
10.20
 
Bill Discount Service Agreement, dated August 1, 2007, between Citibank (China) Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Branch and Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registrant’s quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed on August 17, 2007).
     
10.21
 
Form of Bank Acceptance Agreement, between Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. and China Citic Bank, Shenzhen Branch. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.24 to the registrant’s registration statement on Form S-1 filed on January 16, 2008).
     
10.22
 
Independent Director’s Contract dated August 4, 2008 by and between the registrant and Charles Mo. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on August 5, 2008).
     
10.23
 
Independent Director’s Contract dated August 4, 2008 by and between the registrant Yaofu Tang. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on August 5, 2008).
     
10.24
 
Independent Director’s Contract dated August 4, 2008 by and between the registrant and Xiongjie Wang. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on August 5, 2008).
     
10.25
 
Indemnification Agreement dated August 4, 2008 by and between the registrant and Charles Mo. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on August 5, 2008).
     
10.26
 
Indemnification Agreement dated August 4, 2008 by and between the registrant and Yaofu Tang. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on August 5, 2008).
     
10.27
 
Indemnification Agreement dated August 4, 2008 by and between the registrant and Xiongjie Wang. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on August 5, 2008).
     
10.28
 
Placement Agent Agreement, dated October 2, 2009 between China Ritar Power Corp. and Roth Capital Partners, LLC
(Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on October 5, 2009.)

 
36

 

10.29
 
Form of Subscription Agreement (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on October 5, 2009.)
     
14
 
Business Ethics Policy and Code of Conduct, dated February 16, 2007 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 14 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on February 22, 2007).
     
21
 
Subsidiaries of the registrant. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 21 to the registrant’s annual report on Form 10-K filed on March 31, 2009).
     
23.1
 
Consent of Child, Van Wagoner & Bradshaw, PLLC date March 26, 2009.*
     
31.1
 
Certification of Principal Executive Officer filed pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. *
     
31.2
 
Certification of Principal Financial Officer filed pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.*
     
32.1
 
Certifications of Principal Executive Officer furnished pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.*
     
32.2
 
Certifications of Principal Financial Officer furnished pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. *
     
99.5
 
Audit Committee Charter adopted August 4, 2008 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on August 5, 2008).
     
99.6
 
Compensation Committee Charter adopted August 4, 2008 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.2 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on August 5, 2008).
     
99.7
 
Governance and Nominating Committee Charter adopted August 4, 2008 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.3 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on August 5, 2008).
* Filed herewith.
** Represents management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

 
37

 

SIGNATURES

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

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP.
   
By:
/s/Jiada Hu
 
Jiada Hu
 
Chief Executive Officer
   
 
Date: March 31, 2010

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

Each person whose signature appears below hereby authorizes Jiada Hu as attorneys-in-fact to sign on his behalf, individually, and in each capacity stated below, and to file all amendments and/or supplements to this annual report on Form 10-K.

Signature
 
Capacity
 
Date
         
/s/ Jiada Hu
 
President and Chief Executive Officer
 
March 31, 2010
Jiada Hu
 
(Principal Executive Officer) and Director
   
         
/s/ Aijun Liu
 
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial
 
March 31, 2010
Aijun Liu
 
Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)
   
         
/s/ Jianjun Zeng
 
Chief Operation Officer and Director
 
March 31, 2010
Jianjun Zeng
       
         
/s/ Charles C. Mo
 
Director
 
March 30, 2010
Charles C. Mo
       
         
/s/ Yaofu Tang
 
Director
 
March 31, 2010
Yaofu Tang
       
         
/s/ Xiongjie Wang
 
Director
 
March 31, 2010
Xiongjie Wang
       
 
 
38

 

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 
Page
   
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
F-1
   
Consolidated Balance Sheets
F-2
   
Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income
F-3
   
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity
F-4
   
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
F-5
   
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
F-6
 
 
 

 

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of
China Ritar Power Corp. :

We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of China Ritar Power Corp. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2008 and 2009, and the related statements of income, stockholders’ equity and comprehensive income, and cash flows for the year then ended.  China Ritar Power Corp.’s management is responsible for these financial statements.  Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).  Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement.  The company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting.  Our audit included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the company’s internal control over financial reporting.  Accordingly, we express no such opinion.  An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation.  We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial positions of China Ritar Power Corp. and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2008 and 2009, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2009 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

AGCA, Inc.

Arcadia, California
March 31, 2010

 
F-1

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

   
As of December 31
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
ASSETS
           
Current assets:
           
Cash and cash equivalents
  $ 20,459,361     $ 7,541,697  
Restricted cash
    5,900,649       4,387,679  
Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $1,115,321 and $1,114,276
    24,920,825       17,314,082  
Receivable from sale of a subsidiary (see Notes 12 and 29)
    417,387        
Due from a former subsidiary (see Note 12)
    3,925,348        
Inventory
    19,484,224       12,774,780  
Advance to suppliers
    2,477,449       1,328,694  
Other current assets
    3,915,605       4,138,236  
Current assets of discontinued operations
          5,333,174  
Total current assets
    81,500,848       52,818,342  
                 
Non-current assets:
               
Property, plant and equipment, net
    16,248,551       10,440,084  
Construction in progress
    136,443       3,089,854  
Intangible assets, net
    9,407       17,088  
Land use right
    468,265       476,687  
Rental and utility deposits
    82,439       82,801  
Deferred income tax assets
    115,064        
Non-current assets of discontinued operations
          465,286  
                 
Total assets
  $ 98,561,017     $ 67,390,142  
                 
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
         
Current liabilities:
               
Accounts payable
  $ 16,658,868     $ 11,968,901  
Income and other taxes payable
    3,986,935       2,898,082  
Accrued salaries
    502,978       437,954  
Bills payable
    13,498,001       4,321,915  
Derivative instruments
          236,898  
Other current liabilities
    2,800,879       2,497,498  
Current portion of long term loans
    1,342,473       877,886  
Short-term loans
    1,464,515       3,596,955  
Current liabilities of discontinued operations
          2,508,628  
Total current liabilities
    40,254,649       29,344,717  
                 
Long-term loans
    2,881,188       3,657,859  
                 
Total liabilities
    43,135,837       33,002,576  
                 
Stockholders’ equity:
               
Preferred stock, $.001 par value, 10,000,000 shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding
           
Common stock at $.001 par value; authorized 100,000,000 shares authorized, 21,450,238 and 19,134,992 shares issued and outstanding
    21,450       19,135  
Additional paid-in capital
    31,461,723       19,222,727  
Retained earnings
    20,745,985       12,053,205  
Accumulated other comprehensive income
    3,196,022       3,092,499  
Total China Ritar stockholders’ equity
    55,425,180       34,387,566  
                 
Noncontrolling interest
           
                 
Total equity
    55,425,180       34,387,566  
                 
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity
  $ 98,561,017     $ 67,390,142  

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements

 
F-2

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

   
For the years ended
December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
CONTINUING OPERATIONS
           
Net revenue
  $ 98,630,176     $ 112,312,056  
Cost of sales
    79,684,443       90,013,419  
                 
Gross profit
    18,945,733       22,298,637  
Operating expenses:
               
Salaries
    2,039,294       5,224,973  
Sales commission
    1,597,189       1,566,177  
Shipping and handling cost
    1,050,505       1,482,825  
Other selling, general and administrative expenses
    3,672,157       4,887,408  
      8,359,145       13,161,383  
                 
Operating profit
    10,586,588       9,137,254  
                 
Other income and (expenses):
               
Interest income
    115,716       192,326  
Other income
    160,396       2,222  
Interest expenses
    (716,526 )     (511,752 )
Foreign currency exchange loss
    (50,780 )     (557,388 )
Other expenses
    (7,037 )     (8,981 )
Total other expenses, net
    (498,231 )     (883,573 )
                 
Income from continuing operations before income taxes
    10,088,357       8,253,681  
Income taxes
    (1,948,322 )     (2,400,314 )
                 
Income from continuing operations
    8,140,035       5,853,367  
                 
DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS (Note 29)
               
Loss from discontinued operations, net of taxes
    (376,916 )     (718,940 )
Gain on disposal of discontinued operations, net of taxes
    910,817        
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of taxes
    533,901       (718,940 )
                 
Net income
    8,673,936       5,134,427  
Add: Loss from discontinued operations attributable to noncontrolling interest
    18,844       29,633  
                 
Net income attributable to China Ritar stockholders
  $ 8,692,780     $ 5,164,060  
                 
Other comprehensive income:
               
Foreign currency translation adjustment
    103,523       1,689,747  
Comprehensive income
    8,777,459       6,824,174  
Less: Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interest
    18,844       28,058  
Comprehensive income attributable to China Ritar stockholders
  $ 8,796,303     $ 6,852,232  
                 
Earnings (loss) per share attributable to China Ritar stockholders:
               
Basic:
               
- Income from continuing operations
  $ 0.41     $ 0.31  
- Income (loss) from discontinued operations
    0.03       (0.04 )
- Net income
  $ 0.44     $ 0.27  
Diluted:
               
- Income from continuing operations
  $ 0.40     $ 0.31  
- Income (loss) from discontinued operations
    0.03       (0.04 )
- Net income
  $ 0.43     $ 0.27  
                 
Weighted average number of shares outstanding:
               
- Basic
    19,693,630       19,127,598  
- Diluted
    20,124,293       19,127,598  
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
 
 
F-3

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

   
China Ritar stockholders
             
   
Common stock
   
Additional
paid-in
   
Retained
   
Accumulated
other
comprehensive
   
Non-
controlling
       
   
Shares
   
Amount
   
Capital
   
Earnings
   
Income
   
Interest
   
Total Equity
 
                                           
Balances at December 31, 2007
    19,000,996     $ 19,001     $ 15,343,481     $ 6,889,145     $ 1,404,327     $ 28,058     $ 23,684,012  
                                                         
Cashless exercise of warrants
    124,651       125       (125 )     -       -       -       -  
                                                         
Exercise of warrants
    9,345       9       25,970       -       -       -       25,979  
                                                         
Stock-based compensation make good provision
    -       -       3,853,401       -       -       -       3,853,401  
                                                         
Net income for the year
    -       -       -       5,164,060       -       (29,633 )     5,134,427  
                                                         
Foreign currency translation difference
    -       -       -       -       1,688,172       1,575       1,689,747  
                                                         
Balances at December 31, 2008
    19,134,992       19,135       19,222,727       12,053,205       3,092,499       -       34,387,566  
                                                         
Cashless exercise of warrants
    99,828       100       (100 )     -       -       -       -  
                                                         
Exercise of warrants
    65,418       65       181,797       -       -       -       181,862  
                                                         
Issuance of common stock for cash
    2,150,000       2,150       12,057,299       -       -       -       12,059,449  
                                                         
Net income for the year
    -       -       -       8,692,780       -       (18,844 )     8,673,936  
                                                         
Foreign currency translation difference
    -       -       -       -       103,523       -       103,523  
                                                         
Disposal of Shanghai Ritar (Note 29)
                                            18,844       18,844  
                                                         
Balances at December 31, 2009
    21,450,238     $ 21,450     $ 31,461,723     $ 20,745,985     $ 3,196,022     $ -     $ 55,425,180  
 
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 
F-4

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

   
For the years ended December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
Cash Flows from Continuing Operating Activities:
           
Net income
  $ 8,673,936     $ 5,134,427  
(Income) loss from discontinued operations, net of taxes
    (533,901 )     718,940  
Income from continuing operations
    8,140,035       5,853,367  
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
               
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment
    1,177,408       774,856  
Amortization of intangible assets and land use right
    16,560       12,352  
Bad debts expenses
          471,488  
(Gain) loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment
    (365 )     2,494  
Stock-based compensation – make good provision
          3,853,401  
Inventory write-down
          282,589  
Unrealized (loss) gain on derivative instruments
    (237,022 )     233,795  
Changes in operating working capital items:
               
Accounts receivable
    (7,587,403 )     (5,494,944 )
Inventory
    (6,694,725 )     (2,929,690 )
Advance to suppliers
    (1,147,038 )     2,115,687  
Other current assets
    (4,661,501 )     (4,803,688 )
Rental and utility deposit
    439       (81,717 )
Deferred income tax assets 
     (115,017      –  
Accounts payable
    4,676,850       1,866,118  
Income and other tax payable
    4,735,050       1,507,786  
Accrued salaries
    64,587       157,775  
Bills payable
    9,168,276       27,228  
Other current liabilities
    710,748       233,330  
Net cash provided by operating activities
    8,264,882       4,082,227  
                 
Cash Flows from Continuing Investing Activities:
               
Repayment of loan from related parties
          217,750  
Repayment from a former subsidiary – Shanghai Ritar (see Note 12)
    705,070        
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
    (4,362,680 )     (8,177,816 )
Purchase of intangible assets
          (3,760 )
Sales proceeds of disposal of property, plant and equipment
    4,392       47,720  
Net cash used in investing activities
    (3,653,218 )     (7,916,106 )
                 
Cash Flows from Continuing Financing Activities:
               
Net proceeds from issuance of common stock
    12,059,449        
Proceeds from stock issued for warrant exercised
    181,862       134  
Proceeds from bank borrowings
    8,684,270       33,213,856  
Repayment of bank borrowings
    (11,135,412 )     (28,775,962 )
Restricted cash
    (1,508,239 )     1,851,001  
Net cash provided by financing activities
    8,281,930       6,289,029  
                 
Cash Flows from Discontinued Operations Activities:
               
Net cash provided by (used in) discontinued operating activities
    (94,628 )     661,509  
Net cash used in discontinued investing activities
    (14,139 )     (30,772 )
Net cash used in discontinued financing activities
           
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash
          9,338  
Change in cash from discontinued operations
    108,767       (640,075 )
Net cash used in discontinued operations
           
                 
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
    24,070       429,684  
                 
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
    12,917,664       2,884,834  
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year
    7,541,697       4,656,863  
Cash and cash equivalents, end of year
  $ 20,459,361     $ 7,541,697  
                 
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information
               
Cash paid for interest
  $ 716,526     $ 511,752  
Cash paid for income taxes
  $ 996,471     $ 623,299  
                 
Non-cash investing and financing activities
               
Issuance of common stock for cashless exercise of warrants
  $ 100     $ 125  
Receivable from sale of Shanghai Ritar (Note 29)
  $ 417,387     $  
 
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statement.

 
F-5

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

1.
General Description of Business and Organization

China Ritar Power Corp. (the “Company” or “we”) is one of the leading manufacturers of lead-acid batteries in China. Through our Chinese subsidiaries, we design, develop, manufacture and sell environmentally friendly lead-acid batteries with a wide range of applications and capacities, including telecommunications, uninterrupted powers source devices, light electric vehicles and alternative energy production (solar and wind power). We conduct all of our operations in China. We market, sell and service our “Ritar” branded, cadmium-free, valve-regulated lead-acid, or VRLA, batteries in China and internationally.

We were originally organized under the laws of the State of Utah on May 21, 1985 under the name Concept Capital Corporation. On July 7, 2006, in order to change the domicile of Concept Capital Corporation from Utah to Nevada, Concept Capital Corporation merged with and into Concept Ventures Corporation, a Nevada corporation. From our inception in 1985 until February 16, 2007 when we completed a reverse acquisition transaction with Ritar International Group Limited (“Ritar BVI”), a BVI company, whose subsidiary companies originally commenced business in May 2002, we were a blank check company and did not engage in active business operations other than our search for, and evaluation of, potential business opportunities for acquisition or participation.

On February 16, 2007, we acquired Ritar BVI through a share exchange transaction pursuant to which the stockholders of Ritar BVI transferred all capital stock of Ritar BVI to us in exchange for a majority ownership of our Company. Our acquisition of Ritar BVI was accounted for as a recapitalization effected by a share exchange, wherein Ritar BVI is considered the acquirer for accounting and financial reporting purposes. The assets and liabilities of the acquired entity have been brought forward at their book value and no goodwill has been recognized.

The Company’s common stock is quoted on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “CRTP”.

Details of the subsidiaries of the Company are as follows:

       
Effective ownership at
December 31,
   
Subsidiaries’ names
 
Place of
incorporation
 
2009
 
2008
 
Principal activities
                 
Ritar International Group Limited (“Ritar BVI”)
 
British Virgin Islands
 
100%
 
100%
 
Intermediate holding company
                 
Shenzhen Ritar Power Co., Ltd. (“Shenzhen Ritar”)
 
People’s Republic of China (“PRC”)
 
100%
(through
Ritar BVI)
 
 
100%
(through
Ritar BVI)
 
Manufacture, commercialization and distribution of a wide variety of environmentally friendly lead-acid batteries for use in light electric vehicles or LEV and UPS segments throughout China and other countries
                 
Hengyang Ritar Power Co., Ltd. (“Hengyang Ritar”)
 
PRC
 
100%
(through
Shenzhen
Ritar)
 
100%
(through
Shenzhen
Ritar)
 
Manufacture and distribution of plate and lead-acid batteries
                 
Shanghai Ritar Power Co., Ltd. (“Shanghai Ritar”)
 
PRC
 
0% (a)
 
 
 
95%
(through
Shenzhen
Ritar)
 
Manufacture and distribution of lead-acid batteries
                 
Ritar Power (Huizhou) Co., Ltd. (“Huizhou Ritar”)
 
PRC
 
(b)
 
 
100%
(through
Ritar BVI)
 
Inactive

(a)
As further discussed in Note 29, on October 15, 2009, Shenzhen Ritar sold all of its ownership interest in Shanghai Ritar.
(b)
In 2009, the Company initiated the liquidation of Huizhou Ritar, which had never commenced any substantive operations.

 
F-6

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

2.
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

The principal activities of the Company and its subsidiaries (collectively “the Company”) consist of research and development, manufacturing and selling of rechargeable batteries.  All activities of the Company are principally conducted through its subsidiaries operating in the PRC.

Basis of Preparation and Principles of consolidation- The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America and include the assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and cash flows of the Company and all its subsidiaries.  The results of subsidiaries are consolidated from the date of acquisition, being the date on which the Company obtains control, and continue to be consolidated until the date that such control ceases. All significant intercompany accounts, transactions and cash flows are eliminated on consolidation.

As discussed in Notes 1 and 29, the Company sold all of its ownership interest in Shanghai Ritar in October 2009 and initiated the liquidation of Huizhou Ritar in 2009.  As a result, Shanghai Ritar and Huizhou Ritar have been reported as discontinued operations and consolidated financial statement information for all periods presented has been reclassified to reflect this presentation.

Cash and cash equivalents- Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand, cash accounts, interest bearing savings accounts and time certificates of deposit with a maturity of three months or less when purchased.

Restricted Cash- Deposits in banks pledged as securities for bank loan and bills payable (Note 15) that are restricted in use are classified as restricted cash under current assets.

Inventory- Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or market, determined by the weighted average method.  Work-in-progress and finished goods inventories consist of raw materials, direct labor and overhead associated with the manufacturing process.

Trade accounts receivable – Trade accounts receivable is stated at billed amounts, net of allowance for doubtful accounts. Management provides an allowance for doubtful debts arising from amounts that are due for one year or more from the expiry of credit periods allowed by the Company.  The Company grants credit terms to customers varying from “cash on delivery” to 210 days from delivery.  Additional specific provision is made against trade receivables aged less than 1 year to the extent they are considered to be doubtful.

Property, plant and equipment- Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost including the cost of improvements.  Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred.  Assets under construction are not depreciated until construction is completed and the assets are ready for their intended use.  Depreciation and amortization are provided on the straight-line method based on the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows:

Building
30 years
Leasehold improvements
5 years
Plant and machinery
5-10 years
Furniture, fixtures and equipment
5 years
Motor vehicles
5 years

Intangible asset – Intangible assets are stated at cost. Amortization are provided on the straight-line method based on the estimated useful lives of the assets as follow:  Computer software 5 years.

The Company accounts for its intangible assets pursuant to FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 350, “Intangibles – Goodwill and Other.” Under ASC 350, intangibles with definite lives continue to be amortized on a straight-line basis over the lesser of their estimated useful lives or contractual terms.  Intangibles with indefinite lives are evaluated at least annually for impairment by comparing the asset's estimated fair value with its carrying value, based on cash flow methodology.

Valuation of long-lived assets- The Company reviews the carrying value of long-lived assets, including property, plant, and equipment and intangible assets subject to amortization, for impairment whenever events and circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable from the estimated future cash flows expected to result from its use and eventual disposition. In cases where undiscounted expected future cash flows are less than the carrying value, an impairment loss is recognized equal to an amount by which the carrying value exceeds the fair value of assets. The factors considered by management in performing this assessment include current operating results, trends, and prospects, as well as the effects of obsolescence, demand, competition, and other economic factors.

 
F-7

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

2. 
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Derivative instruments - The Company entered into forward foreign currency contracts with banks to manage a portion of foreign currency risk related to U.S. Dollar denominated asset balances against the functional currency, Renminbi (the lawful currency of China), of its PRC subsidiary. The forward foreign currency contracts did not qualify for hedge accounting and were carried at fair value as assets or liabilities, with unrealized gains and losses recognized based on changes in fair value in the caption “Foreign Currency Exchange Gain (Loss)” in the Company’s consolidated statement of income and comprehensive income. In the third quarter of fiscal 2009, all of the Company’s forward foreign currency contracts had expired. The fair value of these forward foreign exchange contracts had been determined using standard calculations/models that use as their basis readily observable market parameters including spot and forward rates and a net present value stream of cash flows model.

Revenue recognition- Revenue from sales of the Company’s products is recognized when the significant risks and rewards of ownership have been transferred to the buyer at the time when the products are delivered to and accepted by its customers, the price is fixed or determinable as stated on the sales contract, and collectibility is reasonably assured.  Customers do not have a general right of return on products shipped. Products returns to the Company were insignificant during past years.  There are no post-shipment obligations, price protection and bill and hold arrangements.

Research and development expenses- Research and development costs are charged to expense when incurred and are included in operating expenses. During the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, research and development costs expensed to operating expenses were approximately $561,357 and $469,530, respectively.

Advertising Costs- The Company expenses advertising costs as incurred.  Advertising expenses charged to operations were $100,196 and $79,691 for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008 respectively.

Warranty Costs- The Company accounts for its liability for product warranties in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 460 “Guarantees.” Under ASC 460, the aggregate changes in the liability for accruals related to product warranties issued during the reporting period must be charged to expense as incurred.

The Company maintains a policy of providing after sales support for certain products by way of a warranty program. The Company accrues an estimate of its exposure to warranty claims based on both current and historical product sales data and warranty costs incurred. The Company assesses the adequacy of its recorded warranty liability at least annually and adjusts the amounts as necessary. The Company recognized warranty expenses amounting to approximately $Nil and $395,799 for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively, which are included in its selling expenses. (see Note 25).

Comprehensive income- Accumulated other comprehensive income represents foreign currency translation adjustments.

Income taxes-Income taxes are provided on an asset and liability approach for financial accounting and reporting of income taxes.  Any tax paid by subsidiaries during the year is recorded.  Current tax is based on the profit or loss from ordinary activities adjusted for items that are non-assessable or disallowable for income tax purpose and is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date.  Deferred income tax liabilities or assets are recorded to reflect the tax consequences in future years of differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and the financial reporting amounts at each year end.

A valuation allowance is recognized if it is more likely than not that some portion, or all, of a deferred tax asset will not be realized.

 
F-8

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

2. 
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Foreign currency translation- The Company uses the United States dollars (“U.S. Dollar” or “US$” or “$”) for financial reporting purposes.  The PRC subsidiaries within the Company maintain their books and records in their functional currency, Chinese Renminbi (“RMB”), being the lawful currency in the PRC.  Assets and liabilities of the PRC subsidiaries are translated from RMB into US Dollars using the applicable exchange rates prevailing at the balance sheet date, except for equity items which are translated at historical rates.  Items on the statement of operations are translated at average exchange rates during the reporting period.  Equity accounts are translated at historical rates.  Adjustments resulting from the translation of the Company’s financial statements are recorded as accumulated other comprehensive income.

The exchange rates used to translate amounts in RMB into U.S. Dollars for the purposes of preparing the consolidated financial statements are based on the rates as published on the website of People’s Bank of China and are as follows:-

RMB is not a fully convertible currency.  All foreign exchange transactions involving RMB must take place either through the People’s Bank of China (the “PBOC”) or other institutions authorized to buy and sell foreign exchange.  The exchange rates adopted for the foreign exchange transactions are the rates of exchange quoted by the PBOC, which are determined largely by supply and demand.  Translation of amounts from RMB into United States dollars (“US$”) has been made at the following exchange rates for the respective years:

December 31, 2009
   
Balance sheet, except for equity items
 
RMB6.8282  to US$1.00
Statement of income and comprehensive income
 
RMB6.8310  to US$1.00
     
December 31, 2008
   
Balance sheet, except for equity items
 
RMB6.8346  to US$1.00
Statement of income and comprehensive income
 
RMB6.9253  to US$1.00

No representation is made that the RMB amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars at the above rates.

The value of RMB against U.S. dollars and other currencies may fluctuate and is affected by, among other things, changes in China’s political and economic conditions. Any significant revaluation of RMB may materially affect the Company’s financial condition in terms of U.S. dollar reporting.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments – The Company adopted FASB ASC 820-10 “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures.” ASC 820-10 clarifies the definition of fair value, prescribes methods for measuring fair value, and establishes a fair value hierarchy to classify the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows:

Level 1: Inputs are unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities available at the measurement date.

Level 2: Inputs are unadjusted quoted price for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active, imputs other than quoted prices that are observable, and inputs derived from or corroborated by observable market data.

Level 3: Inputs are unobservable inputs which reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions on what assumptions the market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on the best available information.

The fair value of the forward foreign exchange contracts was measured using level 2 inputs and reported as derivative instruments under current liabilities on the balance sheet as of December 31, 2008. Additional disclosures of the forward foreign exchange contracts that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis are included above in this footnote.

There were no assets or liabilities measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis for the year ended December 31, 2009.

Post-retirement and post- employment benefits-The Company’s subsidiaries contribute to a state pension scheme in respect of its PRC employees.  Other than the above, neither the Company nor its subsidiaries provide any other post-retirement or post-employment benefits.

 
F-9

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

2. 
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Basic income/loss per common share - The computation of income/loss per share is based on the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the year presented in accordance with FASB ASC 260-10, “Earnings Per Share.”

The following is a reconciliation of the calculation of basic and diluted earnings per share

   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Net income attributable to China Ritar stockholders
  $ 8,692,780     $ 5,164,060  
                 
Weighted average shares outstanding-basis
    19,693,630       19,127,598  
Add: Effect of dilutive warrants
    430,663        
                 
Weighted average shares outstanding-diluted
    20,124,293       19,127,598  

Warrants to purchase up to 1,384,337 shares of common stock were excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2008, because their effects were anti-dilutive.

Use of estimates- The preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The financial statements include some amounts that are based on management’s best estimates and judgments. These accounts and estimates include, but are not limited to, the valuation of accounts receivable, other receivables, inventories, deferred income taxes, and the estimation on useful lives of property, plant and equipment. These estimates may be adjusted as more current information becomes available, and any adjustment could be significant.

Significant estimates relating to specific financial statement accounts and transactions are identified - The financial statements include some amounts that are based on management’s best estimates and judgments. The most significant estimates relate to allowance for uncollectible accounts receivable, inventory work in process valuation and obsolescence, depreciation, useful lives, taxes, and contingencies.  These estimates may be adjusted as more current information becomes available, and any adjustment could be significant.

Cost of goods sold - Cost of goods sold consists primarily of the costs of the raw materials, direct labor, depreciation of plant and machinery, and overhead associated with the manufacturing process of the environmentally friendly lead-acid batteries.

Shipping and handling cost- Shipping and handling costs related to delivery of finished goods are included in selling expenses. During the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008 shipping and handling costs expensed to other selling, general and administrative expenses were $1,050,505 and $1,482,825, respectively.

Government grants- Government grants are recognized initially as deferred income in the balance sheet at fair value when there is reasonable assurance that they will be received and the Company will comply with the conditions associated with the grant. Grants that compensate the Company for expenses incurred are recognized in consolidated statements of operations as other income on a systematic basis in the same periods in which the expenses are recognized. Grants that compensate the Company for the cost of an asset are recognized in consolidated statements of operations on a systematic basis over the useful life of the asset.

 
F-10

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

3.
Recent Changes in Accounting Standards

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2009, the FASB established the FASB Accounting Standards CodificationTM (ASC) as the single source of authoritative U.S generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) recognized by the FASB to be applied to nongovernmental entities. Rules and interpretive releases of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under authority of federal securities laws are also sources of authoritative GAAP for SEC registrants. The ASC superseded all previously existing non-SEC accounting and reporting standards, and any prior sources of U.S. GAAP not included in the ASC or grandfathered are not authoritative. New accounting standards issued subsequent to June 30, 2009 are communicated by the FASB through Accounting Standards Updates (ASUs). The ASC did not change current U.S. GAAP but changes the approach by referencing authoritative literature by topic (each a “Topic”) rather than by type of standard. The ASC has been effective for the Company effective July 1, 2009. Adoption of the ASC did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements, but references in the Company’s Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements to former FASB positions, statements, interpretations, opinions, bulletins or other pronouncements are now presented as references to the corresponding Topic in the ASC.

Effective January 1, 2009, the first day of fiscal 2009, the Company adopted FASB ASC 350-30 and ASC 275-10-50 (formerly FSP FAS 142-3, Determination of the Useful Life of Intangible Assets), which amends the factors that should be considered in developing renewal or extension assumptions used to determine the useful life of a recognized intangible asset under SFAS No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets. The Company will apply ASC 350-30 and ASC 275-10-50 prospectively to intangible assets acquired subsequent to the adoption date.  The adoption of these revised provisions had no impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

Effective January 1, 2009, the Company adopted FASB ASC 815-10-65 (formerly SFAS 161, Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities), which amends and expands previously existing guidance on derivative instruments to require tabular disclosure of the fair value of derivative instruments and their gains and losses., This ASC also requires disclosure regarding the credit-risk related contingent features in derivative agreements, counterparty credit risk, and strategies and objectives for using derivative instruments. The adoption of this ASC did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. 

During 2008, the Company adopted FASB ASC 820-10 (formerly FSP FAS 157-2, Effective Date of FASB Statement 157), which deferred the provisions of previously issued fair value guidance for nonfinancial assets and liabilities to the first fiscal period beginning after November 15, 2008. Deferred nonfinancial assets and liabilities include items such as goodwill and other nonamortizable intangibles. Effective January 1, 2009, the Company adopted the fair value guidance for nonfinancial assets and liabilities. The adoption of FASB ASC 820-10 did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

Effective January 1, 2009, the Company adopted FASB ASC 810-10-65 (formerly SFAS 160, Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements an amendment of ARB No. 51), which amends previously issued guidance to establish accounting and reporting standards for the noncontrolling interest in a subsidiary and for the deconsolidation of a subsidiary. It clarifies that a noncontrolling interest in a subsidiary, which is sometimes referred to as minority interest, is an ownership interest in the consolidated entity that should be reported as equity. Among other requirements, this Statement requires that the consolidated net income attributable to the parent and the noncontrolling interest be clearly identified and presented on the face of the consolidated income statement. The adoption of the provisions in this ASC did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

Effective January 1, 2009, the Company adopted FASB ASC 805-10, (formerly SFAS 141R, Business Combinations), which establishes principles and requirements for how an acquirer recognizes and measures in its financial statements the identifiable assets acquired, the liabilities assumed, any noncontrolling interest in an acquiree and the goodwill acquired.  In addition, the provisions in this ASC require that any additional reversal of deferred tax asset valuation allowance established in connection with fresh start reporting on January 7, 1998 be recorded as a component of income tax expense rather than as a reduction to the goodwill established in connection with the fresh start reporting. The Company will apply ASC 805-10 to any business combinations subsequent to adoption.

 
F-11

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

3. 
Recent Changes in Accounting Standards (continued)

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Effective January 1, 2009, the Company adopted FASB ASC 805-20 (formerly FSP FAS 141R-1, Accounting for Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed in a Business Combination That Arise from Contingencies), which amends ASC 805-10 to require that an acquirer recognize at fair value, at the acquisition date, an asset acquired or a liability assumed in a business combination that arises from a contingency if the acquisition-date fair value of that asset or liability can be determined during the measurement period. If the acquisition-date fair value of such an asset acquired or liability assumed cannot be determined, the acquirer should apply the provisions of ASC Topic 450, Contingences, to determine whether the contingency should be recognized at the acquisition date or after such date. The adoption of ASC 805-20 did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

Effective July 1, 2009, the Company adopted FASB ASC 825-10-65 (formerly FASB Staff Position (“FSP”) No. FAS 107-1 and Accounting Principles Board 28-1, Interim Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial Instruments), which amends previous guidance to require disclosures about fair value of financial instruments for interim reporting periods of publicly traded companies as well as in annual financial statements. The adoption of FASB ASC 825-10-65 did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

Effective July 1, 2009, the Company adopted FASB ASC 320-10-65 (formerly FSP FAS 115-2 and FAS 124-2, Recognition and Presentation of Other-Than-Temporary Impairments). Under ASC 320-10-65, an other-than-temporary impairment must be recognized if the Company has the intent to sell the debt security or the Company is more likely than not will be required to sell the debt security before its anticipated recovery. In addition, ASC 320-10-65 requires impairments related to credit loss, which is the difference between the present value of the cash flows expected to be collected and the amortized cost basis for each security, to be recognized in earnings while impairments related to all other factors to be recognized in other comprehensive income. The adoption of ASC 320-10-65 did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

Effective July 1, 2009, the Company adopted FASB ASC 820-10-65 (formerly FSP FAS 157-4, Determining Fair Value When the Volume and Level of Activity for the Asset or Liability Have Significantly Decreased and Identifying Transactions That Are Not Orderly), which provides guidance on how to determine the fair value of assets and liabilities when the volume and level of activity for the asset or liability has significantly decreased when compared with normal market activity for the asset or liability as well as guidance on identifying circumstances that indicate a transaction is not orderly. The adoption of ASC 820-10-65 did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.
 
In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, the Company adopted ASC 715, Compensation Retirement Benefits (formerly FASB FSP FAS 132(R)-1, Employers Disclosures about Postretirement Benefit Plan Assets), which expands the disclosure requirements about plan assets for defined benefit pension plans and postretirement plans. The adoption of these disclosure requirements has had no material effect on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

In the quarter ended December 31, 2009, the Company adopted ASC Update No. 2009-05, which provides guidance on measuring the fair value of liabilities under FASB ASC 820 (formerly SFAS 157, Fair Value Measurements).  . The adoption of this Update has had no material effect on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

 
F-12

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

3. 
Recent Changes in Accounting Standards (continued)

New Accounting Pronouncement to be Adopted

In June 2009, the FASB issued SFAS No. 166, Accounting for Transfers of Financial Assets an amendment of FASB Statement No. 140, (codified by ASU No. 2009-16 issued in December 2009). SFAS No. 166 limits the circumstances in which a financial asset should be derecognized when the transferor has not transferred the entire financial asset by taking into consideration the transferor’s continuing involvement. The standard requires that a transferor recognize and initially measure at fair value all assets obtained (including a transferor’s beneficial interest) and liabilities incurred as a result of a transfer of financial assets accounted for as a sale. The concept of a qualifying special-purpose entity is removed from SFAS No. 140, “Accounting for Transfers and Servicing of Financial Assets and Extinguishments of Liabilities,” along with the exception from applying FIN 46(R), Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities. The standard is effective for the first annual reporting period that begins after November 15, 2009 (i.e. the Company’s fiscal 2010). Earlier application is prohibited. It is expected the adoption of this Statement will have no material effect on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

In June 2009, the FASB issued SFAS No. 167, Amendments to FASB Interpretation No. 46(R), (codified by ASU No. 2009-17 issued in December 2009). The standard amends FIN No. 46(R) to require a company to analyze whether its interest in a variable interest entity (“VIE”) gives it a controlling financial interest. A company must assess whether it has an implicit financial responsibility to ensure that the VIE operates as designed when determining whether it has the power to direct the activities of the VIE that significantly impact its economic performance. Ongoing reassessments of whether a company is the primary beneficiary are also required by the standard. SFAS No. 167 amends the criteria to qualify as a primary beneficiary as well as how to determine the existence of a VIE. The standard also eliminates certain exceptions that were available under FIN No. 46(R). This Statement will be effective as of the beginning of each reporting entity’s first annual reporting period that begins after November 15, 2009 (i.e. the Company’s fiscal 2010). Earlier application is prohibited. Comparative disclosures will be required for periods after the effective date. It is expected the adoption of this Statement will have no material effect on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

In October 2009, the FASB concurrently issued the following ASC Updates (ASU):
 
·           ASU No. 2009-13—Revenue Recognition (ASC Topic 605): Multiple-Deliverable Revenue Arrangements (formerly EITF Issue No. 08-1).  ASU No. 2009-13 modifies the revenue recognition guidance for arrangements that involve the delivery of multiple elements, such as product, software, services or support, to a customer at different times as part of a single revenue generating transaction.  This standard provides principles and application guidance to determine whether multiple deliverables exist, how the individual deliverables should be separated and how to allocate the revenue in the arrangement among those separate deliverables. The standard also expands the disclosure requirements for multiple deliverable revenue arrangements.
 
·           ASU No. 2009-14—Software (ASC Topic 985): Certain Revenue Arrangements That Include Software Elements (formerly EITF Issue No. 09-3). ASU No. 2009-14 removes tangible products from the scope of software revenue recognition guidance and also provides guidance on determining whether software deliverables in an arrangement that includes a tangible product, such as embedded software, are within the scope of the software revenue guidance.
 
ASU No. 2009-13 and ASU No. 2009-14 should be applied on a prospective basis for revenue arrangements entered into or materially modified in fiscal years beginning on or after June 15, 2010, with earlier application permitted. Alternatively, an entity can elect to adopt these standards on a retrospective basis, but both these standards must be adopted in the same period using the same transition method. The Company expects to apply these ASU Updates on a prospective basis for revenue arrangements entered into or materially modified beginning April 1, 2011.  The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact these ASC Updates may have on its financial position and results of operations.

 
F-13

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

3. 
Recent Changes in Accounting Standards (continued)

New Accounting Pronouncement to be Adopted

In October 2009, the FASB also issued ASU No. 2009-15—Accounting for Own-Share Lending Arrangements in Contemplation of Convertible Debt Issuance or Other Financing. ASU 2009-15 amends ASC 470-20, Debt with Conversion and Other Options, to provide accounting and reporting guidance for own-share lending arrangements issued in contemplation of convertible debt issuance. ASU 2009-15 is effective for fiscal years beginning on or after December 15, 2009 (i.e. the Company’s fiscal 2010) with retrospective application required.

In January 2010, the FASB issued the following ASC Updates:
 
·           ASU No. 2010-01—Equity (Topic 505): Accounting for Distributions to Shareholders with Components of Stock and Cash. This Update clarifies that the stock portion of a distribution to shareholders that allows them to elect to receive cash or stock with a potential limitation on the total amount of cash that all shareholders can elect to receive in the aggregate is considered a share issuance that is reflected in EPS prospectively and is not a stock dividend for purposes of applying Topics 505 and 260 (Equity and Earnings Per Share). The amendments in this Update are effective for interim and annual periods ending on or after December 15, 2009 with retrospective application.
 
·           ASU No. 2010-02—Consolidation (Topic 810): Accounting and Reporting for Decreases in Ownership of a Subsidiary. This Update amends Subtopic 810-10 and related guidance to clarify that the scope of the decrease in ownership provisions of the Subtopic and related guidance applies to (i) a subsidiary or group of assets that is a business or nonprofit activity; (ii) a subsidiary that is a business or nonprofit activity that is transferred to an equity method investee or joint venture; and (iii) an exchange of a group of assets that constitutes a business or nonprofit activity for a noncontrolling interest in an entity, but does not apply to: (i) sales of in substance real estate; and (ii) conveyances of oil and gas mineral rights. The amendments in this Update are effective beginning in the period that an entity adopts FAS 160 (now included in Subtopic 810-10).
 
·           ASU No. 2010-05—CompensationStock Compensation (Topic 718): Escrowed Share Arrangements and the Presumption of Compensation. This Update simply codifies EITF Topic D-110, “Escrowed Share Arrangements and the Presumption of Compensation and does not change any existing accounting standards.
 
·           ASU No. 2010-06—Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (Topic 820): Improving Disclosures about Fair Value Measurements.  This Update amends Subtopic 820-10 that require new disclosures about transfers in and out of Levels 1 and 2 and activity in Level 3 fair value measurements. This Update also amends Subtopic 820-10 to clarify certain existing disclosures. The new disclosures and clarifications of existing disclosures are effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2009, except for the disclosures about purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements in the roll forward of activity in Level 3 fair value measurements, which are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2010.
 
The Company expects that the adoption of the above Updates issued in January 2010 will not have any significant impact on its financial position and results of operations.

Other accounting standards that have been issued or proposed by the FASB or other standards-setting bodies that do not require adoption until a future date are not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements upon adoption.

 
F-14

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

4.
Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents are summarized as follows:

   
As of December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Cash at banks
  $ 20,422,998     $ 7,518,725  
Cash on hand
    36,363       22,972  
                 
Total
  $ 20,459,361     $ 7,541,697  

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk include cash and cash equivalents.  As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, substantially all of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents were placed with major banks located in the PRC, which management believes are of high credit quality.

5.
Restricted Cash

Restricted cash consists of the following:

   
As of December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
Bank deposits held as collaterals for:
           
- Bank loans (Notes 16 and 17) and bills payable (Note 15)
  $ 5,724,907     $ 4,387,679  
- Bank guarantee for tender purposes
    175,742        
Total
  $ 5,900,649     $ 4,387,679  

At December 31, 2009 and 2008, restricted cash of $5,724,907 and $4,387,679 respectively represented the bank deposits pledged for banking facilities. Generally, the deposit will be released when the relevant bank loans are repaid upon maturity (see Note 16 and 17).

At December 31, 2009, bank deposits of $175,742 were held as collaterals for bank guarantees against the Company’s tenders for the supply of lead-acid batteries to China Mobile Limited.

 
F-15

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

6.
Accounts Receivable, net

Accounts receivable by major categories are summarized as follows:

   
As of December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Trade accounts receivable
  $ 26,036,146     $ 18,428,358  
Less: allowances for doubtful accounts
    (1,115,321 )     (1,114,276 )
Net
  $ 24,920,825     $ 17,314,082  

Concentrations in accounts receivable - Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of accounts receivable.  At December 31, 2009, two customers on an individual basis accounted for more than 5% but less than 10% of the Company’s accounts receivable, with total amounts of $2,799,836 representing 11% of total accounts receivable in aggregate.  At December 31, 2008 three customers on an individual basis accounted for more than 5% but less than 10% of the Company’s accounts receivable, with total amounts of $4,863,740 representing 26% of total accounts receivable in aggregate.

The Company, in certain circumstances, has arranged to sell certain of its accounts receivable to banks. For receivables sold to banks that the Company has surrendered control, the Company derecognized the discounted receivables pursuant to the provisions of ASC 860, “Transfers and Servicing”. As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, the Company has derecognized discounted receivable amounting to $458,217 and $nil, respectively in accordance with ASC 860.

7.
Inventory

Inventory by major categories are summarized as follows:

   
As of December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Raw materials
  $ 2,846,892     $ 1,651,284  
Work in progress
    13,919,696       9,237,669  
Finished goods
    2,717,636       1,885,827  
Total
  $ 19,484,224     $ 12,774,780  

8.
Other Current Assets

Other current assets consist of the following:

   
As of December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Notes receivable
  $ 118,140     $ 141,082  
Advance to staff and deposit, net of allowances of $97,707 and $97,615
    647,351       331,727  
Other receivables, net of allowance of $nil
    732,257        
Value added tax recoverable
    2,417,857       3,665,427  
Total
  $ 3,915,605     $ 4,138,236  
 
 
F-16

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

9.
Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment consist of the following:

   
As of December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
At cost:
           
Building
  $ 8,456,956     $ 5,311,491  
Leasehold improvement
    390,329       314,250  
Plant and machinery
    8,830,851       5,396,799  
Furniture, fixtures and equipment
    517,532       395,840  
Motor vehicles
    1,034,070       868,640  
Total
    19,229,738       12,287,020  
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization
    (2,981,187 )     (1,846,936 )
Net book value
  $ 16,248,551     $ 10,440,084  

As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, certain property, plant and machinery with an aggregate net book value of $8,933,605 and $3,866,654, respectively, were pledged as securities against the bank loan facilities, as described in more details in Notes 16 and 17.

During the year ended December 31, 2009, depreciation expenses amounted to $1,177,408, among which $878,399, $135,532 and $163,477 were recorded as cost of sales, selling expense and administrative expense respectively.

During the year ended December 31, 2008, depreciation expenses amounted to $774,856, among which $556,223, $129,313 and $89,320 were recorded as cost of sales, selling expense and administrative expense respectively.

10.
Intangible assets

Intangible assets consist of the following:

   
As of December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
At cost:
           
Computer software
  $ 27,887     $ 27,861  
Less: Accumulated amortization
    (18,480 )     (10,773 )
Net book value
  $ 9,407     $ 17,088  

During the year ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, amortization expenses amounted to $7,694 and $5,995, which were included in administrative expense, respectively.

 
F-17

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

11.
Land Use Right

   
As of December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Right to use land
  $ 483,582     $ 483,129  
Accumulated amortization
    (15,317 )     (6,442 )
    $ 468,265     $ 476,687  

Land use right represented the cost incurred by the Company’s subsidiary , Hengyang Ritar, to obtain the right from the relevant PRC land authority to use the lands where its production facilities and warehouses of the subsidiaries are situated for a period of 50 years.

As of December 31, 2009 and 2008, all of land use right with the net book value of $468,265 and $476,687, respectively, were pledged as securities against the bank loan facilities, as described in more details in Notes 16 and 17.

During the year ended December 31, 2009, amortization expenses amounted to $8,866, which was included in administrative expense.

During the year ended December 31, 2008, amortization expenses amounted to $6,357, which was included in administrative expense.

The estimated amortization expense for land use right for each of the next five years is approximately $9,672.

 
F-18

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

12.
Related Party Transactions

Guarantees provided by related parties

Certain of the Company’s short-term and long-term  loans (see Notes 16 and 17) and bills payable (see Note 15) are secured by personal guarantees provided by Mr. Jiada Hu (CEO and principal stockholder of the Company) and Ms. Henying Peng (director of certain subsidiaries of the Company and the spouse of Mr. Jiada Hu).

Sale of Shanghai Ritar

As further discussed in Note 29, on October 15, 2009, Shenzhen Ritar entered into an agreement with a family member of Ms. Henying Peng (director of certain subsidiaries of the Company and the spouse of Mr. Jiada Hu, CEO and principal stockholder of the Company)  to sell 95%, representing all of Shenzhen Ritar’s ownership interest in Shanghai Ritar, for RMB2,850,000 (or $417,216), payable in cash within 6 months from the date of the agreement.

The following table sets out the receivable from sale of Shanghai Ritar:

Selling price
  $ 417,216  
Effect of exchange rate changes
    171  
Receivable from sale of Shanghai Ritar as of December 31, 2009
  $ 417,387  

Receivables from a former subsidiary

Receivables from a former subsidiary as of December 31, 2009 represented the amount due from Shanghai Ritar, the former 95% subsidiary sold by the Company in October 2009, further details of which are set out in Note 29.

The following table sets out the movement of the amount due from Shanghai Ritar from October 15, 2009 (date of sale of Shanghai Ritar) to December 31, 2009:

Amount due from Shanghai Ritar at date of sale (Note 29)
  $ 4,628,809  
Repayment from Shanghai Ritar
    (705,070 )
Effect of exchange rate changes
    1,609  
Amount due from Shanghai Ritar, at December 31, 2009
  $ 3,925,348  

The amount due from Shanghai Ritar is non-interest bearing and without fixed repayment term, but is secured by the personal guarantee of Mr. Jiada Hu (CEO and principal stockholder of the Company) as well as Shanghai Ritar’s plant and machinery, trade and other receivables and inventories.

 
F-19

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

13.
Income and Other Taxes Payables

Income and other taxes payables consist of the following:

   
As of December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Income tax payable
  $ 3,927,626     $ 2,857,643  
Individual income withholding tax payable
    13,131       12,587  
Other taxes payable
    46,178       27,852  
Total
  $ 3,986,935     $ 2,898,082  

14.
Other Current Liabilities

Other current liabilities consist of the following:

   
As of December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Other payable and accrued expenses
  $ 909,176     $ 1,110,561  
Advance from customers
    1,891,703       1,386,937  
Total
  $ 2,800,879     $ 2,497,498  

15.
Bills Payable and Credit Facilities

In the normal course of business, the Company is requested by certain of its suppliers to settle trade liabilities incurred in the ordinary course of business by issuance of bills that is guaranteed by a bank acceptable to the supplier.  The bills are interest-free with maturity dates of either three months or six months from date of issuance. In order to provide such guarantees for the bills, Shenzhen Ritar and Hengyang Ritar have obtained relevant credit facilities from China CITIC Bank, Shenzhen Branch, Citibank, Shenzhen Branch, DBS bank, Shenzhen Branch and Bank of China, Hengyang Branch, and Bank of China (the “Banks”).  Pursuant to the Banks’ facilities letters and loan agreements, as of December 31, 2009, the Company had available facilities for such bank acceptances up to approximately $30,852,451, of which $13,498,001 was utilized and recorded as bills payable as of December 31, 2009. Plus, $556,516 was utilized by Shengzhen Ritar for payable to Hengyang Ritar.

 The Company is required to place bank deposits, classified as restricted cash as disclosed in Note 5, equal to 30-100%, subject to bank’s decision, of the bills amount as collaterals against the Banks’ guarantees for such bills. Such bank acceptance facilities up to approximately $9,519,346 granted by Citibank, Shenzhen Branch, are additionally secured by guarantees provided by Shanghai Ritar, Hengyang  Ritar, Mr. Jaida Hu (CEO and principal stockholder of the Company) and Ms. Henying Peng (director of certain subsidiaries of the Company and the spouse of Mr. Jiada Hu). Under this kind of arrangement, Shenzhen Ritar is obligated to pay 0.05% of the bills amount as handling charges.

 
F-20

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

16.
Short-Term Loans

Short-term loans consist of the following:

       
Interest
     
As of December 31,
 
Bank
 
Loan period
 
rate
 
Securities
 
2009
   
2008
 
                         
Citibank
 
2008-10-24 to 2009-1-16
 
9% p.a.
 
Bank deposits and directors’ personal guarantees
  $     $ 146,314  
                             
Citibank
 
2008-10-24 to 2009-1-21
 
9% p.a.
 
Bank deposits and directors’ personal guarantees
          540,470  
                             
Citibank
 
2008-10-24 to 2009-1-16
 
9% p.a.
 
Bank deposits and directors’ personal guarantees
          132,576  
                             
Citibank
 
2008-10-26 to 2009-1-23
 
9% p.a.
 
Bank deposits and directors’ personal guarantees
          389,059  
                             
Citibank
 
2008-10-26 to 2009-1-23
 
9% p.a.
 
Bank deposits and directors’ personal guarantees
          1,074,085  
                             
DBS Bank
 
2008-10-21 to 2009-2-6
 
8% p.a.
 
Bank deposits
          85,239  
                             
DBS Bank
 
2008-12-10 to 2009-2-13
 
7% p.a.
 
Bank deposits
          481,630  
                             
Citibank
 
2008-12-15 to 2009-3-13
 
7% p.a.
 
Bank deposits and directors’ personal guarantees
          585,257  
                             
DBS Bank
 
2008-12-30 to 2009-4-10
 
7% p.a.
 
Bank deposits
            162,325  
                             
DBS Bank
 
2009-10-22 to 2010-2-8
 
6% p.a.
 
Property, plant and equipment, land use right and directors’ personal guarantee
    864,064        
                             
DBS Bank
 
2009-11-12 to 2010-3-3
 
6% p.a.
 
Property, plant and equipment land use right and directors’ personal guarantee
    251,897        
                             
DBS Bank
 
2009-12-31 to 2010-4-21
 
6% p.a.
 
Property, plant and equipment land use right and directors’ personal guarantee
    348,554        
                $ 1,464,515     $ 3,596,955  

 
F-21

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

17.
Long-Term Loans

Long-term loans consist of the following:
   
As of December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Loan from DBS Bank, bearing interest at 6.91% (2008: 9.072%) p.a., repayable by monthly installments from 2009-04-18 to 2013-09-18, secured by certain property, plant and equipment and land use right of the Company as disclosed in Note 9 and Note 11, respectively.
  $ 3,661,288     $ 4,389,431  
                 
Loan from DBS Bank, bearing interest at 5% p.a., repayable by monthly installments from 2009-07-12 to June 2011-06-12, secured by machinery and equipment of Hengyang Ritar as disclosed in Note 9 and joint guarantees given by Shenzhen Ritar, China Ritar, Mr. Jiada Hu, Ms. Hengying Peng and Mr. Jianjun Zeng
    562,373       -  
 
               
Other borrowing from Department of Science and Technology of Bao An, interest free, term from 2007-12-20 to 2009-12-20, and secured by the Shenzhen Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Center
    -       146,314  
Total loans
    4,223,661       4,535,745  
Less: Current maturities
    1,342,473       877,886  
Long-term loans, less current maturities
  $ 2,881,188     $ 3,657,859  
                 
Future maturities of long-term loans are as follows:
               
Payable within the years ending December 31,
               
2009
  $ -     $ 877,886  
2010
    1,342,473       975,429  
2011
    1,172,588       975,429  
2012
    976,343       975,429  
2013
    732,257       731,572  
Total
  $ 4,223,661     $ 4,535,745  

18.
Noncontrolling Interest

Noncontrolling interest at December 31, 2008 represented the minority stockholders’ proportionate share of 5% of the equity of Shanghai Ritar.

As discussed in Note 29, on October 15, 2009, the Company disposed of its 95% ownership interest in Shanghai Ritar.

 
F-22

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

19.
Income Taxes

United States

The Company was incorporated in the United States of America and is subject to U.S. tax.  No provision for income taxes has been made as the Company has no taxable income for the years presented.

British Virgin Islands

Ritar International was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and is not subject to income taxes under the current laws of the British Virgin Islands.

PRC

Shenzhen Ritar is subject to PRC enterprises income tax (“EIT”) at the applicable tax rates on the taxable income as reported in its Chinese statutory accounts in accordance with the relevant enterprises income tax laws applicable to foreign enterprises.  Pursuant to the same enterprises income tax laws, being classified as a high technology company, Shenzhen Ritar was allowed preferential tax treatment – full exemption from PRC enterprises income tax for two fiscal years 2003 and 2004, which were its first profit-making years, and 50% reduction in its EIT rates for the ensuing three years, 2005 through 2008.

On March 16, 2007, the PRC government promulgated a new tax law, China’s Unified Enterprise Income Tax Law (“New EIT Law”), which took effect from January 1, 2008. Under the New EIT Law, foreign-owned enterprises as well as domestic companies are subject to a uniform tax rate of 25%. The New EIT Law provides for a grandfathering and five-year transition period from its effective date for those enterprises which were established before the promulgation date of the New EIT Law and which were entitled to a preferential EIT treatment.  Accordingly, Shenzhen Ritar was subject to an EIT rate of 20% and 18% for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively, under the New EIT Law.

Shanghai Ritar, Hengyang Ritar and Huizhou Ritar are generally subject to PRC EIT at 25% for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008.

The provision for income taxes consists of the following:

   
For the years ended 
December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Current tax provision – PRC income tax
  $ 2,063,339     $ 2,400,314  
Deferred tax
    (115,017 )      
Total
  $ 1,948,322     $ 2,400,314  

Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. Deferred income tax assets at December 31, 2009 result principally from the shorter useful lives of property, plant and equipment for accounting purposes than allowed for PRC income tax reporting purposes. Significant components of deferred income tax assets are as follows:
   
As of December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
Deferred income tax assets – non-current:
           
Depreciation
 
$
115,064
   
$
 
Less: Valuation allowance
   
     
 
   
$
115,064
   
$
 
 
 
F-23

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

19. 
Income Taxes (continued)

A reconciliation of the provision for income taxes determined at the local income tax to the Company’s effective income tax rate is as follows:

   
For the Years ended
December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Pre-tax income from continuing operations
 
$
10,088,357
   
$
8,253,681
 
                 
United States federal corporate income tax rate
   
35
%
   
35
%
Income tax expense computed at U.S. federal corporate income tax rate
   
3,530,925
     
2,888,788
 
Reconciling items:
               
Impact of tax holiday of Shenzhen Ritar
   
(454,653
)
   
(897,569
)
Non-deductible expenses
   
     
1,446,152
 
Rate differential for PRC earnings
   
(1,014,439
)
   
(1,210,879
)
Other
   
(113,511)
     
173,822
 
                 
Effective tax expense
 
$
1,948,322
   
$
2,400,314
 

The effect of the tax holiday of Shenzhen Ritar amounted to $454,653 and $897,569 for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, equivalent to basic earnings per share of $0.02 and $0.02, respectively, and diluted earnings per share amount of  $0.05 and $0.05, respectively.

The Company has analyzed the tax positions taken or expected to be taken in its tax filings and has concluded it has no material liability related to uncertain tax positions or unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2009 and 2008.

The New EIT Law imposes a withholding tax of 10% unless reduced by a tax treaty, for dividends distributed by a PRC-resident enterprise to its immediate holding company outside the PRC for earnings accumulated beginning on January 1, 2008 and undistributed earnings generated prior to January 1, 2008 are exempt from such withholding tax. The Company has not provided for income taxes on accumulated earnings of its PRC subsidiaries as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, since these earnings are intended to be reinvested indefinitely in the overseas jurisdictions. It is not practicable to estimate the amount of additional taxes that might be payable on such undistributed earnings.

According to the PRC Tax Administration and Collection Law, the statute of limitations is three years if the underpayment of taxes is due to computational or other errors made by the taxpayer or the withholding agent.  The statute of limitations extends to five years under special circumstances. In the case of transfer pricing issues, the statute of limitation is ten years. There is no statute of limitation in the case of tax evasion. Accordingly, the income tax returns of the Company’s PRC subsidiaries for the years ended December 31, 2007 through 2009 are open to examination by the PRC state and local tax authorities.

 
F-24

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

20.
Common Stock and Warrant Transactions

Common stock

During 2008, the Company issued 124,651 shares of common stock for the cashless exercise of 163,550 warrants and 9,345 shares of common stock for the exercise of warrants at $2.78 per share for cash, respectively.

During 2009, the Company issued 99,828 shares of common stock for the cashless exercise of 309,579 warrants and 65,418 shares of common stock for the exercise of warrants at $2.78 per share for cash, respectively.

In October 2009, the Company completed the sale of 2,150,000 shares of common stock to selected institutional investors for $6.00 per share and raised proceeds of $12,059,449, net of placement agent fees and other direct expenses.

Common Stock Purchase Warrants

In 2007, the Company completed a private placement pursuant to which the Company issued and sold 5,724,292 shares of its common stock to certain investors. In addition, the Company granted to the same investors three-year warrants to purchase 1,317,746 shares of the Company’s common stock at $2.78 per share. In connection with this private placement, the Company issued to the placement agent, Roth Capital Partners, LLC warrants to purchase up to 286,215 shares of the Company’s common stock with the exercise price of $2.14 per share.

A summary of the warrants activity as of December 31, 2009, and changes during the year then ended is presented below:
Warrant
 
Number of
underlying
shares
   
Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price
   
Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term (years)
   
Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
 
                         
Outstanding at December 31, 2007
    1,557,232     $ 2.66       2.17     $ 6,493,657  
                             
Exercised
    (172,895 )   $ 2.78                  
                                 
Outstanding at December 31, 2008
    1,384,337     $ 2.65       1.17     $ 2,630,240  
Granted
                             
Exercised
    (374,997 )   $ 2.78                  
                                 
Outstanding at December 31, 2009
    1,009,340     $ 2.78       0.17     $ 2,038,867  
                                 
Exercisable at December 31, 2009
    1,009,340     $ 2.78       0.17     $ 2,038,867  

21.
Other income

Other income consists of the following:
   
For the years ended 
December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Gain on disposal of property, plant and equipment
  $ 2,030     $ 451  
Government grants
    154,618        
Other
    3,748       1,771  
Total
  $ 160,396     $ 2,222  

During the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company received government grants of $154,618, which were granted unconditionally for the purposes of subsidizing the Company’s research and development activities.

 
F-25

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

22.
Foreign currency exchange (loss) / gain

Foreign currency exchange gain / (loss) consist of the following:

   
For the years ended 
December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Foreign currency reinstatement / realization gain / (loss)
  $ 186,242     $ (789,696 )
(Loss) / gain from derivative forward foreign exchange contracts
    (237,022 )     232,308  
Total
  $ (50,780 )   $ (557,388 )

23.
Commitments and Contingencies

Operating Leases Commitments
In the normal course of business, the Company leases office space under operating lease agreements. The Company rents office space, primarily for regional sales administration offices, in commercial office complexes that are conducive to administrative operations. The operating lease agreements generally contain renewal options that may be exercised at the Company's discretion after the completion of the base rental terms. In addition, many of the rental agreements provide for regular increases to the base rental rate at specified intervals, which usually occur on an annual basis. The Company was obligated under operating leases requiring minimum rentals as of December 31, 2009 as follows:

Years ending December 31,
     
2010
  $ 468,023  
2011
    332,820  
2012
    27,369  
Thereafter
     
Total minimum lease payments
  $ 828,212  

During the year ended December 31, 2009, rent expenses amounted to $747,557, among which $539,353, $33,385 and $174,819 were recorded as cost of sales, administrative expense and selling expense, respectively.

During the year ended December 31, 2008, rent expenses amounted to $708,639, among which $523,348, $39,405 and $145,886 were recorded as cost of sales, administrative expense and selling expense, respectively.

Capital Commitments
As of December 31, 2009, the Company had a total capital commitment of $581,005 for the acquisitions of property, plant and equipment, which was not provided for in the financial statements and is expected to be disbursed within the next fiscal year.

PRC employee costs
According to the prevailing laws and regulations of the PRC, the Company’s subsidiaries in the PRC are required to cover its employees with medical, retirement and unemployment insurance programs. Management believes that due to the transient nature of the employees of Hengyang Ritar, Hengyang Ritar does not need to provide all its employees with such social insurances, and has not paid the social insurances for all employees.

In the event that any current or former employee of Hengyang Ritar files a complaint with the PRC government, Hengyang Ritar may be subject to making up the social insurances as well as administrative fines. As the Company believes that these fines would not be material, no provision has been made in this regard.

 
F-26

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

24.
Employee Benefits

The Company contributes to a state pension scheme organized by municipal and provincial governments in respect of its employees in PRC.  The compensation expense related to this plan, which is calculated at a rate of 8% of the average monthly salary, was $186,071 and $245,806 for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008 respectively.

25.
Product Warranty

The Company accrues an estimate of its exposure to product warranty claims based on both current and historical product sales data and warranty costs incurred.  The Company assesses the adequacy of its recorded warranty liability annually and adjusts the amount as necessary.  The warranty liability is included in other current liabilities in the accompanying balance sheet.

Changes in the provision for the product warranty are as below:

   
For the years ended 
December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Opening balance
  $ 178,613     $ 136,803  
Warranty provision accrued
    -       395,799  
Paid during warranty period
    -       (353,989 )
Closing balance
  $ 178,613     $ 178,613  

26.
Risk of Concentrations

The Company has no significant concentrations risk with respect to sales, as there was no single customer accounting for 10% or more of the Company’s gross sales for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008.

The Company has the following concentrations of business with suppliers constituting more than 10% of the Company’s purchasing volume:

  
 
For the years ended 
December 31,
 
  
 
2009
   
2008
 
             
Anxi Min Hua Dianchi Company Limited
    30 %     30 %
Henan Yuguang Gold & Lead Company Limited
    16 %     -  
Quanzhou City Kaiying Power Company Limited
    11 %     14 %
Zhongshan Shi Bao Li Xu Battery Company Limited
    -       14 %
 
 
F-27

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

27.
Operating Risks

Interest rate risk

The interest rates and terms of repayment of bank and other borrowings are disclosed in Note 16 and Note 17.  Other financial assets and liabilities do not have material interest rate risk.

Credit risk

The Company is exposed to credit risk from its cash in bank and fixed deposits and bills and accounts receivable.  The credit risk on cash in bank and fixed deposits is limited because the counterparties are recognized financial institutions.  Bills and accounts receivable are subjected to credit evaluations. An allowance has been made for estimated irrecoverable amounts, which has been determined by reference to past default experience and the current economic environment.

Foreign currency risk

Most of the transactions of the Company were settled in RMB and U.S. dollars.  In the opinion of the directors, the Company would not have significant foreign currency risk exposure.

Transaction gains and losses arising from transactions denominated in a currency other than the functional currency of the entity involved are included in other income (expense), net on the consolidated statements of operations.

Company’s operations are substantially in foreign countries

Substantially all of the Company’s manufacturing operations are carried out in China. The Company’s operations are subject to various political, economic, and other risks and uncertainties inherent in China. Among other risks, the Company’s operations are subject to the risks of restrictions on transfer of funds; export duties, quotas, and embargoes; domestic and international customs and tariffs; changing taxation policies; foreign exchange restrictions; and political conditions and governmental regulations.

28.
Segment Information

The Company has only one business segment, which is manufacturing and trading of rechargeable batteries for use in light electric vehicles or LEV and UPS segments.

The Company's sales by geographic destination are analyzed as follows:

   
For the years ended
December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
PRC
  $ 33,349,627     $ 24,113,350  
                 
Outside PRC
               
- Hong Kong
    2,537,091       9,653,661  
- Germany
    4,900,537       8,321,577  
- India
    4,769,663       14,957,025  
-South Africa
    226,828       1,093,871  
-Italy
    3,942,897       3,101,094  
-Singapore
    956,180       1,304,372  
-Brazil
    3,580,609       5,409,227  
-America
    11,148,275       7,302,403  
-Australia
    4,403,423       4,178,394  
- other countries, less than 5% of total sales individually
    28,815,046       32,877,082  
      65,280,549       88,198,706  
                 
Total net sales
  $ 98,630,176     $ 112,312,056  

 
F-28

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

29.
Discontinued Operations

On October 15, 2009, Shenzhen Ritar entered into an agreement with a family member of Ms. Henying Peng (director of certain subsidiaries of the Company and the spouse of Mr. Jiada Hu, CEO and principal stockholder of the Company) to sell 95%, representing all of Shenzhen Ritar’s ownership interest in Shanghai Ritar, for RMB2,850,000 (or $417,216), payable in cash within 6 months from the date of the agreement.

In 2009, the Company initiated the liquidation of Huizhou Ritar, which had never commenced any substantive operations.



   
As of December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
Assets held for sales:
           
Current assets:
           
  $     $ 758,775  
Accounts receivable, net of allowances
          2,701,906  
Inventory
          1,803,450  
Advance to suppliers
          11,413  
          57,630  
Total current assets held for sales
          5,333,174  
                 
Non-current assets:
               
Property, plant and equipment, net
          465,286  
               
Total assets held for sales
  $     $ 5,798,460  
                 
Liabilities of business held for sale:
               
Accounts payable
  $     $ 1,514,317  
Income and other tax payable
          674,259  
Accrued salaries
          9,067  
Other current liabilities
          310,985  
                 
Total liabilities of business held for sale
  $     $ 2,508,628  

 
F-29

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

29. 
Discontinued Operations (continued)

The following results of operations of Shanghai Ritar and Huizhuo Ritar are presented as loss from discontinued operations in the consolidated statements of income:

   
For the years ended December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Net revenue
  $ 1,866,389     $ 7,272,440  
Cost of sales
    1,737,854       7,025,508  
                 
Gross profit
    128,535       246,932  
Operating expenses:
               
Salaries
    200,406       341,815  
Shipping and handling cost
    69,740       197,530  
Other selling, general and administrative expenses
    237,119       395,657  
      507,265       935,002  
                 
Operating loss
    (378,730 )     (688,070 )
                 
Other income (expenses), net
    1,814       (30,870 )
                 
Loss before income taxes
    (376,916 )     (718,940 )
Provision for income taxes
           
                 
Net loss
    (376,916 )     (718,940 )
Loss attributable to noncontrolling interest
    18,844       29,633  
                 
Net loss attributable to China Ritar stockholders
  $ (358,072 )   $ (689,307 )

The following is the calculation of the gain on the sale of Shanghai Ritar:

Selling price
  $ 417,216  
Effect of exchange rate changes
    171  
Receivable from sale of Shanghai Ritar as of December 31, 2009
  $ 417,387  
         
Net (assets) / liabilities disposed of:
       
Cash and cash equivalents
  $ (633,177 )
Accounts receivable
    (2,174,517 )
Inventory
    (1,534,076 )
Advance to suppliers
    (11,419 )
Other current assets
    (46,182 )
Property, plant and equipment
    (323,130 )
Accounts payable
    234,382  
Income and other taxes payable
    358,040  
Accrued salaries
    13,715  
Due to Shenzhen Ritar and Hengyang Ritar
    4,628,809  
Noncontrolling interest
    (18,844 )
Net liabilities
    493,601  
Selling price
    417,216  
Gain on sale of discontinued operations
  $ 910,817  

 
F-30

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

30.
Subsequent Events

During January and February 2010, the Company issued 315,230 shares of common stock for the cashless exercise of 742,989 warrants, and 93,457 shares of common stock for the exercise of warrants at $2.78 per share for cash, respectively.

31.
Restricted Net Assets and Parent Company Financial Information

The Company’s operations are substantially conducted through its subsidiaries registered in the PRC. These PRC subsidiaries’ businesses and assets are primarily denominated in RMB, which is not freely convertible into foreign currencies. All foreign exchange transactions take place either through the People’s Bank of China or other banks authorized to buy and sell foreign currencies at the exchange rates quoted by the People’s Bank of China. Approval of foreign currency payments by the People’s Bank of China or other regulatory institutions requires submitting a payment application form together with suppliers’ invoices, shipping documents and signed contracts. These currency exchange control procedures imposed by the PRC government authorities may restrict the ability of the Company’s PRC subsidiaries to transfer their net assets to the Company through loans, advances or cash dividends, which consisted of paid-up capital, retained earnings and statutory reserves and which aggregate amount of approximately RMB246 million (or $35 million) exceeded 25% of the Company’s consolidated net assets. Accordingly, condensed parent company financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Rule 5.04 and Rule 12-04 of SEC Regulation S-X, as set out in the Schedule I below.

SCHEDULE I – Condensed Parent Company Financial Information of China Ritar
 
Condensed Balance Sheets
   
As of December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
ASSETS
           
Current assets:
           
Cash
 
$
5,246
   
$
5,246
 
Total current assets
   
5,246
     
5,246
 
Investments in subsidiaries
   
55,444,951
     
34,407,337
 
Total assets
 
$
55,450,197
   
$
34,412,583
 
                 
LIABILITIES
               
Current liabilities:
               
Other payables
 
$
25,017
   
$
25,017
 
Total liabilities
   
25,017
     
25,017
 
                 
Shareholders’ equity
               
Common stock, $0.001 par value: 10,000,000 shares authorized, 21,450,238 and 19,134,992 shares issued and outstanding
   
21,450
     
19,135
 
Additional paid-in capital
   
31,461,723
     
19,222,727
 
Retained earnings
   
20,745,985
     
12,053,205
 
Accumulated other comprehensive income
   
3,196,022
     
3,092,499
 
Total shareholders' equity
   
55,425,180
     
34,387,566
 
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity
 
$
55,450,197
   
$
34,412,583
 
 
Condensed Statements of Income
   
Years ended December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Administrative expenses
 
$
(120,073
)  
$
(4,020,973
)
Income tax
   
-
     
-
 
Equity in income of subsidiaries
   
8,812,853
     
9,185,033
 
Net income
 
$
8,692,780
   
$
5,164,060
 
 
 
F-31

 

CHINA RITAR POWER CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 AND 2008

SCHEDULE I – Condensed Parent Company Financial Information of China Ritar (continued)
 
Condensed Statements of Cash Flows
   
Year ended December 31,
 
   
2009
   
2008
 
             
Net cash used in operating activities
 
$
   
$
 
Net cash used in investing activities
   
     
 
Net cash provided by financing activities
   
     
 
Cash, beginning of year
   
5,246
     
5,246
 
                 
Cash, end of year
 
$
5,246
   
$
5,246
 

Note to the Condensed Parent Company Financial Statements:

The Company records its investment in subsidiaries under the equity method of accounting as prescribed in APB Opinion No. 18, “The Equity Method of Accounting for Investments in Ordinary shares.” Such investment and loans to subsidiaries are presented on the balance sheet as “Investments in subsidiaries” and the income of the subsidiaries is presented as “Equity in income of subsidiaries” on the statement of income.

These supplemental condensed parent company financial statements should be read in conjunction with the notes to the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been condensed or omitted.

As of December 31, 2008 and 2009, there were no material contingencies, significant provisions for long-term obligations, or guarantees of the Company, except as separately disclosed in the Consolidated Financial Statements, if any.

 
F-32