Advanced Battery Sees No Reason For Stock Drop

NEW YORK (AP) ⿿ Rechargeable battery maker Advanced Battery Technologies Inc. said Thursday that a sharp drop in the company's stock price on Wednesday "troubles" it greatly and was not related to any changes in the company's financial condition or outlook or any other significant company event.

The company, which makes batteries for products ranging from electric cars and motorcycles to notebook computers and lamps used in mines, saw its shares plunge 42.7 percent Wednesday to close at $2.01.

"There has not been any recent significant event that occurred within the company that would explain the decline in our stock price yesterday," said Chairman Zhiguo Fu in a statement Thursday morning. "We assume, therefore, that the price decline resulted from market activity unrelated to the inherent value of our company."

Shares slid another 7 cents to close Thursday at $1.94.

They have traded between $3.07 and $4.28 the past year, according to FactSet.

Advanced Battery Technologies is a holding company based in New York for a British Virgin Islands holding company that in turn owns battery making facilities and executive offices in Shuangcheng, a suburb of Harbin in northern China, according to a recent company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said it had net income in the year that ended Dec. 31 of $36.7 million on revenue of $97.1 million. It had about 76 million shares outstanding.

Advanced Battery Technologies also owns 49 percent of Beyond E-Tech Inc., a small Texas cell phone distributor, according to the filing.

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