SHOUGUANG, China, Oct. 31, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gulf Resources, Inc. (Nasdaq: GURE) ("Gulf Resources", "we", or the "Company"), a leading manufacturer of bromine, crude salt and specialty chemical products in China, today announced its Letter to Shareholders as below.
"Dear Shareholders,
We want to emphasize our commitment to communicating actively with our shareholders. This letter is an integral part of our communication efforts.
On April 16, 2024, we dismissed our auditors, WWC PC, and engaged GGF CPA Limited as our new auditor when we realized our audit would not be completed on time. Transitioning to new auditors at the last minute posed significant challenges, as we had to restart every step of the process. In addition, without a completed audit and the SEC filings, we were unable to communicate financial information to our shareholders.
Accordingly, our management and our auditors focused on completing our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 ("2023 10-K"), our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the six months ended June 30, 2024 (collectively, the "Delinquent Filings") so that we could meet the filing requirements of the SEC and Nasdaq. We filed our 2023 10-K on September 27,2023 and our Form 10-Qs for the first and second quarter of 2024 on October 11,2024.
Normally, we prepare for conference calls and press releases alongside the filing process. However, in this case, our primary goal was to complete the Delinquent Filings and regain compliance with the Nasdaq rules. On October 15, 2024, we received written notice from the Listing Qualifications Staff of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC that, as a result of the Company filing the Delinquent Filings with the SEC, the Staff has determined that the Company complies with the Nasdaq Rule and considers the matter to be closed.
This has been a challenging process for both the company and our new auditors. We appreciate their efforts and are grateful that we are now up to date on our filings.
Since we last communicated with investors, much has happened in China, in our industries, and to our company. The Chinese economy has been weak, especially weak in the real estate sector, which has directly impacted our business. We purposely cut back on the sale of bromine and crude salt to protect the long-term value of our resources.
At the same time, we have had major expenditures for flood prevention and for the purchase of land for salt fields. We believe the expenditures for flood prevention will provide good returns in the future as our facilities will be much better protected. We also believe the purchase of the salt fields will provide strong returns and may enable us to open our closed factories and increase our production of both crude salt and bromine.
We are now seeing signs that cause us to be more optimistic. The Chinese government is taking steps to improve the economy, especially in the housing sector. In the past month, from 9/24 to 10/30, the market price of bromine has improved 9.6%% from RMB 19,886 to RMB 21,800. (sunsirs.com) These are levels above break-even for our company.
We are in the process of preparing information for a conference call that will focus on:
- Our current financial position,
- Expenditures for flood prevention,
- Our investment in salt fields and its impact on future sales and earnings,
- Strategies for our Chemical and Natural Gas businesses,
- Our medium and long-term growth strategies.
As soon as this material is completed, we will schedule a conference call with investors. So investors can understand our strategies and our plans for future growth.
We appreciate your patience and look forward to communicating with everyone on a regular basis."
About Gulf Resources, Inc.
Gulf Resources, Inc. operates through four wholly-owned subsidiaries, Shouguang City Haoyuan Chemical Company Limited ("SCHC"), ShouguangYuxin Chemical Industry Co., Limited ("SYCI"), Daying County Haoyuan Chemical Company Limited ("DCHC") and Shouguang Hengde Salt Industry Co. Ltd. ("SHSI"). The Company believes that it is one of the largest producers of bromine in China. Elemental Bromine is used to manufacture a wide variety of compounds utilized in industry and agriculture. Through SYCI, the Company manufactures chemical products utilized in a variety of applications, including oil and gas field explorations and papermaking chemical agents, and materials for human and animal antibiotics. Through SHSI, the Company manufactures and sell crude salt. DCHC was established to further explore and develop natural gas and brine resources (including bromine and crude salt) in China. For more information, visit www.gulfresourcesinc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this news release contain forward-looking information about Gulf Resources and its subsidiaries business and products within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. The actual results may differ materially depending on a number of risk factors including, but not limited to, the general economic and business conditions in the PRC, the risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, future product development and production capabilities, shipments to end customers, market acceptance of new and existing products, additional competition from existing and new competitors for bromine and other oilfield and power production chemicals, changes in technology, the ability to make future bromine asset purchases, and various other factors beyond its control. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this Cautionary Statement and the risks factors detailed in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Gulf Resources undertakes no duty to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.
