CHANGGE and BEIJING, China, August 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Zhongpin Inc. ("Zhongpin", Nasdaq: HOGS), a leading meat and food processing company in the People's Republic of China, today announced that its board of directors has approved an increase in the stock repurchase program of 30 million of its outstanding stock over the next 12 months. The stock repurchase program is authorized to be in effect through August 17, 2012.
Mr. Xianfu Zhu, Zhongpin's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We have strong confidence in our growth prospects as the Chinese economy continues to grow and our industry consolidates further, and in the fundamental strengths of the Company. This substantial increase in the size of our stock repurchase program is a clear sign of our strong commitment to create value for our loyal shareholders."
Zhongpin's board of directors will periodically review the share repurchase program and may authorize adjustments to the program's terms and size. The board may also suspend or discontinue the repurchase program at any time.
Under the stock repurchase program, Zhongpin is authorized to repurchase up to $40 million of its issued and outstanding common shares, from time to time, in open-market transactions on Nasdaq at prevailing market prices, in negotiated transactions off the market, in block trades, in trades pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 repurchase plan, or otherwise, in accordance with applicable federal securities laws, including Rule 10b-18.
Repurchases will be made at management's discretion, subject to restrictions on price, volume, and timing. The timing and extent of any purchases will depend upon market conditions and the trading price of its shares, as well as other factors. The repurchase program does not obligate Zhongpin to make repurchases at any specific time or situation.
About Zhongpin
Zhongpin Inc. is a meat and food processing company that specializes in pork and pork products, vegetables, and fruits in China. Its distribution network in China covers 20 provinces plus Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Chongqing and includes 3,343 retail outlets as of June 30, 2011. Zhongpin's export markets include Europe, Hong Kong, and other countries in Asia. For more information about Zhongpin, please visit Zhongpin's website at http://www.zpfood.com.
Safe harbor statement
Certain statements in this news release may be forward-looking statements made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Zhongpin has based its forward-looking statements largely on its current expectations and projections about future events and trends that it believes may affect its business strategy, results of operations, financial condition, and financing needs.
These projections involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, which may include but are not limited to such factors as downturns in the Chinese economy, unanticipated changes in product demand, interruptions in the supply of live pigs and or raw pork, the effects of weather on hog feed production, poor performance of the retail distribution network, delivery delays, freezer facility malfunctions, Zhongpin's ability to build and commence new production facilities according to intended timelines, the ability to prepare Zhongpin for growth, the ability to predict Zhongpin's future financial performance and financing ability, changes in regulations, and other information detailed in Zhongpin's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available from www.sec.gov or from Zhongpin's website at www.zpfood.com.
You are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating Zhongpin's forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on those forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. All information provided in this news release is as of the date of this release. Zhongpin does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
For more information, please contact:
Zhongpin Inc.
Mr. Sterling Song (English and Chinese)
Director of Investor Relations
Telephone +86 10 8286 1788 extension 101 in Beijing
ir@zhongpin.com
Mr. Warren (Feng) Wang (English and Chinese)
Chief Financial Officer
Telephone +86 10 8286 1788 extension 104 in Beijing
warren.wang@zhongpin.com
Christensen
Mr. Christian Arnell (English and Chinese)
Telephone +86 10 5826 4939 in Beijing
carnell@christensenir.com
Mr. Tom Myers (English)
Mobile +86 139 1141 3520 in Beijing
tmyers@christensenir.com
