Wednesday, December 30, 2009

China BAK Says Speculation of Google Order is Unfounded

Bloomberg


China BAK Battery Inc. Chief Financial Officer Tony Shen said the unprofitable Chinese company hasn’t won any orders from Google Inc., denying speculation that drove the stock up 63 percent.

“I have checked with all sales heads in all product lines as well as the CEO and COO,” Shen said in a phone interview today. “We have no knowledge of any such deals.”

China BAK climbed to $3.64 as of 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq trading yesterday, its biggest advance since June 2004. The stock has more than doubled this year. Mark Tobin, an analyst with Roth Capital Partners LLC, said yesterday speculation circulated that the Shenzhen, China-based company was picked to supply a cellular phone battery for a Google smart phone.

Google may begin selling its own smart phone next year, the New York Times reported Dec. 13. The company invited reporters to an event on Jan. 5 to discuss its phone operating system, the newspaper said on its “Bits” blog yesterday. Katie Watson, a spokeswoman for Google, declined to comment.

Shen said China BAK announced last week it won a $1 million order to supply batteries for buses in China, the company’s first “major” order from the automotive industry. About 60 percent of the company’s revenue is derived from mobile phones and 30 percent from laptop computers, he said.