SHOUGUANG, China, March 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gulf Resources, Inc. (Nasdaq: GURE ) ("Gulf Resources" or the "Company"), a leading manufacturer of bromine, crude salt and specialty chemical products in China, today announced that continuing strength in the price of bromine should lead to significantly improved sales and earnings in bromine business, especially in the first half of 2017.
Over the past two years, the price of bromine in China has shown continuing strength.
| Price of Bromine (USD) per tonne | ||||
| 2014 | $2,886 | |||
| 2015 | $3,162 | |||
| 2016 Q1 | $3,841 | |||
| 2016 Q2 | $4,006 | |||
| 2016 Q3 | $3,541 | |||
| 2017 Beginning of March | $4,142 |
Between 2014 and 2015, the price of bromine increased 9.6%. In the first 9 months of 2016, the price increased by 21.4% from the same period of 2015 and 31.2% for the same period of 2014.
Since the end of the third quarter of 2016, the price of bromine has continued to increase. At the beginning of March 2017, it was $4,142. This represents an increase of 17% from the price in the third quarter of 2016. It also represents an increase of 43.5% from the average price in 2014.
There is no guarantee that pricing will remain at its current level. However, international pricing is very strong. Domestically, supply is being constrained by restrictions in production, limited licensing of mines and factories, as well as the degradation of some domestic facilities. As a result, we expect the pricing of bromine will continue to remain strong.
At these levels, profits in bromine business could have benefit to our bottom line.
We will provide our guidance when we release our results later this month. However, at the present time, in the first half of 2017, for which we have good visibility, we expect increases in sales and earnings for bromine business.
About Gulf Resources, Inc. Gulf Resources, Inc. operates through four wholly-owned subsidiaries, Shouguang City Haoyuan Chemical Company Limited ("SCHC"), Shouguang Yuxin Chemical Industry Co., Limited ("SYCI"), Shouguang City Rongyuan Chemical Co, Limited (“ SCRC”) and Daying County Haoyuan Chemical Company Limited (“DCHC”). 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. SCRC is a leading manufacturer of materials for human and animal antibiotics in China and other parts of Asia. 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, 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.
CONTACT: Gulf Resources, Inc. Web: http://www.gulfresourcesinc.com Director of Investor Relations Helen Xu (Haiyan Xu) beishengrong@vip.163.com
