This share has started to rise rapidly after the trading update which was very encouraging. The company provides batteries for mobiles etc and alternative power supplies. floated at 135p-should be a good investment with results due on April 18th.

Great to see CHNS taking off prior to results - only two or three weeks to go now.

Despite the surge it's still on a P/E of barely 3, with a 5p divi too, plus almost assured growth prospects for a number of years to come as I've posted before.

Nice article here from T.M.F - the title says it all :o))

Good mentions for my Asian faves GNG and CHNS (doesn't mention RCG, but you can't win 'em all!):

http://www.fool.co.uk/news/investing/company-comment/2009/03/24/stocks-so-cheap-theyre-nearly-giving-em-away.aspx

"Stocks So Cheap They're Nearly Giving 'em Away
By Steve Scott

Published in Company Comment on 24 March 2009

"China Shoto (LSE: CHNS) looks like another successful and growing business. The Company manufactures and supplies batteries, mainly to the Chinese market. Its recent trading statement revealed that profits in 2008 will be ahead of market expectations and 50% higher than in 2007. There is some bank debt although it looks comfortably manageable at only 23% of the value of total tangible assets. So why does the market value China Shoto at only 2.9 times 2008 earnings, especially when there is a forecast dividend yield of 4.3% on offer?

It's not alone amongst Chinese based companies in that respect. Fast growing and debt free software provider Geong International (LSE: GNG) may be valued at a more realistic 5.2 times expected current year earnings, however this would fall to only 3.9 times earnings if they meet next year's forecast by broker, Seymour Pierce.

Clearly investors are very sceptical about the sustainability and quality of earnings from Chinese companies. That's not helped by high profile disappointments such as Bodisen Biotech (LSE: BODI). But if the market is wrong, then there is clearly huge upside in these shares."

The price continues to advance, now up to 155p. Still only on a likely historic P/E of 3.7 or maybe less based on the forecast 41.5p EPS for 2008.

News dated today - CHNS' major customer in India, Reliance Comms is stepping on the gas for its expansion plans. It's spending around 120m in one state alone (Karnataka) according to this article!

The Chinese and Indian telecom booms appear so far to be unaffected by and independent of the global downturn - the respective governments obviously see it as extremely important:

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/reliance-aircel-idea-to-slug-it-outrs-3000-cr/353436/

"While economic recession may have bitten new investments hard, the telecom sector looks set to witness a flurry of activity as it expands into hitherto uncharted territory. Three GSM mobile services providers are hitting the ground running in their foray into Karnataka. These companies are looking to pump in close to Rs 3,000 crore to establish their presence in the Karnataka market, presently growing at a blistering pace.

Reliance Communications, Aircel and Idea from the Aditya Birla Group are set to take on established players Airtel, Vodafone and BSNL in a market which grew at 60 per cent last year with a total subscriber base of 21 million. Bharti Airtel currently leads the pack with close to 10 million subscribers in Karnataka.

However, further transformation lies ahead for the market with Reliance Communication rolling up its sleeves to go all out in the state. Reliance is set to invest around Rs 800 crore to establish its state-wide network. The company already has a strong footprint in the CDMA segment in Karnataka with around 4 million subscribers; and is set to replicate its coverage with the GSM platform as well, being the only operator to offer both services.

According to Reliance Communications, Karnataka is part of its largest launch worldwide the Reliance network covers over 2,000 towns and 18,000 villages in India. With the launch of its enhanced GSM service, Reliance customers will now be able to use a range of over 250 handsets and devices. Reliance customers can now roam on more networks globally in over 200 countries offering a wider choice to customers in India, a source in the company noted.

The company, with a customer base of over 60 million, including over 1.7 million individual overseas retail customers, ranks among the Top 10 Telecom companies in the world by number of customers in a single country."

has anyone lost bulletin boaards for A D V F N and the page loads to USA

Here's Seymour Pierce's new comment from last week.

Note that the results are confirmed for 28th April - one week's time. Given continued low raw material prices (though lthe price of lead has increased a little recently), continued demand for CHNS' products and continued beneficial currency movements compared to last year the outlook should be rosy.

At 155p the historic P/E is now 3.7 - even a 50% share price rise would see a P/E of just 5.5. And it's likely imho that the 41.5p EPS forecast will be beaten anyway:

"China Shoto 3,5 (BUY) - Results preview
CHNS.L (142.5p) Market cap: 33m

China Shoto reports its FY 2008 earnings on 28 April. We expect the company to report PBT of 10.5m on revenue of 170m. This represents an uplift of 50% and 58% respectively. The company is a major beneficiary of cellular telecoms infrastructure spend. We believe the market will concentrate on the outlook for 2009 and 2010 in the context of the growth estimates for China and India. We note that Chinese first quarter GDP data is due out today. Growth of 6-7% is expected. While this is down on our December 2008 estimate of 8%, an above positive 5% number is exceptional relative to other global economies. Against this background we think China Shoto is well-positioned. China Shoto has a modest export exposure (less than 10% of sales) to India. We expect the company will update the market on trading in that territory on 28 April.

Shares in China Shoto have risen by 39% so far this year. Coincidentally, the Shanghai Composite index has risen by the same amount. On our December 2008 forecasts, the shares are trading at a PE multiple of just 3.5. We expect forthcoming results to prompt a re-rating."

CHNS issued terrific forecast-beating 2008 results today - the results were actually spot on 2009's forecasts as well:

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=200904280700142...

They made 43.45p EPS compared to 41.5p as forecast, though this forecast had itself been raised 30% from around 31p only at the start of 2009 due to a "significantly ahead" trading statement.

At the current 180p they are now on a historic P/E of just 4.2.

Equally importantly, against a 42m m/cap they now have 22m of net cash, against 11m net borrowings last year. Their net cash flows from operating activities in 2008 were 38.57 million, equivalent to 383% of net profit!

Net creditors/debtors have increased greatly to 25m, so there may have been a little year end massaging going on, but this is still an extremely impressive performance.

CHNS are now "China's largest producer of back up batteries".

And it "intends to, ultimately, become a worldwide green energy solution provider. To that end, a new type of green energy storage product with high technology content is being developed.'"

CHNS effectively has its own research institute. It's already producing high-end lithium-ion batteries as well as the traditional lead-acid batteries, but it's also producing storage for wind power and solar power. I suspect the new storage solution is to do with electric cars (since CHNS already produces for electric bicycles), but I could be wrong.

I have great hopes that CHNS will continue to do well given its bullish domestic and global prospects.

The house (and only!) broker forecast has been increased today as follows:

- this year : 47p EPS (up from 43.5p)
- next year : 50.4p EPS

The 2008 forecasts proved far too cautious, and I believe this year's will be proven to be cautious too.

This year CHNS will get a full year's benefit rather than just a few months of:

- yuan currency appreciation against the pound
- lower raw materials prices
- and lower interest rate charges

At the current 180p, 47p EPS represents a current year P/E of just 3.7.

It's worth noting that net cash at 22m (including short-term investments) represents more than half the 41m m/cap.

And that tangible net assets represent over 50m....

One day the market will wake up to this share.

biggish spread; no volume; no liquidity
any other bright ideas as to why one should buy?

Er...try post 118. Quite apart from the 250k of shares traded today. Enough for most private investor tastes I'd have thought. Not a bad m/cap at 41m now too.

Certainly much better than the 95p share price not so long ago at which price cynic was still living up to his name :o)) Shame he didn't pick some shares up at that time.

i make no apologies about having a very jaundiced view of chinese companies that are then floated onto the gullible occidental markets.

You are I presume having a laff, aren't you.

Any cursory glance at the figures should tempt even the most cynical investor

The share price is now up to 195p - this for a company which:

- made 43p EPS last year
- is conservatively forecast to make 47p EPS this year
- has 22m of net cash against a 46m m/cap
- pays a 5p dividend
- and at a 46m m/cap is valued at less than its tangible net assets

In addition:

- SCSW magazine is out tomorrow. Having backed CHNS in the past, hopefully this issue should have positive coverage of the recent results for its readership to ponder this weekend

- and next Tuesday is the AGM, when we should get a trading update RNS which by all accounts should be nicely positive given all the good news about Chinese and Indian telecoms, power industry and railway infrastructure growth and stimuli, as well as growth in the wind power, solar power and electric vehicle sectors.

The share price is now nicely up to 202p.

The EPS forecast for this year is 47p EPS, with 50.4p EPS for next year (43p EPS achieved last year) There's also a 5p divi.

At 202p the P/E is just 4.3, and CHNS still trades at barely its tangible NAV, with almost half its m/cap in 22m cash!

The average rate for sterling last year against the yuan was 12.86. Even though the pound has risen slightly recently, at the current rate of 11.3 CHNS will continue to benefit strongly from exchange rates this year.

Given:

- lower raw material prices
- favourable exchange rate movements
- lower interest payable on borrowings
- the explosion in Chinese and Indian telecoms

I'm hopeful that 47p EPS this year is a conservative estimate. There may be an increased tax charge this year, and lead raw material prices have rebounded somewhat recently, but these minor negatives should be heavily outweighed by the various large positives above imho.

There could still be an H1 trading statement - this could happen in the next month or so given the 30/6 period end.

We can also be confident that trading to date this year is at least in line with expectations since no update was given at the AGM.

Online looks very promising too - hardly any stock available to buy, whereas you can sell lots at a premium.

Early next year we could be looking forward to 55p-60p EPS if all goes well. On a P/E of just 6 this would give a 330p-360p share price, whilst on a P/E of 10 we're looking at 550p-600p.

No, IMO.

WCC (West China Cement) is the sensible choice for China exposure. There are a number of questions with CHNS which need to be answered by further results statements and in depth looking at the balance sheet.

It's possible to hold more than one stock in a portfolio :o))

As I say, the EPS forecast for this year is 47p EPS, with 50.4p EPS for next year (43p EPS achieved last year) There's also a 5p divi.

At 202p the P/E is just 4.3, and CHNS still trades at barely its tangible NAV, with almost half its m/cap in 22m cash!

The average rate for sterling last year against the yuan was 12.86. Even though the pound has risen slightly recently, at the current rate of 11.3 CHNS will continue to benefit strongly from exchange rates this year.

Given:

- lower raw material prices
- favourable exchange rate movements
- lower interest payable on borrowings
- the explosion in Chinese and Indian telecoms

I'm hopeful that 47p EPS this year is a conservative estimate. There may be an increased tax charge this year, and lead raw material prices have rebounded somewhat recently, but these minor negatives should be heavily outweighed by the various large positives above imho.

There could still be an H1 trading statement - this could happen in the next month or so given the 30/6 period end.

We can also be confident that trading to date this year is at least in line with expectations since no update was given at the AGM.

Online looks very promising too - hardly any stock available to buy, whereas you can sell lots at a premium.

Early next year we could be looking forward to 55p-60p EPS if all goes well. On a P/E of just 6 this would give a 330p-360p share price, whilst on a P/E of 10 we're looking at 550p-600p.

Stop repeating yourself we got it the first time. held these for 3years and only just got my dosh back plus div, so will be putting on the back burner and see if your right. Hope you are but have my doubts.

Balerboy, I'm glad you're back to breakeven. You must have bought at around the all-time highs. Since then CHNS has more than doubled its EPS and improved its Balance Sheet no end - yet here we are merely at the same share price as 3 years ago, on a P/E of barely above 4 and paying a 5p divi.

Investments have to be constantly reassessed, and given CHNS' global prospects in telecoms, let alone in wind and solar power, electric bikes and cars, railways, power infrastructure etc I'm happy that with around 200p per share of tangible assets the current 202p share price is good value imho.

Don't forget the ever increasing focus on the green side.

As this company expands and enters deeper into exisiting overseas markets, plus opens new ones up, this is going to be one of the key SP's

There is what I believe is EXTREMELY important news up last week on the CHNS web site.

China Mobile have now announced the results of their procurement of back-up batteries for the near future.

CHNS's subsidiary, Jiangsu Shuangdeng, are easily the biggest supplier of all the companies in every category shown. This should secure a large portion of CHNS' sales for a while to come imho:

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&...

The last time CHNS was at the current 205p share price the P/E was around 11 or 12 from memory, since when:

- the historic EPS has more than doubled to 43p EPS
- the Balance Sheet has improved immeasurably
- the 49m tangible net assets STILL exceed the current 48m m/cap
- CHNS hasn't put a foot wrong, and has always underplayed its prospects
- CHNS has successfully entered the wind and solar power markets
- and has developed electric car batteries, lithium-ion batteries etc

If CHNS were now to trade at the same P/E it would be at 500p. But in the present climate even a P/E of 6 would see a 260p-290p share price.

If you take the 210p tangible assets per share as a base and add on a P/E of 6 for the trading business, you arrive at a 500p current sum of the parts value for CHNS.

Given the 43p EPS last year, together with:

- improved currency translation since then
- much reduced average raw material prices
- reduced interest payable given the hugely positive cash turnaround (there was 2.8m interest paid last year!)
- together with the bullish outlook and telecoms boom in China, India etc

...I'm hopeful that this year's 47p EPS forecast is understated. There may be an increased tax charge, and lead raw material prices have rebounded somewhat recently, but these minor negatives should be heavily outweighed by the various large positives above imho.

PS : the above was posted on the wrong thread by mistake earlier, so here it is.

From this new article about solar power in China, I gather that CHNS' home province of Jiangsu is one of the key hubs of Chinese solar power technology. Which is handy for CHNS and its solar power energy storage systems:

http://www.telecom.globalsources.com/gsol/I/Portable-solar/a/9000000106028.htm

"Chinas portable solar power systems segment is benefiting heavily from substantial investment in PV cells and related products. The latter is driven by the rapid growth of the worldwide solar power industry, which has registered more than 40 percent CAGR in the past 10 years.

More importantly, it has resulted in a bustling support chain that supplies a range of modules, main controllers, batteries and inverters, enabling most manufacturers to purchase the key components domestically. The countrys output of PV cells in 2008 surpassed 2000MW, accounting for 37 percent of global production."

"Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces are the key hubs, where more than 100 providers of PV cells and panels are likewise based."

And more here about solar power in CHNS' home province of Jiangsu - 20 large solar power plants to be built there.

CHNS also supply the nuclear power industry BTW:

http://green.venturebeat.com/2009/08/05/china-moves-toward-aggressive-renewable-energy-strategy/

"Chinas energy administration is drawing up plans to increase power generation from renewable sources to 15 percent of the nations total by 2020. To do so, the country will rely more on solar, wind and biomass energy with the goal of deriving more than 200 million emissions-free kilowatts.

While 15 percent might not seem like a lot in California where the mandate is 33 percent of the states total by 2020, the figure is pretty ambitious for a country with such a massive population and higher technological hurdles. In fact, 15 percent would be 13 times Chinas current amount of energy generated by renewables (about 15 million kilowatts, according to VentureWire). The proposal would significantly revise a current target of 60 million kilowatts by 2020.

Achieving the raised bar would require substantial financial investment by the Chinese government and private backers. Rough estimates put the amount at $658.8 billion dollars (or as high as $1.3 trillion including investments from component makers and others) a staggering number that is closer to the U.S.s full $787 billion stimulus package than the $60 billion going to cleantech industries.

Already, there are plans for 20 large solar power plants in Jiangsu Province, and proposals for wind power facilities to be located off the coast of Shanghai. Meeting these renewable sources halfway, the country already has a nuclear strategy in the works that could boost that brand of energy production to 86 million kilowatts (5 percent of energy production) by 2020. Today, nuclear accounts for little more than 9 million kilowatts in China."

Looking good online now - there's just 750 shares at 213.75p available to buy at maximum now, reduced from 10,000....and you can sell plenty at 206p.

A little buying interest now could have a significant impact.

If anyone wanted any more comfort, then remember that CHNS "accounts for over 90% of ZTE's total back-up battery purchases"...

....and note this from ZTE's results this week:

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/3431738

"In 1H09, ZTEs CDMA base stations achieved a record high shipment volume of 75,000 units: 1.5 times greater than total shipments in 2008. Meanwhile, the Companys WiMAX products have successfully entered high-end markets including Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Japan and various European countries."

I particularly like the geographic expansion as above and:

"In 1H09, ZTE continued collaboration with mainstream operators from the worlds top 20 most populous countries including Indonesia, Vietnam and Turkey while also successfully forging partnerships with tier-one operators from Europe and the Americas including Verizon, TeliaSonera, Telstra and Telenor. Specific to product groups, ZTE registered year-on-year revenue growth of 46.2% for carriers networks, 29.8% for handset products and 29.2% for telecommunication software systems, services and other products during the reporting period. In the wireless sector, ZTEs industry-leading SDR solution promotes the long-term development of GSM/UMTS/LTE and CDMA products, facilitating a strong increase in market share and competitiveness.

The Companys UMTS products have been deployed by mainstream operators in countries with heavy populations including Indonesia, Vietnam and Turkey and branches of Telstra, TeliaSonera and SingTel, three leading global operators."