The board of directors of NVC Lighting Holding, China's largest lighting equipment maker by sales revenue, was unable to reach a consensus on whether its founder could return to the company at a meeting held in Hong Kong Tuesday.

Media reports had said it was very likely that the board of directors discussed the potential return of Wu Changjiang, the founder and former CEO of NVC Lighting, to the company.

Shi Yongjun, a spokesman for NVC Lighting, declined to comment on the matter.

The company said that so far no agreement has been reached on "any future role Wu may have in the company," according to a statement posted on the Hong Kong bourse late Monday. But it also said that Wu and the company's Chairman Yan Yan have been in discussions on Wu's potential return.

"I believe that Wu will manage to return to the company in the end, as it is in the best interests of everyone," Li Weidong, research director at ChinaVenture Investment Consulting, told the Global Times Tuesday.

The company announced in May that Wu had voluntarily resigned. But later media reports revealed that Wu had been asked to assist in an investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC, which was one of the reasons behind Wu's departure.

However, on July 12, Wu, who still owns some 18 percent of the company's stock, claimed that he was forced out of the company by other shareholders and demanded a return.

After that, massive employee strikes broke out in the company, demanding a return of Wu. Earlier this month, more than half of the suppliers of NVC Lighting stopped providing merchandise to the company, as internal conflicts in the company remained unresolved.

"Such internal strife can cause great harm to the company. Even if the conflict is resolved soon, it will take more than half a year for the company to get back on track," Chen Datong, a partner with investment firm WestSummit Capital, told the Global Times Tuesday.

In a separate statement Tuesday, the company said that Xu Mingyin, a non-executive director of the company, had left the company, the second senior official to leave the company.

The company said in a statement released late Tuesday that its net profit in the first half of the year dropped 83.7 percent year-on-year to $6.46 million.

Yan said in July that Wu could return on three conditions: inform the board the details of the investigation; end all transactions outlawed by Hong Kong securities regulations; and obey board decisions.

"If Wu is proved to have been involved in serious troubles, then it may be difficult for him to return to the company," Chen noted.