BALCHEM CORP - Annual Report: 2007 (Form 10-K)
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND
EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C.
20549
FORM
10-K
(Mark
One)
þ
|
ANNUAL
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR SECTION 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE
ACT OF 1934
|
For
the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2007
OR
o
|
TRANSITION
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT OF
1934
|
For
the
transition period from _______
to
_____ .
Commission
file number: 1-13648
Balchem
Corporation
(Exact
name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Maryland
|
13-2578432
|
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
|
(I.R.S.
Employer Identification Number)
|
P.O.
Box
600, New Hampton, NY 10958
(Address
of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code: (845) 326-5600
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title
of each class
|
Name
of each exchange on which registered
|
|
Common
Stock, par value $.06-2/3 per share
|
Nasdaq
Global Market
|
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the
Act: None
Indicate
by check mark whether the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined
in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes o No þ
Indicate
by check mark whether the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant
to
Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes o No þ
Indicate
by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to
be
filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during
the
preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the Registrant was required
to
file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for
the
past 90 days. Yes þ
No o
Indicate
by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of
Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best
of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements
incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to
this
Form 10-K. þ
Indicate
by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company.
See
the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller
reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
(Check
one):
|
Large
accelerated filer o
|
Accelerated
filer þ
|
Non-accelerated
filer o
|
Smaller
reporting company o
|
Indicate
by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes
o
No þ
The
aggregate market value of the common stock issued and outstanding and held
by
non-affiliates of the Registrant, based upon the closing price for the common
stock on the NASDAQ Global Market on June 30, 2007 was approximately
$317,332,000. For purposes of this calculation, shares of the Registrant held
by
directors and officers of the Registrant and under the Registrant's
401(k)/profit sharing plan have been excluded.
The
number of shares outstanding of the Registrant's common stock was 18,039,214
as
of March 3, 2008.
DOCUMENTS
INCORPORATED BY
REFERENCE
Selected
portions of the Registrant’s proxy statement for its 2008 Annual Meeting of
Stockholders (the “2008 Proxy Statement”) to be filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after
Registrant’s fiscal year-end of December 31, 2007 are incorporated by reference
in Part III of this Report.
Cautionary
Statement
Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This
Annual Report on Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical
facts, but rather reflect our current expectations or beliefs concerning future
events and results. We generally use the words "believes," "expects," "intends,"
"plans," "anticipates," "likely," "will" and similar expressions to identify
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements, including those
concerning our expectations, involve risks, uncertainties and other factors,
some of which are beyond our control, which may cause our actual results,
performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different
from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements. The risks, uncertainties and factors that
could
cause our results to differ materially from our expectations and beliefs
include, but are not limited to, those factors set forth in this Annual Report
on Form 10-K under "Item 1A. - Risk Factors" below, as well as the
following:
|
·
|
changes
in laws or regulations affecting our
operations;
|
|
·
|
changes
in our business tactics or
strategies;
|
|
·
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acquisitions
of new or complementary operations;
|
|
·
|
sales
of any of our existing operations;
|
|
·
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changing
market forces or contingencies that necessitate, in our judgment,
changes
in our plans, strategy or tactics;
and
|
|
·
|
fluctuations
in the investment markets or interest rates, which might materially
affect
our operations or financial
condition.
|
We
cannot
assure you that the expectations or beliefs reflected in these forward-looking
statements will prove correct. We undertake no obligation to publicly update
or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. You are cautioned not to unduly rely on such
forward-looking statements when evaluating the information presented in this
Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Part
I
Item
1. Business
General:
Balchem
Corporation (“Balchem,” the “Company,” “we” or “us”), incorporated in the State
of Maryland in 1967, is engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing
of
specialty performance ingredients and products for the food, nutritional, feed,
pharmaceutical and medical sterilization industries. The Company has
three segments: specialty products, encapsulated / nutritional products and
the
unencapsulated feed supplements segment (also referred to in this report as
“BCP
Ingredients” or “BCP”). Products relating to choline animal feed for
non-ruminant animals are primarily reported in the unencapsulated feed
supplements segment. Human choline nutrient products, calcium carbonate products
for the pharmaceutical industry and encapsulated products are reported in the
encapsulated / nutritional products segment. Chelated products and nutritional
products for the animal health industry are also reported in the encapsulated
/
nutritional products segment.
The
Company sells its products through its own sales force, independent distributors
and sales agents. Financial information concerning the Company's
business, business segments and geographic information appears in the Notes
to
our Consolidated Financial Statements included under Item 8 below, which
information is incorporated herein by reference.
1
The
Company operates four domestic subsidiaries, all of which are wholly-owned:
BCP,
Balchem Minerals Corporation (“BMC”), BCP Saint Gabriel, Inc. (“BCP St.
Gabriel”), each a Delaware corporation, and Chelated Minerals Corporation
(“CMC”), a Utah corporation. We also operate three wholly-owned
subsidiaries in Europe: Balchem BV and Balchem Trading BV, both Dutch
limited liability companies, and Balchem Italia Srl, an Italian limited
liability company. Unless otherwise stated to the contrary, or unless
the context otherwise requires, references to the Company in this report
includes Balchem Corporation and its subsidiaries.
Encapsulated
/ Nutritional
Products
The
encapsulated / nutritional products segment provides microencapsulation,
chelation and agglomeration solutions to a variety of applications in food,
pharmaceutical and nutritional ingredients to enhance therapeutic performance,
taste, processing, packaging and shelf-life. Major product
applications are baked goods, refrigerated and frozen dough systems, processed
meats, seasoning blends, confections, nutritional supplements, pharmaceuticals
and animal nutrition. We also market human grade choline nutrient products
through this industry segment for wellness applications. Choline is
recognized to play a key role in the structural integrity of cell membranes,
processing dietary fat, reproductive development and neural functions, such
as
memory and muscle function. Balchem’s portfolio of granulated calcium carbonate
products are primarily used in, or in conjunction with, novel over-the-counter
and prescription pharmaceuticals for the treatment of osteoporosis, gastric
disorders and calcium deficiencies.
In
animal
health industries, Balchem markets REASHURE®
Choline,
an encapsulated choline product that improves health and production in
transition and early lactation dairy cows. Also in animal health we
market NITROSHURETM,
an
encapsulated urea supplement for lactating dairy cows, allowing for greater
flexibility in feed rations for dairy nutritionists and producers, and
NIASHURETM,
our
microencapsulated niacin product. In addition, we manufacture, sell
and distribute chelated mineral supplements for use in animal feed throughout
the world, utilizing our proprietary chelation technology for enhanced nutrient
absorption for various species of production and companion animals.
Specialty
Products
Our
specialty products segment operates as ARC Specialty Products. The
specialty products segment repackages and distributes the following specialty
gases: ethylene oxide, blends of ethylene oxide, propylene oxide and methyl
chloride.
We
sell
ethylene oxide, at the 100% level, as a sterilant gas, primarily for use in
the
health care industry. It is used to sterilize a wide range of medical devices
because of its versatility and effectiveness in treating hard or soft surfaces,
composites, metals, tubing and different types of plastics without negatively
impacting the performance or appearance of the device being sterilized. The
Company distributes its 100% ethylene oxide product in uniquely designed,
recyclable double-walled stainless steel drums to assure compliance with safety,
quality and environmental standards as outlined by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (the “EPA”) and the U.S. Department of
Transportation. The Company's inventory of these specially built
drums, along with the Company's three filling facilities, represent a
significant capital investment. Contract sterilizers, medical device
manufacturers, and medical gas distributors are the Company’s principal
customers for this product. In addition, ethylene oxide blends are highly
effective as a fumigant, in killing bacteria, fungi, and insects in spices
and
other seasoning materials. In addition, the Company also sells small, uniquely
designed single use canisters of 100% ethylene oxide for use in medical device
sterilization.
We
sell
two other products, propylene oxide and methyl chloride, principally to
customers seeking smaller (as opposed to bulk) quantities and whose requirements
include timely delivery and safe handling. Propylene oxide is used for
fumigation in spice treatment and in various chemical synthesis applications.
It
is also utilized in industrial applications to make paints more durable, and
for
manufacturing specialty starches and textile coatings. Methyl
chloride is used as a raw material in specialty herbicides, fertilizers and
pharmaceuticals, as well as in malt and wine preservers.
2
BCP
Ingredients
This
segment manufactures and supplies choline chloride, an essential nutrient for
animal health, predominantly to the poultry and swine industries. Choline plays
a vital role in the metabolism of fat and the building and maintaining of cell
structures. A choline deficiency can result in, among other symptoms, reduced
growth and perosis in poultry; and fat deposits in the liver, kidney necrosis
and general poor health conditions in swine. In addition, certain derivatives
of
choline chloride are also manufactured and sold into industrial applications.
Choline chloride is manufactured and sold in both an aqueous and dry form and
is
sold through our own sales force, independent distributors and sales agents.
Certain derivatives of choline chloride are also marketed into industrial
applications. In addition to choline chloride acquired through the
Akzo Nobel Acquisition, which is defined below, this segment manufactures and
sells methylamines. Methylamines are a primary building block for the
manufacture of choline products and are also used in a wide range of industrial
applications.
Raw
Materials:
The
raw
materials utilized by the Company in the manufacture of its products are
generally available from a number of commercial sources. Such raw materials
include materials derived from petrochemicals, minerals, metals and other
readily available commodities and are subject to price fluctuations due to
market conditions. The Company is not experiencing any current difficulties
in
procuring such materials and does not anticipate any such problems; however,
the
Company cannot assure that will always be the case.
Intellectual
Property:
The
Company currently holds 17 patents in the United States and overseas and uses
certain trade-names and trademarks. It also uses know-how, trade
secrets, formulae, and manufacturing techniques that assist in maintaining
competitive positions of certain of its products. Formulae and
know-how are of particular importance in the manufacture of a number of the
Company’s products. The Company believes that certain of its patents, in the
aggregate, are advantageous to its business. However, it is believed that no
single patent or related group of patents is currently so material to the
Company that the expiration or termination of any single patent or group of
patents would materially affect its business. The Company believes that its
sales and competitive position are dependent primarily upon the quality of
its
products, its technical sales efforts and market conditions, rather than on
any
patent protection.
Licensing:
The
Company entered into a license agreement with Project Management and Development
Co., Ltd., a British corporation ("PMD") in November 2005. As of
August 2006, PMD assigned the license agreement in its entirety to its successor
in interest, Al Kayan Petrochemical Company. On August 1, 2007 Al
Kayan Petrochemical Company assigned the license agreement in its entirety
to
its successor in interest, Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Company (“SKPC”). Under the
license agreement, SKPC has the right to utilize the Company’s proprietary
continuous manufacturing technology for the production of aqueous choline
chloride in connection with SKPC’s construction and operation of an aqueous
choline chloride production facility at SKPC’s Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia
petrochemical facility, currently scheduled for completion in late
2010. In addition, SKPC has the exclusive right to use such
technology in certain countries, as well as the non-exclusive right to market,
sell and use the products derived from such technology on a world-wide basis
except that the Company is to be SKPC’s exclusive North American distributor for
such products.
The
license agreement terminates either 10 years from the start-up of SKPC’s
production facility or December 31, 2020, whichever is earlier.
3
Seasonality:
In
general, the business of the Company's segments is not seasonal to any material
extent.
Backlog:
At
December 31, 2007, the Company had a total backlog of $7,303,000 (including
$2,661,000 for the encapsulated/nutritional products segment; $354,000 for
the
specialty products segment and $4,288,000 for BCP Ingredients), as compared
to a
total backlog of $2,853,000 at December 31, 2006 (including $1,769,000 for
the
encapsulated/nutritional products segment; $655,000 for the specialty products
segment and $429,000 for BCP Ingredients). The increase in our backlog is
principally a result of acquisitions in the BCP segment as described below.
It
has generally been the Company’s policy and practice to maintain an inventory of
finished products and/or component materials for its segments to enable it
to
ship products within two months after receipt of a product order. All orders
in
the current backlog are expected to be filled in the 2008 fiscal
year.
Competition:
The
Company’s competitors include many large and small companies, some of which have
greater financial, research and development, production and other resources
than
the Company. Competition in the encapsulation markets served by the Company
is
based primarily on product performance, customer support, quality, service
and
price. The development of new and improved products is important to
the Company’s success. This competitive environment requires substantial
investments in product and manufacturing process research and development.
In
addition, the winning and retention of customer acceptance of the Company’s
encapsulated products involve substantial expenditures for application testing
and sales efforts. The Company also engages various universities to assist
in
research and provide independent third-party analysis. In the specialty products
business, the Company faces competition from alternative sterilizing
technologies and products. Competition in the animal feed markets served by
the
Company is based primarily on service and price.
Research
&
Development:
During
the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005, the Company incurred research
and development expense of approximately $2.5 million, $2.0 million and $2.1
million, respectively, on Company-sponsored research and development for new
products and improvements to existing products and manufacturing processes,
principally in the encapsulated / nutritional products
segment. During the year ended December 31, 2007, an average of 15
employees were devoted full time to research and development activities. The
Company has historically funded its research and development programs with
funds
available from current operations with the intent of recovering those costs
from
profits derived from future sales of products resulting from, or enhanced by,
the research and development effort.
The
Company prioritizes its product development activities in an effort to allocate
its resources to those product candidates that the Company believes have the
greatest commercial potential. Factors considered by the Company in
determining the products to pursue include projected markets and needs, status
of its proprietary rights, technical feasibility, expected and known product
attributes, and estimated costs to bring the product to market.
Acquisitions,
Dispositions,
and Capital Projects:
In
2007,
we made two significant acquisitions.
In
April,
pursuant to an asset purchase agreement dated March 30, 2007, we acquired the
methylamines and choline chloride business and manufacturing facilities of
Akzo
Nobel Chemicals S.p.A., located in Marano Ticino, Italy, through our affiliate,
Balchem BV. Balchem BV subsequently assigned
4
this
asset purchase agreement to its wholly-owned subsidiary, Balchem Italia Srl.
In
this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we refer to this acquisition as the “Akzo Nobel
Acquisition”.
In
March,
BCP acquired certain choline chloride business assets of Chinook Global Limited
("Chinook"), a privately held Ontario corporation. In this Annual Report on
Form
10-K, we refer to this acquisition as the “Chinook Acquisition”.
In
addition, in August 2006, we acquired from BioAdditives, LLC, CMB Additives,
LLC
and CMB Realty of Louisiana, an animal feed grade aqueous choline chloride
manufacturing facility and related assets located in St. Gabriel, Louisiana.
In
connection, we also acquired from such sellers the remaining interest in a
renewable land lease (approximately 19 years remaining on the original term)
relating to the realty upon which the acquired facility and related assets
are
located. In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we refer to this
acquisition as the “St. Gabriel Acquisition.”
In
February 2006, we acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of CMC, which
was then privately held. CMC is a manufacturer and global marketer of
chelated mineral nutritional supplements for livestock, pet and swine
feeds. In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we refer to this acquisition as
the “CMC Acquisition.”
In
June
2005, we acquired Loders Croklaan USA, LLC’s encapsulation, agglomeration and
granulation business. In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we refer to this
acquisition as the “Loders Croklaan Acquisition.”
Excluding
our 2007 acquisitions, capital expenditures were approximately $4.9 million
for
2007, as compared to $2.3 million in 2006. Capital expenditures are
projected to be approximately $5.6 million for 2008.
Environmental
/ Regulatory
Matters:
The
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, as amended (“FIFRA”), a
health and safety statute, requires that certain products within our specialty
products segment must be registered with the EPA because they are considered
pesticides. In order to obtain a registration, an applicant typically must
demonstrate, through extensive test data, that its product will not cause
unreasonable adverse effects on the environment. We hold an EPA registration
permitting us to sell ethylene oxide as a medical device sterilant and spice
fumigant. We are in the process of reregistering this product’s use in
compliance with FIFRA re-registration requirements for all pesticide
products. In December 2004, the EPA informed us and the other technical
registrant under the current registration that the EPA was beginning the 6-phase
process to develop a Re-registration Eligibility Decision (RED) for this
product. In 2006, the EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) bifurcated
the process, and dealt first with the reassessment of spice residue
tolerances in order to meet the deadline mandated by the Food Quality Protection
Act of 1996. On August 9, 2006, OPP issued a Tolerance Reassessment
Progress and Risk Management Decision (TRED) relating to the use of ethylene
oxide to treat spices. This TRED prohibits the use of ethylene oxide to treat
basil, effective August 1, 2007, but allows the continuing use of ethylene
oxide
to treat all other spices, provided a mandated treatment method is used
beginning August 1, 2008. In current published status reports, the EPA states
that it will issue the RED covering all uses of ethylene oxide, including its
use as a medical device sterilant, in March 2008. We have
actively participated in the public access portions of the EPA’s Office of
Research and Development’s assessment of the carcinogenicity of ethylene oxide
and OPP's RED process, and will continue to do so until their
conclusions. We believe that the use of ethylene oxide will continue
to be permitted, although the EPA has indicated additional testing may be
required in order to maintain the current uses after the RED is
issued, and the EPA may require some additional restrictions on
current uses. Additionally, the product, when used as a medical device
sterilant, has no known equally effective substitute. Management believes
absence of availability of this product could not be easily tolerated by various
medical device manufacturers and the health care industry due to the resultant
infection potential.
5
The
State
of California lists 100% ethylene oxide, when used as a sterilant or fumigant,
as a carcinogen and reproductive toxin under California's Proposition 65 (Safe
Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986). As a result, the Company
is
required to provide a prescribed warning to any person in California who may
be
exposed to this product. Failure to provide such warning would result in
liability of up to $2,500 per day per person exposed.
The
Company’s facility in Verona, Missouri, while held by a prior owner, was
designated by the EPA as a Superfund site and placed on the National Priorities
List in 1983, because of dioxin contamination on portions of the site.
Remediation conducted by the prior owner under the oversight of the EPA and
the
Missouri Department of Natural Resources (“MDNR”) included removal of dioxin
contaminated soil and equipment, capping of areas of residual contamination
in
four relatively small areas of the site separate from the manufacturing
facilities, and the installation of wells to monitor groundwater and surface
water for contamination for certain organic chemicals. No ground water or
surface water treatment has been required. In 1998, the EPA certified the
work on the contaminated soils to be complete. In February 2000, after the
conclusion of two years of monitoring groundwater and surface water, the former
owner submitted a draft third party risk assessment report to the EPA and MDNR
recommending no further action. The prior owner is awaiting the response of
the
EPA and MDNR to the draft risk assessment.
While
the
Company must maintain the integrity of the capped areas in the remediation
areas
on the site, the prior owner is responsible for completion of any further
Superfund remedy. The Company is indemnified by the sellers under its
May 2001 asset purchase agreement covering its acquisition of the Verona
facility for potential liabilities associated with the Superfund site and one
of
the sellers, in turn, has the benefit of certain contractual indemnification
by
the prior owner that executed the above-described Superfund remedy.
In
connection with normal operations at its plant facilities, the Company is
required to maintain environmental and other permits, including those relating
to the ethylene oxide operations.
The
Company believes it is in compliance in all material respects with federal,
state, local and international provisions that have been enacted or adopted
regulating the discharge of materials into the environment or otherwise relating
to the protection of the environment. Such compliance includes the maintenance
of required permits under air pollution regulations and compliance with
requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The cost
of
such compliance has not had a material effect upon the results of operations
or
financial condition of the Company. In 1982, the Company discovered and
thereafter removed a number of buried drums containing unidentified waste
material from the Company’s site in Slate Hill, New York. The Company thereafter
entered into a Consent Decree to evaluate the drum site with the New York
Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYDEC”) and performed a Remedial
Investigation/Feasibility Study that was approved by NYDEC in February 1994.
Based on NYDEC requirements, the Company remediated the area and removed soil
from the drum burial site. This proceeding has been substantially completed
(see
Item 3).
The
Channahon, Illinois manufacturing facility manufactures a calcium carbonate
line
of pharmaceutical grade ingredients. This facility is registered with
the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) as a drug manufacturing
facility. These products must be manufactured in conformity with current
Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations as interpreted and enforced
by
the FDA. Modifications, enhancements or changes in manufacturing
facilities or procedures of our pharmaceutical products are, in many
circumstances, subject to FDA approval, which may be subject to a lengthy
application process or which we may be unable to obtain. The Channahon, Illinois
facility, as well as those of any third-party cGMP manufacturers that we may
use, are periodically subject to inspection by the FDA and other governmental
agencies, and operations at these facilities could be interrupted or halted
if
the results of these inspections are unsatisfactory.
6
Employees:
As
of
March 1, 2008, the Company employed approximately 320
persons. Approximately 73 employees at our Marano, Ticino, Italy
facility are covered by a national collective bargaining agreement, which
expires in 2010. Approximately 55 employees at the Company’s Verona, Missouri
facility are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, which expires in
2012.
Available
Information:
The
Company’s headquarters is located at 52 Sunrise Park Road, P.O. Box 600, New
Hampton, NY 10958. The Company’s telephone number is (845) 326-5600
and its Internet website address is www.balchem.com. The Company makes available
through its website, free of charge, its Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to such
reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after they have been electronically
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such reports are
available via a link from the Investor Information page on the Company’s website
to a list of the Company’s reports on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s
EDGAR website.
Item
1A. Risk Factors
Our
business involves a high degree of risk and uncertainty, including the following
risks and uncertainties:
Increased
competition could hurt our business and financial results.
We
face
competition in our markets from a number of large and small companies, some
of
which have greater financial, research and development, production and other
resources than we do. Our competitive position is based principally on
performance, quality, customer support, service, breadth of product line,
manufacturing or packaging technology and the selling prices of our products.
Our competitors might be expected to improve the design and performance of
their
products and to introduce new products with competitive price and performance
characteristics. We expect to do the same to maintain our current competitive
position and market share.
The
loss of governmental permits and approvals would materially harm some of our
businesses.
Pursuant
to applicable environmental and safety laws and regulations, we are required
to
obtain and maintain certain governmental permits and approvals, including an
EPA
registration for our ethylene oxide sterilant product. We maintain an EPA
registration of ethylene oxide as a medical device sterilant and fumicide.
We
are in the process of re-registering this product in accordance with
FIFRA. The EPA may not allow re-registration of ethylene oxide for
the uses mentioned above. The failure of the EPA to allow
re-registration of ethylene oxide would have a material adverse effect on our
business and financial results.
The
Channahon, Illinois facility manufactures a calcium carbonate line of
pharmaceutical ingredients. This facility is registered with the FDA as a
drug manufacturing facility. These products must be manufactured in
conformity with current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations as
interpreted and enforced by the FDA. Modifications, enhancements or
changes in manufacturing facilities or procedures of our pharmaceutical products
are, in many circumstances, subject to FDA approval, which may be subject to
a
lengthy application process or which we may be unable to obtain. Our Channahon,
Illinois facility, as well as those of any third-party cGMP manufacturers that
we may use, are periodically subject to inspection by the FDA and other
governmental agencies, and operations at these facilities could be interrupted
or halted if the results of these inspections are unsatisfactory.
Failure to comply with the FDA or other governmental regulations can result
in
fines, unanticipated compliance expenditures, recall or seizure of products,
total or partial suspension of production, enforcement actions, injunctions
and
criminal prosecution, which could have a material adverse effect on our business
and financial results.
7
Permits
and approvals may be subject to revocation, modification or denial under certain
circumstances. Our operations or activities (including the status of compliance
by the prior owner of the Verona, Missouri facility under Superfund remediation)
could result in administrative or private actions, revocation of required
permits or licenses, or fines, penalties or damages, which could have an adverse
effect on us. In addition, we can not predict the extent to which any
legislation or regulation may affect the market for our products or our cost
of
doing business.
Raw
material shortages or price increases could adversely affect our business and
financial results.
The
principal raw materials that we use in the manufacture of our products can
be
subject to price fluctuations. While the selling prices of our products tend
to
increase or decrease over time with the cost of raw materials, these changes
may
not occur simultaneously or to the same degree. At times, we may be unable
to
pass increases in raw material costs through to our customers. Such increases
in
the price of raw materials, if not offset by product price increases, or
substitute raw materials, would have an adverse impact on our profitability.
We
believe we have reliable sources of supply for our raw materials under normal
market conditions. We cannot, however, predict the likelihood or impact of
any
future raw material shortages. Any shortages could have a material adverse
impact on our results of operations.
Our
financial success depends in part on the reliability and sufficiency of our
manufacturing facilities.
Our
revenues depend on the effective operation of our manufacturing, packaging,
and
processing facilities. The operation of our facilities involves risks, including
the breakdown, failure, or substandard performance of equipment, power outages,
the improper installation or operation of equipment, explosions, fires, natural
disasters, failure to achieve or maintain safety or quality standards, work
stoppages, supply or logistical outages, and the need to comply with
environmental and other directives of governmental agencies. The occurrence
of
material operational problems, including, but not limited to, the above events,
could adversely affect our profitability during the period of such operational
difficulties.
Our
failure or inability to protect our intellectual property could harm our
business and financial results.
We
hold
17 patents in the United States and overseas. Third parties could seek to
challenge, invalidate or circumvent our patents. Moreover, there could be
successful claims against us alleging that we infringe the intellectual property
rights of others. If we are unable to protect all of our intellectual property
rights, or if we are found to be infringing the intellectual property rights
of
others, there could be an adverse effect on our business and financial results.
Our competitive position also depends on our use of unpatented trade secrets.
Competitors could independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary
information, which could hurt our business and financial results.
We
face risks associated with our sales to customers and manufacturing operations
outside the United States.
For
the
year ended December 31, 2007, approximately 25% of our net sales consisted
of
sales outside the United States, predominately to Europe, Japan and
China. In addition, we conduct a portion of our manufacturing outside
the United States. International sales are subject to inherent risks. The
majority of our foreign sales occur through our foreign sales subsidiaries
and
the remainder of our foreign sales result from exports to foreign distributors,
resellers and customers. Our foreign sales and operations are subject to a
number of risks, including: longer accounts receivable collection periods;
the
impact of recessions and other economic conditions in economies outside the
United States; export duties and quotas; unexpected changes in regulatory
requirements; certification requirements; environmental regulations; reduced
protection for intellectual property rights in some countries; potentially
adverse tax consequences; political and economic instability; and preference
for
locally produced products. These factors could have a material adverse impact
on
our ability to increase or maintain our international sales.
8
We
may, from time to time,
experience problems in our labor relations.
In
North
America, approximately 55 employees, or 23% of our North American workforce,
as
of December 31, 2007, are represented by a union under a single collective
bargaining agreement. This agreement expires in 2012. In
Europe, approximately 73 employees are covered by a collective bargaining
agreement. This agreement expires in 2010. We believe that
our present labor relations with all of our unionized employees are
satisfactory, however, our failure to renew these agreements on reasonable
terms
could result in labor disruptions and increased labor costs, which could
adversely affect our financial performance. Similarly, if our
relations with the unionized portion of our workforce do not remain positive,
such employees could initiate a strike, work stoppage or slowdown in the future.
In the event of such an action, we may not be able to adequately meet the needs
of our customers using our remaining workforce and our operations and financial
condition could be adversely affected.
Our
international operations subject us to currency translation risk and currency
transaction risk which could cause our results to fluctuate from period to
period.
The
financial condition and results of operations of our foreign subsidiaries are
reported in Euros and then translated into U.S. dollars at the applicable
currency exchange rate for inclusion in our consolidated financial statements.
Exchange rates between these currencies in recent years have fluctuated
significantly and may do so in the future. In the past year, as a result of
the
strength of the Euro compared to the U.S. dollar, our operating results in
U.S.
dollars were positively affected upon translation. The positive impact of the
strengthening Euro may not continue in the future and may even reverse if the
Euro declines in value compared to the U.S. dollar. Furthermore, we
incur currency transaction risk whenever we enter into either a purchase or
a
sales transaction using a currency different than the functional currency.
Given
the volatility of exchange rates, we may not be able to effectively manage
our
currency transactions and/or translation risks. Volatility in currency exchange
rates could impact our business and financial results.
Our
success depends in large part on our key personnel.
Our
operations significantly depend on the continued efforts of our senior
executives. The loss of the services of certain executives for an extended
period of time could have a material adverse effect on our business and
financial results.
Litigation
could be costly and can adversely affect our business and financial
results.
We,
like
all companies involved in the food and pharmaceutical industries, are subject
to
potential claims for product liability relating to our products. Such claims,
irrespective of their outcomes or merits, could be time-consuming and expensive
to defend, and could result in the diversion of management time and attention.
Any of these situations could have a material adverse effect on our business
and
financial results.
Item
1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item
2. Properties
In
February 2002, the Company entered into a ten (10) year lease for approximately
20,000 square feet of office space in New Hampton, New York. The office space
is
serving as the Company’s general offices and as laboratory facilities for the
Company’s encapsulated / nutritional products business.
Manufacturing
facilities owned by the Company for its encapsulated products segment and a
blending, drumming and terminal facility for the Company’s ethylene oxide
business, are presently housed in three buildings located in Slate Hill, New
York comprising a total of approximately 51,000 square feet. The Company owns a
total
of approximately 16 acres of land on two parcels in this
community.
9
The
Company owns a facility located on an approximately 24 acre parcel of land
in
Green Pond, South Carolina. The site consists of a drumming facility, a canister
filling facility, a maintenance building and an office building comprising
a
total of approximately 34,000 square feet. The Company uses this site for
processing products in its specialty products segment.
The
Company’s Verona, Missouri site, which is located on approximately 100 acres,
consists of manufacturing facilities relating to animal feed grade choline,
human choline nutrients, a drumming facility for the Company’s ethylene oxide
business, together with buildings utilized for warehousing such products. The
Verona operation buildings comprise a total of approximately 151,000 square
feet. The facility, while under prior ownership, was designated by the EPA
as a
Superfund site (see Item 1 – “Business - Environmental / Regulatory
Matters”).
The
Company leases production and warehouse space in Channahon, Illinois as a result
of the Loders Croklaan Acquisition. The Company uses this facility for
production related to the Company’s pharmaceutical line of business. The initial
term of the lease is effective through September 30, 2010, subject to earlier
termination by Balchem upon sixty days notice, or by the landlord upon sixty
days notice. The Company’s leased space in Channahon, Illinois totals
approximately 26,000 square feet.
The
Company, through CMC, owns a manufacturing facility and warehouse, comprising
approximately 16,500 square feet, located on approximately 5 acres of land
in
Salt Lake City, Utah. The Company manufactures and distributes its
chelated mineral nutrients for animal feed products at this
location.
The
Company, through BCP, acquired in the St. Gabriel Acquisition a manufacturing
facility located upon approximately 11 acres of realty leased from Taminco
Higher Amines, Inc. in St. Gabriel, Louisiana. The Company manufactures and
distributes animal feed grade choline chloride at this location.
The
Company, through its European subsidiary, Balchem Italia Srl, acquired in the
Akzo Nobel Acquisition a facility located on an approximately 30 acre parcel
of
land in Marano Ticino, Italy. The Company manufactures and distributes
methylamines, animal feed grade choline and human choline nutrients at this
location.
Item
3. Legal Proceedings
In
1982
the Company discovered and thereafter removed a number of buried drums
containing unidentified waste material from the Company’s site in Slate Hill,
New York. The Company thereafter entered into a Consent Decree to evaluate
the
drum site with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYDEC”)
and performed a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study that was approved
by
NYDEC in February 1994. Based on NYDEC requirements, the Company remediated
the
area and removed soil from the drum burial site. Clean-up was completed in
1996,
and NYDEC required the Company to monitor the site through 1999. The Company
continues to be involved in discussions with NYDEC to evaluate monitoring
results and determine what, if any, additional actions will be required on
the
part of the Company to close out the remediation of this site. Additional
actions, if any, would likely require the Company to continue monitoring the
site. The cost of such monitoring has recently been less than $5,000 per
year.
The
Company is also involved in other legal proceedings through the normal course
of
business. Management believes that any unfavorable outcome related to these
proceedings will not have a material effect on the Company’s financial position,
results of operations or liquidity.
Item
4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security
Holders
None.
10
PART
II
Item
5.
|
Market
for the Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and
Issuer
Purchases of Equity Securities
|
|
(a)
|
Market
Information.
|
On
December 8, 2006, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a three-for-two
split of the Company’s common stock to be effected in the form of a stock
dividend to shareholders of record on December 29, 2006. Such stock
dividend was made on January 19, 2007. The stock split was recognized
by reclassifying the par value of the additional shares resulting from the
split, from additional paid-in capital to common stock.
On
December 15, 2005, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a
three-for-two split of the Company’s common stock to be effected in the form of
a stock dividend to shareholders of record on December 30, 2005. Such stock
dividend was made on January 20, 2006. The stock split was recognized by
reclassifying the par value of the additional shares resulting from the split,
from additional paid-in capital to common stock.
On
December 16, 2004, the Board of
Directors of the Company approved a three-for-two split of the Company’s common
stock to be effected in the form of a stock dividend to shareholders of record
on December 30, 2004. Such stock dividend was made on January 20, 2005. The
stock split was recognized by reclassifying the par value of the additional
shares resulting from the split, from additional paid-in capital to common
stock.
Since
December 22, 2006, the Company’s
common stock has traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the trading symbol
BCPC. Prior to that, our common stock traded on the American Stock Exchange
under the trading symbol BCP. The high and low closing prices for the
common stock as recorded for each quarterly period during the years ended
December 31, 2007 and 2006, adjusted for the December 2006 three-for-two stock
split (effected by means of a stock dividend) were as follows:
Quarterly
Period
|
High
|
Low
|
||||||
Ended
March 31, 2007
|
$ | 18.56 | $ | 14.09 | ||||
Ended
June 30, 2007
|
19.17 | 17.15 | ||||||
Ended
September 30, 2007
|
21.25 | 15.60 | ||||||
Ended
December 31, 2007
|
24.00 | 20.16 |
Quarterly
Period
|
High
|
Low
|
||||||
Ended
March 31, 2006
|
$ | 15.99 | $ | 13.57 | ||||
Ended
June 30, 2006
|
15.85 | 13.41 | ||||||
Ended
September 30, 2006
|
15.93 | 13.07 | ||||||
Ended
December 31, 2006
|
19.25 | 12.80 |
On
March
3, 2008 the closing price for the common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market
was
$20.63.
(b) Record
Holders.
As
of
March 3, 2008, the approximate number of holders of record of the Company’s
common stock was 192. Such number does not include stockholders who
hold their stock in street name. The total number of beneficial owners of the
Company's common stock is estimated to be approximately 10,411.
11
(c) Dividends.
The Company declared cash
dividends of $0.11 and $0.09 per share on its common stock during its fiscal
years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively.
For
information concerning prior
stockholder approval of and other matters relating to our equity incentive
plans, see Item 12 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
(d) Performance
Graph.
The
graph
below sets forth the cumulative total stockholder return on the Company's Common
Stock (referred to in the table as "BCPC") for the five years ended December
31,
2007, the overall stock market return during such period for shares comprising
the Russell 2000® Index (which the Company believes includes companies with
market capitalization similar to that of the Company), and the overall stock
market return during such period for shares comprising the Standard & Poor's
500 Food Group Index, in each case assuming a comparable initial investment
of
$100 on December 31, 2002 and the subsequent reinvestment of dividends.
The Russell 2000® Index measures the performance of the shares of the 2000
smallest companies included in the Russell 3000® Index. In light of the
Company's industry segments, the Company does not believe that published
industry-specific indices are necessarily representative of stocks comparable
to
the Company. Nevertheless, the Company considers the Standard & Poor's
500 Food Group Index to be potentially useful as a peer group index with respect
to the Company in light of the Company's encapsulated / nutritional products
segment. The performance of the Company's Common Stock shown on the graph below
is historical only and not indicative of future performance.
Item
6. Selected Financial Data
The
selected statements of operations data set forth below for the three years
in
the period ended December 31, 2007 and the selected balance sheet data as
of December 31, 2007 and 2006 have been derived from our Consolidated
Financial Statements included elsewhere herein. The selected financial data
as
of December 31, 2005, 2004 and 2003 and for the years ended
December 31, 2004 and 2003 have been derived from audited Consolidated
Financial Statements not included herein, but which were previously filed with
the SEC. The following information should be read in conjunction with
Item 7 — “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations” and the Consolidated Financial Statements and notes
thereto included elsewhere herein.
12
Earnings
per share and dividend amounts have been adjusted for the December 2006, 2005
and 2004 three-for-two stock splits (effected by means of stock
dividends).
(In
thousands, except per share data)
Year
ended December 31,
|
2007
(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)
|
2006
(1)(2)(3)
|
2005
(1)
|
2004
|
2003
|
|||||||||||||||
Statement
of
Operations Data
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Net
sales
|
$ | 176,201 | $ | 100,905 | $ | 83,095 | $ | 67,406 | $ | 61,875 | ||||||||||
Earnings
before income
tax
expense
|
24,829 | 19,101 | 17,191 | 12,715 | 8,763 | |||||||||||||||
Income
tax expense
|
8,711 | 6,823 | 6,237 | 4,689 | 3,125 | |||||||||||||||
Net
earnings
|
16,118 | 12,278 | 10,954 | 8,026 | 5,638 | |||||||||||||||
Basic
net earnings per
common
share
|
$ | .91 | $ | .70 | $ | .63 | $ | .48 | $ | .35 | ||||||||||
Diluted
net earnings per
common
share
|
$ | .87 | $ | .67 | $ | .61 | $ | .46 | $ | .33 |
At
December 31,
|
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
|||||||||||||||
Balance
Sheet
Data
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Total
assets
|
$ | 154,424 | $ | 92,333 | $ | 75,141 | $ | 60,405 | $ | 56,906 | ||||||||||
Long-term
debt
|
17,398 | - | - | - | 7,839 | |||||||||||||||
Other
long-term
obligations
|
1,529 | 784 | 1,043 | 1,003 | 985 | |||||||||||||||
Total
stockholders’ equity
|
93,080 | 75,362 | 60,933 | 50,234 | 39,781 | |||||||||||||||
Dividends
per common share
|
$ | .11 | $ | .09 | $ | .06 | $ | .04 | $ | .023 |
|
(1)
|
Includes
the operating results, cash flows, and assets relating to the Loders
Croklaan Acquisition from the date of acquisition (July 1, 2005)
forward.
|
|
(2)
|
Includes
the operating results, cash flows, and assets relating to the CMC
Acquisition from the date of acquisition (February 8, 2006)
forward.
|
|
(3)
|
Includes
the operating results, cash flows, and assets relating to the St.
Gabriel
Acquisition from the date of acquisition (August 24, 2006)
forward.
|
|
(4)
|
Includes
the operating results, cash flows, and assets relating to the Chinook
Acquisition from the date of acquisition (March 19, 2007)
forward.
|
|
(5)
|
Includes
the operating results, cash flows, and assets relating to the Akzo
Nobel
Acquisition from the date of acquisition (May 1, 2007)
forward.
|
Item
7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations
Overview
The
Company develops, manufactures, distributes and markets specialty performance
ingredients and products for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical, feed and
medical sterilization industries. The Company’s reportable segments are
strategic businesses that offer products and services to different markets.
The
Company presently has three reportable segments: specialty products;
encapsulated / nutritional products; and BCP Ingredients.
The
following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of
operations should be read in conjunction with Item 6 — “Selected Financial
Data” and our Consolidated Financial Statements and the related notes included
in this report. Those statements in the following discussion that are not
historical in nature should be considered to be forward-looking statements
that
are inherently uncertain. See “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements”.
13
Specialty
Products
The
specialty products segment repackages and distributes the following specialty
gases: ethylene oxide, blends of ethylene oxide, propylene oxide and methyl
chloride.
Ethylene
oxide, at the 100% level, is sold as a chemical sterilant gas, primarily for
use
in the health care industry to sterilize medical devices. Contract sterilizers,
medical device manufacturers and medical gas distributors are the Company’s
principal customers for this product. Blends of ethylene oxide are sold as
fumigants and are highly effective in killing bacteria, fungi, and insects
in
spices and other seasoning type materials. Propylene oxide and methyl chloride
are also sold, principally to customers seeking smaller (as opposed to bulk)
quantities.
Management
believes that future success in this segment is highly dependent on the
Company’s ability to maintain its strong reputation for excellent quality,
safety and customer service.
Encapsulated
/ Nutritional
Products
The
encapsulated / nutritional products segment provides microencapsulation,
chelation and agglomeration solutions to a variety of applications in the food,
pharmaceutical, human and animal nutrition markets to enhance therapeutic
performance, taste, processing, packaging and shelf-life. Major end
product applications are baked goods, refrigerated and frozen dough systems,
processed meats, seasoning blends, confections, nutritional supplementations,
pharmaceuticals and animal nutrition. We also market human grade
choline nutrient products through this industry segment for wellness
applications. Choline is recognized to play a key role in the structural
development of brain cell membranes, processing dietary fat, reproductive
development and neural functions, such as memory and muscle function. Balchem’s
portfolio of granulated calcium carbonate products are primarily used in novel
over-the-counter and prescription pharmaceuticals for the treatment of
osteoporosis, gastric disorders and calcium deficiencies in the United
States.
Management
believes this segment’s key strengths are its proprietary technology and
end-product application capabilities. The success of the Company’s efforts to
increase revenue in this segment is highly dependent on the timing of marketing
launches of new products in the U.S. and international food and nutrition
markets by the Company’s customers and prospects. The Company, through its
innovative proprietary technology and applications expertise, continues to
develop new products designed to solve and respond to customer problems and
innovative needs. Sales of specialty products for the animal nutrition and
health industry are highly dependent on dairy industry economics as well as
the
ability of the Company to leverage the results of existing successful university
research on the animal health benefits of the Company’s products.
BCP
Ingredients
BCP
Ingredients manufactures and supplies choline chloride, an essential nutrient
for animal health, to the poultry and swine industries. In addition, certain
derivatives of choline chloride are also marketed into industrial applications.
BCP also manufactures and sells methylamines. Methylamines are a
primary building block for the manufacture of choline products and are also
used
in a wide range of industrial applications.
Management
believes that success in this commodity-oriented marketplace is highly dependent
on the Company’s ability to maintain its strong reputation for excellent product
quality and customer service. In addition, the Company must continue to increase
production efficiencies in order to maintain its low-cost position to
effectively compete in a highly competitive global marketplace.
The
Company sells products for all three segments through its own sales force,
independent distributors, and sales agents.
14
The
following tables summarize consolidated net sales by segment and business
segment earnings from operations for the three years ended December
31, 2007, 2006 and 2005 (in thousands):
Business
Segment Net Sales:
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Specialty
Products
|
$ | 33,057 | $ | 32,026 | $ | 29,433 | ||||||
Encapsulated/Nutritional
Products
|
49,919 | 41,565 | 32,499 | |||||||||
BCP
Ingredients
|
93,225 | 27,314 | 21,163 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 176,201 | $ | 100,905 | $ | 83,095 |
Business
Segment Earnings From Operations:
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Specialty
Products
|
$ | 11,824 | $ | 11,315 | $ | 11,007 | ||||||
Encapsulated/Nutritional
Products
|
7,194 | 4,200 | 3,217 | |||||||||
BCP
Ingredients
|
6,888 | 3,647 | 2,679 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 25,906 | $ | 19,162 | $ | 16,903 |
Fiscal
Year 2007 compared to Fiscal Year 2006
(All
amounts in thousands, except share and per share data)
Net
Sales
Net
sales
for 2007 were $176,201, as compared with $100,905 for 2006, an increase of
$75,296 or 74.6%. Net sales for the specialty products segment were $33,057
for
2007, as compared with $32,026 for 2006, an increase of $1,031 or 3.2%. This
increase was principally due to an increase in sales volume, along with modest
price increases for products in this segment. Net sales for the encapsulated
/
nutritional products segment were $49,919 for 2007, as compared with $41,565
for
2006, an increase of $8,354 or 20.1%. This result was driven
principally by increased global sales of human nutritional and choline products,
and includes $1,952 from the Akzo Nobel Acquisition. Sales of
REASHURE®, Niashure and chelated minerals, our specialty animal nutrition and
health products targeted for ruminant animals, and increases in the companion
animal market also contributed to this growth. Net sales for the BCP Ingredients
segment was $93,225 in 2007, as compared with $27,314 for 2006, an increase
of
$65,911 or 241.3%. This result reflects sales from the Chinook
Acquisition and the Akzo Nobel Acquisition in 2007, which contributed in the
aggregate approximately $62,495 of the revenue in this segment. The remaining
increase (approximately 12.5%) was due to increased volumes sold in the core
dry
and aqueous choline, as well as the specialty industrial product
lines.
Operating
Expenses
Operating
expenses for 2007 increased to $21,024 from $14,844 for 2006, an increase of
$6,180 or 41.6%. This increase was due primarily to $2,300 of
additional amortization expense, plus sales and technical personnel expense
associated with the Chinook and Akzo Nobel acquisitions. We also incurred
approximately $1,224 of commercial development expenses toward our
pharmaceutical market initiatives in 2007. With these increases,
operating expenses were 11.9% of sales or 2.8 percentage points less than the
operating expenses as a percent of sales incurred in 2006. During
2007 and 2006, the Company spent $2,514 and $2,019 respectively, on research
and
development programs, substantially all of which pertained to the Company’s
encapsulated / nutritional products segment for both human and animal
health.
Business
Segment Earnings
From Operations
As
a
result of the foregoing, earnings from operations for 2007 were $25,906 as
compared to $19,162 for 2006, reflecting a 35.2% increase from year to year.
Earnings from operations for the specialty products segment increased to $11,824
in 2007 from $11,315 in 2006, an increase of $509
or
4.5%, due largely to increases in sales volume and modest sales price increases.
These increases were partially offset
15
by
higher
raw material prices. Earnings from operations
for the encapsulated / nutritional products segment increased to $7,194 in
2007
from $4,200 in 2006, an increase of $2,994
or
71.3%, as this segment was favorably affected by the Akzo Nobel Acquisition,
increased volumes sold principally in the human choline markets and specialty
animal nutrition and health markets. Earnings from operations
for the BCP Ingredients segment, increased to $6,888 in 2007 from $3,647 in
2006, an increase of
$3,241 or 88.9%, as a result of the previously noted increased sales volumes
and
improved productivity, partially offset by certain petro-chemical raw material
cost increases.
Other
Expenses
(Income)
Interest
income for 2007 totaled $166, as compared to $128 for 2006. This
increase is attributable to an increase in the Company’s average cash balance
during 2007. Interest expense, net of capitalized interest, was $1,562 for
2007,
as compared to $189 for 2006. This increase is attributable to the
increase in average current and long-term debt resulting from the Chinook
Acquisition and Akzo Nobel Acquisition. Other income of $319 for 2007
is the result of favorable fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates
between the U.S. dollar (the reporting currency) and functional foreign
currencies.
Income
Tax
Expense
The
Company’s effective tax rate for 2007 and 2006 was 35.1% and 35.7%,
respectively. This decrease in the effective tax rate is primarily
attributable to a domestic manufacturer's deduction and to a change in
allocation relating to state income taxes. The adoption of Interpretation No.
48, “ Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes ” (“FIN 48”) adversely affected
the 2007 income tax expense by $220 and the effective tax rate by
0.9%.
Net
Earnings
Primarily
as a result of the above-noted increase in sales, net earnings were $16,118
for
2007, as compared with $12,278 for 2006, an increase of 31.3%.
Fiscal
Year 2006 compared to Fiscal Year 2005
(All
amounts in thousands, except share and per share data)
Net
Sales
Net
sales
for 2006 were $100,905 compared with $83,095 for 2005, an increase of $17,810
or
21.4%. Net sales for the specialty products segment were $32,026 for
2006, as compared with $29,433 for 2005, an increase of $2,593 or
8.8%. This increase was principally due to an increase in sales
volume along with modest price increases for our ethylene oxide products for
medical device sterilization. Net sales for the encapsulated /
nutritional products segment were $41,565 for 2006 compared with $32,499 for
2005, an increase of $9,066 or 27.9%. This increase was due
principally to approximately $6,362 of incremental sales associated with the
Company’s newly acquired pharmaceutical, food, and chelated minerals business
lines resulting from the Loders Croklaan Acquisition and the CMC Acquisition
(see Note 5 to our Consolidated Financial Statements). The Company
also experienced increased volumes sold in the human choline market, favorable
changes in product mix in the domestic and international food markets, and
volume improvements in sales of REASHURE®,
our
animal nutrition and health product targeted for dairy cows. Net
sales for the BCP Ingredients segment of $27,314 were realized for 2006 compared
with $21,163 for 2005, an increase of $6,151 or 29.1%. This increase
was due to increased volumes sold in dry and aqueous choline and choline
derivatives, along with modest price increases in all product
lines.
Operating
Expenses
Operating
expenses for 2006 increased to $14,844 from $11,777 for 2005, an increase of
$3,067 or 26.0%. Total operating expenses as a percentage of sales
were 14.7% for 2006, as compared to 14.2% for 2005. The increase in
operating expenses for 2006 was principally a result of stock-based
compensation
16
expense
of $982 relating to the adoption of the provisions of SFAS No. 123R
(revised 2004), “Share-Based Payment”, increased payroll costs and benefits of
$874 primarily due to new hires, increased expenditures of $802 in support
of
the Company’s continuing efforts in the pharmaceutical industry, and higher
amortization expense of $356 resulting from the CMC
Acquisition. During 2006 and 2005, the Company spent $2,019 and
$2,053, respectively, on Company-sponsored research and development programs,
substantially all of which pertained to the Company’s encapsulated / nutritional
products segment for both food and animal feed applications.
Business
Segment Earnings
From Operations
As
a
result of the foregoing, earnings from operations for 2006 were $19,162 as
compared to $16,903 for 2005, reflecting an 13.4% increase from year to year.
Earnings from operations for the specialty products segment were $11,315, an increase of $308
or
2.8%, due largely to increases in sales volume and modest sales price increases.
These increases were partially offset by higher raw material prices. Earnings from operations
for the encapsulated / nutritional products segment increased 30.6% as this
segment was favorably affected by increased production, a result of greater
sales volume as described above. The favorable impact of the
increased production was partially offset by higher raw material costs and
an
unfavorable product mix in the pharmaceutical calcium product line. Earnings
from operations for the BCP Ingredients segment were $3,647 as compared to
$2,679 for 2005, reflecting a 36.1% increase from year to year. This segment
was
favorably affected by increased production volumes of choline chloride and
specialty derivative products. This favorable impact was partially
offset by higher raw material and energy costs.
Other
Expenses
(Income)
Interest
income for 2006 was $128 as compared to $214 for 2005. This decrease
is attributable to a decrease in the Company’s average cash balance during
2006. Interest expense was $189 for 2006 compared to $8 for
2005. This increase is attributable to the average outstanding
current and long-term debt in 2006, resulting from the
CMC Acquisition in February 2006. Other income for 2006 was $-0- as
compared to $82 for 2005. This decrease is attributable to the
inclusion of a gain on the sale of equipment in 2005.
Income
Tax
Expense
The
Company’s effective tax rate for 2006 was 35.7% compared to a 36.3% rate for
2005. This decrease in the effective tax rate is primarily
attributable to a change in allocation relating to state income
taxes.
Net
Earnings
As
a
result of the foregoing, net earnings were $12,278 for 2006 as compared with
$10,954 for 2005, reflecting a 12.1% increase from 2005 to
2006.
17
LIQUIDITY
AND CAPITAL
RESOURCES
Contractual
Obligations
The
Company's contractual obligations and debt obligations, excluding revolver
borrowings, as of December 31, 2007, are summarized in the table
below:
Payments
due by period
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Contractual
Obligations
|
Total
|
Less
than
1
year
|
1-3
years
|
3-5
years
|
More
than
5 years |
|||||||||||||||
Long-term
debt obligations
|
$ | 24,777 | $ | 7,379 | $ | 17,398 | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||||
Operating
lease obligations (1)
|
1,821 | 797 | 885 | 104 | 35 | |||||||||||||||
Purchase
obligations (2)
|
8,068 | 8,068 | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||
Total
|
$ | 34,666 | $ | 16,244 | $ | 18,283 | $ | 104 | $ | 35 |
(1)
|
Principally
includes obligations associated with future minimum non-cancelable
operating lease obligations (including the headquarters office space
entered into in 2002).
|
(2)
|
Principally
includes open purchase orders with vendors for inventory not yet
received
or recorded on our balance sheet.
|
As
part
of the June 30, 2005 Loders Croklaan Acquisition, we agreed to make contingent
payments of additional consideration based upon the volume of sales associated
with one particular product acquired by the Company during the three year period
following the acquisition. Such contingent consideration, if and when
paid, is recorded as an additional cost of the acquisition. No such
contingent consideration has been earned or paid in 2007.
As
a
result of the adoption of FIN 48 on January 1, 2007, we recorded a liability
for
uncertain tax positions, net of federal tax benefit, of $511. We are unable
to
reasonably estimate the amount or timing of payments for this liability, if
any.
The
Company knows of no current or pending demands on, or commitments for, its
liquid assets that will materially affect its liquidity.
The
Company expects its operations to continue generating sufficient cash flow
to
fund working capital requirements and necessary capital investments. The Company
is actively pursuing additional acquisition candidates. The Company could seek
additional bank loans or access to financial markets to fund such acquisitions,
its operations, working capital, necessary capital investments or other cash
requirements should it deem it necessary to do so.
Acquisitions
and
Dispositions
Effective
April 30, 2007, pursuant to
an asset purchase agreement dated March 30, 2007 (the “Akzo Nobel Asset Purchase
Agreement”), the Company, through its European subsidiary, Balchem B.V.,
completed an acquisition of the methylamines and choline chloride business
and
manufacturing facilities of Akzo Nobel Chemicals S.p.A., located in Marano
Ticino, Italy (the “Akzo Nobel Acquisition”) for a provisional purchase price
including acquisition costs of $9,165, subject to adjustment based on actual
working capital and other adjustments.
On
March 16, 2007, the Company, through
BCP, entered into an asset purchase agreement (the "Asset Purchase Agreement")
with Chinook Global Limited ("Chinook"), a privately held Ontario corporation,
pursuant to which BCP acquired certain of Chinook's choline chloride business
assets (the “Chinook Acquisition”) for a purchase price of approximately
$29,000, plus the value of certain product inventories of approximately
$1,840. The Chinook Acquisition closed effective the same
date.
18
On
August
24, 2006, pursuant to an asset purchase agreement of same date, the Company,
through BCP and BCP St. Gabriel, acquired an animal feed grade aqueous choline
chloride manufacturing facility and related assets located in St. Gabriel,
Louisiana from BioAdditives, LLC, CMB Additives, LLC and CMB Realty of
Louisiana.
On
February 8, 2006, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary Balchem
Minerals Corporation, acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of CMC,
for
a purchase price of $17,350 before working capital and other
adjustments. CMC is a manufacturer and global marketer of chelated
mineral nutritional supplements for livestock, pet and swine feeds.
On
June 30, 2005, pursuant to an asset
purchase agreement of same date, the Company acquired certain assets of Loders
Croklaan USA, LLC relating to the encapsulation, agglomeration and granulation
business for a purchase price including acquisition costs of $9,885 plus $725
for certain product inventories and $809 for certain accounts
receivable. With the exception of $985, which was paid during the
quarter ended June 30, 2005, all of such payment was made on July 1, 2005 from
the Company’s cash reserves.
Cash
Cash
and
cash equivalents decreased to $2,307 at December 31, 2007 from $5,189 at
December 31, 2006. Working capital amounted to $16,139 at December
31, 2007 as compared to $19,295 at December 31, 2006, a decrease of
$3,156.
Operating
Activities
Cash
flows from operating activities provided $15,637 for 2007 compared to $16,370
for 2006. The decrease in cash flows from operating activities was
primarily due to an increase in prepaid expenses and other and accounts
receivable resulting from the Methylamines and Choline business acquired in
the
Akzo Nobel Acquisition and the customer list acquired in the Chinook Acquisition
in which we did not acquire outstanding accounts
receivable. Combined, they contributed approximately $62,495 of
revenue in 2007. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in net
earnings, accounts payable and accrued expenses and depreciation and
amortization expense.
Investing
Activities
Capital
expenditures were $4,869 for 2007 compared to $2,279 for 2006. Cash
paid in 2007 for the acquisition of certain business assets of Chinook Global
Limited and the Akzo Nobel Methylamines and Choline business was
$40,744. $22,872 was paid for acquisitions in 2006.
Financing
Activities
In
June
1999, the board of directors authorized the repurchase of shares of the
Company’s outstanding common stock over a two-year period commencing July 2,
1999. Under this program, which was subsequently extended, the
Company had, as of December 31, 2004, repurchased a total 1,158,692 shares
at an
average cost of $2.74 per share, none of which remained in treasury at December
31, 2004. In June 2005, the board of directors authorized another
extension of the stock repurchase program for up to an additional 1,350,000
shares, over and above those 1,158,692 shares previously repurchased under
the
program. Under this extension, a total of 149,175 shares were
purchased in 2005 at an average cost of $8.03 per share, none of which remained
in treasury at December 31, 2007 or 2006. During 2007 and 2006, no
additional shares were purchased. The Company intends to acquire shares from
time to time at prevailing market prices if and to the extent it deems it
advisable to do so based on its assessment of corporate cash flow, market
conditions and other factors.
At
December 31, 2007, we had a total of $27,986 of debt outstanding, as compared
to
no debt outstanding at December 31, 2006.
19
On
April
30, 2007, the Company, and its principal bank entered into a Loan Agreement
(the
“European Loan Agreement”) providing for an unsecured term loan of $10,244 (the
“European Term Loan”), the proceeds of which were used to fund the Akzo Nobel
Acquisition (see Note 5) and initial working capital requirements. The European
Term Loan is payable in equal monthly installments of principal, each equal
to
1/84th of the principal of the European Term Loan, together with accrued
interest, with remaining principal and interest payable at maturity. The
European Term Loan has a maturity date of May 1, 2010 and is subject to a
monthly interest rate equal to EURIBOR plus 1%. At December 31, 2007, this
interest rate was 5.288%. The European Loan Agreement also provides
for a short-term revolving credit facility of €2,000, translated to $2,946 as of
December 31, 2007 (the "European Revolving Facility"). The European Revolving
Facility is subject to a monthly interest rate equal to EURIBOR plus 1.25%,
and
accrued interest is payable monthly. The Company has drawn down €1,500 of the
European Revolving Facility as of December 31, 2007. The European Revolving
Facility has a maturity date of May 1, 2008. Management believes that
such facility will be renewed in the normal course of business.
On
March
16, 2007, the Company and its principal bank entered into a Loan Agreement
(the
“New Loan Agreement”) providing for an unsecured term loan of $29,000 (the “New
Term Loan”), the proceeds of which were used to fund the Chinook Acquisition
(see Note 5). The New Term Loan is payable in equal monthly installments of
principal, each equal to 1/60th of the principal of the New Term Loan, together
with accrued interest, with remaining principal and interest payable at
maturity. The New Term Loan has a maturity date of March 16, 2010 and is subject
to a monthly interest rate equal to LIBOR plus 1%. At December 31, 2007, this
interest rate was 6.027%. As of December 31, 2007, the Company has prepaid
$10,000 of the New Term Loan. The New Loan Agreement also provides for a
short-term revolving credit facility of $6,000 (the "New Revolving Facility").
The New Revolving Facility is subject to a monthly interest rate equal to LIBOR
plus 1%, and accrued interest is payable monthly. The Company has drawn down
$1,000 of the New Revolving Facility as of December 31, 2007. The New Revolving
Facility has a maturity date of May 31, 2009. Management believes
that such facility will be renewed in the normal course of
business.
Proceeds
from stock options exercised totaled $1,217 and $1,239 for 2007 and 2006,
respectively. Dividend payments were $1,596 and $1,045 for 2007 and 2006,
respectively.
Other
Matters Impacting
Liquidity
The
Company currently provides postretirement benefits in the form of a retirement
medical plan under a collective bargaining agreement covering eligible retired
employees of its Verona, Missouri facility. The amount recorded on the Company’s
balance sheet as of December 31, 2007 for this obligation is $805. The
postretirement plan is not funded. Historical cash payments made under such
plan
have approximated $50 per year.
Critical
Accounting
Policies
Management
of the Company is required to make certain estimates and assumptions during
the
preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These estimates
and assumptions impact the reported amount of assets and liabilities and
disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the
consolidated financial statements. Estimates and assumptions are reviewed
periodically and the effects of revisions are reflected in the consolidated
financial statements in the period they are determined to be necessary. Actual
results could differ from those estimates.
The
Company’s "critical accounting policies" are those that require application of
management's most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, often as a result
of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently
uncertain and that may change in subsequent periods. Management considers the
following accounting policies to be critical.
20
Revenue
Recognition
Revenue
is recognized upon product
shipment, passage of title and risk of loss, and when collection is reasonably
assured. The Company reports amounts billed to customers related to
shipping and handling as revenue and includes costs incurred for shipping and
handling in cost of sales. Amounts received for unshipped merchandise are not
recognized as revenue but rather they are recorded as customer deposits and
are
included in current liabilities. In addition, the Company
follows the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Staff
Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 104, “Revenue Recognition,” which
sets forth guidelines on the timing of revenue recognition based upon factors
such as passage of title, installation, payments and customer
acceptance.
Revenue
related to a process and
product license agreement is recognized using the percentage of completion
method and the progress to completion is measured using the efforts-expended
method. The Company follows the provisions of the American Institute
of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) Statement of Position (SOP) 81-1,
“Accounting for Performance of Construction Type and Certain Production Type
Contracts.” Revenue is recognized as work is performed and costs are
incurred.
Inventories
Inventories
are valued at the lower of cost (first in, first out or average) or market
value
and have been reduced by an allowance for excess or obsolete
inventories. Inventory reserves are generally recorded when the
inventory for a product exceeds twelve months of demand for that product and/or
when individual products have been in inventory for greater than six
months. In November 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board
issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 151, “Inventory Costs.”
The new statement amends Accounting Research Bulletin No. 43, Chapter 4,
“Inventory Pricing”, to clarify the accounting for abnormal amounts of idle
facility expense, freight, handling costs, and wasted material. This statement
requires that those items be recognized as current period charges and requires
that allocation of fixed production overheads to the cost of conversion be
based
on the normal capacity of the production facilities. The provisions
of this statement were applied prospectively for inventory costs incurred
beginning in our fiscal year 2006. The adoption of this statement did
not have a material impact on our results of operations, financial position
or
cash flow.
Long-lived
assets
Long-lived
assets, such as property, plant, and equipment and intangible assets with finite
lives, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances
indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be
recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured
by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to estimated undiscounted
future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If the
carrying amount of an asset exceeds its estimated future cash flows, an
impairment charge is recognized by the amount by which the carrying amount
of
the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset, which is generally based on
discounted cash flows.
Goodwill,
which is not subject to amortization, is tested annually for impairment, and
more frequently if events and circumstances indicate that the asset might be
impaired. If an indicator of impairment exists, the Company
determines the amount of impairment based on a comparison of the implied fair
value of its goodwill to its carrying value.
Accounts
Receivable
We
market
our products to a diverse customer base, principally throughout the United
States, Europe, China and Japan. We grant credit terms in the normal course
of
business to our customers. We perform on-going credit evaluations of our
customers and adjust credit limits based upon payment history and the customer's
current credit worthiness, as determined through review of their current credit
information. We continuously monitor collections and payments from customers
and
maintain allowances
21
for
doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the inability of our
customers to make required payments. Estimated losses are based on historical
experience and any specific customer collection issues identified. If the
financial condition of our customers were to deteriorate resulting in an
impairment of their ability to make payments, additional allowances and related
bad debt expense may be required.
Post-employment
Benefits
The
Company provides life insurance and health care benefits for eligible retirees
and health care benefits for retirees’ eligible survivors. The costs
and obligations related to these benefits reflect the Company’s assumptions as
to general economic conditions and health care cost trends. The cost
of providing plan benefits also depends on demographic assumptions including
retirements, mortality, turnover, and plan participation. If actual
experience differs from these assumptions, the cost of providing these benefits
could increase or decrease.
In
September 2006, the FASB issued FASB
Statement No. 158, “Employers’ Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other
Postretirement Plans.” This Statement requires an employer to recognize the over
funded or under funded status of a defined benefit post retirement plan (other
than a multiemployer plan) as an asset or liability in its statement of
financial position, and to recognize changes in that funded status in the year
in which the changes occur through comprehensive income. As a result of adopting
SFAS No. 158 on December 31, 2006, we recorded $300 as a reduction to the
benefit obligation and $200, net of tax, as a one-time adjustment to accumulated
other comprehensive income in stockholders’ equity.
Intangible
Assets with
Finite Lives
The
useful life of an intangible asset is based on the Company’s assumptions
regarding expected use of the asset; the relationship of the intangible asset
to
another asset or group of assets; any legal, regulatory or contractual
provisions that may limit the useful life of the asset or that enable renewal
or
extension of the asset’s legal or contractual life without substantial cost; the
effects of obsolescence, demand, competition and other economic factors; and
the
level of maintenance expenditures required to obtain the expected future cash
flows from the asset and their related impact on the asset’s useful
life. If events or circumstances indicate that the life of an
intangible asset has changed, it could result in higher future amortization
charges or recognition of an impairment loss.
Income
Taxes
Income
taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. Deferred tax
assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences
attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts
of
existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating
loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are
measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the
years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or
settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax
rates is recognized in earnings in the period that includes the enactment
date. The Company
regularly reviews its deferred tax assets for recoverability and would establish
a valuation allowance if it believed that such assets may not be recovered,
taking into consideration historical operating results, expectations of future
earnings, changes in its operations and the expected timing of the reversals
of
existing temporary differences.
Beginning
in fiscal 2007, we account for uncertainty in income taxes utilizing the
Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Interpretation No. 48, “Accounting
for Uncertainty in Income Taxes — an interpretation of FAS Statement
No. 109” (“FIN 48”). This interpretation clarifies the accounting for
uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an entity’s financial statements in
accordance with SFAS 109. It prescribes a recognition threshold and
measurement attribute for financial statement disclosure of tax positions
taken
or expected to be taken. This interpretation also provides guidance on
derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim
periods, and disclosures. The application of FIN 48 requires judgment
related to the uncertainty in income taxes and could impact our effective
tax
rate.
22
Stock-based
Compensation
Beginning
in fiscal 2006, we account for stock-based compensation in accordance with
SFAS No. 123R (revised 2004), “Share-Based Payment” (“SFAS 123R”)
as interpreted by SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) No. 107.
Under the fair value recognition provisions of this statement, share-based
compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the value of the award
and is recognized as expense over the vesting period. Determining the
fair value of share-based awards at the grant date requires judgment, including
estimating our stock price volatility, employee stock option exercise behaviors
and employee option forfeiture rates. Expected volatilities are based
on historical volatility of the Company’s stock. The expected term of
the options is based on the Company’s historical experience of employees’
exercise behavior. As stock-based compensation expense recognized in
the Consolidated Statement of Earnings is based on awards ultimately expected
to
vest, the amount of expense has been reduced for estimated
forfeitures. SFAS 123R requires forfeitures to be estimated at
the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual
forfeitures differ from those estimates. Forfeitures were estimated
based on historical experience. As a result of adopting SFAS 123R, we
recorded $900 of compensation expense, net of tax, in 2006. If
factors change and we employ different assumptions in the application of
SFAS 123R, the compensation expense that we record in future periods may
differ significantly from what we have recorded in the current
period. Under the accounting method we followed prior to January 1,
2006, we did not record any stock-based compensation expense related to stock
options granted to employees and directors for the year ended December 31,
2005. If we had included the cost of employee stock option
compensation in the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2005
our net earnings would have decreased by approximately $900, based on the fair
value of the stock options granted to employees. See Note 2 to the
Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.
New
Accounting
Pronouncements:
In
December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No.141 (revised 2007), “Business
Combinations”, or SFAS 141R. The purpose of issuing the statement is to replace
current guidance in SFAS No.141 to better represent the economic value of a
business combination transaction. The changes to be effected with SFAS 141R
from
the current guidance include, but are not limited to: (1) acquisition costs
will be recognized separately from the acquisition; (2) known contractual
contingencies at the time of the acquisition will be considered part of the
liabilities acquired measured at their fair value; all other contingencies
will
be part of the liabilities acquired measured at their fair value only if it
is
more likely than not that they meet the definition of a liability;
(3) contingent consideration based on the outcome of future events will be
recognized and measured at the time of the acquisition; (4) business
combinations achieved in stages (step acquisitions) will need to recognize
the
identifiable assets and liabilities, as well as noncontrolling interests, in
the
acquiree, at the full amounts of their fair values; and (5) a bargain
purchase (defined as a business combination in which the total acquisition-date
fair value of the identifiable net assets acquired exceeds the fair value of
the
consideration transferred plus any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree)
will
require that excess to be recognized as a gain attributable to the acquirer.
SFAS 141R will be effective for any business combinations that occur after
January 1, 2009.
In
December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, “Noncontrolling Interests
in Consolidated Financial Statements — an amendment of ARB No. 51”, or
SFAS 160. SFAS 160 was issued to improve the relevance, comparability,
and transparency of financial information provided to investors by requiring
all
entities to report noncontrolling (minority) interests in subsidiaries in the
same way, that is, as equity in the consolidated financial statements. Moreover,
SFAS 160 eliminates the diversity that currently exists in accounting for
transactions between an entity and noncontrolling interests by requiring they
be
treated as equity transactions. SFAS 160 will be effective January 1, 2009.
The Company is currently evaluating the impact that SFAS 160 will have on
its financial statements and disclosures.
In
June
2007, FASB ratified the consensus reached by the EITF on EITF Issue No. 07-3,
"Accounting for Nonrefundable Advance Payments for Goods or Services to Be
Used
in Future Research and Development Activities" ("EITF 07-3"). EITF 07-3
addresses the diversity that exists with respect to
23
the
accounting for the non-refundable portion of a payment made by a research and
development entity for future research and development activities. Under EITF
07-3, an entity would defer and capitalize non-refundable advance payments
made
for research and development activities until the related goods are delivered
or
the related services are performed. EITF 07-3 will be effective for us beginning
on January 1, 2008. The Company is currently evaluating the effect of EITF
07-3
on our consolidated financial statements.
The
Company adopted the provisions of FASB Interpretation No. 48,
“Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes”, or FIN 48, on January 1,
2007. FIN 48 clarifies whether or not to recognize assets or
liabilities for tax positions taken that may be challenged by a taxing
authority. Additional information regarding FIN 48 is included in
Note 8.
In
September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS
157, “Fair Value Measurements” (“SFAS 157”), which defines fair value,
establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted
accounting principles, and expands disclosures about fair value measurements.
SFAS 157 does not require any new fair value measurements, but provides guidance
on how to measure fair value by providing a fair value hierarchy used to
classify the source of the information. This statement is effective beginning
in
January 2008. The Company is evaluating whether adoption of this statement
will
result in a change to its fair value measurements.
Item
7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Cash
and
cash equivalents are invested primarily in money market
accounts. Accordingly, we believe we have limited exposure to market
risk for changes in interest rates. The Company has no derivative
financial instruments or derivative commodity instruments, nor does the Company
have any financial instruments entered into for trading or hedging
purposes. As of December 31, 2007, the Company’s borrowings were
under a bank term loan bearing interest at LIBOR plus 1.00%, a second bank
term
loan bearing interest at EURIBOR plus 1.00%, a revolving line of credit bearing
interest at LIBOR plus 1.00% and a second revolving line of credit bearing
interest at EURIBOR plus 1.25%. A 100 basis point increase or
decrease in interest rates, applied to the Company’s borrowings at December 31,
2007, would result in an increase or decrease in annual interest expense and
a
corresponding reduction or increase in cash flow of approximately $280. The
Company is exposed to market risks for changes in foreign currency rates and
has
exposure to commodity price risks, including prices of our primary raw
materials. Our objective is to seek a reduction in the potential negative
earnings impact of changes in foreign exchange rates and raw material pricing
arising in our business activities. The Company manages these financial
exposures, where possible, through pricing and operational means. Our practices
may change as economic conditions change.
24
Item
8.
|
Financial
Statements and Supplementary Data
|
|
Index
to Financial Statements and Supplementary Data:
|
Page
|
|
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
26
|
|
Consolidated
Balance Sheets as of
|
||
December
31, 2007 and 2006
|
28
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Earnings for the
|
||
years
ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005
|
29
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Stockholders' Equity
|
||
for
the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005
|
30
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows
|
||
for
the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005
|
31
|
|
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
|
32
|
|
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
55
|
|
Schedule
II – Valuation and Qualifying
|
||
Accounts
for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005
|
56
|
|
25
REPORT
OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To
the
Board of Directors and Stockholders
Balchem
Corporation
We
have
audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Balchem Corporation
and
Subsidiaries as of December 31, 2007 and 2006, and the related consolidated
statements of earnings, stockholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the
three years in the period ended December 31, 2007. Our audit also
included the financial statement schedule of Balchem Corporation listed in
the
Index at Item 8. We also have audited Balchem Corporation's internal
control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2007, based on criteria
established in “Internal Control— Integrated Framework issued by the Committee
of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission
(COSO).” Balchem Corporation's management is responsible for these
financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial
reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control
over
financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal
Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an
opinion on these financial statements and an opinion on the Company's internal
control over financial reporting based on our audits.
We
conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require
that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether
the financial statements are free of material misstatement and whether effective
internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material
respects. Our audits of the financial statements included examining,
on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the
financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant
estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement
presentation. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting
included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial
reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing
and
evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based
on
the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other
procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We
believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our
opinions.
A
company's internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to
provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting
and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles. A company's internal
control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that
(1)
pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately
and
fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company;
(2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary
to
permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are
being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors
of
the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely
detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company's
assets that could have a material effect on the financial
statements.
Because
of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may
not
prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation
of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may
become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of
compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
As
discussed in Note 8 to the consolidated financial statements, effective January
1, 2007, the Company adopted FASB Interpretation No. 48, “Accounting
for
Uncertainty in Income Taxes – an Interpretation of FASB No. 109.” As
discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, in 2006 the
Company adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123(R),
“Share-Based Payment”, using the modified prospective method.
26
In
our
opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all
material respects, the financial position of Balchem Corporation as of December
31, 2007 and 2006, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for
each
of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2007, in conformity
with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America. Also in our opinion, Balchem Corporation maintained, in all
material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2007, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated
Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission (COSO).”
Balchem
Corporation, through its European subsidiary, Balchem B.V., completed an
acquisition of certain assets of Akzo Nobel Chemicals S.p.A. effective April
30,
2007. Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting as of
December 31, 2007 excluded from its assessment of the effectiveness of Balchem
Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting the operations of
Balchem B.V. and Subsidiaries representing total assets of $26,984,000 and
total
revenues of $30,457,000 included in the consolidated financial statements of
Balchem Corporation and Subsidiaries as of and for the year ended
December 31, 2007. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting
of Balchem Corporation and Subsidiaries also excluded an evaluation of the
effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting of Balchem B.V.
and
Subsidiaries.
/s/McGladrey
& Pullen, LLP
New
York,
New York
March
17,
2008
27
BALCHEM
CORPORATION
|
||||||||
Consolidated
Balance Sheets
|
||||||||
December
31, 2007 and 2006
|
||||||||
(Dollars
in thousands, except share and per share data)
|
||||||||
Assets
|
2007
|
2006
|
||||||
Current
assets:
|
||||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
$ | 2,307 | $ | 5,189 | ||||
Accounts
receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $50 and $50
at
|
||||||||
December
31, 2007 and 2006, respectively
|
29,640 | 11,578 | ||||||
Inventories
|
15,680 | 9,918 | ||||||
Prepaid
expenses
|
2,456 | 1,754 | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
515 | 416 | ||||||
Other
current assets
|
1,871 | - | ||||||
Total
current assets
|
52,469 | 28,855 | ||||||
Property,
plant and equipment, net
|
42,080 | 31,313 | ||||||
Goodwill
|
26,363 | 25,253 | ||||||
Intangible
assets with finite lives, net
|
33,451 | 6,912 | ||||||
Other
assets
|
61 | - | ||||||
Total
assets
|
$ | 154,424 | $ | 92,333 | ||||
Liabilities
and
Stockholders' Equity
|
||||||||
Current
liabilities:
|
||||||||
Trade
accounts payable
|
$ | 11,190 | $ | 3,010 | ||||
Accrued
expenses
|
1,832 | 1,827 | ||||||
Accrued
compensation and other benefits
|
8,684 | 1,869 | ||||||
Customer
deposits and other deferred revenue
|
42 | 1,072 | ||||||
Dividends
payable
|
1,975 | 1,596 | ||||||
Income
tax payable
|
2,019 | 186 | ||||||
Current
portion of long-term debt
|
7,379 | - | ||||||
Revolver
borrowings
|
3,209 | - | ||||||
Total
current liabilities
|
36,330 | 9,560 | ||||||
Long-term
debt
|
17,398 | - | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
6,087 | 6,627 | ||||||
Other
long-term obligations
|
1,529 | 784 | ||||||
Total
liabilities
|
61,344 | 16,971 | ||||||
Commitments
and
contingencies (note 11)
|
||||||||
Stockholders'
equity:
|
||||||||
Preferred
stock, $25 par value. Authorized 2,000,000
|
||||||||
shares;
none issued and outstanding
|
- | - | ||||||
Common
stock, $.0667 par value. Authorized 25,000,000 shares;
17,979,353
|
||||||||
shares
issued and outstanding at December 31, 2007 and 17,733,849
shares
|
||||||||
issued
and outstanding at December 31, 2006
|
804 | 788 | ||||||
Additional
paid-in capital
|
14,286 | 10,393 | ||||||
Retained
earnings
|
77,840 | 63,988 | ||||||
Accumulated
other comprehensive income
|
150 | 193 | ||||||
Total
stockholders' equity
|
93,080 | 75,362 | ||||||
Total
liabilities and stockholders' equity
|
$ | 154,424 | $ | 92,333 |
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
28
BALCHEM
CORPORATION
|
||||||||||||
Consolidated
Statements of Earnings
|
||||||||||||
Years
Ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005
|
||||||||||||
(In
thousands, except per share data)
|
||||||||||||
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Net
sales
|
$ | 176,201 | $ | 100,905 | $ | 83,095 | ||||||
Cost
of sales
|
129,271 | 66,899 | 54,415 | |||||||||
Gross
margin
|
46,930 | 34,006 | 28,680 | |||||||||
Operating
expenses:
|
||||||||||||
Selling
expenses
|
11,930 | 6,907 | 4,739 | |||||||||
Research
and development expenses
|
2,514 | 2,019 | 2,053 | |||||||||
General
and administrative expenses
|
6,580 | 5,918 | 4,985 | |||||||||
21,024 | 14,844 | 11,777 | ||||||||||
Earnings
from operations
|
25,906 | 19,162 | 16,903 | |||||||||
Other
expenses (income):
|
||||||||||||
Interest
income
|
(166 | ) | (128 | ) | (214 | ) | ||||||
Interest
expense
|
1,562 | 189 | 8 | |||||||||
Other,
net
|
(319 | ) | - | (82 | ) | |||||||
Earnings
before income tax expense
|
24,829 | 19,101 | 17,191 | |||||||||
Income
tax expense
|
8,711 | 6,823 | 6,237 | |||||||||
Net
earnings
|
$ | 16,118 | $ | 12,278 | $ | 10,954 | ||||||
Basic
net earnings per common share
|
$ | 0.91 | $ | 0.70 | $ | 0.63 | ||||||
Diluted
net earnings per common share
|
$ | 0.87 | $ | 0.67 | $ | 0.61 |
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
29
BALCHEM
CORPORATION
|
Consolidated
Statements of Stockholders' Equity
|
Years
Ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005
|
(Dollars
in thousands, except share and per share
data)
|
Accumulated
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Additional
|
Other
|
Total
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Common
Stock
|
Paid-in
|
Retained
|
Comprehensive
|
Treasury
Stock
|
Stockholders'
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares
|
Amount
|
Capital
|
Earnings
|
Income
|
Shares
|
Amount
|
Equity
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance
- December 31, 2004
|
17,147,607 | $ | 762 | $ | 6,075 | $ | 43,397 | $ | - | - | $ | - | $ | 50,234 | ||||||||||||||||||
Net
earnings
|
- | - | - | 10,954 | - | - | - | 10,954 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends
($.06 per share)
|
- | - | - | (1,045 | ) | - | - | - | (1,045 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Treasury
shares purchased
|
- | - | - | - | - | (99,450 | ) | (1,198 | ) | (1,198 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Shares
issued under employee benefit plans and other
|
52,133 | 1 | 210 | - | - | 3,426 | 41 | 252 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares
issued under stock option plans and
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
an
income tax benefit of $327
|
261,707 | 13 | 1,723 | - | - | - | - | 1,736 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance
- December 31, 2005
|
17,461,447 | 776 | 8,008 | 53,306 | - | (96,024 | ) | (1,157 | ) | 60,933 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Net
earnings
|
- | - | - | 12,278 | - | - | - | 12,278 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends
($.09 per share)
|
- | - | - | (1,596 | ) | - | - | - | (1,596 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares
issued under employee benefit plans and other
|
1,079 | - | 70 | - | - | 21,933 | 264 | 334 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares
and options issued under stock option plans and
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
an
income tax benefit of $878
|
271,323 | 12 | 2,315 | - | - | 74,091 | 893 | 3,220 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Adjustment
to initially apply FASB Statement No. 158,
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
net
of tax
|
- | - | - | - | 193 | - | - | 193 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance
- December 31, 2006
|
17,733,849 | 788 | 10,393 | 63,988 | 193 | - | - | 75,362 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net
earnings
|
- | - | - | 16,118 | - | - | - | 16,118 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends
($.11 per share)
|
- | - | - | (1,975 | ) | - | - | - | (1,975 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares
issued under employee benefit plans and other
|
20,869 | 1 | 378 | - | - | - | - | 379 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares
and options issued under stock option plans and
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
an
income tax benefit of $677
|
224,635 | 15 | 3,515 | - | - | - | - | 3,530 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cumulative
effect of adjustment from adoption of FIN 48
|
- | - | - | (291 | ) | - | - | - | (291 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Net
change in pension asset/liability, net of taxes of $26
|
- | - | - | - | (43 | ) | - | - | (43 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance
- December 31, 2007
|
17,979,353 | $ | 804 | $ | 14,286 | $ | 77,840 | $ | 150 | - | $ | - | $ | 93,080 |
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
30
BALCHEM
CORPORATION
|
||||||||||||
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows
|
||||||||||||
Years
Ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005
|
||||||||||||
(In
thousands)
|
||||||||||||
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Cash
flows from operating activities:
|
||||||||||||
Net
earnings
|
$ | 16,118 | $ | 12,278 | $ | 10,954 | ||||||
Adjustments
to reconcile net earnings to
|
||||||||||||
net
cash provided by operating activities:
|
||||||||||||
Depreciation
and amortization
|
6,376 | 3,445 | 2,809 | |||||||||
Stock
compensation expense
|
1,636 | 1,097 | - | |||||||||
Shares
issued under employee benefit plans
|
379 | 343 | 257 | |||||||||
Deferred
income tax expense
|
(617 | ) | 104 | 599 | ||||||||
(Recovery
of) provision for doubtful accounts
|
- | - | (32 | ) | ||||||||
Income
tax benefit from stock options exercised
|
- | - | 327 | |||||||||
Foreign
currency transaction gain
|
(195 | ) | - | - | ||||||||
Gain
on sale of assets
|
(11 | ) | - | (82 | ) | |||||||
Other
|
26 | - | - | |||||||||
Changes
in assets and liabilities
|
||||||||||||
Accounts
receivable
|
(15,409 | ) | (57 | ) | (2,684 | ) | ||||||
Inventories
|
481 | (827 | ) | (1,496 | ) | |||||||
Prepaid
expenses
|
(2,218 | ) | 36 | (263 | ) | |||||||
Accounts
payable and accrued expenses
|
7,634 | (212 | ) | 2,749 | ||||||||
Income
taxes
|
1,803 | 218 | 172 | |||||||||
Customer
deposits and other deferred revenue
|
(1,030 | ) | (101 | ) | 334 | |||||||
Other
long-term obligations
|
664 | 46 | 54 | |||||||||
Net
cash provided by operating activities
|
15,637 | 16,370 | 13,698 | |||||||||
Cash
flows from investing activities:
|
||||||||||||
Capital
expenditures
|
(4,869 | ) | (2,279 | ) | (1,769 | ) | ||||||
Proceeds
from sale of property, plant and equipment
|
11 | - | 389 | |||||||||
Cash
paid for intangible assets acquired
|
(172 | ) | (81 | ) | (144 | ) | ||||||
Cash
paid for acquisitions
|
(40,744 | ) | (22,872 | ) | (11,419 | ) | ||||||
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
(45,774 | ) | (25,232 | ) | (12,943 | ) | ||||||
Cash
flows from financing activities:
|
||||||||||||
Proceeds
from long-term debt
|
38,946 | 10,000 | - | |||||||||
Principal
payments on long-term debt
|
(15,106 | ) | (10,000 | ) | - | |||||||
Proceeds
from short-term obligations
|
3,684 | - | - | |||||||||
Repayment
of short-term obligations
|
(733 | ) | - | - | ||||||||
Proceeds
from stock options exercised
|
1,217 | 1,239 | 1,409 | |||||||||
Excess
tax benefits from stock compensation
|
677 | 878 | - | |||||||||
Dividends
paid
|
(1,596 | ) | (1,045 | ) | (685 | ) | ||||||
Purchase
of treasury stock
|
- | - | (1,198 | ) | ||||||||
Other
financing activities
|
- | (17 | ) | (19 | ) | |||||||
Net
cash provided by (used in) financing activities
|
27,089 | 1,055 | (493 | ) | ||||||||
Effect
of exchange rate changes on cash
|
166 | - | - | |||||||||
Increase
(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
|
(2,882 | ) | (7,807 | ) | 262 | |||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents beginning of year
|
5,189 | 12,996 | 12,734 | |||||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents end of year
|
$ | 2,307 | $ | 5,189 | $ | 12,996 |
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
31
BALCHEM
CORPORATION
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
(All
amounts in thousands, except share and per share data)
NOTE
1 - BUSINESS
DESCRIPTION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Business
Description
Balchem
Corporation (including, unless the context otherwise requires, its wholly-owned
subsidiaries, BCP Ingredients, Inc., Balchem Minerals Corporation, BCP St.
Gabriel, Inc., Chelated Minerals Corporation, Balchem BV, Balchem Trading BV,
and Balchem Italia Srl (“Balchem” or the “Company”)), incorporated in the State
of Maryland in 1967, is engaged in the development, manufacture and marketing
of
specialty performance ingredients and products for the food, nutritional, feed,
pharmaceutical and medical sterilization industries.
Principles
of
Consolidation
The
consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the
Company and its subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and
transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Revenue
Recognition
Revenue
is recognized upon product shipment, passage of title and risk of loss, and
when
collection is reasonably assured. The Company reports amounts billed
to customers related to shipping and handling as revenue and includes costs
incurred for shipping and handling in cost of sales. Amounts received for
unshipped merchandise are not recognized as revenue but rather they are recorded
as customer deposits and are included in current liabilities. In addition, the Company
follows the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Staff
Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) No. 104, “Revenue Recognition,” which
sets forth guidelines on the timing of revenue recognition based upon factors
such as passage of title, installation, payments and customer
acceptance.
Revenue
related to the process and product license agreement described in Note 12 below
is recognized using the percentage of completion method and the progress to
completion is measured using the efforts-expended method. The Company
follows the provisions of the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants’ (AICPA) Statement of Position (“SOP”) 81-1, “Accounting for Performance
of
Construction Type and Certain Production Type Contracts.” Revenue is
recognized as work is performed and costs are incurred.
Cash
and Cash
Equivalents
The
Company considers all highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months
or less to be cash equivalents.
Inventories
Inventories
are stated at the lower of cost or market, with cost generally determined on
a
first-in, first-out basis, and have been reduced by an allowance for excess
or
obsolete inventories. Cost elements include material, labor and
manufacturing overhead. In November 2004, the Financial Accounting
Standards Board issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No.
151, “Inventory Costs.” The new statement amends Accounting Research Bulletin
No. 43, Chapter 4, "Inventory Pricing," to clarify the accounting for abnormal
amounts of idle facility expense, freight, handling costs, and wasted material.
This statement requires that those items be recognized as current period charges
and requires that allocation of fixed production overheads to the cost of
conversion be based on the normal capacity of the production
facilities. The provisions of this statement were applied
prospectively for inventory costs incurred
32
beginning
in fiscal year 2006. The adoption of this statement did not have a
material impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or
cash flow.
Property,
Plant and
Equipment and Depreciation
Property,
plant and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation of plant and equipment
is
calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of
the
assets as follows:
Buildings
|
15-25 years
|
|
Equipment
|
3-12
years
|
Expenditures
for repairs and maintenance are charged to expense. Alterations and major
overhauls that extend the lives or increase the capacity of plant assets are
capitalized. When assets are retired or otherwise disposed of, the cost of
the
assets and the related accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts
and any resultant gain or loss is included in earnings. The Company capitalized
interest costs of $150, $-0-and $-0- in 2007, 2006 and 2005,
respectively.
Business
Concentrations
Financial
instruments that subject the Company to credit risk consist primarily of
investments and accounts receivable. Investments are managed within established
guidelines to mitigate risks. Accounts receivable subject the Company to credit
risk partially due to the concentration of amounts due from customers. The
Company extends credit to its customers based upon an evaluation of the
customers’ financial condition and credit histories. The majority of the
Company’s customers are major national or international corporations. In 2007
and 2006, no customer accounted for more than 10% of total net
sales.
Goodwill
and Acquired
Intangible Assets
Goodwill
represents the excess of costs over fair value of assets of businesses acquired.
The Company adopted the provisions of SFAS No. 141, “Business Combinations”
(“SFAS 141”) and SFAS No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets”
(“SFAS 142”), as of January 1, 2002. These standards require the
use of the purchase method of accounting for a business combination and define
an intangible asset. Goodwill and intangible assets acquired in a
purchase business combination and determined to have an indefinite useful life
are not amortized, but are instead tested for impairment at least annually
in
accordance with the provisions of SFAS No. 142. SFAS No. 142 also
requires that intangible assets with estimable useful lives be amortized over
their respective estimated useful lives to their estimated residual values,
and
reviewed for impairment in accordance with SFAS No. 144, “Accounting for
Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.”
As
required by SFAS No. 142, the Company performed an assessment of whether there
was an indication that goodwill was impaired at the date of adoption. In
connection therewith, the Company determined that its operations consisted
of
three reporting units and determined each reporting units’ fair value and
compared it to the reporting unit’s net book value. Since the fair
value of each reporting unit exceeded its carrying amount, there was no
indication of impairment and no further transitional impairment testing was
required. As of December 31, 2007 and 2006, the Company also
performed an impairment test of its goodwill balance. As of such dates the
Company’s reporting units’ fair value exceeded their carrying amounts, and
therefore there was no indication that goodwill was impaired. Accordingly,
the
Company was not required to perform any further impairment tests. The Company
plans to perform its impairment test each December 31.
The
Company had unamortized goodwill in the amount of $26,363 at December 31, 2007
and $25,253 at December 31, 2006, subject to the provisions of SFAS Nos. 141
and
142. Unamortized goodwill is allocated to the Company’s reportable
segments as follows:
33
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||
Specialty
Products
|
$ | 5,089 | $ | 5,089 | ||||
Encapsulated/Nutritional
Products
|
20,186 | 20,164 | ||||||
BCP
Ingredients
|
1,088 | - | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 26,363 | $ | 25,253 |
The
following intangible assets with finite lives are stated at cost and are
amortized on a straight-line basis over the following estimated useful
lives:
Amortization
period
(in
years)
|
||||
Customer
lists
|
10
|
|||
Regulatory
re-registration costs
|
10
|
|||
Patents
& trade secrets
|
15 - 17 | |||
Trademarks
& trade names
|
17
|
|||
Other
|
5
|
Income
Taxes
Income
taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. Deferred tax
assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences
attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts
of
existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating
loss and tax credit carry-forwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are
measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the
years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or
settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax
rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment
date.
Use
of
Estimates
Management
of the Company is required to make certain estimates and assumptions during
the
preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These estimates
and assumptions impact the reported amount of assets and liabilities and
disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the
consolidated financial statements and revenues and expenses during the reporting
period. Estimates and assumptions are reviewed periodically and the effects
of
revisions are reflected in the consolidated financial statements in the period
they are determined to be necessary. Actual results could differ from those
estimates.
Fair
Value of Financial
Instruments
The
Company has a number of financial instruments, none of which are held for
trading purposes. The Company estimates that the fair value of all financial
instruments at December 31, 2007 and 2006 does not differ materially from the
aggregate carrying values of its financial instruments recorded in the
accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The estimated fair value amounts
have
been determined by the Company using available market information and
appropriate valuation methodologies. Considerable judgment is necessarily
required in interpreting market data to develop the estimates of fair value,
and, accordingly, the estimates are not necessarily indicative of the amounts
that the Company could realize in a current market exchange. The Company’s
financial instruments, principally cash equivalents, accounts receivable,
accounts payable and accrued liabilities, are carried at cost which approximates
fair value due to the short-term maturity of these instruments.
34
Cost
of
Sales
Cost
of
sales are primarily comprised of raw materials and supplies consumed in the
manufacture of product, as well as manufacturing labor, maintenance labor,
depreciation expense, and direct overhead expense necessary to convert purchased
materials and supplies into finished product. Cost of sales also includes
inbound freight costs, outbound freight costs for shipping products to
customers, warehousing costs, quality control and obsolescence
expense.
Selling,
General and
Administrative Expenses
Selling
expenses consist primarily of compensation and benefit costs, trade promotions,
advertising, commissions and other marketing costs. General and administrative
expenses consist primarily of payroll and benefit costs, occupancy and operating
costs of corporate offices, depreciation and amortization expense on
non-manufacturing assets, information systems costs and other miscellaneous
administrative costs.
Research
and
Development
Research
and development costs are expensed as incurred.
Net
Earnings Per Common
Share
Basic
net
earnings per common share is calculated by dividing net income by the weighted
average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net
earnings per common share is calculated in a manner consistent with basic net
earnings per common share except that the weighted average number of common
shares outstanding also includes the dilutive effect of stock options
outstanding and unvested restricted stock (using the treasury stock
method).
Stock-based
Compensation
The
Company has stock-based employee compensation plans, which are described more
fully in Note 2. On January 1, 2006, the Company was required to
adopt SFAS No. 123R (revised 2004), “Share-Based Payment”
(“SFAS 123R”), which requires all share-based payments, including grants of
stock options, to be recognized in the income statement as an operating expense,
based on their fair values. The Company estimates the fair value of each option
award on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes based option-pricing
model.
Prior
to
adopting SFAS 123R, the Company accounted for stock-based compensation under
Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 25, “Accounting for Stock Issued to
Employees”, as permitted by SFAS No. 123, “Accounting for Stock-Based
Compensation”. The modified prospective method was applied in adopting SFAS 123R
and, accordingly, periods prior to adoption have not been restated.
The
implementation of SFAS 123R has had no adverse effect on the Company’s balance
sheet or total cash flows, but it does impact cash flows from operations, cash
flows from financing activities, cost of sales, gross profit, operating
expenses, net income and earnings per share. Because periods prior to adoption
have not been restated, comparability between periods has been affected.
Additionally, estimates of and assumptions about forfeiture rates, terms,
volatility, interest rates and dividend yields are used to calculate stock-based
compensation. A significant change to these estimates could materially affect
the Company’s operating results.
35
Impairment
of Long-lived
Assets
Long-lived
assets, such as property, plant, and equipment, and purchased intangibles
subject to amortization, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes
in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be
recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a
comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to estimated undiscounted future
cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If the carrying amount of
an
asset exceeds its estimated future cash flows, an impairment charge is
recognized by the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds
the
fair value of the asset, which is generally based on discounted cash
flows.
New
Accounting
Pronouncements
In
December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No.141 (revised 2007), “Business
Combinations”, or SFAS 141R. The purpose of issuing the statement is to replace
current guidance in SFAS No.141 to better represent the economic value of a
business combination transaction. The changes to be effected with SFAS 141R
from
the current guidance include, but are not limited to: (1) acquisition costs
will be recognized separately from the acquisition; (2) known contractual
contingencies at the time of the acquisition will be considered part of the
liabilities acquired measured at their fair value; all other contingencies
will
be part of the liabilities acquired measured at their fair value only if it
is
more likely than not that they meet the definition of a liability;
(3) contingent consideration based on the outcome of future events will be
recognized and measured at the time of the acquisition; (4) business
combinations achieved in stages (step acquisitions) will need to recognize
the
identifiable assets and liabilities, as well as noncontrolling interests, in
the
acquiree, at the full amounts of their fair values; and (5) a bargain
purchase (defined as a business combination in which the total acquisition-date
fair value of the identifiable net assets acquired exceeds the fair value of
the
consideration transferred plus any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree)
will
require that excess to be recognized as a gain attributable to the acquirer.
SFAS 141R will be effective for any business combinations that occur after
January 1, 2009.
In
December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, “Noncontrolling Interests
in Consolidated Financial Statements — an amendment of ARB No. 51”, or
SFAS 160. SFAS 160 was issued to improve the relevance, comparability,
and transparency of financial information provided to investors by requiring
all
entities to report noncontrolling (minority) interests in subsidiaries in the
same way, that is, as equity in the consolidated financial statements. Moreover,
SFAS 160 eliminates the diversity that currently exists in accounting for
transactions between an entity and noncontrolling interests by requiring they
be
treated as equity transactions. SFAS 160 will be effective January 1, 2009.
The Company is currently evaluating the impact that SFAS 160 will have on
its financial statements and disclosures.
In
June
2007, FASB ratified the consensus reached by the EITF on EITF Issue No. 07-3,
"Accounting for Nonrefundable Advance Payments for Goods or Services to Be
Used
in Future Research and Development Activities" ("EITF 07-3"). EITF 07-3
addresses the diversity that exists with respect to the accounting for the
non-refundable portion of a payment made by a research and development entity
for future research and development activities. Under EITF 07-3, an entity
would
defer and capitalize non-refundable advance payments made for research and
development activities until the related goods are delivered or the related
services are performed. EITF 07-3 will be effective for us beginning on January
1, 2008. The Company is currently evaluating the effect of EITF 07-3 on our
consolidated financial statements.
The
Company adopted the provisions of FASB Interpretation No. 48,
“Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes”, or FIN 48, on January 1,
2007. FIN 48 clarifies whether or not to recognize assets or
liabilities for tax positions taken that may be challenged by a taxing
authority. Additional information regarding FIN 48 is included in
Note 8.
In
September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS 157, “Fair Value Measurements” (“SFAS
157”), which defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair
value in generally accepted accounting principles, and
36
expands
disclosures about fair value measurements. SFAS 157 does not require any new
fair value measurements, but provides guidance on how to measure fair value
by
providing a fair value hierarchy used to classify the source of the information.
This statement is effective beginning in January 2008. The Company is evaluating
whether adoption of this statement will result in a change to its fair value
measurements.
NOTE
2 - STOCKHOLDERS’
EQUITY
STOCK-BASED
COMPENSATION
On
January 1, 2006, the Company adopted SFAS 123R, which requires all share-based
payments, including grants of stock options, to be recognized in the income
statement as an operating expense, based on their fair values.
Prior
to
adopting SFAS 123R, the Company accounted for stock-based compensation under
Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 25, “Accounting for Stock Issued to
Employees” (“Opinion 25”), as permitted by SFAS No. 123, “Accounting for
Stock-Based Compensation,” (“SFAS 123”). No stock-based compensation cost was
recognized in the Statement of Earnings for the year ended December 31, 2005,
as
all options granted had an exercise price equal to the market value of the
underlying common stock on the date of grant. The Company has applied the
modified prospective method in adopting SFAS 123R. Accordingly, periods prior
to
adoption have not been restated. Under the modified prospective method,
compensation cost recognized in the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006
include (a) compensation cost for all share-based payments granted prior to,
but
not yet vested as of January 1, 2006, based on the grant date fair value
estimated in accordance with the original provisions of SFAS 123, and (b)
compensation cost for all share-based payments granted subsequent to January
1,
2006, based on the grant-date fair value estimated in accordance with the
provisions of SFAS 123R.
As
required by SFAS 123R, the Company has made an estimate of expected forfeitures,
based on its historical experience, and is recognizing compensation cost only
for those stock-based compensation awards expected to vest.
Additionally,
since adoption of SFAS 123R, excess tax benefits related to stock compensation
are presented as a cash inflow from financing activities. This change had the
effect of decreasing cash flows from operating activities and increasing cash
flows from financing activities by $677 and $878 for the years ended December
31, 2007 and 2006, respectively.
The
Company’s results for the year ended December 31, 2007 and 2006 reflected the
following compensation cost as a result of adopting SFAS 123R and such
compensation cost had the following effects on net earnings and basic and
diluted earnings per share:
Year
Ended
|
||||||||
December
31,
|
||||||||
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||
Cost
of sales
|
$ | 187 | $ | 115 | ||||
Operating
expenses
|
1,449 | 982 | ||||||
Net
earnings
|
1,118 | 888 | ||||||
Basic
EPS
|
.06 | .05 | ||||||
Diluted
EPS
|
$ | .06 | $ | .05 |
The
following table illustrates the effect on net income and earnings per share
if
the fair value based method had been applied to the period before adoption
of
SFAS 123R (in thousands, except per share data):
37
Year
Ended
December 31, 2005 |
||||
Net
earnings
|
$ | 10,954 | ||
Stock-based
employee compensation expense included in net earnings, net of related
tax
effects
|
- | |||
Stock-based
employee compensation expense determined under fair value based method,
net of related tax effects
|
904 | |||
Pro
forma net earnings
|
$ | 10,050 | ||
Basic
earnings per common share:
|
||||
As
reported
|
$ | 0.63 | ||
Pro
forma
|
$ | 0.58 | ||
Diluted
earnings per common share:
|
||||
As
reported
|
$ | 0.61 | ||
Pro
forma
|
$ | 0.55 |
On
December 31, 2007, the Company had one share-based compensation plan, which
is
described below (the “1999 Stock Plan”).
In
June
1999, the Company adopted the Balchem Corporation 1999 Stock Plan for officers,
directors, directors emeritus and employees of and consultants to the Company
and its subsidiaries. The 1999 Stock Plan is administered by the Compensation
Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company. Under the plan, options
and
rights to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock are granted at prices
established at the time of grant. Option grants generally become exercisable
20%
after 1 year, 60% after 2 years and 100% after 3 years from the date of grant
for employees and are fully exercisable on the date of grant for directors.
Other option grants are either fully exercisable on the date of grant or become
exercisable thereafter in such installments as the Committee may specify.
Options granted under the 1999 Stock Plan expire ten years from the date of
the
grant. The 1999 Stock Plan initially reserved an aggregate of 900,000 shares
(unadjusted for the stock split) of common stock for issuance under the Plan.
In
April 2003, the Board of Directors of the Company adopted and stockholders
subsequently approved, the Amended and Restated 1999 Stock Plan which amended
the 1999 Stock Plan by: (i) increasing the number of shares of common
stock reserved for issuance under the 1999 Stock Plan by 900,000 shares
(unadjusted for the stock split), to a total of 1,800,000 shares (unadjusted
for
the stock split) of common stock; and (ii) confirming the right of the Company
to grant awards of common stock (“Awards”) in addition to the other Stock Rights
available under the 1999 Stock Plan, and providing certain language changes
relating thereto. The 1999 Stock Plan replaced the Company's incentive stock
option plan (the “ISO Plan”) and its non-qualified stock option plan (the
“Non-Qualified Plan”), both of which expired on June 24, 1999. Unexercised
options granted under the ISO Plan and the Non-Qualified Plan prior to such
termination remain exercisable in accordance with their terms. Options granted
under the ISO Plan generally become exercisable 20% after 1 year, 60% after
2
years and 100% after 3 years from the date of grant, and expire ten years from
the date of grant. Options granted under the Non-Qualified Plan generally vested
on the date of grant, and expire ten years from the date of grant.
The
shares to be issued upon exercise of the outstanding options have been approved,
reserved and are adequate to cover all exercises. As of December 31,
2007, the plans had 723,678 shares available for future awards.
On
December 8, 2006, the Board of Directors of the Company authorized the Company
to enter into Restricted Stock Purchase Agreements (the “2006 Agreements”) to
purchase the Company’s common stock with the five non-employee directors and
certain employees of the Company pursuant to the Company’s
38
1999
Stock Plan. Under the 2006 Agreements, each grantee purchased certain shares,
ranging from 1,500 shares to 13,500 shares, of the Company’s common stock at the
purchase price of approximately $.04 per share. The purchased stock is subject
to a repurchase option in favor of the Company and to restrictions on transfer
until it vests in accordance with the provisions of the Agreements.
On
December 29, 2005, the Board of Directors of the Company authorized the Company
to enter into Restricted Stock Purchase Agreements (the “2005 Agreements”) to
purchase the Company’s common stock with the five non-employee directors of the
Company pursuant to the Company’s 1999 Stock Plan. This 2005 Agreement replaces
the Stock Option Plan that non-employee directors participated in in prior
years. Under the 2005 Agreements, each non-employee director purchased 6,750
shares of the Company’s common stock at the purchase price of approximately $.03
per share. The purchased stock is subject to a repurchase option in favor of
the
Company and to restrictions on transfer until it vests in accordance with the
provisions of the Agreements.
The
fair
value of each option award issued under the 1999 Stock Plan is estimated on
the
date of grant using a Black-Scholes based option-pricing model that uses the
assumptions noted in the following table. Expected volatilities are based on
historical volatility of the Company’s stock. The expected term of the options
is based on the Company’s historical experience of employees’ exercise
behavior. Dividend yields are based on the Company’s historical
dividend yields. Risk-free interest rates are based on the implied
yields currently available on U.S. Treasury zero coupon issues with a
remaining term equal to the expected life.
Year
Ended
|
||||||||||||
Weighted
Average Assumptions:
|
December
31,
2007 |
December
31,
2006 |
December
31,
2005
|
|||||||||
Expected
Volatility
|
27.0 | % | 26.4 | % | 28.9 | % | ||||||
Expected
Term (in years)
|
3.7 | 4.5 | 4.8 | |||||||||
Risk-Free
Interest Rate
|
4.1 | % | 3.8 | % | 3.6 | % | ||||||
Dividend
Yield
|
0.3 | % | 0.4 | % | 0.4 | % |
The
value
of the restricted shares is based on the intrinsic value of the award at the
date of grant.
Compensation
expense for stock options and restricted stock awards is recognized on a
straight-line basis over the vesting period, generally three years for stock
options, four years for employee restricted stock awards, and seven years for
non-employee director restricted stock awards. Certain awards provide for
accelerated vesting if there is a change in control (as defined in the plans)
or
other qualifying events.
A
summary
of stock option plan activity for 2007, 2006, and 2005 for all plans is as
follows:
2007
|
#
of
Shares
(000s)
|
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
|
||||||
Outstanding
at beginning of year
|
2,170 | $ | 10.13 | |||||
Granted
|
10 | 18.00 | ||||||
Exercised
|
(220 | ) | 5.54 | |||||
Cancelled
|
(16 | ) | 14.34 | |||||
Outstanding
at end of year
|
1,944 | $ | 10.66 | |||||
Exercisable
at end of year
|
1,488 | $ | 9.09 |
39
2006
|
|
#
of
Shares
(000s)
|
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
|
|||||
Outstanding
at beginning of year
|
2,153 | $ | 8.38 | |||||
Granted
|
305 | 17.67 | ||||||
Exercised
|
(267 | ) | 4.64 | |||||
Cancelled
|
(21 | ) | 9.64 | |||||
Outstanding
at end of year
|
2,170 | $ | 10.13 | |||||
Exercisable
at end of year
|
1,277 | $ | 7.40 |
2005
|
#
of
Shares
(000s)
|
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
|
||||||
Outstanding
at beginning of year
|
1,777 | $ | 6.21 | |||||
Granted
|
657 | 13.04 | ||||||
Exercised
|
(262 | ) | 5.38 | |||||
Cancelled
|
(19 | ) | 7.41 | |||||
Outstanding
at end of year
|
2,153 | $ | 8.38 | |||||
Exercisable
at end of year
|
1,167 | $ | 6.09 |
The
aggregate intrinsic value for outstanding stock options was $22,786 and $15,357
at December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively, with a weighted average remaining
contractual term of 6.7 years at December 31, 2007. Exercisable stock
options at December 31, 2007 had an aggregate intrinsic value of $19,781 with
a
weighted average remaining contractual term of 6.2 years.
Other
information pertaining to option activity during the years ended December 31,
2007 and 2006 was as follows:
Year
Ended
December
31,
|
||||||||
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||
Weighted-average
fair value of options granted
|
$ | 6.44 | $ | 4.91 | ||||
Total
intrinsic value of stock options exercised ($000s)
|
$ | 2,721 | $ | 2,929 |
Additional
information related to stock options outstanding under all plans at December
31,
2007 is as follows:
Options
Outstanding
|
Options
Exercisable
|
||||||||||||||||||
Range
of Exercise
Prices |
Shares
Outstanding (000s) |
Weighted
Average Remaining Contractual Term |
Weighted
Average Exercise Price
|
Number
Exercisable (000s) |
Weighted
Average Exercise Price
|
||||||||||||||
$ | 1.85 - $ 6.83 | 604 |
4.8
years
|
$ | 6.18 | 604 | $ | 6.18 | |||||||||||
7.13 - 13.19 | 598 |
6.8
years
|
9.26 | 566 | 9.12 | ||||||||||||||
13.81 - 20.56 | 742 |
8.2
years
|
15.42 | 318 | 14.54 | ||||||||||||||
1,944 |
6.7
years
|
$ | 10.66 | 1,488 | $ | 9.09 |
Non-vested
restricted stock activity for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006 is
summarized below:
40
Shares
(000s)
|
Weighted
Average
Grant
Date
Fair
Value
|
|||||||
Non-vested
balance as of December 31, 2006
|
113 | $ | 16.40 | |||||
Granted
|
5 | 18.61 | ||||||
Vested
|
- | - | ||||||
Forfeited
|
- | - | ||||||
Non-vested
balance as of December 31, 2007
|
118 | $ | 16.49 |
Shares
(000s)
|
Weighted
Average
Grant
Date
Fair
Value
|
|||||||
Non-vested
balance as of December 31, 2005
|
34 | $ | 13.22 | |||||
Granted
|
79 | 17.76 | ||||||
Vested
|
- | - | ||||||
Forfeited
|
- | - | ||||||
Non-vested
balance as of December 31, 2006
|
113 | $ | 16.40 |
As
of
December 31, 2007 and 2006, there was $2,586 and $4,036, respectively, of total
unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested share-based compensation
arrangements granted under the plans. As of December 31, 2007, the unrecognized
compensation cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period
of
2 years. We estimate that share-based compensation expense for the year ended
December 31, 2008 will be approximately $1,950.
STOCK
SPLITS AND REPURCHASE OF COMMON STOCK
On
December 8, 2006, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a three-for-two
split of the Company’s common stock to be effected in the form of a stock
dividend to shareholders of record on December 29, 2006. Such stock dividend
was
made on January 19, 2007. The stock split was recognized by reclassifying the
par value of the additional shares resulting from the split, from additional
paid-in capital to common stock.
On
December 15, 2005, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a
three-for-two split of the Company’s common stock to be effected in the form of
a stock dividend to shareholders of record on December 30, 2005. Such stock
dividend was made on January 20, 2006. The stock split was recognized by
reclassifying the par value of the additional shares resulting from the split,
from additional paid-in capital to common stock.
In
June
1999, the board of directors authorized the repurchase of shares of the
Company’s outstanding common stock over a two-year period commencing July 2,
1999. Under this program, which was subsequently extended, the
Company had, as of December 31, 2004, repurchased a total 1,158,692 shares
at an
average cost of $2.74 per share, none of which remained in treasury at December
31, 2004. In June 2005, the board of directors authorized another
extension of the stock repurchase program for up to an additional 1,350,000
shares, over and above those 1,158,692 shares previously repurchased under
the
program. Under this extension, a total of 149,175 shares were purchased in
2005
at an average cost of $8.03 per share, none of which remained in treasury at
December 31, 2007 or 2006. During 2007 and 2006, no additional shares
were purchased. The Company intends to acquire shares from time to time at
prevailing market prices if and to the extent it deems it advisable to do so
based on its assessment of corporate cash flow, market conditions and other
factors.
41
NOTE
3 -
INVENTORIES
Inventories at December 31, 2007 and 2006 consisted of the following:
Inventories at December 31, 2007 and 2006 consisted of the following:
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||
Raw
materials
|
$ | 6,522 | $ | 4,264 | ||||
Work
in progress
|
818 | 143 | ||||||
Finished
goods
|
8,340 | 5,511 | ||||||
Total
inventories
|
$ | 15,680 | $ | 9,918 |
On
a
regular basis, the Company evaluates its inventory balances for excess
quantities and obsolescence by analyzing demand, inventory on hand, sales levels
and other information. Based on these evaluations, inventory balances are
reduced, if necessary. The reserve for inventory was $174 and $147 at December
31, 2007 and 2006, respectively.
NOTE
4 - PROPERTY, PLANT AND
EQUIPMENT
Property,
plant and equipment at December 31, 2007 and 2006 are summarized as
follows:
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||
Land
|
$ | 2,152 | $ | 650 | ||||
Building
|
15,520 | 11,640 | ||||||
Equipment
|
45,599 | 38,545 | ||||||
Construction
in progress
|
3,067 | 1,247 | ||||||
66,338 | 52,082 | |||||||
Less:
Accumulated depreciation
|
24,258 | 20,769 | ||||||
Property,
plant and equipment, net
|
$ | 42,080 | $ | 31,313 |
Depreciation
expense was $3,466, $2,842 and $2,686 for the years ended December 31, 2007,
2006 and 2005, respectively.
NOTE
5 -
ACQUISITIONS
Akzo
Nobel
Acquisition
Effective
April 30, 2007, pursuant to an asset purchase agreement dated March 30, 2007,
the Company, through its European subsidiary, Balchem B.V., completed an
acquisition of the methylamines and choline chloride business and manufacturing
facilities of Akzo Nobel Chemicals S.p.A., located in Marano Ticino, Italy
(the
“Akzo Nobel Acquisition”) for a purchase price, including acquisition costs, of
$9,165, which excludes working capital acquired.
The
Akzo
Nobel Acquisition has been accounted for using the purchase method of accounting
and the purchase price of the acquisition has been assigned to the net assets
acquired based on the fair value of such assets at the date of acquisition.
The
allocation of the total purchase price, including acquisition costs, was based
on the estimated fair values as of April 30, 2007. The purchase price including
certain working capital acquired has been allocated as follows:
42
Fair
Value Recorded
in
Purchase Accounting
|
||||
Property
plant & equipment
|
$ | 7,994 | ||
Short-term
receivable
|
2,462 | |||
Inventories
|
4,323 | |||
Goodwill
|
1,088 | |||
Other
|
83 | |||
Accounts
payable and accrued expenses
|
(8,213 | ) | ||
Total
|
$ | 7,737 |
Chinook
Acquisition
On
March
16, 2007, the Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary BCP Ingredients,
Inc.
("BCP"), entered into an asset purchase agreement with Chinook Global Limited
("Chinook"), a privately held Ontario corporation, pursuant to which BCP
acquired certain of Chinook's choline chloride business assets (the “Chinook
Acquisition”) for a purchase price of approximately $29,000, which excludes
working capital acquired. The acquisition closed effective the same
date.
The
Chinook Acquisition has been accounted for using the purchase method of
accounting and the purchase price of the acquisition has been assigned to the
net assets acquired based on the fair value of such assets at the date of
acquisition. The allocation of the total purchase price, including acquisition
costs, was based on the estimated fair values as of March 16, 2007. The purchase
price including certain working capital acquired has been allocated as
follows:
Fair
Value Recorded
in
Purchase Accounting
|
||||
Customer
list
|
$ | 29,262 | ||
Inventory
|
1,840 | |||
Short-term
receivable
|
1,850 | |||
Short-term
obligation
|
(870 | ) | ||
Other
|
73 | |||
Total
|
$ | 32,155 |
The
short-term receivable was included in other current assets.
Pro
Forma Summary of Operations
The
following unaudited pro forma information has been prepared as if the Chinook
Acquisition had occurred on January 1, 2007 and does not include cost savings
expected from the transaction. In addition to including the results of
operations, the pro forma information gives effect primarily to changes in
depreciation and amortization of tangible and intangible assets resulting from
the acquisition.
The
pro
forma information presented does not purport to be indicative of the results
that actually would have been attained if the Chinook Acquisition had occurred
at the beginning of the periods presented and is not intended to be a projection
of future results.
43
Pro
Forma
Year
Ended
|
||||
December
31,
|
||||
2007
|
||||
Net
sales
|
$ | 185,188 | ||
Net
earnings
|
16,595 | |||
Basic
EPS
|
.93 | |||
Diluted
EPS
|
.89 |
St.
Gabriel
Acquisition
Effective
August 24, 2006, pursuant to an asset purchase agreement of the same date,
the
Company, through its wholly owned subsidiaries BCP Ingredients and BCP St.
Gabriel, acquired from BioAdditives, LLC, CMB Additives, LLC and CMB Realty
of
Louisiana (the “St. Gabriel Sellers”) an animal feed grade aqueous choline
chloride manufacturing facility and related assets located in St. Gabriel,
Louisiana (the “St. Gabriel Acquisition”). The Company also acquired the St.
Gabriel Sellers’ remaining interest in a land lease (approximately 19 years)
relating to the realty upon which the acquired facility and related assets
are
located. The acquisition was funded through the Company’s cash
reserves. In February 2007, the facility was placed into service.
CMC
Acquisition
On
February 8, 2006, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary Balchem
Minerals Corporation (“BMC”), completed an acquisition (the “CMC Acquisition”)
of all of the outstanding capital stock of Chelated Minerals Corporation
(“CMC”), a privately held Utah corporation, for a purchase price of $17,350,
subject to adjustment based upon CMC’s actual working capital and other
adjustments of approximately $500. On February 6, 2006, the Company and its
principal bank entered into a Loan Agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) providing
for an unsecured term loan of $10,000 (the “Term Loan”), the proceeds of which
were used to fund the CMC Acquisition, in part. The remaining balance of the
purchase price of the CMC Acquisition was funded through the Company’s cash
reserves. At December 31, 2006, the Term Loan had been repaid in
full.
The
CMC
Acquisition has been accounted for using the purchase method of accounting
and
the purchase price of the acquisition has been assigned to the net assets
acquired based on the fair value of such assets and liabilities at the date
of
acquisition. The allocation of the total purchase price, including acquisition
costs, of CMC’s net tangible and intangible assets was based on the estimated
fair values as of February 8, 2006. The excess of the purchase price over the
identifiable intangible and net tangible assets was allocated to goodwill.
The
purchase price including certain working capital acquired has been allocated
as
follows:
Fair
Value Recorded
in
Purchase Accounting
|
||||
Accounts
receivable
|
$ | 884 | ||
Inventory
|
552 | |||
Property,
plant and equipment
|
1,980 | |||
Current
liabilities
|
(388 | ) | ||
Other
long-term liabilities
|
(2,368 | ) | ||
Goodwill
|
11,925 | |||
Other
intangible assets
|
5,334 | |||
Total
|
$ | 17,919 |
44
The
consolidated financial statements include the results of operations of CMC
from
the date of purchase.
Pro
Forma Summary of Operations
The
following unaudited pro forma information has been prepared as if the CMC
Acquisition had occurred on January 1, 2005 and does not include cost savings
expected from the transaction. In addition to including the results of
operations, the pro forma information gives effect primarily to changes in
depreciation and amortization of tangible and intangible assets resulting from
the acquisition.
The
pro
forma information presented does not purport to be indicative of the results
that actually would have been attained if the CMC acquisition had occurred
at
the beginning of the periods presented and is not intended to be a projection
of
future results.
Pro
Forma
Year
Ended
|
||||||||
December
31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2005
|
|||||||
Net
sales
|
$ | 101,639 | $ | 89,117 | ||||
Net
earnings
|
12,284 | 11,438 | ||||||
Basic
EPS
|
.70 | .66 | ||||||
Diluted
EPS
|
$ | .67 | $ | .63 |
Loders
Croklaan
Acquisition
Effective
June 30, 2005, pursuant to an asset purchase agreement of same date, the Company
acquired certain assets of Loders Croklaan USA, LLC (“Loders Croklaan”) relating
to the encapsulation, agglomeration and granulation business for a purchase
price before contingent consideration including acquisition costs of $9,885
plus
$725 for certain product inventories and $809 for certain accounts
receivable. With the exception of $985, which was paid during the
quarter ended June 30, 2005, all of such payment was made on July 1, 2005 from
the Company’s cash reserves.
The
Loders Croklaan Acquisition also provides for the contingent payment to Loders
Croklaan by the Company of additional consideration based upon the volume of
sales during the three year period following the acquisition associated with
one
particular product acquired by the Company. Such contingent consideration will
be recorded as an additional cost of the acquisition. As of December 31, 2007,
such contingent consideration of $23 has been earned and paid.
The
allocation of the purchase price of the Loders Crooklaan Acquisition, subject
to
contingencies, has been assigned to the long-term net assets acquired as
follows:
Fair
Value Recorded
in
Purchase Accounting
|
||||
Equipment
|
$ | 1,436 | ||
Customer
List
|
1,350 | |||
Patent
|
140 | |||
Goodwill
|
6,982 | |||
Total
|
$ | 9,908 |
The
Loders Croklaan acquisition has been accounted for using the purchase method
of
accounting and the purchase price of the acquisition has been assigned to the
net assets acquired based on the fair value of such assets and liabilities
at
the date of acquisition. The consolidated financial statements include the
results of operations of the acquired product lines from the date of
purchase.
45
Pro
Forma Summary of Operations
The
following unaudited pro forma information has been prepared as if the
aforementioned acquisition had occurred on January 1, 2005 and does not include
cost savings expected from the transaction. In addition to including the results
of operations, the pro forma information gives effect primarily to changes
in
depreciation and amortization of tangible and intangible assets resulting from
the acquisition.
The
pro
forma information presented does not purport to be indicative of the results
that actually would have been attained if the aforementioned acquisition had
occurred at the beginning of the periods presented and is not intended to be
a
projection of future results.
Pro
Forma
|
||||
Year
Ended
December
31,
|
||||
2005
|
||||
Net
sales
|
$ | 86,382 | ||
Net
earnings
|
11,422 | |||
Basic
EPS
|
.66 | |||
Diluted
EPS
|
$ | .63 |
NOTE
6 - INTANGIBLE ASSETS
WITH FINITE LIVES
As
of
December 31, 2007 and 2006, the Company had identifiable intangible assets
as
follows:
Amortization
Period
(In
years)
|
2007
Gross
Carrying
Amount
|
2007
Accumulated
Amortization |
2006
Gross
Carrying
Amount
|
2006
Accumulated
Amortization |
||||||||||||||||
Customer
lists
|
10 | $ | 34,150 | $ | 3,178 | $ | 4,888 | $ | 497 | |||||||||||
Regulatory
re-registration costs
|
10 | 28 | - | 28 | - | |||||||||||||||
Patents
& trade secrets
|
15-17 | 1,621 | 311 | 1,550 | 221 | |||||||||||||||
Trademarks
& trade names
|
17 | 884 | 146 | 876 | 94 | |||||||||||||||
Other
|
5 | 565 | 162 | 457 | 75 | |||||||||||||||
$ | 37,248 | $ | 3,797 | $ | 7,799 | $ | 887 |
Amortization
of identifiable intangible assets was approximately $2,910, $603 and $123 for
2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively. Assuming no change in the gross carrying
value of identifiable intangible assets, the estimated amortization expense
is
approximately $3,636 per annum for 2008 through 2009, approximately $3,623
per
annum for 2010, approximately $3,614 per annum for 2011 and approximately $3,603
per annum for 2012. At December 31, 2007 and 2006, there were no identifiable
intangible assets with indefinite useful lives as defined by SFAS No. 142.
Identifiable intangible assets are reflected in the Company’s consolidated
balance sheets under Intangible assets, net. There were no changes to
the useful lives of intangible assets subject to amortization in 2007 and
2006.
At
December 31, 2007, the gross carrying amount included a customer list acquired
as part of the Chinook Acquisition, a customer list, trade name and trade
secrets acquired as part of the CMC Acquisition, as well as a customer list
and
patent acquired as part of the Loders Croklaan Acquisition.
The
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, as amended (“FIFRA”), a
health and safety statute, requires that certain products within our specialty
products segment must be registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (“EPA”) because they are considered pesticides. Costs of such
registration are included as regulatory re-registration costs in the table
above.
46
NOTE
7 - LONG-TERM DEBT
& CREDIT AGREEMENTS
On
April
30, 2007, the Company, and its principal bank entered into a Loan Agreement
(the
“European Loan Agreement”) providing for an unsecured term loan of $10,244 (the
“European Term Loan”), the proceeds of which were used to fund the Akzo Nobel
Acquisition (see Note 5) and initial working capital requirements. The European
Term Loan is payable in equal monthly installments of principal, each equal
to
1/84th of the principal of the European Term Loan, together with accrued
interest, with remaining principal and interest payable at maturity. The
European Term Loan has a maturity date of May 1, 2010 and is subject to a
monthly interest rate equal to EURIBOR plus 1%. At December 31, 2007, this
interest rate was 5.288%. The European Loan Agreement also provides
for a short-term revolving credit facility of €2,000, translated to $2,946 as of
December 31, 2007 (the "European Revolving Facility"). The European Revolving
Facility is subject to a monthly interest rate equal to EURIBOR plus 1.25%,
and
accrued interest is payable monthly. The Company has drawn down €1,500 of the
European Revolving Facility as of December 31, 2007. The European Revolving
Facility has a maturity date of May 1, 2008. Management believes that
such facility will be renewed in the normal course of business.
On
March
16, 2007, the Company and its principal bank entered into a Loan Agreement
(the
“New Loan Agreement”) providing for an unsecured term loan of $29,000 (the “New
Term Loan”), the proceeds of which were used to fund the Chinook Acquisition
(see Note 5). The New Term Loan is payable in equal monthly installments of
principal, each equal to 1/60th of the principal of the New Term Loan, together
with accrued interest, with remaining principal and interest payable at
maturity. The New Term Loan has a maturity date of March 16, 2010 and is subject
to a monthly interest rate equal to LIBOR plus 1%. At December 31, 2007, this
interest rate was 6.027%. As of December 31, 2007, the Company has prepaid
$10,000 of the New Term Loan. The New Loan Agreement also provides for a
short-term revolving credit facility of $6,000 (the "New Revolving Facility").
The New Revolving Facility is subject to a monthly interest rate equal to LIBOR
plus 1%, and accrued interest is payable monthly. The Company has drawn down
$1,000 of the New Revolving Facility as of December 31, 2007. The New Revolving
Facility has a maturity date of May 31, 2009. Management believes
that such facility will be renewed in the normal course of
business.
At
December 31, 2007, we had a total of $27,986 of debt outstanding, as compared
to
no debt outstanding at December 31, 2006.
The
Company's debt obligations, excluding revolver borrowings, as of
December 31, 2007, are summarized in the table below:
Payments
due by period
|
||||||||||||||||
Total
|
Year
1
|
Year
2
|
Year
3
|
|||||||||||||
Long-term
debt obligations
|
$ | 24,777 | $ | 7,379 | $ | 7,379 | $ | 10,019 |
NOTE
8 - INCOME
TAXES
Income
tax expense consists of the following:
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Current:
|
||||||||||||
Federal
|
$ | 7,983 | $ | 6,295 | $ | 4,875 | ||||||
State
|
1,299 | 534 | 763 | |||||||||
Deferred:
|
||||||||||||
Federal
|
(420 | ) | (1 | ) | 541 | |||||||
State
|
(151 | ) | (5 | ) | 58 | |||||||
Total
income tax provision
|
$ | 8,711 | $ | 6,823 | $ | 6,237 |
47
The
provision for income taxes differs from the amount computed by applying the
Federal statutory rate of 35% to earnings before income tax expense due to
the
following:
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Income
tax at Federal
statutory
rate
|
$ | 8,690 | $ | 6,685 | $ | 6,017 | ||||||
State
income taxes, net of
Federal
income tax benefit
|
603 | 344 | 534 | |||||||||
Other
|
(582 | ) | (206 | ) | (314 | ) | ||||||
Total
income tax provision
|
$ | 8,711 | $ | 6,823 | $ | 6,237 |
The
tax
effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of
the
deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities at December 31, 2007 and 2006
were as follows:
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||
Deferred
tax assets:
|
||||||||
Inventories
|
$ | 388 | $ | 371 | ||||
Restricted
stock and stock options
|
702 | 200 | ||||||
Other
|
389 | 145 | ||||||
Total
deferred tax assets
|
1,479 | 716 | ||||||
Deferred
tax liabilities:
|
||||||||
Customer
list amortization
|
$ | 1,782 | $ | 1,684 | ||||
Depreciation
|
3,886 | 3,873 | ||||||
Prepaid
expense
|
525 | 583 | ||||||
Trade
names and trademarks
|
239 | 239 | ||||||
Technology
and trade secrets
|
269 | 269 | ||||||
Other
|
350 | 279 | ||||||
Total
deferred tax liabilities
|
7,051 | 6,927 | ||||||
Net
deferred tax liability
|
$ | 5,572 | $ | 6,211 |
There
is
no valuation allowance for deferred tax assets at December 31, 2007 and 2006.
In
assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether
it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets
will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is
dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in
which those temporary differences become deductible. Management considers the
scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income
and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. Based upon the level
of
historical taxable income and projections for future taxable income over the
periods in which the deferred tax assets are deductible, management believes
it
is more likely than not the Company will realize the benefits of these
deductible differences. The amount of deferred tax asset realizable,
however, could change if management’s estimate of future taxable income should
change.
The
Company adopted the provisions of FASB Interpretation No. 48, “Accounting for
Uncertainty in Income Taxes”, or FIN 48, on January 1, 2007. FIN 48
clarifies whether or not to recognize assets or liabilities for tax positions
taken that may be challenged by a tax authority. Upon adoption of FIN
48, the Company recognized approximately a $291 decrease in its retained
earnings balance. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount
of unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:
48
Liability
for Unrecognized
Tax
Benefits
|
||||
Balance
at January 1, 2007
|
$ | 411 | ||
Increases
for tax positions of prior years
|
320 | |||
Decreases
for tax positions of prior years
|
(225 | ) | ||
Increases
for tax positions related to the current year
|
227 | |||
Balance
at December 31, 2007
|
$ | 733 |
All
of
the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits, if recognized in future periods, would
impact the Company’s effective tax rate in such future periods.
The
Company recognizes both interest and penalties as part of the income tax
provision. During the year ended December 31, 2007, the Company recognized
approximately $52 in interest and penalties. As of December 31, 2007,
accrued interest and penalties were $130.
The
Company files income tax returns in the U.S. and in various states and foreign
countries. In the major jurisdictions where the Company operates, it is
generally no longer subject to income tax examinations by tax authorities for
years before 2004. The Company does not anticipate any material change in the
total amount of unrecognized tax benefits to occur within the next twelve
months.
NOTE
9 - NET EARNINGS PER
COMMON SHARE
The
following presents a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator used in
calculating basic and diluted net earnings per common share:
2007
|
Earnings
(Numerator)
|
Number
of Shares
(Denominator)
|
Per
Share Amount
|
|||||||||
Basic
EPS – Net earnings and weighted average common shares
outstanding
|
$ | 16,118 | 17,771,521 | $ | .91 | |||||||
Effect
of dilutive securities – stock options and restricted
stock
|
839,011 | |||||||||||
Diluted
EPS – Net earnings and weighted average common shares outstanding and
effect of stock options and restricted stock
|
$ | 16,118 | 18,610,532 | $ | .87 |
2006
|
Earnings
(Numerator)
|
Number
of Shares
(Denominator)
|
Per
Share Amount
|
|||||||||
Basic
EPS – Net earnings and weighted average common shares
outstanding
|
$ | 12,278 | 17,427,857 | $ | .70 | |||||||
Effect
of dilutive securities – stock options and restricted
stock
|
819,384 | |||||||||||
Diluted
EPS – Net earnings and weighted average common shares outstanding and
effect of stock options and restricted stock
|
$ | 12,278 | 18,247,241 | $ | .67 |
49
2005
|
Earnings
(Numerator)
|
Number
of Shares
(Denominator)
|
Per
Share Amount
|
|||||||||
Basic
EPS – Net earnings and weighted average common shares
outstanding
|
$ | 10,954 | 17,341,133 | $ | .63 | |||||||
Effect
of dilutive securities – stock options
|
743,739 | |||||||||||
Diluted
EPS – Net earnings and weighted average common shares outstanding and
effect of stock options
|
$ | 10,954 | 18,084,872 | $ | .61 |
The
Company had 9,100, 307,875 and 481,500 stock options outstanding at December
31,
2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively that could potentially dilute basic earnings
per share in future periods that were not included in diluted earnings per
share
because their effect on the period presented was anti-dilutive.
NOTE
10- EMPLOYEE BENEFIT
PLANS
The
Company sponsors a 401(k) savings plan for eligible employees. The plan allows
participants to make pretax contributions and the Company matches certain
percentages of those pretax contributions with shares of the Company’s common
stock. The profit sharing portion of the plan is discretionary and
non-contributory. All amounts contributed to the plan are deposited into a
trust
fund administered by independent trustees. The Company provided for profit
sharing contributions and matching 401(k) savings plan contributions of $503
and
$379 in 2007, $395 and $343 in 2006 and $326 and $276 in 2005,
respectively.
The
Company also currently provides postretirement benefits in the form of an
unfunded retirement medical plan under a collective bargaining agreement
covering eligible retired employees of the Verona facility. The Company uses
a
December 31 measurement date for its postretirement medical plan. In
accordance with SFAS No. 158, the Company is required to recognize the over
funded or under funded status of a defined benefit post retirement plan (other
than a multiemployer plan) as an asset or liability in its statement of
financial position, and to recognize changes in that funded status in the year
in which the changes occur through comprehensive income. On December 31, 2006,
as a result of adopting SFAS No. 158, the Company recorded $0.3 million as
a
reduction to the benefit obligation and $0.2 million, net of tax, as a one-time
adjustment to its stockholders’ equity, recorded under accumulated other
comprehensive income.
The
actuarial recorded liabilities for such unfunded postretirement benefit is
as
follows:
Change
in
benefit obligation:
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||
Benefit
obligation at beginning of year
|
$ | 729 | $ | 942 | ||||
Service
cost with interest to end of year
|
29 | 28 | ||||||
Interest
cost
|
41 | 39 | ||||||
Participant
contributions
|
12 | 11 | ||||||
Plan
amendments
|
- | - | ||||||
Benefits
paid
|
(57 | ) | (20 | ) | ||||
Actuarial
(gain) or loss
|
51 | (271 | ) | |||||
Benefit
obligation at end of year
|
$ | 805 | $ | 729 |
50
Change
in
plan assets:
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||
Fair
value of plan assets at beginning of year
|
$ | - | $ | - | ||||
Employer
contributions
|
45 | 9 | ||||||
Participant
contributions
|
12 | 11 | ||||||
Benefits
paid
|
(57 | ) | (20 | ) | ||||
Fair
value of plan assets at end of year
|
$ | - | $ | - |
Amounts
recognized in consolidated balance sheet:
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||
Accumulated
postretirement benefit obligation
|
$ | (805 | ) | $ | (729 | ) | ||
Fair
value of plan assets
|
- | - | ||||||
Funded
status
|
(805 | ) | (729 | ) | ||||
Unrecognized
prior service cost
|
N/A | N/A | ||||||
Unrecognized
net (gain)/loss
|
N/A | N/A | ||||||
Net
amount recognized in consolidated balance sheet (after SFAS
158)
(included
in other long-term obligations)
|
$ | 805 | $ | 729 | ||||
Accrued
postretirement benefit cost
(included
in other long-term obligations)
|
$ | N/A | $ | N/A |
Components
of net periodic benefit cost:
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Service
cost with interest to end of year
|
$ | 29 | $ | 28 | $ | 32 | ||||||
Interest
cost
|
41 | 39 | 50 | |||||||||
Amortization
of prior service cost
|
(18 | ) | (18 | ) | (18 | ) | ||||||
Amortization
of (gain) or loss
|
(3 | ) | (3 | ) | 3 | |||||||
Total
net periodic benefit cost
|
$ | 49 | $ | 46 | $ | 67 |
Estimated
future employer contributions and benefit payments are as follows:
Year
|
||||
2008
|
$ | 41 | ||
2009
|
48 | |||
2010
|
44 | |||
2011
|
56 | |||
2012
|
45 | |||
Years
2013-2017
|
216 |
Assumed
health care cost trend rates have been used in the valuation of postretirement
health insurance benefits. The trend rate is 10 percent in 2008 declining to
5
percent in 2013 and thereafter. A one percentage point increase in health care
cost trend rates in each year would increase the accumulated postretirement
benefit obligation as of December 31, 2007 by $107 and the net periodic
postretirement benefit cost for 2007 by $10. A one percentage point decrease
in
health care cost trend rates in each year would decrease the accumulated
postretirement benefit obligation as of December 31, 2007 by $92 and the net
periodic postretirement benefit cost for 2007 by $9. The weighted average
discount rate used in determining the accumulated postretirement benefit
obligation was 5.75% in 2007 and 2006.
NOTE
11 - COMMITMENTS AND
CONTINGENCIES
In
connection with the Loders Croklaan Acquisition, the Company entered into a
lease agreement with Loders under which the Company leases a portion of Loders’
Channahon, Illinois facility where it
51
principally
conducted the manufacturing portion of the acquired business and utilized
certain warehouse space. The initial term of the lease commenced in February,
2006 and runs through September 30, 2010, subject to earlier
termination.
In
February 2002, the Company entered into a ten (10) year lease which is
cancelable in 2009 for approximately 20,000 square feet of office space. The
office space is now serving as the Company’s general offices and as a laboratory
facility. The Company leases most of its vehicles and office equipment under
non-cancelable operating leases, which expire at various times through 2012.
Rent expense charged to operations under such lease agreements for 2007, 2006
and 2005 aggregated approximately $583, $595 and $576, respectively. Aggregate
future minimum rental payments required under non-cancelable operating leases
at
December 31, 2007 are as follows:
Year
|
||||
2008
|
$ | 797 | ||
2009
|
673 | |||
2010
|
212 | |||
2011
|
79 | |||
2012
|
25 | |||
Thereafter
|
35 | |||
Total
minimum lease payments
|
$ | 1,821 |
In
1982,
the Company discovered and thereafter removed a number of buried drums
containing unidentified waste material from the Company’s site in Slate Hill,
New York. The Company thereafter entered into a Consent Decree to evaluate
the
drum site with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYDEC”)
and performed a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study that was approved
by
NYDEC in February 1994. Based on NYDEC requirements, the Company cleaned the
area and removed additional soil from the drum burial site, which was completed
in 1996. The Company continues to be involved in discussions with NYDEC to
evaluate test results and determine what, if any, additional actions will be
required on the part of the Company to close out the remediation of this site.
Additional actions, if any, would likely require the Company to continue
monitoring the site. The cost of such monitoring has been less than $5 per
year
for the period 2003 – 2007.
The
Company’s Verona, Missouri facility, while held by a prior owner, was designated
by the EPA as a Superfund site and placed on the National Priorities List in
1983, because of dioxin contamination on portions of the site. Remediation
conducted by the prior owner under the oversight of the EPA and the Missouri
Department of Natural Resources (“MDNR”) included removal of dioxin contaminated
soil and equipment, capping of areas of residual contamination in four
relatively small areas of the site separate from the manufacturing facilities,
and the installation of wells to monitor groundwater and surface water
contamination by organic chemicals. No ground water or surface water treatment
was required. The Company believes that remediation of the site is
complete. In 1998, the EPA certified the work on the contaminated
soils to be complete. In February 2000, after the conclusion of two years of
monitoring groundwater and surface water, the former owner submitted a draft
third party risk assessment report to the EPA and MDNR recommending no further
action. The prior owner is awaiting the response of the EPA and MDNR to the
draft risk assessment.
While
the
Company must maintain the integrity of the capped areas in the remediation
areas
on the site, the prior owner is responsible for completion of any further
Superfund remedy. The Company is indemnified by the sellers under its
May 2001 asset purchase agreement covering its acquisition of the Verona,
Missouri facility for potential liabilities associated with the Superfund site
and one of the sellers, in turn, has the benefit of certain contractual
indemnification by the prior owner that is implementing the above-described
Superfund remedy.
From
time
to time, the Company is a party to various litigation, claims and
assessments. Management believes that the ultimate outcome of such
matters will not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial
position, results of operations, or liquidity.
52
NOTE
12 - SEGMENT
INFORMATION
The
Company’s reportable segments are strategic businesses that offer products and
services to different markets. The Company presently has three segments:
specialty products, encapsulated / nutritional products and the unencapsulated
feed supplements segment (also referred to as BCP
Ingredients). Products relating to choline animal feed for
non-ruminant animals are primarily reported in the unencapsulated feed
supplements segment. Human choline nutrient products, pharmaceutical
products and encapsulated products are reported in the encapsulated /
nutritional products segment. They are managed separately because each business
requires different technology and marketing strategies. The specialty products
segment consists of three specialty chemicals: ethylene oxide, propylene oxide
and methyl chloride. The encapsulated / nutritional products segment provides
microencapsulation, granulation and agglomeration solutions to a variety of
applications in food, pharmaceutical and nutritional ingredients to enhance
performance of nutritional fortification, processing, mixing, packaging
applications and shelf-life. The unencapsulated feed supplements
segment is in the business of manufacturing and supplying choline chloride,
an
essential nutrient for animal health, to the poultry and swine industries.
In
addition, certain derivatives of choline chloride are also manufactured and
sold
into industrial applications and are included in the unencapsulated feed
supplements segment. The Company sells products for all segments through its
own
sales force, independent distributors, and sales agents. The accounting policies
of the segments are the same as those described in the summary of significant
accounting policies.
Business
Segment Net Sales:
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Specialty
Products
|
$ | 33,057 | $ | 32,026 | $ | 29,433 | ||||||
Encapsulated/Nutritional
Products
|
49,919 | 41,565 | 32,499 | |||||||||
BCP
Ingredients
|
93,225 | 27,314 | 21,163 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 176,201 | $ | 100,905 | $ | 83,095 |
Business
Segment Earnings Before Income Taxes:
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Specialty
Products
|
$ | 11,824 | $ | 11,315 | $ | 11,007 | ||||||
Encapsulated/Nutritional
Products
|
7,194 | 4,200 | 3,217 | |||||||||
BCP
Ingredients
|
6,888 | 3,647 | 2,679 | |||||||||
Interest
and other income (expense)
|
(1,077 | ) | (61 | ) | 288 | |||||||
Total
|
$ | 24,829 | $ | 19,101 | $ | 17,191 |
Depreciation/Amortization:
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Specialty
Products
|
$ | 876 | $ | 941 | $ | 1,027 | ||||||
Encapsulated/Nutritional
Products
|
2,092 | 1,983 | 1,313 | |||||||||
BCP
Ingredients
|
3,408 | 521 | 469 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 6,376 | $ | 3,445 | $ | 2,809 |
Business
Segment Assets:
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Specialty
Products
|
$ | 18,583 | $ | 18,446 | $ | 19,799 | ||||||
Encapsulated/Nutritional
Products
|
45,477 | 45,870 | 25,139 | |||||||||
BCP
Ingredients
|
85,074 | 20,434 | 14,141 | |||||||||
Other
Unallocated
|
5,290 | 7,583 | 16,062 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 154,424 | $ | 92,333 | $ | 75,141 |
Other
unallocated assets
consist of certain cash, receivables, prepaid expenses, equipment and leasehold
improvements, net of accumulated depreciation, and deferred income taxes, which
the Company does not allocate to its individual business
segments.
53
Capital
Expenditures:
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Specialty
Products
|
$ | 307 | $ | 195 | $ | 366 | ||||||
Encapsulated/Nutritional
Products
|
832 | 595 | 520 | |||||||||
BCP
Ingredients
|
3,730 | 1,489 | 883 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 4,869 | $ | 2,279 | $ | 1,769 |
Geographic
Revenue Information:
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
United
States
|
$ | 132,632 | $ | 91,042 | $ | 77,355 | ||||||
Foreign
Countries
|
43,569 | 9,863 | 5,740 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 176,201 | $ | 100,905 | $ | 83,095 |
NOTE
13 - SUPPLEMENTAL CASH
FLOW INFORMATION
Cash
paid
during the year for:
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Income
taxes
|
$ | 6,718 | $ | 5,621 | $ | 5,133 | ||||||
Interest,
net of capitalized interest
|
$ | 1,466 | $ | 189 | $ | 8 |
Non-cash
financing activities:
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Dividends
payable
|
$ | 1,975 | $ | 1,596 | $ | 1,045 |
Also
see
Note 5 for information regarding acquisitions of assets and stock.
NOTE
14 - QUARTERLY
FINANCIAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED):
(In
thousands, except per share data)
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First
Quarter |
Second
Quarter |
Third
Quarter |
Fourth
Quarter |
First
Quarter |
Second
Quarter |
Third
Quarter |
Fourth
Quarter |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net
sales
|
$ | 27,599 | $ | 44,371 | $ | 50,498 | $ | 53,733 | $ | 24,597 | $ | 25,100 | $ | 25,122 | $ | 26,086 | ||||||||||||||||
Gross
profit
|
9,741 | 12,182 | 12,609 | 12,398 | 8,222 | 8,800 | 8,673 | 8,311 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Earnings
before
income
taxes
|
5,314 | 6,367 | 6,772 | 6,376 | 4,445 | 4,813 | 4,978 | 4,865 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net
earnings
|
3,441 | 4,065 | 4,457 | 4,155 | 2,858 | 3,055 | 3,151 | 3,214 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Basic
net earnings
per
common share
|
$ | .19 | $ | .23 | $ | .25 | $ | .23 | $ | .16 | $ | .18 | $ | .18 | $ | .18 | ||||||||||||||||
Diluted
net earnings
per
common share
|
$ | .19 | $ | .22 | $ | .24 | $ | .22 | $ | .16 | $ | .17 | $ | .17 | $ | .17 |
54
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To
the
Board of Directors and Stockholders
Balchem
Corporation
Our
audits of the consolidated financial statements and internal control over
financial reporting referred to in our report dated March 17, 2008 (included
elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K) also included the financial
statement schedule of Balchem Corporation and Subsidiaries, listed in the
Index at Item 8 of this Form 10-K. This schedule is the
responsibility of Balchem Corporation's management. Our
responsibility is to express an opinion based on our audits of the consolidated
financial statements.
In
our
opinion, the financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the
basic consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly in
all
material respects the information set forth therein.
/s/McGladrey
& Pullen, LLP
New
York,
NY
March
17,
2008
55
BALCHEM
CORPORATION
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Valuation
and Qualifying Accounts
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Years
Ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005
|
||||||||||||||||||||
(In
thousands)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Additions
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Description
|
Balance
at
Beginning of Year |
|
Charges
to
Costs and Expenses |
|
Charges
to
Other Accounts |
|
Deductions
|
Balance
at
End of Year |
||||||||||||
Year
ended December 31, 2007
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Allowance
for doubtful accounts
|
$ | 50 | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | 50 | ||||||||||
Inventory
reserve
|
147 | 20 | 7 | - | 174 | |||||||||||||||
Year
ended December 31, 2006
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Allowance
for doubtful accounts
|
$ | 50 | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | $ | 50 | ||||||||||
Inventory
reserve
|
56 | 91 | - | - | 147 | |||||||||||||||
Year
ended December 31, 2005
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Allowance
for doubtful accounts
|
$ | 82 | $ | - | $ | - | $ | (32 | )(a) | $ | 50 | |||||||||
Inventory
reserve
|
31 | 25 | - | - | 56 |
(a) represents
write-offs.
56
Item
9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and
Financial Disclosure
None.
Item
9A. Controls and Procedures
Disclosure
Controls and Procedures
The
Company's management, with the
participation of the Company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial
Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of the Company's disclosure controls
and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) as of the end of the period
covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Based on such evaluation, the
Company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded
that, as of the end of such period, the Company's disclosure controls and
procedures are effective.
Management's
Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Management
of the Company is
responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over
financial reporting. The Company's internal control over financial reporting
is
a process designed under the supervision of the Company's principal executive
and principal financial officers to provide reasonable assurance regarding
the
reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of the Company's
financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with U.S.
generally accepted accounting principles.
As
of December 31, 2007, management
conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of the Company's internal control
over financial reporting based on the framework established in Internal Control
- Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations
of
the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on this assessment, management has
determined that the Company's internal control over financial reporting was
effective as of December 31, 2007.
Balchem Corporation, through its European subsidiary, Balchem B.V., completed
an
acquisition of certain assets of Akzo Nobel Chemicals S.p.A. effective April
30,
2007 (the Akzo Nobel Acquisition, as defined and described in Note 5 of our
notes to consolidated financial statements in Item 8). Management’s assessment
of and conclusion on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial
reporting excludes the internal control over financial reporting of Balchem
B.V.
and Subsidiaries. The acquisition contributed approximately 17.3 percent of
our net sales for the year ended December 31, 2007 and accounted for
approximately 17.5 percent of our total assets as of December 31,
2007. Registrants are permitted to exclude acquisitions from their assessment
of
internal control over financial reporting during the first year if, among
other
circumstances and factors, there is not adequate time between the consummation
date of the acquisition and the assessment date for assessing internal
controls.
Our
internal control over financial
reporting includes policies and procedures that pertain to the maintenance
of
records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect transactions
and dispositions of assets; provide reasonable assurances that transactions
are
recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in
accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts
and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of
management and the directors of the Company; and provide reasonable assurance
regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or
disposition of the Company's assets that could have a material effect on our
financial statements.
Attestation
Report of Registered Public Accounting Firm
The
independent registered public
accounting firm of McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, has issued an attestation report
on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting, excluding internal
control over financial reporting of Balchem B.V. and Subsidiaries, which is
included herein.
57
Changes
in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There
has been no change in our
internal control over financial reporting in our most recent fiscal quarter
that
has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our
internal control over financial reporting.
Item
9B. Other Information
None.
PART
III
Item
10. Directors, Executive Officers of the Registrant, and Corporate
Governance.
(a) Directors
of the Company.
The
required information is to be set forth in the Company's Proxy Statement for
the
2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “2008 Proxy Statement”) under the
caption "Directors and Executive Officers,” which information is hereby
incorporated herein by reference.
(b) Executive
Officers of the Company.
The
required information is to be set forth in the 2008 Proxy Statement under the
caption "Directors and Executive Officers," which information is hereby
incorporated herein by reference.
(c)
|
Section
16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting
Compliance.
|
The
required information is to be set forth in the 2008 Proxy Statement under the
caption "Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance," which
information is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
(d) Code
of Ethics.
The
Company has adopted a Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers that applies
to its Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer), Chief Financial
Officer (principal financial officer and principal accounting officer) and
its
Treasurer. The Company’s Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers
is filed as Exhibit 14 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
(e) Corporate
Governance.
The
required information is to be set forth in the 2008 Proxy Statement under the
caption “Corporate Governance,” which information is hereby incorporated herein
by reference.
Item
11. Executive Compensation.
The
information required by this Item is to be set forth in the 2008 Proxy Statement
under the caption "Directors and Executive Officers," which information is
hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Item
12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related
Stockholder Matters.
The
information required by this Item is to be set forth in the 2008 Proxy Statement
under the caption "Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and of
Management” and the caption “Equity Compensation Plan Information,” all of which
information is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Item
13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director
Independence.
The
information required by this Item is set forth in the 2008 Proxy Statement
under
the caption "Directors and Executive Officers," which information is hereby
incorporated herein by reference.
58
Item
14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
The
information required by this Item
is set forth in the 2008 Proxy Statement under the caption “Independent Auditor
Fees,” which information is hereby incorporated herein by
reference.
Item
15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
The
following documents are filed as part of this Form 10-K:
The
following documents are filed as part of this Form
10-K:
|
||
Form
10-K
|
||
1.
|
Financial
Statements
|
Page
Number
|
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
26
|
|
Consolidated
Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2007 and 2006
|
28
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Earnings for the
|
||
years
ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005
|
29
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Stockholders' Equity
|
||
for
the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005
|
30
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows
|
||
for
the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005
|
31
|
|
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
|
32
|
|
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
55
|
|
2.
|
Financial
Statement Schedules
|
|
Schedule
II – Valuation and Qualifying
|
||
Accounts
for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005
|
56
|
3.
|
Exhibits
|
|
2.1
|
Sale
and Purchase Agreement dated March 30, 2007, by and between Balchem
B.V.
and Akzo Nobel Chemicals S.p.A. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit
2.1 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 30,
2007).
|
|
2.2
|
Asset
Purchase Agreement dated March 16, 2007, by and between BCP Ingredients,
Inc. and Chinook Global Limited (incorporated by reference to Exhibit
2.1 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 16,
2007).
|
|
2.3
|
Stock
Purchase Agreement dated November 2, 2005, between Balchem Minerals
Corporation and Chelated Minerals Corporation (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated November
7, 2005).
|
|
2.4
|
First
Amendment to Stock Purchase Agreement dated January 5, 2006, between
Balchem Minerals Corporation and Chelated Minerals Corporation
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company’s Current Report
on Form 8-K dated January 10,
2006).
|
|
2.5
|
Asset
Purchase Agreement dated June 30, 2005, between Balchem Corporation
and
Loders Croklaan USA, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 of
the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated July 1,
2005).
|
|
3.1
|
Composite
Articles of Incorporation of the Company (incorporated by reference
to
Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K dated March 16,
2006 for the year ended December 31,
2005).
|
59
|
3.2
|
Composite
By-laws of the Company (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2
to the
Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated January 2,
2008).
|
|
10.1
|
Tolling
Agreement, dated March 16, 2007 between BCP Ingredients, Inc. and
Chinook
Global Limited (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the
Company’s
Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 16,
2007).
|
|
10.2
|
Non-Competition
Agreement, dated March 16, 2007 between BCP Ingredients, Inc. and
Chinook
Global Limited; Chinook Services, LLC; Chinook, LLC; Dean R. Lacy;
Ronald
Breen, and John N. Kennedy (incorporated by reference to Exhibit
10.2 to
the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 16,
2007).
|
|
10.3
|
Loan
Agreement dated March 16, 2007 by and between Bank of America, N.A.
and
Balchem Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to
the
Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 16,
2007).
|
|
10.4
|
Promissory
Note (Term Loan) dated March 16, 2007 from Balchem Corporation to
Bank of
America, N.A (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s
Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 16,
2007).
|
|
10.5
|
Promissory
Note (Revolving Line of Credit) dated March 16, 2007 from Balchem
Corporation to Bank of America, N.A. (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit
10.5 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 16,
2007).
|
|
10.6
|
Guaranty
dated March 16, 2007 from BCP Ingredients, Inc. to Bank of America,
N.A.
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s Current Report
on Form 8-K dated March 16, 2007).
|
|
10.7
|
Guaranty
dated March 16, 2007 from Balchem Minerals Corporation to Bank of
America,
N.A. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Current
Report on Form 8-K dated March 16,
2007).
|
|
10.8
|
Loan
Agreement dated February 6, 2006 by and between Bank of America,
N.A. and
Balchem Corporation, Promissory Note dated February 6, 2006 from
Balchem
Corporation to Bank of America, N.A., and Amended and Restated Promissory
Note (Revolving Line of Credit) dated February 6, 2006 from Balchem
Corporation to Bank of America, N.A. (incorporated by reference to
Exhibits 10.2, 10.3 and 10.4 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K
dated February 9, 2006).
|
|
10.9
|
Amended
and Restated Guaranty dated February 6, 2006 from BCP Ingredients,
Inc. to
Bank of America, N.A. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5
to the
Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated February 9,
2006).
|
|
10.10
|
Guaranty
dated February 6, 2006 from Balchem Minerals Corporation to Bank
of
America, N.A. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s
Current Report on Form 8-K dated February 9,
2006).
|
|
10.11
|
Incentive
Stock Option Plan of the Company, as amended, (incorporated by reference
to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8, File No. 333-35910,
dated October 25, 1996, and to Proxy Statement, dated April 22, 1998,
for
the Company's 1998 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “1998 Proxy
Statement”)).*
|
|
10.12
|
Stock
Option Plan for Directors of the Company, as amended (incorporated
by
reference to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8, File No.
333-35912, dated October 25, 1996, and to the 1998 Proxy
Statement).
|
|
10.13
|
Balchem
Corporation Amended and Restated 1999 Stock Plan (incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended June
30, 2003).*
|
60
|
10.14
|
Balchem
Corporation 401(k)/Profit Sharing Plan, dated January 1, 1998
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4 to the Company's Registration
Statement on Form S-8, File No. 333-118291, dated August 17,
2004).*
|
|
10.15
|
Employment
Agreement, dated as of January 1, 2001, between the Company and
Dino A.
Rossi (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001 (the “2001
10-K”)). *
|
|
10.16
|
Lease
dated as of February 8, 2002 between Sunrise Park Realty, Inc.
and Balchem
Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the 2001
10-K).
|
|
10.17
|
Process
and Product License Agreement dated November 7, 2005, between Balchem
Corporation and Project Management and Development Co., Ltd.
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company’s Current Report
on Form 8-K dated November 14,
2005).
|
|
10.18
|
Form
of Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement for Directors (incorporated
by
reference to Exhibit 10.1
of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated December 30, 2005).
|
|
14.
|
Code
of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers (incorporated by reference
to
Exhibit 14 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K dated March 15,
2004 for the year ended December 31,
2003).
|
|
21.
|
Subsidiaries
of Registrant.
|
|
23.1
|
Consent
of McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting
Firm.
|
|
31.1
|
Certification
of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule
13a-14(a).
|
|
31.2
|
Certification
of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule
13a-14(a).
|
|
32.1
|
Certification
of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) and Section
1350 of
Chapter 63 of Title 18 of the United States
Code.
|
|
32.2
|
Certification
of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) and Section
1350 of
Chapter 63 of Title 18 of the United States
Code.
|
*
Each of the Exhibits noted by an asterisk is a management
compensatory plan or arrangement.
61
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act
of
1934, the registrant has caused this report to be signed on its behalf by
the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Date:
March 17, 2008
|
BALCHEM
CORPORATION
|
By:/s/
Dino A. Rossi
|
|
Dino
A. Rossi, Chairman, President, and
|
|
Chief
Executive Officer
|
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has
been
signed by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the
capacities and on the dates indicated.
/s/
Dino A. Rossi
|
||
Dino
A. Rossi, Chairman, President,
|
||
Chief
Executive Officer, and Director (Principal Executive
Officer)
|
||
Date:
March 17, 2008
|
||
/s/
Francis J. Fitzpatrick
|
||
Francis
J. Fitzpatrick, Chief Financial
|
||
Officer
and Treasurer (Principal Financial and Principal Accounting
Officer)
|
||
Date:
March 17, 2008
|
||
/s/
Hoyt Ammidon, Jr.
|
||
Hoyt
Ammidon, Jr., Director
|
||
Date:
March 17, 2008
|
||
/s/
Edward L. McMillan
|
||
Edward
L. McMillan, Director
|
||
Date:
March 17, 2008
|
||
/s/
Kenneth P. Mitchell
|
||
Kenneth
P. Mitchell, Director
|
||
Date:
March 17, 2008
|
||
Perry
W. Premdas, Director
|
||
Date:
March 17, 2008
|
||
/s/
Dr. John Televantos
|
||
Dr.
John Televantos, Director
|
||
Date:
March 17, 2008
|
||
/s/
Dr. Elaine Wedral
|
||
Dr.
Elaine Wedral, Director
|
||
Date:
March 17, 2008
|
62
EXHIBIT
INDEX
Exhibit
Number Description
|
2.1
|
Sale
and Purchase Agreement dated March 30, 2007, by and between Balchem
B.V.
and Akzo Nobel Chemicals S.p.A. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit
2.1 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 30,
2007).
|
|
2.2
|
Asset
Purchase Agreement dated March 16, 2007, by and between BCP Ingredients,
Inc. and Chinook Global Limited (incorporated by reference to Exhibit
2.1 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 16,
2007).
|
|
2.3
|
Stock
Purchase Agreement dated November 2, 2005, between Balchem Minerals
Corporation and Chelated Minerals Corporation (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated November
7, 2005).
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2.4
|
First
Amendment to Stock Purchase Agreement dated January 5, 2006, between
Balchem Minerals Corporation and Chelated Minerals Corporation
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company’s Current Report
on Form 8-K dated January 10,
2006).
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2.5
|
Asset
Purchase Agreement dated June 30, 2005, between Balchem Corporation
and
Loders Croklaan USA, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 of
the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated July 1,
2005).
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|
3.1
|
Composite
Articles of Incorporation of the Company (incorporated by reference
to
Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K dated March 16,
2006 for the year ended December 31,
2005).
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|
3.2
|
Composite
By-laws of the Company (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2
to the
Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated January 2,
2008).
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|
10.1
|
Tolling
Agreement, dated March 16, 2007 between BCP Ingredients, Inc. and
Chinook
Global Limited (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the
Company’s
Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 16,
2007).
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|
10.2
|
Non-Competition
Agreement, dated March 16, 2007 between BCP Ingredients, Inc. and
Chinook
Global Limited; Chinook Services, LLC; Chinook, LLC; Dean R. Lacy;
Ronald
Breen, and John N. Kennedy (incorporated by reference to Exhibit
10.2 to
the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 16,
2007).
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|
10.3
|
Loan
Agreement dated March 16, 2007 by and between Bank of America, N.A.
and
Balchem Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to
the
Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 16,
2007).
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|
10.4
|
Promissory
Note (Term Loan) dated March 16, 2007 from Balchem Corporation to
Bank of
America, N.A (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s
Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 16,
2007).
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|
10.5
|
Promissory
Note (Revolving Line of Credit) dated March 16, 2007 from Balchem
Corporation to Bank of America, N.A. (incorporated by reference to
Exhibit
10.5 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 16,
2007).
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|
10.6
|
Guaranty
dated March 16, 2007 from BCP Ingredients, Inc. to Bank of America,
N.A.
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s Current Report
on Form 8-K dated March 16,
2007).
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63
|
10.7
|
Guaranty
dated March 16, 2007 from Balchem Minerals Corporation to Bank of
America,
N.A. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Current
Report on Form 8-K dated March 16,
2007).
|
|
10.8
|
Loan
Agreement dated February 6, 2006 by and between Bank of America,
N.A. and
Balchem Corporation, Promissory Note dated February 6, 2006 from
Balchem
Corporation to Bank of America, N.A., and Amended and Restated Promissory
Note (Revolving Line of Credit) dated February 6, 2006 from Balchem
Corporation to Bank of America, N.A. (incorporated by reference to
Exhibits 10.2, 10.3 and 10.4 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K
dated February 9, 2006).
|
|
10.9
|
Amended
and Restated Guaranty dated February 6, 2006 from BCP Ingredients,
Inc. to
Bank of America, N.A. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5
to the
Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated February 9,
2006).
|
|
10.10
|
Guaranty
dated February 6, 2006 from Balchem Minerals Corporation to Bank
of
America, N.A. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s
Current Report on Form 8-K dated February 9,
2006).
|
|
10.11
|
Incentive
Stock Option Plan of the Company, as amended, (incorporated by reference
to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8, File No. 333-35910,
dated October 25, 1996, and to Proxy Statement, dated April 22, 1998,
for
the Company's 1998 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “1998 Proxy
Statement”)).*
|
|
10.12
|
Stock
Option Plan for Directors of the Company, as amended (incorporated
by
reference to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8, File No.
333-35912, dated October 25, 1996, and to the 1998 Proxy
Statement).
|
|
10.13
|
Balchem
Corporation Amended and Restated 1999 Stock Plan (incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended June 30,
2003).*
|
|
10.14
|
Balchem
Corporation 401(k)/Profit Sharing Plan, dated January 1, 1998
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4 to the Company's Registration
Statement on Form S-8, File No. 333-118291, dated August 17,
2004).*
|
|
10.15
|
Employment
Agreement, dated as of January 1, 2001, between the Company and Dino
A.
Rossi (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001 (the “2001
10-K”)). *
|
|
10.16
|
Lease
dated as of February 8, 2002 between Sunrise Park Realty, Inc. and
Balchem
Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the 2001
10-K).
|
|
10.17
|
Process
and Product License Agreement dated November 7, 2005, between Balchem
Corporation and Project Management and Development Co., Ltd.
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company’s Current Report
on Form 8-K dated November 14,
2005).
|
|
10.18
|
Form
of Restricted Stock Purchase Agreement for Directors (incorporated
by
reference to Exhibit 10.1
of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated December 30, 2005).
|
|
14.
|
Code
of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers (incorporated by reference
to
Exhibit 14 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K dated March 15,
2004 for the year ended December 31,
2003).
|
|
21.
|
Subsidiaries
of Registrant.
|
23.1 Consent
of McGladrey & Pullen, LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting
Firm.
64
31.1 Certification
of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a).
31.2 Certification
of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a).
|
32.1
|
Certification
of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) and Section
1350 of
Chapter 63 of Title 18 of the United States
Code.
|
|
32.2
|
Certification
of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) and Section
1350 of
Chapter 63 of Title 18 of the United States
Code.
|
*
Each of the Exhibits noted by an asterisk is a management
compensatory plan or arrangement.
65