Clearday, Inc. - Annual Report: 2005 (Form 10-K)
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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
ANNUAL REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 13 OR 15(d)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 13 OR 15(d)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
(Mark One)
þ | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934. |
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005
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 0-21074
SUPERCONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware | 77-0158076 | |
(State or other jurisdiction of | (IRS Employer | |
incorporation or organization) | Identification No.) |
460 Ward Drive, Santa Barbara, California 93111-2310
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrants telephone number, including area code: (805) 690-4500
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: Common Stock, $0.001 par value per
share
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule
405 of the Securities Act. Yes o or 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 or 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
for 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 or 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 Registrants 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. o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated
filer or non-accelerated filer. See definition of accelerated filer and large accelerated filer
in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large
Accelerated Filer
o Accelerated Filer þ Non-Accelerated Filer o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of
the Exchange Act). Yes o or No þ
The
aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates was
$67.4 million
as of July 2, 2005 (the last business day of our most recently
completed second fiscal quarter). The closing price of the common stock on that date was $0.63 as
reported by the NASDAQ Stock Market. For purposes of this determination, we excluded the shares of
common stock held by each officer and director and by each person who owns 5% or more of the
outstanding common stock. The exclusion of shares owned by the aforementioned individuals and
entities from this calculation does not constitute an admission by any of such individuals or
entities that he or it was or is an affiliate of the company.
We had 124,834,314 shares of common stock outstanding as of the close of business on February
28, 2006.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Item 5 of Part II and Items 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of Part III incorporate information by
reference from the definitive proxy statement for the Registrants Annual Meeting of Stockholders
to be held on May 24, 2006.
SUPERCONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES INC.
FORM 10-K ANNUAL REPORT
Year Ended December 31, 2005
Year Ended December 31, 2005
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Exhibit 32.2 |
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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This report contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. We have
made these statements in reliance on the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our forward-looking statements relate to future events or our
future performance and include, but are not limited to, statements concerning our business
strategy, future commercial revenues, market growth, capital requirements, new product
introductions, expansion plans and our funding requirements. Other statements contained in our
filings that are not historical facts are also forward-looking statements. We have tried, wherever
possible, to identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as may, will, could,
should, expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, seeks, estimates and other
comparable terminology.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to various
risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may
differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. They can be affected by many
factors, including, those discussed under the captions BusinessRisk Factorsand Managements
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. Forward-looking
statements are based on information presently available to senior management, and we do not assume
any duty to update our forward-looking statements.
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
As a public company, we are required to file annually, quarterly and special reports, proxy
statements and other information with the SEC. You may read and copy any of our materials on file
with the SEC at the SECs Public Reference Room at 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Judiciary Plaza,
Washington, DC 20549, as well as at the SECs regional office at 5757 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite
500, Los Angeles, California 90036. Our filings are available to the public over the Internet at
the SECs website at http://www.sec.gov. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further
information on the Public Reference Room. We also provide copies of our Forms 8-K, 10-K, 10-Q,
Proxy and Annual Report at no charge to investors upon request and make electronic copies of our
most recently filed reports available through our website at www.suptech.com as soon as reasonably
practicable after filing such material with the SEC.
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PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Our Company
We develop, manufacture and market high performance infrastructure products for wireless voice
and data applications. Wireless carriers face many challenges in todays competitive marketplace.
Minutes of use are skyrocketing, and wireless users now expect the same quality of service from
their mobile devices as from their landline phones. We help wireless carriers meet these
challenges by doing more with less.
Our products help maximize the performance of wireless telecommunications networks by
improving the quality of uplink signals from mobile wireless devices. Our products increase
capacity utilization, lower dropped and blocked calls, extend coverage, and enable higher wireless
data throughput all while reducing capital and operating costs. SuperLink incorporates patented
high-temperature superconductor (HTS) technology to create a receiver front-end that enhances
network performance. Today, we are leveraging our expertise and proprietary technology in radio
frequency (RF) engineering to expand our product line beyond HTS technology. We believe our RF
engineering expertise provides us with a significant competitive advantage in the development of
high performance, cost-effective solutions for the front end of wireless telecommunications
networks.
We currently sell most of our commercial products directly to wireless network operators in
the United States. Our customers to date include ALLTEL, Cingular, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, U.S.
Cellular and Verizon Wireless. We have a concentrated customer base. Verizon Wireless, ALLTEL and
T-Mobile each accounted for more than 10% of our commercial revenues in 2005, and Verizon Wireless
and ALLTEL each accounted for more than 10% of our commercial revenues in 2004. We plan to expand
our customer base by selling directly to other wireless network operators and manufacturers of base
station equipment, but we cannot assure that this effort will be successful.
Industry Background. The ability to provide high quality service to subscribers is becoming
increasingly difficult for wireless operators as the number of users grows, minutes of use increase
and the market for wireless data services expands. Wireless service providers in both rural and
urban areas are encountering radio frequency interference due to greater subscriber density and
a larger number of users on adjacent channels. This reduced signal quality and higher percentage
of dropped calls can lead to lower system utilization, decreased revenue and, ultimately, higher
rates of customer churn. Service providers are also facing network capacity constraints.
As a result, wireless carriers are seeking to cost-effectively reduce interference, increase
capacity, expand coverage to improve the quality of their systems, and, where possible, utilize
their spectrum in the most efficient manner possible.
Our Solution. We leverage our expertise in RF technology to cost effectively deliver
interference protection and increased sensitivity to our wireless carrier customers. Our solutions
provide the following quality-of-service improvements:
| reduction in base station noise figure; | ||
| reduction of dropped calls and network access failures; | ||
| elimination of interference from other sources such as specialized mobile radio handsets and other base stations; and | ||
| increased in-building penetration. |
Our Products. Our solutions consist of the following three product lines:
| SuperLink combines HTS filters with a proprietary cryogenic cooler and a cooled low-noise amplifier to create a highly compact and reliable receiver front-end that can simultaneously deliver both high selectivity (interference rejection) and high sensitivity (detection of low level signals). |
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| AmpLink is a ground-mounted unit which includes a high-performance amplifier and up to six dual duplexers. | ||
| SuperPlex is a line of multiplexers that provides extremely low insertion loss and excellent cross-band isolation. |
Our Strategy. Our objective is to provide a full range of performance improvement solutions
to wireless carriers by offering our field-proven solutions, innovative duplexer designs for
antenna sharing and network overlays, ground-based sensitivity improvement solutions and
high-performance multiplexers. The primary elements of our strategy include:
| expanding domestic and international sales channels to broaden our customer base, | ||
| enhancing our productivity and lowering our costs, | ||
| enhancing and extending our current product offerings, | ||
| maintaining our focus on technical excellence and innovation, and | ||
| pursuing strategic partnerships, alliances and acquisitions. |
Government Contracts. We also generate significant revenues from government contracts. We
primarily pursue government research and development contracts which compliment our commercial
product development, but we also pursue government product opportunities. We undertake government
contract work which has the potential to add to or improve our commercial product line. These
contracts often yield valuable intellectual property relevant to our commercial business. We
typically own the intellectual property developed under these contracts, and the Federal Government
receives a royalty-free, non-exclusive and nontransferable license to use the intellectual property
for the United States.
Corporate Information. Our facilities and executive offices are located at 460 Ward Drive,
Santa Barbara, California 93111, and our telephone number is (805) 690-4500. We were incorporated
in Delaware on May 11, 1987. Additional information about us is available on our website at
www.suptech.com. The information on our web site is not incorporated herein by reference.
Our Wireless Products
Commercial wireless providers can use our solutions to keep pace with the growing demand for
wireless communications. Wireless providers may deploy our products in connection with the
installation of additional base stations in a network, as well as with the installation of an
entirely new network. Wireless carriers can also improve the performance of existing base stations
and networks by retrofitting their equipment with our link enhancement products.
Our performance improvement solutions fit into three product families: SuperLink, AmpLink and
SuperPlex.
| SuperLink. In order to receive uplink signals from wireless handsets, base stations require a filter system to eliminate out-of-band interference, and amplification to enhance the base stations sensitivity. To address this need, we offer the SuperLink product line for the receiver front-end of base stations. These products combine specialized filters using HTS technology with a proprietary cryogenic cooler and cryogenically cooled low-noise amplifiers. The result is a highly compact and reliable cryogenic receiver front-end that can simultaneously deliver both high selectivity (interference rejection) and high sensitivity (detection of low level signals). SuperLink products offer significant advantages over conventional filter and amplifier systems. | ||
| AmpLink. AmpLink is designed specifically to address the sensitivity requirements of wireless base stations. AmpLink is a ground-mounted unit which includes a high-performance amplifier and up to six dual duplexers. The enhanced uplink provided by AmpLink improves network coverage immediately and avoids the installation and maintenance costs associated with tower mounted alternatives. | ||
| SuperPlex. SuperPlex is our line of multiplexers that provides extremely low insertion loss and excellent cross-band isolation. Products in our SuperPlex family of high-performance multiplexers are designed to facilitate base station antenna sharing and reduce infrastructure costs. SuperPlex can be used in conjunction with |
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AmpLink and
SuperLink products to optimize performance in networks where 1900 MHz EV-DO
capabilities are added to existing 850 MHz networks. Relative to competing
technologies, this portfolio of STI solutions offers increased transmit power delivered
to the base station antenna, higher sensitivity to subscriber handset signals,
interference rejection and fast and cost-effective network overlays.
Marketing and Sales
We sell solutions to wireless communication service providers in the United States and have
plans to pursue selected international opportunities.
We have a concentrated customer base. Verizon Wireless, ALLTEL and T-Mobile each accounted
for more than 10% of our commercial revenues in 2005; Verizon Wireless and ALLTEL each accounted
for more than 10% of our commercial revenues in 2004; and Verizon Wireless and ALLTEL each
accounted for more than 10% of our net commercial revenues in 2003.
We sell using a direct sales force in the U.S. to focus on the Tier I wireless carriers. We
have recently directed efforts to market our products to select customers internationally and have
not yet had significant international sales.
We demonstrate our products at trade shows, and participate in industry conferences.
Advertising, direct mailings, and contribution of technical and application reports to recognized
trade journals, are all employed to communicate our solutions to potential customers. We also
advertise our products through our website, brochures, data sheets, application notes, trade
journal reports and press releases.
Our sales and marketing efforts are complemented by a team of sales applications engineers who
manage field trials and initial installations, as well as provide ongoing pre- and post-sales
support.
Our marketing efforts are focused on establishing and developing long-term relationships with
potential customers. The initial sales cycle for our solutions can be lengthy, typically ranging
from six months to twelve months. Our customers typically conduct significant technical
evaluations of products before making purchase commitments. We typically negotiate general
purchase agreements with our customers. These agreements specify the terms and conditions for the
business relationship with our customers. Standard purchase orders are subject to cancellation,
postponement or other types of delays.
We purchase inventory components and manufacture inventory based on sales forecasts.
Backlog
Our commercial backlog consists of accepted product purchase orders with scheduled delivery
dates during the next twelve months. We had commercial backlog of $250,000 at December 31, 2005,
as compared to $730,000 at December 31, 2004.
How We Use Government Contracts to Fund Technology Development
Our strategy is to continue to pursue government research and development contract awards
which complement our commercial product and technology development and allow for commercialization
of the underlying technology. Since our inception in 1987, a substantial part of our revenues have
been from research and development contracts, sales directly to the U.S. government or resellers to
the U.S. government. Nearly all of these revenues were paid under contracts with the U.S.
Department of Defense. We market to various government agencies to identify opportunities and
actively solicit partners for product development proposals. Since 1988, we have successfully
obtained a number of classified and non-classified government contracts for superconductor
research, including one of the largest non-classified HTS awards from DARPA through the Office of
Naval Research. In addition to actively soliciting government contracts, we have participated in
the Small Business Innovative Research, or SBIR, program. We have been awarded 33 Phase I SBIR
contracts, each of which typically generates up to $100,000 in revenues. We have been successful in converting eight
of these Phase I contracts into Phase II programs, each of which typically generates up to $750,000
in revenues, and we converted one of these contracts into a Phase III program valued at $2.2
million. Since our formation, government contracts have provided us approximately $90
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million of
revenue, and remain a significant source of revenue today, supporting our research and development
programs. We also develop and sell RF transceiver front-end products that utilize our unique HTS
filter and cryogenics technologies to the US Government, and we are interested in growing this
government products business.
Our Manufacturing Capabilities
Our manufacturing process involves the assembly of numerous individual components and
precision tuning by production technicians. The parts and materials used by us and our contract
manufacturers consist primarily of printed circuit boards, specialized subassemblies, fabricated
housing, relays and small electric circuit components; electronic circuit components, such as
integrated circuits, semiconductors, resistors and capacitors. Our AmpLink and SuperPlex products
are primarily manufactured by foreign contract manufacturers. We currently manufacture our
SuperLink systems at our facilities in Santa Barbara, California.
In 1998, we opened a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Santa Barbara. We renovated
these manufacturing areas in early 2003, the first in a series of moves that have enabled us to
produce larger quantities of our SuperLink products. In 2003 and 2004, we expanded our controlled
clean rooms, continued to develop and introduce new, state-of-the-art production and test equipment
and processes, and implemented a continuous flow manufacturing strategy. In addition, performance
testing and systems screening methods, along with optimized quality improvement techniques, have
been instrumental in enabling our SuperLink units to reach Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) levels
of more than 500,000 hours.
We have the physical infrastructure to manufacture up to 2,800 SuperLink units per year. This
capacity is unchanged from the prior year. We significantly reduced the number of manufacturing
personnel in 2004 in response to a decline in unit volume. We would have to significantly increase
our manufacturing staff to produce units near capacity with our current infrastructure. We are
holding physical capacity and staffing at their current levels to conserve cash resources. We
could expand manufacturing capacity to approximately 5,000 units per year in our current facility
with minor additional equipment purchases.
Our internal capabilities include a proprietary manufacturing process for thin-film materials
that is scaleable for high volume production. In addition, we have established a production
operation that we use to produce thin films on wafers for wireless electronics applications. Our
radio frequency circuitry is designed, modeled and tested by internal engineering resources. We
have in-house capabilities to pattern the superconducting material and all other aspects of radio
frequency component production, including packaging the filters. We also have in-house
capabilities to manufacture our cryogenic coolers. We have refined our supplier base to improve
the quality of received parts, while lowering the cost and decreasing lead-times.
In early 2006, STI launched its high volume AmpLink manufacturing and distribution center
within the existing Santa Barbara site. The 3,200 square foot production facility has a capacity
of processing 10,000 AmpLink units acquired from a third party manufacturer annually which can be
increased to 20,000 units with no additional capital expenditure. The production line is supported
by a newly refurbished 8,000 square foot warehouse and distribution center. The manufacturing and
distributions centers are tightly linked to provide the most efficient and rapid order fulfillment
capabilities for up to 200 AmpLink units per week.
A number of the parts used in our products are available from only one or a limited number of
outside suppliers due to unique component designs as well as certain quality and performance
requirements.
Intellectual Property
We rely upon trade secrets and patents to protect our intellectual property. We execute
confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements with our employees and suppliers and limit access to,
and distribution of, our proprietary information. We have an on-going program to identify and file
applications for both U.S. and international patents for various aspects of our technology. We
regard our product designs, design tools, fabrication equipment and manufacturing processes as
proprietary and seek to protect our rights in them through a combination of patent, trademark,
trade secret and copyright law and internal procedures and non-disclosure agreements. We also seek
licenses from third parties for HTS materials and
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processes used by us, which have been patented by
other parties. We believe that our success will depend, in part, on the protection of our
proprietary information, patents and the licensing of key technologies from third parties.
We have historically utilized thallium barium calcium copper oxide (TBCCO) as the primary
HTS material in our SuperLink product line. In the fourth quarter of 2004, we shifted all of our
production from TBCCO to yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) to lower the product manufacturing
cost of the SuperLink. We have a non-exclusive license in the U.S. and selected foreign countries
to the primary patents on YBCO from Lucent and TBCCO from the University of Arkansas.
We have an extensive patent portfolio for the technology relevant to our SuperLink products,
government products and related business. As of December 31, 2005, we held 46 U.S. patents in the
following categories which are currently relevant to this business:
| 6 patents for technologies directed toward producing thin-film materials and structures expiring in 2010 to 2024; | ||
| 21 patents for cryogenic and non-microwave circuit designs expiring in 2010 to 2023; | ||
| 14 patents covering cryogenics, packaging and systems expiring in 2013 to 2024; and | ||
| 5 patents covering other superconducting technologies expiring in 2013 to 2015. |
We also had 24 U.S. patent applications pending as of December 31, 2005 which are currently
relevant to this business. As of that date, we held 13 foreign issued patents and 10 foreign
patents pending.
We have trade secrets and unpatented technology and proprietary knowledge about the sale,
promotion, operation, development and manufacturing of our products. We have confidentiality
agreements with our employees and consultants to protect these rights.
We own federally registered trademarks to Superconductor Technologies, Conductus and Improving
the Quality of Wireless and have several other trademark registrations pending. We own other
registered and unregistered trademarks, and have certain trademark rights in foreign jurisdictions.
From time to time we grant licenses for our technology to other companies for fields of use
that are not relevant to our business. Specifically, we have granted licenses to, among others,
(1) Bruker for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance application, (2) General Dynamics for government
applications and (3) Star Cryoelectronics for Superconducting Quantum Interference Device
applications, among others.
We use superconducting technology in our SuperLink solution to improve both the selectivity
(rejection of adjacent band interference) and the sensitivity (ability to hear signals better) of
a base station receiver. Superconductors are materials that have the ability to conduct electrical
energy with little or no resistance when cooled to critical temperatures. In contrast, electric
currents that flow through normal conductors encounter resistance that requires power to overcome
and generates heat. Substantial improvements in the performance characteristics of electrical
systems can be made with superconductors, including reduced power loss, lower heat generation and
decreased electrical noise. As these properties have been applied to radio and microwave frequency
applications, new products, such as wireless filters, have been developed that are extremely small,
highly sensitive and highly frequency selective.
The discovery of superconductors was made in 1911. However, a fundamental understanding of
the phenomenon of superconductivity eluded physicists until J. Robert Schrieffer (a former director
and Chairman of our Technical Advisory Board), John Bardeen (co-inventor of the transistor) and
Leon Cooper proposed a theory explaining superconductivity, for which they were awarded the Nobel
Prize in Physics in 1972. Until 1986, all superconductor utilization was done at extremely low
temperatures, below 23K (-250°C). Superconductors were not widely used in commercial
applications because of the high cost and complexities associated with reaching and maintaining
such low temperatures. In 1986, high temperature superconductors with critical temperatures
greater than 30K (-243°C) were discovered. In early 1987, YBCO was
discovered, which has a critical temperature of 93K (-180°C). Shortly thereafter, TBCCO
was discovered, which has a critical temperature of 125K (-148°C). These discoveries were
important because these high temperature superconductors
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allowed for operating temperatures higher
than 77K (-196°C), or the point at which nitrogen liquefies at atmospheric pressure. These
high critical temperatures allow superconductors to be cooled using less expensive and more
efficient refrigeration processes. Our Company was formed following this discovery for the initial
purpose of developing and commercializing high temperature superconductors.
As part of our strategy to maintain our technological leadership, we have focused our research
and development activities on HTS materials, RF circuitry, cryogenic design and product
application. We have internally developed our key technologies from a standard set of technology
platforms. We utilize a proprietary manufacturing process for HTS thin-film production, the base
material for our filtering products. An in-house design team develops the filters, which are
packaged into a vacuum-sealed container for thermal insulation. The filter package is incorporated
with our cryogenic cooler and then integrated with the necessary control electronics into a
complete system for simple adaptation into new or existing wireless communications base stations.
We believe that our filter systems provide our targeted markets with the smallest and most
cost-effective products and that we are the only superconducting company that develops and
manufactures all of these key components. We also utilize technologies under licenses of patents
from others for our products.
We use HTS materials as the base material to produce thin film microelectronics, primarily
RF filters, in our SuperLink product line. A number of HTS materials have been discovered with
superconducting properties, but only a few have characteristics capable of commercialization. We
have historically utilized TBCCO as the primary HTS material in our SuperLink product line. In the
fourth quarter of 2004, we shifted all of our production from TBCCO to YBCO to lower the product
manufacturing cost of the SuperLink. We manufacture YBCO using proprietary processes, including
proprietary manufacturing techniques. We believe that the process technology we have developed
produces state of the art HTS thin-films of the highest quality with limited use of YBCO.
We have devoted a significant portion of our engineering resources to design and model the
complex RF circuitry that is basic to our products. Our RF engineering team is led by recognized
international leaders in RF filter design. The expertise of this highly qualified team has allowed
us to design and fabricate very precise individual components, such as RF signal filters. We have
implemented computer simulation systems to design our products and this RF circuitry design has
allowed us to produce extremely small, high-performance circuits. Some of our design and
engineering innovations have been patented; others are the subjects of pending patent applications.
We believe that our RF engineering expertise provides us with a unique competitive advantage.
The availability of a low-cost, highly reliable, compact cooling technology is critical to the
successful commercialization of our superconducting products. Prior to the Companys efforts, no
such cryogenic cooler had been commercially available. In response to this lack of availability,
we developed a low-cost, highly reliable low-power cooler designed to cool to 77K (-196°C)
with sufficient cooling capacity for our superconducting applications. Our SuperLink systems have
logged in excess of 118 million hours of cumulative operation. The cryogenic coolers in our
current models have demonstrated a mean time between failure (the industry standard measurement)
of greater than 1 million hours. The design was based in part on patents licensed by us from
Sunpower, Inc. We believe our internally developed cooler, which is both compact enough and
reliable enough to meet the most demanding wireless industry standards, provides us with a
significant and unique competitive advantage.
Cooling to cryogenic temperatures requires proper thermal isolation and packaging. Any
superconducting or other cryogenically cooled device must be maintained at its optimal operating
temperature, and its interaction with higher temperature components must be controlled. We have
developed a variety of proprietary and patented cryogenic packaging innovations to satisfy this
requirement.
Competition
The wireless communication market is intensely competitive. We face competition in various
aspects of our technology and product development and in each of our target markets. Our products
compete on the basis of performance, functionality, reliability, pricing, quality, designs that can
be efficiently manufactured in large volumes, time-to-market delivery capabilities and compliance
with industry standards. Our current and potential competitors include conventional RF
filter manufacturers and both established and newly emerging companies developing similar or
competing HTS technologies. We also compete with companies that design, manufacture and sell
antenna-optimizing multiplexers and companies that seek
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to enhance base station range and
selectivity by means other than a superconducting filter. The primary competitors use tower mount
and ground mount amplifiers, conventional filters, repeaters or smart antenna technologies.
Tower mount and ground mount amplifiers pass an RF signal received by an antenna through a broad
filter, followed by a low noise amplifier. These units are produced by a number of companies,
which include most of the base station original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Ericsson and
Nokia. Filter manufacturers, including Andrew, Powerwave, Filtronic and Radio Frequency Systems,
also produce these units. Smart antennas allow base stations to focus energy more directly on
individual wireless devices in order to improve capacity. Some competitors have significantly
greater financial, technical, manufacturing, sales, marketing and other resources. Some
competitors have achieved greater name recognition for their products and technologies.
In addition, we currently supply components and license technology to several companies that
may eventually decide to manufacture or design their own HTS components, rather than purchasing or
licensing our technology. With respect to our HTS materials, we compete with THEVA among others.
In the government sector, we compete with universities, national laboratories and both large and
small companies for research and development contracts, and with larger defense contractors, such
as Raytheon and Northrop Grumman for government products.
Employees
We employed a total of 120 people as of December 31, 2005: 53 in manufacturing, 33 in
research and development, 20 in sales and marketing and 14 in administration. Ten of our employees
have Ph.D.s, and eighteen others hold advanced degrees in physics, materials science, electrical
engineering and other fields. Our employees are not represented by a labor union, and we believe
that our employee relations are good.
We are highly dependent upon the efforts of our senior management. Due to the specialized
technical nature of our business, we are also highly dependent upon our ability to attract and
retain qualified technical personnel, primarily in the areas of wireless communications. The loss
of the services of one or more members of our senior management or technical teams could hinder our
ability to achieve our product development and commercialization objectives. There is intense
competition for qualified personnel in our market areas and we can give no assurance that we will
be able to continue to attract and retain qualified personnel necessary for the development of our
business.
Environmental Issues
We use certain hazardous materials in our research, development and manufacturing operations.
As a result, we are subject to stringent federal, state and local regulations governing the
storage, use and disposal of such materials. Current or future laws and regulations could require
substantial expenditures for preventative or remedial action, reduction of chemical exposure, waste
treatment or disposal. Although we believe that our safety procedures for the handling and
disposing of hazardous materials comply with the standards prescribed by state and federal
regulations, there is always the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these materials.
To date, we have not incurred substantial expenditures for preventive action with respect to
hazardous materials or for remedial action with respect to any hazardous materials accident, but
the use and disposal of hazardous materials involves the risk that we could incur substantial
expenditures for such preventive or remedial actions. If such an accident occurred, we could be
held liable for resulting damages. The liability in the event of an accident or the costs of such
remedial actions could exceed our resources or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our
financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
This Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. We have made
these statements in reliance on the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Our forward-looking statements relate to future events or our future
performance and include, but are not limited to, statements concerning our future profitability,
revenues, market growth, demand and pricing trends, competition in our industry, market acceptance,
timing of any demand for next generation products, capital requirements and new product
introductions. Other statements contained in our filings that are not historical
facts are also forward-looking statements. We have tried, wherever possible, to identify
forward-looking statements by
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terminology such as may, will, could, should, expects,
anticipates, intends, plans, believes, seeks, estimates and similar words.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to various
risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may
differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. They can be affected by many
factors, including, those listed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K under the caption Managements
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Forward Looking
Statements. This section describes some of the additional uncertainties and factors that may
affect our forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs,
estimates made by, and information presently available to senior management. We do not assume any
duty to update our forward-looking statements.
Unless otherwise noted, the terms we, us, and our, refer to the combined and ongoing
business operations of Superconductor Technologies Inc. and its subsidiaries.
Risks Related to Our Business
We have a history of losses and may never become profitable.
In each of our last five years, we have experienced significant net losses and negative cash
flows from operations. If we fail to increase our revenues, we may not achieve and maintain
profitability and may not meet our expectations or the expectations of financial analysts who
report on our stock.
We may need to raise additional capital, and if we are unable to raise capital our ability to
implement our current business plan and ultimately our viability as a company could be adversely
affected.
During 2005, we incurred a net loss of $14.2 million and negative cash flows from operations
of $9.4 million. In addition, our independent registered public accounting firm has included in
their report for 2005 an explanatory paragraph expressing doubt about our ability to continue as a
going concern due to past losses and negative cash flows. They included a similar explanatory
paragraph in their audit report for 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Our principal sources of liquidity consist of existing cash balances and funds expected to be
generated from future operations. Based on our current forecasts, we expect our existing cash
resources will be sufficient to fund our planned operations for at least the next twelve months.
We believe the key factors to our liquidity will be our ability to successfully execute on our
plans to increase sales levels. Our cash requirements will also depend on numerous other variable
factors, including the rate of growth of sales, the timing and levels of products purchased,
payment terms and credit limits from manufacturers, and the timing and level of accounts receivable
collections. If actual cash flows deviate significantly from forecasted amounts, we may require
additional financing in the next twelve months.
We cannot ensure you that additional financing (public or private) will be available on
acceptable terms or at all. If we issue additional equity securities to raise funds, the ownership
percentage of our existing stockholders would be reduced, and we could deplete our reserve of
authorized but unissued common stock. New investors may demand rights, preferences or privileges
senior to those of existing holders of common stock. If we cannot raise needed funds, we would
also be forced to make further substantial reductions in our operating expenses, which could
adversely affect our ability to implement our current business plan and ultimately our viability as
a company.
We rely on a small number of customers for the majority of our commercial revenues and the loss of
any one of these customers, or a significant loss, reduction or rescheduling of orders from any of
these customers, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and
financial condition.
We sell most of our products to a small number of wireless carriers. We derived 95% of our
commercial product revenues from ALLTEL, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile in 2005 and 87% of our
commercial product revenues from ALLTEL and Verizon Wireless in 2004. Our future success depends
upon the wireless carriers continuing to purchase our products, and fluctuations in demand from
such customers could negatively impact our results. Unanticipated demand
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fluctuations can have a
negative impact on our revenues and business and an adverse effect on our results of operations and
financial condition.
In addition, our dependence on a small number of major customers exposes us to numerous other
risks, including:
| a slowdown or delay in the deployment, upgrading or improvement of wireless networks by any one customer could significantly reduce demand for our products; | ||
| reductions in a single customers forecasts and demand could result in excess inventories; | ||
| each of our customers have significant purchasing leverage over us to require changes in sales terms including pricing, payment terms and product delivery schedules; and | ||
| concentration of accounts receivable credit risk, which could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and financial condition if one of our major customers declared bankruptcy or delayed payment of their receivables. |
Many of our customers also provide minimal lead-time prior to the release of their purchase
orders and have non-binding commitments to purchase from us. If we fail to forecast our customers
demands accurately, we could experience delays in manufacturing which could result in customer
dissatisfaction. Additionally, these factors further impact our ability to forecast future
revenue.
The wireless communication industry is highly concentrated, which limits the number of potential
customers, and further industry consolidation could result in the loss of key customers.
The wireless communication industry is highly concentrated in nature and may become more
concentrated due to anticipated industry consolidation. As a result, we believe that the number of
potential customers for our products may be limited. We also face significant risks in the event
any of our key customers is acquired by a company that has not adopted our technology or not
adopted it to the same extent. In that event, we could face a significant decline in our sales to
the acquired customer.
We experience significant fluctuations in sales and operating results from quarter to quarter.
Our quarterly results fluctuate due to a number of factors, including:
| the lack of any contractual obligation by our customers to purchase their forecasted demand for our products; | ||
| variations in the timing, cancellation, or rescheduling of customer orders and shipments; | ||
| high fixed expenses that may disproportionately impact operating expenses, especially during a quarter with a sales shortfall; and | ||
| discounts given to certain customers for large volume purchases. |
The nature of our business requires that we promptly ship products after we receive orders.
This means that we typically do not have a significant backlog of unfilled orders at the start of
each quarter. We have also regularly generated a large percentage of our revenues in the last
month of a quarter. Our major customers generally have no contractual obligation to purchase
forecasted amounts and may cancel orders, change delivery schedules or change the mix of products
ordered with minimal notice and minimal penalty. As a result of these factors, we may not be able
to accurately predict our quarterly sales. Any shortfall in sales relative to our quarterly
expectations or any delay of customer orders would adversely affect our revenues and results of
operations.
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Order deferrals and cancellations by our customers, declining average sales prices, changes in
the mix of products sold, delays in the introduction of new products and longer than anticipated
sales cycles for our products have, in the past, adversely affected our results of operations.
Despite these factors, we maintain significant finished goods, work-in-progress and raw materials
inventory to meet estimated order forecasts. If our customers purchase less than the forecasted
amounts or cancel or delay existing purchase orders, there will be higher levels of inventory that
face a greater risk of obsolescence. If our customers desire to purchase products in excess of the
forecasted amounts or in a different product mix, there may not be enough inventory or
manufacturing capacity to fill their orders.
Our expense levels are based in large part on expectations of future revenue. These items of
expense are relatively fixed in the short-term. We may be unable to adjust spending in a timely
manner to compensate for any unexpected revenue shortfall. Consequently, operating results in any
given period are likely to be disproportionately harmed if revenue in that period falls below
expectations.
Due to these and other factors, our past results are not reliable indicators of our future
performance. Future revenues and operating results may not meet the expectations of stock analysts
and investors. In either case, the price of our common stock could be materially adversely
affected.
Our sales cycles are unpredictable, making future performance uncertain.
The sales cycle for telecommunications products includes identification of decision makers
within the customers organizations, development of an understanding of customer-specific
performance and economic issues, convincing the customer through field trial reports of the
benefits of systems offered, negotiation of purchase orders and deployment. Customers who purchase
our systems must commit a significant amount of capital and other resources, and sales are subject
to delays beyond our control. Our customers must consider budgetary constraints, comply with
internal procedures for approving large expenditures and complete whatever testing is necessary for
them to integrate new technologies that will affect their key operations. Customer delays can
lengthen the sales cycles and have a material adverse effect on our business.
We depend on the capital spending patterns of wireless network operators, and if capital spending
is decreased or delayed, our business may be harmed.
Because we rely on wireless network operators for product purchases, any substantial decrease
or delay in capital spending patterns in the wireless communication industry may harm our business.
Demand from customers for our products depends to a significant degree upon the amount and timing
of capital spending by these customers for constructing, rebuilding or upgrading their systems.
The capital spending patterns of wireless network operators depend on a variety of factors,
including access to financing, the status of federal, local and foreign government regulation and
deregulation, changing standards for wireless technology, overall demand for wireless services,
competitive pressures and general economic conditions. In addition, capital spending patterns in
the wireless industry can be subject to some degree of seasonality, with lower levels of spending
in the first and third calendar quarters, based on annual budget cycles.
Our reliance on a limited number of suppliers and the long lead time of components for our products
could impair our ability to manufacture and deliver our systems on a timely basis.
A number of components used in our products are available from only one or a limited number of
outside suppliers due to unique designs as well as certain quality and performance requirements.
We currently purchase substrates for growth of high-temperature superconductor thin-films from a
single supplier because of the quality of their substrates. A thin film is a thin layer of
high-temperature superconductor material. There are additional components that we source from a
single vendor due to the present volume. Key components of our conventional products are
manufactured by sole foreign manufacturer. Our reliance on sole or limited source suppliers
involves certain risks and uncertainties, most of which are beyond our control. These include the
possibility of a shortage or the discontinuation of certain key components. Any reduced
availability of these parts or components when required could impair our ability to manufacture and
deliver our systems on a timely basis and result in the cancellation of orders, which could harm
our business.
In addition, the purchase of some of our key components involves long lead times and, in the
event of unanticipated increases in demand for our solutions, we may be unable to obtain these
components in sufficient quantities to meet our
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customers requirements. We do not have guaranteed
supply arrangements with any of these suppliers, do not maintain an extensive inventory of parts or
components and customarily purchase sole or limited source parts and components pursuant to
purchase orders. Business disruptions, quality issues, production shortfalls or financial
difficulties of a sole or limited source supplier could materially and adversely affect us by
increasing product costs, or eliminating or delaying the availability of such parts or components.
In such events, our inability to develop alternative sources of supply quickly and on a
cost-effective basis could impair our ability to manufacture and deliver our systems on a timely
basis and could harm our business.
Our reliance on a limited number of suppliers exposes us to quality control issues.
Our reliance on certain single-source and limited-source components exposes us to quality
control issues if these suppliers experience a failure in their production process or otherwise
fail to meet our quality requirements. A failure in single-source or limited-source components or
products could force us to repair or replace a product utilizing replacement components. If we
cannot obtain comparable replacements or effectively return or redesign our products, we could lose
customer orders or incur additional costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our gross
margins and results of operations.
We expect decreases in average selling prices, requiring us to reduce product costs in order to
achieve and maintain profitability.
The average selling price of our products has decreased over the years. We anticipate
customer pressure on our product pricing will continue for the foreseeable future. We have plans
to further reduce the manufacturing cost of our products, but there is no assurance that our future
cost reduction efforts will keep pace with price erosion. We will need to further reduce our
manufacturing costs through engineering improvements and economies of scale in production and
purchasing in order to achieve adequate gross margins. We may not be able to achieve the required
product cost savings at a rate needed to keep pace with competitive pricing pressure.
Additionally, we may be forced to discount future orders. If we fail to reach our cost saving
objectives or we are required to offer future discounts, our business may be harmed.
Changes in the mix of our sales channels could cause fluctuations in our gross profit and future
operating results.
We currently sell most of our products directly to wireless network operators in the United
States. We plan, however, to expand our business by selling directly to manufacturers of base
station equipment on an OEM basis. If and when changes in the mix of our sales channels occur, our
gross profit and operating margins may be adversely affected.
Our ability to protect our patents and other proprietary rights is uncertain, exposing us to
possible losses of competitive advantage.
Our efforts to protect our proprietary rights may not succeed in preventing infringement by
others or ensure that these rights will provide us with a competitive advantage. Pending patent
applications may not result in issued patents and the validity of issued patents may be subject to
challenge. Third parties may also be able to design around the patented aspects of the products.
Additionally, certain of the issued patents and patent applications are owned jointly with third
parties. Because any owner or co-owner of a patent can license its rights under jointly-owned
patents or applications, inventions made by us jointly with others are not subject to our exclusive
control. Any of these possible events could result in losses of competitive advantage.
We depend on specific patents and licenses to technologies, and we will likely need additional
technologies in the future that we may not be able to utilize.
We utilize technologies under licenses of patents from others for our products. These patents
may be subject to challenge, which may result in significant litigation expense (which may or may
not be recoverable against future royalty obligations). Additionally, we continually try to
develop new products, and, in the course of doing so, we may be required to utilize intellectual
property rights owned by others and may seek licenses to do so. Such licenses may not be obtainable
on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. It is also possible that we may inadvertently utilize
intellectual property rights held by others, which could result in substantial claims.
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Intellectual property infringement claims against us could materially harm results of operations.
Our products incorporate a number of technologies, including high-temperature superconductor
technology, technology related to other materials, and electronics technologies. Our patent
positions, and that of other companies using high-temperature superconductor technology, is
uncertain and there is significant risk that others, including our competitors or potential
competitors, have obtained or will obtain patents relating to our products or technologies or
products or technologies planned to be introduced by us.
We believe that patents may be or have been issued, or applications may be pending, claiming
various compositions of matter used in our products. We may need to secure one or more licenses of
these patents. There can be no assurances that such licenses could be obtained on commercially
reasonable terms, or at all. We may be required to expend significant resources to develop
alternatives that would not infringe such patents or to obtain licenses to the related technology.
We may not be able to successfully design around these patents or obtain licenses to them and may
have to defend ourselves at substantial cost against allegations of infringement of third party
patents or other rights to intellectual property. In those circumstances, we could face
significant liabilities and also be forced to cease the use of key technology.
We were engaged in a patent dispute with ISCO International, Inc. from July 2001 to May 2005
relating to U.S. Patent No. 6,263,215 entitled Cryoelectronically Cooled Receiver Front End for
Mobile Radio Systems. ISCO alleged that some of our HTS products infringed the ISCO patent. We
prevailed at trial. The jury returned a unanimous verdict that our products did not infringe the
ISCO patent and that the ISCO patent is invalid and unenforceable. The jurys verdict was upheld
on appeal, and we do not expect any further legal action related to this matter.
We currently rely on specific technologies and may not successfully adjust to the rapidly changing
wireless telecommunications equipment market.
Wireless telecommunication equipment is characterized by rapidly advancing technology. Our
success depends upon our ability to keep pace with advancing wireless technology, including
materials, processes and industry standards. For example, we had to redesign our SuperLink product
to convert from thallium barium calcium copper oxide to yttrium barium copper oxide in order to
reduce the product cost and compete with other technologies. However, even with the lower cost HTS
material, SuperLink may not ultimately prove commercially competitive against other current
technologies or those that may be discovered in the future.
We will have to continue to develop and integrate advances in technology. We will also need
to continue to develop and integrate advances in complementary technologies. We cannot guarantee
that our development efforts will not be rendered obsolete by research efforts and technological
advances made by others.
Other parties may have the right to utilize technology important to our business.
We utilize certain intellectual property rights under non-exclusive licenses or have granted
to others the right to utilize certain intellectual property rights licensed from a third party.
Because we may not have the exclusive rights to utilize such intellectual property, other parties
may be able to compete with us, which may harm our business.
Our failure to anticipate and respond to developments in the wireless telecommunications market
could substantially harm our business.
Our efforts are focused on the wireless telecommunications market, including the 2G, 2.5G and
3G markets. The concentration of our resources on the wireless telecommunications market makes us
potentially vulnerable to changes in this market, such as new technologies like WIMAX, future
competition, changes in availability of capital resources or regulatory changes that could affect
the competitive position and rate of growth of the wireless industry.
We may not be able to compete effectively against alternative technologies.
Our products compete with a number of alternative approaches and technologies that increase
the capacity and improve the quality of wireless networks. Some of these alternatives may be more
cost effective or offer better performance
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than our products. Wireless network operators may opt
to increase the number of transmission stations, increase tower heights, install filters and
amplifiers at the top of antennas or use advanced antenna technology in lieu of purchasing our
products. We may not succeed in competing with these alternatives.
We depend upon government contracts for a substantial portion of revenue, and our business may
suffer if significant contracts are terminated or adversely modified or we are unable to win new
contracts.
We derive a portion of our revenue from a few large contracts with the U.S. government. As a
result, a reduction in, or discontinuance of, the governments commitment to current or future
programs could materially reduce government contract revenue.
Contracts involving the U.S. government may include various risks, including:
| termination by the government; | ||
| reduction or modification in the event of changes in the governments requirements or budgetary constraints; | ||
| increased or unexpected costs causing losses or reduced profits under contracts where prices are fixed or unallowable costs under contracts where the government reimburses for costs and pays an additional premium; | ||
| risks of potential disclosure of confidential information to third parties; | ||
| the failure or inability of the main contractor to perform its contract in circumstances where either STI is a subcontractor; | ||
| the failure of the government to exercise options for additional work provided for in the contracts; and | ||
| the governments right in certain circumstances to freely use technology developed under these contracts. |
The programs in which we participate may extend for several years, but are normally funded on
an annual basis. The U.S. government may not continue to fund programs under which we have entered
into contracts. Even if funding is continued, we may fail to compete successfully to obtain
funding pursuant to such programs.
All costs for services under government contracts are subject to audit, and the acceptance of
such costs as allowable and allocable is subject to federal regulatory guidelines. We record
contract revenues in amounts which we expect to be realized upon final audit settlement. Any
disallowance of costs by the government could have an adverse effect on our business, operating
results and financial condition. Audits and adjustments may result in decreased revenues and net
income for those years. Additionally, because of our participation in government contracts, we are
subject to audit from time to time for our compliance with government regulations by various
agencies. Government agencies may conduct inquiries or investigations that may cover a broad range
of activity. Responding to any such audits, inquiries or investigations may
involve significant expense and divert managements attention. In addition, an adverse
finding in any such audit, inquiry or investigation could involve penalties that may harm our
business.
Because competition for target employees is intense, we may be subject to claims of unfair hiring
practices, trade secrets misappropriation or other related claims.
Companies in the wireless telecommunications industry whose employees accept positions with
competitors frequently claim that competitors have engaged in unfair hiring practices, trade
secrets misappropriation or other related claims. We may be subject to such claims in the future
as we seek to hire qualified personnel, and such claims may result in material litigation. If this
should occur, we could incur substantial costs in defending against these claims, regardless of
their merits.
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If we are unable to forecast our inventory needs accurately, we may be unable to obtain efficient
manufacturing capacity or may incur unnecessary costs and produce excess inventory.
We forecast our inventory needs based on anticipated product orders to determine manufacturing
requirements. If we overestimate our requirements, we may have excess inventory, and our suppliers
may as well, which could increase our costs. If we underestimate our requirements, our suppliers
may have inadequate inventory, which could interrupt manufacturing and result in delays in
shipments and recognition of revenues. In addition, lead times for ordering materials and
components vary significantly and depend on factors such as the specific supplier, contract terms
and demand for each component at a given time. Accordingly, if we inaccurately forecast demand, we
may be unable to obtain adequate manufacturing capacity from our suppliers to meet customers
delivery requirements, which would harm our business.
Our success depends on the attraction and retention of senior management and technical personnel
with relevant expertise.
As a competitor in a highly technical market, we depend heavily upon the efforts of our
existing senior management and technical teams. The loss of the services of one or more members of
these teams could slow product development and commercialization objectives. Due to the
specialized nature of our products, we also depend upon our ability to attract and retain qualified
technical personnel with substantial industry knowledge and expertise. Competition for qualified
personnel is intense and we may not be able to continue to attract and retain qualified personnel
necessary for the development of our business.
We have experienced difficulty recruiting senior management due to the high cost of living in
the Santa Barbara area. We have a limited pool of qualified executives in Santa Barbara and
sometimes attempt to recruit qualified candidates from across the country. Some candidates have
cited the high cost of housing in Santa Barbara as a significant negative factor when considering
our employment offers. We have mitigated this problem to a limited extent by allowing some
executives to maintain their existing residences in other parts of the country and effectively
commute to our corporate headquarters in Santa Barbara as needed to perform their duties.
Regardless, we expect the cost of housing in our area will continue to present a significant
obstacle to recruiting senior executives.
Regulatory changes negatively affecting wireless communications companies could substantially harm
our business.
The Federal Communications Commission strictly regulates the operation of wireless base
stations in the United States. Other countries also regulate the operation of base stations within
their territories. Base stations and equipment marketed for use in base stations must meet
specific technical standards. Our ability to sell our high-temperature superconductor filter
subsystems will depend upon the rate of deployment of other new wireless digital services, the
ability of base station equipment manufacturers and of base station operators to obtain and retain
the necessary approvals and licenses, and changes in regulations that may impact the product
requirements. Any failure or delay of base station manufacturers or operators in obtaining
necessary approvals could harm our business.
We may acquire or make investments in companies or technologies that could cause loss of value to
stockholders and disruption of business.
We may explore opportunities to acquire companies or technologies in the future. Other than
the acquisition of Conductus, Inc. in 2002, we have not made any such acquisitions or investments
to date and, therefore, our ability as an organization to make acquisitions or investments is
unproven. Entering into an acquisition entails many risks, any of which could adversely affect our
business, including:
| failure to integrate operations, services and personnel; | ||
| the price paid may exceed the value eventually realized; | ||
| loss of share value to existing stockholders as a result of issuing equity securities to finance an acquisition; | ||
| potential loss of key employees from either our then current business or any acquired business; |
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| entering into markets in which we have little or no prior experience; | ||
| diversion of financial resources and managements attention from other business concerns; | ||
| assumption of unanticipated liabilities related to the acquired assets; and | ||
| the business or technologies acquired or invested in may have limited operating histories and may be subjected to many of the same risks to which we are exposed. |
In addition, future acquisitions may result in potentially dilutive issuances of equity
securities, or the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities or amortization expenses or charges
related to goodwill or other intangible assets, any of which could harm our business. As a result,
if we fail to properly evaluate and execute acquisitions or investments, our business and prospects
may be seriously harmed.
If we are unable to implement appropriate controls and procedures to manage our expected growth, we
may not be able to successfully offer our products and implement our business plan.
Our ability to successfully offer our products and implement our business plan in a rapidly
evolving market requires an effective planning and management process. Anticipated growth in
future operations will continue to place a significant strain on management systems and resources.
We expect that we will need to continue to improve our financial and managerial controls, reporting
systems and procedures, and will need to continue to expand, train and manage our work force
worldwide. Furthermore, we expect that we will be required to manage multiple relationships with
various customers and other third parties.
Compliance with environmental regulations could be especially costly due to the hazardous materials
used in the manufacturing process.
We are subject to a number of federal, state and local governmental regulations related to the
use, storage, discharge and disposal of toxic, volatile or otherwise hazardous chemicals used in
our business. Any failure to comply with present or future regulations could result in fines being
imposed, suspension of production or interruption of operations. In addition, these regulations
could restrict our ability to expand or could require us to acquire costly equipment or incur other
significant expense to comply with environmental regulations or to clean up prior discharges.
The reliability of market data included in our public filings is uncertain.
Since we operate in a rapidly changing market, we have in the past, and may from time to time
in the future, include market data from industry publications and our own internal estimates in
some of the documents we file with the Securities Exchange Commission. The reliability of this
data cannot be assured. Industry publications generally state that the
information contained in these publications has been obtained from sources believed to be
reliable, but that its accuracy and completeness is not guaranteed. Although we believe that the
market data used in our SEC filings is and will be reliable, it has not been independently
verified. Similarly, internal company estimates, while believed by us to be reliable, have not
been verified by any independent sources.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
Our stock price is volatile.
The market price of our common stock has been, and we expect will continue to be, subject to
significant volatility. The value of our common stock may decline regardless of our operating
performance or prospects. Factors affecting our market price include:
| our perceived prospects; | ||
| variations in our operating results and whether we have achieved key business targets; |
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| changes in, or our failure to meet, earnings estimates; | ||
| changes in securities analysts buy/sell recommendations; | ||
| differences between our reported results and those expected by investors and securities analysts; | ||
| announcements of new contracts by us or our competitors; | ||
| market reaction to any acquisitions, joint ventures or strategic investments announced by us or our competitors; and | ||
| general economic, political or stock market conditions. |
Recent events have caused stock prices for many companies, including ours, to fluctuate in
ways unrelated or disproportionate to their operating performance. The general economic, political
and stock market conditions that may affect the market price of our common stock are beyond our
control. The market price of our common stock at any particular time may not remain the market
price in the future.
We may not be able to maintain our NASDAQ stock listing, and the loss of our listing would have a
material adverse affect on the liquidity and price of our stock.
Our common stock currently is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market. However, we cannot assure
you that our stock will continue to be listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market. The NASDAQ Stock Market
has rules for maintaining a listing, including a minimum bid price for common stock of $1.00 per
share. Our common stock was originally listed on the NASDAQ National Market, but we transferred
our listing to the NASDAQ Capital Market to secure additional time for regaining compliance with
the minimum stock price requirement.
NASDAQ originally notified us on April 4, 2005 of a potential delisting from the NASDAQ
National Market due to a sustained price decline below the $1.00 minimum requirement. We were
given six months to regain compliance. In order to regain compliance, the bid price of the common
stock must close at $1.00 per share or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive trading days before the
end of the grace period. When our stock price did not recover by the end of the first grace
period, we transferred our listing to the Capital Market and were given an additional six months to
regain compliance (until March 30, 2006).
Our common stock continues to trade below the minimum price requirement. Therefore, we have
decided to implement a 1-for-10 reverse stock split in an effort to protect our NASDAQ listing. We
have already obtained stockholder approval and will implement the reverse split on March 13, 2006.
We received discretionary authority for the reverse stock split from our stockholders at last
years annual meeting.
We cannot predict, however, whether the reverse stock split will achieve the desired result of
maintaining our listing on the NASDAQ Stock Market. The price per share of our common stock is
also a function of our financial performance and other factors, some of which may be unrelated to
the number of shares outstanding. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the closing bid
price of the our common stock after the reverse stock split will increase in an amount
proportionate to the decrease in the number of issued and outstanding shares, or will increase at
all, or that any increase can be sustained for a prolonged period of time or a sufficient amount of
time to regain compliance with the NASDAQ minimum price requirement.
Even if we regain compliance, we may not meet all of the continued listing requirements in the
future, particularly if the price of our common stock again falls below $1.00 per share for thirty
consecutive trading days. If our common stock is not listed with NASDAQ, it may be difficult or
impossible to sell it.
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We have decided to implement a reverse stock split, and the reverse stock split could reduce our
total market capitalization.
We have decided to implement a 1-for-10 reverse stock split in an effort to protect our NASDAQ
listing. We will implement the reverse split on March 13, 2006. At our 2005 annual meeting, we
sought and received from our stockholders discretionary authority to implement a reverse stock
split in the range of 1-for-2 to 1-for-10 within one year of the meeting date without further
stockholder approval. We sought this authority in response to the fact that our stock price had
been trading below $1.00 per share the minimum price for maintaining our NASDAQ listing. We can
regain compliance if the bid price of the common stock closes at $1.00 per share or more for a
minimum of 10 consecutive trading days before the end of the current grace period (March 30, 2006).
The reverse stock split is one method for achieving this goal. We value our listing on the NASDAQ
National Market and have decided to implement the reverse split to maintain our listing.
There can be no assurance that the per share price of the common stock after the reverse stock
split will actually increase in an amount proportionate to the decrease in the number of
outstanding shares. In other words, our total market capitalization could decrease as a result of
the reverse stock split.
We have a significant number of outstanding warrants and options, and future sales of these shares
could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
As of December 31, 2005, we had outstanding warrants and options exercisable for an aggregate
of 20,312,134 shares of common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $3.24 per share. We
have registered the issuance of all these shares, and they will be freely tradable by the
exercising party upon issuance. The holders may sell these shares in the public markets from time
to time, without limitations on the timing, amount or method of sale. As our stock price rises,
the holders may exercise their warrants and options and sell a large number of shares. This could
cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
Our corporate governance structure may prevent our acquisition by another company at a premium over
the public trading price of STI shares.
It is possible that the acquisition of a majority of our outstanding voting stock by another
company could result in our stockholders receiving a premium over the public trading price for our
shares. Provisions of our restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws and of Delaware
corporate law could delay or make more difficult an acquisition of our company by merger, tender
offer or proxy contest, even if it would create an immediate benefit to our stockholders. For
example, our restated certificate of incorporation does not permit stockholders to act by written
consent and our bylaws generally require ninety days advance notice of any matters to be brought
before the stockholders at an annual or special meeting.
In addition, our board of directors has the authority to issue up to 2,000,000 shares of
preferred stock and to determine the terms, rights and preferences of this preferred stock,
including voting rights of those shares, without any further vote or action by the stockholders.
The rights of the holders of common stock may be subordinate to, and adversely affected by, the
rights of holders of preferred sock that may be issued in the future. The issuance of preferred
stock could also make it more difficult for a third party to acquire a majority of our outstanding
voting stock, even at a premium over our public trading price.
Further, our certificate of incorporation also provides for a classified board of directors
with directors divided into three classes serving staggered terms. These provisions may have the
effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of Superconductor without action by our
stockholders and, therefore, could adversely affect the price of our stock or the possibility of
sale of shares to an acquiring person.
We do not anticipate declaring any cash dividends on our common stock.
We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our common stock and do not plan to pay any
cash dividends in the near future. Our current policy is to retain all funds and earnings for use
in the operation and expansion of our business. In addition, our debt agreements prohibit the
payment of cash dividends or other distributions on any of our capital stock except dividends
payable in additional shares of capital stock.
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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
The Securities Exchange Commission regularly reviews and comments on the periodic and current
reports filed by reporting companies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. We have no
unresolved comments from the Securities Exchange Commission concerning our periodic or
current reports.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
We lease all of our properties. All of our operations, including our manufacturing facility,
are located in an industrial complex in Santa Barbara, California. We occupy approximately 71,000
square feet in this complex. We have a long-term lease for 60,000 square feet that expires in
2011, and we rent the remaining 11,000 square feet on a year-to-year basis. We believe that our
Santa Barbara facilities are adequate to meet current and reasonably anticipated needs for
approximately the next two years.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Shalvoy Litigation
Mr. Shalvoy, a director and stockholder, owed us a total of $820,244 of principal, plus
accrued interest of more than $214,000, under two, full recourse promissory notes as of December
31, 2005. The notes are secured by 151,762 shares of our common stock with a market value of
approximately $65,000 as of December 31, 2005.
We acquired the notes in connection with the acquisition of Conductus, Inc. in December 2002.
Conductus made these two loans to Mr. Shalvoy, its then President and Chief Executive Officer,
prior to the acquisition. Mr. Shalvoy issued the notes to Conductus as payment for the purchase
price on the exercise of stock options in December 2000. The first note was due on December 28,
2005 ($460,244 principal amount), and the second note is due on August 21, 2006 ($360,000 principal
amount).
Mr. Shalvoy notified us in December 2005 of his intention not to repay either of the loans.
Mr. Shalvoy alleges, among other things, that the Conductus board committed to forgive the loans
should the stock purchase turn out to have negative financial consequences to him. Mr. Shalvoy had
not previously disclosed this alleged agreement to us, and we have not found (and are not aware) of
any documentation to support his allegation. We do not believe that any agreement to forgive the
notes ever existed, and we believe that the notes are valid and binding debt obligations of Mr.
Shalvoy. Consequently, we filed a lawsuit against Mr. Shalvoy on December 21, 2005 in the
California Superior Court (Case No. 1186812) to collect payment in full of all principal and
interest due under both notes.
We carried the principal and accrued interest for both notes as assets on our balance sheet at
October 1, 2005. As of that date, the balance sheet included principal of $820,000 under the
heading Notes Receivable from Stockholder and accrued interest of $203,000 in the line item
Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets. Notwithstanding our firm belief that the notes are
valid and binding debt obligations, we concluded that generally accepted accounting principles
require the recording of a material, non-cash reserve against these assets in the fourth quarter of
2005 due to Mr. Shalvoys refusal to pay the notes voluntarily. The reserve of $969,000 represents
the total value of the notes (principal plus accrued interest) less the
market value of the collateral securing the notes. We will reserve any default interest
recognized in accordance with the terms of the notes.
Routine Litigation
We are also involved in routine litigation arising in the ordinary course of our business,
and, while the results of the proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, we believe that the
final outcome of such matters will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position,
operating results or cash flow.
ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS
No matters were submitted to security holders during the last quarter of the year.
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PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANTS COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
Market for Common Stock
Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol SCON. The
following table shows the high and low intraday sales prices for our common stock as reported by
NASDAQ for each calendar quarter in the last two fiscal years:
High | Low | |||||||
2004 |
||||||||
Quarter ended April 2, 2004 |
$ | 7.45 | $ | 2.00 | ||||
Quarter ended July 3, 2004 |
$ | 2.50 | $ | 0.78 | ||||
Quarter ended October 2, 2004 |
$ | 1.40 | $ | 0.80 | ||||
Quarter ended December 31, 2004 |
$ | 1.67 | $ | 0.79 | ||||
2005 |
||||||||
Quarter ended April 2, 2005 |
$ | 1.43 | $ | 0.65 | ||||
Quarter ended July 2, 2005 |
$ | 0.87 | $ | 0.37 | ||||
Quarter ended October 1, 2005 |
$ | 1.11 | $ | 0.58 | ||||
Quarter ended December 31, 2005 |
$ | 0.74 | $ | 0.41 |
Holders of Record
We had 359 holders of record of our common stock on February 14, 2006. This number does not
include stockholders for whom shares were held in a nominee or street name. We estimate that
there are more than 34,000 round lot beneficial owners of our common stock.
Dividends
We have never paid cash dividends and intend to employ all available funds in the development
of our business. We have no plans to pay cash dividends in the near future, and our line of credit
does not allow the payment of dividends
Sales of Unregistered Securities
We did not conduct any offerings of equity securities during the fourth quarter of 2005 that
were not registered under the Securities Act of 1933.
Repurchases of Equity Securities
We did not repurchase any shares of our common stock during the fourth quarter of 2005.
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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
The information set forth below is not necessarily indicative of results of future operations
and should be read in conjunction with the Companys Financial Statements and Notes thereto
appearing in Item 15 of Part IV of this Report and Managements Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations. We acquired Conductus, Inc. on December 18, 2002.
The results of Conductus, Inc. are included in the consolidated financial statement starting for 13
days in 2002 following its acquisition and all periods thereafter.
Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | ||||||||||||||||
(In thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Statement of Operations Data: |
||||||||||||||||||||
Net revenues: |
||||||||||||||||||||
Net commercial product revenues |
$ | 7,601 | $ | 17,601 | $ | 38,577 | $ | 16,787 | $ | 21,080 | ||||||||||
Government contract revenues |
4,782 | 4,785 | 10,759 | 6,189 | 3,107 | |||||||||||||||
Sub license royalties |
10 | 10 | 58 | 28 | 22 | |||||||||||||||
Total net revenues |
12,393 | 22,396 | 49,394 | 23,004 | 24,209 | |||||||||||||||
Costs and expenses: |
||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of commercial product revenues |
10,626 | 19,286 | 28,249 | 23,421 | 18,989 | |||||||||||||||
Contract research and development |
3,359 | 2,531 | 6,899 | 4,465 | 2,806 | |||||||||||||||
Other research and development |
4,606 | 4,489 | 4,697 | 5,036 | 4,214 | |||||||||||||||
Selling, general and administrative |
11,907 | 14,976 | 20,567 | 16,051 | 11,442 | |||||||||||||||
Restructuring expenses and impairment
charges |
| | | 4,128 | 1,197 | |||||||||||||||
Write off of in-process research and
development |
| 700 | | | | |||||||||||||||
Total costs and expenses |
30,498 | 41,982 | 60,412 | 53,101 | 38,648 | |||||||||||||||
Loss from operations |
(18,105 | ) | (19,586 | ) | (11,018 | ) | (30,097 | ) | (14,439 | ) | ||||||||||
Other income (expense), net |
904 | 73 | (327 | ) | (1,120 | ) | 226 | |||||||||||||
Net loss |
(17,201 | ) | (19,513 | ) | (11,345 | ) | (31,217 | ) | (14,213 | ) | ||||||||||
Less deemed and cumulative preferred stock
Dividends |
(2,603 | ) | (1,756 | ) | | | | |||||||||||||
Net loss available to common stockholders |
($ | 19,804 | ) | ($ | 21,269 | ) | ($ | 11,345 | ) | ($ | 31,217 | ) | ($ | 14,213 | ) | |||||
Basic and diluted net loss per share: |
||||||||||||||||||||
Net loss per common share |
($ | 1.10 | ) | ($ | 0.89 | ) | ($ | 0.18 | ) | ($ | 0.37 | ) | ($ | 0.12 | ) | |||||
Weighted average number of shares
Outstanding |
17,956 | 24,020 | 62,685 | 84,241 | 114,185 |
December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | ||||||||||||||||
Balance Sheet Data: |
||||||||||||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 15,205 | $ | 18,191 | $ | 11,144 | $ | 12,802 | $ | 13,018 | ||||||||||
Working capital |
18,753 | 16,503 | 15,576 | 16,146 | 17,218 | |||||||||||||||
Total assets |
30,161 | 65,326 | 68,123 | 62,358 | 52,045 | |||||||||||||||
Long-term debt, including current portion |
509 | 2,123 | 721 | 76 | 33 | |||||||||||||||
Total stockholders equity |
23,663 | 49,524 | 52,220 | 49,249 | 47,257 |
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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS |
General
We develop, manufacture and market high performance infrastructure products for wireless voice
and data applications. Wireless carriers face many challenges in todays competitive marketplace.
Minutes of use are skyrocketing, and wireless users now expect the same quality of service from
their mobile devices as from their landline phones. We help wireless carriers meet these
challenges by doing more with less.
Our products help maximize the performance of wireless telecommunications networks by
improving the quality of uplink signals from mobile wireless devices. Our products increase
capacity utilization, lower dropped and blocked calls, extend coverage, and enable higher wireless
data throughput all while reducing capital and operating costs. SuperLink incorporates patented
high-temperature superconductor (HTS) technology to create a receiver front-end that enhances
network performance. Today, we are leveraging our expertise and proprietary technology in radio
frequency (RF) engineering to expand our product line beyond HTS technology. We believe our RF
engineering expertise provides us with a significant competitive advantage in the development of
high performance, cost-effective solutions for the front end of wireless telecommunications
networks.
We have three product offerings:
SuperLink. In order to receive uplink signals from wireless handsets, base stations
require a wireless filter system to eliminate, or filter out, out-of-band interference. SuperLink
combines HTS filters with a proprietary cryogenic cooler and a cooled low-noise amplifier. The
result is a highly compact and reliable receiver front-end that can simultaneously deliver both
high selectivity (interference rejection) and high sensitivity (detection of low level signals).
SuperLink delivers significant performance advantages over conventional filter systems.
AmpLink. AmpLink is designed specifically to address the sensitivity requirements
of wireless base stations. AmpLink is a ground-mounted unit which includes a high-performance
amplifier and up to six dual duplexers. The enhanced uplink provided by AmpLink improves network
coverage immediately and avoids the installation and maintenance costs associated with tower
mounted alternatives.
SuperPlex. SuperPlex is our line of multiplexers that provides extremely low
insertion loss and excellent cross-band isolation. SuperPlex high-performance multiplexers are
designed to eliminate the need for additional base station antennas and reduce infrastructure
costs. Relative to competing technologies, these products offer increased transmit power delivered
to the base station antenna, higher sensitivity to subscriber handset signals, and fast and
cost-effective network overlays.
We currently sell most of our commercial products directly to wireless network operators in
the United States. Our customers to date include ALLTEL, Cingular, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, U.S.
Cellular and Verizon Wireless. We have a concentrated customer base. Verizon Wireless, ALLTEL and
T-Mobile each accounted for more than 10% of our commercial revenues in 2005, and Verizon Wireless
and ALLTEL each accounted for more than 10% of our commercial revenues in 2004. We plan to expand
our customer base by selling directly to other wireless network operators and manufacturers of base
station equipment, but we cannot assure that this effort will be successful.
We also generate significant revenues from government contracts. We primarily pursue
government research and development contracts which compliment our commercial product development.
We undertake government contract work which has the potential to add to or improve our commercial
product line. These contracts often yield valuable intellectual property relevant to our
commercial business. We typically own the intellectual property developed under these contracts,
and the Federal Government receives a royalty-free, non-exclusive and nontransferable license to
use the intellectual property for the United States.
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We sell most of our products to a small number of wireless carriers, and their demand for
wireless communications equipment fluctuates dramatically and unpredictably. We expect these
trends to continue and may cause significant fluctuations in our quarterly and annual revenues.
The wireless communications infrastructure equipment market is extremely competitive and is
characterized by rapid technological change, new product development, product obsolescence,
evolving industry standards and price erosion over the life of a product. We face constant
pressures to reduce prices. Consequently, we expect the average selling prices of our products
will continue decreasing over time. We have responded in the past by successfully reducing our
product costs, and expect further cost reductions over the next twelve months. However, we cannot
predict whether our costs will decline at a rate sufficient to keep pace with the competitive
pricing pressures.
Recent Developments Reverse Stock Split
On March 2, 2006, we announced that our Board of Directors has authorized a one-for-ten (1:10)
reverse split of the common stock. We plan to make the reverse stock split effective as of the
open of business on March 13, 2006. The reverse stock split was approved by our stockholders last
May at the 2005 Annual Meeting.
In the reverse split, each ten shares of issued and outstanding common stock will be converted
automatically into one share of common stock. No fractional shares will be issued in connection
with the reverse stock split, and holders of fractional shares will receive cash in lieu of their
fractional shares. We will have approximately 12.5 million shares outstanding after the reverse
split. The reverse split will also have a proportionate affect on all stock options and warrants
outstanding immediately prior to the effective date of the reverse split.
We anticipate that our common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis when trading
opens on March 13, 2006, with the interim ticker symbol SCOND. After 20 days, we expect that the
D designation will be removed, and our ticker symbol will revert back to SCON. Our transfer
agent, Registrar and Transfer Company, will mail instructions to all stockholders of record as of
March 10, 2006 explaining the process for obtaining new post-split stock certificates.
We are implementing the reverse stock split in order to meet the NASDAQ Capital Markets
maintenance standard that requires us to maintain at least a $1.00 per share minimum bid price. We
anticipate that following the reverse stock split, our common stock will trade at a price that is
higher than the $1.00 per share minimum bid price. However, there can be no assurance that, after
the consummation of the reverse stock split, the common stock will trade at ten (10) times the
market price prior to the reverse stock split or above the $1.00 per share minimum bid price.
The share and per share information included in this Annual Report do not reflect the
reverse stock split.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based
upon our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these financial statements requires us
to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues
and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. We continually evaluate
our estimates, including those related to bad debts, inventories, recovery of long-lived assets,
income taxes, warranty obligations, contract revenue and contingencies. We base our estimates on
historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believed to be reasonable under the
circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values
of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Any future changes to
these estimates and assumptions could cause a material change to our reported amounts of revenues,
expenses, assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different
assumptions or conditions.
We believe the following critical accounting policies affect our more significant judgments
and estimates used in the preparation of the financial statements. We maintain allowances for
doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the inability of our customers to make
required payments. If the financial condition of our customers were to deteriorate, resulting in
an impairment of their ability to make payments, additional allowances may be required. We write
down our inventory for estimated obsolescence or unmarketable inventory equal to the difference
between the cost of inventory and the
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estimated market value based upon assumptions about future demand and market conditions. If actual
market conditions are less favorable than those projected by management, additional inventory
write-downs may be required.
Our inventory is valued at the lower of its actual cost or the current estimated market value
of the inventory. We review inventory quantities on hand and on order and record a provision for
excess and obsolete inventory and/or vendor cancellation charges related to purchase commitments.
Such provisions are established based on historical usage, adjusted for known changes in demands
for such products, or the estimated forecast of product demand and production requirements. Our
business is characterized by rapid technological change, frequent new product development and rapid
product obsolescence that could result in an increase in the amount of obsolete inventory
quantities on hand. Demand for our products can fluctuate significantly. Our estimates of future
product demand may prove to be inaccurate and we may understate or overstate the provision required
for excess and obsolete inventory.
Our net sales consist of revenue from sales of products net of trade discounts and allowances.
We recognize revenue when evidence of an arrangement exists, contractual obligations have been
satisfied, title and risk of loss have been transferred to the customer and collection of the
resulting receivable is reasonably assured. At the time revenue is recognized, we provide for the
estimated cost of product warranties if allowed for under contractual arrangements and return
products. Our warranty obligation is effected by product failure rates and service delivery costs
incurred in correcting a product failure. Should such failure rates or costs differ from these
estimates, accrued warranty costs would be adjusted.
We indemnify, without limit or term, our customers against all claims, suits, demands,
damages, liabilities, expenses, judgments, settlements and penalties arising from actual or alleged
infringement or misappropriation of any intellectual property relating to our products or other
claims arising from our products. We cannot reasonably develop an estimate of the maximum
potential amount of payments that might be made under our guarantees because of the uncertainty as
to whether a claim might arise and how much it might total.
Contract revenues are principally generated under research and development contracts.
Contract revenues are recognized utilizing the percentage-of-completion method measured by the
relationship of costs incurred to total estimated contract costs. If the current contract estimate
were to indicate a loss, utilizing the funded amount of the contract, a provision would be made for
the total anticipated loss. Contract revenues are derived primarily from research contracts with
agencies of the United States Government. Credit risk related to accounts receivable arising from
such contracts is considered minimal. These contracts include cost-plus, fixed price and cost
sharing arrangements and are generally short-term in nature.
All payments to us for work performed on contracts with agencies of the U.S. Government are
subject to adjustment upon audit by the Defense Contract Audit Agency. Based on historical
experience and review of current projects in process, we believe that the audits will not have a
significant effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. The Defense
Contract Audit Agency has audited us through 2002.
In connection with the acquisition of Conductus we recognized $20 million of goodwill.
Goodwill is tested for impairment annually in the fourth quarter after the annual planning process,
or earlier if events occur which require an impairment analysis be performed. We operate in a
single business segment as a single reporting unit. The first step of the impairment test, used to
identify potential impairment, compares the fair value based on market capitalization of the entire
organization with the book value of its net assets, including goodwill. (Our market capitalization
is based the closing price of our common stock as traded on NASDAQ multiplied by our outstanding
common shares.) If the fair value of our company exceeds the book value of our net assets, our
goodwill is not considered impaired. If the book value of our net assets exceeds our fair value,
the second step of the goodwill impairment test shall be performed to measure the amount of
impairment loss. The second step of the goodwill impairment test, used to measure the amount of
impairment loss, compares the implied fair value of the goodwill with the book value of that
goodwill. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of
that goodwill, an impairment loss shall be recognized in an amount equal to that excess. At
December 31, 2005, we tested the goodwill for possible impairment and determined that there was no
impairment. The fair value of the Company based on its market capitalization totaled $53.7 million
which is in excess of our total book value. Therefore, our goodwill was not considered impaired.
This goodwill will again be tested for impairment in the fourth quarter of 2006 or earlier if
events occur which require an earlier assessment. If the carrying amount exceeds its implied fair
value, an impairment loss will be recognized equal to the excess. Any future impairment of our
goodwill could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results of operations.
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We periodically evaluate the realizability of long-lived assets as events or circumstances
indicate a possible inability to recover the carrying amount. Long-lived assets that will no
longer be used in business are written off in the period identified since they will no longer
generate any positive cash flows for the Company. Periodically, long-lived assets that will
continue to be used by the Company need to be evaluated for recoverability. Such evaluation is
based on various analyses, including cash flow and profitability projections. The analyses
necessarily involve significant management judgment. In the event the projected undiscounted cash
flows are less than net book value of the assets, the carrying value of the assets will be written
down to their estimated fair value. Our future cash flows may vary from estimates.
As permitted under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (SFAS 123), Accounting
for Stock-Based Compensation, we have elected to follow Accounting Principles Board Opinion No.
25, Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees in accounting for its stock options and other
stock-based employee awards. Pro forma information regarding net loss and loss per share, as
calculated under the provisions of SFAS 123, are disclosed in the notes to the financial
statements. We account for equity securities issued to non-employees in accordance with the
provision of SFAS 123 and Emerging Issues Task Force 96-18.
If we had elected to recognize compensation expense for employee awards based upon the fair
value at the grant date consistent with the methodology prescribed by SFAS 123, our net loss and
net loss per share would have been increased to the pro forma amounts indicated below:
For the years ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
Net loss: | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |||||||||
(In thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||||||
As reported |
$ | (11,345 | ) | $ | (31,217 | ) | $ | (14,213 | ) | |||
Stock-based employee
compensation included in net
loss |
| 48 | | |||||||||
Stock-based compensation expense
determined under fair value
method |
(5,435 | ) | (5,543 | ) | (6,459 | ) | ||||||
Pro forma |
$ | (16,780 | ) | (36,712 | ) | (20,672 | ) | |||||
Basic and Diluted Loss per Share: |
||||||||||||
As reported |
$ | (0.18 | ) | $ | (0.37 | ) | $ | (0.12 | ) | |||
Stock-based compensation expense
determined under fair value
method |
(0.09 | ) | (0.07 | ) | (0.06 | ) | ||||||
Pro forma |
$ | (0.27 | ) | $ | (0.44 | ) | $ | (0.18 | ) | |||
On
December 1, 2005, the Compensation Committee of the
Companys Board of Directors approved the accelerated vesting of
all time-vested outstanding out-of-the-money stock options held by
current employees or consultants. For this purpose, the Compensation
Committee defined out-of-the-money options as options
having an exercise price equal to or greater than $0.58 per share
(the market price on the date of the committees decision to
accelerate the vesting).
Our valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets is based on our assessments of
historical losses and projected operating results in future periods. If and when we generate
future taxable income in the U.S. against which these tax assets may be applied, some portion or
all of the valuation allowance would be reversed and an increase in net income would consequently
be reported in future years.
We have a contract to deliver several custom products to a government contractor. We are
unable to manufacture the products for technical reasons. We have discussed the problem with the
contractor and its government customer. They are considering the problem, and we expect further
discussions. We do not believe that a loss is reasonably estimable at this time and therefore have
not recorded any liability relating to this matter. We will periodically reassess our potential
liability as additional information becomes available. If we later determine that a loss is
probable and the amount reasonably estimable, we would record a liability for the potential loss.
Backlog
Our commercial backlog consists of accepted product purchase orders with scheduled delivery
dates during the next twelve months. We had commercial backlog of $250,000 at December 31, 2005,
as compared to $730,000 at December 31, 2004.
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Results of Operations
2005 Compared to 2004
Net revenues increased by $1.2 million, or 5%, from $23.0 million in 2004 to $24.2 million in
2005. Net revenues consist primarily of commercial product revenues and government contract
revenues. We also generate some additional revenues from sublicensing our technology.
Net commercial product revenues increased by $4.3 million, or 26%, to $21.1 million in 2005
from $16.8 million in 2004. The increase is primarily the result of higher sales of our SuperPlex
and AmpLink products, partially offset by lower sales and average sale prices of our SuperLink
product. Our three largest customers accounted for 95% of our net commercial revenues in 2005, as
compared to 92% in 2004. These customers generally purchase products through non-binding
commitments with minimal lead-times. Consequently, our commercial product revenues can fluctuate
dramatically from quarter to quarter based on changes in our customers capital spending patterns.
Government contract revenues decreased to $3.1 million in 2005 from $6.2 million in 2004, a
decrease of $3.1 million, or 50%. This decrease is primarily attributable to the completion of
contracts in 2004 and 2005 that have not been replaced.
Cost of commercial product revenues includes all direct costs, manufacturing overhead,
provision for excess and obsolete inventories and restructuring and impairment charges relating to
the manufacturing operations. The cost of commercial product revenues totaled $19.0 million for
2005 as compared to $23.4 million for 2004, a decrease of $4.4 million, or 19%. The lower costs
resulted from lower restructuring expenses and a lower provision for obsolete inventory.
Restructuring and impairment expenses from severance and fixed assets write off included in cost
of goods sold totaled $109,000 in 2005 as compared to $1.1 million in 2004. The provision for
obsolete inventories totaled $1.0 million in 2005 as compared to $4.8 million in 2004.
Our cost of sales includes both variable and fixed cost components. The variable component
consists primarily of materials, assembly and test labor, overhead, which includes equipment and
facility depreciation, transportation costs and warranty costs. The fixed component includes test
equipment and facility depreciation, purchasing and procurement expenses and quality assurance
costs. Given the fixed nature of such costs, the absorption of our production overhead costs into
inventory decreases and the amount of production overhead variances expensed to cost of sales
increases as production volumes decline since we have fewer units to absorb our overhead costs
against. Conversely, the absorption of our production overhead costs into inventory increases and
the amount of production overhead variances expensed to cost of sales decreases as production
volumes increase since we have more units to absorb our overhead costs against. As a result, our
gross profit margins generally decrease as revenue and production volumes decline due to lower
sales volume and higher amounts of production overhead variances expensed to cost of sales; and our
gross profit margins generally increase as our revenue and production volumes increase due to
higher sales volume and lower amounts of production overhead variances expensed to cost of sales.
The following is an analysis of our commercial product gross profit margins for 2004 and 2005:
For the Years Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
Dollars in Thousands | 2004 | 2005 | ||||||||||||||
Net commercial product sales |
$ | 16,787 | 100.0 | % | $ | 21,080 | 100.0 | % | ||||||||
Cost of commercial product sales |
23,421 | 139.5 | % | 18,989 | 90.1 | % | ||||||||||
Gross profit |
$ | (6,634 | ) | (39.5 | %) | $ | 2,091 | 9.9 | % | |||||||
We had a positive gross margin of $2.1 million in 2005 from the sale of our commercial
products as compared to a negative gross margin of $6.6 million in 2004. The gross margin
improvement was primarily due to higher sales volumes, lower restructuring expenses, a lower
provision for obsolete inventory and the positive results of our cost reduction efforts. Gross
margin was also favorably impacted $1.1 million by the sale of previously written-off inventory. We regularly review
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inventory quantities on hand and provide an allowance for excess and obsolete inventory based
on numerous factors including sales backlog, historical inventory usage, forecasted product demand
and production requirements for the next twelve months.
Contract research and development expenses totaled $2.8 million in 2005 as compared to $4.5
million in 2004, a decrease of $1.7 million, or 37%. The decrease was the result of lower expenses
associated with performing a fewer number of government contracts, offset by expenses totaling
$759,000 on a contract for which no revenue was recognized. See Contractual Contingency under
the Contractual Guarantees and Indemnities Note to the Financial Statements for a description of
the non-revenue generating contract.
Other research and development expenses relate to development of new wireless commercial
products. We also incur design expenses associated with reducing the cost and improving the
manufacturability of our existing products. These expenses totaled $4.2 million in 2005 as
compared to $5.0 million in 2004, a decrease of $800,000, or 16%. The decrease is due to lower
expenses associated with commercial products development and the result of our cost reduction
efforts.
Selling, general and administrative expenses totaled $11.4 million in 2005 as compared to
$16.1 million in 2004, a decrease of $4.6 million, or 29%. The lower expenses resulted primarily
from lower insurance premiums, the cessation of ISCO related litigation expenses, lower legal
expenses for other matters, the closure of our Sunnyvale facility and overall lower expense levels
resulting from our restructuring activities in 2004 and 2005. These reductions were partially
offset by retirement benefits for the previous Chief Executive Officer.
We implemented several restructuring programs and wrote off certain assets in 2004. See
Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results and Operations Results
of Operations 2004 Compared to 2003. These activities continued in 2005. We implemented
another restructuring program, further reduced our workforce and vacated a portion of our leased
facility in Santa Barbara. We also recorded an impairment charge of $969,000 related to a
shareholder note receivable. See Item 3 Legal Proceedings Shalvoy Litigation. The following
table summarizes our restructuring and impairment charges for 2004 and 2005:
For the Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Restructuring | Impairment | Restructuring | Impairment | |||||||||||||||||||||
Charges for | Charges for | Total for | Charges for | Charges for | Total for | |||||||||||||||||||
2004 | 2004 | 2004 | 2005 | 2005 | 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||
Severance costs |
$ | 826,000 | $ | | $ | 826,000 | $ | 178,000 | $ | | $ | 178,000 | ||||||||||||
Fixed assets write offs |
803,000 | 403,000 | 1,206,000 | 137,000 | | 137,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
Patents, licenses and
purchased technology
write-off |
1,051,000 | 1,171,000 | 2,222,000 | | | | ||||||||||||||||||
Lease abandonment costs |
279,000 | | 279,000 | | | | ||||||||||||||||||
Facility consolidation
costs |
268,000 | | 268,000 | 6,000 | | 6,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
Employee relocation
cost |
382,000 | | 382,000 | 16,000 | | 16,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
Impairment charge for
notes receivable from
shareholder and board
member |
| | | | 969,000 | 969,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
Total |
$ | 3,609,000 | $ | 1,574,000 | $ | 5,183,000 | 337,000 | 969,000 | 1,306,000 | |||||||||||||||
Fixed Asset write off
and severance costs
included in cost of
goods sold |
669,000 | 386,000 | 1,055,000 | (109,000 | ) | | (109,000 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Expense included in
operating expenses |
$ | 2,940,000 | $ | 1,188,000 | $ | 4,128,000 | $ | 228,000 | $ | 969,000 | $ | 1,197,000 | ||||||||||||
Interest income increased in 2005, as compared to the prior year, primarily because we had
more cash available for investment and increased interest rates.
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Interest expense in 2005 amounted to $116,000, as compared to $1.2 million in 2004. We had
higher interest expense in 2004 because of higher borrowing levels and a non-cash charge of
$802,000 for warrants issued to the lenders in connection with a bridge loan in April 2004.
Our loss totaled $14.2 million in 2005 as compared to $31.2 in 2004.
The net loss available to common shareholders totaled $0.12 per common share in 2005, as
compared to $0.37 per common share in 2004.
2004 Compared to 2003
Net revenues decreased by $26.4 million, or 53%, from $49.4 million in 2003 to $23.0 million
in 2004.
Net commercial product revenues decreased to $16.8 million in 2004 from $38.6 million in 2003,
a decrease of $21.8 million, or 56%. The decrease is primarily the result of a $21.9 million
decline in sales of our SuperLink products. We experienced significant declines in sales of these
products to our two largest customers. We anticipated some decline in sales to one of these
customers and expected to offset it with the addition of another new major customer in 2004. Our
sales efforts were adversely affected in 2004 by, among other things, changes in capital spending
patterns and consolidation in the telecommunications industry. Our two largest customers accounted
for 87% of our net commercial revenues in 2004 and 85% in 2003. Net commercial product revenue was
reduced by $90,000 in 2003 because of the allocation of certain sales proceeds to a warrant issued
to one customer in 1999 under a long-term supply agreement. The warrant cost was fully amortized
by the end 2003 and did not affect revenues in 2004.
Government contract revenues decreased by $4.6 million, or 43%, from $10.8 million in 2003 to
$6.2 million in 2004. This decrease is primarily attributable to the completion of contracts in
2003 and 2004 that have not been replaced.
The cost of commercial product revenue totaled $23.4 million for 2004 and $28.2 million for
2003. Decreased costs result primarily from decreased unit shipments partially offset by increased
provision for excess and obsolete inventories and restructuring and impairment charges.
The following is an analysis of our commercial product gross profit margins for 2003 and 2004:
For the years ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||
Dollars in Thousands | 2003 | 2004 | ||||||||||||||
Net commercial product sales |
$ | 38,577 | 100.0 | % | $ | 16,787 | 100.0 | % | ||||||||
Total cost of commercial product sales |
28,249 | 73.2 | % | 23,421 | 139.5 | % | ||||||||||
Gross profit |
$ | 10,328 | 26.8 | % | $ | (6,634 | ) | (39.5 | %) | |||||||
We had a negative gross profit of $6.6 million in 2004 from the sale of our commercial
products as compared to positive gross profit of $10.3 million in 2003. We experienced negative
gross profits in 2004 primarily because the reduced level of commercial sales was insufficient to
cover our fixed manufacturing overhead costs. Our gross margins were also adversely impacted by a
$4.8 million charge for excess and obsolete inventory and a $1.1 million charge for restructuring
activities and fixed asset write downs. This compares to $719,000 for a charge for excess and
obsolete inventory in 2003.
Contract research and development expenses totaled $4.5 million in 2004 as compared to $6.9
million in 2003. These decreases were the result of lower expenses associated with performing a
fewer number of government contracts offset by higher expenses associated with completing a
contract.
Other research and development expenses relate to development of new wireless commercial
products. We also incur design expenses associated with reducing the cost and improving the
manufacturability of our existing products. These
expenses totaled $5.0 million in 2004 as compared to $4.7 million in the prior year. The
increase is due to increased commercial products development efforts.
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Selling, general and administrative expenses totaled $16.1 million in 2004, as compared to
$20.6 million in 2003. The decrease in 2004 results primarily from lower ISCO litigation expenses,
the closure of our Sunnyvale facility, reduced payments under our management incentive program and
restructuring activities. These decreases were partially offset by higher legal expenses
associated with the class action lawsuit and higher expenses related to the documentation and
testing of our internal controls as required by the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002.
During 2004, we implemented several restructuring programs to streamline our operations and
reduce our cost structure. We recorded cash and non-cash restructuring charges of $3.6 million for
these activities. We consolidated our Sunnyvale operations into our Santa Barbara facility and
reduced our total workforce. The workforce reduction included reductions associated with the
Sunnyvale consolidation, as well as other strategic reductions in the organization. In addition,
as part of the consolidation, we accelerated a program to implement a new, lower cost wafer
deposition process called Reactive Co-Evaporation.
In connection with our 2005 annual planning process performed in the fourth quarter of 2004,
we concluded that we would no longer use our thallium high temperature superconducting related
technology beyond 2005 because alternative technologies were determined to be more cost effective
and we decided we no longer wanted to support two HTS material technologies. As a result, we
recorded non-cash charges of $715,000 primarily relating to the write-off of thallium related
manufacturing equipment, patents and licenses since they will not be recovered from future cash
flows. Also, during our annual planning process we concluded that we would no longer continue to
develop or maintain and would abandon certain other non core business patents and patents no longer
considered blocking our business, and certain purchased technology. As a result of the abandonment
of the purchased technology and patents, we recorded non-cash charges of $842,000 relating to the
write-off of these patents and purchased technology since they will not be recovered from future
cash flows.
The table below summarizes our restructuring and impairment charges for 2004. We had no
similar charges in 2003.
Restructuring | Impairment | |||||||||||
Charges for 2004 | Charges for 2004 | Total for 2004 | ||||||||||
Severance costs |
$ | 826,000 | $ | | $ | 826,000 | ||||||
Fixed assets write offs |
803,000 | 403,000 | 1,206,000 | |||||||||
Patents, licenses and
purchased technology
write-off |
1,051,000 | 1,171,000 | 2,222,000 | |||||||||
Lease abandonment costs |
279,000 | | 279,000 | |||||||||
Facility consolidation costs |
268,000 | | 268,000 | |||||||||
Employee relocation cost |
382,000 | | 382,000 | |||||||||
Total |
$ | 3,609,000 | $ | 1,574,000 | $ | 5,183,000 | ||||||
Fixed Asset write off and
severance costs included
in cost of goods sold |
669,000 | 386,000 | 1,055,000 | |||||||||
Expense included in
operating expenses |
$ | 2,940,000 | $ | 1,188,000 | $ | 4,128,000 | ||||||
Interest income decreased in 2004 as compared to the prior year because we had less cash
available for investment.
Interest expense in 2004 totaled $1.2 million as compared to $504,000 in 2003. This increase
is related primarily to an $802,000 non-cash charge for warrants issued to the lenders in
connection with a bridge loan in April 2004.
In April 2004, we settled several substantially identical class action lawsuits filed in the
United States District Court for the Central District of California. The settlement was later
approved by the court, and the matter is resolved. Our insurers paid $4.0 million into a
settlement fund, and we paid up to $50,000 of the costs of providing notice of the settlement to
the class members. We recorded a liability at December 31, 2004 on our consolidated balance sheet
for the proposed amount of the settlement of $4,050,000. In addition, because the insurance
carrier involved in this suit agreed to pay $4.0 million of the settlement amount, and therefore,
recovery from the insurance carrier is probable, we also recorded a receivable on our balance sheet
for that amount. Accordingly, the settlement had a $50,000 impact on our statement of operations
for the year ended December 31, 2004. We included this amount in our selling, general and
administrative expenses.
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We had a net loss of $31.2 million in 2004 as compared to net loss of $11.3 million in 2003.
The net loss available to common shareholders totaled $0.37 per common share in the 2004, as
compared to $0.18 per common share in the previous year.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Cash Flow Analysis
As of December 31, 2005, we had working capital of $17.2 million, including $13.0 million in
cash and cash equivalents, as compared to working capital of $16.1 million at December 31, 2004,
which included $12.8 million in cash and cash equivalents. We currently invest our excess cash in
short-term, investment-grade, money-market instruments with maturities of three months or less. We
believe that all of our cash investments would be readily available to us should the need arise.
Cash and cash equivalents increased by $216,000 from $12.8 million at December 31, 2004 to
$13.0 million at December 31, 2005. Cash was used in operations, for the purchase of property and
equipment, for the payment of short and long-term borrowings and for the payment of common stock
offering expenses. These uses were offset by gross cash proceeds of $12.5 million received from
the sale of common stock in a public offering during the third quarter of 2005. Cash and cash
equivalents increased by $1.7 million from $11.1 million at December 31, 2003 to $12.8 million at
December 31, 2004. Cash was used in operations for the purchase of property and equipment and for
the payment of short and long-term borrowings. These expenditures were offset by cash received
from the sale of common stock in two public offerings.
Cash used in operations totaled $9.4 million in 2005. We used $9.0 million to fund the cash
portion of our net loss. We also used cash to fund a $3.5 million increase in accounts receivable,
patents and other assets and accounts payable payments. These uses were offset by cash generated
from lower inventory and prepaid balances totaling $3.1 million. Cash used in operations totaled
$21.6 million in 2004. We used $18.3 million to fund the cash portion of our net loss. We also
used cash to fund a $10.7 million increase in inventory, prepaid expenses, other current assets,
patents and licenses, other assets and accounts payable payments. Inventory increased in 2004 due
to lower than expected sales. These uses were partially offset by cash generated from the
collection of accounts receivable of $7.4 million. Cash used in operations totaled $18.5 million
in 2003. We used $7.2 million to fund the cash portion of our net loss. We also used cash to fund
an $11.2 million increase in accounts receivable, inventory, patents and licenses, other assets and
accounts payable. Depreciation and amortization expense increased in 2003 due to increased
amortization related to the acquired technology in the Conductus acquisition and increased fixed
assets expenditures in the prior year.
Net cash used in investing activities totaled $45,000 in 2005, $1.8 million in 2004 and $4.4
million in 2003. In 2005, sales of fixed assets generated $216,000 and essentially offset
purchases of property and equipment totaling $261,000. In 2004, our investing activities consisted
primarily of purchases of manufacturing equipment and facilities improvements to increase our
production capacity. We had similar types of expenditures in 2003, along with a $500,000 upfront
license fee for a new technology license.
Net cash provided by financing activities totaled $9.7 million in 2005. Gross cash received
from the sale of common stock totaled $12.5 million and borrowings against our line of credit
totaled $662,000. Cash used to pay down our line of credit and long term debt totaled $1.6
million. Cash was also used to pay $1.9 million of offering expenses related to the sale of common
stock in November 2004 and August 2005. Net cash provided by financing activities totaled $25.1
million in 2004. Gross cash received from the sale of common stock and exercise of warrants
totaled $29.8 million and borrowings against our credit and bridge loan facilities totaled $5.6
million. These sources of cash were partially offset by payments against our credit
and bridge loan facilities of $7.9 million and payments against our long term debt of
$645,000. Net cash provided by financing activities totaled $15.8 million in 2003. Cash received
from the sale of common stock and warrants totaled $13.9 million and net borrowings against our
credit facility totaled $3.3 million. These funds were partially offset by the reduction in
long-term borrowings of $1.4 million.
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Financing Activities
We have historically financed our operations through a combination of cash on hand, equipment
lease financings, available borrowings under bank lines of credit and both private and public
equity offerings. We have effective registration statements on file with the SEC covering the
public resale by investors of all the common stock issued in our private placements, as well as any
common stock acquired upon exercise of their warrants.
We have an existing line of credit from a bank. It is a material source of funds for our
business. The line of credit expires June 15, 2006. The loan agreement is structured as a sale of
our accounts receivable and provides for the sale of up to $5.0 million of eligible accounts
receivable, with advances to us totaling 80% of the receivables sold. Advances bear interest at
the prime rate (7.25% at December 31, 2005) plus 2.50% subject to a minimum monthly charge. There
was no amount outstanding under this borrowing facility at December 31, 2005. Advances are
collateralized by a lien on all of our assets. Under the terms of the agreement, we continue to
service the sold receivables and are subject to recourse provisions.
We completed one financing transaction in 2005. In August 2005, we raised net proceeds of
$11.4 million in a registered direct public sale of 17,123,288 shares of common stock at $0.73 per
share (based on a negotiated discount to market) and 5-year warrants to purchase an additional
3,424,658 shares of common stock exercisable at $1.11 per share. The warrants became exercisable
on February 16, 2006.
We completed three financing transactions during 2004. First, in April 2004, we temporarily
expanded our credit facility and secured a bridge loan to provide interim funding until we could
complete a larger public offering. We temporarily amended our existing line of credit to increase
borrowing capacity from 80% to 95% of eligible accounts receivable. We concurrently secured a
commitment for a $2.0 million secured bridge loan from an investor. The investor subsequently
funded $1.5 million of the bridge loan. We issued to the lenders warrants to purchase in the
aggregate 600,000 shares of common stock at $1.85 per share. The bridge loan was subsequently paid
in full on May 26, 2004. Upon repayment of the bridge loan, our credit facility reverted back to
its original terms.
Second, we completed a public offering of 23,000,000 shares of common stock at $0.80 per share
during the second quarter of 2004 raising net proceeds of $16.7 million.
Third, we completed a public offering of 15,600,000 shares of common stock at $0.70 per share
during the fourth quarter of 2004 raising net proceeds of $10.1 million.
Contractual Obligations and Commercial Commitments
We incur various contractual obligations and commercial commitments in our normal course of
business. They consist of the following:
Capital Lease Obligations
Our capital lease obligations are for property and equipment and total $37,000.
Operating Lease Obligations
Our operating lease obligations consist of facility leases in Santa Barbara and Sunnyvale,
California. We assumed the Sunnyvale leases in connection with our acquisition of Conductus, Inc.
in 2002. The remaining Sunnyvale lease obligations as of December 31, 2005 total $227,000 and are
due in two remaining monthly installments through February 2006.
Patents and Licenses
We have entered into various licensing agreements requiring royalty payments ranging from
0.13% to 2.5% of specified product sales. Some of these agreements contain provisions for the
payment of guaranteed or minimum royalty amounts. Typically, the licensor can terminate our
license if we fail to pay minimum annual royalties.
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Purchase Commitments
In the normal course of business, we incur purchase obligations with vendors and suppliers for
the purchase of inventory, as well as other goods and services. These obligations are generally
evidenced by purchase orders that contain the terms and conditions associated with the purchase
arrangements. We are committed to accept delivery of such material pursuant to the purchase orders
subject to various contract provisions which allow us to delay receipt of such orders or cancel
orders beyond certain agreed upon lead times. Cancellations may result in cancellation costs
payable by us.
Quantitative Summary of Contractual Obligations and Commercial Commitments
At December 31, 2005, we had the following contractual obligations and commercial commitments:
Payments Due by Period | ||||||||||||||||||||
Contractual Obligations | Total | Less than 1 year | 2-3 years | 4-5 years | After 5 years | |||||||||||||||
Capital lease obligations |
$ | 37,000 | $ | 22,000 | $ | 15,000 | $ | | $ | | ||||||||||
Operating leases |
7,982,000 | 1,414,000 | 2,543,000 | 2,717,000 | 1,308,000 | |||||||||||||||
Minimum license
commitment |
2,120,000 | 170,000 | 300,000 | 300,000 | 1,350,000 | |||||||||||||||
Fixed asset and
inventory purchase
commitments |
2,835,000 | 2,835,000 | | | | |||||||||||||||
Total contractual cash
obligations |
$ | 12,974,000 | $ | 4,441,000 | $ | 2,858,000 | $ | 3,017,000 | $ | 2,658,000 | ||||||||||
Capital Expenditures
We plan to invest approximately $600,000 in fixed assets during 2006.
Future Liquidity (and Reverse Stock Split)
Our principal sources of liquidity consist of existing cash balances and funds expected to be
generated from future operations. Based on our current forecasts, we expect our existing cash
resources will be sufficient to fund our planned operations for at least the next twelve months.
We believe the key factors to our liquidity in 2006 will be our ability to successfully execute on
our plans to increase sales levels. Our cash requirements will also depend on numerous other
variable factors, including the rate of growth of sales, the timing and levels of products
purchased, payment terms and credit limits from manufacturers, and the timing and level of accounts
receivable collections.
If actual cash flows deviate significantly from forecasted amounts, we may require additional
financing in the next twelve months. We cannot assure you that additional financing (public or
private) will be available on acceptable terms or at all. If we issue additional equity securities
to raise funds, the ownership percentage of our existing stockholders would be reduced. New
investors may demand rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of existing holders of
common stock. If we cannot raise any needed funds, we might be forced to make further substantial
reductions in our operating expenses, which could adversely affect our ability to implement our
current business plan and ultimately our viability as a company.
In the last several years, we have raised money from investors to cover our operating losses
through public and private offerings. Our ability to continue to raise funds using these methods
may be adversely impacted by NASDAQ listing issues. Our continued NASDAQ listing requires us to
maintain a minimum stock price of $1 per share. Our stock traded below
$1 per share for 30 consecutive business days prior to April 4, 2005. We received a notice of
potential delisting from the NASDAQ Stock Market on that date and were provided until October 3,
2005 to regain compliance with the NASDAQ minimum price rule. Since our stock price did not
recover by the original deadline and we continued to meet all other listing requirements, on
October 5, 2005, we transferred our listing to the NASDAQ Capital Market to secure additional time
for regaining compliance and were granted an additional 180-day grace period (until March 30, 2006)
to regain compliance with the minimum price requirement. The NASDAQ Stock Market has a continued
listing requirement of $1.00 per share for both its National Market System and the Capital Market.
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In order to maximize our options for addressing this problem, we submitted a request to our
stockholders at our 2005 annual meeting for discretionary authority over the next year to implement
a reverse stock split in the range of 1-for-2 to 1-for-10. The stockholders approved that
proposal, and we have discretionary authority to take such action anytime prior to May 25, 2006.
Our common stock continues to trade below the minimum price requirement. Therefore, we have
decided to implement a 1-for-10 reverse stock split effective March 13, 2006.
We cannot predict, however, whether the reverse stock split will achieve the desired result of
maintaining our listing on the NASDAQ Stock Market. The price per share of our common stock is
also a function of our financial performance and other factors, some of which may be unrelated to
the number of shares outstanding. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the closing bid
price of the our common stock after the reverse stock split will increase in an amount
proportionate to the decrease in the number of issued and outstanding shares, or will increase at
all, or that any increase can be sustained for a prolonged period of time or a sufficient amount of
time to regain compliance with the NASDAQ minimum price requirement.
Our financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going
concern. The factors described above raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a
going concern. Our financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from this
uncertainty.
In 2005, we incurred a net loss of $14.2 million and had negative cash flows from
operations of $9.4 million. Our independent registered public accounting firm has included in their audit report for
fiscal 2005 an explanatory paragraph expressing doubt about our ability to continue as a going
concern. They included a similar explanatory paragraph in their audit report for 2002, 2003 and
2004. In 2004 we incurred a net loss of $31.2 million and had negative cash flow from operations
of $21.6 million. In response over the past two years, we reduced direct and indirect
labor and continued to cut fixed costs. We also consolidated our Sunnyvale operations into our
Santa Barbara facility and accelerated the reduction of our production costs. We have also taken
several steps to increase our commercial sales. We have introduced new products and are
aggressively taking steps to add new customers. In 2005, we hired a new Vice President, World Wide
Sales and upgraded the quality of our sales force.
Net Operating Loss Carryforward
As of December 31, 2005, we had net operating loss carryforwards for federal and state income
tax purposes of approximately $255.1 million and $128.0 million, respectively, which expire in the
years 2006 through 2025. Of these amounts $89.4 million and $30.2 million, respectively resulted
from the acquisition of Conductus. Included in the net operating loss carryforwards are deductions
related to stock options of approximately $24.1 million and $13.1 million for federal and
California income tax purposes, respectively. To the extent net operating loss carryforwards are
recognized for accounting purposes the resulting benefits related to the stock options will be
credited to stockholders equity. In addition, we have research and development and other tax
credits for federal and state income tax purposes of approximately $2.5 million and $1.2 million,
respectively, which expire in the years 2006 through 2025. Of these amounts $774,000 and $736,000,
respectively resulted from the acquisition of Conductus.
Due to the uncertainty surrounding their realization, we have recorded a full valuation
allowance against our net deferred tax assets. Accordingly, no deferred tax asset has been
recorded in the accompanying balance sheet.
Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code imposes an annual limitation on the utilization of
net operating loss carryforwards based on a statutory rate of return (usually the applicable
federal funds rate, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code) and the value of the corporation at
the time of a change of ownership as defined by Section 382. We completed an analysis of our
equity transactions and determined that we had a change in ownership in August 1999 and
December 2002. Therefore, the ability to utilize net operating loss carryforwards incurred
prior to the change of ownership totaling $99.9 million will be subject in future periods to an
annual limitation of $1.3 million. In addition, we acquired the right to Conductus net operating
losses, which are also subject to the limitations imposed by Section 382. Conductus underwent
three ownership changes, which occurred in February 1999, February 2001 and December 2002.
Therefore, the ability to utilize Conductus net operating loss carryforwards of $89.4 million
incurred prior to the ownership changes will be subject in future periods to annual limitation of
$700,000. Net operating losses incurred by us subsequent to the ownership changes totaled $65.8
million and are not subject to this limitation.
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Future Accounting Requirements
In December 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued SFAS No. 123(R) (revised
2004), Share-Based Payment which amends SFAS Statement 123 and will be effective for public
companies for annual periods beginning after June 15, 2005. The new standard will require us to
recognize compensation costs in our 2006 financial statements in an amount equal to the fair value of
share-based payments granted to employees and directors. In March 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Staff Accounting Bulletin
No. 107 (SAB 107), Share-Based Payment. SAB 107 provides guidance on the initial
implementation of SFAS 123(R). In particular, the statement included guidance related to
shares-based payment awards for non-employees, valuation methods and selecting underlying
assumptions such as expected volatility and expected terms. It also gives guidance on the
classification of compensation expense associated with such awards and accounting for the income
tax effects of those awards upon the adoption of SFAS 123(R). For
previously issued awards, the Company will adopt SFAS 123(R) on
a modified prospective basis and recognize compensation expense on the unvested
portion of the awards over the remaining vesting period.
SFAS 123(R) is expected to have approximately a $250,000 impact
on our results for the year ending December 31, 2006.
In November 2004, the FASB issued SFAS No. 151, Inventory Costs, an amendment of ARB No. 43,
Chapter 4. This statement amends the guidance in ARB No. 43, Chapter 4, Inventory Pricing, to
clarify the accounting for abnormal amounts of idle facility expense, freight, handling costs, and
wasted material (spoilage). Paragraph 5 of ARB No. 43, Chapter 4, previously stated that ...under
some circumstances, items such as idle facility expense, excessive spoilage, double freight, and
rehandling costs may be so abnormal as to require treatment as current period charges.... SFAS
No. 151 requires that those items be recognized as current-period charges regardless of whether
they meet the criterion of so abnormal. In addition, this statement 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 SFAS 151 shall be applied prospectively and are effective
for inventory costs incurred during fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2005, with earlier
application permitted for inventory costs incurred during fiscal years beginning after the date
this Statement was issued. We do not expect the adoption of SFAS No. 151 to have a material impact
on our financial position and results of operations.
Market Risk
We are exposed to various market risks, including changes in interest rates. Market risk is
the potential loss arising from adverse changes in market rates and prices. We do not enter into
derivatives or other financial instruments for trading or speculation purposes.
At December 31, 2005, we had approximately $12.5 million invested in a money market account
yielding approximately 4.069%. Assuming a 1% decrease in the yield on this money market account
and no liquidation of principal for the year, our total interest income would decrease by
approximately $125,000 per annum. Also, at December 31, 2005, we had no amounts outstanding under
a $5.0 million bank borrowing arrangement bearing interest at the prime rate (7.25% at December 31,
2005) plus 2.50%. Assuming a 1% increase in the prime rate interest and that the entire line was
used for the entire year, interest expense would increase approximately $40,000.
Forward-Looking Statements
This report contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. We have
made these statements in reliance on the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our forward-
looking statements relate to future events or our future performance and include, but are not
limited to, statements concerning our business strategy, future commercial revenues, market growth,
capital requirements, new product introductions, expansion plans and the adequacy of our funding.
Other statements contained in this report that are not historical facts are also forward-looking
statements. We have tried, wherever possible, to identify forward-looking statements by
terminology such as may, will, could, should, expects, anticipates, intends, plans,
believes, seeks, estimates and other comparable terminology.
34
Table of Contents
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to various
risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may
differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. They can be affected by many
factors, including, but not limited to the following:
| fluctuations in product demand from quarter to quarter which can be significant, | ||
| the impact of competitive filter products, technologies and pricing, | ||
| manufacturing capacity constraints and difficulties, | ||
| market acceptance risks, and | ||
| general economic conditions. |
Please read the section in this report entitled Item 1A Risk Factors for a description of
additional uncertainties and factors that may affect our forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are based on information presently available to senior management, and
we do not assume any duty to update our forward-looking statements.
Inflation
We do not foresee any material impact on our operations from inflation.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
See Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations Market Risk.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
All information required by this item is listed in the Index to Financial Statements in Part IV, Item 15(a)1.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
Not applicable.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance that
information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit, is recorded,
processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commissions rules and forms, and such information is accumulated and communicated to
management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures..
Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have evaluated our disclosure controls
and procedures and have concluded, as of December 31, 2005, that they are effective as described
above.
Managements Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over
financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). Under the supervision
and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief
Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over
financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control Integrated Framework, issued by
the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO Framework). Based on
our evaluation under the COSO Framework, our management concluded that our internal control over
financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2005.
35
Table of Contents
Our managements assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial
reporting as of December 31, 2005 has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent
registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report on Page F-1 of this Annual Report on
Form 10-K.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the year
ended December 31, 2005 that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect
our internal control over financial reporting.
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 risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that
the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
We disclosed all the information required to be disclosed pursuant to Form 8-K during the
fourth quarter of 2005.
PART III
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT
Information regarding our executive officers and directors is incorporated by reference to the
information set forth under the caption Directors and Executive Officers in our Proxy Statement
for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the Commission within 120 days after the
end of our year ended December 31, 2005.
We have a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics for all of our employees, including our Chief
Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer. The purpose of the
code is to ensure that our business is conducted in a consistently legal and ethical matter. We
have posted the text of the code on our website at www.suptech.com. We will post any material
amendments or waivers to the code on our website. We will provide a copy of our code free of
charge to any person upon request by writing to us at the following address: Superconductor
Technologies Inc., 460 Ward Drive, Santa Barbara, California 93111-2310, Attn: Corporate Secretary.
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Information regarding executive compensation is incorporated by reference to the information
set forth under the caption Executive Officer Compensation in our Proxy Statement for the Annual
Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the Commission within 120 days after the end of our year
ended December 31, 2005.
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT
Information regarding security ownership of certain beneficial owners and management is
incorporated by reference to the information set forth under the caption Voting Securities Of
Principal Stockholders And Management in our Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of
Stockholders to be filed with the Commission within 120 days after the end of our year ended
December 31, 2005.
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Information regarding certain relationships and related transactions is incorporated by
reference to the information set forth under the caption Certain Transactions in our Proxy
Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the Commission within 120 days
after the end of our year ended December 31, 2005.
36
Table of Contents
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND DISCLOSURES
Information regarding accounting fees and disclosures is incorporated by reference to the
information set forth under the caption Fees Paid to Independent Auditors in our Proxy Statement
for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the Commission within 120 days after the
end of our year ended December 31, 2005.
PART IV
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
(a) The following documents are filed as part of this Report:
1. Index to Financial Statements. The following financial statements of the Company
and the Report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, are included in
Part IV of this Report on the pages indicated:
Page | ||||
F-1 | ||||
F-3 | ||||
F-4 | ||||
F-5 | ||||
F-6 | ||||
F-7 |
2. Financial Statement Schedule Covered by the Foregoing Report of Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm.
Schedule II Valuation and Qualifying Accounts F-31
All other schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the required information
is shown in the financial statements or the notes thereto.
3. Exhibits.
Number | Description of Document | |
3.1
|
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company (1) | |
3.2
|
Certificate of Amendment of Restated Certificate of Incorporation (2) | |
3.3
|
Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant (3) | |
4.1
|
Form of Common Stock Certificate (4) | |
4.2
|
Third Amended and Restated Stockholders Rights Agreement (5) | |
4.3
|
Warrant Issued to PNC Bank, National Association in connection with Credit Agreement (5) | |
4.4
|
Warrant Purchase Agreement dated December 1, 1999 with PNC Bank (6) | |
4.5
|
Warrant Purchase Agreement dated January 12, 2000 with PNC Bank (6) | |
4.6
|
Certificate of Designations, Preferences and Rights of Series E Convertible Stock (7) | |
4.7
|
Securities Purchase Agreement dated as of September 29, 2000 between the Company and RGC International Investors, LDC. (Exhibits and Schedules Omitted) (7) | |
4.8
|
Registration Rights Agreement dated as of September 29, 2000 between the Company and RGC International Investors, LDC. (7) | |
4.9
|
Initial Stock Purchase Warrant dated as of September 29, 2000 between the Company and RGC International Investors, LDC. (7) | |
4.10
|
Incentive Stock Purchase Warrant dated as of September 29, 2000 between the Company and RGC International Investors, LDC. (7) |
37
Table of Contents
Number | Description of Document | |
4.11
|
Registration Rights Agreement, dated March 6, 2002 (8) | |
4.12
|
Warrants to Purchase Shares of Common Stock, dated March 11, 2002 (8) | |
4.13
|
Registration Rights Agreement dated October 10, 2002 (9) | |
4.14
|
Warrants to Purchase Common Stock dated October 10, 2002 (9) | |
4.15
|
Common Stock Purchase Agreement, dated March 8, 2002 between Conductus, Inc. and the investors signatory thereto (10) | |
4.16
|
Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, dated March 8, 2002 by Conductus, Inc. to certain investors (11) | |
4.17
|
Registration Rights Agreement, dated March 26, 2002, between Conductus, Inc. and certain investors (11) | |
4.18
|
Warrant to Purchase Common Stock, dated August 7, 2000, issued by Conductus to Dobson Communications Corporation (12) * | |
4.19
|
Form of Series B Preferred Stock and Warrant Purchase Agreement dated September 11, 1998 and September 22, 1998 between Conductus and Series B Investors (13) | |
4.20
|
Form of Warrant to Purchase Common Stock between Conductus and Series B investors, dated September 28, 1998, issued by Conductus in a private placement (13) | |
4.21
|
Form of Series C Preferred Stock and Warrant Purchase Agreement, dated December 10, 1999, between Conductus and Series C Investors (14) | |
4.22
|
Form of Warrant Purchase Common Stock between Conductus and Series C investors, dated December 10, 1999, issued by Conductus in a private placement (14) | |
4.23
|
Form of Warrant to Purchase Common Stock dated March 28, 2003, issued to Silicon Valley Bank (15) | |
4.24
|
Form of Warrant (16) | |
4.25
|
Form of Registration Rights Agreement (16) | |
4.26
|
Agility Capital Warrant dated May 2004 (17) | |
4.27
|
Silicon Valley Bank Warrant dated May 2004(17) | |
4.28
|
Form of Warrant dated August 2005 (18) | |
10.1
|
1992 Director Option Plan (19) | |
10.2
|
1992 Stock Option Plan (19) | |
10.3
|
Joint Venture Company (JDC) Agreement between the Registrant and Sunpower Incorporated dated April 2, 1992(19)* | |
10.4
|
Government Contract issued to Registrant by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency through the Office of Naval Research dated September 4, 1991 (19) | |
10.5
|
License Agreement between the Registrant and E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company dated December 1992 (19) * | |
10.6
|
Amended and Restated 1988 Stock Option Plan, as amended, with form of stock option agreement (20) | |
10.7
|
1999 Stock Option Agreement (6) | |
10.8
|
1998 Stock Option Plan (21) | |
10.10(a)
|
Promissory Note between Charles E. Shalvoy and Conductus dated December 28, 2000 (22) | |
10.10(b)
|
Security Agreement between Charles E. Shalvoy and Conductus dated December 28, 2000 (22) | |
10.10(c)
|
Promissory Note Agreement between Charles E. Shalvoy and Conductus dated August 21, 2001 (22) | |
10.10(d)
|
Security Agreement between Charles E. Shalvoy and Conductus dated August 21, 2000 (22) | |
10.11(a)
|
Form of Change of Control Agreement dated March 28, 2003 (23) | |
10.11(b)
|
Form of Amendment to Change of Control Agreement dated as of May 24, 2005 * | |
10.12(a)
|
Accounts Receivable Purchase Agreement dated March 28, 2003 by and between Registrant and Silicon Valley Bank (23) | |
10.12(b)
|
Accounts Receivable Purchase Modification Agreement with Silicon Valley Bank dated March 17, 2004 (24) |
38
Table of Contents
Number | Description of Document | |
10.12(c)
|
Accounts Receivable Purchase Modification Agreement with Silicon Valley Bank dated March 29, 2005 (25) | |
10.12(d)
|
Unconditional Guaranty dated March 27, 2003 issued by Conductus, Inc. to Silicon Valley Bank (23) | |
10.13
|
Patent License Agreement between Telcordia Technologies, Inc. and Registrant dated July 13, 2002 (23)* | |
10.14(a)
|
Securities Purchase Agreement dated June 23, 2003 (26) | |
10.14(b)
|
Form of Investor Warrant (26) | |
10.14(c)
|
Form of Registration Rights Agreement (26) | |
10.15
|
Patent License Agreement by and between Lucent Technologies and the Company ** (27) | |
10.16
|
Consulting Agreement with Charles Shalvoy dated November 4, 2004 (30) | |
10.17
|
License Agreement with Sunpower ** (30) | |
10.18(a)
|
Employment Agreement with Jeffrey Quiram (28) | |
10.18(b)
|
Option Agreement with Jeffrey Quiram (28) | |
10.19(a)
|
2003 Equity Incentive Plan (as amended May 25, 2005) (29) | |
10.19(b)
|
Form of Option Agreement for 2003 Equity Incentive Plan (28) | |
10.20
|
Employment Agreement with Terry White (30) | |
10.21
|
Compensation Policy for Non-Employee Directors dated March 18, 2005 (30) | |
10.22
|
Stipulation of Settlement to Class Action dated as of March 8, 2005(30) | |
10.23(a)
|
Placement Agency Agreement by and between the Company and SG Cowen & Co., Inc. dated August 10, 2005 (31) | |
10.23(b)
|
Form of Subscription Agreement for August 2005 offering (31) | |
10.24
|
Form of Director and Officer Indemnification Agreement * | |
10.25
|
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics * | |
21
|
List of Subsidiaries | |
23
|
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm | |
31.1
|
Statement of CEO Pursuant to 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 | |
31.2
|
Statement of CFO Pursuant to 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 | |
32.1
|
Statement of CEO Pursuant to 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 | |
32.2
|
Statement of CFO Pursuant to 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
(1) | Incorporated by reference from the Registrants Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed for the quarter ended April 3, 1999. | |
(2) | Incorporated by reference from the Registrants Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed for the quarter ended June 30, 2001. | |
(3) | Incorporated by reference from Registrants Form 8-K dated May 25, 2005. | |
(4) | Incorporated by reference from the Registrants Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Reg. No. 33-56714). | |
(5) | Incorporated by reference from the Registrants Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed for the quarter ended July 3, 1999. | |
(6) | Incorporated by reference from the Registrants Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Reg. No. 333-90293). | |
(7) | Incorporated by reference from the Registrants Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999. | |
(8) | Incorporated by reference from Registrants Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001. | |
(9) | Incorporated by reference from the Registrants Current Report on Form 8-K, filed October 2, 2002. | |
(10) | Incorporated by reference from the Registrants Annual Report on Form 10-K filed for the year ended December 31, 1997. | |
(11) | Incorporated by reference from the Conductus, Inc.s Registration Statement on Form S-3 (Reg. No. 333-85928) filed on April 9, 2002. |
39
Table of Contents
(12) | Incorporated by reference from Conductus, Inc.s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC on November 16, 1998. | |
(13) | Incorporated by reference from Conductus, Inc.s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999. | |
(14) | Incorporated by reference from Conductus, Inc.s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999. | |
(15) | Incorporate by reference from Registrants Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 29, 2003. | |
(16) | Incorporated by reference from Registrants Current Report on Form 8-K filed June 25, 2003. | |
(17) | Incorporated by reference from Registrants Registration Statement of Form S-3 (Reg. 333-89184). | |
(18) | Incorporated by reference from Registrants Form 8-K dated August 10, 2005. | |
(19) | Incorporated by reference from Amendment No. 1 to the Registrants Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Reg. No. 33-56714). | |
(20) | Incorporated by reference from the Registrants Annual Report on Form 10-K filed for the year ended December 31, 1994. | |
(21) | Incorporated by reference from the Registrants Registration Statement on Form S-8 (Reg. No. 333-56606) filed March 6, 2001. | |
(22) | Incorporated by reference from the Registrants Registration Statement on Form S-4 (Reg. No. 333-100908). | |
(23) | Incorporate by reference from Registrants Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 29, 2003. | |
(24) | Incorporated by reference from Registrants Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 3, 2004. | |
(25) | Incorporated by reference from Registrants Form 8-K dated March 29, 2005. | |
(26) | Incorporated by reference from Registrants Current Report on Form 8-K filed June 25, 2003. | |
(27) | Incorporated by reference from Registrants Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003. | |
(28) | Incorporated by reference from Registrants Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004. | |
(29) | Incorporated by reference from Registrants Form 8-K dated May 25, 2005. | |
(30) | Incorporated by reference from Registrants Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 2, 2005. | |
(31) | Incorporated by reference from Registrants Form 8-K dated March 29, 2005 | |
* | Filed herewith. | |
** | Confidential treatment has been previously granted for certain portions of these exhibits. |
(b) Exhibits. See Item 15(a) above.
40
Table of Contents
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized, on this 7th day of March 2006.
SUPERCONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES INC. | ||||||||
By: | /s/ Jeffrey A. Quiram | |||||||
Jeffrey A. Quiram | ||||||||
President and Chief Executive Officer |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL THESE PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below
constitutes and appoints Martin S. McDermut, his attorney-in-fact, with full power of substitution,
for him in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Report on Form 10-K, and
to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact
or his substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Report on Form 10-K
has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities
and on the dates indicated:
Signature | Title | Date | ||
/s/ Jeffrey A. Quiram
|
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer) | March 7, 2006 | ||
/s/ Martin S. McDermut
|
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary (Principal Financial Officer) | March 7, 2006 | ||
/s/ William J. Buchanan
|
Controller (Principal Accounting Officer) | March 7, 2006 | ||
/s/ John F. Carlson
|
Director | March 7, 2006 | ||
/s/ Lynn J. Davis
|
Director | March 7, 2006 | ||
/s/ Dennis J. Horowitz
|
Director | March 7, 2006 | ||
/s/ Martin A. Kaplan
|
Director | March 7, 2006 | ||
/s/ John D. Lockton
|
Chairman of the Board | March 7, 2006 | ||
Director |
S-1
Table of Contents
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of
Superconductor Technologies Inc.:
Superconductor Technologies Inc.:
We have completed integrated audits of Superconductor Technologies Inc.s 2005 and
2004 consolidated financial statements and of its internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2005, and an audit of its 2003 consolidated financial statements in accordance with
the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Our opinions,
based on our audits, are presented below.
Consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements listed in the index appearing
under Item 15(a)(1) present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of
Superconductor Technologies Inc. and its subsidiaries at
December 31, 2005 and December 31, 2004 and the results of
their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2005 in conformity with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. In addition, in our
opinion, the financial statement schedule listed in the accompanying index appearing under Item
15(a)(2) presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein
when read in conjunction with the related consolidated financial statements. These financial
statements and financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the Companys management.
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial statement
schedule based on our audits. We conducted our audits of these statements in accordance with the
standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards
require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the
financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit of financial statements includes
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. We believe that our audits provide a
reasonable basis for our opinion.
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company
will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements,
the Company has had recurring losses and used $9.4 million in cash for operations in 2005. These
matters raise a substantial doubt about the Companys ability to continue as a going concern.
Managements plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 2. The consolidated
financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this
uncertainty
Internal control over financial reporting
Also, in our opinion, managements assessment, included Managements Report on Internal Control
Over Financial Reporting, appearing under Item 9A, that the Company maintained effective internal
control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005 based on criteria established in Internal Control -
Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission (COSO), is fairly stated, in all material respects, based on those criteria.
F-1
Table of Contents
Furthermore, in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal
control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005, based on criteria established in
Internal Control Integrated Framework issued by the COSO. The Companys management is
responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its
assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. Our responsibility
is to express opinions on managements assessment and on the effectiveness of the Companys
internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We conducted our audit of internal
control over financial reporting in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to
obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was
maintained in all material respects. An audit of internal control over financial reporting
includes obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, evaluating
managements assessment, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal
control, and performing such other procedures as we consider necessary in the circumstances. We
believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinions.
A companys 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
companys internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i)
pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the
transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) 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 (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized
acquisition, use, or disposition of the companys 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.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Los Angeles, California
March 3, 2006
Los Angeles, California
March 3, 2006
F-2
Table of Contents
SUPERCONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2004 | 2005 | |||||||
ASSETS |
||||||||
Current Assets: |
||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 12,802,000 | $ | 13,018,000 | ||||
Accounts receivable, net |
1,434,000 | 2,166,000 | ||||||
Inventory, net |
9,327,000 | 5,364,000 | ||||||
Insurance settlement receivable |
4,000,000 | | ||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
906,000 | 723,000 | ||||||
Total Current Assets |
28,469,000 | 21,271,000 | ||||||
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of
$15,189,000 and $17,295,000, respectively |
10,303,000 | 7,803,000 | ||||||
Patents, licenses and purchased technology, net of accumulated
amortization
of $768,000 and $1,065,000, respectively |
2,833,000 | 2,514,000 | ||||||
Goodwill |
20,107,000 | 20,107,000 | ||||||
Other assets |
646,000 | 350,000 | ||||||
Total Assets |
$ | 62,358,000 | $ | 52,045,000 | ||||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY |
||||||||
Current Liabilities: |
||||||||
Line of credit |
$ | 938,000 | $ | | ||||
Accounts payable |
2,691,000 | 2,036,000 | ||||||
Accrued expenses |
4,601,000 | 1,998,000 | ||||||
Legal settlement liability |
4,050,000 | | ||||||
Current portion of capitalized lease obligations and long term debt |
43,000 | 19,000 | ||||||
Total Current Liabilities |
12,323,000 | 4,053,000 | ||||||
Capitalized lease obligations and long term-debt |
33,000 | 14,000 | ||||||
Other long term liabilities |
753,000 | 721,000 | ||||||
Total Liabilities |
13,109,000 | 4,788,000 | ||||||
Commitments and contingencies-Notes 9, 10 and 11 |
||||||||
Stockholders Equity: |
||||||||
Preferred stock, $.001 par value, 2,000,000 shares authorized,
none issued and outstanding |
| | ||||||
Common stock, $.001 par value, 250,000,000 shares
authorized, 107,711,026 and 124,834,314 shares issued and outstanding,
respectively |
108,000 | 125,000 | ||||||
Capital in excess of par value |
196,983,000 | 208,432,000 | ||||||
Notes receivable from stockholder and board member |
(820,000 | ) | (65,000 | ) | ||||
Accumulated deficit |
(147,022,000 | ) | (161,235,000 | ) | ||||
Total Stockholders Equity |
49,249,000 | 47,257,000 | ||||||
Total Liabilities and Stockholders Equity |
$ | 62,358,000 | $ | 52,045,000 | ||||
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements
F-3
Table of Contents
SUPERCONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
For the Year Ended December 31 | ||||||||||||
2003 | 2004 | 2005 | ||||||||||
Net revenues: |
||||||||||||
Net commercial product revenues |
$ | 38,577,000 | $ | 16,787,000 | $ | 21,080,000 | ||||||
Government and other contract revenues |
10,759,000 | 6,189,000 | 3,107,000 | |||||||||
Sub license royalties |
58,000 | 28,000 | 22,000 | |||||||||
Total net revenues |
49,394,000 | 23,004,000 | 24,209,000 | |||||||||
Costs and expenses: |
||||||||||||
Cost of commercial product revenues |
28,249,000 | 23,421,000 | 18,989,000 | |||||||||
Contract research and development |
6,899,000 | 4,465,000 | 2,806,000 | |||||||||
Other research and development |
4,697,000 | 5,036,000 | 4,214,000 | |||||||||
Selling, general and administrative |
20,567,000 | 16,051,000 | 11,442,000 | |||||||||
Restructuring expenses and impairment charges |
| 4,128,000 | 1,197,000 | |||||||||
Total costs and expenses |
60,412,000 | 53,101,000 | 38,648,000 | |||||||||
Loss from operations |
(11,018,000 | ) | (30,097,000 | ) | (14,439,000 | ) | ||||||
Interest income |
177,000 | 125,000 | 342,000 | |||||||||
Interest expense |
(504,000 | ) | (1,245,000 | ) | (116,000 | ) | ||||||
Net loss |
(11,345,000 | ) | (31,217,000 | ) | (14,213,000 | ) | ||||||
Basic and diluted net loss per common share |
($0.18 | ) | ($0.37 | ) | ($0.12 | ) | ||||||
Basic and diluted weighted average number of
common shares outstanding |
62,685,292 | 84,241,447 | 114,185,036 | |||||||||
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements
F-4
Table of Contents
SUPERCONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY
Convertible Preferred | Capital in | Receivable | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stock | Common Stock | Excess of | From | Accumulated | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Par Value | Stockholder | Deficit | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at December 31, 2002 |
| $ | | 59,823,553 | $ | 60,000 | $ | 154,744,000 | $ | (820,000 | ) | $ | (104,460,000 | ) | $ | 49,524,000 | ||||||||||||||||
Exercise of stock options |
56,687 | 173,000 | 173,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of common stock and
warrants for cash |
5,116,278 | 5,000 | 10,060,000 | 10,065,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Exercise of warrants |
3,910,591 | 4,000 | 3,618,000 | 3,622,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of options and warrants |
181,000 | 181,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net loss |
(11,345,000 | ) | (11,345,000 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at December 31, 2003 |
| | 68,907,109 | 69,000 | $ | 168,776,000 | (820,000 | ) | (115,805,000 | ) | 52,220,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Exercise of stock options |
89,748 | | 250,000 | 250,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of common stock |
38,600,000 | 39,000 | 26,748,000 | 26,787,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Exercise of warrants |
114,169 | | 236,000 | 236,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of options and warrants |
973,000 | 973,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net loss |
(31,217,000 | ) | (31,217,000 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at December 31, 2004 |
| | 107,711,026 | 108,000 | 196,983,000 | (820,000 | ) | (147,022,000 | ) | 49,249,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of common stock and
warrants |
17,123,288 | 17,000 | 11,424,000 | 11,441,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of options |
25,000 | 25,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Reserve for impairment |
755,000 | 755,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net loss |
(14,213,000 | ) | (14,213,000 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at December 31, 2005 |
| | 124,834,314 | $ | 125,000 | $ | 208,432,000 | $ | (65,000 | ) | $ | (161,235,000 | ) | $ | 47,257,000 | |||||||||||||||||
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
F-5
Table of Contents
SUPERCONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
For the Year Ended December 31 | ||||||||||||
2003 | 2004 | 2005 | ||||||||||
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES: |
||||||||||||
Net loss |
$ | (11,345,000 | ) | $ | (31,217,000 | ) | $ | (14,213,000 | ) | |||
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used for
operating activities: |
||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
3,277,000 | 3,463,000 | 3,225,000 | |||||||||
Non-cash restructuring and impairment charges |
| 3,659,000 | | |||||||||
Warrants and options charges |
104,000 | 973,000 | 25,000 | |||||||||
Provision for excess and obsolete inventories |
719,000 | 4,836,000 | 984,000 | |||||||||
Forgiveness of note receivable from former CEO |
| | 150,000 | |||||||||
Reserve for impairment of note and interest receivable from
stockholder |
| | 924,000 | |||||||||
Gain on disposal of property and equipment |
| | (138,000 | ) | ||||||||
Changes in assets and liabilities: |
||||||||||||
Accounts receivable |
(5,404,000 | ) | 7,375,000 | (732,000 | ) | |||||||
Inventory |
(3,174,000 | ) | (5,361,000 | ) | 2,979,000 | |||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
(184,000 | ) | (146,000 | ) | 112,000 | |||||||
Patents and licenses |
(531,000 | ) | (546,000 | ) | (154,000 | ) | ||||||
Other assets |
(114,000 | ) | (46,000 | ) | (23,000 | ) | ||||||
Accounts payable and accrued expenses |
(1,806,000 | ) | (4,570,000 | ) | (2,543,000 | ) | ||||||
Net cash used in operating activities |
(18,458,000 | ) | (21,580,000 | ) | (9,404,000 | ) | ||||||
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES: |
||||||||||||
Proceeds from the sale of property and equipment |
| | 216,000 | |||||||||
Purchase of property and equipment |
(3,855,000 | ) | (1,812,000 | ) | (261,000 | ) | ||||||
Payment of up front license fee |
(500,000 | ) | | | ||||||||
Net cash used in investing activities |
(4,355,000 | ) | (1,812,000 | ) | (45,000 | ) | ||||||
CASH FLOW FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES: |
||||||||||||
Proceeds from short-term borrowings |
7,234,000 | 5,567,000 | 662,000 | |||||||||
Payments on short-term borrowings |
(3,926,000 | ) | (7,937,000 | ) | (1,600,000 | ) | ||||||
Payments on long-term obligations |
(1,402,000 | ) | (645,000 | ) | (43,000 | ) | ||||||
Gross proceeds from sale of common stock and exercise of
warrants and options |
14,795,000 | 29,829,000 | 12,500,000 | |||||||||
Payment of common stock issuance costs |
(935,000 | ) | (1,764,000 | ) | (1,854,000 | ) | ||||||
Net cash provided by financing activities |
15,766,000 | 25,050,000 | 9,665,000 | |||||||||
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents |
(7,047,000 | ) | 1,658,000 | 216,000 | ||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year |
18,191,000 | 11,144,000 | 12,802,000 | |||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year |
$ | 11,144,000 | $ | 12,802,000 | $ | 13,018,000 | ||||||
See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.
F-6
Table of Contents
SUPERCONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1 The Company
Superconductor Technologies Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, the Company) was
incorporated in Delaware on May 11, 1987 and maintains its headquarters in Santa Barbara,
California. The Company operates in a single industry segment, the research, development,
manufacture and marketing of high-performance infrastructure products for wireless voice and data
applications. The Companys commercial products are divided into three product offerings:
SuperLink (high-temperature superconducting filters), AmpLink (high performance, ground-mounted
amplifiers) and SuperPlex (high performance multiplexers). The Companys research and development
contracts are used as a source of funds for its commercial technology development. From 1987 to
1997, the Company was engaged primarily in research and development and generated revenues
primarily from government research contracts.
The Company continues to be involved as either contractor or subcontractor on a number of
contracts with the United States government. These contracts have been and continue to provide a
significant source of revenues for the Company. For the years ended December 31, 2003, 2004, and
2005, government related contracts account for 22%, 27% and 13%, respectively, of the Companys net
revenues.
Note 2 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
In 2005, the Company incurred a net loss of $14,213,000 and negative cash flows from
operations of $9,404,000.
The Companys principal sources of liquidity consists of existing cash balances, a bank line
of credit and funds expected to be generated from future operations. The Company expects its
existing cash resources, together with its line of credit will be sufficient to fund its planned
operations for at least the next twelve months. The Company believes the key factors to its
liquidity in 2006 will be its ability to successfully execute on its plans to increase sales
levels. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to increase sales levels. Its cash
requirements will also depend on numerous other variable factors, including the rate of growth of
sales, the timing and levels of products purchased, payment terms and credit limits from
manufacturers, and the timing and level of accounts receivable collections.
If actual cash flows deviate significantly from forecasted amounts, the Company may require
additional financing in the next twelve months. There is no assurance that additional financing
(public or private) will be available on acceptable terms or at all. If the Company issues
additional equity securities to raise funds, the ownership percentage of its existing stockholders
would be reduced. New investors may demand rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of
existing holders of common stock. If the Company cannot raise any needed funds, it might be forced
to make further substantial reductions in its operating expenses, which could adversely affect its
ability to implement its current business plan and ultimately its viability as a company.
The Companys financial statements have been prepared assuming that it will continue as a
going concern. The factors described above raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue
as a going concern. These financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result
from this uncertainty.
Principles of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Superconductor Technologies Inc.
and its wholly owned subsidiaries (the Company). All significant intercompany transactions have
been eliminated from the consolidated financial statements.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents consist of highly liquid investments with original maturities of
three months or less. Cash and cash equivalents are maintained with quality financial institutions
and from time to time exceed FDIC limits. Historically, the Company has not experienced any losses
due to such concentration of credit risk.
F-7
Table of Contents
Accounts Receivable
The Company sells predominantly to entities in the wireless communications industry and to
entities of the United States government. The Company grants uncollateralized credit to its
customers. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers before granting credit.
Trade accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount and do not bear interest. The
allowance for doubtful accounts is our best estimate of the amount of probable credit losses in our
existing accounts receivable. The Company determines the allowance based on historical write-off
experience. Past due balances are reviewed for collectibility. Accounts balances are charged off
against the allowance when the Company deems it is probable the receivable will not be recovered.
The Company does not have any off balance sheet credit exposure related to its customers.
Revenue Recognition
Commercial revenues are principally derived from the sale of the Companys SuperLink, AmpLink
and SuperPlex family of products and are recognized once all of the following conditions have been
met: a) an authorized purchase order has been received in writing, b) customers credit worthiness
has been established, c) shipment of the product has occurred, d) title has transferred, and e) if
stipulated by the contract, customer acceptance has occurred and all significant vendor
obligations, if any, have been satisfied.
Contract revenues are principally generated under research and development contracts.
Contract revenues are recognized utilizing the percentage-of-completion method measured by the
relationship of costs incurred to total estimated contract costs. If the current contract estimate
were to indicate a loss, utilizing the funded amount of the contract, a provision would be made for
the total anticipated loss. Revenues from research related activities are derived primarily from
contracts with agencies of the United States Government. Credit risk related to accounts
receivable arising from such contracts is considered minimal. These contracts include cost-plus,
fixed price and cost sharing arrangements and are generally short-term in nature.
All payments to the Company for work performed on contracts with agencies of the U.S.
Government are subject to adjustment upon audit by the Defense Contract Audit Agency. Contract
audits through 2002 are closed. Based on historical experience and review of current projects in
process, management believes that the audits will not have a significant effect on the financial
position, results of operations or cash flows of the Company.
Shipping and Handling Fees and Costs
Shipping and handling fees billed to customers are included in net commercial product
revenues. Shipping and handling fees associated with freight are generally included in
cost of commercial product revenues.
Warranties
The Company offers warranties generally ranging from one to five years, depending on the
product and negotiated terms of purchase agreements with its customers. Such warranties require
the Company to repair or replace defective product returned to the Company during such warranty
period at no cost to the customer. An estimate by the Company for warranty related costs is
recorded by the Company at the time of sale based on its actual historical product return rates and
expected repair costs. Such costs have been within managements expectations.
Guarantees
In connection with the sales and manufacturing of its commercial products, the Company
indemnifies, without limit or term, its customers and contract manufactures against all claims,
suits, demands, damages, liabilities, expenses, judgments, settlements and penalties arising from
actual or alleged infringement or misappropriation of any intellectual property relating to its
products or other claims arising from its products. The Company cannot reasonably develop an
estimate of the maximum potential amount of payments that might be made under its guarantee because
of the uncertainty as to whether a claim might arise and how much it might total. Historically, the
Company has not incurred any expenses related to these guarantees.
Research and Development Costs
Research and development costs are expensed as incurred and include salary, facility,
depreciation and material expenses.
F-8
Table of Contents
Research and development costs incurred solely in connection with research and development
contracts are charged to contract research and development expense. Other research and development
costs are charged to other research and development expense.
Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market, with costs primarily determined using
standard costs, which approximate actual costs utilizing the first-in, first-out method. Provision
for potentially obsolete or slow moving inventory is made based on managements analysis of
inventory levels and sales forecasts. Costs associated with idle capacity are expensed immediately.
Property and Equipment
Property and equipment are recorded at cost. Equipment is depreciated using the straight-line
method over their estimated useful lives ranging from three to five years. Leasehold improvements
and assets financed under capital leases are amortized over the shorter of their useful lives or
the lease term. Furniture and fixtures are depreciated over seven years. Expenditures for additions
and major improvements are capitalized. Expenditures for minor tooling, repairs and maintenance
and minor improvements are charged to expense as incurred. When property or equipment is retired
or otherwise disposed of, the related cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the
accounts. Gains or losses from retirements and disposals are recorded in selling, general and
administration expenses.
Patents, Licenses and Purchased Technology
Patents and licenses are recorded at cost and are amortized using the straight-line method
over the shorter of their estimated useful lives or approximately seventeen years. Purchased
technology acquired through the acquisition of Conductus, Inc. in 2002 is recorded at its estimated
fair value and is amortized using the straight-line method over seven years.
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price over fair value of net assets acquired in
connection with the acquisition of Conductus in December 2002. Conductus was acquired primarily
for the synergies the acquisition would bring to our existing business of developing, manufacturing
and marketing products for the commercial wireless telecommunications business and for the
synergies it would have on the Companys fund raising abilities.
Goodwill is tested for impairment annually in the fourth quarter after the annual planning
process, or earlier if events occur which require an impairment analysis be performed. The Company
operates in a single business segment as a single reporting unit. The first step of the impairment
test, used to identify potential impairment, compares the fair value based on market capitalization
of the entire Company with its book value of its net assets, including goodwill. (The market
capitalization of the Company is based on the closing price of its common stock as traded on NASDAQ
multiplied by its outstanding common shares.) If the fair value of the Company exceeds the book
value of its net assets, goodwill of the Company is not considered impaired. If the book value of
the net assets of the Company exceeds its fair value, the second step of the goodwill impairment
test shall be performed to measure the amount of impairment loss. The second step of the goodwill
impairment test, used to measure the amount of impairment loss, compares the implied fair value of
the goodwill with the book value of that goodwill. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit
goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of that goodwill, an impairment loss shall be recognized in
an amount equal to that excess. At December 31, 2005, the fair value of the Company based on its
market capitalization totaled $53.7 million, which is in excess of the total book value of the
Company. Therefore, the Companys goodwill was not considered impaired.
Long-Lived Assets
The realizability of long-lived assets is evaluated periodically as events or circumstances
indicate a possible inability to recover the carrying amount. Long-lived assets that will no longer
be used in the business are written off in the period identified since they will no longer generate
any positive cash flows for the Company. Periodically, long lived assets that will continue to be
used by the Company need to be evaluated for recoverability. Such evaluation is based on various
analyses, including cash flow and profitability projections. The analyses necessarily involve
significant management judgment. In the event the projected undiscounted cash flows are less than
net book value of the assets, the carrying value of the assets will be written down to their
estimated fair value.
F-9
Table of Contents
Restructuring Expenses
Liability for costs associated with an exit or disposal activity are recognized when the
liability is incurred.
Loss Contingencies
In the normal course of business the Company is subject to claims and litigation, including
allegations of patent infringement. Liabilities relating to these claims are recorded when it is
determined that a loss is probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. The
costs of defending the Company in such matters are expensed as incurred. Insurance proceeds
recoverable are recorded when deemed probable.
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under the provisions of Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards No. 109 (SFAS 109), Accounting for Income Taxes. SFAS 109 utilizes an
asset and liability approach that requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities
for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the Companys
financial statements or tax returns. In estimating future tax consequences, SFAS 109 generally
considers all expected future events other than enactments of changes in the tax laws or rates.
Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount
expected to be realized.
Marketing Costs
All costs related to marketing and advertising the Companys products are expensed as incurred
or at the time the advertising takes place. Advertising costs were not material in each of the
three years in the period ended December 31, 2005.
Net Loss Per Share
Basic and diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss available to common
stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding in each year. Net loss
available to common stockholders is computed after deducting accumulated dividends on cumulative
preferred stock, deemed dividends and accretion of redemption value on redeemable preferred stock
for the period and beneficial conversion features on issuance of convertible preferred stock.
Potential common shares are not included in the calculation of diluted loss per share because their
effect is antidilutive.
Stock-based Compensation
As permitted under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (SFAS 123),
Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation, the Company has elected to follow Accounting Principles
Board Opinion No. 25, Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees in accounting for its stock
options and other stock-based employee awards. Pro forma information regarding net loss and loss
per share, as calculated under the provisions of SFAS 123, are disclosed in the notes to the
financial statements. The Company accounts for equity securities issued to non-employees in
accordance with the provision of SFAS 123 and Emerging Issues Task Force 96-18.
If the Company had elected to recognize compensation expense for employee awards based upon
the fair value at the grant date consistent with the methodology prescribed by SFAS 123, the
Companys net loss and net loss per share would have been increased to the pro forma amounts
indicated below:
For the years ended December 31, | |||||||||||||
2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |||||||||||
Net loss: |
|||||||||||||
As reported |
$ | (11,345,000 | ) | $ | (31,217,000 | ) | $ | (14,213,000 | ) | ||||
Stock-based employee
compensation included in net
loss |
| 48,000 | | ||||||||||
Stock-based compensation
expense determined under fair
value method |
(5,435,000 | ) | (5,543,000 | ) | (6,459,000 | ) | |||||||
Pro forma |
$ | (16,780,000 | ) | $ | (36,712,000 | ) | $ | (20,672,000 | ) | ||||
Basic and diluted loss per share |
F-10
Table of Contents
For the years ended December 31, | |||||||||||||
2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |||||||||||
As reported |
$ | (0.18 | ) | $ | (0.37 | ) | $ | (0.12 | ) | ||||
Stock-based compensation
expense determined under fair
value method |
(0.09 | ) | (0.07 | ) | (0.06 | ) | |||||||
Pro forma |
$ | (0.27 | ) | $ | (0.44 | ) | $ | (0.18 | ) | ||||
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting
principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts
of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the
financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting
periods. The significant estimates in the preparation of the financial statements relate to the
assessment of the carrying amount of accounts receivable, inventory, fixed assets, intangibles,
goodwill, estimated provisions for warranty costs, accruals for restructuring and lease abandonment
costs, contract revenues, income taxes and disclosures related to the litigation. Actual results
could differ from those estimates and such differences may be material to the financial statements.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and
accrued expenses approximate fair value due to the short-term nature of these instruments. The
Company estimates that the carrying amount of the debt approximates fair value based on the
Companys current incremental borrowing rates for similar types of borrowing arrangements.
Comprehensive Income
The Company has no items of other comprehensive income in any period and consequently does not
report comprehensive income.
Segment Information
The Company operates in a single business segment, the research, development, manufacture and
marketing of high performance products used in cellular base stations to maximize the performance
of wireless telecommunications networks by improving the quality of uplink signals from mobile
wireless devices. Net commercial product revenues are primarily derived from the sales of the
Companys SuperLink, AmpLink and SuperPlex products. The Company currently sells most of its
products directly to wireless network operators in the United States. Net revenues derived
principally from government research and development contracts are presented separately on the
statement of operations for all periods presented.
Certain Risks and Uncertainties
The Companys long-term prospects are dependent upon the continued and increased market
acceptance for the product.
The Company currently sells most of its products directly to wireless network operators in the
United States and its product sales have historically been concentrated in a small number of
customers. In 2005, the Company had three customers that represented 31%, 37% and 15% of total net
revenues. At December 31, 2005, these three customers represented 95% of accounts receivable. In
2004, the Company had two customers that represented 46% and 17% of total net revenues. In 2003,
the Company had two customers that represented 55% and 12% of total net revenues. The loss of or
reduction in sales, or the inability to collect outstanding accounts receivable, from any of these
customers could have a material adverse effect on the Companys business, financial condition,
results of operations and cash flows.
F-11
Table of Contents
The Company currently relies on one supplier for purchase of high quality substrates for
growth of high-temperature superconductor films and a limited number of suppliers for other key
components of its products. The loss of any of these suppliers could have material adverse effect
on the Companys business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
In connection with the sales of its commercial products, the Company indemnifies, without
limit or term, its customers against all claims, suits, demands, damages, liabilities, expenses,
judgments, settlements and penalties arising from actual or alleged infringement or
misappropriation of any intellectual property relating to its products or other claims arising from
its products. The Company cannot reasonably develop an estimate of the maximum potential amount of
payments that might be made under its guarantee because of the uncertainty as to whether a claim
might arise and how much it might total.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In December 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued SFAS No. 123(R) (revised
2004), Share-Based Payment which amends SFAS Statement 123 and will be effective for public
companies for annual periods beginning after June 15, 2005. The new standard will require us to
recognize compensation costs in our 2006 financial statements in an amount equal to the fair value of
share-based payments granted to employees and directors. In March 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Staff Accounting Bulletin
No. 107 (SAB 107), Share-Based Payment. SAB 107 provides guidance on the initial
implementation of SFAS 123(R). In particular, the statement included guidance related to
shares-based payment awards for non-employees, valuation methods and selecting underlying
assumptions such as expected volatility and expected terms. It also gives guidance on the
classification of compensation expense associated with such awards and accounting for the income
tax effects of those awards upon the adoption of SFAS 123(R). For
previously issued awards, the Company will adopt SFAS 123(R) on
a modified prospective basis and recognize compensation expense on the unvested
portion of the awards over the remaining vesting period.
SFAS 123(R) is expected to have approximately a $250,000 impact
on our results for the year ending December 31, 2006.
In November 2004, the FASB issued SFAS No. 151, Inventory Costs, an amendment of ARB No. 43,
Chapter 4. This statement amends the guidance in ARB No. 43, Chapter 4, Inventory Pricing, to
clarify the accounting for abnormal amounts of idle facility expense, freight, handling costs, and
wasted material (spoilage). Paragraph 5 of ARB No. 43, Chapter 4, previously stated that ...under
some circumstances, items such as idle facility expense, excessive spoilage, double freight, and
rehandling costs may be so abnormal as to require treatment as current period charges.... SFAS No.
151 requires that those items be recognized as current-period charges regardless of whether they
meet the criterion of so abnormal. In addition, this statement 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 SFAS 151 shall be applied prospectively and are effective for
inventory costs incurred during fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2005, with earlier
application permitted for inventory costs incurred during fiscal years beginning after the date
this Statement was issued. We do not expect the adoption of SFAS No. 151 to have a material impact
on our financial position and results of operations.
Note 3-Short Term Borrowings
The Company has a line of credit with a bank. The line of credit expires June 15, 2006 and is
structured as a sale of accounts receivable. The agreement provides for the sale of up to $5
million of eligible accounts receivable, with advances to the Company totaling 80% of the
receivables sold. Advances under the agreement are collateralized by all the Companys assets.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Company continues to service the sold receivables and is
subject to recourse provisions.
Advances bear interest at the prime rate (7.25% at December 31, 2005) plus 2.50% subject to a
minimum monthly charge. There was no amount outstanding under this borrowing facility at December
31, 2005.
The agreement contains representations and warranties, affirmative and negative covenants and
events of default customary for financings of this type. The failure to comply with these
provisions, or the occurrence of any one of the events of default, would prevent any further
borrowings and would generally require the repayment of any outstanding borrowings. Such
representations, warranties and events of default include (a) non-payment of debt and interest
hereunder, (b) non-compliance with terms of the agreement covenants, (c) insolvency or bankruptcy,
(d) material adverse change, (e) merger or
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consolidation where the Companys shareholders do not hold a majority of the voting rights of the
surviving entity, (f) transactions outside the normal course of business, or (g) payment of
dividends.
On April 28, 2004 the Company temporarily expanded its credit facility. Silicon Valley Bank
temporarily amended the Companys existing line of credit to increase borrowing capacity from 80%
to 95% of eligible accounts receivable on up to the sale of $2.5 million of eligible accounts
receivable. Advances under the modified agreement bore interest at prime rate plus 5.125%. Upon
repayment of the bridge loan described below this credit facility reverted back to its original
terms.
The Company concurrently secured a commitment for a $2.0 million secured bridge loan from an
investor. The bridge loan bore interest at 12% per annum, was due by July 31, 2004 and included
penalty provisions if there were any defaults under the agreement. The investor subsequently funded
$1.5 million of the bridge loan. The bridge loan was collateralized by all the Companys assets and
was subordinated to the Silicon Valley Bank line of credit. The bridge loan was subsequently paid
in full on May 26, 2004.
In connection with modification of the existing credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank and
$2 million bridge loan, the Company issued to the bank warrants to purchase 100,000 shares of
common stock at $1.85 per share and to the bridge lender warrants to purchase 500,000 shares of
common stock at $1.85 per share. The warrant to the bridge lender contains antidilution provisions.
These warrants expire on April 28, 2011. The fair value of the warrants issued in connection with
the bridge loans were estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing method, totaled $802,000 and
were accounted for as debt issuances costs and amortized over the term of the loan. Assumptions
used in the calculation were: dividends of zero percent each year, expected volatilities of 112%,
contractual life of 7 years and risk free interest rate of 3.99%.
As a result of common stock issuances in 2004 and 2005, the exercise price and the number of
shares of the warrants issued to a bridge lender under the 2004 Bridge Loan was adjusted to $1.33
and 695,489, respectively. The Silicon Valley Bank warrant remains unchanged.
Note 4 Retirement of Companys Chief Executive Officer
On March 15, 2005, the Companys Chief Executive Officer and President retired. In connection
with the retirement, the Company agreed to the continuation of his salary and benefits for one year
and to immediately vest and extend all his outstanding stock options and the executive agreed to
provide certain consulting services as requested by the Company. Also, in connection with the
retirement, a $150,000 loan made to the Companys Chief Executive Officer in 2001, and in
accordance with the existing terms of a promissory note which were in effect prior to the adoption
of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, was forgiven. The Company recognized expense of $565,000
relating to the retirement of the CEO in the year ended December 31, 2005.
Note 5 Notes Receivable From Stockholder
Mr. Shalvoy, a director and stockholder, owed us a total of $820,244 of principal, plus
accrued interest of more than $214,000, under two, full recourse promissory notes as of December
31, 2005. The notes are collateralized by 151,762 shares of the Companys common stock with a
market value of approximately $65,000 as of December 31, 2005. Mr. Shalvoy notified us in December
2005 of his intention not to repay either of the loans. Notwithstanding its firm belief that the
notes are valid and binding debt obligations, the Company concluded that generally accepted
accounting principles require the recording of a material, non-cash reserve against these assets in
the fourth quarter of 2005 due to the borrowers refusal to pay the notes voluntarily. The reserve
of $969,000 represents the total value of the notes (principal plus accrued interest) less the
market value of the collateral. The collateral value of the notes is included in Stockholders
Equity. The Company will reserve any default interest recognized in accordance with the terms of
the notes. See Shalvoy Litigation in the Legal Proceedings footnote for a full description of
this matter.
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Note 6 Income Taxes
The Company has incurred a net loss in each year of operation since inception resulting in no
current or deferred tax expense for the years ended December 31, 2003, 2004 and 2005.
The benefit for income taxes differs from the amount obtained by applying the federal
statutory income tax rate to loss before benefit for income taxes for the years ended December 31,
2003, 2004 and 2005 as follows:
For the Year Ending December 31 | ||||||||||||
2003 | 2004 | 2005 | ||||||||||
Tax benefit computed at Federal statutory rate |
34.0 | % | 34.0 | % | 34.0 | % | ||||||
Increase (decrease) in taxes due to: |
||||||||||||
Change in valuation allowance |
(39.8 | ) | (39.8 | ) | (39.8 | ) | ||||||
State taxes, net of federal benefit |
5.8 | 5.8 | 5.8 | |||||||||
Other |
| | | |||||||||
| % | | % | | % | |||||||
The significant components of deferred tax assets (liabilities) at December 31 are as follows:
For the Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||
2004 | 2005 | |||||||
Loss carryforwards |
$ | 90,135,000 | $ | 93,521,000 | ||||
Capitalized research and development |
6,021,000 | 5,236,000 | ||||||
Depreciation |
2,520,000 | 2,306,000 | ||||||
Tax credits |
4,248,000 | 3,538,000 | ||||||
Inventory |
2,152,000 | 1,311,000 | ||||||
Purchase accounting adjustments |
1,162,000 | 138,000 | ||||||
Acquired intellectual property |
(456,000 | ) | (383,000 | ) | ||||
Other |
847,000 | 632,000 | ||||||
Less: valuation allowance |
(106,629,000 | ) | (106,299,000 | ) | ||||
$ | | $ | | |||||
The valuation allowance increased by $12,053,000 in 2004 and decreased by $330,000 in 2005.
As of December 31, 2005, the Company has net operating loss carryforwards for federal and
state income tax purposes of approximately $255.1 million and $128.0 million, respectively, which
expire in the years 2006 through 2025. Of these amounts $89.4 million and $30.2 million,
respectively, resulted from the acquisition of Conductus. Included in the net operating loss
carryforwards are deductions related to stock options of approximately $24.1 million and $13.1
million for federal and California income tax purposes, respectively. To the extent net operating
loss carryforwards are recognized for accounting purposes the resulting benefits related to the
stock options will be credited to stockholders equity. In addition, the Company has research and
development and other tax credits for federal and state income tax purposes of approximately $2.5
million and $1.2 million, respectively, which expire in the years 2006 through 2025. Of these
amounts $774,000 and $736,000, respectively resulted from the acquisition of Conductus.
Due to the uncertainty surrounding their realization, the Company has recorded a full
valuation allowance against its net deferred tax assets. Accordingly, no deferred tax asset has
been recorded in the accompanying balance sheet.
Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code imposes an annual limitation on the utilization of
net operating loss carryforwards based on a statutory rate of return (usually the applicable
federal funds rate, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code) and the value of the corporation at
the time of a change of ownership as defined by Section 382. Recently the Company completed an
analysis of its equity transactions and determined that it had a change in ownership in August 1999
and December 2002. Therefore, the ability to utilize net operating loss carryforwards incurred
prior to the change of ownership totaling $99.9 million will be subject in future periods to an
annual limitation of $1.3 million. In addition, the Company acquired the right to
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Conductus net operating losses, which are also subject to the limitations imposed by Section 382.
Conductus underwent three ownership changes, which occurred in February 1999, February 2001 and
December 2002. Therefore, the ability to utilize Conductus net operating loss carryforwards of
$89.4 million incurred prior to the ownership changes will be subject in future periods to annual
limitation of $700,000. Net operating losses incurred by the Company subsequent to the ownership
changes totaled $65.8 million and are not subject to this limitation.
Note 7 Stockholders Equity
Preferred Stock
Pursuant to the Companys Certificate of Incorporation, the Board of Directors is authorized
to issue up to 2,000,000 shares of preferred stock (par value $.001 per share) in one or more
series and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges, and restrictions, including the dividend
rights, conversion rights, voting rights, redemption price or prices, liquidation preferences, and
the number of shares constituting any series or the designation of such series.
Common Stock
In August 2005, the Company raised net proceeds of $11,441,000, net of offering costs of
$1,059,000, from the public sale of 17,123,288 shares of common stock at $0.73 per share based on a
negotiated discount to market and 5-year warrants to purchase an additional 3,424,658 shares of
common stock exercisable at $1.11 per share. The warrants become exercisable on February 16, 2006.
This transaction caused the exercise price and the number of shares of the warrants issued to a
bridge lender under the 2004 bridge loan to be adjusted to $1.33 and 695,489, respectively, under
the anti-dilution provisions of the warrants.
In November 2004 the Company raised net proceeds of $10,065,000, net of offering costs of
$855,000, from the public sale of 15,600,000 shares of common stock at $0.70 per share based on a
negotiated discount to market. This transaction caused the exercise price and the number of shares
of the warrants issued to a bridge lender under the 2004 Bridge Loan to be adjusted to $1.46 and
633,562, respectively.
In May 2004 the Company raised net proceeds of $16,699,000, net of offering costs of
$1,701,000, from the public sale of 23,000,000 shares of common stock at $0.80 per share based on a
negotiated discount to market. This transaction caused the exercise price and the number of shares
of the warrants issued to a bridge lender under the 2004 bridge loan to be adjusted to $1.59 and
581,761, respectively.
In June 2003 the Company raised net proceeds of $10,065,000 from the private sale of 5,116,278
shares of common stock at $2.15 per share based on a negotiated discount to market and 5-year
warrants to purchase an additional 1,279,069 shares of common stock exercisable at $2.90 per share.
The warrants became exercisable on December 24, 2003. The common shares issued and underlying the
warrants were subsequently registered.
Stock Options
The Company has five stock option plans, the 1992 Stock Option Plan, the nonstatutory 1992
Directors Stock Option Plan, 1998 and 1999 Stock Option Plans and the 2003 Equity Incentive Plan
(collectively, the Stock Option Plans). The 1988 Stock Option Plan expired in 1998 and the 1992
Stock Option Plan and the nonstatutory 1992 Directors Stock Option Plan expired in 2002. During
2003, the 1998 and 1999 Stock Option Plans were replaced by the 2003 Equity Incentive Plan. Under
the 2003 Equity Incentive Plan, stock awards may consist of stock options, stock appreciation
rights, restricted stock awards, performance awards, and performance share awards. Stock awards may
be made to directors, key employees, consultants, and non-employee directors of the Company. Stock
options granted under these plans must be granted at prices no less than 100% of the market value
on the date of grant. Only stock options have been granted under these plans. Generally, stock
options become exercisable in installments over a minimum of four years, beginning one year after
the date of grant, and expire not more than ten years from the date of grant, with the exception of
10% or greater stockholders which may have options granted at prices no less than the market value
on the date of grant, and expire not more than five years from the date of grant. The original
grant provisions for 2,000,000 options issued during 2003 allowed for accelerated vesting
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if certain performance criteria were met during 2003. In January 2004, the Companys Board of
Directors determined that the performance criteria were met and 50% of these options vested on
January 1, 2004 and 50% vested on January 1, 2005.
At the Companys 2005 Annual Meeting, the stockholders approved an increase in the total
shares available for grants under the 2003 Equity Plan from 6,000,000 shares of common stock to
12,000,000 shares of common stock. The stockholders also approved a corresponding increase in the
related sublimits under the plan.
During 2005, the Companys President and Chief Executive Officer, as well as another board
member, retired. In connection with these retirements, the Company modified the terms of all the
stock options held by these individuals to fully vest them and to extend the term until the earlier
of the fifth anniversary of the retirement or the normal expiration date. Since these options had
no intrinsic value at the date of modification, the modifications did not impact the Companys
statement of operations.
In 2005, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors made grants of performance based
stock options totaling 408,157 to the Companys officers and certain managers. The Compensation
Committee determined that the financial performance criteria for these options was not met and
therefore these options were cancelled.
On December 1, 2005, the Compensation Committee of the Companys Board of Directors approved
the accelerated vesting of all time-vested outstanding out-of-the-money stock options held by
current employees or consultants. For this purpose, the Compensation Committee defined
out-of-the-money options as options having an exercise price equal to or greater than $0.58 per
share (the market price on the date of the committees decision to accelerate the vesting).
The Company accelerated the vesting of these options in anticipation of the impact of
Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 123R (SFAS 123R) Share-Based Payment. SFAS 123R
will require the recognition of compensation expense related to unvested stock options for fiscal
years beginning after December 15, 2005. The primary purpose of the accelerated vesting was to
minimize the amount of compensation expense recognized in relation to the underwater options in
future periods following the adoption by the Company of SFAS 123R. In addition, because these
options have exercise prices in excess of current market values and are not fully achieving their
original objectives of incentive compensation and employee retention, the Company believes that the
acceleration has had a positive effect on employee morale and retention.
At December 31, 2005, 3,876,028 shares of common stock were available for future grant of
options and 12,023,759 options had been granted but not yet exercised. Option activity during the
three years ended December 31, 2005 was as follows:
Weighted | ||||||||
Number of | Average Exercise | |||||||
Shares | Price | |||||||
Outstanding at December 31, 2002 |
4,796,244 | 8.761 | ||||||
Granted |
3,116,007 | 2.661 | ||||||
Canceled |
(310,243 | ) | 10.21 | |||||
Exercised |
(56,687 | ) | 2.703 | |||||
Outstanding at December 31, 2003 |
7,545,321 | 6.283 | ||||||
Granted |
3,126,159 | 3.552 | ||||||
Canceled |
(1,114,455 | ) | 5.386 | |||||
Exercised |
(89,777 | ) | 2.780 | |||||
Outstanding at December 31, 2004 |
9,467,248 | $ | 5.521 | |||||
Granted |
4,532,057 | 0.802 | ||||||
Canceled |
(1,975,546 | ) | 3.718 | |||||
Exercised |
| | ||||||
Outstanding at December 31, 2005 |
12,023,759 | $ | 4.038 | |||||
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The following table summarizes information concerning currently outstanding and exercisable
stock options at December 31, 2005:
Exercisable | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weighted | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Average | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Remaining | Weighted | Weighted | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Range of | Number | Contractual | Average | Number | Average | |||||||||||||||||||
Exercise Prices | Outstanding | Life | Exercise Price | Exercisable | Exercise Price | |||||||||||||||||||
$0.58 -
|
$ | 0.69 | 2,563,000 | 9.419 | $ | 0.69 | 2,401,000 | $ | 0.69 | |||||||||||||||
$0.70 -
|
$ | 1.04 | 3,255,138 | 8.077 | $ | 1.00 | 3,128,138 | $ | 1.00 | |||||||||||||||
$1.05 -
|
$ | 3.05 | 2,030,431 | 6.495 | $ | 2.75 | 1,949,931 | $ | 2.80 | |||||||||||||||
$3.06 -
|
$ | 5.60 | 1,509,123 | 4.688 | $ | 4.56 | 1,504,915 | $ | 4.56 | |||||||||||||||
$5.61 -
|
$ | 49.38 | 2,666,067 | 5.018 | $ | 11.66 | 2,639,317 | $ | 11.71 | |||||||||||||||
12,023,759 | 6.992 | $ | 4.038 | 11,623,301 | $ | 4.132 | ||||||||||||||||||
The number of options exercisable and weighted average exercise price at December 31, 2003 and
2004 totaled 3,268,894 and $8.120 and 5,001,189 and $6.202, respectively.
The Company has adopted the disclosure-only provisions of Statement of Financial Accounting
Standards No. 123, (SFAS 123), Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation. Accordingly, no
compensation cost has been recognized for the stock-based compensation other than for
non-employees.
The fair value of these options for purposes of the pro forma amounts in Note 2 was estimated
at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following
weighted-average assumptions for the years ended December 31, 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively:
dividend yields of zero percent each year; expected volatilities of 65%, 65-112 % and 93.85-95%;
risk-free interest rates of 3.46%, 3.44-3.99% and 4.28-4.62%; and expected life of 4.0, 4.0, and
4.0 years. All options granted during 2003, 2004 and 2005 were granted at the then fair market
value of the Companys common stock. The weighted average fair value of options granted in 2003,
2004 and 2005 for which the exercise price equals the market price on the grant date was $1.37,
$2.02 and $0.55, respectively.
Warrants
The following is a summary of outstanding warrants at December 31, 2005:
Common Shares | ||||||||||||||
Price | ||||||||||||||
Currently | per | |||||||||||||
Total | Exercisable | Share | Expiration Date | |||||||||||
Warrants and options related to issuance
of common stock |
3,424,658 | | $ | 1.11 | August 16, 2010 | |||||||||
397,857 | 397,857 | 5.50 | March 10, 2007 | |||||||||||
1,406,581 | 1,406,581 | 1.19 | December 17, 2007* | |||||||||||
1,162,790 | 1,162,790 | 2.90 | June 24, 2008* | |||||||||||
Warrants related to April 2004 Bridge Loans |
695,489 | 695,489 | 1.33 | April 28, 2011* ** | ||||||||||
100,000 | 100,000 | 1.85 | April 28, 2011* | |||||||||||
Warrants assumed in connection with the
Conductus, Inc. acquisition |
1,095,000 | 1,095,000 | 4.583 | September 27, 2007 | ||||||||||
6,000 | 6,000 | 31.25 | September 1, 2007 | |||||||||||
Total |
8,288,375 | 4,863,717 | ||||||||||||
* | The terms of these warrants contain net exercise provisions, wherein instead of a cash exercise holders can elect to receive common stock equal to the difference between the exercise price and the average closing sale price for common shares over 10-30 days immediately preceding the exercise date. | |
** | The terms of these warrants contain antidilution adjustment provisions. |
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No warrants were exercised during the year ended December 31, 2005.
During the year ended December 31, 2004 the following warrants were exercised:
Warrants | Common Shares Issued | |||||||||||||||
In Accordance With | ||||||||||||||||
Warrants | Price per | Net Exercise | ||||||||||||||
Exercised | Share | For Cash | Provisions | |||||||||||||
Warrants related to bank borrowings |
123,525 | $ | 3-3.25 | | 71,312 | |||||||||||
Warrants related to issuance of common stock |
42,857 | 5.50 | 42,857 | | ||||||||||||
Total |
166,382 | 42,857 | 71,312 | |||||||||||||
During the year ended December 31, 2003 the following warrants were exercised:
Warrants | Common Shares Issued | |||||||||||||||
In Accordance With | ||||||||||||||||
Warrants | Price per | Net Exercise | ||||||||||||||
Exercised | Share | For Cash | Provisions | |||||||||||||
Warrants related to bank borrowings |
94,340 | $ | 1.06 | | 75,140 | |||||||||||
Warrants related to issuance of common stock |
330,000 | 5.50 | 330,000 | | ||||||||||||
3,867,659 | 1.19 | 1,254,500 | 2,613,159 | |||||||||||||
116,279 | 2.90 | 116,279 | | |||||||||||||
Total |
4,408,278 | 1,700,779 | 2,688,299 | |||||||||||||
Note 8 Employee Savings Plan
In December 1989, the Board of Directors approved a 401(k) savings plan (the 401(k) Plan)
for the employees of the Company that became effective in 1990. Eligible employees may elect to
make contributions under the terms of the 401(k) Plan; however, contributions by the Company are
made at the discretion of management. The Company has made no contributions to the 401(k) Plan.
Note 9 Commitments and Contingencies
Operating Leases
The Company leases the majority of its offices and production facilities under non-cancelable
operating leases that expire at various times over the next six years. This lease contains a
minimum rent escalation clause that requires additional rental amounts after the first year. Rent
expense for this lease with minimum annual rent escalation is recognized on a straight line basis
over the minimum lease term. This lease also requires the Company to pay utilities, insurance,
taxes and other operating expenses and contains one five-year renewal option at 95% of the then
current market rental value.
For the years ended December 31, 2003, 2004, and 2005, rent expense was $1,230,000, $1,262,000
and $1,158,000, respectively.
Capital Leases
The Company leases certain property and equipment under a capital lease arrangement that
expires in 2007. The lease bears interest at 14.95%.
Patents and Licenses
The Company has entered into various licensing agreements requiring royalty payments ranging
from 0.13% to 2.5% of
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specified product sales. Certain of these agreements contain provisions for the payment of
guaranteed or minimum royalty amounts. In the event that the Company fails to pay minimum annual
royalties, these licenses may automatically be terminated. These royalty obligations terminate in
2009 to 2020. Royalty expenses totaled $572,000 in 2003, $429,000 in 2004 and $211,000 in 2005.
Under the terms of certain royalty agreements, royalty payments made may be subject to audit. There
have been no audits to date and the Company does not expect any possible future audit adjustments
to be significant.
The minimum lease payments under operating and capital leases and license obligations are as
follows:
Year ending December 31, | Licenses | Operating Leases | Capital Leases | |||||||||
2006 |
$ | 170,000 | $ | 1,414,000 | $ | 22,000 | ||||||
2007 |
150,000 | 1,253,000 | 15,000 | |||||||||
2008 |
150,000 | 1,290,000 | | |||||||||
2009 |
150,000 | 1,335,000 | | |||||||||
2010 |
150,000 | 1,382,000 | | |||||||||
Thereafter |
1,350,000 | 1,308,000 | | |||||||||
Total payments |
$ | 2,120,000 | $ | 7,982,000 | 37,000 | |||||||
Less: amount representing
interest |
(4,000 | ) | ||||||||||
Present value of minimum lease |
33,000 | |||||||||||
Less current portion |
(19,000 | ) | ||||||||||
Long term portion |
$ | 14,000 | ||||||||||
In connection with the acquisition of Conductus, Inc. as of December 31, 2002 operating leases
with remaining commitments totaling $2,044,000 and $1,758,000 have been abandoned or are considered
unfavorable, respectively. A liability totaling $1,995,000 representing the present value of the
minimum lease payments and executory costs was recorded at December 18, 2002 relating to the
abandoned leases. A liability totaling $1,140,000 representing the present value of the difference
between the fair market rental and lease commitment was recorded at December 31, 2002 relating to
unfavorable leases. As discussed further in the Restructuring Expenses and Impairment Charges
footnote, the Company completed closure of its Sunnyvale facility in 2004 and recognized a
liability totaling $279,000 representing the present value of the remainder of the lease
commitment. In connection with the closure of this facility, the remaining unfavorable lease
commitment of $558,000 recorded in connection with the acquisition of Conductus, Inc. was
transferred to lease abandonment costs. As of December 31, 2005 the remaining minimum lease
commitments on these operating leases totaled $227,000 and is included in the above commitment
table. At December 31, 2005, the present value of the remaining liability related to the abandoned
leases totals $225,000. This amount is included in accrued liabilities.
Note 10 Contractual Guarantees and Indemnities
During its normal course of business, the Company makes certain contractual guarantees and
indemnities pursuant to which the Company may be required to make future payments under specific
circumstances. The Company has not recorded any liability for these contractual guarantees and
indemnities in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.
Warranties
The Company establishes reserves for future product warranty costs that are expected to be
incurred pursuant to specific warranty provisions with its customers. The Companys warranty
reserves are established at the time of sale and updated throughout the warranty period based upon
numerous factors including historical warranty return rates and expenses over various warranty
periods.
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Intellectual Property Indemnities
The Company indemnifies certain customers and its contract manufacturers against liability
arising from third-party claims of intellectual property rights infringement related to the
Companys products. These indemnities appear in development and supply agreements with our
customers as well as manufacturing service agreements with our contract manufacturers, are not
limited in amount or duration and generally survive the expiration of the contract. Given that the
amount of any potential liabilities related to such indemnities cannot be determined until an
infringement claim has been made, the Company is unable to determine the maximum amount of losses
that it could incur related to such indemnifications.
Director and Officer Indemnities and Contractual Guarantees
The Company has entered into indemnification agreements with its directors and executive
officers, which require the Company to indemnify such individuals to the fullest extent permitted
by Delaware law. The Companys indemnification obligations under such agreements are not limited
in amount or duration. Certain costs incurred in connection with such indemnifications may be
recovered under certain circumstances under various insurance policies. Given that the amount of
any potential liabilities related to such indemnities cannot be determined until a lawsuit has been
filed against a director or executive officer, the Company is unable to determine the maximum
amount of losses that it could incur relating to such indemnifications. Historically, any amounts
payable pursuant to such director and officer indemnifications have not had a material negative
effect on the Companys business, financial condition or results of operations.
The Company has also entered into severance and change in control agreements with certain of
its executives. These agreements provide for the payment of specific compensation benefits to such
executives upon the termination of their employment with the Company.
General Contractual Indemnities/Products Liability
During the normal course of business, the Company enters into contracts with customers where
it agreed to indemnify the other party for personal injury or property damage caused by the
Companys products. The Companys indemnification obligations under such agreements are not
generally limited in amount or duration. Given that the amount of any potential liabilities related
to such indemnities cannot be determined until a lawsuit has been filed against a director or
executive officer, the Company is unable to determine the maximum amount of losses that it could
incur relating to such indemnifications. Historically, any amounts payable pursuant to such
guarantees have not had a material negative effect on the Companys business, financial condition
or results of operations. The Company maintains general and product liability insurance as well as
errors and omissions insurance which may provide a source of recovery to the Company in the event
of an indemnification claim.
Short Term Borrowings
Advances under the agreement are collateralized by all the Companys assets. Under the terms
of the agreement, the Company continues to service the sold receivables and is subject to recourse
provisions. Under the terms of the agreement, if the bank determines that there is a material
adverse change in the Companys business, they can exercise all their rights and remedies under the
agreement, including demanding immediate payment of outstanding amounts. There was no amount
outstanding under this facility at December 31, 2005.
Contractual Contingency
The Company has a contract to deliver several custom products to a government contractor. The
Company is unable to manufacture the products for technical reasons. The Company has discussed the
problem with the contractor and its government customer. They are considering the problem, and
further discussions are expected. The Company does not believe that a loss, if any, is reasonably
estimable at this time and therefore has not recorded any liability relating to this matter. The
Company will periodically reassess its potential liability as additional information becomes
available. If it later determines that a loss is probable and the amount reasonably estimable, the
Company will record a liability for the potential loss. All costs have been expensed and no
revenues recognized on this contract.
F-20
Table of Contents
Note
11 Legal Proceedings
Shalvoy Litigation
Mr. Shalvoy, a director and stockholder, owed us a total of $820,244 of principal, plus
accrued interest of more than $214,000, under two, full recourse promissory notes as of December
31, 2005. The notes are secured by 151,762 shares of the Companys common stock with a market
value of approximately $65,000 as of December 31, 2005.
The Company acquired the notes in connection with the acquisition of Conductus, Inc. in
December 2002. Conductus made these two loans to Mr. Shalvoy, its then President and Chief
Executive Officer, prior to the acquisition. Mr. Shalvoy issued the notes to Conductus as payment
for the purchase price on the exercise of stock options in December 2000. The first note was due
on December 28, 2005 ($460,244 principal amount), and the second note is due on August 21, 2006
($360,000 principal amount).
Mr. Shalvoy notified the Company in December 2005 of his intention not to repay either of the
loans. Mr. Shalvoy alleges, among other things, that the Conductus board committed to forgive the
loans should the stock purchase turn out to have negative financial consequences to him. Mr.
Shalvoy had not previously disclosed this alleged agreement to the Company, and the Company has not
found (and is not aware) of any documentation to support his allegation. The Company does not
believe that any agreement to forgive the notes ever existed, and it believes that the notes are
valid and binding debt obligations of Mr. Shalvoy. Consequently, the Company filed a lawsuit
against Mr. Shalvoy on December 21, 2005 in the California Superior Court (Case No. 1186812) to
collect payment in full of all principal and interest due under both notes.
Class Action Lawsuits
The Company and certain of its officers were named as a defendant in several substantially
identical class action lawsuits filed in the Unites States District Court for the Central District
of California in 2004. In February 2005 the Company settled with the lead plaintiffs appointed by
the District Court to handle this matter. Under the terms of the settlement, the Companys insurers
paid $4.0 million into a settlement fund, and the Companypaid $50,000 of the costs of providing
notice of the settlement to settlement class members. The Company recorded a liability in its
December 31, 2004 consolidated financials statements for the proposed amount, and therefore
receovery from the insurance carrier was probable, a receivable was also rfecorded for that amount.
These amounts were paid into the settlement fund in April 2005.
Routine Litigation
The Company is also involved in routine litigation arising in the ordinary course of its
business, and, while the results of the proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, the Company
believes that the final outcome of such matters will not have a material adverse effect on the
financial position, operating results or cash flows of the Company.
Note
12 Earnings Per Share
The computation of per share amounts for 2003, 2004 and 2005 is based on the average number of
common shares outstanding for the period. Options and warrants to purchase 14,238,854, 15,559,760
and 20,312,134 shares of common stock during 2003, 2004, and 2005 respectively, were not considered
in the computation of diluted earnings per share because their inclusion would have been
antidilutive.
Note
13 Restructuring Expenses and Impairment Charges
During 2004, the Company implemented several restructuring programs to streamline its
operations and reduce its cost structure. The Company recorded cash and non-cash restructuring
charges of $3.6 million for these activities. The Company consolidated its Sunnyvale operations into its Santa Barbara facility and reduced its
workforce. The workforce reduction included reductions associated with the Sunnyvale facilities
consolidation, as well as other strategic reductions in
F-21
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the organization. In addition, as part of the consolidation the Company accelerated the implementation of a new, lower cost wafer deposition
process called Reactive Co-Evaporation.
In connection with the Companys 2005 annual planning process performed in the fourth quarter
of 2004, the Company concluded that it would no longer use its thallium high temperature
superconducting related technology beyond 2005 because alternative technologies were determined to
be more cost effective and the Company decided it no longer wanted to support two HTS material
technologies. As a result, the Company recorded non-cash charges of $715,000 primarily relating to
the write-off of thallium related manufacturing equipment, patents and licenses since they will not
be recovered from future cash flows. Also, during the Companys annual planning process the Company
concluded that it would no longer continue to develop or maintain and would abandon certain other
non-core business patents and patents no longer considered blocking in its business and certain
purchased technology. As a result of the abandonment of the purchased technology and patents, the
Company recorded non-cash charges of $842,000 during the fourth quarter of 2004 relating to the
write-off of these patents and purchased technology since they will not be recovered from future
cash flows.
During the first quarter of 2005, the Company implemented another restructuring program and
reduced its workforce by another 27 positions and vacated a portion of its leased facility in Santa
Barbara.
As discussed in Notes Receivable from Stockholder the Company recorded an impairment charge of
$969,000 related to these notes in the fourth quarter of 2005. The impairment charge is included in
Restructuring Expenses and Impairment Charges.
The following summarizes the restructuring and impairment charges for the years ended December
31, 2004 and 2005:
For the Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Restructuring | Impairment | Restructuring | Impairment | |||||||||||||||||||||
Charges for | Charges for | Total for | Charges for | Charges for | Total for | |||||||||||||||||||
2004 | 2004 | 2004 | 2005 | 2005 | 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||
Severance costs |
$ | 826,000 | $ | | $ | 826,000 | $ | 178,000 | $ | | $ | 178,000 | ||||||||||||
Fixed assets write offs |
803,000 | 403,000 | 1,206,000 | 137,000 | 137,000 | |||||||||||||||||||
Patents, licenses and
purchased technology
write-off |
1,051,000 | 1,171,000 | 2,222,000 | | | | ||||||||||||||||||
Lease abandonment costs |
279,000 | | 279,000 | | | | ||||||||||||||||||
Facility consolidation
costs |
268,000 | | 268,000 | 6,000 | | 6,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
Employee relocation cost |
382,000 | | 382,000 | 16,000 | | 16,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
Impairment charge for
notes receivable from
shareholder and board
member |
| | | | 969,000 | 969,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
Total |
$ | 3,609,000 | $ | 1,574,000 | $ | 5,183,000 | 337,000 | 969,000 | 1,306,000 | |||||||||||||||
Fixed Asset write off
and severance costs
included in cost of
goods sold |
669,000 | 386,000 | 1,055,000 | (109,000 | ) | | (109,000 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
Expense included in
operating expenses |
$ | 2,940,000 | $ | 1,188,000 | $ | 4,128,000 | $ | 228,000 | $ | 969,000 | $ | 1,197,000 | ||||||||||||
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Note 14 Details of Certain Financial Statement Components and Supplemental Disclosures of Cash
Flow Information and Non-Cash Activities
Balance Sheet Data:
December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2004 | 2005 | |||||||
Accounts receivable: |
||||||||
Accounts receivable-trade |
$ | 1,043,000 | $ | 1,930,000 | ||||
U.S. government accounts receivable-billed |
468,000 | 311,000 | ||||||
Less: allowance for doubtful accounts |
(77,000 | ) | (75,000 | ) | ||||
$ | 1,434,000 | $ | 2,166,000 | |||||
December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2004 | 2005 | |||||||
Inventories: |
||||||||
Raw materials |
$ | 3,954,000 | $ | 3,328,000 | ||||
Work-in-process |
3,441,000 | 2,384,000 | ||||||
Finished goods |
7,334,000 | 2,861,000 | ||||||
Less inventory reserves |
(5,402,000 | ) | (3,209,000 | ) | ||||
$ | 9,327,000 | $ | 5,364,000 | |||||
December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2004 | 2005 | |||||||
Property and Equipment: |
||||||||
Equipment |
$ | 18,240,000 | $ | 18,000,000 | ||||
Leasehold improvements |
6,801,000 | 6,647,000 | ||||||
Furniture and fixtures |
451,000 | 451,000 | ||||||
25,492,000 | 25,098,000 | |||||||
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization |
(15,189,000 | ) | (17,295,000 | ) | ||||
$ | 10,303,000 | $ | 7,803,000 | |||||
At December 31, 2004 and December 31, 2005, equipment includes $237,000 of assets
financed under capital lease arrangements, net of $163,000 and $210,000 of
accumulated amortization, respectively. Depreciation expense amounted to
$2,413,000, $2,744,000 and $2,548,000, respectively, in 2003, 2004 and 2005. In
connection with a restructuring of the Companys operations and other abandonments
$3,916,000 of property and equipment cost and $2,617,000 of related accumulated
depreciation was written off in the year ended December 31, 2004. Depreciation
expense is expected to total $2.3 million in 2006 and $2.0 million, $1.4 million,
$1.0 million and $700,000 in the years 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively.
December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2004 | 2005 | |||||||
Patents and Licenses: |
||||||||
Patents pending |
$ | 433,000 | $ | 435,000 | ||||
Patents issued |
899,000 | 875,000 | ||||||
Less accumulated amortization |
(203,000 | ) | (230,000 | ) | ||||
Net patents issued |
696,000 | 645,000 | ||||||
Licenses |
563,000 | 563,000 | ||||||
Less accumulated amortization |
(33,000 | ) | (66,000 | ) | ||||
Net licenses |
530,000 | 497,000 | ||||||
Purchased technology |
1,706,000 | 1,706,000 | ||||||
Less accumulated amortization |
(532,000 | ) | (769,000 | ) | ||||
Net purchased technology |
1,174,000 | 937,000 | ||||||
$ | 2,833,000 | $ | 2,514,000 | |||||
F-23
Table of Contents
Amortization expense related to these items totaled $805,000, $719,000 and $329,000,
respectively in 2003, 2004 and 2005. In connection with a restructuring of the Companys
operations and abandonments, $1,212,000 of patent cost and $236,000 of related accumulated
amortization, $2,775,000 of license cost and $2,552,000 of related accumulated amortization, and
$1,494,000 of purchased technology cost and $333,000 of related accumulated amortization, was
written off in the year ended December 31, 2004. Amortization expenses related to these items are
expected to total $340,000 in 2006 and approximately $350,000 in each of the years 2007, 2008 and
2009 and $119,000 in 2010.
December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2004 | 2005 | |||||||
Accrued Expenses and Other Long Term Liabilities: |
||||||||
Salaries payable |
$ | 438,000 | $ | 365,000 | ||||
Compensated absences |
552,000 | 423,000 | ||||||
Compensation related |
295,000 | 253,000 | ||||||
Warranty reserve |
419,000 | 491,000 | ||||||
Lease abandonment costs |
1,336,000 | 225,000 | ||||||
Product line exit costs |
885,000 | 402,000 | ||||||
Severance costs |
36,000 | 32,000 | ||||||
Deferred rent |
337,000 | 378,000 | ||||||
Offering expenses |
792,000 | | ||||||
Other |
264,000 | 150,000 | ||||||
5,354,000 | 2,719,000 | |||||||
Less current portion |
(4,601,000 | ) | (1,998,000 | ) | ||||
Long term portion |
$ | 753,000 | $ | 721,000 | ||||
For the year ended, | ||||||||
December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2004 | 2005 | |||||||
Warranty Reserve Activity: |
||||||||
Beginning balance |
$ | 494,000 | $ | 419,000 | ||||
Additions |
157,000 | 204,000 | ||||||
Deductions |
(159,000 | ) | (273,000 | ) | ||||
Change in estimate relating to previous warranty accruals |
(73,000 | ) | 141,000 | |||||
Ending balance |
$ | 419,000 | $ | 491,000 | ||||
Unfavorable Lease Costs: |
||||||||
Beginning balance |
$ | 823,000 | $ | | ||||
Additions |
| | ||||||
Deductions |
(265,000 | ) | | |||||
Transfer to lease abandonment costs |
(558,000 | ) | | |||||
Ending balance |
$ | | $ | | ||||
Lease Abandonment Costs: |
||||||||
Beginning balance |
$ | 1,329,000 | $ | 1,336,000 | ||||
Additions |
279,000 | | ||||||
Transfers from unfavorable lease costs |
558,000 | | ||||||
Deductions |
(830,000 | ) | (1,111,000 | ) | ||||
Ending balance |
$ | 1,336,000 | $ | 225,000 | ||||
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Table of Contents
For the year ended, | ||||||||
December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2004 | 2005 | |||||||
Product Line Exit Costs: |
||||||||
Beginning balance |
$ | 913,000 | $ | 885,000 | ||||
Additions |
| | ||||||
Deductions |
(73,000 | ) | (483,000 | ) | ||||
Change in estimate relating to previous exit costs accrual |
45,000 | | ||||||
Ending balance |
$ | 885,000 | $ | 402,000 | ||||
Severance Costs: |
||||||||
Beginning balance |
$ | 285,000 | $ | 36,000 | ||||
Additions |
826,000 | 218,000 | ||||||
Deductions |
(1,075,000 | ) | (222,000 | ) | ||||
Ending balance |
$ | 36,000 | $ | 32,000 | ||||
Supplemental Cash Flow Information:
Dec. 31, 2003 | Dec. 31, 2004 | Dec. 31, 2005 | ||||||||||
Cash paid for interest |
$ | 471,000 | $ | 443,000 | $ | 116,000 | ||||||
Non-cash investing and financing activities: |
||||||||||||
Unpaid offering expenses |
| 792,000 | | |||||||||
Insurance settlement receivable |
| 4,000,000 | 4,000,000 | |||||||||
Legal settlement liability |
| 4,000,000 | 4,000,000 |
Note
15 Subsequent Event Unaudited
On March 2, 2006, the Company announced board approval of a one (1) for ten (10) reverse stock
split. The reverse stock split will be effective at the open of business on March 13, 2006. The
Company will have approximately 12.5 million shares outstanding after the split and will be
accounted for by the transfer of approximately $113,000 from common stock par value to capital in
excess of par value at December 31, 2005. Pro forma earnings per share amounts on a post-split
basis for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004 and 2003 would be as follows:
Year ended December 31, | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |||||||||
Basic and diluted loss per common share |
||||||||||||
As reported |
($0.18 | ) | ($0.37 | ) | ($0.12 | ) | ||||||
Proforma |
($1.80 | ) | ($3.70 | ) | ($1.20 | ) |
Information presented in the Consolidated Financial Statements, related notes and Five Year Summary
of Selected Financial Data has not been restated to reflect the one-for-ten reverse stock split.
F-25
Table of Contents
Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited)
First Quarter | Second Quarter | Third Quarter | Fourth Quarter | |||||||||||||
2005 |
||||||||||||||||
Net revenues |
$ | 4,354,000 | $ | 8,553,000 | $ | 3,917,000 | $ | 7,385,000 | ||||||||
Loss from
operations (1)(2)(3) |
(5,555,000 | ) | (2,065,000 | ) | (3,696,000 | ) | (3,123,000 | ) | ||||||||
Net loss |
(5,537,000 | ) | $ | (2,046,000 | ) | (3,623,000 | ) | (3,007,000 | ) | |||||||
Basic and diluted loss per
common share |
$ | (0.05 | ) | $ | (0.02 | ) | $ | (0.03 | ) | $ | (0.02 | ) | ||||
Weighted average number of
shares outstanding |
107,711,026 | 107,711,026 | 116,554,922 | 124,834,314 | ||||||||||||
2004 |
||||||||||||||||
Net revenues |
$ | 5,444,000 | $ | 6,312,000 | $ | 7,299,000 | $ | 3,949,000 | ||||||||
Loss from
operations (4)(5) |
(5,807,000 | ) | (7,874,000 | ) | (5,138,000 | ) | (11,278,000 | ) | ||||||||
Net loss |
(5,910,000 | ) | $ | (8,884,000 | ) | (5,155,000 | ) | (11,268,000 | ) | |||||||
Basic and diluted loss per
common share |
$ | (0.09 | ) | $ | (0.11 | ) | $ | (0.06 | ) | $ | (0.11 | ) | ||||
Weighted average number of
shares outstanding |
69,042,053 | 78,296,844 | 92,103,424 | 98,177,693 |
(1) | Includes restructuring expense of $133,000, $204,000, none and none, respectively. | |
(2) | Includes increased reserve for inventory obsolescence of $90,000, $90,000, $432,000 and $372,000, respectively. | |
(3) | Includes sale of previously written-off inventory of none, none, $319,000, and $806,000, respectively. | |
(4) | Includes restructuring expense and impairment charges of none, $2,513,000, $785,000 and $1,885,000, respectively. | |
(5) | Includes increased reserve for inventory obsolescence of $88,000, $90,000, $440,000 and $4,218,000, respectively. |
F-26
Table of Contents
SUPERCONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES INC.
Schedule II- Valuation and Qualifying Accounts
Additions | ||||||||||||||||||||
Charge to | Charge to | Charge to | ||||||||||||||||||
Beginning | Costs & | Other | Other | Ending | ||||||||||||||||
Balance | Expenses | Accounts | Deductions | Balance | ||||||||||||||||
Year Ended December 31, 2005 |
||||||||||||||||||||
Allowance for Uncollectible Accounts |
$ | 77,000 | $ | | $ | | $ | (2,000 | ) | $ | 75,000 | |||||||||
Impairment for Notes Receivable from
Stockholder |
| 969,000 | | | 969,000 | |||||||||||||||
Reserve for Inventory Obsolescence |
5,402,000 | 984,000 | | (3,177,000 | ) | 3,209,000 | ||||||||||||||
Reserve for Warranty |
419,000 | 204,000 | | (132,000 | ) | 491,000 | ||||||||||||||
Deferred Tax Asset Valuation Allowance |
106,629,000 | (330,000 | ) | | | 106,299,000 | ||||||||||||||
Year Ended December 31, 2004 |
||||||||||||||||||||
Allowance for Uncollectible Accounts |
64,000 | 13,000 | | | 77,000 | |||||||||||||||
Reserve for Inventory Obsolescence |
803,000 | 4,836,000 | | (237,000 | ) | 5,402,000 | ||||||||||||||
Reserve for Warranty |
494,000 | 84,000 | | (159,000 | ) | 419,000 | ||||||||||||||
Deferred Tax Asset Valuation Allowance |
94,576,000 | 12,053,000 | | | 106,629,000 | |||||||||||||||
Year Ended December 31, 2003 |
||||||||||||||||||||
Allowance for Uncollectible Accounts |
58,000 | 12,000 | | (6,000 | ) | 64,000 | ||||||||||||||
Reserve for Inventory Obsolescence |
650,000 | 719,000 | | (566,000 | ) | 803,000 | ||||||||||||||
Reserve for Warranty |
351,000 | 261,000 | | (118,000 | ) | 494,000 | ||||||||||||||
Deferred Tax Asset Valuation Allowance |
76,358,000 | 18,218,000 | | | 94,576,000 |
F-27