Genasys Inc. - Annual Report: 2005 (Form 10-K)
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-K
ANNUAL
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005
Commission
File Number 0-24248
AMERICAN
TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
DELAWARE
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87-0361799
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(State
or other jurisdiction of
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(I.R.S.
Employer
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Incorporation
or organization)
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Identification
No.)
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13114
Evening Creek Drive South, San Diego,
California
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92128
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(Address
of principal executive offices)
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(Zip
Code)
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Registrant's'
telephone number, including area code: (858) 679-2114
SECURITIES
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OF THE ACT: None
SECURITIES
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(g) OF THE ACT:
Common
Stock, $.00001 par value per share
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 in 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 [X] No [ ]
Indicate
by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of
Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best
of Registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements
incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to
this
Form 10-K. [ ]
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in
Rule
12b-2 of the Act). Yes [X] NO [ ]
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Act). Yes [ ] NO [X]
The
aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by
non-affiliates of the registrant (based on the closing price as reported on
the
NASDAQ Capital Market on March 31, 2005) was $142,517,969.*
The
number of shares of Common Stock, $.00001 par value, outstanding on December
14
2005, was 24,308,215.
DOCUMENTS
INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions
of the registrant's Definitive Proxy Statement to be filed with the Commission
pursuant to Regulation 14A in connection with the registrant's 2006 Annual
Meeting of Stockholders, to be filed subsequent to the date hereof, are
incorporated by reference into Part III of this report. Such Definitive Proxy
Statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission not later
than 120 days after the conclusion of the registrant's fiscal year ended
September 30, 2005.
* Excludes
the Common Stock held by executive officers, directors and stockholders whose
ownership exceeds 5% of the Common Stock outstanding at March 31, 2005. This
calculation does not reflect a determination that such persons are affiliates
for any other purpose.
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F-1
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Forward
Looking Statements
This
report contains certain statements of a forward-looking nature relating to
future events or the future performance of our company. Words such
as“expects,”
“anticipates,”
“intends,”
“plans,”
“believes,”
“seeks,”
“estimates”
and
similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify
forward-looking statements, but are not the only means of identifying
forward-looking statements. Prospective investors are cautioned that such
statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ
materially. In evaluating such statements, prospective investors should
specifically consider various factors identified in this report, including
the
matters set forth below under the caption“Risk
Factors,”
which could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated
by
such forward-looking statements.
American
Technology Corporation has been researching and developing new sound and
acoustic sound technologies over the last ten years, and we have successfully
commercialized proprietary directed sound reproduction products based on our
technologies. We believe that our innovative proprietary sound technologies
and
products dramatically improve the quality of sound and acoustics in a manner
not
attainable through conventional sound speakers, thereby opening up new markets
for our products.
We
have
44 patents issued worldwide covering our various sound technologies, of which
33
are patents issued in the United States. We also have 144 pending patent
applications world-wide, of which 33 are pending patent applications in the
United States.
Our
four
major product platforms and underlying technologies are listed
below:
HSS®
Our
HyperSonic sound, or HSS, products are based on our proprietary parametric
speaker technology that creates sound “in the air.” Sound is generated along an
air column using ultrasonic frequencies above the normal range of hearing.
The
HSS sound beam is highly directional and maintains sonic clarity and
intelligibility over longer distances than traditional loudspeakers. Our HSS
products beam sound to the intended audience and not elsewhere. We believe
our
substantial intellectual property portfolio and pioneering HSS products support
our leadership position in the field of parametric non-linear acoustics for
sound reproduction.
LRAD™
Our
Long
Range Acoustic Device or LRAD products are breakthrough long-range hailing,
warning and notification devices that utilize a directed acoustic beam that
we
developed to communicate at operational ranges with authority and superior
intelligibility in high ambient noise environments. We developed the LRAD1000
in
2002. Although designed for use in a variety of applications by the U.S.
military, federal instrumentalities, state and local government entities and
commercial users, the initial application for this product following the bombing
of the USS Cole in 2002 was in helping the U.S. Navy maintain and enforce a
protection barrier for all Naval vessels. Our family of LRAD products, which
we
market through the U.S. Department of Defense as “The Sound of Force
Protection™”, are currently in use by the various branches of the U.S. armed
forces, and support the applications for the Department of Homeland Security,
police and fire departments, and other public safety organizations. LRAD has
also proven to be an important asset in hailing, warning and notification in
the
commercial context: in November 2005, the cruise ship Seabourn Spirit reportedly
used an LRAD in helping to thwart an attempted pirate attack off the coast
of
Somalia.
Our
LRAD
products incorporate our proprietary technology that produces variable intensity
acoustical sound intended for use in long-range and medium-range delivery of
directional sound information. LRAD can be thought of as a supercharged
megaphone, focusing a directional acoustic beam with a range of 500 meters
or
more. We market these products as directed hailing, notification and warning
systems to government, military and commercial customers.
In
2005,
we introduced our LRAD500, a smaller 20-inch diameter directed acoustic beam
device that has multiple applications for smaller ships and yachts,
shorter-range checkpoints, access denial, armored vehicles and law
enforcement.
NeoPlanar®
Our
NeoPlanar thin film magnetic speaker technology provides high clarity throughout
the audio range for public address, emergency notification and high-end sound
applications. Our NeoPlanar products are based on our proprietary technology
incorporating a thin film magnetic speaker that produces sound of high quality,
low distortion and high volume. NeoPlanar products are targeted for inclusion
in
high-end consumer sound products, public address and mass notification systems.
NeoPlanar technology also powers our Sound Sentinel™ products that are capable
of delivering intelligible audio in excess of 500 meters, communicating
effectively over high ambient noise, controlling unnecessary noise pollution
and
addressing rapid multi-language communications targeted to replace horn devices
and other public address systems. Our SoundSaber™ line of hardened NeoPlanar
panels provide vastly improved intelligibility in challenging acoustic
environments such as hangar bays, industrial buildings, airports and other
facilities.
SoundVector™
Our
SoundVector technology is a patent-pending economical and scaleable directional
sound technology for replacing sound pollution generating omni-directional
alarm
signals, sirens, hazard signals and other directed warnings or tones. We
executed our first commercial license of this technology during fiscal
2005.
We
believe we are uniquely equipped to provide our technologies and products in
rapidly growing markets for new sound applications not capable of being met
by
conventional sound devices or loudspeakers. Moreover, the development of other
low-cost products gaining wide acceptance in mass markets such as low-cost
plasma and flat panel screens offer, in our view, significant growth
opportunities for our HSS focused sound solutions for in-store advertising
and
digital signage markets. We also believe that the growth in defense, homeland
security and border patrol security, as well as related risk management spending
by commercial customers, provides a growing market for our sound products to
be
used for intelligible communication and notification over long distances.
In
2005,
we entered into the following agreements and arrangements:
·
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In
April 2005, we began a business relationship with global security
provider
ADT Security Systems, Inc., a unit of Tyco Fire and Security, consisting
of an initial order for $356,000 of Sound Sentinel
panels.
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·
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In
July 2005, we entered into an agreement with In-Store Broadcasting
Network
(IBN) for the future delivery of 12,000 HSS H450 units for digital
in-store media networks located in first tier
retailers.
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In
July 2005, ADT began active marketing and promotion of mass notification
systems containing Sound Sentinel panels to businesses, public safety
agencies and other organizations.
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In
July 2005, we entered into a design and manufacturing licensing agreement
with ECCO Group, the world's largest manufacturer of backup alarms
for
commercial vehicles. The agreement covers the initial licensing and
product development of our SoundVector technology for ECCO and its
affiliates for backup vehicle alarms.
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In
August 2005, we entered
into a distribution agreement with ActiveLight, Inc. for our HSS
product
line. ActiveLight is a leading value-added distributor of advanced
displays, dynamic signage solutions, and projection
equipment.
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We
organize our business into two reporting segments by the end-user markets we
serve: 1) the commercial market,—referred to as the Commercial Group, and 2) the
government and military market—referred to as the Government Group. Both groups
market our array of products and technologies.
Information
regarding revenues and gross profit (loss) by operating segment is included
in
Note 13 to our financial statements included with this report.
In
the
Commercial Group, we have concentrated our efforts in the following vertical
markets:
Digital
Signage
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Digital Signage enables advertisers to deliver more focused and effective
advertisements. Digital Signage solutions generally consist of the replacement
of static or passive signs or displays with video screen devices such as cathode
ray tube, or CRT, plasma, liquid crystal display, or LCD, or light-emitting
diode, or LED containing still or motion video images. The image content,
usually advertising or informational, can be changed via network control of
each
individual sign. Directed audio is used to contain or focus the audio within
a
defined space - generally to the person or persons in that defined space, to
eliminate objections to the audio content from local workers, and to lower
the
overall audio noise level in a confined space. We sell our HSS products to
digital signage integrators that integrate and install digital signage
advertising solutions for in store networks for large national and international
retailers. In-store networks and in-store digital signage installations are
growing in size. In 2004, over 5,000 stores aired the PRN Network with
approximately 680 million shopping visits per month As of August 2005, IBN
reports over 17,000 partner stores with over 256.9 million individual shopper
visits per month. In August 2005, IBN announced an agreement to install in-store
digital-signage networks in more than 2,500 Kroger-owned stores in the U.S.
In
July 2005, we entered into an agreement with In-Store Broadcasting Network
(IBN)
for the future delivery of 12,000 HSS H450 units for digital in-store media
networks located in first tier retailers.
Museums
and Educational Displays
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Directed audio is used in museums and similar facilities to focus audio
information in targeted areas without distracting other
patrons. Directed audio is also used to allow multiple audio programs
to be played within a confined space. Our HSS and NeoPlanar products are
marketed for these applications.
Trade
Show and Conventions
- Trade
shows and conventions require directed audio to lessen the overall room noise,
attract patrons, focus instructional audio to individual displays, and contain
audio programs within defined booth spaces. Our HSS and NeoPlanar products
are
marketed for these applications.
Kiosks
- Retail
point of purchase or information kiosks require directed audio to contain sound
within the immediate space of the kiosk and to maintain some privacy for each
individual listener.
Infrastructure
and Asset Protection - Commercial
customers owning and operating oil pipelines, commercial shipping vessels,
cruise ships and large facilities such as manufacturing and distribution centers
and shipping ports, need to protect such assets and to communicate important
information to employees and customers. Our comprehensive suite of directed
acoustic products provide maximum protection and superior sound
quality.
Our
Government Group principally markets our LRAD products to government and
military customers in the United States and worldwide. Customers include the
U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army and U.S.
Coast Guard and various state and city police and public safety
departments.
The
landscape of the global defense industry continues to evolve as events such
as
those of September 11, 2001, Operation Iraqi Freedom and the worldwide
phenomena of terrorist attacks demand alternative strategic defense initiatives.
The defense requirements of the United States have shifted from defending
against Cold War era threats to focusing on the management of one or more
regional conflicts, homeland security and proactive threat identification.
As a
result of this shift towards low intensity conflicts and military operations
other than war, the defense industry is influenced by several key factors which
also may impact our Government Group, including, but not limited
to:
·
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New
funding that is available to implement new technologies to meet modern
threats;
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Increased
focus on force protection through threat identification, and non-lethal
capabilities;
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Increased
reliance by domestic prime contractors on others to provide subsystems
and
components; and
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·
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U.S.
military development of lighter and faster defense platforms that
are able
to react quickly to regional conflict. These highly mobile, rapidly
deployable forces are relying on advanced technologies to provide
a full
awareness of the battlefield, improve communication and evaluate
threats.
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We
believe military branches, government agencies, allied forces and maritime
and
commercial entities will increasingly employ LRAD systems for long range hailing
and warning as part of their force or site protection strategies.
Our
shares of common stock trade through the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol
“ATCO.” Our address is 13114 Evening Creek Drive South, San Diego,
California, 92128, our telephone number is 858-679-2114, and our internet
website is located at www.atcsd.com. We make available, free of charge through
our website, our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q,
current reports on Form 8-K, reports filed by our directors, executive officers
and certain significant shareholders pursuant to Section 16 of the Securities
Exchange Act and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant
to
Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934 as soon as reasonably
practical after the reports are electronically filed with or furnished to the
Securities and Exchange Commission. The information on our website is
not incorporated by reference into this report nor is it part of this
report.
HyperSonic
Sound (HSS)
We
have
pioneered a new paradigm in sound production based on well-known principles
of
physics. The common speaker types in use today such as dynamic, electrostatic,
ribbon and other transducer-based designs, are direct radiating, and are
fundamentally a piston action, directly pumping air molecules into motion to
create audible sound waves we hear. Parametric or nonlinear acoustics, on the
other hand, use changing pressures in air to produce sound
indirectly.
HSS
employs ultrasonic frequencies to carry content, such as music and voice, into
the air. Proprietary ultrasonic emitters, or transducers, which convert
electrical energy to high frequency acoustical energy, produce these ultrasonic
frequencies beyond the range of hearing. We have developed the
ability to use such devices in lieu of loudspeakers to emit a custom-generated
ultrasonic wave with the proper difference frequency characteristics to produce
audible sound within and throughout a tightly formed beam. With our HSS
technology, audible sound is not created on the surface of the ultrasonic
emitter--a significant departure from a direct radiating
loudspeaker. Instead, the audible sound is generated in the air
itself and is focused and directed. For example, using our HSS products, if
the
acoustic beam is directed towards a wall, the sound first emanates from the
surface of the wall - not from the emitter, as it would be with a conventional
loudspeaker. Or, or if the HSS acoustic beam is directed to a person, the sound
is created at the person. HSS directionality allows sound to be focused or
“beamed” in space or diffused from a surface in a variety of ways to produce
desired effects. Also, the sound does not spread at the same rate over distance
as it does with traditional speakers. This unique feature provides greater
sound
clarity and intelligibility at selected distant points with less energy than
traditional speakers, creating the ability to communicate directed sound at
very
long distances.
With
the
rapid growth of directed advertising such as digital signage, point-of-purchase
and in-store TV networks, we believe there is a trend towards sound clutter
and
noise pollution where conventional sound products and speakers are used.
In-store display advertising tends to irritate customers if too intrusive or
loud, and annoy workers due to the repetition. We have employed our HSS sound
with plasma displays to achieve focused, controlled sound such that only those
customers situated in specified locations are targeted and nearby customers
and
store clerks do not hear the message. We believe this ability to focus sound
will be a driving feature of HSS systems. We believe our HSS technology offers
a
number of advantages:
·
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Delivery
of more effective advertisements to store
patrons;
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·
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Ability
to create a beam of sound and place it only where it’s
intended;
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·
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Elimination
of the need for a speaker
enclosure;
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·
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Reduction
of the effect of room acoustics on sound
quality;
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·
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Ability
to manipulate or selectively position or diffuse the source of
sound;
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·
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Ability
to deliver a beam of sound over longer distances than conventional
speakers, such as down a grocery store
aisle;
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·
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Ability
to penetrate other competing sounds;
and
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·
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Elimination
of feedback from live microphones.
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We
expect
additional HSS applications to become evident as our products become more widely
known.
Long
Range Acoustic Device (LRAD)
Our
Long
Range Acoustic Device, or LRAD, technology is a breakthrough directed acoustic
beam device for long-range hailing and warning. LRAD was developed in
parallel with the release of Naval Vessel Protection Zone requirements to
enforce a 500-yard Exclusion Zone and 100-yard Protection Zone around U.S.
naval
warships both in the U.S. and in the foreign ports and restricted waters. When
used in military applications, LRAD products provide the critical long-range
communication and, when properly operated, provide an intense but not harmful
ability to warn away friendlies, classify non-compliants as hostile and support
decisions concerning escalation of responses. LRAD is unique in part
because it permits our customers to deliver a measured response in first hailing
and communicating and then as a warning and deterrent, if necessary. LRAD
supports the difficult missions of waterside force protection against small
boats, crowd control, area denial of personnel, clearing buildings and search
and seizure operations, and border patrol. LRAD permits military troops and
public safety officials to maintain distance between themselves and a potential
threat, providing time to inform and change behavior and to save lives on both
sides of the device.
Our
LRAD
products deliver voice and tone clarity in a 15° - 30° beam at distances over
500 meters, using only two amps of current. In addition to microphone
input, our LRAD products can communicate prerecorded phrases in various
languages via the built-in MP3 player or an optional Phraselator ® (Phraselator
® is a registered trademark of Marine Accoustics, Inc.). A remote pan and tilt
option allows the LRAD operator to remotely change the direction of the device
at extended distances from the device, which in turn increases safety and the
time to diffuse tense situations.
In
August
2005, we introduced a smaller version of the LRAD, the LRAD500 that features
reduced size and weight for easier transport and vehicle or aircraft mounting.
The LRAD500 allows police to provide clear instructions to crowds, fire crews
to
communicate to persons in buildings, maritime vessels to communicate with small
vessels, security personnel to communicate in multiple languages at distance,
airport managers to scare away birds that could pose a danger to aircraft,
agents to provide instructions from airborne craft including helicopters, and
many other activities.
Through
intense direct sales and marketing efforts, successful product deployments,
extensive media coverage and product demonstrations, we believe that LRAD
products are achieving brand awareness within the U.S. Department of Defense.
LRAD systems are currently in operational use in maritime, checkpoint,
vehicular, airborne, and integrated system applications by the U.S. Navy, U.S.
Marine Corps, U.S. Army and U.S. Coast Guard as well as on board commercial
ships. The U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps. and U.S. Army have reported
favorable feedback from LRAD deployments in Operation Iraqi Freedom. LRAD
products also support applications for the Department of Homeland Security,
other government and law enforcement agencies and customers where there is
a
need to protect critical high-value commercial infrastructure such as buildings,
bridges, tunnels, dams, power plants, pipelines, airports, sea ports,
communications towers and other important commercial facilities. An LRAD system
has recently proven to be effective in helping to provide security for
commercial shipping and cruise lines.
NeoPlanar
Speakers
Our
NeoPlanar technology is a thin film planar magnetic type speaker that uses
novel
films, magnetic materials and a manufacturing process that we believe provides
improved cost/performance benefits. Traditional planar magnetic speakers have
been limited in range, expensive, or have used materials with limited power
handling ability. Our NeoPlanar technology provides the ability to build
cost-effective light-weight, flat and thin speakers with high power output
providing exceptional clarity over long distances.
SoundVector
Our
SoundVector technology
is a patent-pending economical and scaleable directional sound technology
designed to replace noisy omni-directional alarm signals, sirens, hazard signals
and other directed warnings or tones. Our advanced development group created
this technology, and we executed our first commercial license of this technology
in fiscal 2005 for vehicle backup alarms.
Other
Proprietary Technologies and Products
We
have
other sound inventions, technologies and products in various stages of
development including our PureBass® Woofer technology for low frequency
speakers, our Stratified Field Technology, or SFT®, that employs a thin form,
non-magnetic film to produce high quality sound, our Sound Cluster customized
horn array that automatically adjusts to an ambient noise environment and other
technologies and products in various stages of development.
We
believe we are building a leadership position in the field of directed or
focused sound for both short-range and long-range communication with high
clarity. Our overall strategy is to build on this leading position by offering
a
variety of products for an increasing range of applications. In executing our
strategy, we are building a worldwide distribution channel consisting of
partners and resellers that have significant expertise and experience selling
integrated communications solutions into the various markets and segments that
we are pursuing.
We
believe there are OEM and licensing opportunities for our innovative
technologies dealing with focused or directed sound. In
August
2001, we entered into a non-exclusive license agreement with Harman
International Industries to manufacture and use NeoPlanar technology in the
OEM
automotive market. During fiscal 2005, Harman advised us that they intend to
utilize NeoPlanar technology in future products; however, to date, we have
not
earned any license revenue from the manufacture of Harman products utilizing
our
technology.
In
April
2005, we began a working relationship with the global security provider ADT
Security Systems, Inc., a unit of Tyco Fire and Security, which included an
opening order of $356,000 for Sound Sentinel panels. In July 2005, ADT began
active marketing and promotion of ADT’s Mass Notification systems containing
Sound Sentinel panels to businesses, public safety agencies and other
organizations.
We
have
established a distribution arrangement with ADS, Inc. as a reseller of our
LRAD
products via a prime vendor contract vehicle to end users in various branches
of
the military such as the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army and the
Department of Homeland Security. Our strategy is to add additional agents or
distributors for military and government business.
We
believe maintaining quality manufacturing capacity is essential to the
performance of our products and the growth of our business.
We
presently employ contract manufacturers for production of HSS and LRAD
components and sub-assemblies. We
manufacture and assemble NeoPlanar products for both commercial and government
systems in our Carson City, Nevada facility. During
fiscal 2005 we ceased using a contract manufacturer for the production of our
HSS and LRAD products.
We
presently employ an outside manufacturer for a portion of the assembly of some
of our products and complete final assembly, test and ship of all products
from
either our San Diego or Carson City facilities. As product volume builds, we
intend to contract more work to outside contract manufacturers for such services
as final assembly and test, and full turnkey product manufacturing of some
of
our products.
We
have
refined our internal business processes to improve how we design, test and
qualify product designs. We continue to implement more rigorous
manufacturing and quality processes to track production and field
failures.
We
have
identified suppliers for film and other key parts, but some are on a sole source
basis. Although other suppliers are believed to be available, the disruption
and
cost of changing suppliers, if required, could have a material adverse effect
on
our financial condition and results of operations.
We
market
and sell products and services through our sales force based in San Diego,
California with field offices located in Maine, Florida, Washington, and
independent sales representatives in the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong. Our
administrative offices are located in San Diego, California.
For
the
fiscal year ended September 30, 2005, revenues from one customer in the
Government Group, ADS, Inc., accounted for 69% of revenues with no other single
customer accounting for more than 10% of revenues. For
the
fiscal year ended September 30, 2004, sales to two Government Group customers,
ADS, Inc. and General Dynamics, Armaments and Technical Products, Inc.,
accounted for 47%
and
11%
of
revenues, respectively, with no other single customer accounting for more than
10% of revenues. ADS, Inc. is a reseller of our products via a prime
vendor contract vehicle to end users in various branches of the military such
as
the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army and the Department of Homeland
Security.
For
the
fiscal years ended September 30, 2005, 2004 and 2003, LRAD product revenues
were
$8,821,367, $3,907,291, and $261,106
respectively, which represented 87%, 68% and
20%
of
revenues in each of the respective years. For the fiscal year ended September
30, 2003, HSS product revenues were $507,445, and 39% of revenues. No other
product group represented more than 15% of revenues in any year.
Our
revenues have to date relied on a few major customers. The loss of any
customer could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition,
results of operations and cash flows. However, our goal is to
diversify sound technology revenues in future periods.
Our
order
backlog for products that are deliverable in the next 12 months was
approximately $4,155,000 at September 30, 2005. Backlog orders are subject
to
cancellation or rescheduling by our customers.
Information
regarding our revenues by geographic area is set forth in Note 13 to
our financial statements included with this report.
We
generally warrant our products to be free from defects in materials and
workmanship for a period up to one year from the date of purchase, depending
on
the product. The warranty is generally a limited warranty, and in some instances
imposes certain shipping costs on the customer. To date we have been providing
direct warranty service, but in the future we may establish warranty service
through OEM customers or others. Some of our agreements require OEM customers
to
stock certain quantities of product for use as warranty replacements.
International market warranties are generally similar to the U.S.
market.
In
fiscal
2003, due to performance failures of some of our first generation of HSS systems
resulting primarily from a vacuum emitter component, we agreed to replace
emitters on approximately 700 HSS Generation I units. We completed this
replacement program during fiscal 2005. At September 30, 2005, we had a warranty
reserve of $248,981, and our cost of performing warranty service during our
fiscal year ended September 30, 2005 totaled $ 154,667.
Our
technologies and products compete with those of other companies. The consumer,
commercial and government audio industry markets are fragmented and competitive
and include numerous manufacturers with audio products that vary widely in
price, quality and distribution channels. Manufacturers of consumer and
commercial speakers include Harman International, Boston Acoustics and many
others. Suppliers of government audio industry speakers include IML Sound
Commander, Technomad Inc, ATI, Dynalec, Henschel and others. Many of our present
and potential future competitors have, or may have, substantially greater
resources to devote to further technological and new product developments.
We
believe we compete primarily on the originality of our concepts, the uniqueness
and quality of our technology and designs, the ease and cost of manufacturing
and of implementing our technologies, the ability to meet customer needs to
differentiate their products, the strength of our intellectual property and
the
strength of licensee and contract supply arrangements. We may not, however,
be
competitive with the existing or future products, technologies or services
of
our competitors.
We
believe HSS is the leading parametric speaker with limited direct competition
to
date. Although others have attempted to use parametric speaker concepts to
produce sound, we do not believe they have progressed to the point of
cost-effective and directly competitive commercial products compared to HSS.
Holosonic Research Labs, Inc. produces a parametric speaker called the Audio
Spotlight. Sennheiser Electronics has announced a parametric speaker product
called the AudioBeam Master. These companies employ electrostatic and
piezoelectric emitter devices, which we believe are less efficient and more
expensive than our proprietary emitters. However, these parametric speaker
competitors or others may introduce products with features and performance
competitive to our products.
We
will
continue to aggressively seek patent protection for our intellectual property.
Companies such as Brown Innovations and others have employed domes and other
techniques to try to focus or contain sound for directed sound applications
such
as point-of-sale. We do not believe these methods are directly competitive
to
HSS in ease of use, cost and performance.
We
also
believe our NeoPlanar technology is novel and has distinct market attributes
compared to existing and competing flat panel and traditional speaker designs.
We believe our NeoPlanar technology produces high intelligibility and
reliability for a range of consumer, commercial and government applications.
Other companies that are focusing marketing efforts in the flat panel market
segment include, but are not limited to: (i) high-end electrostatic flat
panel manufacturers such as Martin Logan and others, and (ii) NXT Plc and
its licensees employing the NXT flat panel technology, which uses a magnetic
actuator to produce vibrations over a rigid panel. We are not aware of companies
offering flat panel technology to the government market comparable to our
government NeoPlanar products, but others
may introduce
products with features and performance competitive to our government NeoPlanar
products.
We
believe our SoundVector directed acoustic technology is novel with distinct
technical and market attributes attributable to the backup alarm and other
alert
and warning tone markets. While we believe the demonstrated directivity of
our
warning tones is an important technical and performance advantage, we compete
with traditional speakers and horns used in these existing markets. Others
may
modify existing products or offer new products with features and performance
competitive to our SoundVector technology.
There
are
also continuing attempts by a large number of competitors to innovate new
methods of sound reproduction to overcome limitations of traditional
loudspeakers. It is possible that alternate technologies and systems that would
be directly competitive with our sound technology have been developed but are
unknown to us. Such systems may also currently be in development, and may be
developed by others in the future.
We
have
not experienced any significant seasonality trends to date. Seasonality trends
may occur in the future. Government business tends to be seasonal due to the
U.S. Government procurement cycle, with the quarter ending September 30 usually
producing relatively higher sales and the quarter ending December 31 usually
producing relatively lower sales. Our Government Group business has
not experienced this seasonality to date, but we may experience increased
seasonality in the future.
Certain
of our electronic products are subject to various regulations and are required
to meet the specifications of agencies such as the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC). We believe we are in substantial compliance with all current
applicable regulations, and that we have all material governmental permits,
licenses, qualifications and approvals currently required for our
operations.
Our
HSS
technology is subject to control under the Radiation Control for Health and
Safety Act of 1968, and the associated regulations promulgated by the Food
and
Drug Administration (FDA), as an electrical emitter of ultrasonic vibrations.
Under the terms of such regulations, we were required to provide an abbreviated
report to the FDA describing the technology, which we submitted in August 2001.
The FDA may respond to such report and request changes or safeguards to the
technology, but it has not done so to date. We will also be required to notify
the FDA in writing should an HSS product be found to have a defect relating
to
safety of use due to the emission of electronic product radiation. We do not
believe our HSS technology poses any human health risks. However, it is possible
that we, or one of our OEM customers or licensees, could be required to modify
the technology, or a product incorporating the technology, to comply with
requirements that may be imposed by the FDA.
Our
products are being produced to standard product safety requirements for sale
in
the United States and to similar requirements for sale in Europe and Canada.
We
expect to meet the electrical and other regulatory requirements for electronic
systems or components we sell throughout the world.
Some
of
our products may be subject to certain export controls by the U.S. government
in
accordance with various statutory authorities (including, for example the
Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917, the Arms Export Control Act of 1976, the
Export Administration Act of 1979 or the International Emergency Economic Powers
Act), regulations and related executive orders. These controls affect the
export of products and services to foreign customers and foreign business
partners, in addition to exports to foreign persons generally (including our
employees who are foreign persons or foreign regulatory bodies).
Generally
speaking, there are three U.S. regulatory systems in place to implement these
export control laws:
The
first
main regulatory system is administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury,
Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), which administers and enforces economic
and trade sanctions based on U.S. foreign policy and national security goals
against targeted individuals and specifically identified foreign
countries. None of our current business dealings or business plans
implicates the OFAC regulations.
The
second main regulatory system is administered by the U.S. Department of State,
Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), which administers the
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The ITAR requires
licenses for the export of any product, service or technology that is
specifically designed or adapted for a military application and is listed on
the
United States Munitions List. Since our products are directional
speaker systems designed for both commercial and government use, we do not
believe that our technologies will fall under ITAR restrictions. This
belief has recently been confirmed by cognizant government officials. However,
it is possible that some of our products may be deemed to have been specifically
designed or adapted for military application and, if so, would be regulated
under the ITAR in the future. If
our
products, services or technology are regulated under the ITAR, we will be
required to submit an application for and obtain an export license to DDTC
before exporting ITAR-controlled products, services or technology.
The
third
main regulatory system is administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which administers the Export
Administration Regulations (EAR). The EAR requires licenses only for
certain products, services or technology that potentially have both commercial
and military uses. Whether a license is required involves analysis of the
end use of the product, as well as the destination country for the product,
service or technology. We believe that products such as HSS, LRAD and
NeoPlanar are subject to the EAR because they have commercial applications
and,
unless specifically customized for military applications, were not, in their
standard configurations, specifically designed for military
use. Application of the EAR is generally routine, and every company
doing business in an international market must comply with these regulations.
As
a
defense contractor or subcontractor, our contract costs may be subject to audit
and review by the U.S. Government. Routine audits and investigations are
conducted from time to time to determine if performance and administering of
U.S. Government contracts are compliant with applicable contractual
requirements, and procurement and other applicable Federal statutes and
regulations. Under present U.S. Government procurement regulations, if indicted
or adjudged in violation of procurement or other Federal civil laws, a
contractor or subcontractor, such as us, could be subject to fines, penalties,
repayments or other damages. U.S. Government regulations also provide that
certain findings may lead to suspension or debarment from eligibility for awards
of new U.S. Government contracts for up to three years. Suspension or
debarment may also limit a company's ability to obtain future subcontracts,
to
receive task orders on certain existing contracts, or to have options exercised
on existing contracts. Additionally, if a company is suspended or
debarred, the U.S. Government can suspend or revoke the company's foreign export
privileges. We are not currently subject to any suspension or
debarment proceedings, nor are we the subject of any investigation by the U.S.
Government.
We
operate in an industry where innovations, investment in new ideas and protection
of resulting intellectual property rights are important to success. We rely
on a
variety of intellectual property protections for our products and technologies,
including patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, and contractual
obligations, and we pursue a policy of vigorously enforcing such
rights.
We
have a
substantial base of intellectual property assets. We have 33 patents issued
in
the U.S. and 44 patents issued worldwide. We also have approximately
33 patents pending in the U.S. and 144 patents pending worldwide on our
proprietary sound technologies. Our issued patents expire between 2006 and
2022.
We are preparing and intend to file other sound technology patent applications.
We target our patent coverage to provide protection in the major manufacturing
and commercial centers of the world.
In
addition to such factors as innovation, technological expertise and experienced
personnel, we believe that a strong patent position is important to compete
effectively in the sound reproduction industry. We believe this is especially
important to protect our leadership position in parametric acoustics (HSS).
The
following table lists some of our key HSS patents and patent applications and
the inventions they cover:
Key
Patent and Patent Application Titles
|
|
Coverage
|
Acoustic
Heterodyne Device and Method
|
|
Virtual
loudspeaker projection, controlling virtual projection attributes
and
direction with a computer driver and in ear applications for
HSS
|
Piezoelectric
Film Sonic Emitter
|
|
Piezoelectric
film based emitters
|
Parametric
Loudspeaker w/ Electro-Acoustical
One
stage Diaphragm Transducer
|
|
All
film type transducers for HSS
|
Modulator
Processing for a Parametric Loudspeaker
|
Advanced
distortion correction
|
|
Parametric
Loudspeaker with Improved Phase Characteristics
|
Ideal
tuning of parametric carriers for maximum
efficiency
|
|
Power
Amplification for Parametric Loudspeakers
|
All
high efficiency switch-mode power amplifiers for
HSS
|
|
Modulator-Amplifier
|
Specialized
integration of very high efficiency power amplification
and
modulation electronics for HSS
|
|
Parametric
Virtual Speaker and Surround Sound System
|
HSS
for virtual surround sound
|
|
Pre-encoded
Signals for Playback though a
Parametric
Loudspeaker System
|
Pre
recorded HSS processing for reduced
processing cost
and
hardware
|
|
Dynamic
Carrier System for Parametric Arrays
|
Reduced
power consumption and increased efficiency
in HSS
|
The
following table lists some of our other key sound patents and patent
applications and the inventions they cover:
Key
Patent Title
|
|
Coverage
|
A
High Intensity Directional Electro-acoustic Sound Generating System
for
Communications Targeting
|
High
Intensity Directional Acoustic Array
Long
Range Acoustic Device - LRAD™
|
|
Single
End Planar Magnetic Speaker
|
a)
Single Ended, Planar Magnetic loudspeaker w/high energy
magnets
b)
High speed/low cost planar film diaphragm production
c)
Specialized film for use in planar magnetic loudspeakers
|
|
Improved
Sing-Ended Planar Magnetic Speaker
|
Single
ended planar magnetic loudspeaker with high energy magnetics
|
|
Planar
Magnetic Speakers with Secondary Magnetic structure
|
Higher
output, high fidelity planar magnetic transducer
|
|
Acoustically
Asymmetric Band-Pass Loudspeaker
with
Multiple Acoustic Filters
|
a)
Low distortion/High Powered Subwoofer
b)
Increased bandwidth subwoofer
|
|
Dynamic
Power Sharing in a Multi-Channel Sound
System
|
Power/cost
savings, increased output in surround sound/home
theater
systems
|
We
have
an ongoing policy of filing patent applications to seek protection for novel
features of our products and technologies. Prior to the filing and granting
of
patents, our policy is to disclose key features to patent counsel and maintain
these features as trade secrets prior to product introduction. Patent
applications may not result in issued patents covering all important claims,
and
could be denied in their entirety.
We
are
investing significant management, legal and financial resources toward our
technology patents. The electronics industry is characterized by frequent
litigation regarding patent and other intellectual property rights. Others,
including academic institutions and competitors, hold numerous patents in
electronics and sound reproduction. Although we are not aware of any existing
patents that would materially inhibit our ability to commercialize our sound
technology; others may assert claims in the future. Such claims, with or without
merit, may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results
of operations.
The
validity of our existing patents has not been adjudicated by any court.
Competitors may bring legal action to challenge the validity of our existing
or
future patents or may attempt to circumvent the protection provided by such
patents. The failure to obtain patent protection or the loss of
patent protection on our existing and future technologies or the circumvention
of our patents by competitors could have a material adverse effect on our
ability to compete successfully.
We
generally take advantage of the Patent Convention Treaty procedures for patent
protection in foreign countries. This procedure is more cost efficient, but
results in a delay in the application and issuance of foreign patents; however,
any resulting foreign patents, if and when issued, enjoy the same priority
date
as U.S. counterparts.
We
also
file for trade name and trademark protection when appropriate. We are the owner
of federally registered trademarks including HYPERSONIC®, HSS®, SFT®, STRATIFIED
FIELD®, PMT®, NEOPLANAR®, PUREBASS® and SHAPING THE FUTURE OF SOUND®. Trade
names or trademarks may not be successfully maintained, defended or protected.
Our
policy is to enter into nondisclosure agreements with each employee and
consultant or third party to whom any of our proprietary information is
disclosed. These agreements prohibit the disclosure of confidential information
to others, both during and subsequent to employment or the duration of the
working relationship. These agreements may not prevent disclosure of
confidential information or provide adequate remedies for any
breach.
We
are
obligated to pay a $2.50 per unit royalty on one electronic component for our
HSS product. We are also obligated to pay Elwood G. Norris, our Chairman, a
2%
royalty on net sales from certain of our technologies, of which only HSS is
a
current offering of our company. The royalty obligation continues until at
least
March 1, 2007, and for any longer period during which we sell products or
license technologies subject to any patent assigned to us by Mr. Norris. No
royalties were paid or recorded under this agreement in the fiscal years ended
September 30, 2005, 2004, or 2003, as these royalties were immaterial and were
waived by Mr. Norris. We may owe royalties in future periods based on actual
sales or technology revenues.
The
sound
reproduction market is subject to rapid changes in technology and designs with
frequent improvements and new product introductions. We believe our future
success will depend on our ability to enhance and improve existing technologies
and to introduce new technologies on a competitive basis. Accordingly, we have
in the past, and we expect in the future, to engage in significant research
and
development activities.
For
the
fiscal years ended September 30, 2005, 2004, and 2003 we spent $4,621,532,
$2,988,784 and $2,437,591, respectively, on company-sponsored research and
development, and $-0-, $-0- and $55,760, respectively, on
customer-sponsored research and development. Future levels of research and
development expenditures will vary depending on the timing of further new
product development and the availability of funds to carry on additional
research and development on currently owned technologies or in other
areas.
The
current executive officers of American Technology Corporation and their ages
and
business experience for the last five years are set forth below.
Elwood
G. Norris, age
67,
has been a Director of our company since August 1980. Mr. Norris served as
Chief Executive Officer from October 2000 until February 2003. He currently
serves as Chairman of the Board, an executive position. He served as
President from August 1980 to February 1994. Mr. Norris managed our
research and development activities as Chief Technology Officer through December
2000. From 1988 to November 1999, he was a director and Chairman of e.Digital
Corporation, a public company engaged in electronic product development,
distribution and sales. During that period, he also held various other executive
officer positions at e.Digital. From August 1989 to October 1999, he served
as
director and held various executive officer positions with Patriot Scientific
Corporation, a public company engaged in the development of microprocessor
technology. He is an inventor with 47 U.S. patents, primarily in the fields
of
electrical and acoustical engineering. He is the inventor of our HyperSonic
Sound and other technologies. In April 2005, he was named as the 2005 recipient
of the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize for his many inventions including HyperSonic
Sound.
John
R. Zavoli,
age 46,
was appointed to our board of directors on June 14, 2005 and was appointed
as
President and Chief Operating Officer in November 2005 and Interim Chief
Financial Officer in December 2005. Mr. Zavoli was the president, chief
executive officer and chief financial officer of Path 1 Network Technologies
Inc. (AMEX: PNO), a San Diego-based provider of IP broadcast video transport
and
routing systems through September 2005. Mr. Zavoli joined Path 1 in October
2002
and was appointed president and chief executive officer and elected as a
director in March 2004. Before joining Path 1, from November 2001 through
September 2002, Mr. Zavoli served as chief financial officer and general counsel
with NHancement Technologies (later re-named Appiant Technologies). From June
1987 through July 1992, he held various senior level financial and legal
positions with Digital Equipment Corporation (now Hewlett-Packard). Mr. Zavoli
is a former partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he consulted high
tech clients in global operations, taxation, fiscal management, mergers and
acquisitions and other related issues. Mr. Zavoli obtained his B.S. in
Accounting from the University of Illinois in 1981, a J.D.,from The John
Marshall Law School in 1986, and an LL.M. from Boston University School of
Law
in 1990.
Karen
Jordan,
age 35,
joined our Company in November 2005 as Director of Finance, and in December
2005
was appointed as Chief Accounting Officer. From July 2003 to November 2005,
Ms.
Jordan was a self-employed bankruptcy executive, managing the Estates of LCS
Management, Inc. and LCS West, Inc. From January 2001 to July 2003, Ms. Jordan
was Corporate Controller with LifeCare Solutions, Inc., a provider of integrated
home healthcare products and services. From June 1996 to January 2001, Ms.
Jordan held various positions with Quidel Corporation, a developer and
manufacturer of diagnostic tests for detection of a variety of medical
conditions and illnesses. At the time Ms. Jordan left Quidel Corporation, she
held the position of Assistant Controller. Ms. Jordan is a Fellow Chartered
Accountant in Ireland. Ms. Jordan received her Associate Chartered Accountant
license from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.
Bruce
Gray,
age 50,
joined our company as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for our Commercial
Group in March 2005. In November 2005, Mr. Gray was appointed as our Vice
President, Commercial Group. From November 2001 through March of 2005, Mr.
Gray
served as Chief Executive Officer of Ethertronics Corporation, which developed
and manufactured antenna systems for the mobile wireless market. From November
1998 through October 2001, Mr. Gray served as Senior Vice President of Sales
and
Marketing for Novatel Wireless. He has also held executive sales management
positions at Uniden, Sensormatic, US Robotics and Alcoa Electronics. Mr. Gray
holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of South Alabama
and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of San Diego.
Mr. Gray has previously served on the Board of Directors of Ethertronics
Corporation, Ethertronics Trading Company Ltd., and TechnoCom
Corporation.
James
Croft, III,
age 52 joined
our company in October 1997 as Vice President of Engineering. In
December 2000 he was appointed Chief Technology Officer. As part of the
Company’s March 2003 reorganization, Mr. Croft was appointed Senior Vice
President of Research and Development. In August 2005 he was appointed as Chief
Technology Officer and Vice President of Development. From October 1992 to
October 1997 he was an executive with Carver Corporation, then a publicly
traded high-end audio supplier. He was appointed Vice President of Marketing
and
Product Development for Carver Corporation in March 1993 and Vice President
Research and Development in February 1995. From 1990 through
October 1992 Mr. Croft held various positions at Dahlquist, Inc., a
loudspeaker manufacturer, including Vice President of Research and Development.
Mr. Croft is also a member of the Board of Directors of Definitive Audio, Inc.,
a Seattle audio specialty retailer that he co-founded in 1975 and managed until
1985.
Alan
J. Ballard,
age 50,
joined our company in January 2004, and has held various positions in our
Government Group, including Senior Director of U.S. Military Sales, Government
and Force Protection Group. In November 2005, our board of directors approved
the appointment of Mr. Ballard as our Vice President, Government and Military
Division. From January 2001 to December 2003, Mr. Ballard was a senior engineer
and project manager with Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics
Corporation. Prior to joining Bath Iron Works, he was an officer in the United
States Navy with over 23 years of service prior to his retirement in September
2000. Mr. Ballard has a B.S. in civil engineering from Old Dominion
University.
Rose
Tomich-Litz,
age 47,
joined our company in November 2005 as our Vice President, Operations. Ms.
Tomich-Litz has over 17 years of experience in operations. From December 2002
to
June 2004, Ms. Tomich-Litz was Vice President, Operations with Promicro Systems,
a manufacturer and distributor of custom computers and servers. Prior to joining
Promicro Systems, from June 2000 to January 2002, she was Vice President,
Operations with Prisa Networks, a manufacturer and distributor of storage area
network management software. Ms. Tomich-Litz holds an M.B.A. and a B.S. in
Business Administration from San Diego State University.
At
September 30, 2005, we employed a total of 46 people. Of such employees, 11
were
in research and development, 9 were in production, quality assurance and
materials control, 11 were in general and administrative and 15 were in
marketing, sales and licensing. We also lease technical personnel
from time to time on an as needed basis and use outside consultants for various
services. We have not experienced any work stoppages and are not a
party to a collective bargaining agreement, and we consider our relations with
our employees to be favorable.
Our
executive offices and our research and development facilities for our Commercial
Group and Government Group are located at 13114 Evening Creek Drive South,
San
Diego, California. We presently occupy approximately 23,548 square
feet, and our monthly rent payments are approximately $28,257. This lease
expires January 31, 2006, and we have entered into a new sublease for
approximately 23,698 rentable square feet located at 15378 Avenue of Science,
San Diego, California 92118 for a term commencing January 1, 2006 and expiring
May 31, 2011. We have agreed to pay $29,623 per month (i.e., $1.25 per rentable
square foot) during the term. In addition to the monthly base rental expense,
we
will be responsible for certain costs and charges specified in the sublease,
including our proportionate share of the building operating expenses and real
estate taxes. In addition, the sublease provides that we have a right of first
refusal on additional space in the building, which contains a total of 68,910
square feet including our premises. We believe the new space will be adequate
for our needs for the foreseeable future.
We
rent,
on a monthly basis, office space utilized for development and production of
our
NeoPlanar technology for our Company, located at 3170 Research Way, Unit 81,
Carson City, Nevada. We occupy approximately 2,200 square feet with a
monthly payment of $1,246 excluding utilities.
Our
East
Coast sales office for the Government Group is located at 5 Main Street,
2nd
Floor,
Topsham, Maine. We occupy approximately 1,700 square feet of space and our
monthly payments are $2,592 excluding utilities. Our current lease for this
space expires on December 31, 2005 and we are currently in negotiations to
renew
this lease.
We
may at
times be involved in litigation in the ordinary course of business. We will
also, from time to time, when appropriate in management’s estimation, record
adequate reserves in our financial statements for pending litigation.
None.
Market
Information
Our
common stock is traded and quoted on NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol
“ATCO”. The market for our common stock has often been sporadic and
limited.
The
following table sets forth the high and low bid quotations for our common stock
for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2004 and 2005:
Bid
Quotations
|
||||
High
|
Low
|
|||
Fiscal
Year Ending September 30, 2004
|
||||
First
Quarter
|
$6.19
|
$4.01
|
||
Second
Quarter
|
$6.07
|
$4.05
|
||
Third
Quarter
|
$7.77
|
$5.50
|
||
Fourth
Quarter
|
$6.70
|
$4.38
|
||
Fiscal
Year Ending September 30, 2005
|
||||
First
Quarter
|
$11.38
|
$5.50
|
||
Second
Quarter
|
$11.55
|
$7.75
|
||
Third
Quarter
|
$9.28
|
$5.36
|
||
Fourth
Quarter
|
$6.75
|
$4.96
|
The
above
quotations reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail markup, markdown or
commission and may not represent actual transactions.
We
had
1085 holders of record of our common stock at December 14, 2005 with shares
issued and outstanding. We have never paid a cash dividend on our common stock
or preferred stock and do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable
future.
Recent
Sales of Unregistered Securities
During
the quarter ended September 30, 2005, we issued 37,500 shares of common stock
upon the exercise of warrants issued to investors in private placement
financings in 2001, and received aggregate proceeds of $75,000 in connection
with the exercise of such warrants. These issuances were in reliance on the
exemption from registration set forth in Section 4(2) of the Securities Act
and
Rule 506 promulgated thereunder.
The
following selected financial data has been derived from our audited consolidated
financial statements and the related notes. This information should be read
in
conjunction with Item 7 of this report - "Management’s Discussion and Analysis
of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," and with our consolidated
financial statements and the related notes set forth at the pages indicated
in
Item 15(a) of this report.
For
the fiscal years ended September 30,
|
||||||||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
2002
|
2001
|
||||||||||||
Statement
of Operations:
|
||||||||||||||||
Net
revenues
|
$
|
10,195,546
|
$
|
5,752,549
|
$
|
1,315,426
|
$
|
1,010,752
|
$
|
855,342
|
||||||
Gross
profit (loss)
|
$
|
4,571,185
|
$
|
2,282,728
|
$
|
(228,651
|
)
|
$
|
326,908
|
$
|
277,066
|
|||||
Net
loss
|
$
|
(9,086,707
|
)
|
$
|
(5,960,436
|
)
|
$
|
(8,227,013
|
)
|
$
|
(8,220,132
|
)
|
$
|
(5,046,219
|
)
|
|
Net
loss available to common stockholders
|
$
|
(10,883,133
|
)
|
$
|
(7,325,785
|
)
|
$
|
(10,636,241
|
)
|
$
|
(8,503,044
|
)
|
$
|
(5,166,941
|
)
|
|
Net
loss per share-basic and diluted
|
$
|
(0.50
|
)
|
$
|
(0.37
|
)
|
$
|
(0.67
|
)
|
$
|
(0.60
|
)
|
$
|
(0.38
|
)
|
|
Weighted
average number of shares-basic and diluted
|
21,570,002
|
19,603,265
|
15,857,569
|
14,193,508
|
13,563,101
|
|||||||||||
As
of September 30,
|
||||||||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
2002
|
2001
|
||||||||||||
Working
capital
|
$
|
9,726,309
|
$
|
3,472,984
|
$
|
8,484,210
|
$
|
554,713
|
$
|
892,040
|
||||||
Total
assets
|
$
|
15,208,870
|
$
|
7,645,291
|
$
|
11,744,371
|
$
|
3,789,634
|
$
|
3,837,284
|
||||||
Long-term
obligations
|
$
|
1,564,000
|
$
|
12,131
|
$
|
23,097
|
$
|
3,153,012
|
$
|
-
|
||||||
Total
stockholders' equity (deficit)
|
$
|
10,142,338
|
$
|
5,192,915
|
$
|
9,728,171
|
$
|
(884,882
|
)
|
$
|
2,993,495
|
This
discussion should be read in conjunction with the information presented in
other
sections of this report on Form 10-K, including “Item 1. Business,” “Item 6.
Selected Financial Data,” and “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary
Data.” This discussion contains forward-looking statements which are based on
our current expectations and industry experience, as well as our perception
of
historical trends, current market conditions, current economic data, expected
future developments and other factors that we believe are appropriate under
the
circumstances. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could
cause
actual results to differ materially from those suggested in the forward-looking
statements.
Overview
We
are an
innovator of proprietary directed sound technologies and products.
Our
various technologies are high risk in nature. Our future is largely dependent
upon the success of our proprietary sound technologies. We invest significant
funds in research and development and on patent applications related to our
technologies. Unanticipated technical or manufacturing obstacles can arise
at
any time, disrupt product sales or licensing activities, and result in lengthy
and costly delays. Our products may not achieve market acceptance sufficient
to
sustain operations or achieve future profits. See “Risk Factors”
below.
We
incurred net losses of $9,086,707, $5,960,436 and $8,227,013 in the fiscal
years
ended September 30, 2005, 2004 and 2003, respectively. We have substantial
research and development and selling, marketing and general administrative
expenses, and our margins from the sale of our products have not yet been
sufficient to offset these costs. We may incur additional operating losses
during fiscal 2006. Based on our cash position, and assuming currently
planned expenditures and level of operations, we believe we have sufficient
capital resources for the next twelve months. Our operating plans are based
on us continuing to increase revenues and generate positive cash flows from
operations. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources”, below. If required, we
have significant flexibility to adjust the level of research and development
and
selling and administrative expenses based on the availability of resources.
However, reductions in expenditures could delay development and adversely affect
our ability to generate future revenues.
For
our
first assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial
reporting required under section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we
identified various material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial
reporting, and associated weaknesses in our disclosure controls and procedures,
as discussed more fully in Item 9A, below. We have undertaken efforts to
remediate these material weaknesses and to improve overall our internal controls
over financial reporting and our associated disclosure controls and
procedures.
Recent
Developments
In
October 2005, Kalani Jones resigned from his positions as our president and
chief operating officer and as a member of our board of directors. John Zavoli,
a member of our board of directors, was appointed as our new president and
chief
operating officer. Mr. Zavoli commenced his service in these new positions
in
November 2005. Mr. Zavoli previously served as an independent director on our
board of directors, and as a member of the Compensation Committee and the Audit
Committee. As a result of his appointment as president and chief operating
officer, Mr. Zavoli no longer qualifies as an independent director under
applicable Nasdaq standards, and he resigned from the Audit Committee and the
Compensation Committee upon his acceptance of an officer position. Our board
of
directors presently consists of five directors, three of whom are independent
directors under applicable Nasdaq standards.
Michael
A. Russell, our former chief financial officer, resigned from his employment
on
December 16, 2005. Mr. Russell's resignation on December 16, 2005 constituted
notice of termination of his employment arrangement with our company.
On
December 16, 2005, our board of directors appointed John R. Zavoli as the
interim chief financial officer to replace Mr. Michael A. Russell. Mr. Zavoli's
employment terms did not change as a result of this appointment.
On
December 16, 2005, Karen Jordan was appointed as chief accounting officer.
Ms.
Jordan joined our company in November 2005 as director of finance. Ms. Jordan's
employment is terminable at-will by the Company or by Ms. Jordan for any reason,
with or without notice.
Business
Outlook
We
achieved record revenues of $10.2 million for the fiscal year ended September
30, 2005, a 77% increase from prior year’s revenues of $5.75 million. Our
operating loss for our fiscal year ended September 30, 2005 increased over
fiscal year 2004 primarily as a result of increased operating expenses including
research and development and sales and marketing costs. In fiscal year 2006,
we
anticipate that revenues will continue to grow primarily due to the introduction
of our HSS H450 product and increased acceptance of our LRAD and NeoPlanar
products. We expect our research and development expenses to decrease in fiscal
year 2006 as a result of the completion of major engineering projects in fiscal
year 2005 and a reduction in the number of employees engaged in product and
technology development. However, even with such anticipated reduced research
and
development costs, our sales and marketing expenses may increase as we focus
on
expanding our sales and marketing efforts for our existing products, thereby
offsetting any benefit of cost reduction from other areas of our
business.
We
believe we have a solid technology and product foundation for business growth
over the next several years. The dramatic growth and acceptance of digital
signage requiring the use of our directed sound products and the continuing
global threats to both governments and commerce where our LRAD™ products have
proven to be effective at hailing and notification for force protection provide
market opportunities for our directed sound solutions.
Critical
Accounting Policies and Estimates
We
have
identified the policies below as critical to our business operations and the
understandings of our results of operations. Our accounting policies are more
fully described in our financial statements located in Item 8 of Part II,
“Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” The impact and any associated
risks related to these policies on our business operations is discussed
throughout Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations when such policies affect our reported and expected
financial results.
The
methods, estimates and judgments we use in applying our accounting policies,
in
conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States,
have a significant impact on the results we report in our financial statements.
We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions
that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. The estimates affect
the carrying values of assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ from
these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. We believe that
the
following discussion addresses our most critical accounting policies, which
are
those that are most important to the portrayal of our financial condition and
results of operations and require our most difficult, subjective, and complex
judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect
of
matters that are inherently uncertain.
Revenue
Recognition. We
currently derive our revenue primarily from two sources: (i) component and
product sale revenues and associated engineering and installation, which we
refer to collectively as Product Sales and (ii) contract and license fee
revenue. Product Sales revenues are recognized in the periods that
products are shipped to customers, FOB shipping point or destination, per
contract, if a signed contract exists, the fee is fixed and determinable,
collection of resulting receivables is probable and there are no remaining
obligations. Revenues from engineering contracts are recognized based on
milestones or completion of the contracted services. Revenues from up-front
license and other fees and annual license fees are evaluated for multiple
elements but are generally recognized ratably over the specified term of the
particular license or agreement. Revenues from ongoing per unit license fees
are
earned based on units shipped by the licensee incorporating our patented
proprietary technologies. Revenues are recognized in the period when the
ultimate customer accepts the product and collectibility is reasonably assured.
Valuation
of Inventory. Our
inventory is comprised of raw materials, assemblies and finished products that
we intend to sell to our customers.
We must
periodically make judgments and estimates regarding the future utility and
carrying value of our inventory. The carrying value of our inventory
is periodically reviewed and impairments, if any, are recognized when the
expected future benefit from our inventory is less than its carrying
value. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005, we reviewed the
carrying value of our inventory and increased the reserve for obsolescence
to
$691,206, consisting of raw materials and finished goods that were associated
with our older generation of products, and raw materials that are considered
to
be slow-moving.
Valuation
of Intangible Assets. Intangible
assets include purchased technology and patents that are amortized over their
estimated useful lives. We must make judgments and estimates regarding the
future utility and carrying value of intangible assets. The carrying values
of
such assets are periodically reviewed and impairments, if any, are recognized
when the expected future benefit to be derived from an individual intangible
asset is less than its carrying value. In fiscal year ended September
30, 2005, we reviewed the carrying value of our intangible assets and reduced
the carrying value of these assets. Our judgments and estimates regarding
carrying value and impairment of intangible assets have an impact on our
financial statements.
Warranty
Reserve.
We
establish a warranty reserve based on anticipated warranty claims at the time
product revenue is recognized. These warranties require us to make estimates
regarding the amount and costs of warranty repairs we expect to make over a
period of time. Factors affecting warranty reserve levels include the number
of
units sold, anticipated cost of warranty repairs, and anticipated rates of
warranty claims. We evaluate the adequacy of the provision for warranty costs
each reporting period. See Note 9 to our financial statements for additional
information regarding warranties.
Valuation
of Derivative Instruments.
In
accordance with the interpretive guidance in EITF Issue No. 05-4, “The Effect of
a Liquidated Damages Clause on a Freestanding Financial Instrument Subject
to
EITF Issue No. 00-19, ‘Accounting for Derivative Financial Instruments Indexed
to, and Potentially Settled in, a Company’s Own Stock’ and EITF Issue No. 00-19,
we value certain warrants we have issued in connection with various equity
financings that we have completed as a derivative liability. We must make
certain assumptions and estimates to value our derivative liability
periodically. Factors affecting the amount of this liability include changes
in
our stock price and other assumptions. The change in value is non-cash income
or
expense and the changes in the carrying value of derivatives can have a material
impact on our financial statements. In the fiscal year ended September 30,
2005,
we recognized an unrealized gain on derivative revaluation of $1.2 million.
The
derivative liability associated with warrants may be reclassified into
stockholders’ equity upon warrant exercise, expiration or other events, and the
timing of such events may be outside our control.
Guarantees
and Indemnifications. Under
our bylaws, we have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors for certain
events. We also enter into certain indemnification and liquidated damage
agreements in the normal course of our business. We have no liabilities recorded
for such indemnities.
We
undertake indemnification obligations in the ordinary course of business related
to our products and the issuance of securities. Under these arrangements, we
may
indemnify other parties such as business partners, customers, underwriters,
and
investors for certain losses suffered, claims of intellectual property
infringement, negligence and intentional acts in the performance of services,
and violations of laws including certain violations of securities laws. Our
obligation to provide such indemnification in such circumstances would arise
if,
for example, a third party sued a customer for intellectual property
infringement and we agreed to indemnify the customer against such claims. We
are
unable to estimate with any reasonable accuracy the liability that may be
incurred pursuant to our indemnification obligations. Some of the factors that
would affect this assessment include, but are not limited to, the nature of
the
claim asserted, the relative merits of the claim, the financial ability of
the
parties, the nature and amount of damages claimed, insurance coverage that
we
may have to cover such claims, and the willingness of the parties to reach
settlement, if any. Because of the uncertainty surrounding these circumstances,
our indemnification obligations could range from immaterial to having a material
adverse impact on our financial position and our ability to continue in the
ordinary course of business.
Deferred
Tax Asset. We
have
provided a full valuation reserve related to our substantial deferred tax
assets. In the future, if sufficient evidence of our ability to generate
sufficient future taxable income in certain tax jurisdictions becomes apparent,
we may be required to reduce our valuation allowances, resulting in income
tax
benefits in our statement of operations. We evaluate quarterly the
realizability of the deferred tax assets and assess the need for a valuation
allowance. Utilizing the net operating loss carry forwards in future years
could
be substantially limited due to restrictions imposed under federal and state
laws upon a change in ownership or control.
Legal
Proceedings. We
are
currently involved in certain legal proceedings. For any legal
proceedings that we are involved in, we estimate the range of liability relating
to pending litigation, where the amount and range of loss can be
estimated. We record our best estimate of a loss when the loss is
considered probable. Where a liability is probable and there is a
range of estimated loss with no best estimate in the range, we record the
minimum estimated liability related to the claim. As additional
information becomes available, we assess the potential liability related to
our
pending litigation and revise our estimates. As of September 30, 2005
and 2004, we recorded accruals of $71,900 and $150,000 for contingent liability
associated with our legal proceedings. Revisions in our estimates of
the potential liability could materially impact our results of
operations.
Segment
Information
Our
Commercial Products Group (Commercial Group) sells and licenses HSS, LRAD,
NeoPlanar and our other products and technologies into commercial markets for
directed sound in consumer, commercial and professional applications. Our
Government & Military Group (Government Group) markets LRAD, NeoPlanar and
our other products to government and military customers for expanding force
protection and commercial security markets. Although the segments did not become
separately managed until the last quarter of fiscal year 2003, data for all
of
fiscal 2003 has been segmented for comparison purposes.
Presented
below is a summary of revenues by business segment:
Years
Ended September 30,
|
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
|||||||
Revenues:
|
||||||||||
Commercial
Group
|
$
|
891,745
|
$
|
933,373
|
$
|
861,091
|
||||
Government
Group
|
$
|
9,303,801
|
$
|
4,819,176
|
$
|
454,335
|
||||
$
|
10,195,546
|
$
|
5,752,549
|
$
|
1,315,426
|
Presented
below is the gross profit or loss by business segment.
Years
Ended September 30,
|
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
|||||||
Gross
Profit (Loss):
|
||||||||||
Commercial
Group
|
$
|
(924,019
|
)
|
$
|
(534,174
|
)
|
$
|
(501,748
|
)
|
|
Government
Group
|
$
|
5,495,204
|
$
|
2,816,902
|
$
|
273,097
|
||||
$
|
4,571,185
|
$
|
2,282,728
|
$
|
(228,651
|
)
|
Comparison
of Results of Operations
for Fiscal Years Ended September 30, 2005 and 2004
Revenues
Revenues
increased $4.4 million, or 77%, in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005
to
$10,195,546 compared to $5,752,549 for the fiscal year ended September 30,
2004.
Fiscal year 2005 revenues included $10,013,215 of product sales and $182,331
of
contract and license revenue. Fiscal year 2004 revenues included $5,581,936
of
product sales and $170,613 of contract and license revenues. The increase in
fiscal year 2005 revenues resulted primarily from a 126% increase in LRAD
product revenues to $8,821,366 from $3,907,291 in 2004.
Commercial
Group Revenues
- The
Commercial Group reported net revenues of $891,745 in the fiscal year ended
September 30, 2005, representing a 4% decrease from net revenues of $933,373
in
fiscal year 2004. Sound product revenues were $812,328 and $933,373, and
contract and license revenues were $79,417 and -$0- in fiscal years 2005 and
2004, respectively. The decrease in sound product revenues in fiscal year 2005
resulted primarily from decreased HSS sales of older generation product in
anticipation of the shipment of a new generation of HSS product that commenced
in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2005. During most of fiscal year 2005,
we
developed and tested our new generation of our HSS products, and sales of HSS
product in fiscal year 2005 were limited to certain older systems. We expect
increased Commercial Group HSS and other sound product revenues in the fiscal
year ending September 30, 2006.
In
the
fiscal year ended September 30, 2005, we entered into a license agreement which
contained multiple elements. Based on our evaluation of the agreement under
the
guidance of EITF Issue No. 00-21 we determined this arrangement does not qualify
for multiple element accounting and revenue will be recognized ratably
over the three year term of the agreement. In
fiscal
year 2005, we recognized $54,167 in contract revenue representing the
ratable earned revenue under the three year agreement. At September 30,
2005, $95,833 remained unearned under this agreement and has been recorded
as
deferred revenue. At September 30, 2005, we had aggregate deferred license
revenue of $395,833 representing amounts collected from Commercial Group license
agreements in advance of recognized earnings. Although we anticipate additional
license revenues in fiscal year 2006 from existing and new arrangements, this
revenue component is subject to significant variability based on the timing,
amount and recognition of new arrangements, if any.
Government
& Military Group
-
Government & Military Group net revenues for the fiscal year ended September
30, 2005, were $9,303,801 compared to $4,819,176 in fiscal year 2004,
representing a 93% increase. Fiscal year 2005 revenues included LRAD product
revenues of $8,821,366, NeoPlanar product revenues of $379,521 and contract
and
license revenues of $102,914. Fiscal year 2004 revenues included LRAD revenues
of $3,907,291, NeoPlanar revenues of $265,520, other product revenues of
$484,827, and contract and license revenues of $161,538. The increase in LRAD
revenues in fiscal year 2005 was primarily the result of shipments associated
with a $4.9 million order received in December 2004 from ADS, Inc. for delivery
of LRAD units to the US Army. Our marketing efforts, successful product
deployments and extensive product demonstrations have contributed to increased
market awareness and customer acceptance of the force protection capabilities
of
our LRAD products. We expect LRAD revenues to grow in fiscal year 2006 due
to
these factors and the introduction of our new portable LRAD500.
Gross
Profit
Gross
profit for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005 was $4,571,185, or 45%
of
revenues, compared to $2,282,728, or 40% of revenues, for fiscal year 2004.
The
increase in gross profit in fiscal year 2005 was principally the result of
the
increased sales of our higher margin LRAD products, partially offset by
increased reserves for inventory obsolescence. We increased our inventory
valuation reserve by $389,334 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005. The fourth
quarter increase resulted from HSS parts that became obsolete upon completion
of
the design of our H450 HSS product, and from LRAD parts which are no longer
required due to our shift in emphasis from large, remote controlled
installations to standard and portable installations. This fourth quarter
obsolescence adjustment contributed to an overall negative gross margin in
the
fourth quarter.
Gross
loss for our Commercial Group was $924,019 and $534,174, in fiscal years 2005
and 2004, respectively, primarily as a result of insufficient margins earned
on
product sales to offset the allocation of manufacturing overhead to this segment
of our business. Gross profit for our Government Group was $5,495,204 in the
fiscal year ended September 30, 2005, or 59% of revenue, compared to $2,816,902
in fiscal year 2004 or 58% of revenue. Gross profit percentage is highly
dependent on sales prices, volumes, purchasing costs and overhead allocations.
Our
products have varying gross margins, so product sales mix will materially affect
gross profits. In addition, we continue to make product updates and changes,
including raw material and component changes that may impact product costs.
We
do not believe that historical gross profit margins should be relied upon as
an
indicator of future gross profit margins.
Selling,
General and Administrative Expenses
Selling,
general and administrative expenses for the fiscal year ended September 30,
2005
increased $4,000,825 to $9,333,436 or 91% or revenues, compared to $5,309,547,
or 92% of revenues, in fiscal year 2004. The increase in selling general and
administrative expenses year on year were primarily attributed to $702,482
for
increased personnel and related expenses; $776,093 for increased consulting,
accounting and auditing expenses primarily as a result of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act
of 2002; $723,572 for increased legal fees primarily associated with the costs
of an abandoned equity line financing, increased SEC reporting cost and
litigation costs; and $752,077 for increased travel, commissions, demonstration
equipment and trade show activity due to and resulting in higher sales.
We
incurred non-cash compensation expenses in fiscal years ended September 30,
2005
and 2004 of $21,780 and $65,863, respectively, from extending the exercise
period of options for certain terminated employees on 7,250 and 28,438 shares,
respectively, of common stock, due to stock trading restrictions. In fiscal
year
2005, we also recorded $57,619 for option expense relating to options for 68,125
shares held by an officer of the Company who transitioned from employee to
consultant, and $6,160 of non-cash compensation expense for the value of 10,000
options granted to a non-employee. During fiscal years 2005 and 2004, we
reviewed the ongoing value of our capitalized patent expenses and identified
some of these assets as being associated with patents that are no longer
consistent with our business strategy. As a result of this review, we reduced
the value of our previously capitalized patents for the fiscal year ended
September 30, 2005 and 2004 by $40,916 and $37,798, respectively.
We
may
expend additional resources on marketing our products in future periods which
may increase selling, general and administrative expenses. During fiscal year
2005, we incurred a significant amount of outside consultant costs and audit
fees to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (particularly Section 404), relating
to management assessment of internal control over financial reporting. We expect
to incur significant additional audit fees and other costs in fiscal year 2006
to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and to improve our internal control over
financial reporting and procedures in our accounting organization. We do not
currently have an estimate of these future costs, but we anticipate we will
increase spending for increased staffing, outside consultants and legal and
audit costs.
Research
and Development Expenses
Research
and development expenses increased $1,632,748 to $4,621,532, or 45% of revenues,
in fiscal year 2005, compared to $2,988,784, or 52% or revenues, in fiscal
year
2004. The increase in research and development expenses year on year is
primarily due to a $1,345,752 increase in personnel and related expenses of
which $245,183 was non-cash compensation associated with an extension of time
to
exercise stock options, and a $281,236 increase in prototype component
acquisition, fabrication and testing for new products developed during fiscal
year 2005.
Research
and development costs vary period to period due to the timing of projects,
the
availability of funds for research and development and the timing and extent
of
use of outside consulting, design and development firms. We completed and
introduced significant new products in our fiscal year 2005, including our
HSS
H450 product and our portable LRAD500. With the completion of these major
projects, and based on current plans and reduced engineering staffing, we expect
fiscal year 2006 research and development costs to be lower than fiscal year
2005.
Loss
From Operations
Loss
from
operations was $9,383,783 in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005, compared
to a loss from operations of $6,015,603 in fiscal year 2004. The increase in
fiscal year 2005 loss from operations resulted primarily from the increase
in
research and development and increased selling, general and administrative
expenses as we increased the development effort on our H450 and LRAD products
and sales and marketing expenses. We also incurred significant expense in
evaluating our system of internal controls for compliance with the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Other
Income (Expense)
In
fiscal
year 2005, we earned $84,510 of interest income on our cash balances, incurred
$93,457 of interest expense and incurred $743,977 of non-cash interest expense
associated with the acceleration of the write off of the debt discount
associated with warrants issued as part of our December 2004 note financing.
Other income for fiscal year 2005 included $1,233,259 of unrealized gain on
derivative revaluation, including $183,259 related to the decrease in the fair
value of a warrant issued in connection with our December 2004 equity financing
line, and $1,050,000 related to the decrease in the fair value of warrants
issued in connection with our July 2005 sale of common stock and warrants (see
“Financing Activities” below). In the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005, we
recognized a warrant impairment charge of $183,259 representing remaining
warrant derivative instrument liability, after crediting prepaid transaction
costs, when we terminated the equity financing line and the warrant in July
2005.
At
September 30, 2005 our short term and long term derivative liability was
$1,846,000. We must make certain assumptions and estimates to value our
derivative liability periodically. Factors affecting the amount of this
liability include changes in our stock price and other assumptions. The change
in value is non-cash income or expense and the changes in the carrying value
of
derivatives can have a material impact on our financial statements each period.
The derivative liability associated with our
July
2005 sale of common stock and warrants may
be
reclassified into stockholders’ equity upon warrant exercise, expiration or
other events, and the timing of such events may be outside our
control.
In
fiscal
year ended September 30, 2004, we earned $58,056 of interest on our cash
balances and incurred $2,889 of interest expense.
Net
Loss
The
net
loss for fiscal year 2005 was $9,086,707, compared to a net loss of $5,960,436
in fiscal year 2004. We
had no
tax federal income tax expense for each of the last three fiscal years due
to
net losses.
Net
Loss Available to Common Stockholders
Net
loss
available to common stockholders was increased during fiscal years ended
September 30, 2005 and 2004 in computing net loss per share by imputed deemed
dividends based on the value of warrants issued in connection with convertible
preferred stock. The net loss available to common stockholders was also
increased each year by an additional deemed dividend computed from a discount
provision in our convertible preferred stock. The imputed deemed dividends
were
not contractual obligations to pay such imputed dividends. Net loss available
to
common stockholders was further increased by a 6% accretion (similar to a
dividend) on outstanding preferred stock. These amounts aggregated $1,796,426
in
fiscal year 2005 (which included $1,739,054 of accelerated accretion due to
the
conversion of all remaining Series D and Series E Preferred stock during the
year) and $1,365,349 in fiscal year 2004 increasing the net loss in each year.
Accordingly, the net loss available to common stockholders was $10,883,133
and
$7,325,785 in fiscal years 2005 and 2004, respectively.
Comparison
of Results of Operations
for Fiscal Years Ended September 30, 2004 and 2003
Revenues
Revenues
for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2004 were $5,752,549, 337% higher than
fiscal year 2003 revenues of $1,315,426. The increase in revenues in fiscal
year
2004 was primarily from increased sales of LRAD products to government
customers. Fiscal year 2004 revenues included $5,581,936 of product revenues
and
$170,613 of contract and license revenues. Fiscal year 2003 revenues included
$1,070,645 of product sales and $244,781 of contract and license revenues.
Fiscal year 2003 revenues included sales of $95,370 of portable consumer
products--a product line that we no longer offer for sale. Sound products
provided the balance of fiscal 2003 product revenues and all of fiscal 2004
product revenues
Commercial
Group
- Fiscal
year 2004 net revenues of $933,373 increased 8% increase over net revenues
of
$861,091 in fiscal year 2003. Sound product revenues were $933,373 in fiscal
year 2004, with no contract and license revenues. In fiscal year 2003, sound
product revenues totaled $594,703, consumer portable product sales, were $95,730
and contract and license revenues were $170,658. We no longer sell consumer
portable products. The increase in sound product revenues in fiscal 2004 was
primarily the result of increased HSS sales offset in part by reduced NeoPlanar
sales. During most of fiscal year 2004, we developed and tested a new HSS
product line, and HSS sales were limited to certain older systems.
Government
& Military Group
- Net
revenues for fiscal year 2004 increased 961% to $4,819,176, compared to $454,335
in fiscal year 2003. Fiscal year 2004 revenues included LRAD revenues of
$3,907,291, NeoPlanar revenues of $265,520, other product revenues of $484,827
and contract and license revenues of $161,538. Fiscal year 2003 revenues
included LRAD revenues of $261,106, NeoPlanar revenues of $124,674 and contract
and license revenues of $68,555. The increase in LRAD revenues in fiscal year
2004 was primarily the result of increased market acceptance of our LRAD1000
product.
Gross
Profit
Gross
profit for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2004 was $2,282,728, or 40%
of
revenues, compared to a gross loss in fiscal 2003 of $228,651. The gross loss
in
2003 primarily resulted from a $319,500 special warranty reserve for
discontinued HSS units.
Gross
loss for our Commercial Group was $534,174 and $501,748 in fiscal years 2004
and
2003, respectively, primarily as a result of insufficient margins earned on
product sales to offset the allocation of manufacturing overhead to this segment
of our business. Gross loss for our commercial group in fiscal year 2003 was
also affected by the special warranty reserve of $319,500 recorded as a result
of a high failure rate of our HSS Generation I emitter design.
Gross
profit for our Government Group was $2,816,902 in fiscal year 2004, or 58%
of
revenues, compared to $273,097, or 60% of revenues, in fiscal year 2003.
Selling,
General and Administrative Expenses
Selling,
general and administrative expenses were $5,309,547, or 92% of revenues, in
fiscal year 2004, an increase of $445,836 from $4,863,711, or 370% of revenue,
in fiscal year 2003. Legal and professional costs decreased $1,316,323 to
$852,644 in fiscal year 2004 compared to $2,168,967 in fiscal year 2003.
Included in legal and professional costs in fiscal year 2004 was an estimated
settlement cost accrual of $150,000 associated with a legal action with a former
licensee. Included in legal and professional costs in fiscal year 2003 were
settlement costs and accruals of $1,233,754 related to legal settlements and
a
buyout of NeoPlanar royalties due. Personnel costs increased from $1,562,852
in
fiscal year 2003 to $2,449,739 in fiscal 2004 as a result of increased
headcount.
In
fiscal
year 2004, we incurred $65,863 of non-cash compensation expense from extending
the exercise period of options to certain terminated employees due to stock
trading restrictions. In fiscal year 2003, we incurred $410,816 of non-cash
compensation from the issuance of 109,844 common shares related to purchased
technology and $179,995 for the issuance of stock options and warrants to
non-employees.
Research
and Development Expenses
Research
and development expenses increased in fiscal year 2004 over fiscal year 2003.
Fiscal year 2004 research and development expenses were $2,988,784 of which
salaries, benefits and consultant expenses accounted for $2,015,828 or 67%.
Fiscal year 2003 expenses totaled $2,493,351, including $315,636 of NeoPlanar
technology amortization. Salaries and benefits and consultant costs accounted
for $1,780,345, or 71% of research and development expenses in fiscal year
2003.
Loss
From Operations
Loss
from
operations for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2004 was $6,015,603, compared
to a loss from operations of $7,561,200 in fiscal year 2003, This reduction
in
loss from operations was due in part to the improvement of $2,511,379 in gross
profit in fiscal year 2004 compared to fiscal year 2003, partially offset by
higher operating expenses.
Other
Income (Expense)
In
fiscal
year 2004, we earned $58,056 of interest income on our cash balances and
incurred $2,889 of interest expense. In fiscal 2003, we earned $23,293 of
interest income and we incurred interest expense of $686,639, which included
non-cash amortization of debt discount of $405,000, and $169,753 of interest
paid in common stock. During fiscal year 2003, our outstanding long-term debt
was converted to equity resulting in substantial reduction in interest
expense.
Net
Loss
The
net
loss for fiscal year 2004 was $5,960,436 compared to a net loss of $8,227,013
in
fiscal 2003.
Net
Loss Available to Common Stockholders
Net
loss
available to common stockholders was increased during fiscal years 2004 and
2003
in computing net loss per share by imputed deemed dividends based on the value
of warrants issued in connection with convertible preferred stock. The net
loss
available to common stockholders was also increased in fiscal years 2004 and
2003 by an additional deemed dividend computed from a discount provision in
our
convertible preferred stock. The imputed deemed dividends are not contractual
obligations to pay such imputed dividends. Net loss available to common
stockholders is further increased by the 6% accretion (similar to a dividend)
on
outstanding preferred stock. These amounts aggregated $1,365,349 in fiscal
year
2004 and $2,409,228 in fiscal year 2003 increasing the net loss in each year.
Accordingly, the net loss available to common stockholders was $7,325,785 and
$10,636,241 in fiscal years 2004 and 2003, respectively.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
We
continue to experience significant negative cash flow from operating activities
including developing, introducing and marketing our proprietary sound
technologies. We have financed our working capital requirements
through cash generated from products sales and from financing activities. Cash
at September 30, 2005 was $10,347,779 compared to $4,178,968 at September 30,
2004. The increase in cash was primarily the result of financings
described below, offset by the operating loss and cash used to support other
operating activities.
In
December 2004, we sold for cash in a private offering, an aggregate of
$2,000,000 of unsecured subordinated promissory notes due December 31, 2006.
These notes were repaid in July 2005. See “Financing Activities”
below.
In
December 2004, we entered into a Committed Equity Financing Facility (CEFF)
with
Kingsbridge Capital Ltd., pursuant to which Kingsbridge committed, subject
to
certain significant limiting conditions, to purchase up to $25 million of our
common stock to support future growth. As part of the arrangement, we
issued a warrant to Kingsbridge to purchase 275,000 shares of our common stock
at a price of $8.60 per share. CEFF and the warrant were cancelled in July
2005
and there was an unrealized gain of $183,259 for the change in value of the
warrant from issuance to cancellation. There was a corresponding warrant
impairment expense of $183,259 at termination.
In
July
2005, we sold 2,868,851 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $4.88
per
share. The gross proceeds from this financing were approximately $14 million.
We
incurred financing and closing costs of approximately $828,176, primarily
comprised of brokerage fees and legal costs. We used approximately $2.0 million
of the proceeds to discharge the principal balance and accrued interest on
the
unsecured subordinated promissory notes above. See
“Financing Activities” below.
Other
than cash and our balance of accounts receivable, we have no other unused
sources of liquidity at this time. We expect to incur additional operating
losses as a result of expenditures for research and development, marketing
and
sales costs and general and administrative costs for our sound products and
technologies. The timing and amounts of these expenditures and the
extent of our operating losses will depend on many factors, some of which are
beyond our control.
Principal
factors that could affect the availability of our internally generated funds
include:
·
|
government
spending levels;
|
·
|
introduction
of competing technologies;
|
·
|
failure
of sales from our Government Group or Commercial Group to meet planned
projections;
|
·
|
product
mix and effect on margins; and
|
·
|
product
acceptance in new markets.
|
Principal
factors that could affect the availability to obtain cash from external sources
include:
·
|
volatility
in the capital markets; and
|
·
|
market
price and trading volume of our common
stock.
|
Based
on
our current cash position and our product backlog that is shippable in the
next
twelve months of $4.2 million and assuming currently planned expenditures and
level of operations, we believe we have sufficient cash for operations for
the
next twelve months. We believe increased sales of LRAD, HSS and NeoPlanar
products will continue to contribute cash in fiscal 2006. We believe that any
investment capital we may require will be available to us, but there can be
no
guarantee that we will be able to raise funds on terms acceptable to us, or
at
all. We have flexibility to adjust the level of research and development and
selling and administrative expenses based on the availability of resources.
However, reductions in expenditures could delay development and adversely affect
our ability to generate future revenues.
Cash
Flows
Operating
Activities
Our
net
cash used in operating activities was $8,801,922 for the fiscal year ended
September 30, 2005 compared to $6,030,043 for the fiscal year ended September
30, 2004 and $5,457,369 for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003. For the
fiscal year ended September 30, 2005, the increased net loss was the primary
reason for the increased cash used in operating activities. The fiscal year
2005
net loss of $9,086,707 included certain non-cash expenses totaling $2,703,920,
such as $444,566 in depreciation and amortization, a $784,150 increase in the
provision for obsolete inventory, $324,582 in options granted for compensation
and $723,000 amortization of debt discount. The net loss was also reduced by
a
net unrealized gain of $1,233,259 on derivative revaluation. In addition, in
fiscal year 2005, cash used in operating activities included an increase of
$1,932,502 in inventories, an increase of $56,021 in accounts receivable, a
decrease in warranty reserve of $154,667 and an increase of $44,920 in prepaid
expenses offset in part by a $1,002,234 increase in accounts payable and accrued
liabilities.
At
September 30, 2005, we had working capital of $9,726,309, compared to working
capital of $3,472,984 at September 30, 2004. This increase was primarily a
result of the financings described above, partially offset by cash used for
operations. Net working capital, excluding cash and short-term debt, was a
deficit of $609,339 at September 30, 2005. This represents a decrease
of $85,678 from the net working capital deficit at September 30, 2004 of
$695,017. The decrease in the deficit in net working capital primarily resulted
from increases in inventory balances offset in part by increases in accounts
payable and other accrued liabilities.
At
September 30, 2005, we had trade accounts receivable
of $880,276. This compares to $926,747 in trade accounts
receivable at September 30, 2004. The level of trade accounts receivable at
September 30, 2005 represented approximately 32 days of revenues. Terms with
individual customers vary greatly. We typically require thirty-day terms from
our customers. Our receivables can vary dramatically due to overall sales
volumes and due to quarterly variations in sales and timing of shipments to
and
receipts from large customers and the timing of contract payments.
Investing
Activities
We
use
cash in investing activities primarily for the purchase of laboratory and
computer equipment and software and investment in new patents. Cash used in
investing activities for capital expenditures was $480,926, $395,932 and
$108,246, in the fiscal years ended September 30, 2005, 2004 and 2003,
respectively. Cash used for investment in new patents was $275,587, $346,818
and
$112,007 in the fiscal years ended September 30, 2005, 2004 and 2003,
respectively. We anticipate continued capital expenditures for patents in fiscal
2006.
Financing
Activities
During
the fiscal years ended September 30, 2005, 2004 and 2003, we
financed
our working capital requirements primarily through the sale of common and
preferred stock and warrants, promissory notes and the exercise of stock options
and warrants. In fiscal year 2005, we received $13,171,824 of net cash proceeds
from the sale of common stock and warrants (net of offering costs), and
$2,566,389 of proceeds from the exercise of options and warrants. In fiscal
year
2004, we received cash proceeds from the exercise of options and warrants and
from promissory notes of $1,111,317. In fiscal year 2003, we received $500,000
from the sale of senior secured promissory notes, $2,432,500 of cash proceeds
from the sale of Series E Preferred Stock and warrants exercisable for common
stock, proceeds of $10,000,000 from the sale of common stock and warrants and
$1,614,227 from the exercise of options.
The
following paragraphs summarize additional information regarding our fiscal
2005
financing transactions.
In
December 2004, we sold for cash in a private offering an aggregate of $2,000,000
of unsecured subordinated promissory notes due December 31, 2006. In connection
with the financing, we also issued five-year warrants to purchase an aggregate
of 150,000 shares, 75,000 of which have an exercise price of $9.28 per share,
and 75,000 of which have an exercise price of $8.60 per share. A trust
affiliated with Elwood G. Norris, our Chairman and the beneficial owner of
19.5%
of our common stock before the financing, purchased a note in the principal
amount of $500,000 and received a warrant exercisable for 37,500 shares with
an
exercise price of $9.28 per share. In July 2005, we redeemed the notes and
paid
all interest due using proceeds from the financing described below.
In
July
2005, we sold 2,868,851 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $4.88
per
share. We also issued warrants in two series to the investors to purchase
1,581,919 shares of common stock. The “A” Warrants are exercisable for an
aggregate of 717,213 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $6.36 per
share until July 18, 2009. The “B” Warrants are exercisable for an aggregate of
864,706 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $7.23 per share until
March 28, 2006. The
gross
proceeds from this financing were approximately $14 million. We incurred
financing and closing costs of approximately $828,176, primarily comprised
of
brokerage fees and legal costs. We used approximately $2.0 million of the
proceeds to discharge the principal balance of and accrued interest on the
unsecured subordinated promissory notes above.
We
have
agreed to submit the July 2005 financing to a vote of our stockholders for
approval prior to June 2006. We further agreed that, subject to certain
exceptions, if during the next year we sell shares of our common stock, or
options or warrants to purchase shares of our common stock, in a private
placement or in a public offering using a Form S-3, the purchasers will have
certain rights of first refusal to participate in the financing. We have also
agreed to indemnify the purchasers for certain losses including a penalty of
up
to $140,000 per month (maximum of $70,000 per month through December 2005),
with
no contractual maximum, should the registration statement not remain effective
for the securities.
The
“A”
Warrants and “B” Warrants contain provisions that would adjust the exercise
price, and in inverse proportion adjust the number of shares subject to the
warrant, in the event we pay or effect stock dividends or splits, or in the
event we sell shares of our common stock at a purchase price, or options or
warrants to purchase shares of our common stock having an exercise price, less
than the exercise price of the applicable warrant. The “A” Warrants also feature
a net exercise provision, which enables the holder to choose to exercise the
warrant without paying cash by surrendering shares subject to the warrant with
a
market value equal to the exercise price. This right is available only if a
registration statement covering the shares subject to the “A” Warrants is not
available. We have the right to redeem the “B” Warrants if the closing price of
the shares of our common stock is $10.00 or greater for 15 consecutive trading
days and the holder does not exercise within 20 days after we give notice of
redemption.
Off-Balance
Sheet Arrangements
We
do not
have any off-balance sheet arrangements, financings or other relationships
with
unconsolidated entities or other persons.
Contractual
Commitments and Commercial Commitments
The
following table summarizes our contractual obligations at September 30, 2005,
and the effect such obligations are expected to have on our liquidity and cash
flow in future periods:
Payments
Due by Period
Contractual
Obilgations
|
Total
|
Less
than 1 Year
|
1-3
Years
|
4-5
Years
|
After
5 Years
|
|||||||||||
Capital
leases
|
$
|
12,806
|
$
|
12,806
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
||||||
Operating
leases
|
$
|
2,082,417
|
$
|
491,737
|
$
|
730,500
|
$
|
712,065
|
$
|
148,115
|
||||||
Purchase committments | $ | 304,250 | $ |
304,250
|
$ |
-
|
$ |
-
|
$ |
-
|
||||||
Total
contractual cash obligations
|
$
|
2,399,473
|
$
|
808,793
|
$
|
730,500
|
$
|
712,065
|
$
|
148,115
|
New
Accounting Pronouncements
In
June
2005, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, which we refer to as the “FASB”,
issued SFAS No. 154, “Accounting Changes and Error Corrections”, applying
to all voluntary accounting principle changes as well as the accounting for
and
reporting of such changes. SFAS No. 154 replaces APB Opinion No. 20,
“Accounting Changes”, and SFAS No. 3, “Reporting Accounting Changes in
Interim Financial Statements.” SFAS No. 154 is effective for accounting
changes and corrections of errors made in fiscal years beginning after
December 15, 2005. We do not expect SFAS No. 154 to affect our financial
condition or results of operations.
In
March
2005, the FASB issued Interpretation No. 47 (“FIN 47”), “Accounting for
Conditional Asset Retirement Obligations.” FIN 47 clarifies that an entity must
record a liability for a “conditional” asset retirement obligation if the fair
value of the obligation can be reasonably estimated. The provision is effective
no later than the end of fiscal years ending after December 15, 2005. We do
not expect FIN 47 to affect our financial condition or results of operations.
In
December 2004, the FASB finalized SFAS No. 123R Share-Based Payment, amending
SFAS No. 123, effective beginning our first quarter of fiscal 2006. SFAS 123R
requires the Company to expense stock options based on grant date fair value
in
its financial statements. Further, the SFAS 123R requires additional accounting
related to the income tax effects and additional disclosure regarding the cash
flow effects resulting from share-based payment arrangements. In March 2005,
the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued Staff Accounting
Bulletin (“SAB”) No. 107, which expresses views of the SEC staff regarding the
interaction between SFAS 123R and certain SEC rules and regulations, and
provides the staff’s views regarding the valuation of share-based payment
arrangements for public companies. The Company is considering the guidance
of
this SAB in the adoption of SFAS 123R. The effect of expensing stock options
on
results of operations using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model is presented
in
these financial statements above under Stock Based Compensation. Under SFAS
123R, we must determine the appropriate fair value model to be used for valuing
share-based payments, the amortization method for compensation cost and the
transition method to be used at date of adoption. The transition methods include
prospective and retroactive adoption options. We expect to utilize the
prospective method which requires that compensation expense begin being recorded
for all unvested stock options and restricted stock at the beginning of the
first quarter of adoption of SFAS 123R. We are evaluating the requirements
of
SFAS 123R and expect the adoption of SFAS 123R will have a material impact
on
results of operations and earnings (loss) per share. We have not determined
whether the adoption will result in amounts similar to the current pro-forma
disclosures under SFAS 123.
In
December 2004, the FASB issued SFAS No. 153, “Exchanges of Non-monetary
Assets, an Amendment of APB Opinion No. 29”, which is effective for
non-monetary exchanges occurring in fiscal periods beginning after June 15,
2005. SFAS
No. 153 amends APB Opinion No. 29, “Accounting for Non-monetary
Transactions” to eliminate the exception for non-monetary exchanges of similar
productive assets and replaces it with a general exception for exchanges of
non-monetary assets that do not have commercial substance. A non-monetary
exchange has commercial substance if the future cash flows of the entity are
expected to change significantly as a result of the exchange. We do not expect
SFAS No. 153 to affect our financial condition or results of
operations.
In
November 2004, the FASB issued SFAS No. 151, “Inventory Costs an amendment of
ARB 43, Chapter 4.” SFAS No. 151 clarifies that abnormal amounts of idle
facility expense, freight, handling costs, and wasted materials (spoilage)
should be recognized as current-period charges and requires the allocation
of
fixed production overheads to inventory based on the normal capacity of the
production facilities. SFAS No. 151 is effective for fiscal years beginning
after June 15, 2005. We are currently evaluating the financial statement impact
of the implementation of SFAS No. 151.
Risk
Factors
An
investment in our company involves a high degree of risk. In addition to
the other information included in this report, you should carefully consider
the
following risk factors in evaluating an investment in our company. You
should consider these matters in conjunction with the other information included
or incorporated by reference in this report. Our results of operations or
financial condition could be seriously harmed, and the trading price of our
common stock may decline due to any of these or other risks.
We
have a history of net losses. We expect to continue to incur net losses and
we
may not achieve or maintain profitability.
We
have
incurred significant operating losses and anticipate continued losses in fiscal
2006. At September 30, 2005 we had an accumulated deficit of $51,414,200. We
need to generate additional revenue and reduce operating expenses to be
profitable in future periods. Failure to achieve profitability, or maintain
profitability if achieved, may require us to raise additional funding which
could have a material negative impact on the market value of our common
stock.
We
may need additional capital for growth.
Our
current plans indicate that depending on sales, we may need additional capital
to support our growth. We may generate a portion of these funds from operations.
Principal
factors that could affect the availability of our internally generated funds
include:
·
|
government
spending levels impacting the sale of our
products;
|
·
|
our
ability to reduce and control
spending;
|
·
|
introduction
of new competing technologies;
|
·
|
failure
of sales from to meet planned projections;
|
·
|
product
mix and effect on margins; and
|
·
|
acceptance
of our products in new markets.
|
Should
we
require additional funds, general market conditions or the then-current market
price of our common stock may not support capital raising transactions. We
may
be required to reduce costs, including the scaling back of research and
development into new products, which could have a negative impact on our ability
to compete and to innovate. If we raise additional funds by selling additional
shares of our capital stock or securities convertible into common stock
(assuming we are able to obtain additional financing), the ownership interest
of
our stockholders will be diluted.
Our
equity financings impose certain liquidated damages which may impair our
liquidity and ability to raise capital.
In
connection with our July 2005 equity financing, we entered into a registration
rights agreement with some of the investors, pursuant to which we agreed to
prepare and file a registration statement covering the resale of the shares
of
common stock sold in the financing as well as the shares of common stock
issuable upon the exercise of the warrants sold in the financing. If the
registration statement ceases to be effective and available, or for other
reasons, those selling stockholders are unable to re-sell their shares purchased
in the financing or acquired upon exercise of their related warrants, we may
be
obligated to pay liquidated damages to those selling stockholders in the amount
of 0.5% of the gross proceeds we received in that financing per month until
January 14, 2006, and 1% of those gross proceeds per month thereafter. The
registration statement is currently effective.
Material
weaknesses or deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting
could harm stockholder and business confidence on our financial reporting,
our
ability to obtain financing and other aspects of our
business.
Maintaining
an effective system of internal control over financial reporting is necessary
for us to provide reliable financial reports.
We
have
identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting
as of September 30, 2005, including the following:
·
|
Failure
to apply existing controls established for inventory valuation
in
connection with our financial statement closing
process
|
·
|
Insufficient
flow of information and
communications
|
·
|
Inadequate
monitoring of controls and
procedures
|
·
|
Ineffective control over our fixed asset accounting |
·
|
Ineffective
control over the accounting for accounts
receivable
|
·
|
Insufficient
oversight of financially significant processes and systems, including
deficiencies relating to monitoring and oversight of the work performed
by
our finance and accounting
personnel
|
·
|
Ineffective
control over our accounts payable
|
The
existence of a material weakness is an indication that there is more than a
remote likelihood that a material misstatement of our financial statements
will
not be prevented or detected.
As
a
result of these material weaknesses, management’s assessment as of September 30,
2005 concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting is
ineffective. Some of the identified material weaknesses have not been fully
addressed. It is also possible that additional material weaknesses will be
identified in the future. The material weaknesses in our internal
control over financial reporting related to the lack of controls and procedures
to ensure that revenues are recognized in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles, the lack of adequate manpower and insufficient qualified
accounting personnel to identify and resolve complex accounting issues, the
lack
of controls over accruals and cut-offs, and the lack of controls surrounding
financial reporting and close procedures.
Because
we have concluded that our internal control over financial reporting is not
effective, and because our independent registered public accountants issued
an adverse opinion on the effectiveness of our internal controls, and to the
extent we identify future weaknesses or deficiencies, there could be material
misstatements in our financial statements and we could fail to meet our
financial reporting obligations. As a result, our ability to obtain additional
financing, or obtain additional financing on favorable terms, could be
materially and adversely affected which, in turn, could materially and
adversely affect our business, our financial condition and the market value
of
our securities. In addition, perceptions of us could also be adversely affected
among customers, lenders, investors, securities analysts and others. Current
material weaknesses or any future weaknesses or deficiencies could also hurt
confidence in our business and consolidated financial statements and our ability
to do business with these groups.
One
customer accounted for approximately 69% of our revenues in fiscal year 2005.
Two customers and their affiliates accounted for 58% of our revenues in fiscal
year 2004, one customer accounted for 24% of our revenues in fiscal year 2003,
and we continue to be dependent on a few large customers.
ADS,
Inc., a prime vendor to the U. S. military, accounted for 69% of revenues in
fiscal year 2005. In fiscal year 2004,ADS accounted for 47% of our revenues,
and
a second customer and its affiliates accounted for 11% of our revenues. These
customers have the right to cease doing business with us at any time. If our
relationship with ADS or any other material partner or vendor were to cease,
then our revenues would decline substantially and negatively impact our results
of operations. Any such decline could result in us incurring net losses,
increasing our accumulated deficit and causing us to need to raise additional
capital to fund our operations.
We
must expand our customer base in order to grow our
business.
To
grow
our business, we must fulfill orders from our existing customers, obtain
additional orders from our existing customers, develop relationships with new
customers and obtain and fulfill orders from new customers. We cannot guarantee
that we will be able to increase our customer base. Further, even if we do
obtain new customers, we cannot guarantee that those customers will purchase
from us enough quantities of our product or at product prices that will enable
us to recover our costs in acquiring those customers and fulfilling those
orders. Whether we will be able to sell more of our products will depend on
a
number of factors, including:
·
|
our
ability to manufacture reliable products that have the features
that are
required by our customers;
|
· | our ability to expand relationships with existing customers and to develop relationships with new customers that will lead to additional orders for our products; |
·
|
our ability to develop and expand new markets for directed sound products; and |
·
|
our ability to develop international product distribution directly or through strategic partners. |
The
growth of our Government & Military Group revenues is materially dependent
on acceptance of our LRAD products by government, military and developing
force protection and emergency response agencies, and if these agencies do
not
purchase our products, our revenues will be
adversely affected.
Although
our LRAD products are designed for use by both government and commercial
customers, the products have, to date, been predominantly sold for government
use. Within the Government & Military Group, our largest customer, ADS, is a
reseller of our products to end users in various branches of the military such
as the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army and the Department of Homeland
Security. We have only recently achieved significant sales of LRAD products
and
only began offering our smaller LRAD500 in our fiscal fourth quarter 2005,
and
neither of the products have been widely accepted in the government market.
Furthermore, the force protection and emergency response market is itself an
emerging market which is changing rapidly. If our LRAD products are not widely
accepted by the government, military and the developing force protection and
emergency response markets, we may not be able to identify other markets, and
we
may fail to achieve our sales projections.
Perceptions
that long range hailing devices are unsafe or may be used in an abusive manner
may hurt sales of our LRAD products which could cause our revenues to
decline.
Potential
customers for our LRAD products, including government, military and force
protection and emergency response agencies, may be influenced by claims or
perceptions that long range hailing devices are unsafe or may be used in an
abusive manner or as a weapon. These claims or perceptions could cause our
product sales to decline or possibly subject the sale of these products to
stricter government regulations covering the sale of weapons. In addition,
if
governmental agencies determine that our products could be classified as a
weapon , our sales of these products could be negatively impacted by longer
sales cycle. These factors could reduce future revenues, adversely affecting
our
financial condition and results of operations.
We
may not be successful in obtaining the necessary licenses required for us to
sell some of our products abroad.
Licenses
for the export of certain of our products may be required from government
agencies in accordance with various statutory authorities, including, for
example, the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917, the Arms Export Control Act
of
1976, the Export Administration Act of 1979, or the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act, as well as their implementing regulations and executive
orders.
In
the
case of certain agreements involving equipment or services controlled under
the
International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and sold at specified dollar
volumes, the U.S. Department of State must notify Congress at least fifteen
to
thirty days, depending on the intended overseas destination, prior to
authorizing these sales. During that time, Congress may take action to block
the
proposed sale. We do not believe our current product lines are subject to the
congressional notification requirement; however, as our product lines expand,
this notification requirement could impact our ability to sell certain
controlled products or services in the international market.
The
need
for export licenses and, when required, congressional notification, can
introduce a period of delay in our ability to consummate international
transactions. Because issuance of an export license is wholly within the
discretion of the controlling U.S. government agency, it is possible that,
in
some circumstances, we may not be able to obtain the necessary licenses for
some
potential transactions.
We
are currently introducing new products and technologies. If commercially
successful products are not produced in a timely manner, we may be unprofitable
or forced to cease operations.
Our
HSS,
NeoPlanar and LRAD technologies have only recently been introduced to market
and
are still being improved. Commercially viable sound technology systems may
not
be successfully and timely produced by us due to the inherent risks of
technology development, new product introduction, limitations on financing,
manufacturing problems, competition, obsolescence, loss of key technical
personnel and other factors. Revenues from our sound products have been limited
to date and we cannot guarantee significant revenues in the future. The
development and introduction of our current product line took longer than
anticipated by management and the introduction of future products, if any,
could
also be subject to delays. Customers may not accept our current products and
may
elect to purchase products from competitors. We experienced quality control
problems with some of our initial commercial HSS units, and we may not be able
to resolve future similar problems in a timely and cost effective manner.
Products employing our sound technology may not achieve market acceptance.
Our
various sound projects are high risk in nature, and unanticipated technical
obstacles can arise at any time and result in lengthy and costly delays or
result in a determination that further exploitation is unfeasible. If we do
not
successfully exploit our technology, our financial condition, results of
operations and business prospects would be adversely affected.
Our
products have never been produced in quantity, and we may incur significant
and
unpredictable warranty costs as these products are mass
produced.
None
of
our products has been produced in sufficient quantities to be considered mass
produced. Our technologies are substantially different from proven, mass
produced sound transducer designs. We may incur substantial and unpredictable
warranty costs from post-production product or component failures. We generally
warrant our products to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for
a
period up to one year from the date of purchase, depending on the
product.
At
September 30, 2005, we had a warranty reserve of $248,981. In prior years,
we
recorded substantial warranty reserves for early versions of our HSS products
and have little history to predict future warranty costs. Future warranty costs
could further adversely affect our financial position, results of operations
and
business prospects.
We
could incur charges for excess and obsolete inventory.
Due
to
rapidly changing technology, and uneven customer demand, product cycles tend
to
be short and the value of our inventory may be adversely affected by changes
in
technology that affect our ability to sell the products in our inventory. If
we
do not effectively forecast and manage our inventory, we may need to write
off
inventory as excess or obsolete, which in turn can adversely affect cost of
sales and gross profit. In fiscal year 2005, we increased our reserve for excess
or obsolete and slow moving inventory to $691,206.
While
we
will make every attempt to successfully manage product transition, including
inventory control of older generation products when introducing new products,
we
have previously experienced and may, in the future, experience reductions in
sales of older generation products as customers delay or defer purchases in
anticipation of new product introductions. We currently have established
reserves for slow moving or obsolete inventory. The reserves we have established
for potential losses due to obsolete inventory may, however, prove to be
inadequate and may give rise to additional charges for obsolete or excess
inventory.
We
do not have the ability to predict future operating results. Our quarterly
and
annual revenues will likely be subject to fluctuations caused by many factors,
any of which could result in our failure to achieve our revenue
expectations.
We
expect
our proprietary sound reproduction products and technologies will be the source
of substantially all of our future revenues. Revenues from our proprietary
sound
reproduction products and technologies are expected to vary significantly due
to
a number of factors. Many of these factors are beyond our control. Any one
or
more of the factors listed below or other factors could cause us to fail to
achieve our revenue expectations. These factors include:
·
|
our
ability to develop and supply sound reproduction components to customers,
distributors or OEMs or to license our technologies;
|
·
|
market
acceptance of and changes in demand for our products or products
of our
customers;
|
·
|
gains
or losses of significant customers, distributors or strategic
relationships;
|
·
|
unpredictable
volume and timing of customer
orders;
|
·
|
the
availability, pricing and timeliness of delivery of components for
our
products and OEM products;
|
·
|
fluctuations
in the availability of manufacturing capacity or manufacturing yields
and
related manufacturing costs;
|
·
|
the
timing of new technological advances, product announcements or
introductions by us, by OEMs or licensees and by our
competitors;
|
·
|
product
obsolescence and the management of product transitions and
inventory;
|
·
|
unpredictable
warranty costs associated with new product
models;
|
·
|
production
delays by customers, distributors, OEMs or by us or our
suppliers;
|
·
|
seasonal
fluctuations in sales;
|
·
|
the
conditions of other industries, such as military and commercial
industries, into which our technologies may be
licensed;
|
·
|
general
consumer electronics industry conditions, including changes in demand
and
associated effects on inventory and inventory
practices;
|
·
|
general
economic conditions that could affect the timing of customer orders
and
capital spending and result in order cancellations or rescheduling;
and
|
·
|
general
political conditions in this country and in various other parts of
the
world that could affect spending for the products that we
offer.
|
Some
or
all of these factors could adversely affect demand for our products or
technologies, and therefore adversely affect our future operating
results.
Most
of
our operating expenses are relatively fixed in the short term. We may be unable
to rapidly adjust spending to compensate for any unexpected sales or license
revenue shortfalls, which could harm our quarterly operating results. We do
not
have the ability to predict future operating results with any
certainty.
Our
expenses may vary from period to period, which could affect quarterly results
and our stock price.
If
we
incur additional expenses in a quarter in which we do not experience increased
revenue, our results of operations would be adversely affected and we may incur
larger losses than anticipated for that quarter. Factors that could cause our
expenses to fluctuate from period to period include:
·
|
the timing and extent of our research and development efforts; |
·
|
investments and costs of maintaining or protecting our intellectual property; |
·
|
the extent of marketing and sales efforts to promote our products and technologies; and |
·
|
the timing of personnel and consultant hiring. |
Many
potential competitors who have greater resources and experience than we do
may
develop products and technologies that make ours obsolete.
Technological
competition from other and longer established electronic and loudspeaker
manufacturers is significant and expected to increase. Most of the companies
with which we expect to compete have substantially greater capital resources,
research and development staffs, marketing and distribution programs and
facilities, and many of them have substantially greater experience in the
production and marketing of products. In addition, one or more of our
competitors may have developed or may succeed in developing technologies and
products that are more effective than any of ours, rendering our technology
and
products obsolete or noncompetitive.
Sound
reproduction markets are subject to rapid technological change, so our success
will depend on our ability to develop and introduce new
technologies.
Technology
and standards in the sound reproduction markets evolve rapidly, making timely
and cost-effective product innovation essential to success in the marketplace.
The introduction of products with improved technologies or features may render
our technologies obsolete and unmarketable. If we cannot develop products in
a
timely manner in response to industry changes, or if our technologies do not
perform well, our business and financial condition will be adversely affected.
The life cycles of our technologies are difficult to estimate, particularly
those such as HSS and LRAD for which there are no well established markets.
As a
result, our technologies, even if successful, may become obsolete before we
recoup our investment.
Our
competitive position will be seriously damaged if we cannot obtain patent
protection for important differentiating aspects of our products or
otherwise protect intellectual property rights in our
technology.
We
rely
on a combination of contracts and trademark, patent and trade secret laws to
establish and protect our proprietary rights in our technology. However, we
may
not be able to prevent misappropriation of our intellectual property, our
competitors may be able to independently develop and the agreements we enter
into may not be enforceable.
Our
success, in part, depends on our ability to obtain and enforce intellectual
property protection for our technology, particularly our patents. There is
no
guarantee any patent will issue on any patent application that we have filed
or
may file. Claims allowed from existing or pending patents may not be of
sufficient scope or strength to protect the economic value of our technologies.
Further, any patent that we may obtain will expire, and it is possible that
it
may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented. If we do not secure and maintain
patent protection for our technology and products, our competitive position
will
be significantly harmed. A competitor may independently develop or patent
technologies that are substantially equivalent to or superior to our technology.
For example, patent protection on our LRAD products is limited, and we may
not
be able to prevent others from introducing products with similar functionality.
If this happens, any patent that we may obtain may not provide protection and
our competitive position could be significantly harmed.
As
we
expand our product line or develop new uses for our products, these products
or
uses may be outside the protection provided by our current patent applications
and other intellectual property rights. In addition, if we develop new products
or enhancements to existing products we cannot assure you that we will be able
to obtain patents to protect them. Even if we do receive patents for our
existing or new products, these patents may not provide meaningful protection.
In some countries outside of the United States where our products can be sold
or
licensed, patent protection is not available. Moreover, some countries that
do
allow registration of patents do not provide meaningful redress for violations
of patents. As a result, protecting intellectual property in these countries
is
difficult and our competitors may successfully sell products in those countries
that have functions and features that infringe on our intellectual
property.
We
may
initiate claims or litigation against third parties in the future for
infringement of our proprietary rights or to determine the scope and validity
of
our proprietary rights or the proprietary rights of our competitors. These
claims could result in costly litigation and divert the efforts of our technical
and management personnel. As a result, our operating results could suffer and
our financial condition could be harmed.
Our
competitive position will be seriously damaged if our products are found to
infringe on the intellectual property rights of others.
Other
companies and our competitors may currently own or obtain patents or other
proprietary rights that might prevent, limit or interfere with our ability
to
make, use or sell our products. As a result, we may be found to infringe the
intellectual property rights of others. The electronics industry is
characterized by vigorous protection and pursuit of intellectual property rights
or positions, which have resulted in significant and often protracted and
expensive litigation. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against
us and our failure or inability to license the infringed technology, our
business and operating results could be adversely affected. Any litigation
or
claims, whether or not valid, could result in substantial costs and diversion
of
our resources. An adverse result from intellectual property litigation could
force us to do one or more of the following:
·
|
cease selling, incorporating or using products or services that incorporate the challenged intellectual property; |
·
|
obtain a license from the holder of the infringed intellectual property right, which license may not be available on reasonable terms, if at all; and |
·
|
redesign products or services that incorporate the disputed technology. |
If
we are
forced to take any of the foregoing actions, we could face substantial costs
and
shipment delays and our business could be seriously harmed. Although we carry
general liability insurance, our insurance may not cover potential claims of
this type or be adequate to indemnify us for all liability that may be
imposed.
In
addition, it is possible that our customers or end users may seek indemnity
from
us in the event that our products are found or alleged to infringe the
intellectual property rights of others. Any such claim for indemnity could
result in substantial expenses to us that could harm our operating
results.
Our
HSS technology is subject to government regulation, which could lead to
unanticipated expense or litigation.
Our
HSS
sound technology emits ultrasonic vibrations, and as such is regulated by the
Food and Drug Administration. In the event of certain unanticipated defects
in
an HSS product, a customer or we may be required to comply with FDA requirements
to remedy the defect and/or notify consumers of the problem. This could lead
to
unanticipated expense, and possible product liability litigation against a
customer or us. Any regulatory impediment to full commercialization of our
HSS
technology, or any of our other technologies, could adversely affect our results
of operations.
We
may face personal injury and other liability claims that harm our reputation
and
adversely affect our sales and financial condition.
Some
of
our products are capable of sufficient acoustic output to cause damage to human
hearing or human health if used improperly, such as when the products are used
at close ranges or for long periods of exposure. A person injured in connection
with the use of our products may bring legal action against us to recover
damages on the basis of theories including personal injury, negligent design,
dangerous product or inadequate warning. We may also be subject to lawsuits
involving allegations of misuse of our products. Our product liability insurance
coverage may be insufficient to pay all such claims. Product liability insurance
may become too costly for us or may become unavailable for us in the future.
We
may not have sufficient resources to satisfy any product liability claims not
covered by insurance which would materially and adversely affect our financial
position. Significant litigation could also result in a diversion of
management’s attention and resources, and negative publicity.
Our
operations could be harmed by factors including political instability, natural
disasters, fluctuations in currency exchange rates and changes in regulations
that govern international transactions.
We
expect
to sell our products worldwide. The risks inherent in international trade may
reduce our international sales and harm our business and the businesses of
our
customers and our suppliers. These risks include:
·
|
changes in tariff regulations; |
·
|
political instability, war, terrorism and other political risks; |
·
|
foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; |
·
|
establishing and maintaining relationships with local distributors and dealers; |
·
|
lengthy shipping times and accounts receivable payment cycles; |
·
|
import and export licensing requirements; |
·
|
compliance with a variety of foreign laws and regulations, including unexpected changes in taxation and regulatory requirements; |
·
|
greater difficulty in safeguarding intellectual property than in the U.S.; and |
·
|
difficulty in staffing and managing geographically diverse operations. |
These
and
other risks may preclude or curtail international sales or increase the relative
price of our products compared to those manufactured in other countries,
reducing the demand for our products.
Commercialization
of our proprietary sound technologies depends on collaborations with other
companies. If we are not able to maintain or find collaborators and strategic
alliance relationships in the future, we may not be able to develop our
proprietary sound technologies and products.
An
important part of our strategy is to establish business relationships with
leading participants in various segments of the electronics, government and
sound reproduction markets to assist us in producing, distributing, marketing
and selling products that include our proprietary sound
technologies.
Our
success will therefore depend on our ability to maintain or enter into new
strategic arrangements with partners on commercially reasonable terms. If we
fail to enter into such strategic arrangements with third parties, our financial
condition, results of operations, cash flows and business prospects will be
adversely affected. Any future relationships may require us to share control
over our development, manufacturing and marketing programs or to relinquish
rights to certain versions of our sound and other technologies.
We
rely on outside manufacturers and suppliers to provide a large number of
components and sub-assemblies incorporated in our products and may rely on
third-party turnkey production in the future.
Our
products have a large number of components and subassemblies produced by outside
suppliers. In addition, for certain of these items, we qualify only a single
source, which can magnify the risk of shortages and decrease our ability to
negotiate with our suppliers on the basis of price. In particular, we depend
on
our HSS piezo-film supplier to provide expertise and materials used in our
proprietary HSS emitters. If shortages occur, or if we experience quality
problems with suppliers, then our production schedules could be significantly
delayed or costs significantly increased, which would have a material adverse
effect on our business, liquidity, results of operation and financial
position.
Although
we have the ability to assemble our products internally, we have from time
to
time and in the future may have some or all of our products produced by
third-party manufacturers either for major subassemblies or on a turnkey basis.
We may be required to outsource manufacturing if sales of our products increase
significantly. We have historically used a single third-party contract
manufacturer to manufacture major subassemblies or products, and we expect
to
continue to use a single manufacturer in the future until product volume grows
substantially. We may not be able to obtain acceptable manufacturing sources
on
a timely basis. In addition, from time to time we may change manufacturers
and
any new manufacturer engaged by us may not perform as expected. An extended
interruption in the supply of our products could result in a substantial loss
of
sales. In addition, any actual or perceived degradation of product quality
as a
result of our reliance on third-party manufacturers may have an adverse effect
on sales or result in increased warranty costs, product returns and buybacks.
Failure to maintain quality manufacturing could reduce future revenues,
adversely affecting financial condition and results of operations.
Our
contracts and subcontracts that are funded by the U.S. government or foreign
governments are subject to government regulations and audits and other
requirements.
Government
contracts require compliance with various contract provisions and procurement
regulations. The adoption of new or modified procurement regulations could
have
a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of
operations or increase the costs of competing for or performing government
contracts. If we violate any of these regulations, then we may be subject to
termination of these contracts, imposition of fines or exclusion from government
contracting and government-approved subcontracting for some specific time
period. In addition, our contract and subcontract costs and revenues may be
subject to adjustment as a result of audits by government auditors.
We
derive revenue from government contracts and subcontracts, which are often
non-standard, may involve competitive bidding, may be subject to cancellation
with or without penalty and may produce volatility in earnings and
revenue.
Our
Government Group business has involved and is expected in the future to involve
providing products and services under contracts or subcontracts with U.S.
federal, state, local and foreign government agencies. Obtaining contracts
and
subcontracts from government agencies is challenging, and contracts often
include provisions that are not standard in private commercial transactions.
For
example, government contracts may:
·
|
include provisions that allow the government agency to terminate the contract without penalty under some circumstances; |
·
|
be subject to purchasing decisions of agencies that are subject to political influence; |
·
|
contain onerous procurement procedures; and |
·
|
be subject to cancellation if government funding becomes unavailable. |
Securing
government contracts can be a protracted process involving competitive bidding.
In many cases, unsuccessful bidders may challenge contract awards, which can
lead to increased costs, delays and possible loss of the contract for the
winning bidder.
Our
success is dependent on the performance and integration of our new executive
team, and the cooperation, performance and retention of our executive officers
and key employees.
John
R.
Zavoli joined as our President and Chief Operating Officer in November 2005.
He
assumed the role of Interim Chief Financial Officer in December 2005. Also
in
November 2005, Rose Tomich-Litz was appointed Vice President, Operations, and
in
December 2005, Karen Jordan, our Director of Finance, was promoted to Chief
Accounting Officer. Two other existing employees were promoted to executive
officers during 2005. We are presently seeking a permanent chief financial
officer, and as of September 30, 2005, our management identified a material
weakness concerning oversight of accounting processes and personnel, which
was
primarily due to a lack of human resources and insufficiently skilled personnel
within our operations and accounting reporting functions.
Our
business and operations are substantially dependent on the performance and
integration of our new President and Chief Operating Officer, the newly rebuilt
finance department and the other new executives. Our performance is also
substantially dependent on Elwood G. Norris, our Chairman. Our senior executives
have worked together for only a short period of time. We do not maintain “key
person” life insurance on any of our executive officers. The loss of one or
several key employees could seriously harm our business.
We
are
also dependent on our ability to retain and motivate high quality personnel,
especially sales and marketing executives and skilled technical personnel.
Competition for such personnel is intense, and we may not be able to attract,
assimilate or retain other highly qualified managerial, sales and technical
personnel in the future. The inability to attract and retain the necessary
managerial, sales and technical personnel could cause our business, operating
results or financial condition to suffer.
We
may not address successfully the problems encountered in connection with any
potential future acquisitions.
We
expect
to continue to consider opportunities to acquire or make investments in other
technologies, products and businesses that could enhance our capabilities,
complement our current products or expand the breadth of our markets or customer
base. We have limited experience in acquiring other businesses and technologies.
Potential and completed acquisitions and strategic investments involve numerous
risks, including:
·
|
problems assimilating the purchased technologies, products or business operations; |
·
|
problems maintaining uniform standards, procedures, controls and policies; |
·
|
unanticipated costs associated with the acquisition; |
·
|
diversion of management’s attention from our core business; |
·
|
adverse effects on existing business relationships with suppliers and customers; |
·
|
risks associated with entering new markets in which we have no or limited prior experience; |
·
|
potential loss of key employees of acquired businesses; and |
·
|
increased legal and accounting costs as a result of the newly adopted rules and regulations related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
If
we
fail to properly evaluate and execute acquisitions and strategic investments,
our management team may be distracted from our day-to-day operations, our
business may be disrupted and our operating results may suffer. In addition,
if
we finance acquisitions by issuing equity or convertible debt securities, our
stockholders would be diluted.
Evolving
regulation of corporate governance and public disclosure may result in
additional expenses and continuing uncertainty.
During
fiscal 2005 we incurred substantial costs in complying with Section 404 of
the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 relating to the evaluation of our internal control
over financial reporting and having our independent auditor attest to that
evaluation. Compliance with these requirements has been and is expected to
continue to be expensive and time consuming.
Changing
laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public
disclosure, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, new SEC regulations and
NASDAQ Capital Market rules are creating uncertainty for public companies.
We
continually evaluate and monitor developments with respect to new and proposed
rules and cannot predict or estimate the amount of the additional costs we
may
incur or the timing of such costs. These new or changed laws, regulations and
standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their
lack of specificity, and as a result, their application in practice may evolve
over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This
could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher
costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance
practices.
We
are
committed to maintaining high standards of corporate governance and public
disclosure. If our efforts to comply with new or changed laws, regulations
and
standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies
due to ambiguities related to practice, regulatory authorities may initiate
legal proceedings against us and we may be harmed.
If
we are not current in our filings with the SEC, we will face several adverse
consequences.
If
we are
unable to remain current in our financial filings, we will not be able to have
a
registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, covering a public
offering of securities, declared effective by the SEC, and we will not be able
to make offerings pursuant to existing registration statements or pursuant
to
certain “private placement” rules of the SEC under Regulation D, to any
purchasers not qualifying as “accredited investors.” Finally, we will not be
eligible to use a “short form” registration statement on Form S-3 for a period
of 12 months after the delinquency occurs. In addition to the liquidated damages
discussed above with respect to existing placements, these restrictions may
impair our ability to raise funds, should we desire to do so, and to attract
and
retain key employees.
If
we
fail to keep our filings current with the SEC our common stock may be delisted
from the NASDAQ Capital Market and subsequently would trade on the Pink Sheets.
The trading of our common stock on the Pink Sheets may reduce the price of
our
common stock and the levels of liquidity available to our stockholders. In
addition, the trading of our common stock on the Pink Sheets will materially
adversely affect our access to the capital markets, and the limited liquidity
and reduced price of our common stock could materially adversely affect our
ability to raise capital through alternative financing sources on terms
acceptable to us or at all. Stocks that trade on the Pink Sheets are no longer
eligible for margin loans.,
When
we adopt SFAS 123R related to the accounting for employee stock option and
employee stock purchase plans using a fair-value method, our results from
operations and earnings per share will be reduced
significantly.
The
Financial Accounting Standards Board issued SFAS No. 123R “Share-Based Payment”
in December 2004. SFAS 123R requires companies to measure all stock-based
compensation awards using a fair-value method and record such expense in their
financial statements. SFAS 123R is effective beginning our first quarter of
fiscal 2006. We are assessing the impact of SFAS 123R on our stock-based
compensation programs; however, we expect to record significant stock-based
compensation expense that will increase our net loss and loss per share.
Technology
companies in general and our company in particular have a history of depending
upon and using broad-based employee stock option programs to hire, incentivize
and retain employees in a competitive marketplace. This change in accounting
rules could impact our ability to utilize broad-based employee stock plans
to
reward employees and could result in a competitive disadvantage to us in the
employee marketplace.
There
are a large number of shares that we sold in our July 2005 financing that have
recently been registered in a registration statement, and the sale of these
shares may depress the price of our common stock and encourage short sales
by
third parties.
To
the
extent that the investors in our 2005 financing sell shares of our common stock
under the currently effective registration statement, our stock price may
decrease due to the additional selling pressure in the market. The perceived
risk of additional shares available for sale in the market may cause holders
of
our common stock to sell their shares, which could continue to depress or
contribute to a decline in our stock price.
The
sale
of material amounts of common stock by selling stockholders under the
registration statement for the July 2005 financing could also encourage short
sales by third parties. In a short sale, a prospective seller borrows stock
from
a stockholder or broker and sells the borrowed stock. The prospective seller
hopes that the stock price will decline, at which time the seller can purchase
shares at a lower price to repay the lender. The seller profits when the stock
price declines because the seller can purchase the shares at a price which
is
lower than the price at which the seller sold the borrowed stock. Short sales
could place downward pressure on the price of our common stock by increasing
the
number of shares being sold, which could contribute to the future decline of
our
stock price.
We
may issue additional common stock in the future and this stock may reduce the
value of your common stock.
We
may
issue additional shares of common stock without further action by our
stockholders. Moreover, the economic and voting interests of each stockholder
will be diluted as a result of such issuances. Although the number of shares
of
common stock that stockholders presently own will not decrease, such shares
will
represent a smaller percentage of our total shares that will be outstanding
after such events.
Sales
of common stock issuable on the exercise of outstanding options and warrants,
may depress the price of our common stock.
As
of
September 30, 2005, we had outstanding options granted to our employees,
directors and consultants to purchase 2,070,810 shares of our common stock,
and
had outstanding warrants issued to investors and others to purchase 3,577,653
shares of our common stock. The exercise prices for the options and warrants
range from $2.00 to $10.10 per share. In the future we may issue additional
convertible securities, options and warrants. The issuance of shares of common
stock issuable upon the exercise of convertible securities, options or warrants
could cause substantial dilution to holders of common stock, and the sale of
those shares in the market could cause the market price of our common stock
to
decline. The potential dilution from these shares could negatively affect the
terms on which we could obtain equity financing.
We
may issue preferred stock in the future, and the terms of the preferred stock
may reduce the value of your common stock.
We
are
authorized to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more
series. Our board of directors may determine the terms of future preferred
stock
offerings without further action by our stockholders. If we issue additional
preferred stock, it could affect your rights or reduce the value of your common
stock. In particular, specific rights granted to future holders of preferred
stock could be used to restrict our ability to merge with or sell our assets
to
a third party. These terms may include voting rights, preferences as to
dividends and liquidation, conversion and redemption rights, and sinking fund
provisions.
Our
stock price is volatile and may continue to be volatile in the
future.
Our
common stock trades on the NASDAQ Capital Market. The market price of our common
stock has fluctuated significantly to date. In the future, the market price
of
our common stock could be subject to significant fluctuations due to general
market conditions and in response to quarter-to-quarter variations
in:
·
|
our anticipated or actual operating results; |
·
|
developments concerning our sound reproduction technologies; |
·
|
technological innovations or setbacks by us or our competitors; |
·
|
conditions in the consumer electronics market; |
·
|
announcements of merger or acquisition transactions; |
·
|
changes in personnel within our company; and |
·
|
other events or factors and general economic and market conditions. |
The
stock
market in recent years has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations
that have affected the market price of many technology companies, and that
have
often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of
companies.
Market
risk represents the risk of loss that may impact our financial position, results
of operations or cash flows due to adverse changes in market prices, including
interest rate risk and other relevant market rate or price risks. We do not
use
derivative financial instruments in our investment portfolio.
We
are
currently exposed to some market risk through interest rates, related to our
investment of current cash and cash equivalents. Based on our balance of cash
and cash equivalents of $10.3 million at September 30, 2005, a change of one
percent in interest rate would cause a change in interest income of
approximately $103,000. The risk is not considered material and we manage such
risk by continuing to evaluate the best investment rates available for
short-term high quality investments.
The
financial statements required by this item begin on page F-1 with the index
to
financial statements followed by the financial statements.
On
June
29, 2005, BDO Seidman, LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm
previously engaged as the principal accountant to audit our financial
statements, whom we will hereinafter refer to as BDO, informed us of its
resignation as our independent registered public accounting firm.
BDO’s
reports on our financial statements for each of the fiscal years ended September
30, 2004 and 2003 did not contain an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion,
nor were such reports qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope
or
accounting principles.
In
connection with its audit for each of the fiscal years ended September 30,
2004
and 2003, and through the interim period from October 1, 2004 through June
29,
2005, there has been no disagreement between us and BDO on any matters of
accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing
scope or procedure, which disagreement(s), if not resolved to the satisfaction
of BDO, would have caused BDO to make reference to the subject matter of the
disagreement(s) in connection with its reports on our financial
statements.
On
July
6, 2005, our audit committee engaged Swenson Advisors, LLP as our principal
independent registered public accounting firm, which firm audited our
financial statements for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005. We did not,
nor did anyone on our behalf, consult Swenson Advisors during our two most
recent fiscal years or during the subsequent interim period prior to our
engagement of Swenson Advisors regarding the application of accounting
principles to a specified transaction (completed or proposed) or the type of
audit opinion that might be rendered on our financial statements, or regarding
any matter that was the subject of a disagreement described in Item
304(a)(1)(iv) of Regulation S-K or a reportable event described in Item
304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K.
We
are
required to maintain disclosure controls and procedures designed to ensure
that
material information related to us, including our consolidated subsidiaries,
is
recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified
in the SEC rules and forms.
Conclusion
Regarding the Effectiveness of Disclosure Controls and
Procedures
Under
the
supervision and with the participation of our management, including our
co-principal executive officers and principal financial officer, we conducted
an
evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined
under Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) promulgated under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). Based on
this
evaluation, our co-principal executive officers and our principal financial
officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective
as of September 30, 2005 due to the material weaknesses in internal control
over
financial reporting described below under "Management's Report on Internal
Control Over Financial Reporting."
Management’s
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
Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f). Under the supervision and with the
participation of our management, including our co-principal executive officers
and principal 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 framework in Internal
Control - Integrated Framework,
our
management identified a number of material weaknesses in internal control over
financial reporting. A material weakness is defined in Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board Standard No. 2 as a significant deficiency, or combination
of
significant deficiencies, that results in there being more than a remote
likelihood that a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial
statements will not be prevented or detected.
In
December 2005, in connection with the audit of our financial statements for
the
year ended September 30, 2005 and management’s assessment of the effectiveness
of our internal control over financial reporting, we identified the following
material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting as of
September 30, 2005 any of which could result in the misstatement of our interim
or annual financial statements which would not be prevented or
detected.
·
|
Oversight
of Accounting Processes and
Personnel
|
We
did not maintain sufficient oversight and supervision of financially
significant processes and systems, and we noted deficiencies relating
to
monitoring and oversight of the work performed by our operations
and
accounting personnel.
This material weakness was due primarily to a lack of adequate finance
department supervision over finance and accounting personnel, and
a lack
of human resources and insufficiently skilled personnel within our
operations and accounting reporting functions. This material weakness
resulted in errors in the preparation and review of financial statements,
disclosures, schedules and reconciliations supporting certain general
ledger account balances, errors not detected in certain accrued liability
accounts and accounts payable, proper valuation and costing of inventory,
proper tracking and accounting for fixed assets, and accurate valuation
of
accounts receivables, thereby resulting in audit adjustments to our
fiscal
year 2005 annual financial statements.
|
·
|
Information
and Communications
|
We
did
not maintain adequate processes for gathering key financial information
to
support the achievement of financial reporting objectives. As a result,
management's ability to monitor both internal and external events was
compromised. This material weakness resulted from a lack of skilled personnel
and adequate supervisory management, primarily in our finance and operations
organizations. This material weakness resulted in the unavailability of
reliable
information concerning inventory, fixed assets, accounts receivable and
accounts
payable, which in turn contributed to audit adjustments to our fiscal year
2005
annual financial statements.
·
|
Monitoring
|
We
did not maintain adequate processes to determine whether
internal control
over financial reporting was operating effectively and
whether financial
reports were reliably and accurately prepared. In particular,
we lacked an
ongoing monitoring process that would have enabled management
to determine
whether internal control over financial reporting was present
and
functioning. This material weakness resulted from a lack
of skilled
personnel and adequate supervisory management, primarily
in our finance
and operations organizations. This material weakness resulted
in various
deficiencies in our financial reporting process relating
to our inventory
valuation, fixed asset accounting, accounts receivable
and accounts
payable, and resulted in audit adjustments for our fiscal
year 2005 annual
financial statements.
|
·
|
Inventory
Valuation
|
|
Controls
that we have established for inventory valuation were not properly
applied
in connection with our financial statement closing process for the
year
ended September 30, 2005. This failure to apply existing controls
relative
to inventory valuation resulted both from lack of experienced accounting
and operations personnel , the lack of proper supervision of such
personnel, and the unexpected departure of personnel responsible
for the
application of such controls. This material weakness resulted in
incorrect
valuation and proper pricing of our inventory at our fiscal year
ended
September 30, 2005, thereby resulting in an audit adjustment to our
fiscal
year 2005 annual financial
statements.
|
·
|
Fixed
Asset Accounting
|
|
We
did not maintain effective control over the accounting for
fixed assets.
We lacked an appropriate policy for reconciling certain recorded
assets
for which there was incomplete identifying information with
assets on
hand, and also lacked experienced accounting personnel responsible
for
maintaining fixed assets. This material weakness resulted in
an adjustment
of the value of the company’s fully depreciated fixed assets for which
there was no impact to the company’s reported fixed assets net of
depreciation, as well as an adjustment to the valuation of
net fixed
assets at September 30, 2005.
|
·
|
Accounts
Receivable
|
We
did not maintain effective control over the accounting for accounts
receivable. This failure to apply existing controls relative to
accounting
for accounts receivables resulted from a lack of experienced accounting
personnel and inadequate supervision of the personnel responsible
for
timely accounts receivables reconciliations. We discovered several
discrepancies between our accounting records and those of our customers
concerning the value of accounts receivable outstanding at September
30,
2005. This material weakness resulted in audit adjustments to our
fiscal
2005 annual financial
statements.
|
·
|
Accounts
Payable
|
|
We
did not maintain effective controls over the accuracy of our
accounts
payable and recorded liabilities at September 30, 2005. Specifically,
we
did not account for all invoices that had been issued to us by
various
vendors for the period ended September 30, 2005. This material
weakness
resulted in audit adjustments to our fiscal year 2005 annual
financial
statements.
|
Our
management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over
financial reporting as of September 30, 2005 has been audited by Swenson
Advisors, LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that also
audited our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report,
as
stated in their report which is included herein.
Our
management has discussed the material weaknesses described above with our audit
committee. In an effort to remediate the identified material weaknesses and
other control deficiencies, we have implemented and/or plan to implement the
measures described below. Although we believe these actions will remediate
the
material weaknesses described above, management will need to complete further
testing to verify that these remediation efforts have been executed in a manner
sufficient to remedy such material weaknesses.
Because
of these material weaknesses, management has concluded that our company did
not
maintain effective internal control over financial reporting as of September
30,
2005, based on the COSO Framework.
Our
independent registered public accounting firm, Swenson Advisors LLP, has audited
management’s assessment of the effectiveness of the company’s internal control
over financial reporting as stated in its report which appears on page F-2
of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Remediation
of Material Weaknesses
As
of the
filing date of this report, we have not fully remediated the material weaknesses
in our internal control over financial reporting identified as of
September 30, 2005. However, beginning in November 2005, management has
taken a number of steps that it believes will improve the effectiveness of
our
internal control over financial reporting including the following:
·
|
Oversight
of Accounting Processes and
Personnel
|
|
As
discussed above, in November and December 2005,
we hired new accounting department personnel who we believe have
the
expertise and experience required to perform the functions to timely
and correctly report financial results. In December 2005, we promoted
Karen Jordan, who joined us in November 2005 as Director of Finance,
to
Chief Accounting Officer. In December 2005, our Chief Financial
Officer
resigned from his employment, and Mr. John R. Zavoli, our President
and
Chief Operating Officer, was appointed Interim Chief Financial
Officer.
Mr. Zavoli has significant financial oversight experience. See
"Description of Business - Executive Officers" above for more information
on the backgrounds of Mr. Zavoli and Ms. Jordan. We are actively
seeking a
new permanent chief financial officer who will provide close supervision
of accounting personnel to ensure compliance with our controls
and
procedures. In part due to our ongoing search for a permanent chief
financial officer, we cannot be certain at this time that these
steps have
corrected the associated material
weakness.
|
·
|
Information
and Communications
|
|
We
have hired new accounting and operations personnel in November
and
December 2005, including new management personnel. In December
2005, we
designed a procedure for our accounting department to disseminate
key
information and metrics to senior management beginning in our
second
quarter of fiscal 2006 in order to support the achievement
of financial
reporting objectives. We believe that these steps will correct
the
associated material weakness discussed
above.
|
·
|
Monitoring
|
|
We
have hired new accounting personnel in November and December
2005,
including new management personnel. In December 2005,
these personnel were
directed to review our monitoring controls, and to the
extent necessary,
improve monitoring processes to be consistent with the
criteria based on
the COSO Framework.
|
·
|
Inventory
Valuation
|
|
We
have hired new accounting personnel in November
and December 2005, and have documented closing procedures that
these
personnel will follow in properly computing the cost of inventory
on a net
realizable basis. We believe these steps will remediate the associated
material weakness discussed above.
|
·
|
Fixed
Asset Accounting
|
|
In
December 2005, we implemented a control for
accounting personnel to conduct an annual inventory of our fixed
assets.
The control also calls for purchases of new assets to be properly
entered
into our accounting system by asset description and type, and all
current
and future assets to be tagged with an asset number for tracking
in our
accounting system. We believe this step will correct the associated
material weakness discussed above.
|
·
|
Accounts
Receivable
|
|
Accounting
personnel will follow control
procedures managing accounts receivable and periodic reconciliation
of
accounts receivable with customers consistent with our closing
processes.
We believe this step will correct the associated material weakness
discussed above.
|
·
|
Accounts
Payable
|
|
In
November 2005, we implemented a policy for
all company personnel to follow our controls and procedures related
to
incurring liabilities, including purchasing procedures and properly
identifying and recording accounts payable. We believe these steps
will
correct the associated material weakness discussed
above.
|
Changes
in Internal Controls
Except
as
discussed above, there were no changes in our internal control over financial
reporting during our fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2005 that have
materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal
control over financial reporting.
On
December 23, 2005, we entered into a separation agreement with Michael A.
Russell. Mr. Russell was formerly our Chief Financial Officer and Secretary
and
resigned from his employment on December 16, 2005. The agreement provides that
Mr. Russell will remain an employee of our company through January 3, 2006.
The
agreement provides for our payment of $46,250 as severance, to be paid at Mr.
Russell's former base rate of pay following termination in accordance with
our
regular payroll practices, with all then unpaid amounts paid by March 31, 2006,
and our payment of health benefit premiums on Mr. Russell's behalf for a period
not to extend beyond March 31, 2006. In addition, the agreement requires Mr.
Russell to execute a general release of all claims against the
company.
The
foregoing disclosure is made in lieu of disclosure under Item 1.01 on Form
8-K.
Certain
information required by this Part III is omitted from this report and is
incorporated by reference to our Definitive Proxy Statement to be filed with
the
Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the Annual Meeting
of
Stockholders to be held in 2006 (the Proxy Statement).
(a)
|
Executive
Officers—See “Executive Officers” in Part I, Item 1
hereof.
|
(b)
|
Directors---The
information required by this Item is incorporated herein by reference
to
our Proxy Statement.
|
(c)
|
Audit
Committee Financial Expert—The board of directors has determined that
Daniel Hunter is an “audit committee financial expert” and “independent”
as defined under applicable SEC and NASDAQ rules. The board’s
affirmative determination was based, among other things, upon his
over 25
years as a certified public
accountant.
|
(d)
|
We
have adopted a “Code of Business Conduct and Ethics,” a code of ethics
that applies to all employees, including our executive officers.
A copy of
the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is posted on our Internet
website
at www.atcsd.com. In the event we make any amendments to, or
grant any waivers of, a provision of the Code of Business Conduct
and
Ethics that applies to the principal executive officer, principal
financial officer, or principal accounting officer that requires
disclosure under applicable SEC rules, we intend to disclose such
amendment or waiver and the reasons therefore on a Form 8-K or on
our next
periodic report.
|
The
information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the Proxy
Statement under the heading "Executive Compensation."
The
information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the Proxy
Statement under the heading "Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners
and
Management and Related Stockholder Matters."
The
information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the Proxy
Statement under the heading "Certain Relationships and Related
Transactions."
The
information required by this item is incorporated by reference to the Proxy
Statement under the heading "Principal Accounting Fees and
Services."
The
following financial statements are filed as part of this report under “Part II,
Item 8 - Financial Statements and Supplementary Date”:
Financial
Statements and Schedules:
|
Management’s
Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
|
Reports
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firms
|
Balance
Sheets as of September 30, 2005 and 2004
|
Statements
of Operations for the Years Ended September 30, 2005, 2004 and
2003
|
Statements
of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) for the Years Ended September 30, 2005,
2004 and 2003
|
Statements
of Cash Flows for the Years Ended September 30, 2005, 2004 and
2003
|
Summary
of Accounting Policies and Notes to Financial
Statements
|
|
Schedule
II - Valuation and Qualifying Accounts
|
(Schedules
I, III, IV and V are not applicable and have therefore been
omitted.)
|
Exhibits:
3. Articles
of Incorporation and Bylaws
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
3.1
|
|
Certificate
of Incorporation of American Technology Corporation (Delaware) dated
March
1, 1992. Filed as Exhibit 2.1 on Form 10-SB effective August 1,
1994.
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.1.1
|
|
Amendment
to Certificate of Incorporation of American Technology Corporation
dated
March 24, 1997 and filed with Delaware on April 22, 1997. Filed as
Exhibit
3.1.1 on Form 10-QSB for the quarter ended March 31, 1997, dated May
13, 1997.
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.1.2
|
|
Corrected
Certificate of Designations of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock
dated
and filed with Delaware on August 25, 1997. Filed as Exhibit 3.1.3
on Form
8-K dated August 29, 1997.
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.1.3
|
|
Corrected
Certificate of Designations of Series B Convertible Preferred Stock
filed
with Delaware on December 23, 1998. Filed as Exhibit 3.1.4 on Form
10-KSB
for the year ended September 30, 1998, dated December 29,
1998.
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.1.4
|
|
Corrected
Certificate of Designation of Series C Preferred Stock filed with
Delaware
on April 19, 2000. Filed as Exhibit 3.1.5 on Form 8-K dated April
19,
2000.
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.1.5
|
|
Certificate
of Designation of Series D Preferred Stock filed with Delaware on
May 3,
2002. Filed as Exhibit 3.1 on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March
31,
2002, dated May 15, 2002.
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.1.6
|
|
Certificate
of Amendment to Certificate of Incorporation filed with Delaware
on
September 26, 2002. Filed as Exhibit 3.1.6 on Form 10-K for the year
ended
September 30, 2002, dated December 23, 2002.
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.1.7
|
|
Certificate
of Designation of Series E Preferred Stock filed with Delaware on
February
28, 2003. Filed as Exhibit 4.2 on Form 8-K dated March 6,
2003.
|
|
3.2
|
|
Amended
and Restated Bylaws of American Technology Corporation. Filed as
Exhibit
3.1 on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2004, dated May
5,
2004.
|
|
|
|
|
3.3
|
Restated
Bylaws of American Technology Corporation. Filed as Exhibit 3.1 on
Form
10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2004, dated February 11,
2005.
|
10. Material
Contracts
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.1
|
|
Royalty
Agreement between ATC and Elwood G. Norris dated September 3,
1985. Filed as Exhibit 6.2 on Form 10-SB effective August 1,
1994.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.2
|
|
Assignment
of Technology Agreement between ATC and Elwood G. Norris dated March
2,
1992. Filed as Exhibit 6.3 on Form 10-SB effective August 1,
1994.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.2.1
|
|
Addendum
Agreement to Assignment of Technology Agreement between ATC and Elwood
G.
Norris dated December 2, 1996. Filed as Exhibit 10.3.1 on Form 10-KSB
for
year ended September 30, 1996, dated December 13,
1996.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.3
|
|
Amended
and Restated Sublease Agreement between ATC and Smiths Industries
Aerospace & Defense Systems, Inc. as amended, dated September 1,
2000. Filed as Exhibit 10.6.1 on Form 10-K for the year ended
September 30, 2000, dated October 29, 2000.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.3.1
|
|
First
Amendment to Amended and Restated Sublease Agreement, dated January
1,
2004. Filed as Exhibit 10.1 on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
March 31, 2004, dated May 5, 2004.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.3.2
|
|
Attornment
Agreement between ATC and LBA Realty Fund-Holding Co. I, LLC dated
August
1, 2005.*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.3.3
|
|
First
Amendment to Attornment Agreement between ATC and LBA Realty Fund-Holding
Co. I, LLC dated November 15, 2005.*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.4
|
|
Employment
Agreement dated as of September 1, 1997 between ATC and Elwood G.
Norris
filed as Exhibit 10.16 on Form 10-KSB for year ended September 30,
1997,
dated December 1, 1997.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.5
|
|
1997
Stock Option Plan as adopted on January 23, 1998 filed as Exhibit
10.1 on
Form S-8 dated July 27, 1998.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.5.1
|
|
Form
of Incentive Stock Option Agreement under 1997 Stock Option Plan.
Filed as
Exhibit 10.5.1 on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2004,
dated
December 28, 2004.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.5.2
|
|
Form
of Non-Statutory Stock Option Agreement under 1997 Stock Option Plan.
Filed as Exhibit 10.5.2 on Form 10-K for the year ended September
30,
2004, dated December 28, 2004.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.6
|
|
2002
Stock Option Plan. Filed as Exhibit 99.1 on Form S-8 dated
November 18, 2002.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.6.1
|
|
Form
of Stock Option Grant Notice and Stock Option Agreement under 2002
Stock
Option Plan. Filed as Exhibit 10.6.1 on Form 10-K for the year ended
September 30, 2004, dated December 28, 2004.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.7
|
|
Form
of Stock Purchase Warrant exercisable until September 30, 2006 granted
to
accredited investors for an aggregate of 1,012,500 common shares
(individual warrants differ as to holder, number of shares and issuance
date). Filed as Exhibit 4.12 on Form 8-K dated October 12,
2001.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.8
|
|
Form
of Stock Purchase Warrant exercisable until March 31, 2007 granted
to
investors for an aggregate of 517,880 common shares (individual warrants
differ as to holder, number of shares and issuance date). Filed as
Exhibit
10.2 on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2002, dated May
15,
2002.
|
|
10.9 | Form of Stock Purchase Warrant exercisable until December 31, 2007 granted to accredited investors for an aggregate of 514,875 common shares (individual warrants differ as to holder, number of shares and issuance date). Filed as Exhibit 4.3 on Form 8-K dated March 6, 2003. | |||
10.10
|
Securities Purchase Agreement dated July 11, 2003. Filed as Exhibit 4.1 on Form 8-K dated July 17, 2003. |
|
10.11
|
|
Registration
Rights Agreement dated July 11, 2003. Filed as Exhibit 4.2 on Form
8-K
dated July 17, 2003.
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.12
|
|
Form
of Common Stock Warrant exercisable until July 10, 2007 granted to
accredited investors for an aggregate of 454,547 common shares (individual
warrants differ as to holder, number of shares and issuance date).
Filed
as Exhibit 4.3 on Form 8-K dated July 17, 2003.
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.13
|
|
Employment
Agreement of Kalani Jones dated August 28, 2003, as amended. Filed
as
Exhibit 10.29 on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2003,
dated
December 29, 2003.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.13.1
|
|
Separation
and Release Agreement with Kalani Jones dated October 20,
2005.+*
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.14
|
|
Employment
Agreement of Carl Gruenler, as amended. Filed as Exhibit 10.30 on
Form
10-K for the year ended September 30, 2003, dated December 29,
2003.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.14.1
|
|
Separation
and Release Agreement with Carl Gruenler dated June 15, 2005. Filed
as
Exhibit 99.1 on Form 8-K filed June 17, 2005.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.14.2
|
|
Consulting
Agreement with Carl Gruenler dated June 15, 2005. Filed as Exhibit
99.2 on
Form 8-K filed June 17, 2005.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.15
|
|
Form
of Inducement Grant Notice and Inducement Stock Option Agreement.
Filed as
Exhibit 4.1 on Form 8-K dated September 28, 2004.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.16
|
|
Table
of Inducement Grants.+*
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.17
|
|
Form
of Special Stock Option. Filed as Exhibit 99.2 on Form S-8
dated November 18, 2002.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.18
|
|
Employment
Agreement of Michael Russell. Filed as Exhibit 10.1 on Form 10-Q
for the
quarter ended June 30, 2004, dated August 4, 2004.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.19
|
|
Inducement
Grant Notice and Inducement Stock Option Agreement of Michael Russell.
Filed as Exhibit 10.28 on Form 10-K for the year ended September
30, 2004,
dated December 28, 2004.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.20
|
|
Employment
Agreement of Joseph A. Zerucha. Filed as Exhibit 10.2 on Form
10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2003, dated February 12,
2004.+
|
|
10.21
|
|
Separation
Agreement of Joseph A. Zerucha. Filed as Exhibit 10.2 on Form
10-Q for the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2004, dated
August
4, 2004.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.22
|
|
Employment
Agreement of Bruce Ehlers. Filed as Exhibit 10.1 on Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended December 31, 2003, dated February 12,
2004.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.23
|
|
Release
Agreement of Bruce Ehlers. Filed as Exhibit 10.32 on Form 10-K for
the
year ended September 30, 2004, dated December 28,
2004.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.24
|
|
Common
Stock Purchase Agreement dated December 14, 2004 with Kingsbridge
Capital
Limited. Filed as Exhibit 10.1 on Form 8-K filed December 17,
2004.
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.25
|
|
Registration
Rights Agreement dated December 14, 2004 with Kingsbridge Capital
Limited.
Filed as Exhibit 10.2 on Form 8-K filed December 17, 2004.
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.26
|
|
Warrant
dated December 14, 2004 in favor of Kingsbridge Capital Limited.
Filed as
Exhibit 4.1 to Form 8-K filed December 17, 2004.
|
|
10.27
|
|
Termination,
Settlement and Release Agreement with Kingsbridge Capital Limited
dated
July 8, 2005. Filed as Exhibit 10.3 on Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended
June 30, 2005, dated August 9, 2005.
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.28
|
|
Promissory
Note and Warrant Purchase Agreement dated December 23, 2004 with
the
purchasers described therein. Filed as Exhibit 10.39 on Form 10-K
for the
year ended September 30, 2004, dated December 28,
2004.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.29
|
|
Form
of Unsecured Subordinated Promissory Note. Filed as Exhibit 10.40
on Form
10-K for the year ended September 30, 2004, dated December 28,
2004.+
|
|
|
|
|
|
10.30
|
|
Form
of Warrant. Filed as Exhibit 10.41 on Form 10-K for the year ended
September 30, 2004, dated December 28, 2004.+
|
|
10.31
|
|
Summary
Sheet of Director and Executive Officer Compensation.*
|
10.32
|
Employment
offer letter for Bruce Gray effective March 21, 2005. Filed as Exhibit
10.2 on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2005, dated May
10,
2005.+
|
||
10.33
|
Inducement
Stock Option Grant Notice and Inducement Stock Option Agreement for
Bruce
Gray dated March 22, 2005. Filed as Exhibit 10.3 on Form 10-Q for
the
quarter ended March 31, 2005, dated May 10, 2005.+
|
||
10.34
|
Commission
Plan for Bruce Gray pursuant to Employment letter dated March 21,
2005,
approved by the board of directors on September 28,
2005.+*^
|
||
10.35
|
Securities
Purchase Agreement dated July 14, 2005. Filed as Exhibit 99.1 on
Form 8-K
filed July 19, 2005.
|
||
10.36
|
Registration
Rights Agreement dated July 14, 2005. Filed as Exhibit 99.2 on Form
8-K
filed July 19, 2005.
|
||
10.37
|
Form
of Warrant-A issued July 18, 2005. Filed as Exhibit 99.3 on Form
8-K filed
July 19, 2005.
|
||
10.38
|
Form
of Warrant-B issued July 18, 2005. Filed as Exhibit 99.4 on Form
8-K filed
July 19, 2005.
|
||
10.39
|
Engagement
letter with Olympus Securities, LLC dated July 15, 2005. Filed as
Exhibit
99.5 on Form 8-K filed July 19, 2005.
|
||
10.40
|
2005
Equity Incentive Plan as amended August 5, 2005. Filed as Exhibit
10.9 on
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2005 dated August 9,
2005.+
|
||
10.41
|
Form
of Stock Option Agreement under the 2005 Equity Incentive Plan for
grants
prior to August 5, 2005. Filed as Exhibit 99.2 to Form S-8 filed
June 2,
2005.+
|
||
10.42
|
Form
of Stock Option Agreement under the 2005 Equity Incentive Plan for
grants
on or after August 5, 2005. Filed as Exhibit 10.11 on Form 10-Q for
the
quarter ended June 30, 2005 dated August 9, 2005.+
|
||
10.43
|
Form
of Stock Award Agreement under the 2005 Equity Incentive Plan. Filed
as
Exhibit 10.12 on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2005 dated
August 9, 2005.+
|
||
10.44
|
Settlement
Agreement and Mutual Release with eSoundIdeas, Inc., SoundIdeas,
Greg O.
Endsley, Douglas J. Paschall and Gordon & Holmes LLP dated April 27,
2005. Filed as Exhibit 10.14 on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June
30,
2005 dated August 9, 2005.
|
10.45
|
Registration
Rights Agreement with Greg O. Endsley, Douglas J. Paschall and Gordon
& Holmes LLP dated April 27, 2005. Filed as Exhibit 10.15 on Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended June 30, 2005 dated August 9,
2005.
|
||||||
10.46
|
Employment
Agreement with James Croft III dated February 28,
2000.+*
|
||||||
10.47
|
Employment
Letter Agreement with John R. Zavoli dated October 17,
2005.+*
|
||||||
10.48
|
Employment
letter of Alan J. Ballard dated November 21, 2003.+*
|
||||||
10.49
|
Employment
letter of Rose Tomich-Litz dated November 29, 2005.+*
|
||||||
10.50
|
Employment
letter of Karen Jordan dated October 26, 2005, 2005.+*
|
||||||
10.51
|
Sublease
between ATC and Anacomp, Inc. dated December 13, 2005.*
|
||||||
10.52
|
Separation
Agreement between ATC and Michael A. Russell dated December 23,
2005.*
|
||||||
23. Consents
of Experts and Counsel
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
||||
|
23.1
|
|
Consent
of BDO Seidman, LLP.*
|
||||
|
|
|
|
||||
|
23.2
|
|
Consent
of Swenson Advisors, LLP.*
|
||||
24. Power
of Attorney
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|
||||
|
24.1
|
|
Power
of Attorney. Included on signature
page.
|
31.
Certifications
|
|||
|
|
|
|
|
31.1
|
|
Certification
of Elwood G. Norris, Co-Principal Executive Officer, pursuant to
Rule
13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934,
as
adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.*
|
|
|
|
|
|
31.2
|
|
Certification
of John R. Zavoli, Co-Principal Executive Officer and Principal
Financial
Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a) of the Securities
and
Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.*
|
|
|
|
|
|
32.1
|
|
Certification
pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to
Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, executed by Elwood G.
Norris, Co-Principal Executive Officer, John R. Zavoli, Co-Principal
Executive Officer and Principal Financial
Officer.*
|
* Filed
concurrently herewith
|
|||
|
|
|
|
+ Management
contract or compensatory plan or arrangement. Exhibits 10.28, 10.29
and
10.30 are included as a management contract given that a trust
affiliated
with an officer, director and significant stockholder purchased
a note and
received a warrant in connection with that financing and is a party
to
those exhibits.
|
|||
^ Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to certain portions of this exhibit. Omitted portions have been filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
American
Technology Corporation
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
F-2
|
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
F-5
|
|
|
Balance
Sheets as of September 30, 2005 and 2004
|
F-6
|
|
|
Statements
of Operations for the Years Ended September
30, 2005, 2004 and 2003
|
F-7
|
|
|
Statements
of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) for the Years Ended September 30, 2005,
2004 and 2003
|
F-8
- F-9
|
|
|
Statements
of Cash Flows for the Years Ended September
30, 2005, 2004 and 2003
|
F-10
|
|
|
Summary
of Accounting Policies and Notes to Financial Statements
|
F-11
- F-32
|
|
|
Schedule
II - Valuation and Qualifying Accounts
|
F-33
|
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
REPORT
OF
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To
the
Board of Directors and Stockholders of
American
Technology Corporation:
We
have
completed an integrated audit of American Technology Corporation’s 2005
financial statements and of its internal control over financial reporting
as of
September 30, 2005 in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Our opinion, based on our audit,
is
presented below.
Financial
Statements and financial statement schedule
In
our
opinion, the financial statements listed in the index appearing under Item
15
(a)(1) present fairly in all material respects, the financial position
of
American Technology Corporation as of September 30, 2005 and the results
of
their operations and their cash flows for the year then ended 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
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
financial statements. These financial statements and financial statement
schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility
is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial statement
schedule based on our audit. We conducted our audit 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 audit provides a reasonable basis for our
opinion.
Internal
control over financial reporting
Also,
we
have audited management’s assessment, included in Management’s Report on
Internal Control Over Financial Reporting appearing under item 9A, that
American
Technology Corporation did not maintain effective control over financial
reporting as of September 30, 2005 because the Company did not maintain
sufficient oversight and supervision of financially significant process
systems
to include the preparation of the financial statements, schedules and related
disclosures, did not maintain adequate processes for gathering key financial
information to support the achievement of financial reporting objectives,
did
not maintain adequate processes to determine whether internal control over
financial reporting was operating effectively and whether financial reports
were
reliably and accurately prepared, did not properly and completely maintain
inventory costs in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles
as
of September 30, 2005, did not maintain accurate fixed asset records, did
not
properly maintain effective control over the accounting for accounts receivable,
and did not maintain effective controls over accounts payable to properly
record
all invoices issued to the Company for the period ended September 30, 2005.
The
Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective control over
financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal
control over financial reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion
on
management’s assessment and on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal
control over financial reporting based on our audit.
F-2
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 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 management’s 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 opinion.
A
company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to
provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting
and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over
financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain
to
the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly
reflect the transaction 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
company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because
of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting
may not
prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of
effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may
become
inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance
with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
A
material weakness is a control deficiency, or combination of control
deficiencies, that results in more than a remote likelihood that a material
misstatement of the annual financial statements will not be prevented or
detected. The following material weaknesses have been identified and included
in
management’s assessment:
F-3
· |
Oversight
of Accounting Processes and
Personnel
|
The
Company did not maintain sufficient oversight and supervision of financially
significant processes and systems, and did not monitor and oversee the
work
performed by their operations and accounting personnel. This material
weakness
was due primarily to a lack of adequate finance department supervision
over
finance and accounting personnel, and a lack of human resources and
insufficiently skilled personnel within the operations and accounting
reporting
functions. This material weakness resulted in errors in the preparation
and
review of financial statements, disclosures, schedules and reconciliations
supporting certain general ledger account balances, errors not detected
in
certain accrued liability accounts and accounts payable, proper valuation
and
costing of inventory, proper tracking and accounting for fixed assets,
and
accurate valuation of accounts receivables.
· |
Information
and Communication
|
The
Company did not maintain adequate processes for gathering key financial
information to support achievement of financial reporting objectives.
As a
result,
management’s ability to monitor internal and external events was compromised.
This material weakness resulted from a lack of personnel and adequate
supervisory management, primarily in the finance and operations organizations.
This material weakness resulted in the unavailability of reliable information
concerning inventory, fixed assets, accounts receivable, and accounts
payable.
· |
Monitoring
|
The
Company did not maintain adequate processes to determine whether internal
control over financial reporting was operating effectively and whether
financial
reports were reliably and accurately prepared. In particular, the Company
lacked
an ongoing monitoring process that would have enabled management to determine
whether internal control over financial reporting was present and functioning.
This material weakness resulted from a lack of skilled personnel and
adequate
supervisory management, primarily in the finance and operations organizations.
This material weakness resulted in various deficiencies relating to inventory
valuation, fixed asset accounting, accounts receivable, and accounts
payable.
· |
Inventory
Valuation
|
Controls
that the Company established for inventory valuation were not properly
applied
in connection with the financial statement closing process for the year
ended
September 30, 2005. This failure to apply existing controls relative
to
inventory valuation resulted both from lack of experienced accounting
and
operations personnel , the lack of proper supervision of such personnel,
and the
unexpected departure of personnel responsible for the application of
such
controls. This material weakness resulted in incorrect valuation and
improper
pricing of our inventory at the fiscal year ended September 30,
2005.
· |
Fixed
Asset Accounting
|
The
Company did not maintain effective control over the accounting for fixed
assets.
The Company lacked an appropriate policy for reconciling certain recorded
assets
for which there was incomplete identifying information with assets on
hand, and
also lacked experienced
accounting personnel responsible for maintaining fixed assets. This material
weakness resulted in an adjustment to the value of the Company’s fully
depreciated fixed assets as well as an adjustment to the valuation of
net fixed
assets at September 30, 2005.
· |
Accounts
Receivable
|
The
Company did not maintain effective control over the accounting for accounts
receivable. This failure to apply existing controls relative to accounting
for
accounts receivables resulted from a lack of experienced accounting personnel
and
inadequate supervision of the
personnel responsible for timely accounts receivables reconciliations.
The
Company discovered several discrepancies between their accounting records
and
those of their customers concerning the value of accounts receivable
outstanding
at September 30, 2005.
· |
Accounts
Payable
|
The
Company did not maintain effective controls over the accuracy of their
accounts
payable and recorded liabilities at September 30, 2005. Specifically,
the
Company did not account for all invoices that had been issued to them
by various
vendors for the period ended September 30, 2005.
These
material weaknesses were considered in determining the nature, timing,
and
extent of audit tests applied in our audit of the 2005 financial statements
and
our opinion regarding the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control does
not affect our opinion on those financial statements.
In
our
opinion, management’s assessment that American Technology Corporation did not
maintain effective internal control over financial reporting as of September
30,
2005 is fairly stated, in all material respects, based on criteria established
in Internal
Control - Integrated Framework
issued
by COSO. Also, in our opinion, because of the effects of the material
weakness
described above on the achievement of the objectives of the control criteria,
American Technology Corporation has not maintained effective internal
control
over financial reporting as of September 30, 2005, based on criteria
established
in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by COSO.
The
financial statements of American Technology Corporation as of September
30, 2004
and 2003 were audited by other auditors whose report dated November 10,
2004
except for Note 14 as to which the date is December 23, 2004, and included
in
this Form 10K, stated the financial statements presented fairly, in all
material
respects the financial position of American Technology Corporation as
of
September 30, 2004 and 2003 and for the years then ended.
/s/ Swenson Advisors LLP
Swenson
Advisors LLP
San
Diego, California
December
27, 2005
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To
the
Stockholders and Board of Directors
American
Technology Corporation
San
Diego, California
We
have
audited the accompanying balance sheet of American Technology Corporation
as of
September 30, 2004, and the related statements of operations, stockholders’
equity (deficit) and cash flows for each of the two years in the period
ended
September 30, 2004. We have also audited the related fiscal 2004 and 2003
financial statement schedules listed as Schedule II in Item 15. These financial
statements and schedules are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our
responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based
on
our audits.
We
conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that
we plan
and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the
financial
statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes consideration
of
internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit
procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose
of
expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control
over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit
also
includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and
disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing
the
accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management,
as well
as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe
that our
audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In
our
opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in
all
material respects, the financial position of American Technology Corporation
at
September 30, 2004, and the results of its operations and its cash flows
for
each of the two years in the period ended September 30, 2004 in conformity
with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Also,
in
our opinion, the related fiscal 2004 and 2003 financial statement schedules
present fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein.
/s/
BDO SEIDMAN, LLP
Costa
Mesa, California
November
10, 2004
PART
I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item
1. Financial Statements.
American
Technology Corporation
BALANCE
SHEETS
September
30,
|
2005
|
2004
|
|||||
ASSETS
|
|||||||
Current
Assets:
|
|||||||
Cash
|
$
|
10,347,779
|
$
|
4,178,968
|
|||
Trade
accounts receivable, less allowance of
|
|||||||
$125,000
and $25,000 for doubtful accounts, respectively
|
880,276
|
926,747
|
|||||
Inventories,
net of $691,206 and $110,000 reserve for obsolescence
|
1,799,447
|
651,095
|
|||||
Prepaid
expenses and other
|
201,339
|
156,419
|
|||||
Total
current assets
|
13,228,841
|
5,913,229
|
|||||
Equipment,
net
|
606,871
|
453,355
|
|||||
Patents,
net
|
1,373,158
|
1,278,707
|
|||||
Total
assets
|
$
|
15,208,870
|
$
|
7,645,291
|
|||
LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
|||||||
Current
Liabilities:
|
|||||||
Accounts
payable
|
$
|
1,985,353
|
$
|
1,300,075
|
|||
Accrued
liabilities:
|
|||||||
Payroll
and related
|
476,331
|
302,706
|
|||||
Deferred
revenue
|
395,833
|
322,344
|
|||||
Warranty
reserve
|
248,981
|
331,917
|
|||||
Legal
settlements
|
71,900
|
150,000
|
|||||
Other
|
30,003
|
22,236
|
|||||
Derivative
warrant instrument
|
282,000
|
-
|
|||||
Capital
lease short-term portion
|
12,131
|
10,967
|
|||||
Total
current liabilities
|
3,502,532
|
2,440,245
|
|||||
Long-Term
Liabilities:
|
|||||||
Derivative
warrant instrument
|
1,564,000
|
-
|
|||||
Capital
lease long-term portion
|
-
|
12,131
|
|||||
Total
liabilities
|
5,066,532
|
2,452,376
|
|||||
Commitments
and contingencies
|
|||||||
Stockholders'
equity
|
|||||||
Preferred
stock, $0.00001 par value; 5,000,000 shares
authorized:
|
|||||||
Series
D Preferred stock 250,000 shares designated: 0 and 50,000
|
|||||||
issued
and outstanding, respectively. Liquidation
|
|||||||
preference
of $0 and $572,500, respectively.
|
-
|
-
|
|||||
Series
E Preferred stock 350,000 shares designated: 0 and 233,250
|
|||||||
issued
and outstanding, respectively. Liquidation preference
|
|||||||
of
$0 and $2,556,000, respectively.
|
-
|
3
|
|||||
Common
stock, $0.00001 par value; 50,000,000 shares
authorized;
|
|||||||
24,290,840
and 19,808,819 shares issued and outstanding respectively.
|
243
|
198
|
|||||
Additional
paid-in capital
|
61,556,295
|
47,520,207
|
|||||
Accumulated
deficit
|
(51,414,200
|
)
|
(42,327,493
|
)
|
|||
Total
stockholders' equity
|
10,142,338
|
5,192,915
|
|||||
Total
liabilities and stockholders' equity
|
$
|
15,208,870
|
$
|
7,645,291
|
|||
See
accompanying notes to financial statements
|
American
Technology Corporation
STATEMENTS
OF OPERATIONS
Years
Ended September 30,
|
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
|||||||
Revenues:
|
||||||||||
Product
sales
|
$
|
10,013,215
|
$
|
5,581,936
|
$
|
1,070,645
|
||||
Contract
and license
|
182,331
|
170,613
|
244,781
|
|||||||
Total
revenues
|
10,195,546
|
5,752,549
|
1,315,426
|
|||||||
Cost
of revenues
|
5,624,361
|
3,469,821
|
1,544,077
|
|||||||
Gross
profit
|
4,571,185
|
2,282,728
|
(228,651
|
)
|
||||||
Operating
expenses:
|
||||||||||
Selling,
general and administrative
|
9,333,436
|
5,309,547
|
4,839,198
|
|||||||
Research
and development
|
4,621,532
|
2,988,784
|
2,493,351
|
|||||||
Total
operating expenses
|
13,954,968
|
8,298,331
|
7,332,549
|
|||||||
Loss
from operations
|
(9,383,783
|
)
|
(6,015,603
|
)
|
(7,561,200
|
)
|
||||
Other
income (expense):
|
||||||||||
Interest
income
|
84,510
|
58,056
|
23,293
|
|||||||
Interest
expense
|
(837,434
|
)
|
(2,889
|
)
|
(686,639
|
)
|
||||
Unrealized
gain on derivative revaluation
|
1,233,259
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||
Warrant
impairment expense
|
(183,259
|
)
|
-
|
-
|
||||||
Other
|
-
|
-
|
(2,467
|
)
|
||||||
Total
other income (expense)
|
297,076
|
55,167
|
(665,813
|
)
|
||||||
Net
loss
|
(9,086,707
|
)
|
(5,960,436
|
)
|
(8,227,013
|
)
|
||||
Dividend
requirements on convertible preferred stock
|
1,796,426
|
1,365,349
|
2,409,228
|
|||||||
Net
loss available to common stockholders
|
$
|
(10,883,133
|
)
|
$
|
(7,325,785
|
)
|
$
|
(10,636,241
|
)
|
|
Net
loss per share of common stock - basic and
diluted
|
$
|
(0.50
|
)
|
$
|
(0.37
|
)
|
$
|
(0.67
|
)
|
|
Average
weighted number of common shares outstanding
|
21,570,002
|
19,603,265
|
15,857,569
|
|||||||
See
accompanying notes to financial statements
|
American
Technology Corporation
STATEMENTS
OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (DEFICIT)
Years
Ended September 30, 2005, 2004 and 2003
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Convertible
Preferred Stock
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Series
B
|
Series
C
|
Series
D
|
Series
E
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares
|
Amount
|
Shares
|
Amount
|
Shares
|
Amount
|
Shares
|
Amount
|
||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
September 30, 2002
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
10,000
|
$
|
-
|
235,400
|
$
|
2
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
|||||||||||||
Issuance
of Series E preferred stock, net of
offering
costs of $176,225
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
343,250
|
3
|
|||||||||||||||||
Issuance
of common stock:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Upon
exercise of stock options
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
For
compensation and services
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
For
cash at $5.50 per share, net of offering
costs
of $545,000
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Conversion
of Series C preferred stock
|
-
|
-
|
(10,000
|
)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
||||||||||||||||
Conversion
of Series D preferred stock
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(185,400
|
)
|
(2
|
)
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||
Conversion
of Series E preferred stock
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(80,000
|
)
|
-
|
||||||||||||||||
Exercise
of warrants
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Legal
settlement at $5.85 per share
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Conversion
of 12% convertible subordinated notes
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Issuance
of stock options and warrants for
services
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Deemed
dividends and accretion on
convertible
preferred stock of $2,409,228
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Net
loss for the year
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Balance,
September 30, 2003
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
50,000
|
$
|
-
|
263,250
|
$
|
3
|
|||||||||||||
Issuance
of common stock:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Upon
exercise of stock options
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Legal
settlement and royalty buyout at
$4.96
per share
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Conversion
of Series E preferred stock
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(30,000
|
)
|
-
|
||||||||||||||||
Exercise
of warrants
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Value
assigned to 28,438 options issued
on
termination
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Deemed
dividends and accretion on
convertible
preferred stock of $1,365,349
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Net
loss for the year
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Balance,
September 30, 2004
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
50,000
|
$
|
-
|
233,250
|
$
|
3
|
|||||||||||||
Issuance
of common stock:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Upon
exercise of stock options
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
For
cash at $4.88 per share, net of
offering
costs of $828,176
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Value
assigned to warrants
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Conversion
of Series D preferred stock
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(50,000
|
)
|
-
|
-
|
(1
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||
Conversion
of Series E preferred stock
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(233,250
|
)
|
(2
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||
Exercise
of warrants
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Cashless
exercise of 25,000 warrants
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Legal
settlement at $8.01 per share
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Value
assigned to extension of time to
exercise 92,675 options
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Debt
discount for 150,000 warrants granted on 8%
unsecured
subordinated promissory notes
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Issuance
of stock options and warrants for
services
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Deemed
dividends and accretion on
convertible preferred stock of $1,796,426
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Net
loss for the year
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||
Balance,
September 30, 2005
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
See
accompanying notes to financial statements.
American
Technology Corporation
STATEMENTS
OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (DEFICIT)
Years
Ended September 30, 2005, 2004 and 2003
|
||||||||||||||||
Common
Stock
|
||||||||||||||||
Shares
|
Amount
|
Additional
Paid-in Capital
|
Accumulated
Deficit
|
Total
Stockholders' Equity (Deficit)
|
||||||||||||
Balance,
September 30, 2002
|
14,351,476
|
$
|
144
|
$
|
27,255,016
|
$
|
(28,140,044
|
)
|
$
|
(884,882
|
)
|
|||||
Issuance
of Series E preferred stock, net of offering costs of $176,225
|
-
|
-
|
3,256,272
|
-
|
3,256,275
|
|||||||||||
Issuance
of common stock:
|
||||||||||||||||
Upon
exercise of stock options
|
408,951
|
4
|
1,614,223
|
-
|
1,614,227
|
|||||||||||
For
compensation and services
|
109,844
|
1
|
410,815
|
-
|
410,816
|
|||||||||||
For
cash at $5.50 per share, net of offering costs of $545,000
|
1,818,180
|
18
|
9,454,982
|
-
|
9,455,000
|
|||||||||||
Conversion
of Series C preferred stock
|
41,130
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||
Conversion
of Series D preferred stock
|
695,266
|
7
|
(5
|
)
|
-
|
-
|
||||||||||
Conversion
of Series E preferred stock
|
253,294
|
3
|
(3
|
)
|
-
|
-
|
||||||||||
Exercise
of warrants
|
347,000
|
3
|
903,718
|
-
|
903,721
|
|||||||||||
Legal
settlement at $5.85 per share
|
100,000
|
1
|
584,999
|
-
|
585,000
|
|||||||||||
Conversion
of 12% convertible subordinated notes
|
1,217,516
|
12
|
2,435,020
|
-
|
2,435,032
|
|||||||||||
Issuance
of stock options and warrants for services
|
-
|
-
|
179,995
|
-
|
179,995
|
|||||||||||
Deemed
dividends and accretion on convertible
preferred stock of $2,409,228 |
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||
Net
loss for the year
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(8,227,013
|
)
|
(8,227,013
|
)
|
|||||||||
Balance,
September 30, 2003
|
19,342,657
|
$
|
193
|
$
|
46,095,032
|
$
|
(36,367,057
|
)
|
$
|
9,728,171
|
||||||
Issuance
of common stock:
|
||||||||||||||||
Upon
exercise of stock options
|
292,573
|
3
|
1,061,314
|
-
|
1,061,317
|
|||||||||||
Legal
settlement and royalty buyout at $4.96 per share
|
50,000
|
1
|
247,999
|
-
|
248,000
|
|||||||||||
Conversion
of Series E preferred stock
|
98,589
|
1
|
(1
|
)
|
-
|
-
|
||||||||||
Exercise
of warrants
|
25,000
|
-
|
50,000
|
-
|
50,000
|
|||||||||||
Value
assigned to 28,438 options issued on termination
|
-
|
-
|
65,863
|
-
|
65,863
|
|||||||||||
Deemed
dividends and accretion on convertible
preferred stock of $1,365,349 |
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||
Net
loss for the year
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(5,960,436
|
)
|
(5,960,436
|
)
|
|||||||||
Balance,
September 30, 2004
|
19,808,819
|
$
|
198
|
$
|
47,520,207
|
$
|
(42,327,493
|
)
|
$
|
5,192,915
|
||||||
Issuance
of common stock:
|
||||||||||||||||
Upon
exercise of stock options
|
237,612
|
3
|
830,111
|
-
|
830,114
|
|||||||||||
For
cash at $4.88 per share, net of offering costs of $828,176
|
2,868,851
|
29
|
13,171,795
|
-
|
13,171,824
|
|||||||||||
Value
assigned to warrants
|
-
|
-
|
(2,896,000
|
)
|
-
|
(2,896,000
|
)
|
|||||||||
Conversion
of Series D preferred stock
|
129,259
|
1
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||
Conversion
of Series E preferred stock
|
801,306
|
8
|
(6
|
)
|
-
|
-
|
||||||||||
Exercise
of warrants
|
407,068
|
4
|
1,736,271
|
-
|
1,736,275
|
|||||||||||
Cashless
exercise of 25,000 warrants
|
20,425
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||
Legal
settlement at $8.01 per share
|
17,500
|
-
|
140,175
|
-
|
140,175
|
|||||||||||
Value
assigned to extension of time to exercise 92,675 options
|
-
|
-
|
266,963
|
-
|
266,963
|
|||||||||||
Debt
discount for 150,000 warrants granted on 8% unsecured
subordinated
promissory notes
|
-
|
-
|
723,000
|
-
|
723,000
|
|||||||||||
Issuance
of stock options and warrants for services
|
-
|
-
|
63,779
|
-
|
63,779
|
|||||||||||
Deemed
dividends and accretion on convertible
preferred stock of $1,796,426
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||
Net
loss for the year
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(9,086,707
|
)
|
(9,086,707
|
)
|
|||||||||
Balance,
September 30, 2005
|
24,290,840
|
$
|
243
|
$
|
61,556,295
|
$
|
(51,414,200
|
)
|
$
|
10,142,338
|
||||||
See
accompanying notes to financial
statements.
American
Technology Corporation
STATEMENTS
OF CASH FLOWS
Years
ended September 30,
|
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
|||||||
Increase
(Decrease) in Cash
|
||||||||||
Operating
Activities:
|
||||||||||
Net
loss
|
$
|
(9,086,707
|
)
|
$
|
(5,960,436
|
)
|
$
|
(8,227,013
|
)
|
|
Adjustments
to reconcile net loss to net cash used
in operations:
|
||||||||||
Depreciation
and amortization
|
444,566
|
239,948
|
549,612
|
|||||||
Allowance
for doubtful accounts
|
102,492
|
-
|
4,809
|
|||||||
Warranty
provision
|
71,731
|
101,671
|
313,187
|
|||||||
Provision
for obsolete inventory
|
784,150
|
90,000
|
-
|
|||||||
Loss
on disposition of asset
|
23,064
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||
Common
stock issued for services and compensation
|
-
|
-
|
410,816
|
|||||||
Options
and warrants granted for services
|
6,160
|
-
|
179,995
|
|||||||
Options
granted for compensation
|
324,582
|
65,863
|
-
|
|||||||
Common
stock issued for legal settlement
|
-
|
-
|
585,000
|
|||||||
Write-off
of abandoned patents
|
40,916
|
37,798
|
-
|
|||||||
Amortization
of debt discount
|
723,000
|
-
|
405,000
|
|||||||
Unrealized
gain on derivative revaluation
|
(1,233,259
|
)
|
-
|
-
|
||||||
Warrant
impairment expense
|
183,259
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||
Changes
in assets and liabilities:
|
||||||||||
Trade
accounts receivable
|
(56,021
|
)
|
(742,585
|
)
|
(77,485
|
)
|
||||
Inventories
|
(1,932,502
|
)
|
(332,151
|
)
|
(272,063
|
)
|
||||
Prepaid
expenses and other
|
(44,920
|
)
|
(122,570
|
)
|
(13,719
|
)
|
||||
Accounts
payable
|
685,278
|
695,732
|
(12,188
|
)
|
||||||
Warranty
reserve
|
(154,667
|
)
|
(89,254
|
)
|
-
|
|||||
Accrued
liabilities
|
316,956
|
(14,059
|
)
|
696,680
|
||||||
Net
cash used in operating activities
|
(8,801,922
|
)
|
(6,030,043
|
)
|
(5,457,369
|
)
|
||||
Investing
Activities:
|
||||||||||
Purchase
of equipment
|
(480,926
|
)
|
(395,932
|
)
|
(108,246
|
)
|
||||
Patent
costs paid
|
(275,587
|
)
|
(346,818
|
)
|
(112,007
|
)
|
||||
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
(756,513
|
)
|
(742,750
|
)
|
(220,253
|
)
|
||||
Financing
Activities:
|
||||||||||
Offering
Costs Paid
|
(828,176
|
)
|
-
|
(721,225
|
)
|
|||||
Proceeds
from issuance of preferred stock
|
-
|
-
|
2,432,500
|
|||||||
Proceeds
from issuance of common stock
|
14,000,000
|
-
|
10,000,000
|
|||||||
Payments
on capital lease
|
(10,967
|
)
|
(9,914
|
)
|
(8,963
|
)
|
||||
Proceeds
from issuance of unsecured promissory notes
|
2,000,000
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||
Payments
on unsecured promissory notes
|
(2,000,000
|
)
|
-
|
-
|
||||||
Payments
on senior secured promissory notes
|
-
|
-
|
(318,155
|
)
|
||||||
Proceeds
from exercise of common stock warrants
|
1,736,275
|
50,000
|
221,876
|
|||||||
Proceeds
from issuance of senior secured promissory notes
|
-
|
-
|
500,000
|
|||||||
Proceeds
from exercise of stock options
|
830,114
|
1,061,317
|
1,614,227
|
|||||||
Net
cash provided by financing activities
|
15,727,246
|
1,101,403
|
13,720,260
|
|||||||
Net
increase/(decrease) in cash
|
6,168,811
|
(5,671,390
|
)
|
8,042,638
|
||||||
Cash,
beginning of period
|
4,178,968
|
9,850,358
|
1,807,720
|
|||||||
Cash,
end of period
|
$
|
10,347,779
|
$
|
4,178,968
|
$
|
9,850,358
|
||||
See
accompanying notes to financial statements
ORGANIZATION
AND BUSINESS
American
Technology Corporation (the “Company”), a Delaware corporation, is engaged in
design, development and commercialization of sound, acoustic and other
technologies. The Company produces products based on its HyperSonic Sound
(HSS),
Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), NeoPlanar and other sound
technologies.
The
Company’s principal markets for its proprietary sound reproduction technologies
and products are in North America, Europe and Asia.
LIQUIDITY
AND MANAGEMENT’S PLAN
The
Company incurred net losses of $9,086,707, $5,960,436, and $8,227,013 and
negative cash flow from operations of $8,801,922, $6,030,043 and $5,457,369
in
the years ended September 30, 2005, 2004 and 2003, respectively. The
Company had working capital of $9,726,309 and cash on hand of $10,347,779
at
September 30, 2005. The Company historically has financed its operations
primarily through the sale of capital stock, exercise of stock options,
sale of notes, proceeds from the sale of investment securities and margins
from
product sales and licensing. Management expects to incur additional
operating losses in fiscal 2006 as a result of expenditures for research
and
development and marketing costs for sound products. The timing and amounts
of these expenditures and the extent of the Company’s operating losses will
depend on future product sales levels and other factors, some of which are
beyond management’s control. Based on the Company’s cash position, and assuming
currently planned expenditures and level of operations, management believes
the
Company will have sufficient capital resources for the next twelve months.
Management’s operating plans are based on the Company continuing to increase
revenues and generate positive cash flows from operations. If required,
management has significant flexibility to adjust the level of research and
development and selling and administrative expenses based on the availability
of
resources.
USE
OF ESTIMATES
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to
make
estimates and assumptions (e.g. reserves for accounts receivable and inventory,
patent realizability and warranty reserves) that affect the reported amounts
of
assets and liabilities, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities
at
the date of the financial statements and affect the reported amounts of revenues
and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could materially
differ
from those estimates.
FINANCIAL
INSTRUMENTS AND CONCENTRATION OF CREDIT RISK
The
Company’s financial instruments that are exposed to concentrations of credit
risk consist primarily of cash and trade accounts receivable.
The
Company’s cash is placed in quality money market accounts with major financial
institutions. This investment policy limits the Company’s exposure to
concentrations of credit risk. Such deposit accounts at times may exceed
federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such
accounts.
Concentration
of credit risk with respect to the trade accounts receivable are limited
due to
the wide variety of customers and markets that comprise the Company’s customer
base, as well as their dispersion across many different geographic areas.
The
Company routinely assesses the financial strength of its customers and, as
a
consequence, believes that the trade accounts receivable credit risk exposure
is
limited. Generally, the Company does not require collateral or other security
to
support customer receivables.
FAIR
VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
The
carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivables, accounts
payable and accrued liabilities approximate fair values due to the short-term
maturities of these instruments.
ALLOWANCE
FOR DOUBTFUL ACCOUNTS
The
Company maintains allowances for doubtful accounts for estimated losses
resulting from the inability of the Company’s customers to make required
payments. The Company considers the following factors when determining if
collection of a fee is reasonably assured: customer credit-worthiness, past
transaction history with the customer, current economic industry trends and
changes in customer payment terms. If the Company has no previous experience
with the customer, the Company may obtain reports from various credit
organizations to ensure that the customer has a history of paying its creditors.
The Company may also request financial information, including financial
statements or other documents (e.g., bank statements) to ensure that the
customer has the means of making payment. If these factors do not indicate
collection is reasonably assured, revenue is deferred until collection becomes
reasonably assured, which is generally upon receipt of cash. If the financial
condition of the Company’s customers were to deteriorate, adversely affecting
their ability to make payments, additional allowances would be required.
The
Company determines delinquency on a case by case basis.
CONTRACT
MANUFACTURERS
The
Company employs contract manufacturers for production of HSS and LRAD
components, sub-assemblies and products. The Company may provide parts and
components to such parties from time to time but recognizes no revenue or
markup
on such transactions. During fiscal 2005 the Company used various contract
manufacturers and is currently assessing alternative providers of contract
manufacturing services. At September 30, 2005 and 2004, one contract
manufacturer owed the Company $-0- and $393,636, respectively, for
materials provided to the manufacturer without markup. As of September 30,
2004,
this amount was netted against the payable to the contract manufacturer of
$530,970, and the net amount was included in accounts payable.
INVENTORIES
Inventories
are valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is determined
on a
first-in, first-out basis. Our
inventory is comprised of raw materials, assemblies and finished products
that
we intend to sell to our customers. The
Company periodically
makes judgments and estimates regarding the future utility and carrying value
of
our inventory. The carrying value of our inventory is periodically
reviewed and impairments, if any, are recognized when the expected future
benefit from our inventory is less than its carrying value. The
Company has inventory reserves for estimated obsolescence or unmarketable
inventory which is equal to the difference between the cost of inventory
and the
estimated market value based upon assumptions about future demand and market
conditions. For the period ended September 30, 2005, the Company increased
its
inventory reserve to $691,206.
EQUIPMENT
AND DEPRECIATION
Equipment
is stated at cost. Depreciation on machinery and equipment and office furniture
and equipment is computed over the estimated useful lives of three to five
years using the straight-line method. Leasehold improvements are amortized
over
the life of the lease. Upon retirement or disposition of equipment, the
related cost and accumulated depreciation or amortization are removed and
the
gain or loss is recorded.
INTANGIBLES
Purchased
technology is carried at cost, and was amortized over three years. Patents
are
carried at cost and, when granted, are amortized over their estimated useful
lives, which have been estimated to be 15 years. The carrying value of patents
is periodically reviewed and impairments, if any, are recognized when the
expected future benefit to be derived from an individual intangible asset
is
less than its carrying value. The Company wrote off $40,916, $37,798 and
$-0- of
previously capitalized patent costs during the years ended September 30,
2005,
2004 and 2003, respectively.
LEASES
Leases
entered into are classified as either capital or operating leases. At the
time a
capital lease is entered into, an asset is recorded together with its related
long-term obligation to reflect the purchase and financing. At September
30,
2005, the Company had recorded $12,131 in short-term and $-0- in long-term
capital lease obligations.
LEGAL
SETTLEMENTS
Liabilities
relating to pending litigation are estimated, where the amount and range
of loss
can be reasonably determined. Where a liability is probable and
there is a range of estimated loss with no best estimate in the range,
the
minimum estimated liability related to the claim is recorded. As
additional information becomes available, the potential liability related
to the
pending litigation is assessed and estimates are revised. As of
September 30, 2005 and 2004, the Company recorded accruals of $71,900 and
$150,000 for contingent liability associated with legal
proceedings.
GUARANTEES
AND INDEMNIFICATIONS
In
November 2002, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued FASB
Interpretation ("FIN") No. 45 "Guarantor's Accounting and Disclosure
Requirements for Guarantees, including Indirect Guarantees of Indebtedness
of
Others -- an interpretation of FASB Statements No. 5, 57 and 107 and rescission
of FIN 34." The following is a summary of the Company's agreements determined
to
be within the scope of FIN No. 45:
The
Company provides a one-year warranty for most of its products. See “Warranty
Reserves.”
Under
its bylaws, the Company has agreed to indemnify its officers and directors
for
certain events or occurrences arising as a result of the officer or director
serving in such capacity. The term of the indemnification period is for the
officer or director's lifetime. The maximum potential amount of future payments
the Company could be required to make under these indemnification agreements
is
unlimited. However, the Company has a directors and officers’ liability
insurance policy that limits its exposure and enables it to recover a portion
of
any future amounts paid. As a result of its insurance policy coverage, the
Company believes the estimated fair value of these indemnification agreements
is
minimal and has no liabilities recorded for these agreements as of September
30,
2005.
The
Company enters into indemnification provisions under (i) its agreements with
other companies in its ordinary course of business, typically with business
partners, contractors, customers and landlords and (ii) its agreements with
investors. Under these provisions the Company generally indemnifies and holds
harmless the indemnified party for losses suffered or incurred by the
indemnified party as a result of the Company's activities or, in some cases,
as
a result of the indemnified party's activities under the agreement. The maximum
potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make
under
these indemnification provisions is unlimited. The Company has not incurred
material costs to defend lawsuits or settle claims related to these
indemnification agreements. As a result, the Company believes the estimated
fair
value of these agreements is minimal. Accordingly, the Company has no
liabilities recorded for these agreements as of September 30, 2005.
REVENUE
RECOGNITION
The
Company derives its revenue primarily from two sources: (i) component and
product sale revenues and associated engineering and installation ,and (ii)
contract and license fee revenue.
Component
and product revenues are recognized in the periods that products are shipped
to
customers, FOB shipping point or destination, when a signed contract exists,
the
fee is fixed and determinable, collection of resulting receivables is probable
and there are no remaining obligations on the part of the Company. Revenues
from
associated engineering and installation contracts are recognized based on
milestones or completion of the contracted services.
The
Company provides research and development services and licenses its technology
to third parties. Revenues from up-front license and other fees and annual
license fees are evaluated for multiple elements but are generally recognized
ratably over the specified term of the particular license or agreement. Revenues
from ongoing per unit license fees are earned based on units shipped
incorporating the Company’s patented proprietary technologies and are recognized
in the period when the ultimate customer accepts the product and collectibility
is reasonably assured.
Deferred
revenue balances of $395,833 and $322,344 at September 30, 2005 and 2004,
respectively, represent amounts received or billed in connection with contract
development and license agreements. During fiscal 2005, the Company entered
into
a technology license agreement and recorded $54,167 of revenue and $95,833
of
deferred revenue.
SHIPPING
AND HANDLING COSTS
Amounts
invoiced to customers for shipping and handling are included in product
revenues. Actual shipping and handling costs are included in product cost
of
revenues. Shipping and handling costs were $130,763, $211,502 and $62,810
for
the fiscal years ended September 30, 2005, 2004 and 2003,
respectively.
ADVERTISING
Advertising
costs are charged to expenses as incurred. The Company expensed $67,964,
$69,893
and $8,695 for the years ended September 2005, 2004 and 2003,
respectively.
RESEARCH
AND DEVELOPMENT COSTS
Research
and development costs are expensed as incurred.
WARRANTY
RESERVES
The
Company warrants its products to be free from defects in materials and
workmanship for a period of one year from the date of purchase, depending
on the
product. The warranty is generally a limited warranty, and in some instances
imposes certain shipping costs on the customer. The Company currently provides
direct warranty service. Some agreements with OEM customers from time to
time
may require that certain quantities of product be made available for use
as
warranty replacements. International market warranties are generally similar
to
the U.S. market.
The
Company establishes a warranty reserve based on anticipated warranty claims
at
the time product revenue is recognized. Factors affecting warranty reserve
levels include the number of units sold and anticipated cost of warranty
repairs
and anticipated rates of warranty claims. The Company evaluates the adequacy
of
the provision for warranty costs each reporting period. See Note 9 for
additional information regarding warranties.
INTEREST
EXPENSE
Interest
expense includes interest expense, redemption premiums and non-cash amortization
of debt discount.
INCOME TAXES
The
Company accounts for income taxes under Statement of Financial Accounting
Standards (“SFAS”) No. 109. Temporary differences are differences between the
tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts in the financial
statements that will result in taxable or deductible amounts in future years.
A
valuation allowance is recorded by the Company to the extent it is more likely
than not that a deferred tax asset will not be realized.
COMPREHENSIVE
INCOME
The
Company follows the provisions of SFAS No. 130, Reporting Comprehensive Income.
Comprehensive income is defined as the change in equity of a business enterprise
during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from
non-owner sources. There were no differences between net loss and comprehensive
loss for any of the periods presented.
DERIVATIVE
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
In
December 2004, the Company entered into a common stock purchase agreement,
registration rights agreement and warrant as part of a Committed Equity
Financing Facility (CEFF) (Note 6). As part of the arrangement, the Company
issued a warrant to purchase 275,000 shares of its common stock at a price
of
$8.60 per share. As the warrant was initially unregistered, and did not specify
how it would be settled prior to registration, the warrant was initially
reported as a liability of $843,103 in accordance with Emerging Issues Task
Force (EITF) 00-19 “Accounting for Derivative Financial Instruments, Indexed to,
and Potentially Settled in a Company’s Own Stock.” The following variables were
used to determine the fair value of the warrant under the Black-Scholes option
pricing model: volatility of 56%, term of 5.5 years, risk free interest of
2.97%
and underlying stock price equal to fair market value at the time of issuance.
The value was recorded as prepaid transaction costs. The warrants were revalued
each period as non-cash income or expense pending registration and transfer
to
permanent equity. However, the CEFF and the warrant were cancelled in July
2005
and there was an unrealized gain of $183,259 for the change in value of the
warrant from issuance to cancellation. There was a corresponding warrant
impairment expense of $183,259 at termination.
In
July
2005, the Company entered into a common stock purchase agreement, registration
rights agreement and warrants in connection with an equity financing (Note
6).
In connection with the financing, the Company issued warrants to purchase
an
aggregate of 1,581,919 shares of common stock. The Company accounted for
the
value of the warrants as a deemed liability in accordance with the interpretive
guidance in EITF Issue No. 05-4. The Effect of a Liquidated Damages Clause
on a
Freestanding Financial Instrument Subject to EITF Issue No. 00-19, ‘Accounting
for Derivative Financial Instruments Indexed to, and Potentially Settled
in, a
Company’s Own Stock’. The consensus of EITF Issue No. 05-4 has not been
finalized. The aggregate liability at issuance was $2,896,000 using the
following variables under the Black-Scholes option pricing model: volatility
of
59%, term of each warrant, risk free interest rate of 3.53% and 3.95% and
underlying stock price equal to fair market value at the time of issuance.
EITF
Issue 00-19 also requires the Company to revalue the warrants as a derivative
instrument periodically in connection with changes in the underlying stock
price
and other assumptions, with the change in value recorded as non-cash income
or
expense. At September 30, 2005, there was an unrealized gain of $1,050,000
to
reflect the change in value of the warrants since issuance.
IMPAIRMENT
OF LONG-LIVED ASSETS
Long-lived
assets and identifiable intangibles held for use are reviewed for impairment
whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount
may not be recoverable. If the sum of undiscounted expected future cash flows
is
less than the carrying amount of the asset or if changes in facts and
circumstances indicate, an impairment loss is recognized and measured using
the
asset’s fair value.
SEGMENT
INFORMATION
In
the
fourth quarter of fiscal 2003, the Company organized operations into two
segments by the end-user markets they serve. The Commercial Products and
Licensing Group (Commercial Group) licenses and markets HSS and NeoPlanar
sound
products to companies that employ audio in consumer, commercial and professional
applications. The Government and Force Protection Systems Group (Government
Group) markets LRAD, NeoPlanar and HSS sound products to government and military
customers and to the growing force protection and commercial security markets.
See Note 13.
NET
LOSS PER SHARE
Basic
earnings (loss) per share includes no dilution and is computed by dividing
income (loss) available to common stockholders, after deduction for cumulative
imputed and accreted dividends, by the weighted average number of common
shares
outstanding for the period. Diluted earnings (loss) per share reflect the
potential dilution of securities that could share in the earnings of an entity.
The Company’s losses for the years presented cause the inclusion of potential
common stock instruments outstanding to be anti-dilutive. Stock options and
warrants exercisable into 5,648,463 shares of common stock were outstanding
at
September 30, 2005. Stock options, warrants and convertible preferred stock
exercisable into 5,197,557 shares of common stock were outstanding at September
30, 2004. Stock options, warrants and convertible preferred stock and notes
exercisable into 4,999,522 shares of common stock were outstanding at September
30, 2003. These securities were not included in the computation of diluted
earnings (loss) per share because of the losses but could potentially dilute
earnings (loss) per share in future periods.
Net
loss
available to common stockholders was increased during fiscal 2005, 2004 and
2003
in computing net loss per share by imputed deemed dividends based on the
value
of warrants issued and the computed beneficial conversion amount of convertible
preferred stock (see Note 6). Such non-cash imputed deemed dividends are
not
included in the Company’s stockholders’ equity as the Company has an accumulated
deficit and therefore were reflected as an increase and a related decrease
to
additional paid in capital. Amounts are included in net loss available to
common
stockholders. The imputed deemed dividends are not contractual obligations
of
the Company to pay such imputed dividends.
The
provisions of each of the Company’s series of preferred stock also provided for
a 6% per annum accretion in the conversion value (similar to a dividend).
Such
accretions are not included in the Company's stockholders' equity as the
Company
has an accumulated deficit and therefore they were reflected as an increase
and
a related decrease to additional paid in capital. These non-cash amounts
also
increased the net loss available to common stockholders. Net loss available
to
common stockholders is computed as follows:
Years
Ended September 30,
|
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
|||||||
Net
loss
|
$
|
(9,086,707
|
)
|
$
|
(5,960,436
|
)
|
$
|
(8,227,013
|
)
|
|
Imputed
deemed dividends on Series D and E
|
||||||||||
warrants
issued with preferred stock [note 5]
|
(592,137
|
)
|
(448,572
|
)
|
(538,070
|
)
|
||||
Imputed
deemed dividends on Series D and E
|
||||||||||
preferred
stock [note 5]
|
(1,146,917
|
)
|
(736,449
|
)
|
(1,683,500
|
)
|
||||
Accretion
on preferred stock at 6% stated rate [note 6]:
|
||||||||||
Series
C preferred stock
|
-
|
-
|
(6,000
|
)
|
||||||
Series
D preferred stock
|
(9,167
|
)
|
(30,171
|
)
|
(65,844
|
)
|
||||
Series
E preferred stock
|
(48,205
|
)
|
(150,157
|
)
|
(115,814
|
)
|
||||
Net
loss available to common stockholders
|
$
|
(10,883,133
|
)
|
$
|
(7,325,785
|
)
|
$
|
(10,636,241
|
)
|
STOCK-BASED
COMPENSATION
In
December 2002, the FASB issued FAS No. 148, “Accounting for Stock-Based
Compensation — Transition and Disclosure”, which amended FAS No. 123,
“Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation.” The new standard provides alternative
methods of transition for a voluntary change to the fair market value based
method for accounting for stock-based employee compensation. Additionally,
the
statement amends the disclosure requirements of FAS No. 123 to require prominent
disclosures in both annual and interim financial statements about the method
of
accounting for stock-based employee compensation and the effect of the method
used on reported results. This statement is effective for the Company’s
financial statements for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003 and the
Company adopted the disclosure requirements effective October 1, 2002. In
compliance with FAS No. 148, the Company has elected to continue to follow
the
intrinsic value method in accounting for its stock-based employee compensation
plan as defined by APB No. 25.
The
Company accounts for employee stock-based compensation using the intrinsic
value
method. In most cases, the Company does not recognize compensation expense
for
its employee stock option grants, as they have been granted at the fair market
value of the underlying common stock at the grant date.
Had
compensation expense for the Company’s employee stock option grants been
determined based on the fair value at the grant date for awards through
September 30, 2005 consistent with the provisions of Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards No. 123, its after-tax net income and after-tax net
income
per share would have been reduced to the pro forma amounts indicated
below:
Years
Ended September 30,
|
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
|||||||
Net
loss available to common stockholders
|
$
|
(10,883,133
|
)
|
$
|
(7,325,785
|
)
|
$
|
(10,636,241
|
)
|
|
Deduct:
Stock-based employee compensation
|
||||||||||
expense
included in reported net loss
|
266,963
|
65,863
|
-
|
|||||||
Add:
Total stock-based employee compensation expense
|
||||||||||
determined
using fair value based method
|
(1,279,441
|
)
|
(940,111
|
)
|
(972,896
|
)
|
||||
Pro
forma net loss available to common stockholders
|
$
|
(11,895,611
|
)
|
$
|
(8,200,033
|
)
|
$
|
(11,609,137
|
)
|
|
Net
loss per common share - basic
|
||||||||||
and
diluted - pro forma
|
$
|
(0.55
|
)
|
$
|
(0.42
|
)
|
$
|
(0.73
|
)
|
|
Net
loss per common share - basic
|
||||||||||
and
diluted - as reported
|
$
|
(0.50
|
)
|
$
|
(0.37
|
)
|
$
|
(0.67
|
)
|
The
Company estimates the fair value of each stock award at the grant date by
using
the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following weighted average
assumptions used for grants in 2005, 2004 and 2003, respectively: dividend
yield
of zero percent for all years; expected volatility of 53 to 61 percent in
2005,
57 to 75 percent in 2004 and 68 to 84 percent in 2003; risk-free interest
rates of 1.83 to 6.72 percent; and expected lives of 2.21 to
5 years.
COMMON
STOCK ISSUED FOR SERVICES
The
Company records compensation expense for common stock issued for services
based
on the estimated fair market value. Estimated fair market value is determined
based on the quoted closing stock price on the day prior to the date of
issuance.
STATEMENT
OF CASH FLOWS
For
purposes of the statement of cash flows, the Company considers all highly
liquid
investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less,
when
purchased, to be cash equivalents. The Company had no cash equivalents at
September 30, 2005 and 2004.
RECENT
ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
In
June 2005, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued SFAS
No. 154, “Accounting Changes and Error Corrections”, applying to all
voluntary accounting principle changes as well as the accounting for and
reporting of such changes. SFAS No. 154 replaces APB Opinion No. 20,
“Accounting Changes”, and SFAS No. 3, “Reporting Accounting Changes in
Interim Financial Statements.” SFAS No. 154 is effective for accounting
changes and corrections of errors made in fiscal years beginning after
December 15, 2005. The Company does not expect SFAS No. 154
to affect the Company’s financial condition or results of
operations.
In
March 2005, the FASB issued Interpretation No. 47 (“FIN 47”), “Accounting
for Conditional Asset Retirement Obligations.” FIN 47 clarifies that an entity
must record a liability for a “conditional” asset retirement obligation if the
fair value of the obligation can be reasonably estimated. The provision is
effective no later than the end of fiscal years ending after December 15,
2005. The Company does not expect FIN 47 to affect the Company’s financial
condition or results of operations.
In
December 2004, the FASB issued SFAS No. 153, “Exchanges of Non-monetary
Assets, an Amendment of APB Opinion No. 29”, which is effective for
non-monetary exchanges occurring in fiscal periods beginning after June 15,
2005. SFAS
No. 153 amends APB Opinion No. 29, “Accounting for Non-monetary
Transactions” to eliminate the exception for non-monetary exchanges of similar
productive assets and replaces it with a general exception for exchanges
of
non-monetary assets that do not have commercial substance. A non-monetary
exchange has commercial substance if the future cash flows of the entity
are
expected to change significantly as a result of the exchange. The Company
does
not expect SFAS No. 153 to affect the Company’s financial condition or
results of operations.
In
December 2004, the FASB finalized SFAS No. 123R Share-Based Payment, amending
SFAS No. 123, effective beginning our first quarter of fiscal 2006. SFAS
123R
requires the Company to expense stock options based on grant date fair value
in
its financial statements. Further, SFAS 123R requires additional accounting
related to the income tax effects and additional disclosure regarding the
cash
flow effects resulting from share-based payment arrangements. In March 2005,
the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued Staff Accounting
Bulletin (“SAB”) No. 107, which expresses views of the SEC staff regarding the
interaction between SFAS 123R and certain SEC rules and regulations, and
provides the staff’s views regarding the valuation of share-based payment
arrangements for public companies. The Company is considering the guidance
of
this SAB in the adoption of SFAS 123R. The effect of expensing stock options
on
results of operations using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model is presented
in
these financial statements above under Stock Based Compensation. Under SFAS
123R, the Company must determine the appropriate fair value model to be used
for
valuing share-based payments, the amortization method for compensation cost
and
the transition method to be used at date of adoption. The transition methods
include prospective and retroactive adoption options. The Company expects
to
utilize the prospective method which requires that compensation expense begin
being recorded for all unvested stock options and restricted stock at the
beginning of the first quarter of adoption of SFAS 123R. The Company is
evaluating the requirements of SFAS 123R and expects the adoption of SFAS
123R
will have a material impact on results of operations and earnings (loss)
per
share. The Company has not determined whether the adoption will result in
amounts similar to the current pro-forma disclosures under SFAS
123.
In
November 2004, the FASB issued SFAS No. 151, “Inventory Costs an amendment of
ARB 43, Chapter 4.” SFAS No. 151 clarifies that abnormal amounts of idle
facility expense, freight, handling costs, and wasted materials (spoilage)
should be recognized as current-period charges and requires the allocation
of
fixed production overheads to inventory based on the normal capacity of the
production facilities. SFAS No. 151 is effective for fiscal years beginning
after June 15, 2005. The Company is currently evaluating the financial statement
impact of the implementation of SFAS No. 151.
RECLASSIFICATIONS
Where
necessary, the prior year’s information has been reclassified to conform with
the fiscal 2005 statement presentation.
1.
INVENTORIES
|
|||||||
Inventories
consisted of the following at September 30,
|
2005
|
2004
|
|||||
Finished
goods
|
$
|
790,707
|
$
|
342,647
|
|||
Work
in process
|
-
|
-
|
|||||
Raw
materials
|
1,699,946
|
418,448
|
|||||
2,490,653
|
761,095
|
||||||
Reserve
for obsolescence
|
(691,206
|
)
|
(110,000
|
)
|
|||
$
|
1,799,447
|
$
|
651,095
|
At September 30, 2005, $148,826 of raw materials and $-0- of finished goods were located at contract manufacturing locations. At September 30, 2004, $79,036 of raw materials and $355,879 of finished goods were located at a contract manufacturing location.
The
Company is reliant on one supplier for film for its HSS product and is making
efforts to obtain alternative suppliers to reduce its reliance thereon. The
Company could be materially impacted if it loses its current film supplier
and
is unable to find an alternative supplier.
2.
EQUIPMENT
|
|||||||
Equipment
consisted of the following at September 30,
|
2005
|
2004
|
|||||
Machinery
and equipment
|
$
|
321,198
|
$
|
604,994
|
|||
Office
furniture and equipment
|
963,005
|
816,714
|
|||||
Leasehold
improvements
|
202,987
|
225,178
|
|||||
1,487,190
|
1,646,886
|
||||||
Accumulated
depreciation
|
(880,319
|
)
|
(1,193,531
|
)
|
|||
Net
equipment
|
$
|
606,871
|
$
|
453,355
|
Included in office furniture and equipment for the years ended September 30, 2005 and 2004, respectively are $472,277 and $335,691 for purchased software, which is amortized over three years. The unamortized portion of software for the years ended September 30, 2005 and 2004, are $206,639 and $177,930, respectively.
Depreciation
expense, excluding amortization of software, was $192,347, $96,164 and
$130,916 for the years ended September 30, 2005, 2004 and 2003,
respectively. Amortization of purchased software was $111,999, $46,675 and
$26,488 for the years ended September 30, 2005, 2004 and 2003,
respectively.
3.
INTANGIBLES
Purchased
Technology
In
April
2000, the Company acquired all rights to certain loudspeaker technology for
cash
and common stock valued at an aggregate of $1,262,500. During fiscal 2002
the
Company issued 50,000 shares of the contingent common stock, which was issuable
contingent upon the achievement of certain performance milestones, recording
compensation expense of $210,000 at an estimated fair market value of $4.20
per
share, and during fiscal 2003 issued 109,844 shares of the contingent common
stock, recording compensation expense of $410,816. The purchase price was
fully
amortized at September 30, 2003.
Patents
Patents
consisted of the following at September 30, 2005 and 2004:
At
September 30,
|
2005
|
2004
|
|||||
Cost
|
$
|
1,792,619
|
$
|
1,578,578
|
|||
Accumulated
amortization
|
(419,461
|
)
|
(299,871
|
)
|
|||
Net
patent
|
$
|
1,373,158
|
$
|
1,278,707
|
Aggregate
amortization expense for the Company’s intangible assets is summarized as
follows:
Years
Ended September 30,
|
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
|||||||
Purchased
technology
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
315,636
|
||||
Patents
|
140,220
|
97,109
|
79,544
|
|||||||
|
$
|
140,220
|
$
|
97,109
|
$
|
395,180
|
In
addition to amortization, the Company wrote off $40,916, $37,798 and $-0-
of
patent costs during the years ended September 30, 2005, 2004 and 2003,
respectively.
Estimated
Amortization Expense Years Ended September 30,
|
||||
2006
|
$
|
119,508
|
||
2007
|
$
|
119,508
|
||
2008
|
$
|
119,508
|
||
2009
|
$
|
119,508
|
||
2010
|
$
|
119,508
|
||
Thereafter
|
$
|
775,618
|
4.
INCOME TAXES
|
||||||||||
Income
taxes consisted of the following:
|
||||||||||
Years
Ended September 30,
|
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
|||||||
Deferred
(benefit)
|
||||||||||
Federal
|
$
|
(3,311,000
|
)
|
$
|
(2,033,000
|
)
|
$
|
(2,801,000
|
)
|
|
State
|
(584,000
|
)
|
(359,000
|
)
|
(494,000
|
)
|
||||
(3,895,000
|
)
|
(2,392,000
|
)
|
(3,295,000
|
)
|
|||||
Change
in valuation allowance
|
3,895,000
|
2,392,000
|
3,295,000
|
|||||||
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
A
reconciliation of income taxes at the federal statutory rate of 34% to
the
effective tax rate is as follows:
Years
Ended September 30,
|
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
|||||||
Income
taxes (benefit) computed at the
|
||||||||||
federal
stautory rate
|
$
|
(3,089,000
|
)
|
$
|
(2,027,000
|
)
|
$
|
(2,797,000
|
)
|
|
Tax
effect of change in valuation allowance
|
3,895,000
|
2,392,000
|
3,019,000
|
|||||||
Nondeductible
compensation,
|
||||||||||
interest
expense and other
|
15,000
|
30,000
|
306,000
|
|||||||
State
income taxes (benefit), net of federal tax benefit
|
(545,000
|
)
|
(358,000
|
)
|
(494,000
|
)
|
||||
Other
|
(276,000
|
)
|
(37,000
|
)
|
(34,000
|
)
|
||||
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
At
September 30,
|
|||||||
Deferred
tax assets:
|
2005
|
2004
|
|||||
Net
operating loss carryforwards
|
$
|
18,789,000
|
$
|
14,982,000
|
|||
Research
and development credit
|
350,000
|
228,000
|
|||||
Equipment
|
111,000
|
75,000
|
|||||
Patents
|
119,000
|
59,000
|
|||||
Purchased
technology
|
-
|
75,000
|
|||||
Accruals
and other
|
540,000
|
365,000
|
|||||
Allowances
|
326,000
|
46,000
|
|||||
Gross
deferred tax asset
|
20,235,000
|
15,830,000
|
|||||
Less
valuation allowance
|
(20,235,000
|
)
|
(15,830,000
|
)
|
|||
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
The utilization of the net operating loss carry-forwards and research and experimental credits could be substantially limited due to restrictions imposed under federal and state laws upon a change of ownership. The amount of the limitation, if any, has not been determined at this time.
A
valuation allowance has been recorded to offset the net deferred tax asset
as
management has been unable to determine that it is more likely than not that
the
deferred tax asset will be realized.
At
September 30, 2005, the Company, for federal income tax purposes, has net
operating loss carry-forwards of approximately $46,972,000, which expire
through
2026, of which certain amounts are subject to limitations under the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
5. UNSECURED
SUBORDINATED PROMISSORY NOTES AND RELATED PARTY
TRANSACTIONS
In
December 2004, the Company sold an aggregate of $2,000,000 of 8% unsecured
subordinated promissory notes due December 31, 2006. Interest on these notes
accrued at the rate of 8% per year and was due and payable quarterly. The
Company was required to use 40% of the net proceeds of any future equity
financing to prepay these notes, and accordingly the notes and accrued interest
were retired in July 2005 (see Note 6).
In
connection with the issuance of the notes, the purchasers were granted warrants
to purchase an aggregate of 150,000 shares of common stock. The exercise
price
of the warrants was $9.28 per share for purchasers who were directors, officers,
employees or consultants of the Company, or affiliates of such persons, and
$8.60 per share for other purchasers. Warrants exercisable for 75,000 shares
were issued at each such exercise price. The fair value of such warrants,
which
amounted to $723,000, and closing costs of $20,977 were
recorded as debt discount and amortized over the term of the notes and fully
amortized at repayment. The following variables were used to determine the
fair
value of the warrants under the Black-Scholes option pricing model: volatility
of 56%, term of five years, risk free interest of 2.97% and underlying stock
price equal to fair market value at the time of grant.
A
trust affiliated with an officer, director and significant stockholder of
the
Company purchased one of the aforementioned promissory notes in the principal
amount of $500,000 and received a warrant exercisable for 37,500 shares with
an
exercise price of $9.28 per share.
The
Company is also obligated to pay Elwood G. Norris, our Chairman, a 2% royalty
on
net sales from certain of our technologies, of which only HSS is a current
offering of our company. The royalty obligation continues until at least
March
1, 2007, and for any longer period during which we sell products or license
technologies subject to any patent assigned to us by Mr. Norris. No royalties
were paid or recorded under this agreement in the fiscal years ended September
30, 2005, 2004, or 2003, as these royalties were immaterial and were waived
by
Mr. Norris.
6.
CAPITAL STOCK
Common
Stock
In
July
2003, the Company obtained gross proceeds of $10,000,000 from an offering
of
common stock and warrants. The offering included 1,818,180 shares of common
stock at a purchase price of $5.50 per share and warrants to purchase 454,547
shares of common stock with an exercise price of $6.75 per share. The warrants
are exercisable until July 10, 2007. The warrants contain certain antidilution
rights if the Company sells common stock equivalents, as defined, for less
than
$6.75 and were repriced to $6.55 as a result of the July 2005 financing
described below. Offering costs were $545,000.
In
December 2004, the Company entered into a common stock purchase agreement,
registration rights agreement and warrant as part of a Committed Equity
Financing Facility (CEFF) for up to $25 million of the Company’s common stock.
As part of the arrangement, the Company issued a warrant to purchase 275,000
shares of its common stock at a price of $8.60 per share. This
CEFF and the related warrant was terminated in July 2005 and the Company
expensed an aggregate of $293,826 of legal, audit and related costs associated
with this financing and registration. The Company issued no shares of common
stock related to this transaction. The remaining derivative liability value
of
the warrant of $659,846 was credited against related prepaid transaction
costs.
In
July
2005, the Company obtained gross proceeds of $14,000,000 from an offering
of
common stock and warrants. The offering included 2,868,851 shares of common
stock at a purchase price of $4.88 per share and warrants in two series to
purchase 1,581,919 shares of common stock. Offering costs were $828,176 and
an
additional $2,896,000 was allocated as the deemed value of the warrants as
described below. The “A” Warrants are exercisable for an aggregate of 717,213
shares of common stock at an exercise price of $6.36 per share until July
18,
2009. The “B” Warrants are exercisable for an aggregate of 864,706 shares of
common stock at an exercise price of $7.23 per share and are exercisable
until
March 28, 2006. The warrants contain certain antidilution rights adjusting
the
price and number of shares if the Company sells common stock equivalents
or for
certain other specified transactions, for less than the exercise price of
the
warrants. The Company has the right to redeem the “B” Warrants if the closing
price of the shares of its common stock is $10.00 or greater for 15 consecutive
trading days and the holder does not exercise within 20 days after the Company
gives notice of redemption. The registration statement for these securities
was
declared effective in September 2005.
Although
the Company can deliver unregistered shares on exercise of the warrants and
is
not obligated to cash settle the warrants, the Company may be required to
pay a
monthly penalty to the purchasers of up to $140,000 (maximum of $70,000 per
month through December 2005), with no contractual maximum, should the
registration statement not remain effective for the securities. The Company
has
determined this penalty does not represent a reasonable difference between
the
value of registered and unregistered shares, that the events to deliver
registered shares are not entirely controlled by the Company and that settling
with unregistered shares is not an economically reasonable alternative.
Accordingly, following the interpretive guidance in EITF Issue No. 05-4,
‘The
Effect of a Liquidated Damages Clause on a Freestanding Financial Instrument
Subject to EITF Issue No. 00-19, Accounting for Derivative Financial Instruments
Indexed to, and Potentially Settled in, a Company’s Own Stock’, the Company
allocated $2,896,000 of the offering proceeds as a deemed liability for the
value of the warrants at the time of issuance. The consensus of EITF Issue
No.
05-4 has not been finalized.
EITF
Issue 00-19 also requires the Company to revalue the warrants as a derivative
instrument periodically to compute the value in connection with changes in
the
underlying stock price and other assumptions, with the change in value recorded
as non-cash income or expense. From the issuance date to September 30, 2005,
non-cash income of $1,050,000 was recorded as unrealized gain on derivative
revaluation to reflect the change in value of the warrants. Upon the earlier
of
warrant exercise, expiration or the warrants no longer being subject to
penalties, the corresponding warrant liability will be reclassified into
warrant
stockholders’ equity. At September 30, 2005, the “B” Warrants have a six-month
term and therefore the related derivative liability of $282,000 is included
in
current liabilities. The “A” Warrant derivative liability of $1,564,000 is
treated as a long-term liability.
Preferred
Stock
The
Company is authorized to issue 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.00001
par
value, without any action by the stockholders. The board of directors has
the
authority to divide any and all shares of preferred stock into series and
to fix
and determine the relative rights and preferences of the preferred stock,
such
as the designation of series and the number of shares constituting such series,
dividend rights, redemption and sinking fund provisions, liquidation and
dissolution preferences, conversion or exchange rights and voting rights,
if
any. Issuance of preferred stock by the board of directors could result in
such
shares having dividend and or liquidation preferences senior to the rights
of
the holders of common stock and could dilute the voting rights of the holders
of
common stock.
In
accordance with the terms of the Series D and E preferred stock, in January
2005, the Company gave notice of mandatory conversion and all remaining shares
of preferred stock were converted to common stock. Accordingly, no shares
of
preferred stock were outstanding at September 30, 2005. The following is
a
summary of the terms of previous preferred stock series outstanding during
the
last three fiscal years.
Number
of
|
|||||
Shares
|
|||||
Preferred
|
Issuance
|
Aggregate
|
Authorized/
|
||
Series
|
Date
|
Purchase
Price
|
Originally
Issued
|
Terms
|
|
6%
Series C issued at $20.00 per share
|
March
2000
|
$6,000,000
|
300,000/300,000
|
Purchase
price plus 6% accretion convertible at lower of $8.00 per share
or 92% of
market but not less than $5.75 per share. Callable at market
price of
$20.00 per share. Automatic conversion to common stock on March
31,
2003.
|
|
6%
Series D issued at $10.00 per share
|
May
2002
|
$2,354,000
|
250,000/235,400
|
Purchase
price plus 6% accretion convertible at lower of $4.50 per share
or 90% of
market but not less than $2.00 per share, subject to antidilution
adjustment. Callable at market price of $9.50 per share. Automatic
conversion to common stock on March 31, 2007
|
|
6%
Series E issued at $10.00 per share
|
March
2003
|
$3,432,500
|
350,000/343,250
|
Purchase
price plus 6% accretion convertible at lower of $3.25 per share
or 90% of
market but not less than $2.00 per share, subject to antidilution
adjustment. Callable at market price of $9.50 per share. Automatic
conversion to common stock on December 31,
2007
|
The
above
preferred shares were sold for cash except that $1,000,000 of the Series
E Stock
purchase price resulted from the conversion of senior notes payable. In
connection with the Series C preferred stock financing, the Company issued
a
warrant to purchase 75,000 shares of common stock at $11.00 per share until
March 31, 2005 as a placement fee. The value assigned to the warrant was
$468,783.
The
Company granted warrants to the purchasers with each issuance of preferred
stock. In accordance with the provisions of EITF
Issue No. 98-5, “Accounting for Convertible Securities with the Beneficial
Conversion Features or Contingently Adjustable Conversion Ratios” and EITF Issue
No. 00-27 “Application of Issue No. 98-5 to Certain Convertible Instruments,”
the
cash
proceeds of the preferred stock were allocated prorata between the relative
fair
values of the preferred stock and warrants at issuance using the Black-Scholes
valuation model for valuing the warrants. After allocating the proceeds between
the preferred stock and warrant, an effective conversion price was calculated
for the convertible preferred stock to determine the beneficial conversion
discount for each share. The value of the beneficial conversion discount
and the
value of the warrants was recorded as a deemed dividend and accreted over
the
conversion period of the preferred stock or upon exercise of the related
warrant, if earlier. The following table summarizes values assigned as a
deemed
dividend for the value of the warrants, the beneficial conversion feature
on
each preferred stock issuance and the accretion included to compute the net
loss
available to common stockholders in each of the three fiscal years ended
September 30, 2005.
Deemed
Dividend
|
|||||||||
Value
|
Value
Of
|
||||||||
Warrant
|
Warrant
|
Assigned
|
Beneficial
|
Accretion
|
|||||
Preferred
|
Issuance
|
Number
|
Exercise
|
Expiration
|
To
|
Conversion
|
Fiscal
Year Ended September 30,
|
||
Series
|
Date
|
Of
Warrants
|
Price
|
Date
|
Warrants
|
Discount
|
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
6%
Series C
|
March
2000
|
300,000
|
$11.00
|
3/31/2003
|
$
1,478,000
|
$
2,509,000
|
$ -
|
$ -
|
$ -
|
6%
Series D
|
May
2002
|
517,880
|
$3.01
|
3/31/2007
|
$
1,029,519
|
$
994,310
|
$
363,527
|
$
322,555
|
$
1,027,063
|
6%
Series E
|
March
2003
|
514,875
|
$3.25
|
12/31/2007
|
$
755,500
|
$
2,677,000
|
$
1,375,527
|
$
862,466
|
$
1,194,507
|
The
Series D warrants were originally exercisable at $4.50 per common share and
valued at $871,000. The Series E financing resulted in a repricing of the
Series
D Warrants to $3.01 per common share and an additional $158,519 was assigned
to
the warrant value. The Series D Warrants were valued using the Black-Scholes
model with a dividend yield of zero percent; expected volatility of 78 percent;
risk free interest rate of 4.94 percent; and an expected life of five years.
The
Series E Warrants were valued using the Black-Scholes model with a dividend
yield of zero percent; expected volatility of 76.5 percent; risk free interest
rate of 4.0 percent; and an expected life of five years.
Stock
Purchase Warrants
A
summary of the status of outstanding purchase warrants
outstanding as of September 30, 2003, 2004 and 2005 and the changes during
the
years then ended is presented below:
Average
|
|||||||
Purchase
|
|||||||
Number
|
Price
|
||||||
Shares
purchasable under outstanding warrants at October 1, 2002
|
2,105,380
|
$
|
4.85
|
||||
Stock
purchase warrants issued
|
1,019,422
|
$
|
4.83
|
||||
Stock
purchase warrants exercised
|
(347,000
|
)
|
$
|
2.60
|
|||
Stock
purchase warrants expired
|
(350,000
|
)
|
$
|
11.71
|
|||
Shares
purchasable under outstanding warrants at September 30,
2003
|
2,427,802
|
$
|
3.85
|
||||
Stock
purchase warrants exercised
|
(25,000
|
)
|
$
|
2.00
|
|||
Stock
purchase warrants expired
|
(50,000
|
)
|
$
|
10.00
|
|||
Shares
purchasable under outstanding warrants at September 30,
2004
|
2,352,802
|
$
|
3.74
|
||||
Stock
purchase warrants issued
|
2,006,919
|
$
|
7.23
|
||||
Stock
purchase warrants exercised
|
(432,068
|
)
|
$
|
4.13
|
|||
Stock
purchase warrants expired
|
(350,000
|
)
|
$
|
9.11
|
|||
Shares
purchasable under outstanding warrants at September 30,
2005
|
3,577,653
|
$
|
5.11
|
At
September 30, 2005, the following stock purchase warrants were outstanding
arising from offerings and other transactions, each exercisable into one
common
share:
Exercise
|
Expiration
|
||||
Number
|
Price
|
Date
|
|||
864,706
|
$7.23
|
March
28, 2006
|
|||
617,500
|
$2.00
|
September
30, 2006
|
|||
451,880
|
$3.01
|
March
31, 2007
|
|||
272,729
|
$6.55
|
July
10, 2007
|
|||
100,000
|
$4.25
|
September
30, 2007
|
|||
353,625
|
$3.25
|
December
31, 2007
|
|||
50,000
|
$3.63
|
April
8, 2008
|
|||
717,213
|
$6.36
|
July
18, 2009
|
|||
75,000
|
$8.60
|
December
31, 2009
|
|||
75,000
|
$9.28
|
December
31, 2009
|
|||
3,577,653
|
The
$3.01
warrants, the $3.25 warrants, the $6.36 warrants, the $6.55 warrants and
the
$7.23 warrants contain certain antidilution rights if the Company sells
securities for less than the exercise price.
7.
BENEFIT PLANS
Stock
Option Plans
The
2005
Equity Incentive Plan (“2005 Equity Plan”) became effective in April 2005, and
authorizes for issuance as stock options, stock appreciation rights, or stock
awards an aggregate of 1,500,000 new shares of common stock to employees,
directors or consultants. The reserve under the 2005 Equity Plan
will include any shares subject to options under the Company’s prior plans
that expire or become unexercisable for any reason without having been exercised
in full. As a result of the effectiveness of the 2005 Equity Plan, the 2002
Plan
is no longer available for new option grants.
At
the
effective date of the 2005 Equity Plan, approximately 1,660,811 shares were
subject to option under prior plans. The total plan reserve, including the
new
shares and shares currently reserved under prior plans, allows for the issuance
of up to 3,312,501 shares. At September 30, 2005, there were options
outstanding covering 250,000 shares of common stock and 1,500,228 shares
available for future option grants under the 2005 Equity Plan.
The
2002
Plan reserved for issuance 2,350,000 shares of common stock. The 2002 Plan
was
terminated with respect to new grants in April 2005 but remains in effect
for
grants prior to that time. At September 30, 2005, there were options outstanding
covering 1,151,810 shares of common stock under the 2002 Plan. The Company’s
1997 Stock Option Plan (“1997 Plan”) reserved for issuance 1,000,000 shares of
common stock. The 1997 Plan was terminated with respect to new grants in
August
2002, but remains in effect for grants prior to that time.
Shares
subject to options under the 1997 Plan or the 2002 Plan that expire, are
cancelled or are terminated without being exercised, become available for
future
grants under the 2005 Equity Plan. At September 30, 2005, there were options
outstanding covering 292,000 shares of common stock under the 1997
plan.
Other
Employee Stock Options
The
Company has granted options outside the above plans as inducements to employment
to new employees. During the fiscal years ended September 30, 2005 and 2004,
options to purchase 281,500 and 147,000 shares of common stock, respectively,
were granted exercisable at prices ranging from $6.21 to $10.06 per share
in
2005 and $5.92 to $6.14 per share in 2004. At September 30, 2005, there were
options outstanding covering 377,000 shares of common stock from grants outside
the stock option plans.
Non-Cash
Compensation Expense
During
the fiscal years ended September 30, 2005 and 2004, the Company recorded
non-cash compensation expense of $266,963 and $65,863, respectively, for
the extension of time to exercise stock options for former employees relating
to
an aggregate of 92,675 and 28,438 shares of common stock, respectively, and
in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005, the Company recorded $57,619
for
option expense relating to options for 68,125 shares held by an officer of
the
Company, who transitioned from employee to consultant. For the fiscal year
ended
September 30, 2005, the Company also recorded $6,160 of non-cash compensation
expense for the value of 10,000 options granted to non-employees, which were
valued in the same manner as described in “Summary of Accounting Policies” for
employee options. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003, the Company
recorded non-cash compensation expense of $25,597 for the granting of options
to
purchase 13,000 shares of common stock under its stock options plans to
non-employees.
In
October 2001, the Company granted options to purchase a total of 110,000
shares
of common stock to a consultant under the 1997 Plan in conjunction with
related
development and manufacturing agreements. The stock options include options
to
purchase 65,000 shares of common stock which vest upon completion of certain
project milestones. The Company has estimated the period required to complete
the specified milestones each reporting period and recorded consulting
expense
based on the market price of the Company’s stock and the estimated percentage of
the work completed. Consulting expense was adjusted each reporting period
until
vesting occurs. The Company recorded consulting expense of $87,179 for
the
Black-Scholes value of milestone options for 30,000 shares vested in fiscal
year
2002 and consulting expense of $47,782 for the Black-Scholes value of 10,000
milestone options vested in fiscal year 2003. As of September 30, 2005
and 2004,
there remained stock options to purchase 25,000 shares that were non-vested
due
to unmet project milestones. In addition, there remained options to purchase
45,000 shares of common stock that vested based on the consultant meeting
certain performance criteria. The Company records consulting expense at
each
vesting date. The Company recorded consulting expense of $96,655 for the
Black-Scholes value of performance options for 45,000 shares vested during
the
year ended September 30, 2002.
On
April
8, 2003, the Company granted a warrant exercisable for 50,000 common shares
at
$3.63 per share to a consultant for consulting services. The Company recorded
non-cash consulting expense of $106,616 for the value of this
warrant.
Stock
Option Summary Information
A
summary
of activity for the Company’s stock option plans as well as options granted
outside the plans as of September 30, 2005, 2004 and 2003, is presented
below:
Weighted
|
|||||||
Average
|
|||||||
Exercise
|
|||||||
Number
|
Price
|
||||||
Fiscal
2003:
|
|||||||
Outstanding
October 1, 2002
|
1,459,175
|
$
|
3.97
|
||||
Granted
|
979,000
|
$
|
3.96
|
||||
Canceled/expired
|
(416,950
|
)
|
$
|
3.86
|
|||
Exercised
|
(408,951
|
)
|
$
|
3.95
|
|||
Outstanding
September 30, 2003
|
1,612,274
|
$
|
4.00
|
||||
Exercisable
at September 30, 2003
|
998,722
|
$
|
3.79
|
||||
Weighted
average fair value of options granted during the year
|
$
|
1.78
|
|||||
Fiscal
2004:
|
|||||||
Outstanding
October 1, 2003
|
1,612,274
|
$
|
4.00
|
||||
Granted
|
1,073,500
|
$
|
5.80
|
||||
Canceled/expired
|
(553,703
|
)
|
$
|
3.63
|
|||
Exercised
|
(292,573
|
)
|
$
|
5.49
|
|||
Outstanding
September 30, 2004
|
1,839,498
|
$
|
4.68
|
||||
Exercisable
at September 30, 2004
|
916,884
|
$
|
3.60
|
||||
Weighted
average fair value of options granted during the year
|
$
|
2.37
|
|||||
Fiscal
2005:
|
|||||||
Outstanding
October 1, 2004
|
1,839,498
|
$
|
4.68
|
||||
Granted
|
847,500
|
$
|
7.49
|
||||
Canceled/expired
|
(378,576
|
)
|
$
|
6.21
|
|||
Exercised
|
(237,612
|
)
|
$
|
3.49
|
|||
Outstanding
September 30, 2005
|
2,070,810
|
$
|
5.68
|
||||
Exercisable
at September 30, 2005
|
1,026,690
|
$
|
4.43
|
||||
Weighted
average fair value of options granted during the year
|
$
|
2.74
|
The
following table summarizes information about stock options outstanding
at
September 30, 2005:
Weighted
Average
|
Weighted
|
Weighted
|
||||
Range
of
|
Remaining
|
Average
|
Average
|
|||
Exercise
|
Number
|
Contractual
|
Exercise
|
Number
|
Exercise
|
|
Prices
|
Outstanding
|
Life
|
Price
|
Exercisable
|
Price
|
|
$2.50-$4.00
|
565,561
|
1.39
|
$
3.12
|
530,561
|
$
3.16
|
|
$4.01-$5.50
|
341,249
|
3.05
|
$
4.91
|
237,896
|
$
4.83
|
|
$5.51-$7.00
|
742,250
|
4.01
|
$
6.31
|
176,668
|
$
6.39
|
|
$7.01-$8.50
|
121,250
|
3.34
|
$
7.45
|
66,252
|
$
7.23
|
|
$8.51-$10.10
|
300,500
|
4.37
|
$
9.14
|
15,313
|
$
8.96
|
|
$2.50-$10.10
|
2,070,810
|
3.15
|
$
5.69
|
1,026,690
|
$
4.45
|
Employee Benefit - 401K Plan
On
January 1, 1998, the Company established a 401(k) plan covering its employees.
The plan originated service effectively in June 1998. Matching contributions
are
made on behalf of all participants at the discretion of the Board of Directors.
During the fiscal years ended September 30, 2005, 2004 and 2003, the Company
made matching contributions of $41,793, $28,385 and $18,675 respectively.
8.
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Facility
Leases
The
Company’s executive offices, research and development and operational facilities
in San Diego, California, are occupied under a sublease agreement that
commenced in January 2004 and was to expire in July 2006. The Company
currently occupies approximately 23,500 square feet of office, laboratory,
production and warehouse space with aggregate monthly payments of approximately
$28,000, exclusive of utilities and costs. In August 2005, the sublease was
terminated and the Company entered into an attornment agreement providing
for a
facility lease through December 31, 2005 with an option to continue on a
month-to-month basis after that date with the consent of the landlord. In
November 2005 the Company entered into an amendment to the attornment agreement
providing for an extension of the lease until January 31, 2006.
On
December 20, 2005, the Company entered into a sublease agreement with Anacomp,
Inc., as sublandlord, to sublease approximately 23,698 square feet of office,
warehousing, product assembly, and research and development space. The sublease
is for a term commencing January 1, 2006 and expiring May 31, 2011, with
monthly
payments of approximately $29,623 per month plus certain costs and charges
specified in the sublease, including the Company’s proportionate share of the
building operating expenses and real estate taxes.
The
Company rents on a monthly basis space utilized for development and production
of its NeoPlanar technology in Carson City, Nevada. The Company occupies
approximately 2,200 square feet with a monthly payment of approximately $1,200
excluding utilities. The Company leases sales office space in Topsham, Maine
consisting of approximately 1,700 square feet with a monthly payment of $2,592,
excluding utilities. The lease expires on December 31, 2005 and the Company
is
negotiating the renewal of the lease.
Other
Operating Leases
In
addition to the facility lease, the Company has one automobile lease obligation
expiring in May 2006. The Company also has three business equipment leases
expiring from November 2006 to December 2008. These leases are reported as
operating leases.
Total
operating lease expense, including facilities, automobile and business equipment
leases, recorded by the Company for the years ended September 30, 2005, 2004
and
2003 was $368,219, $345,330 and $206,084, respectively.
The
obligations under all operating leases are as follows:
Year
ending September 30:
|
||||
2006
|
$
|
254,751
|
||
2007
|
$
|
367,943
|
||
2008
|
$
|
362,544
|
||
2009
|
$
|
356,584
|
||
2010
|
$
|
355,470
|
Employment
Agreements
The
Company entered into an employment agreement in October, 2005 with its president
and chief operating officer that provides for severance benefits in the form
of
up to a maximum of six months of salary and health benefit continuation if
his
employment is terminated without cause or he resigns for good reason (Note
14).
There are no other employment agreements with executive officers or other
employees providing future benefits or severance arrangements. The Company
has
an agreement with an officer that provides for a royalty if the Company uses
his
technology. The terms of that agreement are currently under renegotiation.
Commission
and Bonus Plans
The
Company has established a sales commission plan, approved by the Compensation
Committee of the Board of Directors, providing cash incentives to certain
of the
Company’s sales employees based on revenues recognized or amounts invoiced. In
fiscal 2005 and 2004, the Company recorded $315,822 and $95,500 of commission
expense, respectively.
Purchase
Committments
The
Company has a non-cancelable purchase agreement of $304,250 at September
30,
2005, for the purchase of raw materials used in the production of LRAD finished
goods. The Company expects to fulfill this committment within the next year.
For
the year ended September 30, 2005, the Company incurred a cancellation fee
of
$195,200 relating to a prior purchase committment.
Certain
of the Company’s employees, in accordance with their terms of employment, may
earn cash bonuses based on the overall financial performance of the Company.
In
fiscal 2005 and 2004, $170,456 and $-0- of bonuses were paid or accrued
for
payment.
Litigation
In
September 2003, the Company filed a complaint against eSoundIdeas, Inc.,
in the
Superior Court of California, County of San Diego, alleging breach of contract
and seeking a declaratory judgment to the effect that a License, Purchase
and
Marketing Agreement dated September 28, 2000 (the “ESI License Agreement”) with
eSoundIdeas, a California partnership, was properly terminated in May 2003.
The
principals of eSoundIdeas are Greg O. Endsley and Douglas J. Paschall. The
principals also founded a corporation, eSoundIdeas, Inc., (“ESI”, and, together
with Endsley, Paschall, the “ESI Parties”), which purported to assume the
contractual obligations of eSoundIdeas.
In
April
2005, the Company and the ESI Parties entered into a Settlement Agreement
and
Mutual Release. As part of the settlement, the Company agreed to pay $150,000,
which was previously accrued and recorded as a general and administrative
expense, and to issue 17,500 shares of common stock to the ESI Parties. The
fair
market value of the 17,500 shares as of April 27, 2005 of $140,175, was recorded
in the quarter ended March 31, 2005 as a general and administrative expense.
In
addition the ESI Parties will be entitled to receive an aggregate commission
equal to 1% of net sales from April 1, 2005 to September 28, 2007, of the
Company’s HSS products specifically targeted for use in North America in the
point of sale/purchase, kiosk, display, event, trade show and exhibit markets,
subject to a maximum aggregate commission of $500,000.
Related
to the Company’s April 2000 purchase of the NeoPlanar speaker technology, the
Company was in dispute with a predecessor owner of the technology regarding
a
minimum film royalty. In March 2004, the Company settled this matter for
a
payment of $25,000 and the issuance of 50,000 shares of common stock, which
included a buyout of all future royalties.
In
February 2004, the Company gave notice of termination of two licensing and
sales
agreements with General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, Inc. (GD-ATP),
originally entered into in February 2003. GD-ATP was the original licensee
under
one agreement, and took assignment of the rights of Bath Iron Works Corporation,
another subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation, under the other agreement.
The agreements gave GD-ATP the right to purchase, market and resell NeoPlanar
and HIDA (High Intensity Directional Acoustics) products and components with
exclusive rights for specified applications to certain government customers,
including the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and
certain
Federal, State and local agencies. GD-ATP disputed the Company’s right to
terminate the agreements and demanded arbitration. In April 2004, the Company
announced that it and GD-ATP had mutually agreed to resolve their disputes
in an
amicable manner, and to dismiss the arbitration proceedings. GD-ATP and the
Company agreed that neither was liable to the other and that no party engaged
in
any wrongdoing. The resolution resulted in the termination of the two
agreements, and in the Company assuming GD-ATP’s role in servicing certain LRAD
customers previously serviced by GD-ATP.
In
August
2003, the Company reached an agreement and in September 2003, the Company
settled litigation related to the termination of an outside contract
manufacturer, Horizon Sports Technologies, Inc. d/b/a HST. As part of the
settlement the Company acquired raw materials and equipment for production
valued at approximately $145,000. The Company paid settlement costs of $313,000
and recorded additional settlement costs for the $585,000 value assigned
to
100,000 shares of common stock issued to HST. As part of the settlement,
HST
also entered into a nonexclusive royalty-bearing license to manufacture and
sell
speakers based on the Company’s Stratified Field technology and PureBass
subwoofer technology and the Company transferred to HST tooling valued at
approximately $43,000.
The
Company may at times be involved in litigation in the ordinary course of
business. The Company will also, from time to time, when appropriate in
management’s estimation, record adequate reserves in the Company’s financial
statements for pending litigation. Except as set forth above, there are no
pending material legal proceedings to which the Company is a party or to
which
any of its property is subject.
Royalties
The
Company is obligated to pay a $2.50 per unit royalty on one electronic component
for its HSS product. The Company is also obligated to pay an officer and
director a 2% royalty on net sales from certain of its technologies, of which
only HSS is a current offering of the Company. The royalty obligation continues
until at least March 1, 2007, and for any longer period during which the
Company
sells products or licenses technologies subject to any patent assigned to
it by
the officer/director. No royalties were paid under this agreement in the
fiscal
years ended September 30, 2005, 2004 and 2003, as such royalties were waived
by
the officer and director. The Company may owe royalties in future periods
based
on actual sales or technology revenues.
Liquidated
Damages
In
connection with the registration rights agreement entered into in connection
with the sale of common stock in July 2005 (Note 6), the Company may be
obligated to pay liquidated damages if it fails to maintain the effectiveness
of
the registration statement declared effective in September 2005. The maximum
obligation, assuming all holders retained all their shares, would be $140,000
per month (maximum of $70,000 per month through December 2005) computed daily
for any period a registration statement is not effective. The Company believes
any such obligation will cease or substantially reduce in July 2007 when
most if
not all registrable securities may be sold under Rule 144(k) without
registration.
9.
WARRANTY RESERVE
Details
of the estimated warranty liability are as follows:
Years
Ended September 30:
|
2005
|
2004
|
|||||
Beginning
balance
|
$
|
331,917
|
$
|
319,500
|
|||
Warranty
provision
|
71,731
|
101,671
|
|||||
Warranty
deductions
|
(154,667
|
)
|
(89,254
|
)
|
|||
Ending
balance
|
$
|
248,981
|
$
|
331,917
|
10.
EQUIPMENT UNDER CAPITAL LEASE
On
October 1, 2001, the Company entered into a capital lease obligation for
the
purchase of a phone system. The lease expires September 11, 2006 and bears
interest at 10.1%, with monthly principal and interest payments of $1,067.
Future minimum lease payments and the present value of the minimum lease
payments under the noncancelable lease obligation as of September 30, 2005
are
as follows:
Year
ending September 30:
|
||||
2006
|
$
|
12,806
|
||
Total:
|
$
|
12,806
|
||
Total
future minimum lease payments
|
$
|
12,806
|
||
Less
amounts representing interest
|
(675
|
)
|
||
Present
value of minimum lease payments
|
12,131
|
|||
Less
current maturities
|
(12,131
|
)
|
||
Total
long-term obligations
|
$
|
-
|
At
September 30, 2005, there was property and equipment under capital lease
obligations with a total cost of $50,612 and accumulated amortization of
$50,612.
11.
MAJOR CUSTOMERS
For
the
fiscal year ended September 30, 2005, revenues from one customer in the
Government Group accounted for 69% of revenues with no other single customer
accounting for more than 10% of revenues. For the fiscal year ended September
30, 2004, revenues from two customers, both in the Government Group, accounted
for 47% and 11% of revenues with no other single customer accounting for
more
than 10% of revenues. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003, revenues
from one customer in the Government Group accounted for 24% of total
revenue.
At September 30, 2005, accounts receivable from two customers accounted for 18% and 14% of total accounts receivable with no other single customer accounting for more than 10% of the accounts receivable balance. At September 30, 2004, accounts receivable from three customers accounted for 52%, 19% and 13% of total accounts receivable with no other single customer accounting for more than 10% of the accounts receivable balance.
12.
SUPPLIER AGREEMENTS
The
Company is reliant on contract manufacturers for production of certain HSS
and
LRAD components, sub-assemblies and products. The Company currently coordinates
and manages production of its products with these suppliers but has in the
past
and may in the future arrange for turnkey production.
13.
BUSINESS SEGMENT DATA
The
Company is engaged in design, development and commercialization of sound,
acoustic and other technologies. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2003, the
Company organized operations into two segments by the end-user markets they
serve. The Company’s reportable segments are strategic business units that sell
the Company’s products to distinct distribution channels. The Commercial
Products Group (Commercial Group) licenses and markets HSS, LRAD, NeoPlanar
and
other sound products to companies that employ audio in consumer, commercial
and
professional applications. The Government & Military Group (Government
Group) markets LRAD, NeoPlanar, and other sound products to government and
military customers and to the expanding force protection and commercial security
markets. The segments are managed separately because each segment requires
different selling and marketing strategies as the class of customers within
each
segment is different.
The
accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in the
summary of significant accounting policies. The Company does not allocate
operating expenses or assets between its two reportable segments. Accordingly
the measure of profit for each reportable segment is based on gross profit.
Although the segments became separately managed only in the last quarter
of
fiscal 2003, the Company has segmented historical operations for comparable
customers for comparison.
Years
Ended September 30,
|
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
|||||||
Revenues:
|
||||||||||
Commercial
Group
|
$
|
891,745
|
$
|
933,373
|
$
|
861,091
|
||||
Government
Group
|
9,303,801
|
4,819,176
|
454,335
|
|||||||
$
|
10,195,546
|
$
|
5,752,549
|
$
|
1,315,426
|
|||||
Gross
Profit (Loss):
|
||||||||||
Commercial
Group
|
$
|
(924,018
|
)
|
$
|
(534,174
|
)
|
$
|
(501,748
|
)
|
|
Government
Group
|
5,495,204
|
2,816,902
|
273,097
|
|||||||
$
|
4,571,186
|
$
|
2,282,728
|
$
|
(228,651
|
)
|
The following table summarizes revenues by geographic region. Revenues are attributed to countries based on location of customer.
Years
Ended September 30,
|
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
|||||||
Revenues:
|
||||||||||
United
States
|
$
|
9,866,583
|
$
|
5,675,088
|
$
|
1,167,120
|
||||
Other
|
328,963
|
77,461
|
148,306
|
|||||||
$
|
10,195,546
|
$
|
5,752,549
|
$
|
1,315,426
|
14.
SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
In
October 2005, the Company entered into a letter agreement with John R. Zavoli
as
President and Chief Operating Officer, effective November 1, 2005. The letter
agreement provides for an annual base salary of $250,000 and eligibility
for an
annual bonus. Mr. Zavoli was granted an option to purchase 100,000 shares
of
common stock exercisable at $4.78 per share vesting over four years. Mr.
Zavoli
is entitled to severance benefits in the form of up to a maximum of six months
of salary and health benefit continuation if employment is terminated without
cause or he resigns for good reason.
In
October 2005, the Company entered into a separation and release agreement
with
its former president and chief operating officer. The agreement provided
that
the Company would make a one-time payment of $82,500 and would pay health
benefit premiums for a period not to extend beyond February 28, 2006. The
Company also extended until February 15, 2006 the period of time for which
the
vested portion of his stock options may be exercised.
Michael
A. Russell, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, resigned from his employment
on December 16, 2005. On
December 16, 2005, the board of directors appointed John R. Zavoli as the
Interim Chief Financial Officer to replace Mr. Michael A. Russell. Mr. Zavoli's
employment terms did not change as a result of this appointment.
On
December 16, 2005, Karen Jordan was appointed as Chief Accounting Officer.
Ms.
Jordan, joined the Company in November 2005 as Director of Finance.
On
December 20, 2005, the Company entered into a sublease agreement with Anacomp,
Inc., as sublandlord, to sublease approximately 23,698 square feet of office,
warehousing, product assembly, and research space located at 15378 Avenue
of
Science, San Diego, California 92118. The sublease is for a term commencing
January 1, 2006 and expiring May 31, 2011. The agreement provides for a monthly
expense of $29,622.50 (i.e., $1.25 per rentable square foot) during the term.
In
addition to the monthly base rental expense, we will be responsible for certain
costs and charges specified in the sublease, including the Company’s
proportionate share of the building operating expenses and real estate taxes.
In
addition, the sublease provides that the Company has a right of first refusal
on
additional space in the building, which contains a total of 68,910 square
feet
including our premises. Anacomp will also provide a $10,000 tenant improvement
allowance towards the completion of lobby improvements and a $50,000 letter
of
credit in the Company’s favor which we may draw upon to the extent necessary to
offset any increase in our rent or relocation costs that is incurred due
to
Anacomp's failure to maintain the lease with the master landlord for the
building.
15.
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION
|
||||||||||
Years
Ended September 30,
|
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
|||||||
Supplemental
Information:
|
||||||||||
Cash
paid for interest
|
$
|
93,457
|
$
|
2,889
|
$
|
111,886
|
||||
Cash
paid for taxes
|
$
|
11,076
|
$
|
14,537
|
$
|
2,467
|
||||
Non-cash
financing activities:
|
||||||||||
Senior
notes applied to warrant exercise
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
681,845
|
||||
Senior
notes applied to purchase of Series E stock
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
1,000,000
|
||||
12%
subordinated notes and interest
|
||||||||||
converted
to common stock
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
2,435,032
|
||||
Sale
of equipment for accounts payable
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
117,000
|
||||
Warrants
issued for offering costs
|
$
|
2,896,000
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
||||
Warrants
issued for debt financing
|
$
|
723,000
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
||||
Common
stock issued on conversion of Series C stock
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
236,498
|
||||
Common
stock issued on conversion of Series D stock
|
$
|
581,666
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
1,935,559
|
||||
Common
stock issued on conversion of Series E stock
|
$
|
2,604,238
|
$
|
320,414
|
$
|
823,208
|
||||
Common
stock issued for legal settlement
|
$
|
140,175
|
$
|
248,000
|
$
|
-
|
16. SUMMARIZED QUARTERLY RESULTS (unaudited)
The
following table presents unaudited operating results for each quarter within
the
two most recent years. The Company believes that all necessary adjustments
consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, have been included in the
amounts stated below to present fairly the following quarterly results when
read
in conjunction with the financial statements included elsewhere in this report.
Results of operations for any particular quarter are not necessarily indicative
of results of operations for a full fiscal year.
First
|
Second
|
Third
|
Fourth
|
Total
|
||||||||||||
Quarter
|
Quarter
|
Quarter
|
Quarter
|
Year
|
||||||||||||
Fiscal
2005
|
||||||||||||||||
Revenues
|
$
|
4,408,913
|
$
|
2,817,393
|
$
|
1,393,798
|
$
|
1,575,442
|
$
|
10,195,546
|
||||||
Gross
profit (loss) (1)
|
$
|
2,881,210
|
$
|
1,363,427
|
$
|
402,006
|
$
|
(75,458
|
)
|
$
|
4,571,185
|
|||||
Net
loss
|
$
|
(1,526,850
|
)
|
$
|
(1,613,016
|
)
|
$
|
(3,592,769
|
)
|
$
|
(2,354,072
|
)
|
$
|
(9,086,707
|
)
|
|
Loss
per Share (2)
|
$
|
(0.09
|
)
|
$
|
(0.15
|
)
|
$
|
(0.17
|
)
|
$
|
(0.09
|
)
|
$
|
(0.50
|
)
|
|
First
|
Second
|
Third
|
Fourth
|
Total
|
||||||||||||
Quarter
|
Quarter
|
Quarter
|
Quarter
|
Year
|
||||||||||||
Fiscal
2004
|
||||||||||||||||
Revenues
|
$
|
774,778
|
$
|
1,493,250
|
$
|
2,107,281
|
$
|
1,377,240
|
$
|
5,752,549
|
||||||
Gross
profit (loss) (1)
|
$
|
366,300
|
$
|
548,026
|
$
|
1,100,962
|
$
|
267,440
|
$
|
2,282,728
|
||||||
Net
loss
|
$
|
(1,136,427
|
)
|
$
|
(1,165,196
|
)
|
$
|
(1,390,411
|
)
|
$
|
(2,268,402
|
)
|
$
|
(5,960,436
|
)
|
|
Loss
per Share (2)
|
$
|
(0.07
|
)
|
$
|
(0.08
|
)
|
$
|
(0.09
|
)
|
$
|
(0.11
|
)
|
$
|
(0.37
|
)
|
(1)
|
Gross
profit is calculated by subtracting cost of revenues from total
revenues.
|
(2)
|
Loss
per share is computed independently for each quarter and the full
year
based on respective average shares outstanding. Therefore the sum
of the
quarterly net loss per share amounts may not equal the annual amounts
reported.
|
Schedule
II - Valuation and Qualifying Accounts
ALLOWANCE
FOR DOUBTFUL ACCOUNTS
|
|||||||||||||
Balance
at
|
Charged
to
|
Balance
|
|||||||||||
Beginning
|
Cost
and
|
at
End of
|
|||||||||||
Description
|
of
Period
|
Expenses
|
Deductions
|
Period
|
|||||||||
Year
ended September 30, 2005
|
$
|
25,000
|
$
|
102,492
|
$
|
2,492
|
$
|
125,000
|
|||||
Year
ended September 30, 2004
|
$
|
25,000
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
25,000
|
|||||
Year
ended September 30, 2003
|
$
|
20,191
|
$
|
4,809
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
25,000
|
|||||
RESERVE
FOR OBSOLESCENCE
|
|||||||||||||
Balance
at
|
Charged
to
|
Balance
|
|||||||||||
|
Beginning
|
Cost
and
|
at
End of
|
||||||||||
Description
|
of
Period
|
Expenses
|
Deductions
|
Period
|
|||||||||
Year
ended September 30, 2005
|
$
|
110,000
|
$
|
784,150
|
$
|
202,944
|
$
|
691,206
|
|||||
Year
ended September 30, 2004
|
$
|
20,000
|
$
|
90,000
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
110,000
|
|||||
Year
ended September 30, 2003
|
$
|
20,000
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
20,000
|
|||||
WARRANTY
RESERVE
|
|||||||||||||
|
Balance
at
|
Charged
to
|
Balance
|
||||||||||
Beginning
|
Cost
and
|
at
End of
|
|||||||||||
Description
|
of
Period
|
Expenses
|
Deductions
|
Period
|
|||||||||
Year
ended September 30, 2005
|
$
|
331,917
|
$
|
71,731
|
$
|
154,667
|
$
|
248,981
|
|||||
Year
ended September 30, 2004
|
$
|
319,500
|
$
|
101,671
|
$
|
89,254
|
$
|
331,917
|
|||||
Year
ended September 30, 2003
|
$
|
6,313
|
$
|
313,187
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
319,500
|
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.
AMERICAN
TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION December 29, 2005 |
||
|
|
|
By: | /s/ ELWOOD G. NORRIS | |
Elwood
G. Norris Chairman of the Board |
POWER
OF ATTORNEY
Know
all persons by these presents, that each person whose signature appears below
constitutes and appoints Elwood G. Norris and John R. Zavoli, and each of
them, as his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power
of
substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name, place, and stead,
in
any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this report, and
to
file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection
therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said
attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority
to do
and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done
in
connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or
could
do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming that all said attorneys-in-fact
and agents, or any of them or their or his substitute or substituted, may
lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has
been
signed below by the following persons on behalf of registrant in the capacities
and on the dates indicated.
Date:
December 29, 2005
|
By:
|
/s/
ELWOOD G. NORRIS
|
|
Elwood
G. Norris
|
|||
Chairman
of the Board and Director
|
|||
(Co-Principal
Executive Officer)
|
|||
|
|||
Date:
December 29, 2005
|
By:
|
/s/
JOHN R. ZAVOLI
|
|
John
R. Zavoli
|
|||
President,
Chief Operating Officer and Director
|
|||
Interim
Chief Financial Officer
|
|||
(Co-Principal
Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer)
|
|||
|
|||
Date:
December 29, 2005
|
By:
|
/s/
KAREN JORDAN
|
|
Karen
Jordan,
|
|||
Chief
Accounting Officer
|
|||
(Principal
Accounting Officer)
|
|||
|
|||
Date:
December 29, 2005
|
By:
|
/s/
RICHARD M. WAGNER
|
|
Richard
M. Wagner
|
|||
Director
|
|||
|
|||
Date:
December 29, 2005
|
By:
|
/s/
DAVID J. CARTER
|
|
David
J. Carter
|
|||
Director
|
|||
|
|||
Date:
December 29, 2005
|
By:
|
/s/
DANIEL HUNTER
|
|
Daniel
Hunter
|
|||
Director
|
10.
Material Contracts
|
|||
10.3.2
|
Attornment
Agreement between ATC and LBA Realty Fund-Holding Co.
I, LLC dated August
1, 2005.*
|
||
10.3.3
|
First
Amendment to Attornment Agreement between ATC and LBA
Realty Fund-Holding
Co. I, LLC dated November 15, 2005.*
|
||
10.13.1
|
Separation
and Release Agreement with Kalani Jones dated October
20,
2005.+*
|
||
10.16
|
Table
of Inducement Grants.+*
|
||
10.31
|
Summary
Sheet of Director and Executive Officer Compensation.*
|
||
10.34
|
Commission
Plan for Bruce Gray pursuant to Employment letter
dated March 21, 2005,
approved by the board of directors on September 28,
2005.+*^
|
||
10.46
|
Employment
Agreement with James Croft III dated February 28,
2000.+*
|
||
10.47
|
Employment
Letter Agreement with John R. Zavoli dated October
17,
2005.+*
|
||
10.48
|
Employment
letter of Alan J. Ballard dated November 21, 2003.+*
|
||
10.49
|
Employment
letter of Rose Tomich-Litz dated November 29, 2005.+*
|
||
10.50
|
Employment
letter of Karen Jordan dated October 26, 2005, 2005.+*
|
||
10.51
|
Sublease
between ATC and Anacomp, Inc. dated December 13,
2005.*
|
||
10.52
|
Separation
Agreement between ATC and Michael A. Russell dated
December 23,
2005.*
|
23. Consents
of Experts and Counsel
|
|||
23.1
|
Consent
of BDO Seidman, LLP.*
|
||
23.2
|
Consent
of Swenson Advisors, LLP.*
|
||
Certifications
|
|||
31.1
|
Certification
of Elwood G. Norris, Co-Principal Executive Officer,
pursuant to Rule
13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a) of the Securities and Exchange
Act of 1934, as
adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.*
|
||
31.2
|
Certification
of John R. Zavoli, Co-Principal Executive Officer
and Principal Financial
Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a) of
the Securities and
Exchange Act of 1934, as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.*
|
||
32.1
|
Certification
pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to
Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, executed by
Elwood G.
Norris, Co-Principal Executive Officer, John R. Zavoli,
Co-Principal
Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer.*
|
||
* Filed
concurrently herewith
|
|||
+ Management
contract or compensatory plan or arrangement. Exhibits
10.28, 10.29 and
10.30 are included as a management contract given
that a trust affiliated
with an officer, director and significant stockholder
purchased a note and
received a warrant in connection with that financing
and is a party to
those exhibits.
|
|||
^ Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to certain portions of this exhibit. Omitted portions have been filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |