GEOSPACE TECHNOLOGIES CORP - Annual Report: 2013 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

Commission file number 001-13601

GEOSPACE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

7007 Pinemont Drive

Houston, Texas 77040-6601

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

(713) 986-4444

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities Registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities Registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:         NONE

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ¨    No  x

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes ¨    No  x

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the 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 a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ¨    No  x

There were 12,948,916 shares of the Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of the close of business on November 18, 2013. As of March 31, 2013, the aggregate market value of the Registrant’s Common Stock held by non-affiliates was approximately $1.4 billion (based upon the closing price of $107.92 on March 31, 2013, as reported by The NASDAQ Global Market).

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the definitive proxy statement for the Registrant’s 2014 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report.

PART I

Item 1. Business

Business Overview

Geospace Technologies Corporation is a Delaware corporation incorporated on September 27, 1994. Unless otherwise specified, the discussion in this Annual Report on Form 10-K refers to Geospace Technologies Corporation and its subsidiaries. We design and manufacture instruments and equipment used in the acquisition and processing of seismic data as well as in the characterization and monitoring of producing oil and gas reservoirs. Demand for our products has been, and will likely continue to be, vulnerable to downturns in the economy and the oil and gas industry in general. For more information, please refer to the risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors”.

We have engaged in the seismic instrument and equipment business since 1980 and market our products primarily to the oil and gas industry. We also design, manufacture and distribute non-seismic equipment including thermal imaging equipment and industrial products. We report and categorize our customers and products into two different segments: Seismic and Non-Seismic.

Products and Product Development

Seismic Products

Our seismic business segment accounts for the majority of our sales. Geoscientists use seismic data primarily in connection with the exploration, development and production of oil and gas reserves to map potential and known hydrocarbon bearing formations and the geologic structures that surround them. Our seismic product lines currently consist of land and marine nodal data acquisition systems, seabed reservoir characterization products and services, geophones and hydrophones, leader wire, geophone string and acquisition system connectors, telemetry cables, marine streamer retrieval and steering devices and various other products. Our seismic products are compatible with most major competitive seismic data acquisition systems currently in use. We believe that our seismic products are among the most technologically advanced instruments and equipment available for seismic data acquisition.

Traditional Products

An energy source and a data recording system are combined to acquire seismic data. We provide many of the components of seismic data recording systems, including geophones, hydrophones, multi-component sensors, seismic leader wire, geophone strings, connectors, seismic telemetry cables and other seismic related products. On land, our customers use geophones, leader wire, cables and connectors to receive and measure seismic reflections resulting from an energy source into data recording units, which store the seismic information for subsequent processing and analysis. In the marine environment, large ocean-going vessels tow long seismic cables known as “streamers” containing hydrophones which are used to detect pressure changes. Hydrophones transmit electrical impulses back to the vessel’s data recording unit where the seismic data is stored for subsequent processing and analysis. Our marine seismic products help steer streamers while being towed and help recover streamers if they become disconnected from the vessel.

Our seismic sensor, cable and connector products are compatible with most major competitive seismic data acquisition systems currently in use. Sales result primarily from seismic contractors purchasing our products as components of new seismic data acquisition systems or to repair and replace components of seismic data acquisition systems already in use.

Our products used in marine seismic data acquisition include our marine seismic streamer retrieval devices (“SRDs”). Occasionally, streamer cables are severed and become disconnected from the vessel as a result of obstacles, inclement weather, vessel traffic or human error. Our SRDs, which are attached to the streamer cables, contain air bags which are designed to inflate automatically at a given water depth, bringing the severed streamer cables to the surface. These SRDs save the seismic contractors significant time and money compared to the alternative of losing the streamer cable. We also produce seismic streamer steering devices, or “birds,” which are finlike devices that attach to the streamer cable. These birds help maintain the streamer cable at a certain desired depth as it is being towed through the water.

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Our wholly-owned subsidiary in the Russian Federation manufactures international standard geophones, sensors, seismic leader wire, seismic telemetry cables and related seismic products for customers in the Russian Federation and other international seismic marketplaces. We have a branch office in Colombia that primarily rents seismic equipment to our customers in the South American market. Operating in foreign locations involves certain risks as discussed under the heading “Risk Factors – Our Foreign Subsidiaries and Foreign Marketing Efforts Face Additional Risks and Difficulties” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Wireless Products

We have developed a land-based wireless (or nodal) seismic data acquisition system. Each wireless station operates independently and therefore can be deployed in virtually unlimited channel configurations. Rather than utilizing interconnecting cables as required by most traditional land data acquisition systems, each wireless station operates as an independent data collection system. As a result, our wireless system requires less maintenance, which we believe allows our customers to operate more effectively and efficiently because of its reduced environmental impact, lower weight and ease of operation. Our wireless system is designed into configurations ranging from one to four channels per station. Since its introduction in 2008 and through September 30, 2013, we have sold approximately 239,000 wireless channels and have approximately 77,000 wireless channels in our rental fleet. With the recent opening of a branch office in Bogotá, Colombia and the prospect for increasing demand for wireless rental equipment elsewhere in the world, we expect further increases in the size of our wireless product rental fleet during the remainder of fiscal year 2014.

We have also developed a marine-based wireless seismic data acquisition system. Similar to our land wireless system, the marine wireless system can be deployed in virtually unlimited channel configurations and does not require interconnecting cables between each station. Our deep water versions of this marine wireless system can be deployed in depths of up to 3,000 meters.

Reservoir Products

Seismic surveys repeated over selected time intervals show dynamic changes within the reservoir and can be used to monitor the effects of oil and gas production. In this regard, we have developed permanently installed high-definition reservoir characterization products for ocean-bottom applications in producing oil and gas fields. We also produce a retrievable version of this ocean-bottom system for use on fields where permanently installed systems are not appropriate or economical. Utilizing these tools, producers can enhance the recovery of oil and gas deposits over the life of a reservoir.

Our high-definition reservoir characterization products include the HDSeis™ product line and a suite of borehole and reservoir characterization products and services. Our HDSeis™ system is a high-definition seismic data acquisition system with flexible architecture that allows it to be configured as a borehole seismic system or as a subsurface system for both land and marine reservoir-monitoring projects. The scalable architecture of the HDSeis™ system enables custom designed system configuration for applications ranging from low-channel engineering and environmental-scale surveys requiring a minimum number of recording channels to high-channel surveys required to efficiently conduct permanent reservoir imaging and monitoring. Modular architecture allows virtually unlimited channel expansion. In addition, multi-system synchronization features make the HDSeis™ system well suited for multi-well or multi-site acquisition, simultaneous surface and downhole acquisition and continuous reservoir monitoring projects.

Reservoir characterization requires special purpose or custom designed systems in which portability becomes less critical and functional reliability assumes greater importance. This reliability factor helps assure successful operations in inaccessible locations over a considerable period of time. Additionally, reservoirs located in deep water or harsh environments require special instrumentation and new techniques to maximize recovery. Reservoir characterization also requires high-bandwidth, high-resolution seismic data for engineering project planning and reservoir management. We believe our HDSeis™ System and tools, designed for cost-effective deployment and lifetime performance, will make borehole and seabed seismic acquisition a cost-effective and reliable process for the challenges of reservoir characterization and monitoring. Our multi-component seismic product developments include an omni-directional geophone for use in reservoir monitoring, a compact marine three-component or four-component gimbaled sensor and special-purpose connectors, connector arrays and cases.

In regards to customer orders for our permanent reservoir monitoring systems, in February 2012 we received an $18.0 million order from Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda to instrument a reservoir off the coast of Brazil, and in November 2012 we received a $166.9 million order from Statoil to instrument two reservoirs in the North Sea.  During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013, we

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recognized revenue of $18.0 million from delivery of the Shell order, and we recognized revenues of $109.6 million from the Statoil order using the percentage of completion revenue recognition method.  We expect to recognize the remaining $57.3 million of revenue from the Statoil order during fiscal year 2014.

In addition, we produce seismic borehole acquisition systems which employ a fiber optic augmented wireline capable of very high data transmission rates. These systems are used for several reservoir characterization applications, including an application pioneered by us allowing operators and service companies to monitor and measure the results of fracturing operations.

Non-Seismic Products

Our non-seismic businesses leverage upon our existing manufacturing facilities and engineering capabilities. We have found that many of our seismic products, with little or no modification, have direct application to industries beyond those involved in oil and gas exploration and development. For example, our customers utilize our borehole tools to monitor subsurface carbon dioxide injections and for mine safety applications.

Our non-seismic products include thermal imaging products targeted at the commercial graphics industry as well as various industrial products. Our industrial products include (i) sensors and tools for vibration monitoring, mine safety application and earthquake detection, (ii) cables for power and communication for the offshore oil and gas and offshore construction industries, and (iii) water meter cables and other specialty cable and connector products.

Segment and Geographic Information

Effective October 1, 2012, the Company reports and categorizes its sales and products into two business segments: Seismic and Non-Seismic. Segment data from prior periods has been reclassified to conform to these new categories. Prior to October 1, 2012, the Company reported its business segments as Seismic and Thermal Solutions. Our Seismic product lines currently include land and marine wireless data acquisition systems, seabed reservoir characterization products and services, geophones and hydrophones, leader wire, geophone string and acquisition system connectors, telemetry cables, marine streamer retrieval and steering devices and various other products. Our Non-Seismic product lines include thermal imaging and industrial products. The Company frequently has a minor amount of Seismic product sales to its Non-Seismic customers. For a discussion of financial information by segment and geographic area, see Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Competition

Seismic Products

We believe that we are one of the world’s largest manufacturers and distributors of seismic related products. The principal competitors in our seismic business segment for data acquisition systems, geophones, hydrophones, geophone string connectors, leader wire and telemetry cables are SERCEL (a division of CGGVeritas), ION Geophysical (“ION”), INOVA (a joint venture formed in 2009 between ION and Bureau of Geophysical Prospecting, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Company) and Steward Cable (a division of Amphenol Corporation). Furthermore, entities in China affiliated with SERCEL as well as other Chinese manufacturers produce low-cost geophones meeting current industry standards.

We believe that the principal keys for success in the seismic instruments and equipment market are technological superiority, product durability, reliability, and customer support. We also believe that price and product delivery are always important considerations for our customers. In general, most customers prefer to standardize data acquisition systems, geophones and hydrophones, particularly if they are used by seismic companies that have multiple crews which are able to support each other. This standardization makes it difficult for competitive manufacturers to gain market share from other manufacturers with existing customer relationships.

As mentioned above, a key factor for seismic instruments and equipment manufacturers is durability under harsh field conditions. Instruments and equipment must meet not only rigorous technical specifications regarding signal integrity and sensitivity, but must also be extremely rugged and durable to withstand the rigors of field use, often in harsh environments.

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We believe our primary competitors for our “wireless” nodal seismic data acquisition systems are SERCEL, Fairfield Industries, Wireless Seismic, and INOVA.

With respect to our marine seismic products, we are not aware of any competing companies that manufacture a product functionally similar to our patented seismic streamer retrieval device. We believe our primary competitors in the manufacture of our streamer depth positioning device, or “birds,” are ION and SERCEL.

We believe our primary competitors for our deep water cabled reservoir characterization and monitoring systems are SERCEL, ION and Petroleum Geo-Services ASA.

We believe our primary competitors for high-definition borehole seismic data acquisition systems are Avalon and SERCEL.

We believe our primary competitors for rental of seismic equipment are Mitcham Industries, Inc. and Seismic Equipment Solutions.

Non-Seismic Products

We believe that there are numerous competitors and competitive technologies for our thermal imaging products including other thermal device manufacturers, and manufacturers of direct-to-screen and inkjet solutions similar to those offered by Hewlett Packard.  Our non-seismic industrial products face competition from numerous domestic and international specialty product manufacturers.

Suppliers

We purchase raw materials from a variety of suppliers located in various countries. We typically have multiple suppliers for our critical materials.

We produce our own brand of dry thermal film internally. We also purchase a substantial quantity of dry thermal film manufactured by Agfa-Gevaert N.V. (“AGFA”). For a discussion of the risks related to our reliance on AGFA, see “Risk Factors – We Rely on a Key Supplier for a Significant Portion of Our Dry Thermal Film.”

We do not currently experience any significant difficulties in obtaining raw materials from our suppliers for the production of our seismic or non-seismic products.

Product Manufacturing and Assembly

Our manufacturing and product assembly operations consist of machining or molding the necessary component parts, configuring these parts along with components received from various vendors and assembling a final product. We manufacture seismic equipment to the specifications of our customers. For example, we can armor cables for applications such as deep water uses. We assemble geophone strings and seismic telemetry cables based on a number of customer choices such as length, gauge, tolerance and color of molded parts. With regard to dry thermal film, we mix and react various chemicals to formulate a reactive layer that is then coated onto a clear polyester film. Upon completion of our manufacturing and assembly operations, we test our final products to the functional and, in the case of seismic equipment, environmental extremes of product specifications and inspect the products for quality assurance. We normally manufacture and ship our products based on customer orders and, therefore, typically do not maintain significant inventories of finished goods held for sale, although we do stock significant amounts of finished good sub-assemblies in anticipation of future customer orders.

Markets and Customers

Our principal customers for our traditional and wireless seismic products are seismic contractors and major independent and government-owned oil and gas companies that either operate their own seismic crews or specify seismic instrument and equipment preferences to contractors. For our deep water reservoir characterization products, our customers are generally large international oil and gas companies that operate long-term offshore oil and gas producing properties. Our thermal imaging customers primarily consist

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of direct users of our equipment as well as specialized resellers that focus on the newsprint, silkscreen and corrugated box printing industries. Our industrial product customers consist of specialty manufacturers, research institutions and industrial product distributors. Revenue recognition for the Statoil order comprised 36. 5% of our revenues during fiscal year 2013. Two customers comprised 16.9% and 11.0% of our revenues during fiscal year 2012. Two customers comprised 20.2% and 11.1% of our revenues during fiscal year 2011. The following table describes our sales by customer type (in thousands):

Intellectual Property

We seek to protect our intellectual property by means of patents, trademarks, trade secrets and other measures. Although we do not consider any single patent essential to our success, we consider our patents regarding our marine seismic cable retrieval devices to be of particular value to us. These patents are scheduled to expire in 2022. At this time we are not able to predict the effect of the patent expiration.

Research and Development

We expect to incur significant future research and development expenditures aimed at the development of additional seismic data acquisition products and thermal imaging technologies. We have incurred company-sponsored research and development expenses of $14.7 million, $12.2 million and $11.5 million during the fiscal years ended September 30, 2013, 2012 and 2011 respectively.

Employees

As of September 30, 2013, we employed approximately 1,333 people predominantly on a full-time basis, of which 960 were employed in the United States, 329 in the Russian Federation and the remainder in the Canada, United Kingdom, China and Colombia. Our employees in the Russian Federation belong to a national union for machine manufacturers. Our remaining employees are not unionized. We have never experienced a work stoppage and consider our relationship with our employees to be satisfactory.

Financial Information by Segment and Geographic Area

For a discussion of financial information by segment and geographic area, see Note 19 to the consolidated financial statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. For a description of risks attendant to our foreign operations, please see the risk factor below entitled “Our Foreign Subsidiaries and Foreign Marketing Efforts Face Additional Risks and Difficulties.”

Available Information

We file annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any document we file at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on their public reference room. Our SEC filings are also available to the public on our website at http://www.geospace.com. Please note that information contained on our website, whether currently posted or posted in the future, is not a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or the documents incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

Risk Factors

Commodity Price Levels May Affect Demand for Our Products

Demand for many of our products and the profitability of our operations depend primarily on the level of worldwide oil and gas exploration activity. Prevailing oil and gas prices, with an emphasis on crude oil prices, and market expectations regarding potential changes in such prices significantly affect the level of worldwide oil and gas exploration activity. During periods of improved energy commodity prices, the capital spending budgets of oil and natural gas operators tend to expand, which results in increased demand for our products. Conversely, in periods when these energy commodity prices deteriorate, capital spending budgets of oil and natural gas operators tend to contract and the demand for our products generally weakens. Historically, the markets for oil and gas have been volatile and are subject to wide fluctuation in response to changes in the supply of and demand for oil and gas, market uncertainty and a variety of additional factors that are beyond our control. These factors include the level of consumer demand, supplies of oil and natural gas, regional and international economic conditions, weather conditions, domestic and foreign governmental regulations (including those related to climate change), price and availability of alternative fuels, political conditions, instability and hostilities in the Middle East and other significant oil-producing regions, increases and decreases in foreign supply of oil and gas, the effect of worldwide energy conservation measures, and the ability of OPEC to set and maintain production levels and prices of foreign imports.

Slow economic recovery in the United States, uncertainty in the European markets and slowing economic growth in growing economies like those in China and India could lead to a decline in demand for crude oil and natural gas. Further slowdowns in economic activity would likely reduce worldwide demand for energy and result in an extended period of lower crude oil and natural gas prices. Any unexpected material changes in oil and gas prices or other market trends that adversely impact seismic exploration activity would likely affect the demand for our products and could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and liquidity.

Our New Products May Not Achieve Market Acceptance

Our outlook and assumptions are based on various macro-economic factors and internal assessments, and actual market conditions could vary materially from those assumed. In recent years, we have incurred significant expenditures to fund our research and development efforts, and we intend to continue those expenditures in the future. However, research and development is by its nature speculative, and we cannot assure you that these expenditures will result in the development of new products or services or that any new products and services we have developed recently or may develop in the future will be commercially marketable or profitable to us. In particular, we have incurred substantial expenditures to develop our wireless nodal seismic data acquisition systems, as well as other seismic products for reservoir characterization applications. In addition, we try to use some of our capabilities, particularly our cable manufacturing capabilities, to supply products to new markets. Further, we have incurred substantial expense and expended significant effort to develop our thermal solutions products. We cannot assure you that we will realize our expectations regarding acceptance of and revenues generated by our new products and services in existing or new markets.

We May Experience Fluctuations in Quarterly Results of Operations

Historically, the rate of new orders for our products has varied substantially from quarter to quarter. Moreover, we typically operate, and expect to continue to operate, on the basis of orders in-hand for our products before we commence substantial manufacturing “runs.” The short-term nature of our order backlog for most products generally does not allow us to predict with any accuracy demand for our products more than approximately three months in advance. Thus, our ability to replenish orders and the completion of orders, particularly large orders for deep water reservoir characterization projects, can significantly impact our operating results and cash flow for any quarter, and results of operations for any one quarter may not be indicative of results of operations for future quarters. These periodic fluctuations in our operating results could adversely affect our stock price.

Our Use of Percentage-of-Completion Method of Accounting Could Result in Volatility in our Results of Operations.

We recognize revenues and profits from certain long-term contracts using the percentage-of-completion method of accounting. Our current estimates of the contract costs and the profitability of our long-term contract, although reasonably reliable when made,

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could change as a result of uncertainties associated with this type of contract. Accordingly, we review the contract price and cost estimates periodically as our manufacturing efforts progress, and the cumulative impact of any periodic revisions to the contract price or cost estimates will be reflected in the period in which these changes become known, including, to the extent required, the recognition of losses at the time such losses are known and estimable, and such losses could be material. In addition, change orders can increase (and sometimes substantially) the future scope and cost of a job. Therefore, change order awards (although frequently beneficial in the long-term) can have the short-term effect of reducing the contract’s percentage-of-completion and thus the revenues and profits that otherwise would be recognized to date.

Our Credit Risk Could Increase if Our Customers Face Difficult Economic Circumstances

We believe that our allowances for bad debts are adequate in light of known circumstances. However, we cannot assure you that additional amounts attributable to uncollectible receivables and bad debt write-offs will not have a material adverse effect on our future results of operations. Many of our seismic customers are not well capitalized and as a result cannot always pay our invoices when due. We have in the past incurred write-offs in our accounts receivable due to customer credit problems. We have found it necessary from time to time to extend trade credit, including promissory notes, to long-term customers and others where some risks of non-payment exist. With the recent global financial crisis and tight commercial credit availability, some of our customers relying on credit markets as the source of funds for their capital spending may experience significant liquidity difficulties, which increase those credit risks. An increase in the level of bad debts and any deterioration in our credit risk could adversely affect the price of our stock. In addition, we rent equipment to our customers that can be utilized in various countries around the world. If our rental customers experience financial difficulties, it could be difficult or impossible to retrieve our rental equipment from foreign countries.

Our Industry is Characterized by Rapid Technological Development and Product Obsolescence

Our instruments and equipment are constantly undergoing rapid technological improvement. Our future success depends on our ability to continue to:

Current competitors or new market entrants may develop new technologies, products or standards that could render our products obsolete. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in developing and marketing, on a timely and cost effective basis, product enhancements or new products that respond to technological developments, that are accepted in the marketplace or that comply with new industry standards. Additionally, in anticipation of customer product orders, from time to time we acquire substantial quantities of inventories, which if not sold or integrated into products within a reasonable period of time, could become obsolete. In such case, we would be required to impair the value of such inventories on our balance sheet.

We Operate in Highly Competitive Markets

The markets for most of our products are highly competitive. Many of our existing and potential competitors have substantially greater marketing, financial and technical resources than we do. Some competitors currently offer a broader range of instruments and equipment for sale than we do and may offer financing arrangements to customers on terms that we may not be able to match. In addition, new competitors may enter the market and competition could intensify. As to our non-seismic thermal solutions products, we compete with other printing solutions, including inkjet and laser printing technologies, many of which are provided by large companies with significant resources.

We cannot assure you that sales of our products will continue at current volumes or prices if current competitors or new market entrants introduce new products with better features, performance, price or other characteristics than our products. Competitive

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pressures or other factors may also result in significant price competition that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

We Have a Limited Market for Our Seismic Products

In our seismic business segment, we generally market our traditional and wireless products to seismic service contractors. We estimate that, based on published industry sources, fewer than 50 seismic contracting companies are currently operating worldwide (excluding those operating in the Russian Federation and the former Soviet Union, India, the People’s Republic of China and certain Eastern European countries, where seismic data acquisition activity is difficult to verify). We estimate that fewer than 20 seismic contractors are engaged in marine seismic exploration. Due to these market factors, a relatively small number of customers, some of whom are experiencing financial difficulties, have accounted for most of our sales. From time to time these seismic contractors have sought to vertically integrate and acquire our competitors, which has influenced their supplier decisions before and after such transactions. In addition, consolidation among our customers may further concentrate our business to a limited number of customers and expose us to increased risks related to dependence on a small number of customers. The loss of a small number of these customers could materially and adversely impact sales of our seismic products. We market our seabed permanent reservoir monitoring systems products to large oil and gas companies.  Since this product’s introduction in 2002, we have received system orders from three offshore oil and gas operators including BP, Shell and Statoil which has accounted for a significant portion of our revenue in this and prior fiscal years.  If we do not receive new large orders for our permanent reservoir monitoring systems, our future revenues and profits from this product segment will decline significantly.

We Cannot Be Certain of the Effectiveness of Patent Protection

We hold and from time to time apply for certain patents relating to some of our seismic data acquisition and other products. We also own several patents which relate to the development of dry thermal film. We cannot assure you that our patents will prove enforceable or free of challenge, that any patents will be issued for which we have applied or that competitors will not develop functionally similar technology outside the protection of any patents we have or may obtain.

Our Foreign Subsidiaries and Foreign Marketing Efforts Face Additional Risks and Difficulties

Based on customer billing data, sales to foreign customers outside the United States accounted for approximately 71% of our sales during fiscal year 2013; however, we believe the percentage of sales outside the United States is much higher as many of our products are first delivered to a domestic location and ultimately shipped to a foreign location. We again expect sales outside of the United States to represent a substantial portion of our sales for fiscal year 2014 and subsequent years.

Foreign sales are subject to special risks inherent in doing business outside of the United States, including the risk of war, terrorist activities, civil disturbances, embargo and government activities and foreign attitudes about conducting business activities with the United States, restrictions of the movement and exchange of funds, inhibitions of our ability to collect accounts receivable, international sanctions, expropriation and nationalization of our assets or those of our customers, currency fluctuations, devaluations and conversion restrictions, confiscatory taxation or other adverse tax policies and governmental actions that may result in the deprivation of our contractual rights, all of which may disrupt markets or our operations.

A portion of our manufacturing is conducted through our subsidiary Geospace Technologies Eurasia, which is based in the Russian Federation. Our business could be directly affected by political and economic conditions in the Russian Federation. Boycotts, protests, governmental sanctions and other actions in the region could adversely affect our ability to operate profitably. The risk of doing business in the Russian Federation and other economically or politically volatile areas could adversely affect our operations and earnings. Foreign sales are also generally subject to the risk of compliance with additional laws, including tariff regulations and import and export restrictions. Sales into certain foreign countries require prior U.S. government approval in the form of an export license. We cannot assure you that we will not experience difficulties in connection with future foreign sales. Also due to foreign laws and restrictions, should we experience substantial growth in certain foreign markets, for example in the Russian Federation, we may not be able to transfer cash balances to the United States to assist with debt servicing or other obligations.

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Unfavorable Currency Exchange Rate Fluctuations Could Adversely Affect Our Results of Operations

Substantially all of our third-party sales from the United States are made in U.S. dollars, though from time to time we may make sales in foreign currencies including intercompany sales. As a result, we may be subject to foreign currency fluctuations on our sales. The reporting currency for our financial statements is the U.S. dollar. However, the assets, liabilities, revenues and costs of our Russian, Canadian, United Kingdom and Colombian subsidiaries are denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars. To prepare our consolidated financial statements, we must translate those assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses into U.S. dollars at then-applicable exchange rates. Consequently, increases and decreases in the value of the U.S. dollar versus these other currencies will affect the amount of these items in our consolidated financial statements, even if their value has not changed in their original currency. These translations could result in significant changes to our results of operations from period to period. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013, approximately 14.3% of our consolidated revenues related to the operations of our foreign subsidiaries.

We Have a Relatively Small Public Float, and Our Stock Price May be Volatile

In October 2012, we implemented a 2-for-1 split of our common stock effected in the legal form of a stock dividend. Other than the disclosure of the authorized number of shares of our common stock, we have adjusted all share and per-share disclosures for all periods presented in our consolidated financial statements to give effect to the stock split. Despite our recent 2-for-1 stock split, at September 30, 2013, we have approximately 12.6 million shares outstanding held by non-affiliates. This small float results in a relatively illiquid market for our common stock. Our daily trading volume for the year ended September 30, 2013 averaged approximately 146,000 shares. Our small float and daily trading volumes have in the past caused, and may in the future result in, significant volatility in our stock price.

We Rely on a Key Supplier for a Significant Portion of Our Dry Thermal Film

While we currently manufacture dry thermal film, we also purchase a large quantity of dry thermal film from a European manufacturer through its distributor in the United Kingdom. Except for the film produced by us and sold to us by this manufacturer/distributor, we know of no other source for dry thermal film that performs well in our thermal imaging equipment. If we are unable to economically manufacture dry thermal film internally or the European manufacturer/distributor we rely on were to discontinue producing dry thermal film, were to become unwilling to contract with us on competitive terms or were unable to supply dry thermal film in sufficient quantities to meet our requirements, our ability to compete in the thermal imaging marketplace could be impaired, which could adversely affect our financial performance.

Our Success Depends Upon a Limited Number of Key Personnel

Our success depends on attracting and retaining highly skilled professionals. A number of our employees are highly skilled engineers and other professionals. In addition, our success depends to a significant extent upon the abilities and efforts of the members of our senior management team. If we fail to continue to attract and retain such professionals, our ability to compete in the industry could be adversely affected.

A General Downturn in the Economy in Future Periods May Adversely Affect Our Business

Slow economic recovery in the United States, uncertainty in the European markets and slowing growth in China and India and any other economic slowdown in future periods, could adversely affect our business in ways that we cannot predict. During times of economic slowdown, our customers may reduce their capital expenditures and defer or cancel pending projects and product orders. Such developments occur even among customers that are not experiencing financial difficulties. Any economic downturn may adversely affect the demand for oil and gas generally or cause volatility in oil and gas commodity prices and, therefore, adversely affect the demand for delivery of our products to the oil and gas industry. It could also adversely affect the demand for consumer products, which could in turn adversely affect our thermal solutions business. To the extent these factors adversely affect other seismic companies in the industry, there could be an oversupply of products and services and downward pressure on pricing for seismic products and services, which could adversely affect us. Additionally, bankruptcies or financial difficulties among our customers could reduce our cash flows and adversely impact our liquidity and profitability. See “We Have a Limited Market for Our Seismic Products,” above.

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We Have a Minimal Disaster Recovery Program at our Houston Facilities

Due to its proximity to the Texas Gulf Coast, our facilities in Houston, Texas are annually subject to the threat of hurricanes, and the aftermath that follows. Hurricanes may cause, among other types of damage, the loss of electrical power for extended periods of time. If we lost electrical power at our Pinemont facility, or if a fire or other natural disaster occurred, we would be unable to continue our manufacturing operations during the power outage because we do not own a generator or any other back-up power source large enough to provide for our manufacturing power consumption needs. We have a back-up generator to provide power for our information technology operations. Although we store our back-up data offsite, we do not maintain an alternative facility to run our information technology operations. Additionally, we do not have an alternative manufacturing or operating location in the United States. A significant disruption in our manufacturing and information technology operations could materially and adversely affect our business operations during an extended period of a power outage, fire or other natural disaster.

The Credit Agreement Imposes Restrictions on Our Business

We and several of our subsidiaries are parties to a credit agreement with a bank. The credit agreement contains covenants and requires maintenance of certain financial ratios and tests, which impose restrictions on our business and on the business of our guarantor-subsidiaries. Our ability to comply with these restrictions may be affected by events beyond our control, including, but not limited to, prevailing economic, financial, and industry conditions and continuing declines in our sales of products. The breach of any of these covenants or restrictions, as well as any failure to make a payment of interest or principal when due, could result in a default under the credit agreement. Such a default would permit our lender to declare amounts borrowed from it to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest, and the ability to borrow under the credit agreement could be terminated. If we are unable to repay debt to our lender, the lender could proceed against the collateral securing that debt. While we intend to seek alternative sources of cash in such a situation, there is no guarantee that any alternative cash source would be available, or would be available on terms favorable to us.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

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Item 2. Properties

As of September 30, 2013, our operations included the following locations:

While we believe that our facilities are adequate for our immediate needs, we are currently evaluating plans for the expansion of our Houston manufacturing and engineering facilities.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

We are involved in various pending or potential legal actions in the ordinary course of our business. Management is unable to predict the ultimate outcome of these actions, because of the inherent uncertainty of litigation. However, management believes that the most probable, ultimate resolution of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

None.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity and Related Stockholder Matters

The following graph compares the performance of the Company’s common stock with the performance of the Russell 2000 index and the Standard & Poor’s Oil & Gas Equipment and Services index as of each of the dates indicated.

The graph assumes $100 invested on September 30, 2008 (a) in the Company’s common stock, (b) in the stocks comprising the Russell 2000 index on that day and (c) in the stocks comprising the Standard & Poor’s Oil & Gas Equipment and Services index on that day. Reinvestment of all dividends on stocks comprising the two indices is assumed. The foregoing graphs are based on historical data and are not necessarily indicative of future performance. These graphs shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the Securities and Exchange Commission or subject to the Regulations of 14A or 14C under the Exchange Act or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act.

Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “GEOS”. On November 18, 2013, there were approximately 12 holders of record of our common stock, and the closing price per share on such date was $103.55 as quoted by The NASDAQ Global Market.

In October 2012, we implemented a 2-for-1 split of our common stock effected in the legal form of a stock dividend. Other than the disclosure of the authorized number of shares of our common stock, we have adjusted all share and per-share disclosures for all periods presented in our consolidated financial statements, and the high and low stock prices presented in the table below, to give effect to the stock split.

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The following table shows the high and low per share sales prices for our common stock reported on The NASDAQ Global Market.

Since our initial public offering in 1997, we have not paid dividends, and we do not intend to pay cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. We presently intend to retain our earnings for use in our business, with any future decision to pay cash dividends dependent upon our growth, profitability, financial condition and other factors our Board of Directors may deem relevant. Our existing credit agreement also has covenants that materially limit our ability to pay dividends. For a discussion of our credit agreement, see the section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation – Liquidity and Capital Resources” contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

The following equity plan information is provided as of September 30, 2013:

Equity Compensation Plan Information

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Item 6. Selected Consolidated Financial Data

The following table sets forth certain selected historical financial data on a consolidated basis. We have derived the selected consolidated financial information as of September 30, 2013 and 2012 and for fiscal years 2013, 2012 and 2011 from our audited consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We have derived the selected consolidated financial information as of September 30, 2011, 2010 and 2009 and for fiscal years 2010 and 2009 from audited consolidated formation not included herein. The selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in item 7 and our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We did not declare or pay any cash dividends during any of the periods noted in the above tables.

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following is management’s discussion and analysis of the major elements of our consolidated financial statements. You should read this discussion and analysis together with our consolidated financial statements, including the accompanying notes, and other detailed information appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including under the heading “Risk Factors”. The discussion of our financial condition and results of operations includes various forward-looking statements about our markets, the demand for our products and services and our future plans and results. These statements are based on assumptions that we consider to be reasonable, but that could prove to be incorrect. For more information regarding our assumptions, you should refer to the section entitled “Forward-Looking Statements and Assumptions” contained in this Item 7 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Background

We design and manufacture instruments and equipment used by the oil and gas industry to acquire seismic data in order to locate, characterize and monitor hydrocarbon producing reservoirs. The company also designs and manufactures non-seismic products, including industrial products, offshore cables, thermal printing equipment and film. See the information under the heading “Business” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Consolidated Results of Operations

As we have reported in the past, our sales and operating profits have varied significantly from quarter-to-quarter, and even year-to-year, and are expected to continue that trend in the future, especially when our quarterly or annual financial results are impacted by the presence or absence of relatively large, but somewhat erratic, shipments of permanent seabed reservoir monitoring systems and/or wireless data acquisition systems for land and marine applications.

We report and evaluate financial information for two segments: Seismic and Non-Seismic. Summary financial data by business segment follows (in thousands):

Overview

Fiscal Year 2013 Compared to Fiscal Year 2012

Consolidated sales for fiscal year 2013 increased $108.9 million, or 56.8%, from fiscal year 2012. This increase in sales reflects greater demand for our seismic permanent reservoir monitoring products.

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Consolidated gross profit for fiscal year 2013 increased by $57.7 million, or 70.3%, from fiscal year 2012. The increase in gross profit resulted from increased sales of our permanent reservoir monitoring products.

Consolidated operating expenses for fiscal year 2013 increased $7.3 million, or 23.5%, from fiscal year 2012. The increase in operating expenses reflects higher personnel costs and other general expense increases associated with our sales growth and asset expansion.

The U.S. statutory tax rate applicable to us for fiscal years 2013 and 2012 was 35.0%; however, our effective tax rate was 31.2% and 32.3% for fiscal years 2013 and 2012, respectively. The lower effective tax rate for both fiscal years resulted from (i) the impact of the manufacturers’/producers’ deduction available in the United States, and (ii) research and experimentation tax credits.

Fiscal Year 2012 Compared to Fiscal Year 2011

Consolidated sales for fiscal year 2012 increased $18.7 million, or 10.8%, from fiscal year 2011. The higher level of sales resulted from increased customer demand for our seismic products and particularly robust demand for sales and rentals of our land-based wireless (or nodal) data acquisition systems. The increased demand for our seismic products is being driven by strong oil and gas exploration activities throughout the world.

Consolidated gross profit for fiscal year 2012 increased by $8.0 million, or 10.7%, from fiscal year 2011. The increase in gross profits resulted from increased sales and rentals of our seismic products.

Consolidated operating expenses for fiscal year 2012 increased $1.5 million, or 5.0%, from fiscal year 2011. The increase in operating expenses resulted from expanded activities associated with our sales growth, and from increased incentive compensation expenses.

The U.S. statutory tax rate applicable to us for fiscal years 2012 and 2011 was 35.0%; however, our effective tax rate was 32.3% and 33.4% for fiscal years 2012 and 2011, respectively. The lower effective tax rate for both fiscal years resulted from (i) the impact of the manufacturers’/producers’ deduction available in the United States, (ii) lower tax rates applicable to income earned in foreign tax jurisdictions and (iii) research and experimentation tax credits.

Segment Results of Operations

Seismic Products

Fiscal Year 2013 Compared to Fiscal Year 2012

Sales

Sales of our seismic products for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2013 increased by $110.3 million, or 66.9%, from the prior fiscal year. The components of this increase include the following:

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The rate of new customer orders for our seismic products, especially large orders for our wireless, marine, borehole and subsea reservoir products, generally occur irregularly thereby making it difficult for us to predict our sales and production levels each quarter. Furthermore, product shipping dates are generally determined by our customers and are not at our discretion. As a result, these factors have caused past sales of our seismic products to be unpredictable and we expect this trend to continue into the future.

Operating Income.

Operating income for fiscal year 2013 increased $54.1 million, or 96.7%, from fiscal year 2012. The higher level of operating income resulted primarily from the recognition of revenues from our permanent reservoir monitoring systems.

Fiscal Year 2012 Compared to Fiscal Year 2011

Sales

Sales of our seismic products for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012 increased by $17.3 million, or 11.7%, from the prior fiscal year. The components of this increase include the following:

Operating Income.

Operating income for fiscal year 2012 increased $6.5 million, or 13.1%, from fiscal year 2011. The higher level of operating income resulted from increased wireless product sales and the recognition of revenues from our reservoir products.

Non-Seismic Products

Fiscal Year 2013 Compared to Fiscal Year 2012

Sales.

Sales of our non-seismic products for the year ended September 30, 2013 decreased by $1.4 million, or 5.3%, from fiscal year 2012. This decrease is primarily due to lower sales of our thermal solutions and industrial sensor products to our European customers

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which appear to have been impacted by the region’s economic crisis. We expect the European market for sales of our non-seismic products to remain challenging during fiscal year 2014.

Operating Income.

Our operating income associated with sales of our non-seismic products for the year ended September 30, 2013 decreased $1.1 million, or 25.3%, from the corresponding period of the prior fiscal year. The decrease in operating income resulted from lower sales levels, and lower profit margins due to less favorable sales mix and higher operating expenses.

Fiscal Year 2012 Compared to Fiscal Year 2011

Sales.

Sales of our non-seismic products for fiscal year 2012 increased $1.4 million, or 5.6%, from fiscal year 2011. This increase resulted from higher sales of our offshore cable products, and was partially offset by a decrease in sales of our thermal imaging products.

Operating Income.

Our operating income from our non-seismic products for fiscal year 2012 increased $0.5 million, or 13.3%, from fiscal year 2011. The increase in operating income resulted from increased product sales.

Incentive Compensation Program

We adopted an incentive compensation program for fiscal year 2013 whereby most employees will be eligible to begin earning incentive compensation if the Company reaches a five percent pretax return on stockholders’ equity, determined as of September 30, 2012. To be eligible to participate in this incentive compensation program, employees must participate in our Core Values Program. Based on our experience in prior years, we expect one hundred percent of our eligible employees to participate in the Core Values Program. The incentive compensation program does not apply to the employees of our subsidiary in the Russian Federation since such employees participate in a locally administered bonus program. Certain non-executive employees are required to achieve specific goals to earn a significant portion of their total incentive compensation award. Any bonus awards earned under this program in fiscal year 2013 will be paid out to eligible employees after the end of the fiscal year.

Upon reaching the five percent threshold under this proposed program, an incentive compensation accrual will be established equal to 16.7 percent of the amount of any consolidated pretax profits above the five percent pretax return threshold. The maximum aggregate bonus available under the program for fiscal year 2013 was $6.5 million. For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2013 and 2012, we had accrued $6.5 million and $5.7 million, respectively, of incentive compensation expense.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Fiscal Year 2013

At September 30, 2013, we had $2.7 million in cash and cash equivalents. For fiscal year 2013, we used approximately $57.2 million of cash from operating activities. Sources of cash generated in our operating activities included our net income of $69.6 million. Additional sources of cash included net non-cash charges of $13.1 million for deferred income taxes, depreciation, amortization, accretion, stock-based compensation, inventory obsolescence and bad debts and a $3.3 million increase accrued expenses and other. These sources of cash were offset by uses of cash which included (i) a $73.4 million increase in inventories due to current and expected future production for the Statoil order and for production of marine and land wireless products in anticipation of future orders, (ii) a $33.7 million increase in trade accounts and notes receivable primarily resulting from increased sales and the timing of cash collections, (iii) a $13.6 million adjustment to transfer gross profits from rental equipment sales to investing activities since such transactions involve the sale of long-lived assets, (iv) a $12.4 million increase in costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings for the Statoil order, (v) a $7.5 million decrease in deferred revenue primarily due to the revenue recognition of advance payments received from Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda, (vi) a $1.1 million decrease in income tax payable resulting from the timing of our

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income tax payments, (vii) a $0.7 million increase in prepaid income taxes related to intercompany product sales, (viii) a $0.5 million increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets due to vendor prepayment requirements and tax deposits and (iv) a $0.4 million decrease in accounts payable due to the timing of payments to our vendors.

For fiscal year 2013, we generated approximately $3.4 million of cash from investing activities.  We generated $25.5 million of cash proceeds from the sale of used rental equipment and we generated $19.6 million of cash proceeds from the sale of short-term investments.  These cash proceeds were offset by an investment of $22.3 million to expand our rental equipment fleet to meet customer demand, and a $19.4 million investment in other property and equipment, including $8.5 million of real property acquisitions in Houston and Bogotá. We estimate that our capital expenditures for rental equipment in fiscal year 2014 could be approximately $30 million or more, excluding non-cash transfers from our inventory account.  In addition, we estimate that other capital expenditures for property and equipment could be approximately $30 million, including approximately $13 million for the in-process construction expenditures relating to the expansion of our Houston manufacturing and engineering facilities. We expect these capital expenditures will be financed from our cash on hand, internal cash flow, rental equipment sales proceeds and/or from borrowings under our Credit Agreement.

For fiscal year 2013, we generated approximately $5.8 million of cash from financing activities.  We generated $4.8 million from the exercise of stock options and related tax benefits and we borrowed $0.9 million under our Credit Facility for working capital purposes. Such borrowings were subsequently repaid during October 2013.

Fiscal Year 2012

At September 30, 2012, we had $50.8 million in cash and cash equivalents. In addition, we had $20.0 million of short-term investments at September 30, 2012. For fiscal year 2012, we generated approximately $43.2 million of cash from operating activities. The primary sources of cash generated in our operating activities resulted from net income of $35.1 million. Additional sources of cash included net non-cash charges of $13.3 million for deferred income tax expense, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation, inventory obsolescence and bad debts. Other sources of cash from operating activities included (i) a $12.2 million increase in accounts payable due to increased purchases of raw materials, (ii) a $7.9 million increase in deferred revenue resulting from an increase in the amount of advanced payments received from our customers, (iii) a $3.8 million decrease in trade accounts and notes receivable primarily resulting from improved cash receipts from customers during fiscal year 2012, and (iv) a $0.6 million increase in accrued expenses and other, including a $1.6 million increase in incentive compensation expenses due to increased consolidated pretax earnings. These sources of cash were offset by (i) a $15.6 million increase in inventories due to increasing levels of work-in-process resulting from known and anticipated product orders, rental equipment demands and the production of a permanent seabed acquisition for Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda , (ii) a $10.0 million adjustment to transfer gross profits from rental equipment sales to investing activities since such transactions involve the sale of long-lived assets, and (iii) a $4.5 million increase in prepaid income taxes related to intercompany sales.

For fiscal year 2012, we used approximately $26.3 million of cash in investing activities. The uses of cash primarily resulted from (i) our investment of $31.7 million for rental equipment, (ii) $4.0 million of capital expenditures for property and equipment, and (iii) a $14.8 million net increase in our short-term investments. In addition, we transferred $2.0 million of inventories to our rental equipment during fiscal year 2011 which had a non-cash impact. The uses of cash outlined above were partially offset by $24.2 million of proceeds from the sale of used rental equipment.

For fiscal year 2012, we generated approximately $2.5 million of cash in the financing activities from the exercise of stock options and related tax benefits.

Fiscal Year 2011

At September 30, 2011, we had $31.4 million in cash and cash equivalents. For fiscal year 2011, we generated approximately $1.1 million of cash in operating activities. Sources of cash generated in our operating activities resulted from net income of $29.7 million. Additional sources of cash included net non-cash charges of $11.8 million for deferred income tax benefit, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation, inventory obsolescence and bad debts. Other sources of cash included (i) a $2.0 million decrease in trade accounts and notes receivable primarily resulting from improved cash receipts from customers during fiscal year

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2011, (ii) a $1.8 million increase in accrued expenses and other, primarily resulting from an increase of $0.8 million for incentive compensation expenses due to increased consolidated pretax earnings, and a $0.7 million increase in warranty accruals due to increased potential warranty exposure resulting from increased product sales, and (iii) a $1.2 million increase in accounts payable due to increased purchases of raw materials. These sources of cash were offset by (i) a $29.5 million increase in inventories due to the replenishment of low levels of our wireless data acquisition system inventories, and increasing levels of work-in-process resulting from product orders and anticipated demand for wireless data acquisition system sales and rentals, (ii) a $11.2 million adjustment to transfer gross profits from rental equipment sales to investing activities since such transactions involve the sale of long-lived assets, (iii) a $2.5 million increase in other current assets resulting from the advanced payment of income taxes in certain tax jurisdictions, (iv) a $1.7 million decrease in income tax payable resulting from the payment of income taxes owed on our pretax profits, and (v) a $0.6 million decrease in deferred revenue resulting from a reduction in the amount of advanced payments received from our customers.

For fiscal year 2011, we used approximately $5.2 million of cash in investing activities. The uses of cash primarily resulted from (i) our investment of $15.4 million for rental equipment, (ii) $4.7 million of capital expenditures for property and equipment, and (iii) a $4.9 million investment in short-term investments. In addition, we transferred $0.2 million of inventories to our rental equipment during fiscal year 2011 which had a non-cash impact. The uses of cash outlined above were partially offset by $19.9 million of proceeds from the sale of used rental equipment.

For fiscal year 2011, we generated approximately $2.0 million of cash in the financing activities of our operations. During fiscal year 2011, we generated $9.7 million of proceeds from the exercise of stock options and related tax benefits. Partially offsetting these proceeds was a $7.7 million cash payment to pay off a mortgage loan obligation.

On March 2, 2011, we entered into a credit agreement with a bank. On September 27, 2013, we amended the credit agreement and increased the borrowing availability to $50.0 million (as amended, the “Credit Agreement”). Our borrowings are principally secured by our accounts receivable, inventories and equipment. In addition, certain of our domestic subsidiaries have guaranteed our obligations under the Credit Agreement and such subsidiaries have secured the obligations by the pledge of certain of the assets of such subsidiaries. The Credit Agreement expires on April 27, 2016 and all borrowed funds are due and payable at that time. We are required to make quarterly interest payments on borrowed funds. The Credit Agreement limits the incurrence of additional indebtedness, requires the maintenance of certain financial ratios, restricts us and our subsidiaries’ ability to pay cash dividends and contains other covenants customary in agreements of this type. The interest rate for borrowings under the Credit Agreement is a LIBOR based rate with a margin spread of 250-325 basis points depending upon the maintenance of certain ratios. At September 30, 2013, we were in compliance with all covenants. At September 30, 2013 and 2012, there were borrowings of $0.9 million and zero, respectively, outstanding under the Credit Agreement. There were standby letters of credit outstanding in the amount of $42,000 and additional borrowings available were $49.1 million. Please see “Risk Factors” for more information about the restrictive covenants imposed on us by the Credit Agreement.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any obligations which meet the definition of an off-balance sheet arrangement and which have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on our financial statements or the items contained therein that are material to investors.

Contractual Obligations

For information regarding our contractual obligations over the course of the next five years, please refer to Note 10 and Note 17 to our consolidated financial statements contained in this Annual Report, which provide detailed information regarding repayment of our Credit Agreement and an operating lease.

Critical Accounting Policies

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires the use of estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. We consider many factors in selecting appropriate operational and financial accounting policies and controls, and in developing the

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estimates and assumptions that are used in the preparation of these financial statements. We continually evaluate our estimates, including those related to percentage of completion revenue recognition, bad debt reserves, inventory obsolescence reserves, self-insurance reserves for medical expenses, product warranty reserves, intangible assets, stock-based compensation and deferred income tax assets. We base our estimates on historical experience and various other factors, including the impact from the current economic conditions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different conditions or assumptions.

Our normal credit terms for trade receivables are 30 days. In certain situations, credit terms for trade receivables may be extended to 60 days or longer and such receivables generally do not require collateral. Additionally, we provide long-term financing in the form of promissory notes when competitive conditions require such financing and, in such cases, we may require collateral. We perform ongoing credit evaluations of our customers’ accounts and notes receivable and allowances are recognized for potential credit losses.

Our long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment whenever an event or change in circumstances indicates the carrying amount of an asset or group of assets may not be recoverable. The impairment review, if necessary, includes a comparison of expected future cash flows (undiscounted and without interest charges) to be generated by an asset group with the associated carrying value of the related assets. If the carrying value of the asset group exceeds the expected future cash flows, an impairment loss is recognized to the extent that the carrying value of the asset group exceeds its fair value.

Management makes judgments regarding the interpretation of tax laws that might be challenged upon an audit and causes changes to previous estimates of tax liability. In addition, we operate within multiple taxing jurisdictions and are subject to audit in these jurisdictions as well as by the Internal Revenue Service. In management’s opinion, adequate provisions for income taxes have been made for all open tax years. The potential outcomes of examinations are regularly assessed in determining the adequacy of the provision for income taxes and income tax liabilities. Management believes that adequate provisions have been made for reasonable and foreseeable outcomes related to uncertain tax matters.

We record a write-down of our inventories when the cost basis of any manufactured product, including any estimated future costs to complete the manufacturing process, exceeds its net realizable value. Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market value. Cost is determined on a first-in, first-out method, except that our subsidiary in the Russian Federation uses an average cost method to value its inventories.

We periodically review the composition of our inventories to determine if market demand, product modifications, technology changes, excessive quantities on-hand and other factors hinder our ability to recover its investment in such inventories. Management’s assessment is based upon historical product demand, estimated future product demand and various other judgments and estimates. Inventory obsolescence reserves are recorded when such assessments reveal that portions or components of our inventory investment will not be realized in our operating activities.

We primarily derive revenue from the sale and short-term rental under operating leases, of products. Our products are produced in a standard manufacturing operation. We recognize revenue from product sales when (i) title passes to the customer, (ii) the customer assumes risks and rewards of ownership, (iii) the product sales price has been determined, (iv) collectability of the sales price is reasonably assured, and (v) product delivery occurs as directed by our customer. We recognize rental revenues as earned over the rental period. Rentals of our equipment generally range from daily rentals to rental periods of up to six months or longer. Service revenues are recognized when services are rendered and are generally priced on a per day rate. Except for certain of our reservoir characterization products, our products are generally sold without any customer acceptance provisions and our standard terms of sale do not allow customers to return products for credit.

We utilize the percentage-of-completion method (the “POC Method”) to recognize revenues and costs on future contracts having the following characteristics:

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The POC Method will require our senior management to make estimates, at least quarterly, of the (i) total costs of the contract, (ii) manufacturing progress against the contract, and (iii) the estimated cost to complete the contract. These estimates will impact the amount of revenue and gross profit we will recognize for each reporting period. Significant estimates that may affect future cost to complete a contract include the cost and availability of raw materials and component parts, engineering services, manufacturing equipment, labor, manufacturing capacity, factory productivity, contract penalties and disputes, product warranties and other contingent factors. The cumulative impact of periodic revisions to the future cost to complete a contract will be reflected in the period in which these changes become known, including, to the extent required, the recognition of losses at the time such losses are known and estimable on contracts in progress. Due to the various estimates inherent in the POC Method, actual results could differ from those estimates.

Most of our products do not require installation assistance or sophisticated instruction. We offer a standard product warranty, which obligates us to repair or replace equipment with manufacturing defects. We maintain a reserve for future warranty costs based on historical experience or, in the absence of historical experience, management estimates.

Forward-Looking Statements and Assumptions

This Annual Report on Form 10-K and the documents incorporated by reference herein, if any, contain “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “intend”, “expect”, “plan”, “budget”, “forecast”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “continue”, “evaluating” or similar words. Statements that contain these words should be read carefully because they discuss our future expectations, contain projections of our future results of operations or of our financial position or state other forward-looking information. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements that we make regarding our expected operating results, the adoption and sale of our products in various geographic regions, anticipated levels of capital expenditures and the sources of funding therefore, and our strategy for growth, product development, market position, financial results and reserves. These forward-looking statements reflect our best judgment about future events and trends based on the information currently available to us. However, there will likely be events in the future that we are not able to predict or control. The factors listed under the caption “Risk Factors”, as well as cautionary language in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. You should be aware that the occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position, and actual events and results of operations may vary materially from our current expectations.

Management’s Current Outlook and Assumptions

Our estimates as to future results and industry trends, to the extent described in this document, are primarily based on assumptions regarding the future level of seismic exploration activity and seismic reservoir monitoring projects, and in turn, their effect on the demand and pricing of our products and services. Our analysis of the market and its impact on us is based upon the following assumptions:

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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

We have market risk relative to sensitive instruments entered into for trading purposes and have only very limited risk as to arrangements entered into other than for trading purposes. We do not engage in commodity or commodity derivative instrument purchase or sales transactions. Because of the inherent unpredictability of foreign currency rates and interest rates, as well as other factors, actual results could differ materially from those projected in this Item 7A.

Foreign Currency and Operations Risk

One of our wholly-owned subsidiaries, Geospace Technologies Eurasia, is located in the Russian Federation. In addition, another of our wholly-owned subsidiaries, Geospace Technologies Sucursal Sudamericana, is located in Colombia. Our financial results for these entities may be affected by factors such as changes in foreign currency exchange rates, weak economic conditions, or changes in the political climate. Our consolidated balance sheet at September 30, 2013 reflected approximately $7.1 million and $0.7 million of net working capital related to our Russian and Colombian operations, respectively. Both of these entities receive a portion of their revenues and pay a majority of their expenses primarily in their local currency. To the extent that transactions of these entities are settled in their local currency, a devaluation of these currencies versus the U.S. dollar could reduce any contribution from these entities to our consolidated results of operations and total comprehensive income as reported in U.S. dollars. We do not hedge the market risk with respect to our operations in these countries; therefore, such risk is a general and unpredictable risk of future disruptions in the valuation of such currencies versus U.S. dollars to the extent such disruptions result in any reduced valuation of

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these foreign entities’ net working capital or future contributions to our consolidated results of operations. At September 30, 2013, the foreign exchange rate for $1.00 (one U.S. dollar) was equal to 32.4 Russian Rubles and 1,912 Colombian Pesos, respectively. If the value of the U.S. dollar were to decline by ten percent against these foreign currencies, our working capital in the Russian Federation and Colombia could decline by $0.7 million and $70,000, respectively.

Foreign Currency Intercompany Accounts and Notes Receivable

From time to time, we provide access to capital to our foreign subsidiaries through U.S. dollar denominated interest bearing promissory notes. Such funds are generally used by our foreign subsidiaries to purchase capital assets and for general working capital needs. In addition, we sell products to our foreign subsidiaries on trade credit terms in both U.S. dollars and in the subsidiary’s local currency. Because we have intercompany debts denominated in foreign currencies, any appreciation or devaluation of such foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar will result in a gain or loss, respectively, to our consolidated statement of operations. At September 30, 2013, we had outstanding intercompany accounts receivable of $28.3 million from our Canadian subsidiary which are denominated in Canadian dollars. We entered into an agreement with a United States bank to hedge $20.0 million of this foreign exchange exposure, resulting in a net Canadian dollar denominated intercompany accounts payable exposure to the U.S. dollar of $8.3 million at September 30, 2013. At September 30, 2013, the foreign exchange rate for $1.00 (one U.S. dollar) was equal to 0.97 Canadian dollars. If the U.S. dollar exchange rate were to strengthen by ten percent against the Canadian dollar, we would recognize a foreign exchange loss of $0.8 million in our consolidated financial statements.

Floating Interest Rate Risk

The Credit Agreement contains a floating interest rate, which subjects us to the risk of increased interest costs associated with any upward movements in bank market interest rates. Under the Credit Agreement our borrowing interest rate is a LIBOR based rate plus 250-325 basis points. The interest rate at September 30, 2013 was 2.7%. As of September 30, 2013 and 2012, we had $0.9 million and zero, respectively, borrowed under the Credit Agreement. At September 30, 2013 based on our current level of borrowings, a 1.0% increase in interest rates would increase interest expense annually by approximately $9,000.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Our consolidated financial statements, including the reports thereon, the notes thereto and supplementary data begin at page F-1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and are incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

None.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining a system of disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified under SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, there can be no assurance that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures will detect or uncover all failures of persons within the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries to report material information otherwise required to be set forth in the Company’s reports.

In connection with the preparation of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Company carried out an evaluation under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s management, including the CEO and CFO, as of September 30, 2013 of the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Based on that evaluation, the CEO and CFO concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective as of September 30, 2013.

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Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act). 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.

Our management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2013. In making this assessment, we used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control Integrated Framework (1992). Based on this assessment, our management concluded that, as of September 30, 2013, our internal control over financial reporting is effective based on those criteria.

Our internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2013 has been audited by UHY LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which appears herein.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the Company’s fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2013 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B. Other Information

None.

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PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

The information required by this Item is contained in our definitive Proxy Statement to be distributed in connection with our 2014 Annual Meeting of Stockholders under the captions “Election of Directors”, “Executive Officers and Compensation,” “Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance” and “Code of Ethics” and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 11. Executive Compensation

The information required by this Item is contained in our definitive Proxy Statement to be distributed in connection with our 2014 Annual Meeting of Stockholders under the caption “Executive Officers and Compensation” and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

The information required by this Item is contained in our definitive Proxy Statement to be distributed in connection with our 2014 Annual Meeting of Stockholders under the caption “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” and is incorporated herein by reference, and in Item 5, “Market for Registrant’s Common Equity and Related Stockholder Matters,” contained in Part II hereof.

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence

The information required by this Item is contained in our definitive Proxy Statement to be distributed in connection with our 2013 Annual Meeting of Stockholders under the caption “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions” and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services

The information required by this Item is contained in our definitive Proxy Statement to be distributed in connection with our 2014 Annual Meeting of Stockholders under the caption “Independent Public Accountants” and is incorporated herein by reference.

 26 

PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

Financial Statements and Financial Statement Schedules

The financial statements and financial statement schedules listed on the accompanying Index to Financial Statements (see page F-1) are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Exhibits

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act, this Annual Report on Form 10-K has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 29 

GEOSPACE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

F- 1 

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and

Stockholders of Geospace Technologies Corporation:

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Geospace Technologies Corporation and subsidiaries (“the Company”) as of September 30, 2013 and 2012, and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the three fiscal years in the period ended September 30, 2013. Our audits also included the financial statement schedule listed in the accompanying index. These consolidated financial statements and schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements and schedule based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit 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 consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Geospace Technologies Corporation and subsidiaries as of September 30, 2013 and 2012, and the consolidated results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three fiscal years in the period ended September 30, 2013, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also, in our opinion, the related financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic consolidated financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the effectiveness of Geospace Technologies Corporation and subsidiaries’ internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2013, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (1992) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), and our report dated November 22, 2013 expressed an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

/s/ UHY LLP

Houston, Texas

November 22, 2013

F- 2 

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and

Stockholders of Geospace Technologies Corporation:

We have audited Geospace Technologies Corporation and subsidiaries’ (“the Company”) internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2013, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (1992) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in Part II, Item 9A of this Form 10-K. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control, and performing such other procedures as we considered 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 (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

In our opinion, Geospace Technologies Corporation and subsidiaries maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2013, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (1992) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated balance sheets of Geospace Technologies Corporation and subsidiaries as of September 30, 2013 and 2012, and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the three fiscal years in the period ended September 30, 2013, and our report dated November 22, 2013 expressed an unqualified opinion on those consolidated financial statements.

/s/ UHY LLP

Houston, Texas

November 22, 2013

F- 3 

Geospace Technologies Corporation and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands, except share amounts)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

F- 4 

Geospace Technologies Corporation and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Operations

(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

F- 5 

Geospace Technologies Corporation and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income

(In thousands)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

F- 6 

Geospace Technologies Corporation and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statement of Stockholders’ Equity

For the years ended September 30, 2013, 2012 and 2011

(In thousands, except share amounts)