IMMERSION CORP - Quarter Report: 2006 September (Form 10-Q)
Table of Contents
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
(MARK
ONE)
þ | QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2006
OR
o | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
Commission file number 000-27969
IMMERSION CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware | 94-3180138 | |
(State or other jurisdiction of | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |
incorporation or organization) |
801 Fox Lane, San Jose, California 95131
(Address of principal executive offices)(Zip Code)
(408) 467-1900
(Registrants telephone number, including area code)
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed
by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or
for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been
subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated
filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of accelerated filer and large accelerated
filer in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer o Accelerated filer þ Non-accelerated filer o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes o No þ
Number of shares of common stock outstanding at November 2, 2006: 24,624,580
IMMERSION CORPORATION
INDEX
Page | ||||||||
FINANCIAL INFORMATION |
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3 | ||||||||
4 | ||||||||
5 | ||||||||
6 | ||||||||
23 | ||||||||
38 | ||||||||
39 | ||||||||
OTHER INFORMATION |
||||||||
39 | ||||||||
43 | ||||||||
56 | ||||||||
57 | ||||||||
EXHIBIT 31.1 | ||||||||
EXHIBIT 31.2 | ||||||||
EXHIBIT 32.1 | ||||||||
EXHIBIT 32.2 |
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PART I
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
IMMERSION CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
September 30, | December 31, | |||||||
2006 | 2005 | |||||||
ASSETS |
||||||||
Current assets: |
||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 29,037 | $ | 28,171 | ||||
Accounts receivable (net of allowances for doubtful accounts of: September 30, 2006,
$132 and December 31, 2005, $383) |
5,458 | 4,650 | ||||||
Inventories, net |
2,419 | 2,655 | ||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
857 | 1,131 | ||||||
Total current assets |
37,771 | 36,607 | ||||||
Property and equipment, net |
1,724 | 1,366 | ||||||
Intangibles and other assets, net |
7,243 | 6,787 | ||||||
Total assets |
$ | 46,738 | $ | 44,760 | ||||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS DEFICIT |
||||||||
Current liabilities: |
||||||||
Accounts payable |
$ | 1,234 | $ | 2,179 | ||||
Accrued compensation |
1,272 | 1,193 | ||||||
Other current liabilities |
1,988 | 1,604 | ||||||
Deferred revenue and customer advances |
2,179 | 2,741 | ||||||
Current portion of long-term debt |
| 5 | ||||||
Total current liabilities |
6,673 | 7,722 | ||||||
Long-term debt, less current portion |
17,964 | 17,490 | ||||||
Long-term deferred revenue, less current portion |
29,355 | 21,294 | ||||||
Long-term customer advance from Microsoft (Note 8) |
15,000 | 15,000 | ||||||
Other long-term liabilities |
34 | 49 | ||||||
Total liabilities |
69,026 | 61,555 | ||||||
Contingencies (Note 16) |
||||||||
Stockholders deficit: |
||||||||
Common stock and additional paid-in capital $0.001 par value; 100,000,000 shares
authorized; shares issued and outstanding: September 30, 2006, 24,619,956 and
December 31, 2005, 24,360,427 |
109,207 | 106,277 | ||||||
Warrants |
3,686 | 3,686 | ||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income |
83 | 64 | ||||||
Accumulated deficit |
(135,264 | ) | (126,822 | ) | ||||
Total stockholders deficit |
(22,288 | ) | (16,795 | ) | ||||
Total liabilities and stockholders deficit |
$ | 46,738 | $ | 44,760 | ||||
See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
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IMMERSION CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
2006 | 2005 | 2006 | 2005 | |||||||||||||
Revenues: |
||||||||||||||||
Royalty and license |
$ | 1,336 | $ | 1,473 | $ | 4,948 | $ | 6,273 | ||||||||
Product sales |
4,261 | 3,376 | 11,544 | 9,328 | ||||||||||||
Development contracts and other |
962 | 538 | 2,752 | 1,804 | ||||||||||||
Total revenues |
6,559 | 5,387 | 19,244 | 17,405 | ||||||||||||
Costs and expenses: |
||||||||||||||||
Cost of product sales (exclusive of amortization of intangibles
shown separately below) |
1,980 | 1,756 | 5,137 | 4,808 | ||||||||||||
Sales and marketing |
3,068 | 2,679 | 9,154 | 8,576 | ||||||||||||
Research and development |
1,894 | 1,446 | 5,425 | 4,483 | ||||||||||||
General and administrative |
2,463 | 3,073 | 7,570 | 7,557 | ||||||||||||
Amortization of intangibles |
227 | 314 | 656 | 1,050 | ||||||||||||
Litigation settlement |
(300 | ) | | (1,350 | ) | | ||||||||||
Restructuring costs |
| | | 185 | ||||||||||||
Total costs and expenses |
9,332 | 9,268 | 26,592 | 26,659 | ||||||||||||
Operating loss |
(2,773 | ) | (3,881 | ) | (7,348 | ) | (9,254 | ) | ||||||||
Interest and other income |
63 | 131 | 250 | 373 | ||||||||||||
Interest and other expense |
(403 | ) | (396 | ) | (1,213 | ) | (1,129 | ) | ||||||||
Loss before provision for income taxes |
(3,113 | ) | (4,146 | ) | (8,311 | ) | (10,010 | ) | ||||||||
Provision for income taxes |
(44 | ) | (12 | ) | (131 | ) | (110 | ) | ||||||||
Net loss |
$ | (3,157 | ) | $ | (4,158 | ) | $ | (8,442 | ) | $ | (10,120 | ) | ||||
Basic and diluted net loss per share |
$ | (0.13 | ) | $ | (0.17 | ) | $ | (0.34 | ) | $ | (0.42 | ) | ||||
Shares used in calculating basic and diluted net loss per share |
24,590 | 24,132 | 24,519 | 23,950 | ||||||||||||
See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
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IMMERSION CORPORATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
Nine Months Ended | ||||||||
September 30, | ||||||||
2006 | 2005 | |||||||
Cash flows from operating activities: |
||||||||
Net loss |
$ | (8,442 | ) | $ | (10,120 | ) | ||
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities: |
||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
549 | 575 | ||||||
Amortization of intangibles |
656 | 1,050 | ||||||
Stock-based compensation |
2,141 | 2 | ||||||
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation |
(19 | ) | | |||||
Interest expense accretion on 5% Convertible Debenture (Note 6) |
474 | 476 | ||||||
Fair value adjustment of Put Option and Registration Rights |
(15 | ) | (97 | ) | ||||
Loss on disposal of equipment |
2 | | ||||||
Write off of intangibles |
35 | | ||||||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
||||||||
Accounts receivable |
(802 | ) | (89 | ) | ||||
Inventories |
299 | (1,214 | ) | |||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
254 | 416 | ||||||
Accounts payable |
(1,279 | ) | (2,571 | ) | ||||
Accrued compensation and other current liabilities |
477 | 133 | ||||||
Deferred revenue and customer advances |
7,500 | 14,176 | ||||||
Net cash provided by operating activities |
1,830 | 2,737 | ||||||
Cash flows used in investing activities: |
||||||||
Intangibles and other assets |
(1,126 | ) | (768 | ) | ||||
Purchases of property and equipment |
(964 | ) | (542 | ) | ||||
Proceeds from the sale of property and equipment |
| 5 | ||||||
Net cash used in investing activities |
(2,090 | ) | (1,305 | ) | ||||
Cash flows from financing activities: |
||||||||
Issuance of common stock under employee stock purchase plan |
242 | 234 | ||||||
Exercise of stock options |
528 | 1,291 | ||||||
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation |
19 | | ||||||
Increase in issuance cost of 5% Convertible Debenture (Note 6) |
| (55 | ) | |||||
Payments on notes payable and capital leases |
(5 | ) | (9 | ) | ||||
Net cash provided by financing activities |
784 | 1,461 | ||||||
Effect of exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents |
342 | 252 | ||||||
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents |
866 | 3,145 | ||||||
Cash and cash equivalents: |
||||||||
Beginning of the period |
28,171 | 25,538 | ||||||
End of the period |
$ | 29,037 | $ | 28,683 | ||||
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: |
||||||||
Cash paid for taxes |
$ | 27 | $ | 47 | ||||
Cash paid for interest |
$ | 753 | $ | 776 | ||||
See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.
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IMMERSION CORPORATION
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
September 30, 2006
(Unaudited)
1. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Description of Business
Immersion Corporation (the Company) was incorporated in 1993 in California and
reincorporated in Delaware in 1999 and develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range
of hardware and software technologies and products that enhance touch interaction with digital
devices.
Principles of Consolidation and Basis of Presentation
The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Immersion Corporation
and its majority-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts, transactions, and balances have
been eliminated in consolidation.
The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance
with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for interim financial
information and with the instructions for Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X and,
therefore, do not include all information and footnotes necessary for a complete presentation of
the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows, in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These condensed consolidated
financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Companys audited consolidated
financial statements included in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2005. In the opinion of management, all adjustments consisting of only normal
recurring items necessary for the fair presentation of the financial position and results of
operations for the interim periods have been included.
The results of operations for the interim periods ended September 30, 2006 are not necessarily
indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.
Reclassifications
Certain reclassifications have been made to prior year balances in order to conform to the
current year presentation. These reclassifications had no effect on net loss or stockholders
deficit.
Revenue Recognition
The Company recognizes revenues in accordance with applicable accounting standards, including
Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 104, Revenue Recognition, Emerging Issues Task Force
(EITF) Issue No. 00-21, Accounting for Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables, and the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Statement of Position (SOP) 97-2,
Software Revenue Recognition, as amended. Revenue is recognized when persuasive evidence of an
arrangement exists, delivery has occurred or service has been rendered, the fee is fixed and
determinable, and collectibility is probable. The Company derives its revenues from three principal
sources: royalty and license fees, product sales, and development contracts.
Royalty and license revenue The Company recognizes royalty and license revenue based on
royalty reports or related information received from the licensee as well as time-based licenses of
its intellectual property portfolio. Up-front payments under license agreements are deferred and
recognized as revenue based on either the royalty reports received or amortized over the license
period depending on the nature of the agreement. Advance payments under license agreements that
also require the Company to provide future services to the licensee are deferred and recognized
over the service period when vendor-specific objective evidence (VSOE) related to the value of
the services does not exist.
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The Company generally recognizes revenue from its licensees under one or a combination of the
following models:
License revenue model | Revenue recognition | |
Perpetual license of intellectual
property portfolio based on per unit
royalties, no services contracted.
|
Based on royalty reports received from licensees. No further obligations to licensee exist. | |
Time-based license of intellectual
property portfolio with up-front
payments and/or annual minimum
royalty requirements, no services
contracted.
|
Based on straight-line amortization of annual minimum/up-front payment recognized over contract period or annual minimum period. No further obligations to licensee exist. | |
Perpetual license of intellectual
property portfolio or technology
license along with contract for
development work.
|
Based on cost-to-cost percentage-of-completion accounting method over the service period. Obligation to licensee exists until development work is complete. | |
License of software or technology, no
modification necessary, no services
contracted.
|
Up-front revenue recognition based on SOP 97-2 criteria or EITF No. 00-21, as applicable. |
Individual contracts may have characteristics that do not fall within a specific license model
or may have characteristics of a combination of license models. Under those circumstances, the
Company recognizes revenue in accordance with SAB No. 104, EITF No. 00-21, and SOP 97-2, as
amended, to guide the accounting treatment for each individual contract. See also the discussion
regarding Multiple element arrangements below. If the information received from the Companys
licensees regarding royalties is incorrect or inaccurate, the Companys revenues in future periods
may be adversely affected. To date, none of the information the Company has received from its
licensees has caused any material adjustment to period revenues.
Product sales The Company recognizes revenues from product sales when the product is
shipped, provided that collection is determined to be probable and no significant obligation
remains. The Company sells the majority of its products with warranties ranging from 3 to 24
months. The Company records the estimated warranty costs during the quarter the revenue is
recognized. Historically, warranty-related costs and related accruals have not been significant.
The Company offers a general right of return on the MicroScribe® product line for 14 days after
purchase. The Company recognizes revenue at the time of shipment of a MicroScribe digitizer and
provides an accrual for potential returns based on historical experience. The Company offers no
other general right of return on its products.
Development contracts and other revenue Development contracts and other revenue is comprised
of professional services (consulting services and/or development contracts), customer support, and
extended warranty contracts. Development contract revenues are recognized under the cost-to-cost
percentage-of-completion accounting method based on physical completion of the work to be
performed. Losses on contracts are recognized when determined. Revisions in estimates are reflected
in the period in which the conditions become known. Customer support and extended warranty contract
revenue is recognized ratably over the contractual period.
Multiple element arrangements The Company enters into revenue arrangements in which the
customer purchases a combination of patent, technology, and/or software licenses, products,
professional services, support, and extended warranties (multiple element arrangements). When VSOE
of fair value exists for all elements, the Company allocates revenue to each element based on the
relative fair value of each of the elements. The price charged when the element is sold separately
generally determines the fair value or VSOE. For arrangements where VSOE of fair value exists only
for the undelivered elements, the Company defers the full fair value of the undelivered elements
and recognizes the difference between the total arrangement fee and the amount deferred for the
undelivered items as revenue, assuming all other criteria for revenue recognition have been met.
The Companys revenue recognition policies are significant because the Companys revenues are
a key component of its results of operations. In addition, the Companys revenue recognition
policies determine the timing of certain expenses, such as commissions and royalties.
Stock-based Compensation
On January 1, 2006, the Company adopted the provisions of, and accounted for stock-based
compensation in accordance with, the Financial Accounting Standards Boards (FASB) Statement of
Financial Accounting Standards No. 123revised 2004 (SFAS No. 123R), Share-Based Payment which
replaced Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (SFAS No. 123), Accounting for
Stock-Based Compensation and supersedes
Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 25 (APB 25), Accounting for Stock Issued to
Employees. Under the fair
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value recognition provisions of SFAS No. 123R, stock-based compensation
cost is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and is recognized as
expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, which is the vesting period.
The valuation provisions of SFAS No. 123R apply to new grants and to grants that were outstanding
as of the effective date and are subsequently modified. Estimated compensation for grants that were
outstanding as of the effective date will be recognized over the remaining service period using the
compensation cost estimated for the SFAS No. 123 pro forma disclosures.
With respect to its adoption of SFAS No. 123R, the Company elected the modified-prospective
method, under which prior periods are not revised for comparative purposes. The adoption of SFAS
No. 123R had a material impact on the Companys consolidated financial position, results of
operations, and cash flows for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2006. See Note
9 for further information regarding the Companys stock-based compensation assumptions and
expenses, including pro forma disclosures as if the Company had recorded stock-based compensation
expense for prior periods.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In June 2006, FASB issued Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes
(FIN48). FIN 48 clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an
enterprises financial statements in accordance with FASB Statement No. 109, Accounting for Income
Taxes. FIN 48 prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial
statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax
return. This interpretation also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and
penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure, and transition. FIN 48 is effective for
fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2006. Earlier application of the provisions of this
interpretation is encouraged if the enterprise has not yet issued financial statements, including
interim statements, in the period this interpretation is adopted. The Company is in the process of
determining the impact of FIN 48 on its consolidated financial statements.
In September 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued SAB No. 108,
Considering the Effects of Prior Year Misstatements when Quantifying Current Year Misstatements
(SAB No. 108). SAB No. 108 requires analysis of misstatements using both an income statement
(rollover) approach and a balance sheet (iron curtain) approach in assessing materiality and
provides for a one-time cumulative effect transition adjustment. SAB No. 108 is effective for the
Companys year ended December 31, 2006 consolidated financial statements. The Company is currently
in the process of assessing the potential impact that the adoption of SAB No. 108 will have on its
consolidated financial statements.
In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, Fair Value Measurements (SFAS No. 157),
which defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted
accounting principles, and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. SFAS No. 157 does not
require any new fair value measurements, but provides guidance on how to measure fair value by
providing a fair value hierarchy used to classify the source of the information. This statement is
effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2008. The Company is currently in the process of
assessing the potential impact that the adoption of SFAS No. 157 will have on its consolidated
financial statements.
2. INVENTORIES
September 30, | December 31, | |||||||
2006 | 2005 | |||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||
Raw materials and subassemblies |
$ | 2,142 | $ | 2,369 | ||||
Work in process |
45 | 55 | ||||||
Finished goods |
232 | 231 | ||||||
Inventories, net |
$ | 2,419 | $ | 2,655 | ||||
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3. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
September 30, | December 31, | |||||||
2006 | 2005 | |||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||
Computer equipment and purchased software |
$ | 3,046 | $ | 2,974 | ||||
Machinery and equipment |
2,827 | 2,235 | ||||||
Furniture and fixtures |
1,279 | 1,229 | ||||||
Leasehold improvements |
823 | 798 | ||||||
Total |
7,975 | 7,236 | ||||||
Less accumulated depreciation |
(6,251 | ) | (5,870 | ) | ||||
Property and equipment, net |
$ | 1,724 | $ | 1,366 | ||||
4. INTANGIBLES AND OTHER ASSETS
September 30, | December 31, | |||||||
2006 | 2005 | |||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||
Patents and technology |
$ | 12,562 | $ | 11,478 | ||||
Other assets |
105 | 83 | ||||||
Gross intangibles and other assets |
12,667 | 11,561 | ||||||
Accumulated amortization of patents and technology |
(5,424 | ) | (4,774 | ) | ||||
Intangibles and other assets, net |
$ | 7,243 | $ | 6,787 | ||||
The estimated annual amortization expense for intangible assets as of September 30, 2006 is
$827,000 in 2006, $879,000 in 2007, $844,000 in 2008, $743,000 in 2009, $687,000 in 2010, and $3.9
million in total for all years thereafter.
5. COMPONENTS OF OTHER CURRENT LIABILITIES AND DEFERRED REVENUE AND CUSTOMER ADVANCES
September 30, | December 31, | |||||||
2006 | 2005 | |||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||
Accrued legal |
$ | 326 | $ | 307 | ||||
Other current liabilities |
1,662 | 1,297 | ||||||
Total other current liabilities |
$ | 1,988 | $ | 1,604 | ||||
Deferred revenue |
$ | 2,140 | $ | 2,702 | ||||
Customer advances |
39 | 39 | ||||||
Total current deferred revenue and customer advances |
$ | 2,179 | $ | 2,741 | ||||
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6. LONG-TERM DEBT
The components of long-term debt are as follows:
September 30, | December 31, | |||||||
2006 | 2005 | |||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||
5% Senior Subordinated Convertible Debenture |
$ | 17,964 | $ | 17,490 | ||||
Other |
| 5 | ||||||
Total |
17,964 | 17,495 | ||||||
Current portion |
| (5 | ) | |||||
Total long-term debt |
$ | 17,964 | $ | 17,490 | ||||
5% Senior Subordinated Convertible Debenture (5% Convertible Debenture) On December 23,
2004, the Company issued an aggregate principal amount of $20.0 million of 5% Convertible
Debentures. The 5% Convertible Debentures will mature on December 22, 2009. The amount payable at
maturity of each 5% Convertible Debenture is the initial principal plus all accrued but unpaid
interest thereon, to the extent such principal amount and interest have not been converted into
common shares or previously paid in cash. The Company cannot prepay the 5% Convertible Debenture
except as described below in Mandatory Conversion and Mandatory Redemption of 5% Convertible
Debentures at the Companys Option. Interest accrues daily on the principal amount of the 5%
Convertible Debenture at a rate of 5% per year and is payable on the last day of each calendar
quarter. Interest will cease to accrue on that portion of the 5% Convertible Debenture that is
converted or paid, including pursuant to conversion rights or rights of redemption. The holder of
a 5% Convertible Debenture has the right to convert the outstanding principal amount and accrued
and unpaid interest, in whole or in part, into the Companys common shares at a price of $7.0265
per common share, the Conversion Price. In the event of a change of control, a holder may require
the Company to redeem all or a portion of its 5% Convertible Debenture. This is referred to as the
Put Option. The redeemed portion shall be redeemed at a price equal to the redeemed amount
multiplied by (a) 105% of the principal amount of the 5% Convertible Debenture if the change of
control occurs on or prior to December 23, 2006 or (b) 100% of the principal amount of the 5%
Convertible Debenture if the change of control occurs after December 23, 2006. The Conversion
Price will be reduced in certain instances when the Company sells, or is deemed to have sold shares
of common stock at a price less than the applicable Conversion Price, including the issuance of
certain options, the issuance of convertible securities, or the change in exercise price or rate of
conversion for options or convertible securities. The Conversion Price will be proportionately
adjusted if the Company subdivides (by stock split, stock dividend, recapitalization, or otherwise)
or combines (by combination, reverse stock split, or otherwise) one or more classes of its common
stock. So long as any 5% Convertible Debentures are outstanding, the Company will not, nor will
the Company permit any of its subsidiaries to directly or indirectly incur or guarantee, assume or
suffer to exist, any indebtedness other than permitted indebtedness under the 5% Convertible
Debenture agreement. If an event of default occurs, and is continuing with respect to any of the
Companys 5% Convertible Debentures, the holder may, at its option, require the Company to redeem
all or a portion of the 5% Convertible Debenture.
Mandatory Conversion and Mandatory Redemption of 5% Convertible Debentures at the Companys
Option If the daily volume-weighted average price of the Companys common shares is at or above
200% of the Conversion Price for at least 20 consecutive trading days and certain other conditions
are met, the Company has the right to (i) require the holder of a 5% Convertible Debenture to
convert the 5% Convertible Debenture in whole, including interest, into shares of the Companys
common stock at a price of $7.0265 per common share, as may be adjusted under the debenture, as set
forth and subject to the conditions in the 5% Convertible Debenture, or (ii) redeem the 5%
Convertible Debenture. If the Company makes either of the foregoing elections with respect to any
5% Convertible Debenture, the Company must make the same election with respect to all 5%
Convertible Debentures.
Warrants On December 23, 2004, in connection with the issuance of the 5% Convertible
Debentures, the Company issued warrants to purchase an aggregate of 426,951 shares of its common
stock at an exercise price of $7.0265. The warrants may be exercised at any time prior to 5:00 p.m.
Eastern time, on December 23, 2009. Any warrants not exercised prior to such time will expire.
The exercise price will be reduced in certain instances where shares of common stock are sold or
deemed to be sold at a price less than the applicable exercise price, including the issuance of
certain options, the issuance of convertible securities, or the change in exercise price or rate of
conversion for option or convertible securities. The exercise price will be proportionately
adjusted if the Company subdivides (by stock split, stock dividend, recapitalization, or otherwise)
or combines (by combination, reverse stock split, or otherwise) one or more classes of its common
stock.
Registration Rights On April 18, 2005, the Companys registration statement relating to the
5% Convertible Debentures, and the shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the
debentures and exercise of the warrants, was declared effective by the SEC. The Company expects to
keep this registration statement effective until the earlier of
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(i) such time as all of the shares covered by the prospectus have been disposed of
pursuant to and in accordance with the registration statement, or (ii) the date on which the shares
may be sold pursuant to Rule 144(k) of the Securities Act.
The Company incurred approximately $1.3 million in issuance costs and other expenses in
connection with the offering. This amount has been deferred and is being amortized to interest
expense over the term of the 5% Convertible Debenture. Additionally, the Company evaluated the
various instruments included in the agreements entered into on December 22, 2004 and allocated the
relative fair values to be as follows: warrants $1.7 million, Put Option $0.1 million,
Registration Rights $0.1 million, issuance costs $1.3 million, 5% Convertible Debenture $16.8
million. The 5% Convertible Debentures will be accreted to $20.0 million over their five-year
life, resulting in additional interest expense. The value of the warrants has been included in
Stockholders Deficit; the value of the Put Option and Registration Rights have been recorded as a
liability and are subject to future value adjustments; and the value of the 5% Convertible
Debentures has been recorded as long-term debt.
Annual maturities of long-term debt as of September 30, 2006 are $20.0 million in fiscal year
2009.
7. LONG-TERM DEFERRED REVENUE
At September 30, 2006, long-term deferred revenue included payments of approximately $25.3
million of compulsory license fees and interest from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Sony
Computer Entertainment of America Inc. (collectively, Sony Computer Entertainment), pursuant to
Court orders dated January 10 and February 9, 2005. Due to the contingent nature of the
court-ordered payments made by Sony Computer Entertainment, the Company will not record any revenue
or interest associated with these payments as revenue or income until such time as the contingency
lapses.
8. LONG-TERM CUSTOMER ADVANCE FROM MICROSOFT
On July 25, 2003, the Company contemporaneously executed a series of agreements with Microsoft
Corporation (Microsoft) that (1) settled the Companys lawsuit against Microsoft, (2) granted
Microsoft a worldwide royalty-free, irrevocable license to the Companys portfolio of patents (the
License Agreement) in exchange for a payment of $19.9 million, (3) provided Microsoft with
sublicense rights to pursue certain license arrangements directly with third parties including Sony
Computer Entertainment which, if consummated, would result in payments to the Company (the
Sublicense Rights), and conveyed to Microsoft the right to a payment of cash in the event of a
settlement within certain parameters of the Companys patent litigation against Sony Computer
Entertainment of America Inc. and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (the Participation Rights) in
exchange for a payment of $0.1 million, (4) issued Microsoft shares of the Companys Series A
Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock (Series A Preferred Stock) for a payment of $6.0 million,
and (5) granted the Company the right to sell up to $9.0 million of debentures to Microsoft under
the terms and conditions established in newly authorized 7% Senior Redeemable Convertible
Debentures (7% Debentures) with annual draw down rights over a 48-month period. The sublicense
rights provided to Microsoft to contract directly with Sony Computer Entertainment have now
expired. The Company has, to date, not sold any 7% Debentures, of which $4.0 million were available
for sale at September 30, 2006.
Under these agreements, in the event of a settlement of the Sony Computer Entertainment
litigation under certain terms, the Company will be required to make a cash payment to Microsoft of
(i) an amount to be determined based on the settlement proceeds, and (ii) any funds received from
Microsoft under the 7% Debentures.
In the event of a settlement of the Sony Computer Entertainment litigation, the Company will
realize and retain net cash proceeds received from Sony Computer Entertainment only to the extent
that settlement proceeds exceed the amounts due Microsoft for its Participation Rights and any
outstanding 7% Debentures and interest as specified above. Under certain circumstances related to a
Company initiated settlement with Sony Computer Entertainment, the Company would be obligated to
pay Microsoft a minimum of $15.0 million. In the event of an unfavorable judicial resolution or a
dismissal or withdrawal by the Company of the lawsuit meeting certain conditions, the Company would
not be required to make any payments to Microsoft except pursuant to the payment provisions
relating to any outstanding 7% Debentures.
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9. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
Stock Options
The Companys stock option program is a long-term retention program that is intended to
attract, retain, and provide incentives for talented employees, officers and directors, and to
align stockholder and employee interests. The Company considers its option programs critical to its
operation and productivity; essentially all of its employees participate. Under the Companys stock
option plans, the Company may grant options to purchase up to 16,338,095 shares of its common stock
to employees, directors, and consultants at prices not less than the fair market value on the date
of grant for incentive stock options and not less than 85% of fair market value on the date of
grant for nonstatutory stock options. These options generally vest over 4 years and expire 10 years
from the date of grant. At September 30, 2006, options to purchase 2,509,952 shares of common stock
were available for grant and options to purchase 7,727,764 shares of common stock were outstanding.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
The Company has an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP). Under the ESPP, eligible employees
may purchase common stock through payroll deductions at a purchase price of 85% of the lower of the
fair market value of the Companys stock at the beginning of the offering period or the purchase
date. Participants may not purchase more than 2,000 shares in a six-month offering period or stock
having a value greater than $25,000 in any calendar year as measured at the beginning of the
offering period. A total of 500,000 shares of common stock are reserved for the issuance under the
ESPP plus an automatic annual increase on January 1, 2001 and on each January 1 thereafter through
January 1, 2010 by an amount equal to the lesser of 500,000 shares per year or a number of shares
determined by the Board of Directors. As of September 30, 2006, 294,139 shares had been purchased
under the ESPP. Under SFAS No. 123R, the ESPP is considered a compensatory plan and the Company is
required to recognize compensation cost for sales made under the ESPP.
The Company did not modify its stock option or employee stock purchase plans in the three
months ended September 30, 2006.
General Stock Option Information
The following table sets forth the summary of option activity under our stock option program
for the nine months ended September 30, 2006:
Weighted | |||||||||
Number | Average | ||||||||
of Shares | Exercise Price | ||||||||
Outstanding, December 31, 2005 (4,595,431 exercisable at a weighted
average price of $8.03 per share) |
7,340,796 | $ | 7.24 | ||||||
Granted (weighted average fair value of $4.30 per share) |
1,085,953 | 6.88 | |||||||
Exercised |
(212,194 | ) | 2.49 | ||||||
Canceled |
(486,791 | ) | 7.90 | ||||||
Outstanding, September 30, 2006 (5,249,867 exercisable at a weighted
average price of $7.61 per share) |
7,727,764 | $ | 7.28 | ||||||
The aggregate intrinsic value is calculated as the difference between the exercise price
of the underlying awards and the quoted price of the Companys common stock for the options that
were in-the-money at September 30, 2006. The aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised under
the Companys stock option plans, determined as of the date of option exercise was $940,000 for the
nine months ended September 30, 2006.
The weighted average fair value of stock options granted during the nine months ended
September 30, 2006 and September 30, 2005 was $4.30 and $3.54 per share, respectively.
Additional information regarding options outstanding as of September 30, 2006 is as follows:
Options Outstanding | Options Exercisable | |||||||||||||||||||
Weighted | ||||||||||||||||||||
Average | Weighted | Weighted | ||||||||||||||||||
Range of | Remaining | Average | Average | |||||||||||||||||
Exercise | Number | Contractual | Exercise | Number | Exercise | |||||||||||||||
Prices | Outstanding | Life (Years) | Price | Exercisable | Price | |||||||||||||||
$ 0.64 - $1.76 |
1,304,179 | 6.13 | $ | 1.50 | 1,227,018 | $ | 1.51 | |||||||||||||
1.79 - 5.91 |
800,039 | 6.89 | 4.15 | 515,161 | 3.58 | |||||||||||||||
5.95 - 6.17 |
823,450 | 7.02 | 6.10 | 544,409 | 6.09 | |||||||||||||||
6.20 - 6.79 |
806,040 | 7.70 | 6.45 | 413,411 | 6.36 | |||||||||||||||
6.81 - 6.98 |
1,175,186 | 8.96 | 6.96 | 196,004 | 6.98 | |||||||||||||||
7.00 - 8.00 |
801,016 | 7.25 | 7.20 | 513,708 | 7.20 | |||||||||||||||
8.05 - 8.98 |
881,048 | 3.90 | 8.76 | 785,850 | 8.78 | |||||||||||||||
9.24 - 17.13 |
856,674 | 4.68 | 11.69 | 774,174 | 11.95 | |||||||||||||||
23.13 - 34.75 |
255,246 | 3.44 | 31.42 | 255,246 | 31.42 | |||||||||||||||
43.25 - 43.25 |
24,886 | 3.53 | 43.25 | 24,886 | 43.25 | |||||||||||||||
$ 0.64 -$43.25 |
7,727,764 | 6.50 | $ | 7.28 | 5,249,867 | $ | 7.61 | |||||||||||||
The aggregate intrinsic value of options outstanding and options exercisable as of
September 30, 2006 was $11.5 million and $9.7 million, respectively.
Stock-based Compensation
On January 1, 2006, the Company adopted the provisions of SFAS No. 123R. See Note 1 for a
description of the Companys adoption of SFAS No. 123R.
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Valuation and amortization method - The Company uses the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing
model (Black-Scholes model), straight-line single-option approach to determine the fair value of
stock options and employee stock purchase plan shares. All share-based payment awards are amortized
on a straight-line basis over the requisite service periods of the awards, which are generally the
vesting periods. Prior to the adoption of SFAS No. 123R, the Company used the Black-Scholes model,
multiple-option approach to determine the fair value of stock options and employee stock purchase
plan shares and amortization of resulting stock-based compensation amounts included in its pro
forma disclosures of SFAS No. 123. The determination of the fair value of stock-based payment
awards on the date of grant using an option-pricing model is affected by the Companys stock price
as well as assumptions regarding a number of complex and subjective variables. These variables
include actual and projected employee stock option exercise behaviors, the Companys expected stock
price volatility over the term of the awards, risk-free interest rate, and expected dividends.
Expected term - The Company estimates the expected term of options granted by using the
simplified method as prescribed by SAB 107. The expected term of employee stock purchase plan
shares is the length of the offering period.
Expected volatility - The Company estimates the volatility of its common stock taking into
consideration its historical stock price movement, the volatility of stock prices of companies of
similar size with similar businesses, if any, and its expected future stock price trends based on
known or anticipated events.
Risk-free interest rate - The Company bases the risk-free interest rate that it uses in the
option pricing model on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues with remaining terms similar to the
expected term on the options.
Expected dividend - The Company does not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the
foreseeable future and therefore uses an expected dividend yield of zero in the option-pricing
model.
Forfeitures - The Company is required to estimate future forfeitures at the time of grant and
revise those estimates in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. The
Company uses historical data to estimate pre-vesting option forfeitures and records stock-based
compensation expense only for those awards that are expected to vest.
The assumptions used to value option grants and shares under the employee stock purchase plan
are as follows:
Options | Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
2006 | 2005 | 2006 | 2005 | |||||||||||||
Expected term (in years) |
6.25 | 4.0 | 6.25 | 4.0 | ||||||||||||
Volatility |
62 | % | 43 | % | 62 | % | 66 | % | ||||||||
Interest rate |
4.6 | % | 4.2 | % | 4.9 | % | 4.1 | % | ||||||||
Dividend yield |
| | | |
Employee Stock Purchase Plan | Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
2006 | 2005 | 2006 | 2005 | |||||||||||||
Expected term (in years) |
0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | ||||||||||||
Volatility |
66 | % | 42 | % | 52 | % | 41 | % | ||||||||
Interest rate |
5.2 | % | 3.3 | % | 4.9 | % | 3.3 | % | ||||||||
Dividend yield |
| | | |
Total stock-based compensation recognized in the condensed consolidated statements of
operations is as follows:
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||
September 30, 2006 | September 30, 2006 | |||||||
Income Statement Classifications | (In thousands) | (In thousands) | ||||||
Cost of product sales |
$ | 17 | $ | 54 | ||||
Sales and marketing |
305 | 887 | ||||||
Research and development |
122 | 372 | ||||||
General and administrative |
280 | 828 | ||||||
Total |
$ | 724 | $ | 2,141 | ||||
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The Company did not capitalize any stock-based compensation as part of inventory during
the three months or nine months ended September 30, 2006.
SFAS No. 123R requires the benefits of tax deductions in excess of recognized compensation
expense to be reported as a financing cash flow, rather than as an operating cash flow. This
requirement will reduce net operating cash flows and increase net financing cash flows in periods
after adoption. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006, the Company recorded $1,000
and $19,000, respectively, of excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation. Total cash flow
under the new accounting rules is the same as under the old accounting rules.
As of September 30, 2006, there was $3.6 million of unrecognized compensation cost, adjusted
for estimated forfeitures, related to non-vested stock options granted to the Companys employees
and directors. This cost will be recognized over and estimated weighted-average period of
approximately 1.2 years. Total unrecognized compensation cost will be adjusted for future changes
in estimated forfeitures.
The following table sets forth the pro forma amounts of net loss and net loss per share, for
the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2005, that would have resulted if the Company
had accounted for its employee stock plans under the fair value recognition provisions of SFAS No.
123 (in thousands, except per share amounts):
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||
September 30, 2005 | September 30, 2005 | |||||||
Net loss as reported |
$ | (4,158 | ) | $ | (10,120 | ) | ||
Add: Stock-based employee compensation included in
reported net loss, net of related tax effects |
| 2 | ||||||
Less: Stock-based compensation expense determined
using fair value method, net of tax |
(1,282 | ) | (3,903 | ) | ||||
Net loss pro forma |
$ | (5,440 | ) | $ | (14,021 | ) | ||
Basic and diluted loss per common share as reported |
$ | (0.17 | ) | $ | (0.42 | ) | ||
Basic and diluted loss per share pro forma |
$ | (0.23 | ) | $ | (0.59 | ) |
10. LITIGATION SETTLEMENT
On September 24, 2004, the Company filed in the United States District Court for the Northern
District of California a complaint for patent infringement against Electro Source LLC (Electro
Source). On February 28, 2006, the Company announced that it had settled its legal differences
with Electro Source and the Company and Electro Source agreed to dismiss all claims and
counterclaims relating to this matter. In addition to the Confidential Settlement Agreement,
Electro Source entered into a worldwide license to the Companys patents for vibro-tactile devices
in the consumer gaming peripheral field of use under which Electro Source makes royalty payments to
the Company based on sales by Electro Source of spinning mass vibro-tactile gamepads, steering
wheels, and other game controllers for dedicated gaming consoles, such as the Sony PlayStation and
PlayStation 2, the Nintendo GameCube, and the Microsoft Xbox and Xbox 360. Both companies also
have agreed to explore the possibility of working together in technology or engineering related
assignments. For the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2006, Electro Source paid the
Company litigation settlement payments of $300,000 and $1.4 million, respectively. The Company is
entitled to be paid a minimum amount of $300,000 in future periods. The Company and Electro Source
each assumed financial responsibility for their respective legal costs with respect to this
lawsuit.
11. RESTRUCTURING COSTS
The Company accounts for restructuring costs in accordance with SFAS No. 146, Accounting for
Costs Associated with Exit of Disposal Activities. There were no restructuring costs incurred in
the three months or nine months ended September 30, 2006. Restructuring costs of $185,000 incurred
in the nine months ended September 30, 2005 consisted of severance benefits paid as a result of a
reduction in workforce. Employees from manufacturing, sales and marketing, research and
development, and general and administrative were included in the 2005 reduction in force. The
Company
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did not incur any additional charges related to the aforementioned reduction in force and
management does not anticipate any further costs in future periods related to this reduction in
force.
Restructuring costs for the nine months ended September 30, 2005 were as follows (in
thousands):
Nine Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||
September 30, 2005 | ||||||||||||||||
Restructuring | ||||||||||||||||
Restructuring | costs expensed | Restructuring | Restructuring | |||||||||||||
costs unpaid as | in the nine | costs paid | costs unpaid as | |||||||||||||
of December | months ended | through | of | |||||||||||||
31, 2004 | September 30, 2005 | September 30, 2005 | September 30, 2005 | |||||||||||||
Nature of Restructuring Costs: |
||||||||||||||||
Reduction in Force |
$ | | $ | 185 | $ | 185 | $ | | ||||||||
12. INCOME TAXES
For the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2006, the Company recorded provisions
for income taxes of $44,000 and $131,000, yielding effective tax rates of (1.4)% and (1.6)%,
respectively. For the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2005, the Company recorded
provisions for income taxes of $12,000 and $110,000, yielding effective tax rates of (0.3)% and
(1.1)%, respectively. Although the Company incurred pre-tax losses, sums received from Sony
Computer Entertainment and interest thereon included in long-term deferred revenue, approximating
$8.5 million and $14.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively,
created federal and state alternative minimum taxable income.
At December 31, 2005, the Company had federal and state net operating loss carryforwards of
$76.2 million and $27.0 million, respectively, expiring from 2011 through 2025 and from 2007
through 2015, respectively.
Approximately $4.0 million and $2.0 million of federal and state net operating loss
carryforwards were generated prior to 1999. These losses can be used to offset future taxable
income. Usage is limited to approximately $16.4 million annually, due to an ownership change that
occurred during 1999. Approximately $10.6 million of federal and state net operating loss
carryforwards related to pre-acquisition losses from acquired subsidiaries can be used to offset
future taxable income. Usage of pre-acquisition losses will be limited to approximately $1.1
million annually. During 2005, the Company evaluated ownership changes from 1999 to 2004 and
determined that there were no further limitations on the Companys net operating loss
carryforwards.
Undistributed earnings of the Companys foreign subsidiaries are considered to be indefinitely
reinvested and accordingly, no provision for federal and state income taxes has been provided
thereon. Upon distribution of those earnings in the form of dividends or otherwise, the Company
would be subject to both U.S. income taxes (subject to an adjustment for foreign tax credits) and
withholding taxes payable to various foreign countries.
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13. NET LOSS PER SHARE
The following is a reconciliation of the numerators and denominators used in computing basic
and diluted net loss per share (in thousands, except per share amounts):
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
2006 | 2005 | 2006 | 2005 | |||||||||||||
Numerator: |
||||||||||||||||
Net loss |
$ | (3,157 | ) | $ | (4,158 | ) | $ | (8,442 | ) | $ | (10,120 | ) | ||||
Denominator: |
||||||||||||||||
Shares used in computation, basic and diluted
(weighted average common shares outstanding) |
24,590 | 24,132 | 24,519 | 23,950 | ||||||||||||
Net loss per share, basic and diluted |
$ | (0.13 | ) | $ | (0.17 | ) | $ | (0.34 | ) | $ | (0.42 | ) | ||||
For the above-mentioned periods, the Company had securities outstanding that could potentially
dilute basic earnings per share in the future, but were excluded from the computation of diluted
net loss per share in the periods presented since their effect would have been anti-dilutive.
These outstanding securities consisted of the following:
September 30, | ||||||||
2006 | 2005 | |||||||
Outstanding stock options |
7,727,764 | 7,546,126 | ||||||
Warrants |
778,494 | 778,494 | ||||||
5% Senior Subordinated Convertible Debentures |
2,846,363 | 2,846,363 |
14. COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
The following table sets forth the components of comprehensive loss:
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
2006 | 2005 | 2006 | 2005 | |||||||||||||
(In thousands) | (In thousands) | |||||||||||||||
Net loss |
$ | (3,157 | ) | $ | (4,158 | ) | $ | (8,442 | ) | $ | (10,120 | ) | ||||
Foreign currency translation adjustment |
(2 | ) | 16 | 19 | 11 | |||||||||||
Total comprehensive loss |
$ | (3,159 | ) | $ | (4,142 | ) | $ | (8,423 | ) | $ | (10,109 | ) | ||||
15. SEGMENT INFORMATION, OPERATIONS BY GEOGRAPHIC AREA, AND SIGNIFICANT CUSTOMERS
The Company develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of hardware and
software technologies that more fully engages users sense of touch when operating digital devices.
The Company focuses on five application areas gaming, mobility, 3D, touch interface, and
medical. The Company manages these application areas under two operating and reportable segments:
1) Immersion Computing, Entertainment, and Industrial, and 2) Immersion Medical. The Company
determines its reporting segments in accordance with criteria outlined in SFAS No. 131,
Disclosures about Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information. The gaming, mobility, 3D,
and touch interface areas do not individually meet the criteria for segment reporting as set out in
SFAS No. 131.
The Companys chief operating decision maker (CODM) is the Chief Executive Officer. The CODM
allocates resources to and assesses the performance of each operating segment using information
about its revenue and operating profit before interest and taxes. A description of the types of
products and services provided by each operating segment is as follows:
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Immersion Computing, Entertainment, and Industrial develops and markets touch feedback
technologies that enable software and hardware developers to enhance realism and usability in their
computing, entertainment, and industrial applications. Immersion Medical develops, manufactures,
and markets medical training simulators that recreate realistic healthcare environments.
The following tables display information about the Companys reportable segments:
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
2006 | 2005 | 2006 | 2005 | |||||||||||||
(In thousands) | (In thousands) | |||||||||||||||
Revenues: |
||||||||||||||||
Immersion Computing, Entertainment, and Industrial |
$ | 2,816 | $ | 3,094 | $ | 9,493 | $ | 10,520 | ||||||||
Immersion Medical |
3,764 | 2,322 | 9,840 | 7,076 | ||||||||||||
Intersegment eliminations |
(21 | ) | (29 | ) | (89 | ) | (191 | ) | ||||||||
Total |
$ | 6,559 | $ | 5,387 | $ | 19,244 | $ | 17,405 | ||||||||
Net Profit (Loss): |
||||||||||||||||
Immersion Computing, Entertainment, and Industrial |
$ | (3,495 | ) | $ | (3,433 | ) | $ | (8,597 | ) | $ | (7,905 | ) | ||||
Immersion Medical |
339 | (731 | ) | 155 | (2,293 | ) | ||||||||||
Intersegment eliminations |
(1 | ) | 6 | | 78 | |||||||||||
Total |
$ | (3,157 | ) | $ | (4,158 | ) | $ | (8,442 | ) | $ | (10,120 | ) | ||||
Included in net profit (loss) for the three months and nine months ended September 30,
2005 are restructuring costs of $0 and $59,000, respectively, for the Immersion Computing,
Entertainment, and Industrial segment and $0 and $126,000, respectively, for the Immersion Medical
segment. No further costs are expected to be incurred with respect to the restructuring.
September 30, | December 31, | |||||||
2006 | 2005 | |||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||
Total Assets: |
||||||||
Immersion Computing, Entertainment, and Industrial |
$ | 61,697 | $ | 60,457 | ||||
Immersion Medical |
7,483 | 6,166 | ||||||
Intersegment eliminations |
(22,442 | ) | (21,863 | ) | ||||
Total |
$ | 46,738 | $ | 44,760 | ||||
Intersegment eliminations represent eliminations for intercompany sales and cost of sales
and intercompany receivables and payables between Immersion Computing, Entertainment, and
Industrial and Immersion Medical segments.
The Company operates primarily in the United States of America and in Canada where it operates
through its wholly owned subsidiary, Immersion Canada, Inc. Segment assets and expenses relating
to the Companys corporate operations are not allocated but are included in Immersion Computing,
Entertainment, and Industrial as that is how they are considered for management evaluation
purposes. As a result, the segment information may not be indicative of the financial position or
results of operations that would have been achieved had these segments operated as unaffiliated
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entities. Management measures the performance of each segment based on several metrics,
including net loss. These results are used, in part, to evaluate the performance of, and allocate
resources to, each of the segments.
Revenue by Product Lines
Information regarding revenue from external customers by product lines is as follows:
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
2006 | 2005 | 2006 | 2005 | |||||||||||||
(In thousands) | (In thousands) | |||||||||||||||
Revenues: |
||||||||||||||||
Consumer, Computing, and Entertainment |
$ | 852 | $ | 1,133 | $ | 3,278 | $ | 4,801 | ||||||||
3D |
1,043 | 1,174 | 3,402 | 3,309 | ||||||||||||
Touch Interface |
900 | 786 | 2,724 | 2,315 | ||||||||||||
Subtotal Immersion Computing, Entertainment, and Industrial |
2,795 | 3,093 | 9,404 | 10,425 | ||||||||||||
Immersion Medical |
3,764 | 2,294 | 9,840 | 6,980 | ||||||||||||
Total |
$ | 6,559 | $ | 5,387 | $ | 19,244 | $ | 17,405 | ||||||||
Revenue by Region
The following is a summary of revenues by geographic areas. Revenues are broken out
geographically by the ship-to location of the customer. Geographic revenue as a percentage of
total revenue was as follows:
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
2006 | 2005 | 2006 | 2005 | |||||||||||||
North America |
68 | % | 72 | % | 71 | % | 71 | % | ||||||||
Europe |
17 | % | 12 | % | 17 | % | 17 | % | ||||||||
Far East |
12 | % | 8 | % | 10 | % | 5 | % | ||||||||
Rest of the world |
3 | % | 8 | % | 2 | % | 7 | % | ||||||||
Total |
100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | ||||||||
The Company derived 68% and 70% of its total revenues from the United States of America
for the three months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. The Company derived 69% and
69% of its total revenues from the United States of America for the nine months ended September 30,
2006 and 2005, respectively. The Company derived 10% and 10% of its total revenues from Germany
for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively. Revenues from other countries
represented less than 10% individually for the periods presented.
The majority of the Companys long-lived assets are located in the United States of America.
Long-lived assets include net property and equipment and long-term investments and other assets.
Long-lived assets that were outside the United States of America constituted less than 10% of the
total on September 30, 2006 and December 31, 2005.
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Significant Customers
Customers comprising 10% or greater of the Companys net revenues are summarized as follows:
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
2006 | 2005 | 2006 | 2005 | |||||||||||||
Customer A |
* | * | * | 11 | % | |||||||||||
Customer B |
21 | % | * | 13 | % | * | ||||||||||
Total |
21 | % | * | 13 | % | 11 | % | |||||||||
* | Revenue derived from customer represented less than 10% for the period. |
At September 30, 2006, Customer B accounted for 40% of the Companys accounts receivable.
At December 31, 2005, Customer B accounted for 19% of the Companys accounts receivable.
16. CONTINGENCIES
In re Immersion Corporation
The Company is involved in legal proceedings relating to a class action lawsuit filed on
November 9, 2001, In re Immersion Corporation Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation, No.
Civ. 01-9975 (S.D.N.Y.), related to In re Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation, No. 21 MC
92 (S.D.N.Y.). The named defendants are the Company and three of its current or former officers or
directors (the Immersion Defendants), and certain underwriters of the Companys November 12, 1999
initial public offering (IPO). Subsequently, two of the individual defendants stipulated to a
dismissal without prejudice.
The operative amended complaint is brought on purported behalf of all persons who purchased
the common stock of the Company from the date of the IPO through December 6, 2000. It alleges
liability under Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, on the grounds that the registration statement for the IPO did
not disclose that: (1) the underwriters agreed to allow certain customers to purchase shares in the
IPO in exchange for excess commissions to be paid to the underwriters; and (2) the underwriters
arranged for certain customers to purchase additional shares in the aftermarket at predetermined
prices. The complaint also appears to allege that false or misleading analyst reports were issued.
The complaint does not claim any specific amount of damages.
Similar allegations were made in other lawsuits challenging over 300 other initial public
offerings and follow-on offerings conducted in 1999 and 2000. The cases were consolidated for
pretrial purposes. On February 19, 2003, the Court ruled on all defendants motions to dismiss. The
motion was denied as to claims under the Securities Act of 1933 in the case involving Immersion, as
well as in all other cases (except for 10 cases). The motion was denied as to the claim under
Section 10(b) as to the Company, on the basis that the complaint alleged that the Company had made
acquisition(s) following the IPO. The motion was granted as to the claim under Section 10(b), but
denied as to the claim under Section 20(a), as to the remaining individual defendant.
The Company and most of the issuer defendants have settled with the plaintiffs. In this
settlement, plaintiffs have dismissed and released all claims against the Immersion Defendants, in
exchange for a contingent payment by the insurance companies collectively responsible for insuring
the issuers in all of the IPO cases, and for the assignment or surrender of certain claims the
Company may have against the underwriters. The Immersion Defendants will not be required to make
any cash payments in the settlement, unless the pro rata amount paid by the insurers in the
settlement exceeds the amount of the insurance coverage, a circumstance which the Company believes
is remote. The settlement will require approval of the Court, which cannot be assured, after class
members are given the opportunity to object to the settlement or opt out of the settlement. The
Court took the matter under submission of whether the settlement should be approved after a hearing
on April 24, 2006. The Court has not yet ruled on this matter.
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Immersion Corporation vs. Microsoft Corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Sony
Computer Entertainment of America, Inc.
On February 11, 2002, the Company filed a complaint against Microsoft Corporation, Sony
Computer Entertainment, Inc., and Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Inc. in the U.S. District
Court for the Northern District Court of California alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos.
5,889,672 and 6,275,213 (the 213 patent). The case was assigned to United States District Judge
Claudia Wilken. On April 4, 2002, Sony Computer Entertainment and Microsoft answered the complaint
by denying the material allegations and alleging counterclaims seeking a judicial declaration that
the asserted patents were invalid, unenforceable, or not infringed. Under the counterclaims, the
defendants were also seeking damages for attorneys fees. On October 8, 2002, the Company filed an
amended complaint, withdrawing the claim under the U.S. Patent No. 5,889,672 and adding claims
under a new patent, U.S. Patent No. 6,424,333 (the 333 patent).
On July 28, 2003, the Company announced that it had settled its legal differences with
Microsoft, and both parties agreed to dismiss all claims and counterclaims relating to this matter
as well as assume financial responsibility for their respective legal costs with respect to the
lawsuit between the Company and Microsoft.
On August 16, 2004, the trial against Sony Computer Entertainment commenced. On September 21,
2004, the jury returned its verdict in favor of the Company. The jury found all the asserted claims
of the patents valid and infringed. The jury awarded the Company damages in the amount of $82.0
million. On January 10, 2005, the Court awarded the Company prejudgment interest on the damages the
jury awarded at the applicable prime rate. The Court further ordered Sony Computer Entertainment to
pay the Company a compulsory license fee at the rate of 1.37%, the ratio of the verdict amount to
the amount of sales of infringing products, effective as of July 1, 2004 and through the date of
Judgment. On February 9, 2005, the Court ordered that Sony Computer Entertainment provide the
Company with sales data 15 days after the end of each quarter and clarified that Sony Computer
Entertainment will make the ordered payment 45 days after the end of the applicable quarter. Sony
Computer Entertainment has made quarterly payments to the Company pursuant to the Courts orders.
Although the Company has received payments, the Company may be required to return them and any
future payments based on the outcome of the appeals process.
On February 9, 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment filed a Notice of Appeal to the United States
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to appeal the Courts January 10, 2005 order, and on
February 10, 2005 Sony Computer Entertainment filed an Amended Notice of Appeal to include an
appeal from the Courts February 9, 2005 order.
On January 5 and 6, 2005, the Court held a bench trial on Sony Computer Entertainments
remaining allegations that the 333 patent was not enforceable due to alleged inequitable conduct.
On March 24, 2005, the Court resolved this issue, entering a written order finding in favor of the
Company.
On March 24, 2005, Judge Wilken also entered judgment in the Companys favor and awarded the
Company $82.0 million in past damages, and pre-judgment interest in the amount of $8.7 million, for
a total of $90.7 million. The Company was also awarded certain court costs. Court costs do not
include attorneys fees. Additionally, the Court issued a permanent injunction against the
manufacture, use, sale, or import into the United States of the infringing Sony Computer
Entertainment PlayStation system consisting of the PlayStation consoles, Dual Shock controllers,
and the 47 games found by the jury to infringe the Companys patents. The Court stayed the
permanent injunction pending appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
The Court further ordered Sony Computer Entertainment to pay a compulsory license fee at the rate
of 1.37% for the duration of the stay of the permanent injunction at the same rate and conditions
as previously awarded in its interim January 10, 2005 and February 9, 2005 Orders. On April 7,
2005, pursuant to a stipulation of the parties, the Court entered an Amended Judgment to clarify
that the Judgment in favor of the Company and against Sony Computer Entertainment also encompassed
Sony Computer Entertainments counterclaims for declaratory relief on invalidity and
unenforceability, as well as non-infringement.
Sony Computer Entertainment had filed further motions seeking judgment as a matter of a law
(JMOL) or for a new trial, and a motion for a stay of an accounting and execution of the Judgment.
On May 17, 2005, Judge Wilken denied these motions.
On April 27, 2005, the Court granted Sony Computer Entertainments request to approve a
supersedeas bond, secured by a cash deposit with the Court in the amount of $102.5 million, to
obtain a stay of enforcement of the Courts Amended Judgment pending appeal. On May 17, 2005, the
Court issued a minute order stating that in lieu of the supersedeas bond the Court would allow Sony
Computer Entertainment to place the funds on deposit with the Court in an escrow account subject to
acceptable escrow instructions. The parties negotiated escrow instructions, and on June 12,
2006, the Court granted the parties stipulated request to withdraw the funds from the Court
and deposit them in an escrow account with JP Morgan Chase. Sony has withdrawn the funds from the
Court and deposited them in the escrow account.
On June 16, 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment filed a Notice of Appeal from the District Court
Judgment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The appeals of the January
and February orders regarding the
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compulsory license have been consolidated with the
appeal of the Judgment. Sony Computer
Entertainments Opening Brief was filed on October 21, 2005; the Company filed an Opposition Brief
on December 5, 2005. Due to the cross appeal by Internet Services LLC (ISLLC)
(see below), the Federal Circuit allowed the
Company to file a Substitute Opposition Brief on February 17, 2006 responding to the briefs filed
by both Sony Computer Entertainment and ISLLC. On March 15, 2006, the Company filed a further
substitute brief in response to a Federal Circuit order clarifying the maximum number of words the
Company was allowed given ISLLCs cross appeal. Sony Computer Entertainment filed its Reply Brief
on April 27, 2006, and ISLLCs Reply Brief was filed on May 15, 2006. On October 3, 2006, a
hearing for oral argument was held before a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit. The Court of Appeals has not yet issued its decision.
On July 21, 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment filed a motion in the District Court before
Judge Wilken seeking relief from the final judgment under Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure on the grounds of alleged fraud and newly discovered evidence of purported prior art,
which Sony Computer Entertainment contended the Company concealed and withheld, attributable to Mr.
Craig Thorner, a named inventor on three patents that Sony Computer Entertainment urged as a basis
for patent invalidity during the trial. A hearing on this motion was held before Judge Wilken on
January 20, 2006. On March 8, 2006, the Court entered an Order which denied Sony Computer
Entertainments motion pursuant to Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in its
entirety. On April 7, 2006, Sony filed a Notice of Appeal to the United States Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit to appeal this ruling and filed its opening brief on June 16, 2006. The
Company filed its opposition brief on August 30, 2006, and Sony filed its Reply Brief on October 2,
2006. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has not yet set a date for a
hearing for oral argument in connection with this appeal.
On May 17, 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment filed a Request for Inter Partes Reexamination of
the 333 Patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). On May 19, 2005, Sony
Computer Entertainment filed a similar Request for reexamination of the 213 Patent. On July 6,
2005, the Company filed a Petition to dismiss, stay, or alternatively to suspend both of the
requests for reexamination, based at least on the grounds that a final judgment has already been
entered by a United States district court, and that the PTOs current inter partes reexamination
procedures deny due process of law. The PTO denied the first petition, and the Company filed a
second petition on September 9, 2005. On November 17, 2005, the PTO granted the Companys petition,
and suspended the inter partes reexaminations until such time as the parallel court proceedings
warrant termination or resumption of the PTO examination and prosecution proceedings. On December
13, 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment filed a third petition requesting permission to file an
additional inter partes reexamination on the claims of the 333 and 213 Patents for which
reexamination was not requested in Sony Computer Entertainments original requests for
reexamination. The PTO dismissed this third petition on March 22, 2006. On December 13, 2005, Sony
Computer Entertainment also filed ex parte reexamination requests on a number of claims of the 213
and 333 patents, including all of the claims litigated in the District Court action, in addition
to others. On March 13, 2006, the PTO granted the ex parte reexam request only with respect to the
requested claims that were not litigated, and the ex parte reexamination is proceeding with respect
to the claims that were not the subject of litigation. On April 11, 2006, Sony Computer
Entertainment filed a fourth petition to the PTO requesting that the currently suspended inter
partes proceeding and the ex parte proceeding be merged into a single proceeding. The Company
filed its opposition to this petition on May 3, 2006, and the PTO denied the fourth petition on
July 3, 2006.
On December 13, 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment filed a lawsuit against the PTO in the U.S.
District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia claiming that the PTO erred in suspending the
inter partes reexamination on November 17, 2005. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge
Ellis. The Company moved to intervene in the lawsuit, and on March 31, 2006, the Court granted the
Companys motion to intervene of right. The Court entered a scheduling order which precluded
discovery and set an expedited briefing schedule for motions for summary judgment. After briefing,
Judge Ellis held a hearing on the summary judgment motions on April 21, 2006. The Court granted
summary judgment in the Companys and the PTOs favor on all grounds on May 22, 2006. Sony has not
appealed this judgment.
Due to the inherent uncertainties of litigation, the Company cannot accurately predict how the
Court of Appeals will decide the appeals. The Company anticipates that the litigation will continue
to be costly, and there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to recover the costs it
incurs in connection with the litigation. The Company expenses litigation costs as incurred, and
only accrues for costs that have been incurred but not paid to the vendor as of the financial
statement date. The litigation has diverted, and is likely to continue to divert, the efforts and
attention of some of the Companys key management and personnel. As a result, until such time as it
is resolved, the litigation could adversely affect the Companys business. Further, any unfavorable
outcome could adversely affect the Companys business.
In the event the Company settles its lawsuit with Sony Computer Entertainment, the Company
will be obligated to pay certain sums to Microsoft as described in Note 8 to the condensed
consolidated financial statements. If Sony
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Computer Entertainment ultimately were successful on its appeals or in the reexamination
process, the Judgment may be put at risk, assets relating to the patents in the lawsuit may be
impaired, and Sony Computer Entertainment may seek additional relief, such as attorneys fees.
Internet Services LLC Litigation
On October 20, 2004,
ISLLC, the cross-claim defendant against whom
Sony Computer Entertainment had filed a claim seeking declaratory relief, filed claims against the
Company in its lawsuit against Sony Computer Entertainment, alleging that the Company breached a
contract with ISLLC by suing Sony Computer Entertainment for patent infringement relating to
haptically-enabled software whose topics or images are allegedly age-restricted, for judicial
apportionment of damages awarded by the jury between ISLLC and the Company, and for a judicial
declaration with respect to ISLLCs rights and duties under agreements with the Company. On
December 29, 2004, the Court issued an order dismissing ISLLCs claims against Sony Computer
Entertainment with prejudice and dismissing ISLLCs claims against the Company without prejudice to
ISLLC filing a new complaint if it can do so in good faith without contradicting, or repeating the
deficiency of, its complaint.
On January 12, 2005, ISLLC filed Amended Cross-Claims and Counterclaims against the Company
that contained similar claims. ISLLC also realleged counterclaims against Sony Computer
Entertainment. On January 28, 2005, the Company filed a motion to dismiss ISLLCs Amended
Cross-Claims and a motion to strike ISLLCs Counterclaims against Sony Computer Entertainment. On
March 24, 2005 the Court issued an order dismissing ISLLCs claims with prejudice as to ISLLCs
claim seeking a declaratory judgment that it is an exclusive licensee under the 213 and 333
patents and as to ISLLCs claim seeking judicial apportionment of the damages verdict in the Sony
Computer Entertainment case. The Courts order further dismissed ISLLCs claims without prejudice
as to ISLLCs breach of contract and unjust enrichment claims.
ISLLC filed a Notice of Appeal of those orders with the United States Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit on April 18, 2005. ISLLCs appeal has been consolidated with Sony Computer
Entertainments appeal. ISLLC filed its Opening Brief in December 2005. As noted above, the United
States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit allowed the Company to file a Substitute Opposition
Brief on March 15, 2006 responding to the briefs filed by both Sony Computer Entertainment and
ISLLC. Briefing for the appeal was completed upon ISLLCs filing of its Reply Brief on May 15,
2006. As noted above, on October 3, 2006, a hearing for oral argument was held before a
three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Court of
Appeals has not yet issued its decision.
On February 8, 2006, ISLLC filed a lawsuit against the Company in the Superior Court of Santa
Clara County. ISLLCs complaint seeks a share of the damages awarded to the Company in the March
24, 2005 Judgment and of the Microsoft settlement proceeds, and generally restates the claims
already adjudicated by the District Court. On March 16, 2006, the Company answered the complaint,
cross claimed for breach of contract by ISLLC and rescission of the contract, and removed the
lawsuit to federal court. The case was assigned to Judge Wilken as a case related to the previous
proceedings involving Sony and ISLLC. ISLLC filed its answer to the Companys cross claims on
April 27, 2006. ISLLC also moved to remand the case to Superior Court. On July 10, 2006, Judge
Wilken issued an order denying ISLLCs motion to remand. On September 5, 2006, Judge Wilken
granted the stipulated request by the parties to stay discovery and other proceedings in the case
pending the disposition of ISLLCs appeal from the Courts previous orders. A case management
conference is currently scheduled for December 8, 2006.
Immersion Corporation vs. Thorner
On March 24, 2006, the Company filed a lawsuit against Craig Thorner in Santa Clara County
Superior Court. The complaint alleges claims for breach of contract with respect to Thorners
license to a third party of U.S. Patent No. 5,684,722, which the Company has alleged is in
violation of contractual obligations to it. The case was removed to federal court by Mr. Thorner,
and has been assigned to Judge Jeremy Fogel. On May 1, 2006, Mr. Thorner filed an answer to the
Companys claims and asserted counterclaims against Immersion seeking, among other things, a
portion of the proceeds from the Companys license with Microsoft, under theories of alleged breach
of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, fraud, promissory
fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligent misrepresentation. On July 28, 2006, the Company
filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings seeking the dismissal of Mr. Thorners breach of
contract and fraud claims which allege a right to a portion of the proceeds from the Companys
license with Microsoft. On September 1, 2006, the Court held a hearing on the Companys motion.
On September 12, 2006, the Court issued an order granting the Companys motion for judgment on the
pleadings as to Mr. Thorners alleged claims for breach of contract and fraud. The Court dismissed
Mr. Thorners breach of contract and fraud claims, and allowed Mr. Thorner leave to amend his claim
for alleged breach of contract with respect to alleged violations of the
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Companys reporting requirements that do not flow from the failure to report the Microsoft
Settlement Agreement. Mr. Thorner has not filed an amended pleading.
Other Contingencies
From time to time, the Company receives claims from third parties asserting that the Companys
technologies, or those of its licensees, infringe on the other parties intellectual property
rights. Management believes that these claims are without merit. Additionally, periodically, the
Company is involved in routine legal matters and contractual disputes incidental to its normal
operations. In managements opinion, the resolution of such matters will not have a material
adverse effect on the Companys consolidated financial condition, results of operations, or
liquidity.
In the normal course of business, the Company provides indemnifications of varying scope to
customers against claims of intellectual property infringement made by third parties arising from
the use of the Companys intellectual property, technology, or products. Historically, costs
related to these guarantees have not been significant, and the Company is unable to estimate the
maximum potential impact of these guarantees on its future results of operations. The Company has
received a claim from one of its major licensees requesting indemnification from a patent
infringement allegation. The Company has reviewed this demand and believes that it is without
merit. The Company has not received communication from this licensee with respect to this claim
since June 2005. Such claim, however, could result in litigation, which could be costly and
time-consuming to defend. Further, the Companys business could be adversely affected if the
Company was unsuccessful in defending against the claim.
As permitted under Delaware law, the Company has agreements whereby it indemnifies its
officers and directors for certain events or occurrences while the officer or director is, or was,
serving at its request in such capacity. The term of the indemnification period is for the
officers or directors lifetime. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could
be required to make under these indemnification agreements is unlimited; however, the Company
currently has director and officer insurance coverage that limits its exposure and enables it to
recover a portion of any future amounts paid. Management believes the estimated fair value of these
indemnification agreements in excess of applicable insurance coverage is minimal.
See also Note 6 regarding contingencies relating to the 5% Senior Subordinated Convertible
Debenture.
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q includes 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. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties.
Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as anticipates, believes, expects,
intends, may, will, and other similar expressions. However, these words are not the only
way we identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements, which refer to
expectations, projections, or other characterizations of future events, or circumstances, are
forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those set forth below in
Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, those
described elsewhere in this report including Risk Factors, and those described in our other reports
filed with the SEC. We caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date of this report, and we undertake no obligation to
update these forward-looking statements after the filing of this report. You are urged to review
carefully and consider our various disclosures in this report and in our other reports publicly
disclosed or filed with the SEC that attempt to advise you of the risks and factors that may affect
our business.
OVERVIEW
We develop, manufacture, license, and support a wide range of hardware and software
technologies that enhance touch interaction with digital devices. We focus on five application
areas gaming, mobility, 3D, touch interface, and medical. We manage these application areas under
two operating and reportable segments: 1) Immersion Computing, Entertainment, and Industrial, and
2) Immersion Medical.
In markets where our touch technology is a small piece of a larger system (such as mobile
phones, consumer gaming peripherals, and automotive interfaces), we license our technologies to
third-party manufacturers who integrate our technology into their products and resell it under
their own brand names. In other markets, where our touch technology is a complete system (like
medical simulation systems and three-dimensional and professional products) or electronic
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components, we manufacture and sell products under our own Immersion brand name, through
direct sales, distributors, and value added resellers. In all market areas, we also engage in
development projects for third parties and government agencies from time to time.
Our objective is to proliferate our technologies across markets, platforms, and applications
so that touch and feel become as necessary as color, graphics, and sound in modern user interfaces.
Immersion and its wholly owned subsidiaries hold more than 600 issued or pending patents in the
United States of America and other countries, covering various aspects of hardware and software
technologies.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based
upon our condensed consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). The preparation
of these condensed consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates and
assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, and
related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our
estimates and assumptions, including those related to revenue recognition, stock-based
compensation, bad debts, inventory reserves, warranty obligations, patents and intangible assets,
contingencies, and litigation. We base our estimates and assumptions on historical experience and
on various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of
which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that
are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates and
assumptions.
We believe the following are our most critical accounting policies as they require our
significant judgments and estimates in the preparation of our condensed consolidated financial
statements:
Revenue Recognition
We recognize revenues in accordance with applicable accounting standards, including SAB No.
104, Revenue Recognition, EITF Issue No. 00-21, Accounting for Revenue Arrangements with
Multiple Deliverables, and AICPA SOP 97-2, Software Revenue Recognition, as amended. Revenue is
recognized when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred or service has
been rendered, the fee is fixed and determinable, and collectibility is probable. We derive our
revenues from three principal sources: royalty and license fees, product sales, and development
contracts.
Royalty and license revenue We recognize royalty and license revenue based on royalty
reports or related information received from the licensee as well as time-based licenses of our
intellectual property portfolio. Up-front payments under license agreements are deferred and
recognized as revenue based on either the royalty reports received or amortized over the license
period depending on the nature of the agreement. Advance payments under license agreements that
also require us to provide future services to the licensee are deferred and recognized over the
service period when vendor-specific objective evidence (VSOE) related to the value of the services
does not exist.
We generally recognize revenue from our licensees under one or a combination of the following
license models:
License revenue model | Revenue recognition | |
Perpetual license of intellectual
property portfolio based on per unit
royalties, no services contracted.
|
Based on royalty reports received from licensees. No further obligations to licensee exist. | |
Time-based license of intellectual
property portfolio with up-front
payments and/or annual minimum
royalty requirements, no services
contracted.
|
Based on straight-line amortization of annual minimum/up-front payment recognized over contract period or annual minimum period. No further obligations to licensee exist. | |
Perpetual license of intellectual
property portfolio or technology
license along with contract for
development work.
|
Based on cost-to-cost percentage-of-completion accounting method over the service period. Obligation to licensee exists until development work is complete. | |
License of software or technology, no
modification necessary, no services
contracted.
|
Up-front revenue recognition based on SOP 97-2 criteria or EITF No. 00-21, as applicable. |
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Individual contracts may have characteristics that do not fall within a specific license model
or may have characteristics of a combination of license models. Under those circumstances, we
recognize revenue in accordance with SAB No. 104, EITF No. 00-21, and SOP 97-2, as amended, to
guide the accounting treatment for each individual contract. See also the discussions regarding
Multiple element arrangements below. If the information received from our licensees regarding
royalties is incorrect or inaccurate, our revenues in future periods may be adversely affected. To
date, none of the information we have received from our licensees has caused any material reduction
in future period revenues.
Product sales We recognize revenues from product sales when the product is shipped, provided
collection is determined to be probable and no significant obligation remains. We sell the majority
of our products with warranties ranging from three to twenty-four months. We record the estimated
warranty costs during the quarter the revenue is recognized. Historically, warranty-related costs
and related accruals have not been significant. We offer a general right of return on the
MicroScribe product line for 14 days after purchase. We recognize revenue at the time of shipment
of a MicroScribe digitizer and provide an accrual for potential returns based on historical
experience. We offer no other general right of return on our products.
Development contracts and other revenue Development contracts and other revenue is comprised
of professional services (consulting services and/or development contracts), customer support, and
extended warranty contracts. Development contract revenues are recognized under the cost-to-cost
percentage-of-completion accounting method based on physical completion of the work to be
performed. Losses on contracts are recognized when determined. Revisions in estimates are reflected
in the period in which the conditions become known. Customer support and extended warranty contract
revenue is recognized ratably over the contractual period.
Multiple element arrangements We enter into revenue arrangements in which the customer
purchases a combination of patent, technology, and/or software licenses, products, professional
services, support, and extended warranties (multiple element arrangements). When VSOE of fair
value exists for all elements, we allocate revenue to each element based on the relative fair value
of each of the elements. Generally, the price charged when the element is sold separately
determines the fair value or VSOE. For arrangements where VSOE of fair value exists only for the
undelivered elements, we defer the full fair value of the undelivered elements and recognize the
difference between the total arrangement fee and the amount deferred for the undelivered items as
revenue, assuming all other criteria for revenue recognition have been met.
Our revenue recognition policies are significant because our revenues are a key component of
our results of operations. In addition, our revenue recognition determines the timing of certain
expenses, such as commissions and royalties. Revenue results are difficult to predict, and any
shortfall in revenue or delay in recognizing revenue could cause our operating results to vary
significantly from quarter to quarter and could result in greater or future operating losses.
Stock-based Compensation
We account for stock-based compensation in accordance with SFAS No. 123R. We adopted the
provisions of SFAS No. 123R on January 1, 2006. We elected the modified-prospective method, under
which prior periods are not revised for comparative purposes. Under the fair value recognition
provisions of this statement, stock-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on
the fair value of the award and is recognized as expense on a straight-line basis over the
requisite service period, which is the vesting period.
Valuation and amortization method - We use the Black-Scholes option-pricing model,
straight-line single-option approach to determine the fair value of stock options and employee
stock purchase plan shares. All share-based payment awards are amortized on a straight-line basis
over the requisite service periods of the awards, which are generally the vesting periods. The
determination of the fair value of stock-based payment awards on the date of grant using an
option-pricing model is affected by our stock price as well as assumptions regarding a number of
complex and subjective variables. These variables include actual and projected employee stock
option exercise behaviors, our expected stock price volatility over the term of the awards,
risk-free interest rate, and expected dividends.
Expected term - We estimate the expected term of options granted by using the simplified
method as prescribed by SAB 107.
Expected volatility - We estimate the volatility of our common stock taking into consideration
our historical stock price movement, the volatility of stock prices of companies of similar size
with similar businesses, if any, and our expected future stock price trends based on known or
anticipated events.
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Risk-free interest rate - We base the risk-free interest rate that we use in the option
pricing model on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues with remaining terms similar to the expected term
on the options.
Expected dividend - We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future
and therefore use an expected dividend yield of zero in the option pricing model.
Forfeitures - We are required to estimate future forfeitures at the time of grant and revise
those estimates in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. We use
historical data to estimate pre-vesting option forfeitures and record stock-based compensation
expense only for those awards that are expected to vest. Changes in estimated forfeitures will be
recognized through a cumulative catch-up adjustment in the period of change and will also impact
the amount of compensation expense to be recognized in future periods.
If factors change and we employ different assumptions for estimating stock-based compensation
expense in future periods, or if we decide to use a different valuation model, the future periods
may differ significantly from what we have recorded in the current period and could materially
affect our operating results.
The Black-Scholes option-pricing model was developed for use in estimating the fair value of
traded options that have no vesting restrictions and are fully transferable, characteristics not
present in our option grants and employee stock purchase plan shares. Existing valuation models,
including the Black-Scholes and lattice binomial models, may not provide reliable measures of the
fair values of our stock-based compensation. Consequently, there is a risk that our estimates of
the fair values of our stock-based compensation awards on the grant dates may bear little
resemblance to the actual values realized upon the exercise, expiration, early termination, or
forfeiture of those stock-based payments in the future. Certain stock-based payments, such as
employee stock options, may expire and be worthless or otherwise result in zero intrinsic value as
compared to the fair values originally estimated on the grant date and reported in our financial
statements. Alternatively, value may be realized from these instruments that are significantly
higher than the fair values originally estimated on the grant date and reported in our financial
statements. There currently is no market-based mechanism or other practical application to verify
the reliability and accuracy of the estimates stemming from these valuation models, nor is there a
means to compare and adjust the estimates to actual values.
The guidance in SFAS No. 123R and SAB 107 is relatively new. The application of these
principles may be subject to further interpretation and refinement over time. There are significant
differences among valuation models, and there is a possibility that we will adopt different
valuation models in the future. This may result in a lack of consistency in future periods and
materially affect the fair value estimate of stock-based payments. It may also result in a lack of
comparability with other companies that use different models, methods, and assumptions.
See Note 9 to the condensed consolidated financial statements for further information
regarding the SFAS No. 123R disclosures.
Long-term Liabilities
In 2003, we executed a series of agreements with Microsoft as described in Note 8 to the
condensed consolidated financial statements that provided for settlement of our lawsuit against
Microsoft as well as various licensing, sublicensing, and equity and financing arrangements. We
accounted for the proceeds received under the agreements as a long-term customer advance based on
certain provisions that would result in payment of funds to Microsoft. Upon Microsofts election to
convert its shares of our Series A Preferred Stock into common stock, we reduced the long-term
customer advance from Microsoft to the minimum amount we would be obligated to pay Microsoft upon a
settlement with Sony Computer Entertainment. The remainder of the consideration was transferred to
common stock in 2004. Under certain circumstances related to a settlement with Sony Computer
Entertainment, we are obliged to pay Microsoft a minimum of $15.0 million. In the event of an
unfavorable judicial resolution or a dismissal or withdrawal by us of the lawsuit meeting certain
conditions, we would not be obliged to make any payment to Microsoft.
In December 2004, we executed a series of agreements as described in Note 6 to the condensed
consolidated financial statements that provided for the issuance of 5% Convertible Debentures, and
warrants, and that granted certain registration rights to the holders of the 5% Convertible
Debentures. We accounted for the issuance of our 5% Convertible Debentures and related warrants in
accordance with EITF No. 98-5, Accounting for Convertible Securities with Beneficial Conversion
Features or Contingently Adjustable Conversion Ratios and other related accounting guidance. We
estimated the relative fair value of the various instruments included in the agreements entered
into in December 2004 and allocated the relative fair values to be as follows: warrants $1.7
million, Put Option $0.1 million, Registration Rights $0.1 million, issuance costs $1.3
million, 5% Convertible Debentures $16.8 million. The 5% Convertible Debentures are being
accreted to $20.0 million over their five-year life, resulting in additional interest expense. The
value of the warrants is included in Stockholders Deficit, the value of the Put Option and
Registration Rights are recorded as liabilities and are subject to future value adjustments, and
the value of the 5% Convertible Debentures is recorded as long-term debt.
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Long-term Deferred Revenue
In addition to normal items of deferred revenue due after one year, we have included Sony
Computer Entertainment compulsory license fees and interest earned thereon in long-term deferred
revenue due to the contingent nature of the court-ordered payments (see Note 7 to the condensed
consolidated financial statements). We will not record any revenue or interest income associated
with these payments until such time as the contingency lapses.
Recovery of Accounts Receivable
We maintain allowances for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from our review
and assessment of our customers ability to make required payments. If the financial condition of
one or more of our customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to
make payments, additional allowances might be required. To date such estimated losses have been
within our expectations.
Inventory Reserves
We reduce our inventory value for estimated obsolete and slow moving inventory in an amount
equal to the difference between the cost of inventory and the net realizable value based upon
assumptions about future demand and market conditions. If actual future demand and market
conditions are less favorable than those projected by management, additional inventory write-downs
may be required.
Product Return and Warranty Reserves
We provide for estimated costs of future anticipated product returns and warranty obligations
based on historical experience when related revenues are recognized, and we defer warranty-related
revenue over the related warranty term.
Intangible Assets
We have acquired patents and other intangibles. In addition, we capitalize the external legal
and filing fees associated with patents and trademarks. We assess the recoverability of our
intangible assets, and we must make assumptions regarding estimated future cash flows and other
factors to determine the fair value of the respective assets that affect our consolidated financial
statements. If these estimates or related assumptions change in the future, we may be required to
record impairment charges for these assets. We amortize our intangible assets related to patents
and trademarks, once they issue, over their estimated useful lives, generally 10 years. Future
changes in the estimated useful life could affect the amount of future period amortization expense
that we will incur. During the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2006, we
capitalized external costs associated with patents and trademarks of $383,000 and $1.0 million,
respectively. Our total amortization expense for the same periods for all intangible assets was
$227,000 and $656,000, respectively.
The above listing is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all of our accounting
policies. In many cases, the accounting treatment of a particular transaction is specifically
dictated by GAAP, with no need for managements judgment in their application. There are also areas
in which managements judgment in selecting any available alternative would not produce a
materially different result.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE THREE MONTHS AND NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2006 AND 2005
Overview
We achieved a 22% increase in revenues during the three months ended September 30, 2006
compared to the three months ended September 30, 2005, and an 11% increase in revenues during the
nine months ended September 30, 2006 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2005.
Increased medical revenue, most notably medical product sales, contributed to the increased sales
for the aforementioned periods. Our medical simulation systems used by teaching institutions and
medical device manufacturers continue to gain wider acceptance as training tools. These increases
in medical revenue were offset in part by a decline in our gaming revenues, resulting from
decreased sales by our licensees of royalty bearing gaming peripherals. Market demand for gaming
peripherals for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube systems has decreased prior to the anticipated
launch of new gaming consoles. Additionally, Microsoft has not yet broadly licensed third parties
to produce peripherals for its Xbox 360 game console.
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We incurred a net loss for the three months ended September 30, 2006 of $3.2 million, an
improvement of 24% from our $4.2 million net loss for the three months ended September 30, 2005.
We incurred a net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 of $8.4 million, an improvement
of 17% from our $10.1 million net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2005. The decrease
in the net loss was primarily due to increased gross profit from product sales mainly due to
increased medical product sales and increased development contract revenue. Included in our
operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 are charges for
stock-based compensation arising from our adoption of SFAS No. 123R on January 1, 2006 of $724,000
and $2.1 million, respectively. In addition, a litigation settlement payment from Electro Source
reduced total operating expenses for the same periods by $300,000 and $1.4 million, respectively.
As of September 30, 2006, our cash and cash equivalents were $29.0 million. In the nine months
ended September 30, 2006, Sony Computer Entertainment made payments to us totaling approximately
$7.7 million pursuant to Court orders of January 10, 2005 and February 9, 2005 for a compulsory
license.
During the remainder of 2006, we expect to focus on the execution of sales and marketing plans
in our established businesses to increase revenue, and make selected investments in product and
technology development for longer-term new growth areas. We believe these investments will continue
to contribute to our ability to penetrate new and existing markets and build greater market
acceptance for our touch technologies. We expect expenses related to our current litigation with
Sony Computer Entertainment to continue to decrease in the remainder of 2006 as compared to 2005.
Although we will focus on reducing operating expenses, we have budgeted to continue to protect and
defend our extensive intellectual property portfolio across all business segments. However, the
success of our business could be limited by several factors, including our ability to timely
release new products, market acceptance of our products and technology, market acceptance of our
licensees products, the introduction of new products by existing or new competitors, and the cost
of ongoing litigation. For a further discussion of these and other risk factors, see PART II, ITEM
1A. RISK FACTORS of this Form 10-Q.
September 30, | Change | |||||||||||
REVENUES | 2006 | 2005 | ||||||||||
($ In thousands) | ||||||||||||
Three months ended: |
||||||||||||
Royalty and license |
$ | 1,336 | $ | 1,473 | (9 | )% | ||||||
Product sales |
4,261 | 3,376 | 26 | % | ||||||||
Development contracts and other |
962 | 538 | 79 | % | ||||||||
Total Revenue |
$ | 6,559 | $ | 5,387 | 22 | % | ||||||
Nine months ended: |
||||||||||||
Royalty and license |
$ | 4,948 | $ | 6,273 | (21 | )% | ||||||
Product sales |
11,544 | 9,328 | 24 | % | ||||||||
Development contracts and other |
2,752 | 1,804 | 53 | % | ||||||||
Total Revenue |
$ | 19,244 | $ | 17,405 | 11 | % | ||||||
Three Months Ended September 30, 2006 Compared to Three Months Ended September 30, 2005
Total Revenue Our total revenue for the third quarter of 2006 increased by $1.2 million or
22% from the third quarter of 2005.
Royalty and license revenue Royalty and license revenue is comprised of royalties earned on
sales by our TouchSense licensees and license fees charged for our intellectual property portfolio.
Royalty and license revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2006 was $1.3 million, a
decrease of $137,000 or 9% from the three months ended September 30, 2005. The decrease in royalty
and license revenue was primarily due to a decrease in gaming royalties of
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$312,000, offset in part
by an increase in touch interface product royalties of $78,000, and an increase in medical license
fees of $62,000.
The decrease in gaming royalties was mainly due to decreased sales by our licensees of royalty
bearing gaming peripherals primarily due to i) the continued decline in current generation video
console sales prior to the launch of the upcoming next-generation console models from Sony
(PlayStation 3) and Nintendo (Wii), and ii) the decline in overall third-party market share of
aftermarket game console controllers due to Microsofts market share for aftermarket game console
controllers for its next-generation Xbox 360 console. If the Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii
launch in late 2006, we anticipate that third-party royalties will likely decline further as market
share shifts back to first-party peripheral makers, just as we have seen with the Microsoft Xbox
360.
Sony announced on May 8, 2006, that the vibration feature that is currently available on
controllers for PlayStation and PlayStation 2 will be removed from the new PlayStation 3
controller. While we do not know what force feedback capabilities will be available in the
PlayStation 3 console at launch, if any, or whether or to what extent the PlayStation 3 console
will be compatible with third-party peripherals containing force feedback capability, this course
of action by Sony may have material adverse consequences on our future gaming royalty revenues
since our royalties depend to some degree on force feedback support or compatibility in the video
console system.
For the Microsoft Xbox 360
video console system launched in November 2005, Microsoft has, to
date, not yet broadly licensed third parties to produce peripherals for its Xbox 360 game console.
Because our gaming royalties come mainly from third-party manufacturers, unless Microsoft licenses
additional third-party licensees, our gaming royalty revenue will decline.
Touch interface product royalties increased due to increased licensee revenue from signing a
new licensee in late 2005 and royalties from an increased number of vehicles manufactured with our
technology incorporated in them. We expect increased touch interface product royalties and license
revenue in the remainder of 2006 based on new licensees signed and an increase in the number of
cars sold that incorporate our technology. The increase in royalty and license revenue from our
medical licensees was primarily due to license revenue from our license and development agreements
with Medtronic. Revenue recognition on the license and development agreements with Medtronic is
based on cost-to-cost percentage-of-completion and acceptance; an increase in activity on these
contracts and acceptance resulted in an increase in revenue recognized.
Product sales Product sales for the three months ended September 30, 2006 were $4.3 million,
an increase of $885,000 or 26% compared to the three months ended September 30, 2005. The increase
in product sales was primarily due to increased medical product sales of $832,000, mainly due to
increased sales of our endoscopy and endovascular simulator platforms offset by a decrease in sales
of our laparoscopy simulator platforms. This increase in product sales was a result of pursuing a
product growth strategy for our medical business which includes expanding international sales,
developing new products, and leveraging our industry alliances. In addition, there was an increase
in product sales from touch interface products of $41,000 including increased sales of rotary
modules and components for tactile touchscreens. Touch interface products include touchscreen and
touch panel components, rotary modules, and commercial gaming products.
Development contract and other revenue Development contract and other revenue is comprised
of revenue on commercial and government contracts and extended support and warranty contracts.
Development contract and other revenue was $962,000 during the three months ended September 30,
2006, an increase of $424,000 or 79% compared to the three months ended September 30, 2005.
Commercial contract revenue increased by $511,000 mainly due to an increase in commercial
development contract revenue recognized from our medical business upon completion of a license and
development contract with Medtronic. Government contract revenue decreased by $101,000 primarily
due to decreased work performed under government contracts which were completed during the quarter.
We categorize our geographic information into four major regions: North America, Europe, Far
East, and Rest of the World. In the third quarter of 2006, revenue generated in North America,
Europe, Far East, and Rest of the World represented 68%, 17%, 12%, and 3%, respectively, compared
to 72%, 12%, 8%, and 8%, respectively, for the third quarter of 2005. The shift in revenues among
regions was mainly due to a reduction in revenue from North American gaming licensees offset in
part by an increase in medical revenue from customers in North America, an increase in medical
product revenue from customers in Europe and the Far East, and a decrease in medical product
revenue from Rest of the World.
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2006 Compared to the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2005
Total Revenue Our total revenue for the first nine months of 2006 increased by $1.8 million
or 11% from the first nine months of 2005.
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Royalty and license revenue Royalty and license revenue for the nine months ended September
30, 2006 decreased by $1.3 million or 21% from the nine months ended September 30, 2005. The
decrease in royalty and license revenue was primarily due to a decrease in gaming royalties of $1.6
million and a decrease in medical license fees of $248,000, offset in part by an increase in touch
interface product royalties of $434,000. The decrease in gaming royalties was mainly due to
decreased sales by our licensees of royalty bearing gaming peripherals mainly due to the decline in
current generation video console sales prior to the anticipated launch by Sony and Nintendo of
their next-generation console models in late 2006 and decreased third-party market share of
aftermarket game console controllers for Microsoft Xbox 360. The decrease in medical royalty and
license revenue was primarily due to a reduction in license revenue recognized on our license and
development agreements with Medtronic. Touch interface product royalties increased due to
increased licensee revenue from signing a new licensee in late 2005 and royalties from an increased
number of vehicles manufactured with our technology incorporated in them.
Product sales Product sales for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 increased by $2.2
million or 24% compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2005. The increase in product sales
was primarily due to increased medical product sales of $1.8 million, mainly due to increased sales
of our endoscopy, needle-based, and laparoscopy simulator platforms. In addition, our 3D product
sales increased by $589,000 primarily due to increased sales of our MicroScribe, CyberGlove®,
CyberGrasp®, and CyberForce® products. Partially offsetting this increase was a decrease in product
sales from touch interface products of $154,000 including decreased sales of force feedback
electronics for arcade gaming customers due to the timing and cyclical nature of customer product
introductions and product sales.
Development contract and other revenue Development contract and other revenue for the nine
months ended September 30, 2006 increased by $948,000 or 53% compared to the nine months ended
September 30, 2005. Government contract revenue increased by $646,000 primarily due to increased
work performed under medical government contracts which were completed during the third quarter of
2006. Commercial contract revenue increased by $287,000 mainly due to an increase in commercial
development contract revenue recognized from our medical business upon completion of a license and
development contract with Medtronic.
In the first nine months of 2006, revenue generated in North America, Europe, Far East, and
Rest of the World represented 71%, 17%, 10%, and 2%, respectively, compared to 71%, 17%, 5%, and
7%, respectively, for the first nine months of 2005. The shift in revenues among regions was mainly
due to an increase in touch interface product group development contract revenue, medical product
revenue, and 3D product revenue from customers in the Far East and a decrease in medical product
revenue from customers in the Rest of the World.
September 30, | Change | |||||||||||
COST OF PRODUCT SALES | 2006 | 2005 | ||||||||||
($ In thousands) | ||||||||||||
Three months ended: |
||||||||||||
Cost of product sales |
$ | 1,980 | $ | 1,756 | 13 | % | ||||||
% of total product revenue |
46 | % | 52 | % | ||||||||
Nine months ended: |
||||||||||||
Cost of product sales |
$ | 5,137 | $ | 4,808 | 7 | % | ||||||
% of total product revenue |
44 | % | 52 | % |
Cost of Product Sales - Our cost of product sales consists primarily of materials, labor, and
overhead. There is no cost of product sales associated with royalty revenue or development
contract revenue. Cost of product sales was $2.0 million, an increase of $224,000 or 13% for the
three months ended September 30, 2006 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2005. The
increase in cost of product sales was primarily due to increased direct material costs of $178,000,
an increase of overhead costs of $84,000, and an increase in write offs for excess and obsolete
inventory of $58,000, offset in part by decreased physical inventory adjustments of $48,000 and
decreased royalties of $32,000. Product sales increased by 26% during the three months ended
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September 30, 2006 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2005, yet cost of product sales
as a percentage of revenue decreased for the period mainly due to a favorable shift in the mix of
products sold during the quarter. During the quarter ended September 30, 2006, our product margins
on our medical products improved due in part to price increases. In addition, our higher margin
medical products
were a more significant portion of the overall product revenue mix. Overhead costs increased
by $84,000 mainly due to costs of programs to improve quality processes within our manufacturing
operations.
Cost of product sales increased by $329,000 or 7% for the nine months ended September 30, 2006
compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2005. The increase in cost of product sales was
primarily due to increased direct material costs of $228,000, an increase of overhead costs of
$141,000, and increase in write offs for excess and obsolete inventory of $73,000, offset in part
by decreased physical inventory adjustments of $80,000, and decreased freight of $35,000. Product
sales increased by 24% during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 compared to the nine months
ended September 30, 2005, yet cost of product sales as a percentage of revenue decreased for the
period, mainly due to a favorable shift in the mix of products sold during the period. Increased
sales of higher margin products such as medical training simulators accounted for most of the
favorable mix shift. Overhead costs increased mainly due to costs of programs to improve quality
processes within our manufacturing operations of $99,000 and a stock-based compensation charge of
$54,000 due to the adoption of SFAS No. 123R.
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September 30, | Change | |||||||||||
OPERATING EXPENSES AND OTHER | 2006 | 2005 | ||||||||||
($ In thousands) | ||||||||||||
Three months ended: |
||||||||||||
Sales and marketing |
$ | 3,068 | $ | 2,679 | 15 | % | ||||||
% of total
revenue |
47 | % | 50 | % | ||||||||
Research and
development |
$ | 1,894 | $ | 1,446 | 31 | % | ||||||
% of total
revenue |
29 | % | 27 | % | ||||||||
General and
administrative |
$ | 2,463 | $ | 3,073 | (20 | )% | ||||||
% of total
revenue |
38 | % | 57 | % | ||||||||
Amortization of
intangibles |
$ | 227 | $ | 314 | (28 | )% | ||||||
% of total
revenue |
3 | % | 6 | % | ||||||||
Litigation
settlement |
$ | (300 | ) | $ | | | ||||||
% of total
revenue |
(5 | )% | | % | ||||||||
Nine months ended: |
||||||||||||
Sales and
marketing |
$ | 9,154 | $ | 8,576 | 7 | % | ||||||
% of total
revenue |
48 | % | 49 | % | ||||||||
Research and
development |
$ | 5,425 | $ | 4,483 | 21 | % | ||||||
% of total
revenue |
28 | % | 26 | % | ||||||||
General and
administrative |
$ | 7,570 | $ | 7,557 | 0 | % | ||||||
% of total
revenue |
39 | % | 43 | % | ||||||||
Amortization of
intangibles |
$ | 656 | $ | 1,050 | (38 | )% | ||||||
% of total
revenue |
3 | % | 6 | % | ||||||||
Litigation
settlement |
$ | (1,350 | ) | $ | | | ||||||
% of total
revenue |
(7 | )% | | % | ||||||||
Restructuring
costs |
$ | | $ | 185 | | |||||||
% of total
revenue |
| % | 1 | % |
Sales and Marketing Our sales and marketing expenses are comprised primarily of employee
compensation and benefits costs, advertising, public relations, trade shows, brochures, market
development funds, travel, and an allocation of facilities costs. Sales and marketing expenses were
$3.1 million, an increase of $389,000 or 15% in the third quarter of 2006 compared to the
comparable period in 2005. The increase was primarily due to increased compensation, benefits, and
overhead expense of $469,000 and increased advertising and public relations expense of $138,000,
offset in part by decreased professional and consulting expense of $108,000, and a reduction in bad
debt expense of $107,000 due to reversal of provisions for bad debts. The increased compensation,
benefits, and overhead expense was primarily due to increased stock-based compensation expense of
$305,000 due to the adoption of SFAS No. 123R and increased variable compensation expense of
$142,000 as a result of increased sales. We expect to continue to focus our sales and marketing
efforts on medical, mobility, and touchscreen opportunities for building greater market acceptance
for our touch technologies. As a result, we anticipate sales and marketing costs will
continue to increase in absolute dollars in 2006 compared to 2005.
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Sales and marketing expenses increased by $578,000 or 7% in the first nine months of 2006
compared to the comparable period in 2005. The increase was mainly the result of increased
compensation, benefits, and overhead expense of $1.0 million and increased advertising and public
relations expense of $146,000, offset in part by a reduction in bad debt expense of $255,000 due to
reversal of provisions for bad debts, decreased shows and exhibits expense of $167,000, decreased
professional and consulting expense of $112,000, and decreased office expenses of $64,000. The
increased compensation, benefits, and overhead expense was primarily due to increased stock-based
compensation expense of $887,000 due to the adoption of SFAS No. 123R in the first quarter of 2006
and an increase in variable compensation of $222,000 due to increased sales, offset in part by a
decrease in salary expense due to a reduction in headcount.
Research and Development Our research and development expenses are comprised primarily of
employee compensation and benefits, consulting fees, tooling and supplies, and an allocation of
facilities costs. Research and development expenses were $1.9 million, an increase of $448,000 or
31% in the third quarter of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005. The increase was primarily
due to increased compensation, benefits, and overhead of $287,000 and increased professional and
consulting expense of $130,000. The increased compensation, benefits, and overhead expense was
primarily due to increased stock-based compensation expense of $122,000 related to the adoption of
SFAS No. 123R and increased salary expense of $123,000 due to increased engineering headcount. We
believe that continued investment in research and development is critical to our future success,
and we expect to make targeted investments in areas of product and technology development to
support future growth.
Research and development expenses increased by $942,000 or 21% in the first nine months of
2006 compared to the same period in 2005. The increase was primarily due to increased compensation,
benefits, and overhead of $666,000, increased professional and consulting expense of $141,000, an
increase in prototyping expenses of $92,000, and an increase in materials needed for technical
support of $36,000. The increased compensation, benefits, and overhead expense was primarily due to
increased stock-based compensation expense of $370,000 due to the adoption of SFAS No. 123R in the
first quarter of 2006 and increased salary expense of $253,000 due to increased engineering
headcount.
General and Administrative Our general and administrative expenses are comprised primarily
of employee compensation and benefits, legal and professional fees, office supplies, travel, and an
allocation of facilities costs. General and administrative expenses were $2.5 million, a decrease
of $610,000 or 20% in the third quarter of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005. The decrease
was mainly due to reduced legal and professional fees of $1.1 million mainly due to a reduction in
litigation expenses attributable to the Sony Computer Entertainment litigation, partially offset by
increased compensation, benefits, and overhead of $448,000 and increased public company expense of
$58,000. The increased compensation, benefits, and overhead expense was primarily due to increased
stock-based compensation expense of $280,000 due to the adoption of SFAS No. 123R. Although we
expect our litigation costs related to the Sony Computer Entertainment litigation to decrease in
2006 compared to 2005, we expect that the absolute dollar amount of general and administrative
expenses to continue to be a significant component of our operating expenses. We will continue to
incur litigation costs, including costs associated with the appeals and other legal proceedings
with respect to Sony Computer Entertainment, and we expect we will continue to incur costs related
to litigation against other parties as we defend our intellectual property. In addition, we
anticipate costs associated with maintaining compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and
Nasdaq listing requirements will continue to be significant.
General and administrative expenses were flat for the first nine months of 2006 compared to
the same period in 2005. Increased compensation, benefits, and overhead of $1.3 million was offset
by reduced legal and professional fees of $1.3 million mainly due to a reduction in expenses
attributable to the Sony Computer Entertainment litigation. The increased compensation, benefits,
and overhead expense was primarily due to increased stock-based compensation expense of $828,000
due to the adoption of SFAS No. 123R in the first quarter of 2006.
Amortization of Intangibles Our amortization of intangibles is comprised primarily of patent
amortization and other intangible amortization. Amortization of intangibles decreased by $87,000 or
28% in the third quarter of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005. Amortization of intangibles
decreased by $394,000 or 38% in the first nine months of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005.
The decreases were primarily attributable to some intangible assets reaching full amortization.
Litigation Settlement - Litigation settlement benefits from Electro Source were $300,000 and
$1.4 million for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2006, respectively. No
litigation settlement benefits were received in the three months or nine months ended September 30,
2005. In February 2006, we announced that we had settled our legal differences in our complaint for
patent infringement against Electro Source and that both parties had agreed to dismiss all claims
and counterclaims relating to this matter. In addition to the Confidential Settlement Agreement,
Electro Source entered into a worldwide license to our patents for vibro-tactile devices in the
consumer gaming peripheral field of use. According to the terms of the agreement, Electro Source is
required to make royalty payments to
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us based on sales by Electro Source of spinning mass
vibro-tactile gamepads, steering wheels, and other game controllers for dedicated gaming consoles,
such as the Sony PlayStation and PlayStation 2, the Nintendo GameCube, and the Microsoft Xbox and
Xbox 360. Both companies also have agreed to explore the possibility of working together in
technology or engineering related assignments. We are entitled to be paid a minimum amount of
$300,000 in future periods.
Restructuring Costs We did not incur any restructuring costs in the three months or nine
months ended September 30, 2006. Restructuring costs for the three months and nine months ended
September 30, 2005 were $0 and $185,000, respectively. The costs consisted of severance benefits
resulting from a reduction in force during the period. Employees from manufacturing, sales and
marketing, research and development, and general and administrative were included in the reduction
in force. We did not incur any additional charges related to this reduction in force and do not
anticipate any further costs in future periods related to this reduction in force.
Interest and Other Income Interest and other income consists primarily of interest income
and dividend income from cash and cash equivalents. Interest and other income decreased by $68,000
in the third quarter of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005. This was the result of decreased
cash and cash equivalents invested, exclusive of monies received from Sony Computer Entertainment,
for the third quarter of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005. Interest income earned on the
payments from Sony Computer Entertainment has been included in deferred revenue.
Interest and other income decreased by $123,000 in the first nine months of 2006 compared to
the same period in 2005. This was the result of decreased cash and cash equivalents invested,
exclusive of monies received from Sony Computer Entertainment, for the first nine months of 2006
compared to the same period in 2005.
Interest and Other Expense Interest and other expense consists primarily of interest and
accretion expense on our 5% Convertible Debentures and notes payable. Interest and other expense
increased by $7,000 in the third quarter of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005 primarily due
to increased accretion expense on our 5% Convertible Debentures.
Interest and other expense increased by $84,000 in the first nine months of 2006 compared to
the same period in 2005. The increase was mainly due to increased accretion expense on our 5%
Convertible Debentures.
Provision for Income Taxes For the third quarter of 2006, we recorded a provision for income
taxes of $44,000 on a pre-tax loss of $3.1 million, yielding an effective tax rate of (1.4%). For
the three months ended September 30, 2005, we recorded a provision for income taxes of $12,000 on a
pre-tax loss of $4.1 million, yielding an effective tax rate of (0.3)%. The provision for income
tax was based on federal and state alternative minimum income tax payable on taxable income and
foreign withholding tax expense. Although we incurred pre-tax losses, the sums received from Sony
Computer Entertainment and interest thereon included in long term deferred revenue, approximating
$1.7 million and $3.5 million for the third quarter of 2006 and 2005, respectively, are taxable,
giving rise to an overall taxable profit.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2006, we recorded a provision for income taxes of
$131,000 on a pre-tax loss of $8.3 million, yielding an effective tax rate of (1.6)%. For the nine
months ended September 30, 2005, we recorded
a provision for income taxes of $110,000 on a pre-tax loss of $10.0 million, yielding an
effective tax rate of (1.1)%. The provision for income tax was based on federal and state
alternative minimum income tax payable on taxable income and foreign withholding tax expense.
Although we incurred pre-tax losses, the sums received from Sony Computer Entertainment and
interest thereon included in long term deferred revenue, approximating $8.5 million and $14.3
million for the first nine months of 2006 and 2005, respectively, are taxable, giving rise to an
overall taxable profit.
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SEGMENT RESULTS FOR THE THREE MONTHS AND NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2006 AND 2005
Three Months Ended | Nine Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
September 30, | September 30, | |||||||||||||||
2006 | 2005 | 2006 | 2005 | |||||||||||||
(In thousands) | (In thousands) | |||||||||||||||
Revenues: |
||||||||||||||||
Immersion Computing, Entertainment, and Industrial |
$ | 2,816 | $ | 3,094 | $ | 9,493 | $ | 10,520 | ||||||||
Immersion Medical |
3,764 | 2,322 | 9,840 | 7,076 | ||||||||||||
Intersegment eliminations |
(21 | ) | (29 | ) | (89 | ) | (191 | ) | ||||||||
Total |
$ | 6,559 | $ | 5,387 | $ | 19,244 | $ | 17,405 | ||||||||
Net Income (Loss)*: |
||||||||||||||||
Immersion Computing, Entertainment, and Industrial |
$ | (3,495 | ) | $ | (3,433 | ) | $ | (8,597 | ) | $ | (7,905 | ) | ||||
Immersion Medical |
339 | (731 | ) | 155 | (2,293 | ) | ||||||||||
Intersegment eliminations |
(1 | ) | 6 | | 78 | |||||||||||
Total |
$ | (3,157 | ) | $ | (4,158 | ) | $ | (8,442 | ) | $ | (10,120 | ) | ||||
* | Segment assets and expenses relating to the our corporate operations are not allocated but are included in Immersion Computing, Entertainment, and Industrial as that is how they are considered for management evaluation purposes. As a result, the segment information may not be indicative of the financial position or results of operations that would have been achieved had these segments operated as unaffiliated entities. |
Immersion Computing, Entertainment, and Industrial segment Revenues from the Immersion
Computing, Entertainment, and Industrial segment were $2.8 million, a decrease of $278,000 or 9%
for the third quarter of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005. Royalty and license revenue
decreased by $198,000, mainly due to decreased royalties from our licensees that sell console and
PC gaming peripheral products, partially offset by increased royalties and license fees from our
touch interface product licensees; development contract revenue decreased by $152,000, primarily
due to reduced government contracts; and product sales increased by $72,000, mainly due to
increased touch interface product sales such as our touchscreen components and rotary module
products. Net loss for the three months ended September 30, 2006 was $3.5 million, an increase of
$62,000 or 2% compared to the same period in 2005. The increase was primarily due to decreased
gross margins of $449,000 mainly due to reduced royalty and development contract revenue, and
increased non-operating expenses of $104,000, offset by reduced operating expenses of $491,000.
The reduction in operating expenses consisted of decreased general and administrative expenses,
mainly due to reduced litigation expenses; the litigation settlement received from Electro Source;
and reduced amortization of intangibles offset in part by increased sales and marketing expenses,
and increased research and development expenses for the period.
Revenues for the first nine months of fiscal 2006 decreased by $1.0 million, or 10% compared
to the same period last year for the Immersion Computing, Entertainment, and Industrial segment.
Royalty and license revenue decreased by $1.1 million, mainly due to decreased royalties from our
licensees that sell console and PC gaming peripheral products, partially offset by increased
royalties and license fees from our touch interface product licensees; development contract revenue
decreased by $379,000, primarily due to reduced government contracts; and product sales increased
by $428,000, mainly due to increased sales of our 3D products partially offset by a decrease in
touch interface product sales. Net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 increased by
$692,000 or 9% compared to the same period in 2005. The increase was primarily due to decreased
gross margins of $1.3 million mainly due to reduced royalty and development contract revenue,
increased non-operating expenses of $221,000, offset by reduced operating expenses of $795,000. The
reduced operating expenses are comprised of the litigation settlement received from Electro Source;
decreased general and administrative expenses, mainly reduced litigation expenses; and reduced
amortization of intangibles offset in part by increased sales and marketing expenses, and increased
research and development expenses for the period.
Immersion Medical segment Revenues from Immersion Medical were $3.8 million, an increase of
$1.4 million or 62% for the third quarter of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005. The increase
was primarily due to an increase of
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$832,000 in product sales, an increase of $548,000 in
development contract revenue, and an increase of $62,000 in royalty and license revenue. Product
sales increased primarily due to increased sales of our endoscopy and endovascular simulator
platforms offset by a decrease in sales of our laparoscopy simulator platforms. Development
contract revenue increased primarily due to an increase in work performed under commercial
contracts primarily with Medtronic. We have been pursuing and intend to continue pursuing a product
growth strategy for our medical business which includes expanding international sales, developing
new products, and leveraging our industry alliances. The increase in royalty and license revenue
was primarily due to an increase in license revenue from our license and development agreements
with Medtronic. Net income for the three months ended September 30, 2006 was $339,000, compared to
a net loss of $731,000 for the same period in 2005. The improvement was mainly due to increased
gross margin of $1.4 million offset by increased operating expenses of $303,000. The increased
gross margin is a combination of increased product sales, improved product margins due to increased
prices, and increased development contract and royalty revenue in the revenue mix during the
quarter.
Revenues from Immersion Medical increased by $2.8 million or 39%, for the first nine months of
2006 compared to the same period in 2005. The increase was primarily due to an increase of $1.8
million in product sales and an increase of $1.2 million in development contract revenue, offset by
a decrease of $248,000 in royalty and license revenue. Product sales increased primarily due to
increased sales of our endoscopy, needle-based, and laparoscopy simulator platforms. Development
contract revenue increased due to an increase in work performed under a government contract that
has been completed and an increase in commercial contract revenue, primarily with Medtronic. The
decrease in medical royalty and license revenue was primarily due to a reduction in license revenue
recognized on our license and development agreements with Medtronic for the period. Net income for
the nine months ended September 30, 2006 was $155,000, compared to a net loss of $2.3 million for
same period in 2005. The improvement was mainly due to increased gross margin of $2.8 million
offset by increased operating expenses of $303,000. The increased gross margin was primarily due
to increased product and development contract revenue, and a favorable shift in the mix of products
sold during the period.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Our cash and cash equivalents consist primarily of cash and money market funds. At September
30, 2006, our cash and cash equivalents totaled $29.0 million, an increase of $866,000 from $28.2
million at December 31, 2005.
During 2003, we entered into a series of agreements with Microsoft in connection with the
settling of our lawsuit against Microsoft. As part of these agreements, we may require Microsoft,
at our discretion, to buy up to $4.0 million of our 7% Debentures, at a rate of $2.0 million per
annum plus any amounts not purchased in the prior 12 months, for the year ending July 2007. As of
September 30, 2006, we had not sold any of these 7% Debentures to Microsoft.
In December 2004, we issued an aggregate principal amount of $20.0 million of 5% Convertible
Debentures. The 5% Convertible Debentures will mature on December 22, 2009. The amount payable at
maturity of each 5% Convertible Debenture is the initial principal plus all accrued but unpaid
interest thereon, to the extent such principal amount and interest has not been converted into
common shares or previously paid in cash. Commencing on the date the 5% Convertible Debentures were
issued, interest accrues daily on the principal amount of the 5% Convertible Debenture at a rate of
5% per year. Interest will cease to accrue on that portion of the 5% Convertible Debenture that is
converted or paid, including pursuant to conversion right or redemption. The holder of a 5%
Convertible Debenture has the right to convert the outstanding principal amount and accrued and
unpaid interest in whole or in part into shares of our common stock at a price of $7.0265 per
common share.
Net cash provided by operating activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 was
$1.8 million, a change of $907,000 from the $2.7 million provided during the nine months ended
September 30, 2005. Cash provided by operations during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 was
primarily the result of a $7.5 million increase due to a change in deferred revenue and customer
advances mainly related to compulsory license fee payments received and interest thereon from Sony
Computer Entertainment of $8.5 million. Cash provided by operations during the nine months ended
September 30, 2006 was also impacted by noncash charges and credits of $3.8 million, including $2.1
million of stock-based compensation, $656,000 in amortization of intangibles, $549,000 in
depreciation, and $474,000 in accretion expenses on our 5% Convertible Debentures, as well as an
increase of $477,000 due to a change in accrued compensation and other current liabilities, an
increase of $299,000 due to a change in inventories, and an increase of
$254,000 due to a change in prepaid expenses and other current assets. These increases were
offset by our $8.4 million net loss, a decrease of $1.3 million due to a change in accounts payable
due to the timing of payments to vendors, and a decrease of $802,000 due to a change in accounts
receivable.
Net cash used in investing activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 was $2.1
million, compared to the $1.3 million used in investing activities during nine months ended
September 30, 2005, an increase of $785,000.
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Net cash used in investing activities during the
period consisted of a $1.1 million increase in other assets, primarily due to capitalization of
external patent filing and application costs and $1.0 million used to purchase capital equipment.
Net cash provided by financing activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2006 was
$784,000 compared to $1.5 million provided during the nine months ended September 30, 2005, or a
$677,000 decrease from the prior year. Net cash provided by financing activities for the period
consisted primarily of issuances of common stock and exercises of stock options in the amount of
$770,000.
We believe that our cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to meet our working capital
needs and our continued litigation costs for at least the next twelve months. We have taken
measures to control our costs and will continue to monitor these efforts. Although we will continue
to incur additional expenses associated with the appeals process related to our litigation against
Sony Computer Entertainment, we expect our litigation costs associated with the Sony Computer
Entertainment litigation to continue to decrease during the remainder of 2006 compared to 2005. We
anticipate that capital expenditures for the year ended December 31, 2006 will total approximately
$1.5 million in connection with anticipated maintenance and upgrades to operations and
infrastructure. If we are unable to collect on the damages awarded in the Sony Computer
Entertainment litigation, or have to repay the compulsory license payments previously received and
interest thereon totaling $25.3 million as of September 30, 2006, or are unsuccessful in resolving
the Sony Computer Entertainment litigation in the short term, we may need to raise additional
capital through sale of debt and/or equity securities or through a line of credit. Additionally,
although we have no current plans to do so, if we acquire one or more businesses, patents, or
products, our cash or capital requirements could increase substantially. In the event of such an
acquisition, or should any unanticipated circumstances arise that significantly increase our
capital requirements, we may elect to raise additional capital through debt or equity financing.
Any of these events could result in substantial dilution to our stockholders. Although we expect
to be able to raise additional capital if necessary, there is no assurance that such additional
capital will be available on terms acceptable to us, if at all.
Our 5% Convertible Debentures accrue interest at 5% per annum. Accordingly, we are required to
make interest payments in the amount of $1.0 million per annum until such time as the 5%
Convertible Debentures are either converted to common stock or mature. If the daily
volume-weighted average price of our common shares is at or above 200% of the Conversion Price for
at least 20 consecutive trading days, and certain other conditions are met, we have the right to
(i) require the holder of a 5% Convertible Debenture to convert the 5% Convertible Debenture in
whole, including interest, into shares of our common stock at a price of $7.0265 per common share,
as may be adjusted under the debenture, as set forth and subject to the conditions in the 5%
Convertible Debenture, or (ii) redeem the 5% Convertible Debenture. If we make either of the
foregoing elections with respect to any 5% Convertible Debenture, we must make the same election
with respect to all 5% Convertible Debentures.
SUMMARY DISCLOSURES ABOUT CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS AND COMMERCIAL COMMITMENTS
The following table reflects a summary of our contractual cash obligations and other
commercial commitments as of December 31, 2005 (in thousands):
2007 and | 2009 and | |||||||||||||||
Contractual Obligations | Total | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | ||||||||||||
Long-term debt and interest |
$ | 23,975 | $ | 1,000 | $ | 2,000 | $ | 20,975 | ||||||||
Operating leases |
3,855 | 975 | 1,855 | 1,025 | ||||||||||||
Total contractual cash obligations |
$ | 27,830 | $ | 1,975 | $ | 3,855 | $ | 22,000 | ||||||||
In connection with our series of agreements with Microsoft executed in July 2003, we are
obligated to pay Microsoft certain amounts based on a settlement of the Sony Computer Entertainment
litigation (see Note 8 to the condensed consolidated financial statements).
With regard to our 5% Convertible Debentures, in the event of a change of control of us, a
holder may require us to redeem all or a portion of their 5% Convertible Debenture (Put Option).
The redeemed portion shall be redeemed at a
price equal to the redeemed amount multiplied by (a) 105% of the principal amount of the 5%
Convertible Debenture if the change of control occurs on or prior to December 23, 2006, or (b) 100%
of the principal amount of the 5% Convertible Debenture if the change of control occurs after
December 23, 2006. The price at which the debentures convert into shares of our common stock will
be reduced in certain instances where shares of our common stock are sold or deemed to be sold at a
price less than the applicable conversion price, including the issuance of certain options, the
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issuance of convertible securities, or the change in exercise price or rate of conversion for
options or convertible securities. In addition, the conversion price will be proportionately
adjusted if we subdivide (by stock split, stock dividend, recapitalization, or otherwise) or
combine (by combination, reverse stock split, or otherwise) one or more classes of our common
stock. So long as any 5% Convertible Debentures are outstanding, we will not, nor will we permit
any of our subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly, incur or guarantee, assume or suffer to exist
any indebtedness other than permitted indebtedness under the 5% Convertible Debenture agreement.
If an event of default occurs, and is continuing with respect to any of our 5% Convertible
Debentures, the holder may, at its option, require us to redeem all or a portion of the 5%
Convertible Debenture.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In June 2006, FASB issued FIN 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes. FIN 48
clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprises financial
statements in accordance with FASB Statement No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes. FIN 48
prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial statement
recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. This
interpretation also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties,
accounting in interim periods, disclosure, and transition. FIN 48 is effective for fiscal years
beginning after December 15, 2006. Earlier application of the provisions of this interpretation is
encouraged if the enterprise has not yet issued financial statements, including interim statements,
in the period this interpretation is adopted. We are in the process of determining the impact of
FIN 48 on our consolidated financial statements.
In September 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued SAB No. 108, Considering the
Effects of Prior Year Misstatements when Quantifying Current Year Misstatements. SAB No. 108
requires analysis of misstatements using both an income statement (rollover) approach and a balance
sheet (iron curtain) approach in assessing materiality and provides for a one-time cumulative
effect transition adjustment. SAB No. 108 is effective for our year ended December 31, 2006
consolidated financial statements. We are currently in the process of assessing the potential
impact that the adoption of SAB No. 108 will have on our consolidated financial statements.
In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, Fair Value Measurements, which defines fair
value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted accounting
principles, and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. SFAS No. 157 does not require
any new fair value measurements, but provides guidance on how to measure fair value by providing a
fair value hierarchy used to classify the source of the information. This statement is effective
for us beginning January 1, 2008. We are currently in the process of assessing the potential impact
that the adoption of SFAS No. 157 will have on our consolidated financial statements.
ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
We have limited exposure to financial market risks, including changes in interest rates. The
fair value of our investment portfolio or related income would not be significantly impacted by a
100 basis point increase or decrease in interest rates due mainly to the short-term nature of the
major portion of our investment portfolio. An increase or decrease in interest rates would not
significantly increase or decrease interest expense on debt obligations due to the fixed nature of
our debt obligations. Our foreign operations are limited in scope and thus we are not materially
exposed to foreign currency fluctuations.
As of September 30, 2006, we had outstanding $20.0 million of fixed rate long-term convertible
debentures. The holder of a 5% Convertible Debenture has the right to convert the outstanding
principal amount, and accrued and unpaid interest, in whole or in part into our common shares at a
price of $7.0265 per common share, the Conversion Price. In the event of a change of control, a
holder may require us to redeem all or a portion of their 5% Convertible Debenture. This is
referred to as the Put Option. The redeemed portion shall be redeemed at a price equal to the
redeemed amount multiplied by (a) 105% of the principal amount of the 5% Convertible Debenture if
the change of control occurs on or prior to December 23, 2006, or (b) 100% of the principal amount
of the 5% Convertible Debenture if the change of control occurs after December 23, 2006. If the
daily volume-weighted average price of our common shares is at or above 200% of the Conversion
Price for at least 20 consecutive trading days and certain other conditions are met, we have the
right to (i) require the holder of a 5% Convertible Debenture to convert the debenture in whole,
including interest, into shares of our common stock at a price of $7.0265 per
common share, as may be adjusted under the debenture, as set forth and subject to the
conditions in the 5% Convertible Debenture, or (ii) redeem the 5% Convertible Debenture. If we make
either of the foregoing elections with respect to any 5% Convertible Debenture, we must make the
same election with respect to all 5% Convertible Debentures.
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ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Based on their evaluation as of September 30, 2006, our management with the participation of
our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, have concluded that our disclosure
controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended) were sufficiently effective to ensure that the information required to be
disclosed by us in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q was recorded, processed, summarized and
reported within the time periods specified in the SECs rules for Form 10-Q.
There were no changes to internal controls over financial reporting during the quarter ended
September 30, 2006, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect,
our internal control over financial reporting.
Our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, does not
expect that our disclosure controls and procedures or our internal controls will prevent all error
and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only
reasonable, not absolute assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the
design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the
benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent
limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that
all control issues and instances of fraud, if any within Immersion, have been detected.
PART II
OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
In re Immersion Corporation
We are involved in legal proceedings relating to a class action lawsuit filed on November
9, 2001, In re Immersion Corporation Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation, No. Civ.
01-9975 (S.D.N.Y.), related to In re Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation, No. 21 MC 92
(S.D.N.Y.). The named defendants are Immersion and three of our current or former officers or
directors (the Immersion Defendants), and certain underwriters of our November 12, 1999 initial
public offering (IPO). Subsequently, two of the individual defendants stipulated to a dismissal
without prejudice.
The operative amended complaint is brought on purported behalf of all persons who purchased
our common stock from the date of our IPO through December 6, 2000. It alleges liability under
Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, on the grounds that the registration statement for the IPO did not disclose
that: (1) the underwriters agreed to allow certain customers to purchase shares in the IPO in
exchange for excess commissions to be paid to the underwriters; and (2) the underwriters arranged
for certain customers to purchase additional shares in the aftermarket at predetermined prices. The
complaint also appears to allege that false or misleading analyst reports were issued. The
complaint does not claim any specific amount of damages.
Similar allegations were made in other lawsuits challenging over 300 other initial public
offerings and follow-on offerings conducted in 1999 and 2000. The cases were consolidated for
pretrial purposes. On February 19, 2003, the Court ruled on all defendants motions to dismiss. The
motion was denied as to claims under the Securities Act of 1933 in the case involving us as well as
in all other cases (except for 10 cases). The motion was denied as to the claim under Section 10(b)
as to us, on the basis that the complaint alleged that we had made acquisition(s) following the
IPO. The motion was granted as to the claim under Section 10(b), but denied as to the claim under
Section 20(a), as to the remaining individual defendant.
We and most of the issuer defendants have settled with the plaintiffs. In this settlement,
plaintiffs have dismissed and released all claims against the Immersion Defendants, in exchange for
a contingent payment by the insurance companies collectively responsible for insuring the issuers
in all of the IPO cases, and for the assignment or surrender of certain claims we may have against
the underwriters. The Immersion Defendants will not be required to make any cash payments in the
settlement, unless the pro rata amount paid by the insurers in the settlement exceeds the amount of
the insurance coverage, a circumstance which we believe is remote. The settlement will require
approval of the Court, which
cannot be assured, after class members are given the opportunity to object to the settlement
or opt out of the settlement. The Court took the matter under submission of whether the settlement
should be approved after a hearing on April 24, 2006. The Court has not yet ruled on this matter.
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Immersion Corporation vs. Microsoft Corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Sony
Computer Entertainment of America, Inc.
On February 11, 2002, we filed a complaint against Microsoft Corporation, Sony Computer
Entertainment, Inc., and Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Inc. in the U.S. District Court
for the Northern District Court of California alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,889,672
and 6,275,213. The case was assigned to United States District Judge Claudia Wilken. On April 4,
2002, Sony Computer Entertainment and Microsoft answered the complaint by denying the material
allegations and alleging counterclaims seeking a judicial declaration that the asserted patents
were invalid, unenforceable, or not infringed. Under the counterclaims, the defendants were also
seeking damages for attorneys fees. On October 8, 2002, we filed an amended complaint, withdrawing
the claim under the U.S. Patent No. 5,889,672 and adding claims under a new patent, U.S. Patent No.
6,424,333.
On July 28, 2003, we announced that we had settled our legal differences with Microsoft, and
both parties agreed to dismiss all claims and counterclaims relating to this matter as well as
assume financial responsibility for their respective legal costs with respect to the lawsuit
between us and Microsoft.
On August 16, 2004, the trial against Sony Computer Entertainment commenced. On September 21,
2004, the jury returned its verdict in favor of us. The jury found all the asserted claims of the
patents valid and infringed. The jury awarded us damages in the amount of $82.0 million. On January
10, 2005, the Court awarded us prejudgment interest on the damages the jury awarded at the
applicable prime rate. The Court further ordered Sony Computer Entertainment to pay us a compulsory
license fee at the rate of 1.37%, the ratio of the verdict amount to the amount of sales of
infringing products, effective as of July 1, 2004 and through the date of Judgment. On February 9,
2005, the Court ordered that Sony Computer Entertainment provide us with sales data 15 days after
the end of each quarter and clarified that Sony Computer Entertainment will make the ordered
payment 45 days after the end of the applicable quarter. Sony Computer Entertainment has made
quarterly payments to us pursuant to the Courts orders. Although we have received payments, we may
be required to return them and any future payments based on the outcome of the appeals process.
On February 9, 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment filed a Notice of Appeal to the United States
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to appeal the Courts January 10, 2005 order, and on
February 10, 2005 Sony Computer Entertainment filed an Amended Notice of Appeal to include an
appeal from the Courts February 9, 2005 order.
On January 5 and 6, 2005, the Court held a bench trial on Sony Computer Entertainments
remaining allegations that the 333 patent was not enforceable due to alleged inequitable conduct.
On March 24, 2005, the Court resolved this issue, entering a written order finding in our favor.
On March 24, 2005, Judge Wilken also entered judgment in our favor and awarded us $82.0
million in past damages, and pre-judgment interest in the amount of $8.7 million, for a total of
$90.7 million. We were also awarded certain court costs. Court costs do not include attorneys
fees. Additionally, the Court issued a permanent injunction against the manufacture, use, sale, or
import into the United States of the infringing Sony Computer Entertainment PlayStation system
consisting of the PlayStation consoles, Dual Shock controllers, and the 47 games found by the jury
to infringe our patents. The Court stayed the permanent injunction pending appeal to the United
States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Court further ordered Sony Computer
Entertainment to pay a compulsory license fee at the rate of 1.37% for the duration of the stay of
the permanent injunction at the same rate and conditions as previously awarded in its interim
January 10, 2005 and February 9, 2005 Orders. On April 7, 2005, pursuant to a stipulation of the
parties, the Court entered an Amended Judgment to clarify that the Judgment in favor of us and
against Sony Computer Entertainment also encompassed Sony Computer Entertainments counterclaims
for declaratory relief on invalidity and unenforceability, as well as non-infringement.
Sony Computer Entertainment had filed further motions seeking judgment as a matter of a law
(JMOL) or for a new trial, and a motion for a stay of an accounting and execution of the Judgment.
On May 17, 2005, Judge Wilken denied these motions.
On April 27, 2005, the Court granted Sony Computer Entertainments request to approve a
supersedeas bond, secured by a cash deposit with the Court in the amount of $102.5 million, to
obtain a stay of enforcement of the Courts Amended Judgment pending appeal. On May 17, 2005, the
Court issued a minute order stating that in lieu of the supersedeas bond the Court would allow Sony
Computer Entertainment to place the funds on deposit with the Court in
an escrow account subject to acceptable escrow instructions. The parties negotiated escrow
instructions, and on June 12, 2006, the Court granted the parties stipulated request to withdraw
the funds from the Court and deposit them in an escrow account with JP Morgan Chase. Sony has
withdrawn the funds from the Court and deposited them in the escrow account.
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On June 16, 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment filed a Notice of Appeal from the District Court
Judgment to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The appeals of the January
and February orders regarding the compulsory license have been consolidated with the appeal of the
Judgment. Sony Computer Entertainments Opening Brief was filed on October 21, 2005; we filed an
Opposition Brief on December 5, 2005. Due to the cross appeal by ISLLC (see below), the Federal
Circuit allowed us to file a Substitute Opposition Brief on February 17, 2006 responding to the
briefs filed by both Sony Computer Entertainment and ISLLC. On March 15, 2006, we filed a further
substitute brief in response to a Federal Circuit order clarifying the maximum number of words we
were allowed given ISLLCs cross appeal. Sony Computer Entertainment filed its Reply Brief on
April 27, 2006 and ISLLCs Reply Brief was filed on May 15, 2006. On October 3, 2006, a hearing
for oral argument was held before a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit. The Court of Appeals has not yet issued its decision.
On July 21, 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment filed a motion in the District Court before
Judge Wilken seeking relief from the final judgment under Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure on the grounds of alleged fraud and newly discovered evidence of purported prior art,
which Sony Computer Entertainment contends we concealed and withheld attributable to Mr. Craig
Thorner, a named inventor on three patents that Sony Computer Entertainment urged as a basis for
patent invalidity during the trial. A hearing on this motion was held before Judge Wilken on
January 20, 2006. On March 8, 2006, the Court entered an Order which denied Sony Computer
Entertainments motion pursuant to Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in its
entirety. On April 7, 2006, Sony filed a Notice of Appeal to the United States Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit to appeal this ruling and filed its opening brief on June 16, 2006. We
filed our opposition brief on August 30, 2006, and Sony filed its Reply Brief on October 2, 2006.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has not yet set a date for a hearing for
oral argument in connection with this appeal.
On May 17, 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment filed a Request for Inter Partes Reexamination of
the 333 Patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). On May 19, 2005, Sony
Computer Entertainment filed a similar Request for reexamination of the 213 Patent. On July 6,
2005, we filed a Petition to dismiss, stay, or alternatively to suspend both of the requests for
reexamination, based at least on the grounds that a final judgment has already been entered by a
United States district court, and that the PTOs current inter partes reexamination procedures deny
due process of law. The PTO denied the first petition, and we filed a second petition on September
9, 2005. On November 17, 2005, the PTO granted our petition, and suspended the inter partes
reexaminations until such time as the parallel court proceedings warrant termination or resumption
of the PTO examination and prosecution proceedings. On December 13, 2005, Sony Computer
Entertainment filed a third petition requesting permission to file an additional inter partes
reexamination on the claims of the 333 and 213 Patents for which reexamination was not requested
in Sony Computer Entertainments original requests for reexamination. The PTO dismissed this third
petition on March 22, 2006. On December 13, 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment also filed ex parte
reexamination requests on a number of claims of the 213 and 333 patents, including all of the
claims litigated in the District Court action, in addition to others. On March 13, 2006, the PTO
granted the ex parte reexam request only with respect to the requested claims that were not
litigated, and the ex parte reexamination is proceeding with respect to the claims that were not
the subject of litigation. On April 11, 2006, Sony Computer Entertainment filed a fourth petition
to the PTO requesting that the currently suspended inter partes proceeding and the ex parte
proceeding be merged into a single proceeding. We filed our opposition to this petition on May 3,
2006, and the PTO denied the fourth petition on July 3, 2006.
On December 13, 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment filed a lawsuit against the PTO in the U.S.
District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia claiming that the PTO erred in suspending the
inter partes reexamination on November 17, 2005. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge
Ellis. We moved to intervene in the lawsuit, and on March 31, 2006, the Court granted our motion
to intervene of right. The Court entered a scheduling order which precluded discovery and set an
expedited briefing schedule for motions for summary judgment. After briefing, Judge Ellis held a
hearing on the summary judgment motions on April 21, 2006. The Court granted summary judgment in
our and the PTOs favor on all grounds on May 22, 2006. Sony has not appealed this judgment.
Due to the inherent uncertainties of litigation, we cannot accurately predict how the Court of
Appeals will decide the appeals. We anticipate that the litigation will continue to be costly, and
there can be no assurance that we will be able to recover the costs we incur in connection with the
litigation. We expense litigation costs as incurred, and only accrue for costs that have been
incurred but not paid to the vendor as of the financial statement date. The litigation has
diverted, and is likely to continue to divert, the efforts and attention of some of our key
management and personnel. As a result, until
such time as it is resolved, the litigation could adversely affect our business. Further, any
unfavorable outcome could adversely affect our business.
In the event we settle our lawsuit with Sony Computer Entertainment, we will be obligated to
pay certain sums to Microsoft as described in Note 8 to the condensed consolidated financial
statements. If Sony Computer Entertainment ultimately were successful on its appeals or in the
reexamination process, the Judgment may be put at risk, assets relating
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to the patents in the lawsuit may be impaired, and Sony Computer Entertainment may seek
additional relief, such as attorneys fees.
Internet Services LLC Litigation
On October 20, 2004, ISLLC, the cross-claim defendant against whom Sony
Computer Entertainment had filed a claim seeking declaratory relief, filed claims against us in our
lawsuit against Sony Computer Entertainment, alleging that we breached a contract with ISLLC by
suing Sony Computer Entertainment for patent infringement relating to haptically-enabled software
whose topics or images are allegedly age-restricted, for judicial apportionment of damages awarded
by the jury between ISLLC and us, and for a judicial declaration with respect to ISLLCs rights and
duties under agreements with us. On December 29, 2004, the Court issued an order dismissing ISLLCs
claims against Sony Computer Entertainment with prejudice and dismissing ISLLCs claims against us
without prejudice to ISLLC filing a new complaint if it can do so in good faith without
contradicting, or repeating the deficiency of, its complaint.
On January 12, 2005, ISLLC filed Amended Cross-Claims and Counterclaims against us that
contained similar claims. ISLLC also realleged counterclaims against Sony Computer Entertainment.
On January 28, 2005, we filed a motion to dismiss ISLLCs Amended Cross-Claims and a motion to
strike ISLLCs Counterclaims against Sony Computer Entertainment. On March 24, 2005 the Court
issued an order dismissing ISLLCs claims with prejudice as to ISLLCs claim seeking a declaratory
judgment that it is an exclusive licensee under the 213 and 333 patents and as to ISLLCs claim
seeking judicial apportionment of the damages verdict in the Sony Computer Entertainment case.
The Courts order further dismissed ISLLCs claims without prejudice as to ISLLCs breach of
contract and unjust enrichment claims.
ISLLC filed a Notice of Appeal of those orders with the United States Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit on April 18, 2005. ISLLCs appeal has been consolidated with Sony Computer
Entertainments appeal. ISLLC filed its Opening Brief in December 2005. As noted above, the United
States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit allowed us to file a Substitute Opposition Brief on
March 15, 2006 responding to the briefs filed by both Sony Computer Entertainment and ISLLC.
Briefing for the appeal was completed upon ISLLCs filing of its Reply Brief on May 15, 2006. As
noted above, on October 3, 2006, a hearing for oral argument was held before a three-judge panel of
the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The Court of Appeals has not yet issued
its decision.
On February 8, 2006, ISLLC filed a lawsuit against us in the Superior Court of Santa Clara
County. ISLLCs complaint seeks a share of the damages awarded to us in the March 24, 2005 Judgment
and of the Microsoft settlement proceeds, and generally restates the claims already adjudicated by
the District Court. On March 16, 2006, we answered the complaint, cross claimed for breach of
contract by ISLLC and rescission of the contract, and removed the lawsuit to federal court. The
case was recently assigned to Judge Wilken as a case related to the previous proceedings involving
Sony and ISLLC. ISLLC filed its answer to our cross claims on April 27, 2006. ISLLC also moved to
remand the case to Superior Court. On July 10, 2006, Judge Wilken issued an order denying ISLLCs
motion to remand. On September 5, 2006, Judge Wilken granted the stipulated request by the parties
to stay discovery and other proceedings in the case pending the disposition of ISLLCs appeal from
the Courts previous orders. A case management conference is currently scheduled for December 8,
2006.
Immersion Corporation vs. Thorner
On March 24, 2006, we filed a lawsuit against Craig Thorner in Santa Clara County Superior
Court. The complaint alleges claims for breach of contract with respect to Thorners license to a
third party of U.S. Patent No. 5,684,722, which we have alleged is in violation of contractual
obligations to us. The case was removed to federal court by Mr. Thorner, and has been assigned to
Judge Jeremy Fogel. On May 1, 2006, Mr. Thorner filed an answer to our claims and asserted
counterclaims against Immersion seeking, among other things, a portion of the proceeds from our
license with Microsoft, under theories of alleged breach of contract, breach of the implied
covenant of good faith and fair dealing, fraud, promissory fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and
negligent misrepresentation. On July 28, 2006, we filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings
seeking the dismissal of Mr. Thorners breach of contract and fraud claims which allege a right to
a portion of the proceeds from our license with Microsoft. On September 1, 2006, the Court held a
hearing on our motion. On September 12, 2006, the Court issued an order granting our motion for
judgment on the pleadings as to Mr. Thorners alleged claims for breach of contract and fraud. The
Court dismissed Mr. Thorners breach of contract and fraud claims, and allowed Mr. Thorner leave to
amend his claim for alleged breach of contract with respect to alleged violations of our reporting
requirements that do not flow from the failure to report the Microsoft Settlement Agreement. Mr.
Thorner has not filed an amended pleading.
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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Company Risks
WE HAD AN ACCUMULATED DEFICIT OF $135 MILLION AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2006, HAVE A HISTORY OF LOSSES,
WILL EXPERIENCE LOSSES IN THE FUTURE, AND MAY NOT ACHIEVE OR MAINTAIN PROFITABILITY.
Since 1997, we have incurred losses in every fiscal quarter. We will need to generate
significant ongoing revenue to achieve and maintain profitability. We anticipate that our expenses
will increase in the foreseeable future as we:
| protect and enforce our intellectual property, including the costs of our continuing litigation against Sony Computer Entertainment; | ||
| continue to develop our technologies; | ||
| attempt to expand the market for touch-enabled technologies and products; | ||
| increase our sales and marketing efforts; and | ||
| pursue strategic relationships. |
If our revenues grow more slowly than we anticipate or if our operating expenses exceed our
expectations, we may not achieve or maintain profitability.
OUR CONVERTIBLE DEBENTURES PROVIDE FOR VARIOUS EVENTS OF DEFAULT AND CHANGE OF CONTROL TRANSACTIONS
THAT WOULD ENTITLE THE SELLING STOCKHOLDERS TO REQUIRE US TO REPAY THE ENTIRE AMOUNT OWED IN CASH.
IF AN EVENT OF DEFAULT OR CHANGE OF CONTROL OCCURS, WE MAY BE UNABLE TO IMMEDIATELY REPAY THE
AMOUNT OWED, AND ANY REPAYMENT MAY LEAVE US WITH LITTLE OR NO WORKING CAPITAL IN OUR BUSINESS.
Our convertible debentures provide for various events of default, such as the termination of
trading of our common stock on the Nasdaq Stock Market and specified change of control
transactions. If an event of default or change of control occurs prior to maturity, we may be
required to redeem all or part of the convertible debentures, including payment of applicable
interest and penalties. Some of the events of default include matters over which we may have some,
little, or no control. Many other events of default are described in the agreements we executed
when we issued the convertible debentures. If an event of default or a change of control occurs, we
may be required to repay the entire amount, plus liquidated damages, in cash. Any such repayment
could leave us with little or no working capital for our business. We have not established a
sinking fund for payment of our outstanding convertible debentures, nor do we anticipate doing so.
OUR CURRENT LITIGATION AGAINST SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AND OTHERS IS EXPENSIVE, DISRUPTIVE, AND
TIME CONSUMING, AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE, UNTIL RESOLVED, AND REGARDLESS OF WHETHER WE ARE
ULTIMATELY SUCCESSFUL, COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR BUSINESS.
We are involved in litigation with Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. and Sony Computer
Entertainment of America, Inc. relating to our allegations of their infringement of U.S. Patent
Nos. 6,275,213 and 6,424,333. This litigation has been ongoing for more than four years, involves
multiple parties, and continues to be litigated in the United
States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
We are also involved in
litigation with ISLLC, a
cross-claim defendant in our lawsuit against Sony Computer Entertainment. ISLLCs appeal from the
lawsuit judgment has been consolidated with Sony Computer Entertainments appeal of the lawsuit
judgment against it at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. We are also
litigating a separate lawsuit involving claims for breach of contract and rescission against ISLLC
in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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In addition, we are involved in litigation with Craig Thorner in the U.S. District Court for
the Northern District of California relating to our allegations of breach of contract with respect
to Thorners license to a third party of U.S. Patent No. 5,684,722.
Due to the inherent uncertainties of litigation, we cannot accurately predict how these cases
will ultimately be resolved. We anticipate that litigation will continue to be costly, and there
can be no assurance that we will be able to recover the costs we incur in connection with the
litigation. We expense litigation costs as incurred, and only accrue for costs that have been
incurred but not paid to the vendor as of the financial statement date. The litigation has
diverted, and is likely to continue to divert, the efforts and attention of some of our key
management and personnel. As a result, until such time as it is resolved, the litigation could
adversely affect our business. Further, any unfavorable outcome could adversely affect our
business. For additional background on this litigation, please see Note 16 to the condensed
consolidated financial statements and the section above titled PART II, ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
See also Note 8 to the condensed consolidated financial statements regarding our payment
obligations to Microsoft Corporation in the event that we settle our lawsuit with Sony Computer
Entertainment.
LITIGATION REGARDING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS COULD BE EXPENSIVE, DISRUPTIVE, AND TIME
CONSUMING; COULD RESULT IN THE IMPAIRMENT OR LOSS OF PORTIONS OF OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY; AND
COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR BUSINESS.
Intellectual property litigation, whether brought by us or by others against us, has caused us
to expend, and may cause us to expend in future periods, significant financial resources as well as
divert managements time and efforts. From time to time, we initiate claims against third parties
that we believe infringe our intellectual property rights. We intend to enforce our intellectual
property rights vigorously and may initiate litigation against parties that we believe are
infringing our intellectual property rights if we are unable to resolve matters satisfactorily
through negotiation. Litigation brought to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights
could be costly, time-consuming, and distracting to management and could result in the impairment
or loss of portions of our intellectual property. In addition, any litigation in which we are
accused of infringement may cause product shipment delays, require us to develop non-infringing
technologies, or require us to enter into royalty or license agreements even before the issue of
infringement has been decided on the merits. If any litigation were not resolved in our favor, we
could become subject to substantial damage claims from third parties and indemnification claims
from our licensees. We and our licensees could be enjoined from the continued use of the
technologies at issue without a royalty or license agreement. Royalty or license agreements, if
required, might not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. If a third party claiming
infringement against us prevailed, and we could not develop non-infringing technologies or license
the infringed or similar technologies on a timely and cost-effective basis, our expenses would
increase and our revenues could decrease.
We attempt to avoid infringing known proprietary rights of third parties. However, third
parties may hold, or may in the future be issued, patents that could be infringed by our products
or technologies. Any of these third parties might make a claim of infringement against us with
respect to the products that we manufacture and the technologies that we license. From time to
time, we have received letters from companies, several of which have significantly greater
financial resources than we do, asserting that some of our technologies, or those of our licensees,
infringe their intellectual property rights. Certain of our licensees have received similar letters
from these or other companies. Such letters or subsequent litigation may influence our licensees
decisions whether to ship products incorporating our technologies. In addition, such letters may
cause a dispute between our licensees and us over indemnification for the infringement claim. Any
of these notices, or additional notices that we or our licensees could receive in the future from
these or other companies, could lead to litigation against us, either regarding the infringement
claim or the indemnification claim.
We have acquired patents from third parties and also license some technologies from third
parties. We must rely upon the owners of the patents or the technologies for information on the
origin and ownership of the acquired or licensed technologies. As a result, our exposure to
infringement claims may increase. We generally obtain representations as to the origin and
ownership of acquired or licensed technologies and indemnification to cover any breach of these
representations. However, representations may not be accurate and indemnification may not provide
adequate compensation for breach of the representations. Intellectual property claims against our
licensees, or us, whether or not they have merit, could be time-consuming to defend, cause product
shipment delays, require us to pay damages, harm existing license arrangements, or require us or
our licensees to cease utilizing the technologies unless we can enter into licensing agreements.
Licensing agreements might not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all. Furthermore,
claims by third parties against our licensees could also result in claims by our licensees against
us under the indemnification provisions of our licensees agreements with us.
THE TERMS IN OUR AGREEMENTS MAY BE CONSTRUED BY OUR LICENSEES IN A MANNER THAT IS INCONSISTENT WITH
THE RIGHTS THAT WE HAVE GRANTED TO OTHER LICENSEES, OR IN A MANNER
THAT MAY REQUIRE US TO INCUR SUBSTANTIAL COSTS TO RESOLVE CONFLICTS OVER LICENSE TERMS.
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We have entered into, and we expect to continue to enter into, agreements pursuant to which
our licensees are granted rights under our technology and intellectual property. These rights may
be granted in certain fields of use, or with respect to certain market sectors or product
categories, and may include exclusive rights or sublicensing rights. We refer to the license terms
and restrictions in our agreements, including, but not limited to, field of use definitions, market
sector, and product category definitions, collectively as License Provisions.
Due to the continuing evolution of market sectors, product categories, and licensee business
models, and to the compromises inherent in the drafting and negotiation of License Provisions, our
licensees may, at some time during the term of their agreements with us, interpret License
Provisions in their agreements in a way that is different from our interpretation of such License
Provisions, or in a way that is in conflict with the rights that we have granted to other
licensees. Such interpretations by our licensees may lead to (a) claims that we have granted rights
to one licensee which are inconsistent with the rights that we have granted to another licensee,
and/or (b) claims by one licensee against another licensee that may result in our incurring
indemnification or other obligations or liabilities.
In addition, after we enter into an agreement, it is possible that markets and/or products, or
legal and/or regulatory environments, will evolve in a manner that we did not foresee or was not
foreseeable at the time we entered into the agreement. As a result, in any agreement, we may have
granted rights that will preclude or restrict our exploitation of new opportunities that arise
after the execution of the agreement.
PRODUCT LIABILITY CLAIMS COULD BE TIME-CONSUMING AND COSTLY TO DEFEND AND COULD EXPOSE US TO LOSS.
Our products or our licensees products may have flaws or other defects that may lead to
personal or other injury claims. If products that we or our licensees sell cause personal injury,
property injury, financial loss, or other injury to our or our licensees customers, the customers
or our licensees may seek damages or other recovery from us. Any claims against us would be
time-consuming, expensive to defend, and distracting to management, and could result in damages and
injure our reputation, the reputation of our technology and services, and/or the reputation of our
products, or the reputation of our licensees or their products. This damage could limit the market
for our and our licensees products and harm our results of operations.
In the past, manufacturers of peripheral products including certain gaming products such as
joysticks, wheels, or gamepads, have been subject to claims alleging that use of their products has
caused or contributed to various types of repetitive stress injuries, including carpal tunnel
syndrome. We have not experienced any product liability claims to date. Although our license
agreements typically contain provisions designed to limit our exposure to product liability claims,
existing or future laws or unfavorable judicial decisions could limit or invalidate the provisions.
IF THE SETTLEMENT ON OUR CURRENT CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FALLS THROUGH, THE CONTINUING LAWSUIT COULD
BE EXPENSIVE, DISRUPTIVE, AND TIME CONSUMING TO DEFEND AGAINST, AND IF WE ARE NOT SUCCESSFUL, COULD
ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR BUSINESS.
We are involved in legal proceedings relating to a class action lawsuit filed on November 9,
2001, related to In re Initial Public Offering Securities Litigation. The named defendants are
Immersion and three of our current or former officers or directors and certain underwriters of our
November 12, 1999 IPO. Subsequently, two of the individual defendants stipulated to a dismissal
without prejudice. We and most of the issuer defendants have settled with the plaintiffs. However,
the settlement requires approval by the Court, which cannot be assured, after class members are
given the opportunity to object to the settlement or opt out of the settlement.
IF OUR FACILITIES WERE TO EXPERIENCE CATASTROPHIC LOSS, OUR OPERATIONS WOULD BE SERIOUSLY HARMED.
Our facilities could be subject to a catastrophic loss such as fire, flood, earthquake, power
outage, or terrorist activity. A substantial portion of our research and development activities,
manufacturing, our corporate headquarters, and other critical business operations are located near
major earthquake faults in San Jose, California, an area with a history of seismic events. An
earthquake at or near our facilities could disrupt our operations, delay production and shipments
of our products or technologies, and result in large expenses to repair and replace the facility.
While we believe that we maintain insurance sufficient to cover most long-term potential losses at
our facilities, our existing insurance may not be adequate for all possible losses. In addition,
California has experienced problems with its power supply in recent years.
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As a result, we have experienced utility cost increases and may experience unexpected
interruptions in our power supply that could have a material adverse effect on our sales, results
of operations, and financial condition.
Industry and Technology Risks
WE HAVE LITTLE OR NO CONTROL OR INFLUENCE ON OUR LICENSEES DESIGN, MANUFACTURING, PROMOTION,
DISTRIBUTION, OR PRICING OF THEIR PRODUCTS INCORPORATING OUR TOUCH-ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES, UPON
WHICH WE GENERATE ROYALTY REVENUE.
A key part of our business strategy is to license our intellectual property to companies that
manufacture and sell products incorporating our touch-enabling technologies. Sales of those
products generate royalty and license revenue for us. For the three months ended September 30, 2006
and 2005, 20% and 27%, respectively, of our total revenues were royalty and license revenues. For
the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, 26% and 36%, respectively, of our total revenues
were royalty and license revenues. However, we do not control or influence the design, manufacture,
quality control, promotion, distribution, or pricing of products that are manufactured and sold by
our licensees. In addition, we generally do not have commitments from our licensees that they will
continue to use our technologies in current or future products. As a result, products incorporating
our technologies may not be brought to market, meet quality control standards, achieve commercial
acceptance, or generate meaningful royalty revenue for us. For us to generate royalty revenue,
licensees that pay us per-unit royalties must manufacture and distribute products incorporating our
touch-enabling technologies in a timely fashion and generate consumer demand through marketing and
other promotional activities. Products incorporating our touch-enabling technologies are generally
more difficult to design and manufacture, which may cause product introduction delays or quality
control problems. If our licensees fail to stimulate and capitalize upon market demand for products
that generate royalties for us, or if products are recalled because of quality control problems,
our revenues will not grow and could decline. Alternatively, if a product that incorporates our
touch-enabling technologies achieves widespread market acceptance, the product manufacturer may
elect to stop making it rather than pay us royalties based on sales of the product.
Peak demand for products that incorporate our technologies, especially in the video console
gaming and computer gaming peripherals market, typically occurs in the fourth calendar quarter as a
result of increased demand during the year-end holiday season. If our licensees do not ship
products incorporating our touch-enabling technologies in a timely fashion or fail to achieve
strong sales in the fourth quarter of the calendar year, we may not receive related royalty and
license revenue.
Most of our current gaming royalty revenues come from third-party peripheral makers who make
licensed gaming products designed for use with popular video game console systems from Microsoft,
Sony, and Nintendo. Video game console systems are closed, proprietary systems, and video game
console system makers typically impose certain requirements or restrictions on third-party
peripheral makers who wish to make peripherals that will be compatible with a particular video game
console system. These requirements and restrictions could be in the form of hardware technical
specifications, software technical specifications, security specifications or other security
mechanisms, component vendor specifications, licensing terms and conditions, or other forms. If
third-party peripheral makers cannot or are not allowed to obtain or satisfy these requirements or
restrictions, our gaming royalty revenues could be significantly reduced. Furthermore, should a
significant video game console maker choose to omit touch-enabling capabilities from its console
system or somehow restrict or impede the ability of third parties to make touch-enabling
peripherals, it may very well lead our gaming licensees to stop making products with touch-enabling
capabilities, thereby significantly reducing our gaming royalty revenues. The recently launched
Microsoft Xbox 360 ships with touch-enabling capabilities built-in, and the upcoming
next-generation Nintendo Wii has been reported by Nintendo to have touch-enabling capabilities.
Sony announced on May 8, 2006 that the vibration feature that is currently available on controllers
for PlayStation and PlayStation 2 will be removed from the new PlayStation 3 controller. This
course of action by Sony may have materially adverse consequences on our future gaming royalty
revenues.
BECAUSE WE HAVE A FIXED PAYMENT LICENSE WITH MICROSOFT, OUR ROYALTY REVENUE FROM LICENSING IN THE
GAMING MARKET AND OTHER CONSUMER MARKETS MIGHT DECLINE IF MICROSOFT INCREASES ITS VOLUME OF SALES
OF TOUCH-ENABLED GAMING PRODUCTS AND CONSUMER PRODUCTS AT THE EXPENSE OF OUR OTHER LICENSEES.
Under the terms of our present agreement with Microsoft, Microsoft receives a royalty-free,
perpetual, irrevocable license to our worldwide portfolio of patents. This license permits
Microsoft to make, use, and sell hardware, software, and services, excluding specified products,
covered by our patents. We also granted to Microsoft a limited right, under our patents relating to
touch technologies, to sublicense specified rights, excluding rights to excluded products and
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peripheral devices, to third-party customers of Microsofts or Microsofts subsidiaries
products (other than Sony Corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Sony Computer
Entertainment of America Inc., and their subsidiaries). In exchange, for the grant of these rights
and the rights included in a separate Sublicense Agreement, Microsoft paid us a one-time payment of
$20.0 million. We will not receive any further revenues or royalties from Microsoft under our
current agreement with Microsoft. Microsoft has a significant share of the market for touch-enabled
console gaming computer peripherals and is pursuing other consumer markets such as mobile phones,
PDAs, and portable music players Microsoft has significantly greater financial, sales, and
marketing resources, as well as greater name recognition and a larger customer base than some of
our other licensees. In the event that Microsoft increases its share of these markets, our royalty
revenue from other licensees in these market segments might decline.
For the Microsoft Xbox 360
video console system launched in November 2005, Microsoft has, to
date, not yet broadly licensed third parties to produce peripherals for its Xbox 360 game console.
Wireless game controllers account for a significant portion of our royalty revenue, including
revenue from Logitech and Mad Catz. To the extent Microsoft does not license these rights to third
parties, Microsofts share of all aftermarket game controller sales will likely remain high or
increase, which we expect will result in a decrease in our gaming royalty revenue. Additionally,
Microsoft is now making touch-enabled joysticks and wheels covered by their royalty-free,
perpetual, irrevocable license to our worldwide portfolio of patents that are in competition with
our licensees products for which we earn per unit royalties.
WE GENERATE REVENUES FROM TOUCH-ENABLING COMPONENTS THAT ARE SOLD AND INCORPORATED INTO THIRD PARTY
PRODUCTS. WE HAVE LITTLE OR NO CONTROL OR INFLUENCE OVER THE DESIGN, MANUFACTURING, PROMOTION,
DISTRIBUTION, OR PRICING OF THOSE THIRD PARTY PRODUCTS.
Part of our business strategy is to sell components that provide touch feedback capability in
products that other companies design, manufacture, and sell. Sales of these components generate
product revenue. However, we do not control or influence the design, manufacture, quality control,
promotion, distribution, or pricing of products that are manufactured and sold by those customers
that buy these components. In addition, we generally do not have commitments from customers that
they will continue to use our components in current or future products. As a result, products
incorporating our components may not be brought to market, meet quality control standards, or
achieve commercial acceptance. If the customers fail to stimulate and capitalize upon market demand
for their products that include our components, or if products are recalled because of quality
control problems, our revenues will not grow and could decline.
MEDTRONIC ACCOUNTS FOR A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF OUR REVENUES AND A REDUCTION IN SALES TO MEDTRONIC,
OR A REDUCTION IN DEVELOPMENT WORK FOR MEDTRONIC, MAY REDUCE OUR TOTAL REVENUE.
Medtronic accounts for a significant portion of our revenue. For the three months ended
September 30, 2006 and 2005, 21% and 3%, respectively, of our total revenues were derived from
Medtronic. For the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, 13% and 9%, respectively, of our
total revenues were derived from Medtronic. If our product sales to Medtronic decline, and/or
Medtronic reduces the development activities we perform, then our total revenue may decline.
LOGITECH ACCOUNTS FOR A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF OUR REVENUE AND THE FAILURE OF LOGITECH TO ACHIEVE
SALES VOLUMES FOR ITS GAMING PERIPHERAL PRODUCTS THAT INCORPORATE OUR TOUCH-ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES
MAY REDUCE OUR TOTAL REVENUE.
Logitech accounts for a significant portion of our revenue. Logitech is a supplier of
aftermarket game console controllers, joysticks, and steering wheels, many of which incorporate our
technology. In the past, during transitions to next-generation console systems, sales of
aftermarket game console controllers have dropped significantly, reducing licensing royalties we
earn. The gaming industry is currently transitioning to the latest next-generation console systems,
and we have experienced a significant decline in revenues we earn from Logitech since this
transition commenced. For the three months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, 5% and 8%,
respectively, of our total revenues were derived from Logitech. For the nine months ended
September 30, 2006 and 2005, 5% and 11%, respectively, of our total revenues were derived from
Logitech. Revenues from Logitech may decline further if its aftermarket game console peripheral
sales decline further, or if it is unable to license rights to sell its controllers, steering
wheels, or joysticks from Sony for PS3 or Microsoft for Xbox 360. Also, competition with Microsoft
may dampen demand for Logitech products. Any decrease in sales of aftermarket peripherals that
include our technology by Logitech will reduce our gaming royalty revenues. The announcement by
Sony on May 8, 2006, not to include certain vibration features in their controller for the
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PlayStation 3 may significantly adversely affect Logitechs ability or desire to include our
technologies in products compatible with the PlayStation 3, which in return may materially
adversely affect our royalty revenue from Logitech.
TOUCH INTERFACE PRODUCT ROYALTIES WILL BE REDUCED IF BMW WERE TO ABANDON ITS IDRIVE SYSTEM OR
REMOVE OUR TECHNOLOGY FROM THE IDRIVE.
Our largest royalty stream from touch interface products is currently from BMW for its iDrive
controller. Press reviews of this system have been largely negative and critical of the systems
complex user interface, which we did not design. Nevertheless, this negative press may cause BMW to
abandon the iDrive controller or to redesign it and/or remove our technology from it. The design
cycle time for major automotive systems like iDrive is typically two to five years. One or more of
the current BMW product lines may go through replacement or redesign and during that cycle the
iDrive controller may be replaced or removed. Historically, BMW has often launched its newest
technology in its 7 Series. We also believe that the current 7 series is due for redesign by 2008
and that our technology may or may not be part of the redesigned iDrive. If our technology is not
incorporated in the redesigned iDrive our business may suffer.
WE DEPEND ON THIRD-PARTY SUPPLIERS, AND OUR REVENUE AND/OR RESULTS OF OPERATIONS COULD SUFFER IF WE
FAIL TO MANAGE SUPPLIER ISSUES PROPERLY.
Our operations depend on our ability to anticipate our needs for components and products for a
wide variety of systems, products, and services, and on our suppliers ability to deliver
sufficient quantities of quality components, products, and services at reasonable prices in time
for us to meet critical schedules. We may experience a shortage of, or a delay in receiving,
certain supplies as a result of strong demand, capacity constraints, supplier financial weaknesses,
disputes with suppliers, other problems experienced by suppliers, or problems faced during the
transition to new suppliers. If shortages or delays persist, the price of these supplies may
increase, we may be exposed to quality issues, or the supplies may not be available at all. We may
not be able to secure enough supplies at reasonable prices or of acceptable quality to build
products or provide services in a timely manner in the quantities or according to the
specifications needed. We could lose time-sensitive sales, incur additional freight costs, or be
unable to pass on price increases to our customers. If we cannot adequately address supply issues,
we might have to reengineer some products or service offerings, resulting in further costs and
delays. We intend to purchase certain products from a limited source in China. If the supply of
these products were to be delayed or constrained, we may be unable to find a new supplier on
acceptable terms, or at all, or our ability to ship these new products could be delayed, any of
which could harm our business, financial condition, and operating results.
Additionally, our use of single source suppliers for certain components could exacerbate our
supplier issues. We obtain a significant number of components from single sources due to
technology, availability, price, quality, or other considerations. In addition, new products that
we introduce may use custom components obtained from only one source initially, until we have
evaluated whether there is a need for additional suppliers. The performance of such single source
suppliers may affect the quality, quantity, and price of supplies to us. Accordingly, our revenue
and/or results of operations could be adversely impacted by such events.
COMPLIANCE WITH THE RESTRICTION OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES (ROHS) DIRECTIVE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION MAY
INCREASE OUR COSTS AND LIMIT OUR REVENUE OPPORTUNITIES.
The European Unions RoHS Directive eliminates most uses of lead, cadmium,
hexavalent-chromium, mercury, and certain fire retardants in electronics placed on the market after
the effective date of July 1, 2006. We have quantified the effect of this new Directive on our
products and determined that certain products already comply with the requirements of the
Directive, certain products may be exempt from meeting the requirements of the Directive, and
certain products require changes in order to comply with the requirements of the Directive. Making
such changes may be costly to perform and may have a negative impact on our results of operations.
In addition, there can be no assurance that the national enforcement bodies of the European Union
member states will agree with our assessment that certain of our products comply with or are exempt
from the Directive. If products are determined not to be compliant or exempt, we will not be able
to ship them in the European Union and/or any other region that adopts similar regulations until
such time that they are compliant, and this may have a negative impact on our revenue and results
of operations.
BECAUSE PERSONAL COMPUTER PERIPHERAL PRODUCTS THAT INCORPORATE OUR TOUCH-ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES
CURRENTLY MUST WORK WITH MICROSOFTS OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE, OUR COSTS COULD INCREASE AND OUR
REVENUES COULD DECLINE IF MICROSOFT MODIFIES ITS OPERATING SYSTEM SOFTWARE.
Our hardware and software technologies for personal computer peripheral products that
incorporate our touch-enabling technologies are currently compatible with Microsofts Windows 2000,
Windows Me, and Windows XP
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operating systems, including DirectX, Microsofts entertainment applications programming
interface (API). Modifications and new versions of Microsofts operating system and APIs
(including DirectX and the upcoming Windows Vista anticipated to launch in late 2006 or early 2007)
may require that we and/or our licensees modify the touch-enabling technologies to be compatible
with Microsofts modifications or new versions, and this could cause delays in the release of
products by our licensees. If Microsoft modifies its software products in ways that limit the use
of our other licensees products, our costs could increase and our revenues could decline.
REDUCED SPENDING BY CORPORATE OR UNIVERSITY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENTS MAY ADVERSELY
AFFECT SALES OF OUR THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRODUCTS.
Any economic downturn could lead to a reduction in corporate or university budgets for
research and development in sectors, including the automotive and aerospace sectors, which use our
three-dimensional and professional products. Sales of our three-dimensional and professional
products, including our CyberGlove line of whole-hand sensing gloves and our MicroScribe line of
digitizers, could be adversely affected by cuts in corporate research and development budgets.
COMPETITION BETWEEN OUR PRODUCTS AND OUR LICENSEES PRODUCTS MAY REDUCE OUR REVENUE.
Rapid technological change, short product life cycles, cyclical market patterns, declining
average selling prices, and increasing foreign and domestic competition characterize the markets in
which we and our licensees compete. We believe that competition in these markets will continue to
be intense and that competitive pressures will drive the price of our products and our licensees
products downward. These price reductions, if not offset by increases in unit sales or
productivity, will cause our revenues to decline.
We face competition from unlicensed products as well. Our licensees or other third parties may
seek to develop products using our intellectual property or develop alternative designs that
attempt to circumvent our intellectual property, which they believe do not require a license under
our intellectual property. These potential competitors may have significantly greater financial,
technical, and marketing resources than we do, and the costs associated with asserting our
intellectual property rights against such products and such potential competitors could be
significant. Moreover, if such alternative designs were determined by a court not to require a
license under our intellectual property rights, competition from such unlicensed products could
limit or reduce our revenues.
WE HAVE EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN OUR BUSINESS, AND OUR FAILURE TO MANAGE THE COMPLEXITIES
ASSOCIATED WITH THE CHANGING ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT AND TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE COULD HARM OUR BUSINESS.
Any future periods of rapid economic and technological change may place significant strains on
our managerial, financial, engineering, and other resources. Our failure to effectively manage
these resources during periods of rapid economic or technological change may harm our business.
THE MARKET FOR CERTAIN TOUCH-ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES AND TOUCH-ENABLED PRODUCTS IS AT AN EARLY STAGE
AND IF MARKET DEMAND DOES NOT DEVELOP, WE MAY NOT ACHIEVE OR SUSTAIN REVENUE GROWTH.
The market for certain of our touch-enabling technologies and certain of our licensees
touch-enabled products is at an early stage. If we and our licensees are unable to develop demand
for touch-enabling technologies and touch-enabled products, we may not achieve or sustain revenue
growth. We cannot accurately predict the growth of the markets for these technologies and products,
the timing of product introductions, or the timing of commercial acceptance of these products.
Even if our touch-enabling technologies and our licensees touch-enabled products are
ultimately widely adopted, widespread adoption may take a long time to occur. The timing and amount
of royalties and product sales that we receive will depend on whether the products marketed achieve
widespread adoption and, if so, how rapidly that adoption occurs.
We expect that we will need to pursue extensive and expensive marketing and sales efforts to
educate prospective licensees, component customers, and end users about the uses and benefits of
our technologies and to persuade software developers to create software that utilizes our
technologies. Negative product reviews or publicity about our products, our licensees products,
haptic features, or haptic technology in general could have a negative impact on market adoption,
our revenue, and/or our ability to license our technologies in the future.
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IF WE FAIL TO INCREASE SALES OF OUR MEDICAL SIMULATION DEVICES, OUR FINANCIAL CONDITION AND
OPERATIONS MAY SUFFER.
Our medical simulation products, such as our Endovascular AccuTouch System and our
Laparoscopic Surgical Workstation, have only recently begun to be used by hospitals and medical
schools to help train healthcare professionals. Consequently, many of these medical institutions do
not budget for such simulation devices. To increase sales of our simulation devices, we must, in
addition to convincing medical institution personnel of the usefulness of the devices, persuade
them to include a significant expenditure for the devices in their budgets. If these medical
institutions are unwilling to budget for simulation devices or reduce their budgets as a result of
cost-containment pressures or other factors, we may not be able to increase or maintain sales of
medical simulators at a satisfactory rate. A decrease in sales or any failure to increase sales of
our medical simulation products will harm our business.
IF WE ARE UNABLE TO ENTER INTO NEW LICENSING ARRANGEMENTS WITH OUR EXISTING LICENSEES, AND WITH
ADDITIONAL THIRD-PARTY MANUFACTURERS FOR OUR TOUCH-ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES, OUR ROYALTY REVENUE MAY
NOT GROW.
Our revenue growth is significantly dependent on our ability to enter into new licensing
arrangements. Our failure to enter into new or renewal of licensing arrangements will cause our
operating results to suffer. We face numerous risks in obtaining new licenses on terms consistent
with our business objectives and in maintaining, expanding, and supporting our relationships with
our current licensees. These risks include:
| the lengthy and expensive process of building a relationship with potential licensees; | ||
| the fact that we may compete with the internal design teams of existing and potential licensees; | ||
| difficulties in persuading product manufacturers to work with us, to rely on us for critical technology, and to disclose to us proprietary product development and other strategies; | ||
| difficulties with persuading potential licensees who may have developed their own intellectual property in areas related to ours to license our technology versus continuing to develop their own; | ||
| challenges in demonstrating the compelling value of our technologies in new applications like mobile phones and touchscreens; | ||
| difficulties in persuading existing and potential licensees to bear the development costs and risks necessary to incorporate our technologies into their products; | ||
| difficulties in obtaining new automotive licensees for yet-to-be commercialized technology because their suppliers may not be ready to meet stringent quality and parts availability requirements; | ||
| difficulty in signing new gaming licensees, as well as losing our existing gaming licensees, if we are not successful in the litigation with Sony Computer Entertainment; | ||
| inability to sign new gaming licensees if the video console makers choose not to license third parties to make peripherals for their new consoles; | ||
| difficulty in signing new gaming licensees if Sony does not include vibration features in the PlayStation 3 or related products; and | ||
| reluctance of content developers, mobile phone manufacturers, and service providers to sign license agreements without a critical mass of other such inter-dependent supporters of the mobile phone industry also having a license, or without enough phones in the market that incorporate our technologies. |
A majority of our current royalty revenue has been derived from the licensing of our portfolio
of touch-enabling technologies for video game console and personal computer gaming peripherals,
such as gamepads, joysticks, and steering wheels. Though substantially smaller than the market for
dedicated gaming console peripherals, the market for gamepads, joysticks, and steering wheels for
use with personal computers is declining and is characterized by declining
average selling prices. If the console peripheral market also experiences declines in sales
and selling prices, we may not achieve royalty revenue growth.
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IF WE FAIL TO PROTECT AND ENFORCE OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, OUR ABILITY TO LICENSE OUR
TECHNOLOGIES AND GENERATE REVENUES WOULD BE IMPAIRED.
Our business depends on generating revenues by licensing our intellectual property rights and
by selling products that incorporate our technologies. We rely on our significant patent portfolio
to protect our proprietary rights. If we are not able to protect and enforce those rights, our
ability to obtain future licenses or maintain current licenses and royalty revenue could be
impaired. In addition, if a court or the patent office were to limit the scope, declare
unenforceable, or invalidate any of our patents, current licensees may refuse to make royalty
payments, or they may choose to challenge one or more of our patents. It is also possible that:
| our pending patent applications may not result in the issuance of patents; | ||
| our patents may not be broad enough to protect our proprietary rights; and | ||
| effective patent protection may not be available in every country in which we or our licensees do business. |
We also rely on licenses, confidentiality agreements, other contractual agreements, and copyright,
trademark, and trade secret laws to establish and protect our proprietary rights. It is possible
that:
| laws and contractual restrictions may not be sufficient to prevent misappropriation of our technologies or deter others from developing similar technologies; and | ||
| policing unauthorized use of our products, trademarks, and other proprietary rights would be difficult, expensive, and time-consuming, particularly outside of the United States of America. |
CERTAIN TERMS OR RIGHTS GRANTED IN OUR LICENSE AGREEMENTS OR OUR DEVELOPMENT CONTRACTS MAY LIMIT
OUR FUTURE REVENUE OPPORTUNITIES.
While it is not our general practice to sign license agreements that provide exclusive rights
for a period of time with respect to a technology, field of use, and/or geography, or to accept
similar limitations in product development contracts, we have entered into such agreements and may
in the future. Although additional compensation or other benefits may be part of the agreement, the
compensation or benefits may not adequately compensate us for the limitations or restrictions we
have agreed to as that particular market develops. Over the life of the exclusivity period,
especially in markets that grow larger or faster than anticipated, our revenue may be limited and
less than what we could have achieved in the market with several licensees or additional products
available to sell to a specific set of customers.
IF WE ARE UNABLE TO CONTINUALLY IMPROVE AND REDUCE THE COST OF OUR TECHNOLOGIES, COMPANIES MAY NOT
INCORPORATE OUR TECHNOLOGIES INTO THEIR PRODUCTS, WHICH COULD IMPAIR OUR REVENUE GROWTH.
Our ability to achieve revenue growth depends on our continuing ability to improve and reduce
the cost of our technologies and to introduce these technologies to the marketplace in a timely
manner. If our development efforts are not successful or are significantly delayed, companies may
not incorporate our technologies into their products and our revenue growth may be impaired.
IF WE FAIL TO DEVELOP NEW OR ENHANCED TECHNOLOGIES FOR NEW APPLICATIONS AND PLATFORMS, WE MAY NOT
BE ABLE TO CREATE A MARKET FOR OUR TECHNOLOGIES OR OUR TECHNOLOGIES MAY BECOME OBSOLETE, AND OUR
ABILITY TO GROW AND OUR RESULTS OF OPERATIONS MIGHT BE HARMED.
Our initiatives to develop new and enhanced technologies and to commercialize these
technologies for new applications and new platforms may not be successful. Any new or enhanced
technologies may not be favorably received by consumers and could damage our reputation or our
brand. Expanding our technologies could also require significant additional expenses and strain our
management, financial, and operational resources. Moreover, technology products generally have
relatively short product life cycles and our current products may become obsolete in the future.
Our ability to generate revenues will be harmed if:
| we fail to develop new technologies or products; | ||
| the technologies we develop infringe on third-party patents or other third party rights; | ||
| our new technologies fail to gain market acceptance; or | ||
| our current products become obsolete or no longer meet new regulatory requirements. |
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WE HAVE LIMITED ENGINEERING, QUALITY ASSURANCE AND MANUFACTURING RESOURCES TO DESIGN AND FULFILL
TIMELY PRODUCT DELIVERABLES AND DELIVER SUFFICIENT LEVELS OF QUALITY IN SUPPORT OF OUR DIFFERENT
PRODUCT AREAS. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES MAY NOT BE DELIVERED IN A TIMELY WAY, WITH SUFFICIENT LEVELS
OF QUALITY, OR AT ALL, WHICH MAY REDUCE OUR REVENUE.
Engineering, quality assurance, and manufacturing resources are deployed against a variety of
different projects and programs to provide sufficient levels of quality necessary for channels and
customers. Success in various markets may depend on timely deliveries and overall levels of
sustained quality. Failure to provide product and program deliverables and quality levels in a
timely way, or at all, may reduce revenue, disrupt channels and customers and reduce our revenues.
THE HIGHER COST OF PRODUCTS INCORPORATING OUR TOUCH-ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES MAY INHIBIT OR PREVENT
THEIR WIDESPREAD ADOPTION.
Personal computer and console gaming peripherals, mobile phones, touchscreens, and automotive
and industrial controls incorporating our touch-enabling technologies can be more expensive than
similar competitive products that are not touch-enabled. Although major manufacturers, such as ALPS
Electric Co., BMW, LG Electronics, Logitech, Microsoft, and Samsung have licensed our technologies,
the greater expense of development and production of products containing our touch-enabling
technologies may be a significant barrier to their widespread adoption and sale.
THIRD-PARTY VALIDATION STUDIES MAY NOT DEMONSTRATE ALL THE BENEFITS OF OUR MEDICAL TRAINING
SIMULATORS, WHICH COULD AFFECT CUSTOMER MOTIVATION TO BUY.
In medical training, validation studies are generally used to confirm the usefulness of new
techniques, devices, and training methods. For medical training simulators, several levels of
validation are generally tested: content, concurrent, construct, and predictive. A validation study
performed by a third party, such as a hospital, a teaching institution, or even an individual
healthcare professional, could result in showing little or no benefit for one or more types of
validation for our medical training simulators. Such validation study results published in medical
journals could impact the willingness of customers to buy our training simulators, especially new
simulators that have not previously been validated. Due to the time generally required to complete
and publish additional validation studies (usually more than a year), the negative impact on sales
revenue could be significant.
MEDICAL LICENSING AND CERTIFICATION AUTHORITIES MAY NOT RECOMMEND OR REQUIRE USE OF OUR
TECHNOLOGIES FOR TRAINING AND/OR TESTING PURPOSES, SIGNIFICANTLY SLOWING OR INHIBITING THE MARKET
PENETRATION OF OUR MEDICAL SIMULATION TECHNOLOGIES.
Several key medical certification bodies, including the American Board of Internal Medicine
(ABIM) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC), have great influence in recommending
particular medical methodologies, including medical training and testing methodologies, for use by
medical professionals. In the event that the ABIM and the ACC, as well as other, similar bodies, do
not endorse medical simulation products in general, or our product in particular, as a training
and/or testing tool, market penetration for our products could be significantly and adversely
affected.
WE HAVE LIMITED DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS AND RESOURCES TO MARKET AND SELL OUR MEDICAL SIMULATORS,
TOUCH INTERFACE PRODUCTS, AND THREE-DIMENSIONAL SIMULATION AND DIGITIZING PRODUCTS, AND IF WE ARE
UNSUCCESSFUL IN MARKETING AND SELLING THESE PRODUCTS, WE MAY NOT ACHIEVE OR SUSTAIN PRODUCT REVENUE
GROWTH.
We have limited resources for marketing and selling medical simulation, touch interface, or
three-dimensional simulation and digitizing products, either directly or through distributors. To
achieve our business objectives, we must build a balanced mixture of sales through a direct sales
channel and through qualified distribution channels. The success of our efforts to sell medical
simulation, touch interface, and three-dimensional simulation products will depend upon our
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ability to retain and develop a qualified sales force and effective distributor channels. We
may not be successful in attracting and retaining the personnel necessary to sell and market our
products. A number of our distributors represent small, specialized companies and may not have
sufficient capital or human resources to support the complexities of selling and supporting our
products. There can be no assurance that our direct selling efforts will be effective, distributors
will market our products successfully or, if our relationships with distributors terminate, that we
will be able to establish relationships with other distributors on satisfactory terms, if at all.
Any disruption in the distribution, sales, or marketing network for our products could have a
material adverse effect on our product revenues.
COMPETITION IN THE MEDICAL MARKET MAY REDUCE OUR REVENUE.
If the medical simulation market develops as we anticipate, we believe that we will have
increased competition. As in many developing markets, acquisitions, or consolidations may occur
that could lead to larger competitors with more resources or broader market penetration. This
increased competition may result in the decline of our revenue and may cause us to reduce our
selling prices.
COMPETITION IN THE MOBILITY OR TOUCHSCREEN MARKETS MAY INCREASE OUR COSTS AND REDUCE OUR REVENUE.
If the mobility or touchscreen markets develop as we anticipate, we believe that we will face
a greater number of competitors, possibly including the internal design teams of existing and
potential OEM customers. These potential competitors may have significantly greater financial and
technical resources than we do, and the costs associated with competing with such potential
competitors could be significant. Additionally, increased competition may result in the reduction
of our market share and/or cause us to reduce our prices, which may result in a decline in our
revenue.
AUTOMOBILES INCORPORATING OUR TOUCH-ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES ARE SUBJECT TO LENGTHY PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT PERIODS, MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO PREDICT WHEN AND WHETHER WE WILL RECEIVE PER UNIT
AUTOMOTIVE ROYALTIES.
The product development process for automobiles is very lengthy, sometimes longer than four
years. We do not earn per unit royalty revenue on our automotive technologies unless and until
automobiles featuring our technologies are shipped to customers, which may not occur until several
years after we enter into an agreement with an automobile manufacturer or a supplier to an
automobile manufacturer. Throughout the product development process, we face the risk that an
automobile manufacturer or supplier may delay the incorporation of, or choose not to incorporate,
our technologies into its automobiles, making it difficult for us to predict the per unit
automotive royalties we may receive, if any. After the product launches, our royalties still depend
on market acceptance of the vehicle or the option packages if our technology is an option (for
example, a navigation unit), which is likely to be determined by many factors beyond our control.
WE MIGHT BE UNABLE TO RETAIN OR RECRUIT NECESSARY PERSONNEL, WHICH COULD SLOW THE DEVELOPMENT AND
DEPLOYMENT OF OUR TECHNOLOGIES.
Our ability to develop and deploy our technologies and to sustain our revenue growth depends
upon the continued service of our management and other key personnel, many of whom would be
difficult to replace. Management and other key employees may voluntarily terminate their employment
with us at any time upon short notice. The loss of management or key personnel could delay product
development cycles or otherwise harm our business.
We believe that our future success will also depend largely on our ability to
attract, integrate, and retain sales, support, marketing, and research and development personnel.
Competition for such personnel is intense, and we may not be successful in attracting, integrating,
and retaining such personnel. Given the protracted nature of if, how, and when we collect royalties
on new design contracts, it may be difficult to craft compensation plans that will attract and
retain the level of salesmanship needed to secure these contracts. Our stock option program is a
long-term retention program that is intended to attract, retain, and provide incentives for
talented employees, officers and directors, and to align stockholder and employee interests. Our
stock option plan expires in June of 2007. The adoption of a new stock plan requires stockholder
approval. Additionally some of our executive officers and key employees hold stock options with
exercise prices considerably above the current market price of our common stock. Each of these
factors may impair our ability to retain the services of our executive officers and key employees.
Our technologies are complex and we rely upon the continued service of our existing engineering
personnel to support licensees, enhance existing technologies, and develop new technologies.
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Investment Risks
OUR QUARTERLY REVENUES AND OPERATING RESULTS ARE VOLATILE, AND IF OUR FUTURE RESULTS ARE BELOW THE
EXPECTATIONS OF PUBLIC MARKET ANALYSTS OR INVESTORS, THE PRICE OF OUR COMMON STOCK IS LIKELY TO
DECLINE.
Our revenues and operating results are likely to vary significantly from quarter to quarter
due to a number of factors, many of which are outside of our control and any of which could cause
the price of our common stock to decline.
These factors include:
| the establishment or loss of licensing relationships; | ||
| the timing of payments under fixed and/or up-front license agreements; | ||
| the timing of work performed under development agreements; | ||
| the timing of our expenses, including costs related to litigation, stock-based awards, acquisitions of technologies, or businesses; | ||
| the timing of introductions and market acceptance of new products and product enhancements by us, our licensees, our competitors, or their competitors; | ||
| our ability to develop and improve our technologies; | ||
| our ability to attract, integrate, and retain qualified personnel; and | ||
| seasonality in the demand for our products or our licensees products. |
OUR STOCK PRICE MAY FLUCTUATE REGARDLESS OF OUR PERFORMANCE.
The stock market has experienced extreme volatility that often has been unrelated or
disproportionate to the performance of particular companies. These market fluctuations may cause
our stock price to decline regardless of our performance. The market price of our common stock has
been, and in the future could be, significantly affected by factors such as: actual or anticipated
fluctuations in operating results; announcements of technical innovations; announcements regarding
litigation in which we are involved; changes by game console manufacturers to not include
touch-enabling capabilities in their products; new products or new contracts; sales or the
perception in the market of possible sales of large number of shares of our common stock by
insiders or others; changes in securities analysts recommendations; changing circumstances
regarding competitors or their customers; governmental regulatory action; developments with respect
to patents or proprietary rights; inclusion in or exclusion from various stock indices; and general
market conditions. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a companys
securities, securities class action litigation has been initiated against that company, such as the
suit currently pending against us.
PROVISIONS IN OUR CHARTER DOCUMENTS AND DELAWARE LAW COULD PREVENT OR DELAY A CHANGE IN CONTROL,
WHICH COULD REDUCE THE MARKET PRICE OF OUR COMMON STOCK.
Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may have the effect of delaying or
preventing a change of control or changes in our management. In addition, certain provisions of
Delaware law may discourage, delay, or prevent someone from acquiring or merging with us. These
provisions could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares.
ISSUANCE OF THE SHARES OF COMMON STOCK UPON CONVERSION OF DEBENTURES, EXERCISE OF STOCK OPTIONS,
AND EXERCISE OF WARRANTS WILL DILUTE THE OWNERSHIP INTEREST OF EXISTING STOCKHOLDERS AND COULD
ADVERSELY AFFECT THE MARKET PRICE OF OUR COMMON STOCK.
The issuance of shares of common stock in the following circumstances will dilute the
ownership interest of existing stockholders: (i) upon conversion of some or all of the convertible
debentures (ii) upon exercise of some or all of
the stock options, and (iii) upon exercise of some or all of the warrants. Any sales in the
public market of the common stock issuable upon such conversion or upon such exercises,
respectively, could adversely affect prevailing market prices
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of our common stock. In addition, the
existence of these convertible debentures, stock options, and warrants may encourage short selling
by market participants.
OUR MAJOR STOCKHOLDERS RETAIN SIGNIFICANT CONTROL OVER US, WHICH MAY LEAD TO CONFLICTS WITH OTHER
STOCKHOLDERS OVER CORPORATE GOVERNANCE MATTERS AND COULD ALSO AFFECT THE VOLATILITY OF OUR STOCK
PRICE.
We currently have, have had in the past, and may have in the future, stockholders who retain
greater than 10%, or in some cases greater than 20%, of our outstanding stock. Acting together,
these stockholders would be able to exercise significant influence over matters that our
stockholders vote upon, including the election of directors and mergers or other business
combinations, which could have the effect of delaying or preventing a third party from acquiring
control over or merging with us. Further, if any individuals in this group elect to sell a
significant portion or all of their holdings of our common stock, the trading price of our common
stock could experience volatility.
WE MAY NEED TO RAISE ADDITIONAL CAPITAL IN THE FUTURE, WHICH MAY RESULT IN SUBSTANTIAL DILUTION TO
OUR STOCKHOLDERS.
We may need to raise additional capital in order to ensure a sufficient supply of cash for
continued operations and litigation costs. We have taken measures to control our costs and will
continue to monitor these efforts. In addition, in our litigation against Sony Computer
Entertainment, we have received payments relating to the temporary compulsory license pursuant to
the Courts orders. Although we have received the payments, we may be required to return them and
any future payments based on the outcome of the appeals process. Our plans to raise additional
capital may include possible customer prepayments of certain royalty obligations in exchange for a
royalty discount and/or other negotiated concessions, entering into new license agreements that
require up-front license payments, and through debt or equity financing. We cannot be certain that
additional financing will be available to us on favorable terms when required, or at all. Changes
in equity markets over the past five years have adversely affected the ability of companies to
raise equity financing and have adversely affected the markets for financing for companies with a
history of losses such as ours. Additional financing may require us to take on more debt or issue
additional shares of our common or preferred stock such that our existing stockholders may
experience substantial dilution.
WE MAY ENGAGE IN ACQUISITIONS THAT COULD DILUTE STOCKHOLDERS INTERESTS, DIVERT MANAGEMENT
ATTENTION, OR CAUSE INTEGRATION PROBLEMS.
As part of our business strategy, we have in the past and may in the future, acquire
businesses or intellectual property that we feel could complement our business, enhance our
technical capabilities, or increase our intellectual property portfolio. If we consummate
acquisitions through cash and/or an exchange of our securities, our stockholders could suffer
significant dilution. Acquisitions could also create risks for us, including:
| unanticipated costs associated with the acquisitions; | ||
| use of substantial portions of our available cash to consummate the acquisitions; | ||
| diversion of managements attention from other business concerns; | ||
| difficulties in assimilation of acquired personnel or operations; and | ||
| potential intellectual property infringement claims related to newly acquired product lines. |
Any acquisitions, even if successfully completed, might not generate significant additional
revenue or provide any benefit to our business.
IF WE FAIL TO COMPLY WITH NASDAQS MAINTENANCE CRITERIA FOR CONTINUED LISTING ON THE NASDAQ GLOBAL
MARKET, OUR COMMON STOCK COULD BE DELISTED.
To maintain the listing of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market, we are required to
comply with one of two sets of maintenance criteria for continued listing. Under the first set of
criteria, among other things, we must maintain stockholders equity of at least $10 million, the
market value of our publicly held common stock (excluding shares held by our affiliates) must be
at least $5 million, and the minimum bid price for our common stock must be at
least
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$1.00 per share. Under the second set of criteria, among other things, the market value
of our common stock must be at least $50 million or we must have both $50 million in assets and $50
million in revenues, the market value of our publicly held shares must be at least $15 million,
and the minimum bid price for our common stock must be at least $1.00 per share. As of September
30, 2006, our most recent balance sheet date, we had a deficit in stockholders equity, and
therefore would not have been in compliance with the first set of listing criteria as of that date.
Although we were in compliance with the second set of criteria, should the price of our common
stock decline to the point where the aggregate value of our outstanding common stock falls below
$50 million, the value of our publicly held shares falls below $15 million, or the bid price of
our common stock falls below $1.00 per share, our shares could be delisted from the Nasdaq Global
Market. If we are unable to comply with the applicable criteria and our common stock is delisted
from the Nasdaq Global Market, it would likely be more difficult to affect trades and to determine
the market price of our common stock. In addition, delisting of our common stock could materially
affect the market price and liquidity of our common stock and our future ability to raise necessary
capital.
FAILURE TO MAINTAIN EFFECTIVE INTERNAL CONTROLS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 404 OF THE
SARBANES-OXLEY ACT COULD HAVE A MATERIAL ADVERSE EFFECT ON OUR BUSINESS AND STOCK PRICE.
If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, as standards are modified,
supplemented, or amended from time to time, we may not be able to ensure that we can conclude on an
ongoing basis that we have effective internal controls over financial reporting in accordance with
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Failure to maintain an effective internal control
environment could have a material adverse effect on our business and stock price.
LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS, HIGHER INSURANCE COST, AND POTENTIAL NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS ARE LIKELY
TO IMPACT OUR FUTURE FINANCIAL POSITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
There have been regulatory changes and new accounting pronouncements including the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and the recently enacted SFAS No. 123R, which have had an effect on our
financial position and results of operations. There may potentially be new accounting
pronouncements or additional regulatory rulings that also have an impact on our future financial
position and results of operations. Under SFAS No. 123R, we have been required since January 1,
2006, to adopt a different method of determining the compensation expense of our employee stock
options. SFAS No. 123R has had a significant adverse effect on our reported financial conditions
and may impact the way we conduct our business. These and other potential changes could materially
increase the expenses we report under generally accepted accounting principles, and adversely
affect our operating results.
ITEM 6. EXHIBITS
The following exhibits are filed herewith:
Exhibit | ||
Number | Description | |
31.1
|
Certification of Victor Viegas, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director, pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. | |
31.2
|
Certification of Stephen Ambler, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Finance, pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. | |
32.1
|
Certification of Victor Viegas, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director, pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. | |
32.2
|
Certification of Stephen Ambler, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Finance, pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements 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.
Date: November 7, 2006
IMMERSION CORPORATION | ||||
By | /s/ Stephen Ambler | |||
Stephen Ambler | ||||
Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, | ||||
Finance |
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EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit | ||
Number | Description | |
31.1
|
Certification of Victor Viegas, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director, pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. | |
31.2
|
Certification of Stephen Ambler, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Finance, pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. | |
32.1
|
Certification of Victor Viegas, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director, pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. | |
32.2
|
Certification of Stephen Ambler, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Finance, pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |