KID CASTLE EDUCATIONAL CORP - Annual Report: 2005 (Form 10-K)
UNITED
STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Form
10-K
(Mark
One)
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x
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ANNUAL
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the fiscal year ended: December 31, 2005
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OR
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o
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TRANSITION
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
1934
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Commission
file number: 333-39629
KID
CASTLE EDUCATIONAL
CORPORATION
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its Charter)
Florida
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59-2549529
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(State
or other jurisdiction of
incorporation
or organization)
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(I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
No.)
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8th
Floor, No. 98 Min Chuan Road
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N/A
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Hsien
Tien, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
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(Zip
Code)
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(Address
of principal executive offices)
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Issuer’s
telephone number:
(011)
886-2-2218-5996
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate
by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined
in
Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
Yes
o No
x
Indicate
by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to
Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.
Yes
o No
x
Indicate
by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to
be
filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during
the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was
required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing
requirements for the past 90 days.
Yes
o No
x
Indicate
by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of
Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best
of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements
incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to
this
Form 10-K. o
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of
the Act).
Large
Accelerated Filer o
Accelerated Filer o
Non-Accelerated Filer x
Indicate
by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in
Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes
o No
x
The
aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates computed
by
reference to the price at which the stock was sold as of the last day of the
registrant’s most recently completed fourth fiscal
quarter, December 31, 2006, was $0.15. The number of shares of common
stock outstanding as of December 31, 2006 was 18,999,703.
DOCUMENTS
INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
None.
KID
CASTLE EDUCATIONAL CORPORATION
FORM
10-K
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Page
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PART
I
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Item
1
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Business
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1
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Item
1A
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Risk
Factors
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11
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Item
2
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Properties
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15
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Item
3
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Legal
proceedings
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16
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Item
4
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Submission
of Mattes to a Vote of Security Holders
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16
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PART
II
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Item
5
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Market
for Registrant’s Common Equity and Related Stockholder
Matters
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16
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Item
6
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Selected
Financial Data
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17
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Item
7
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Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operation
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17
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Item
8
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Financial
Statements and Supplementary Data
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24
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Item
9
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Changes
in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial
Disclosure
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24
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Item
9A
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Controls
and Procedures
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24
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Item
9B
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Other
Information
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25
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PART
III
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Item
10
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Directors
and Executive Officers of the Registrant
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25
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Item
11
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Executive
Compensation
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26
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Item
12
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Security
Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and management and Related
Stockholder Matters
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27
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Item
13
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Certain
Relationships and Related Transactions
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28
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Item
14
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Principal
Accountant Fees and Services
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28
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PART
IV
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Item
15
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Exhibits
and Financial Statement Schedules
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29
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Signatures
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31
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Exhibit
Index
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32
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PART
I
When
we
use the terms “Kid Castle,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and “the company,” we mean Kid
Castle Educational Corporation, a Florida corporation, and its subsidiaries.
Our
principal subsidiaries are our wholly-owned subsidiary, Higoal Developments
Limited (“Higoal”), and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Kid Castle Internet
Technologies Limited (“KCIT”) and Kid Castle Educational Software Development
Company Limited (“KCES”).
The
information set forth in this Report on Form 10-K including, without limitation,
that contained in Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operation, contains “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. Actual
results may materially differ from those projected in the forward-looking
statements as a result of certain risks and uncertainties set forth in this
report. Although management believes that the assumptions made and expectations
reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there is no
assurance that the underlying assumptions will, in fact, prove to be correct
or
that actual future results will not be different from the expectations expressed
in this report.
Subsequent
Events
The
information set forth in this Report on Form 10-K is as of December 31, 2005.
However, certain notes to the consolidated financial statements include
references to events that have occurred since December 31, 2005. Information
concerning events since December 31, 2005 has been included on Current Reports
on Form 8-K filed by us. In addition, such information will be included on
our
Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2006.
ITEM 1 |
BUSINESS
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Overview
We
are a
leading provider in the People’s Republic of China (“China” or “PRC”) and
Republic of China (“ROC” or “Taiwan”) of English-language instruction and
educational services to children for whom Chinese is the primary language.
Our
focus is on children between two and twelve years old. In 2005, we taught or
provided educational materials for approximately 950,000 students at over 4,850
locations through our franchise and cooperative school operations.
We
commenced operations in 1986 as an English-language school, and since then
we
have expanded our franchise operations to provide bilingual kindergarten
instruction, computer training, and tutorial services. In September 1999,
we began offering a variety of multimedia, including educational videos,
textbooks, workbooks, and educational software, authored by us as fully
functional, stand-alone products or as supplements to our classroom-based and
Internet-based instruction. In July 2000, we launched our fully-developed
Internet-based education program that provides an interactive environment in
which Kindergarten through 12th
grade
(“K-12”) students develop English-language and computer skills.
English
is the language of international business, and we believe a working knowledge
of
English has become increasingly important to long-term success throughout the
world. Because English is becoming more prevalent around the world, we believe
that there is growing demand for bilingual instruction in Chinese and English
throughout a child’s educational process. As more parents and students seek such
bilingual instruction for educational purposes, the English-language-instruction
market will experience significant growth.
As
part
of our efforts to provide superior English-language instruction, we have worked
with numerous universities to introduce foreign teachers into Taiwan from
countries such as the United States, Canada, and England. We provide
comprehensive training regimens and supportive plans for all of our
teachers.
A
significant part of our strategy is to design and market our innovative
educational materials. These include English publications for students three
to
eight years old, supplemental English materials for students seven to eight
years old, and children’s English materials for students seven to twelve years
old. We have won awards relating to our products and services from major cities
and educational bureaus including Taipei City, Taipei County, Taoyuan County,
Taichung County, and Kaohsiung County.
Our
Philosophy of Education
Teaching
young children English is not simply language instruction; we must also consider
the learning group’s social and language development. Kid Castle aims at
cultivating a mature child, not just teaching a skill. We understand that
language learning has close connections with all learning for young
children.
Therefore,
we have designed our teaching system following these significant
principles:
· |
We
start with the respective skills and abilities that children already
have
because the teaching system must consider
adaptability.
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· |
We
encourage interaction because the ultimate goal of learning a language
is
to communicate with others.
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1
· |
We
assist students’ comprehension with the language in various ways through
conversation coordination—e.g., interactive games, activities,
etc.
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· |
We
encourage children to participate fully in the learning process through
role-playing games.
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· |
We
foster our students’ abilities to learn independently; our teaching
focuses on guiding and inspiring a child’s self-learning
abilities.
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· |
We
create a relaxed, happy, and supportive learning environment so as
to
encourage children’s learning.
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· |
We
use consistent testing and learning methods for
children.
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Our
teaching materials and curriculum are specifically designed to suit different
age-groups of children. Likewise, our teachers are specifically trained to
work
with children of different age groups. Listening, speaking, writing, and
spelling skills form the basis of our primary curriculum.
Our
Programs
Kid
Castle After-School Education Program — Fostering Children’s Multiple
Talents
Our
After-School Education Program is becoming one of the most recognized and
respected institutions of its kind in Taiwan. This program features
professionally designed, in-depth research into curriculum and child
development, implemented by caring teachers. The guiding principle behind the
program is to open up students’ minds to a more international worldview with a
focus on information and technology.
The
teaching materials of the After-School Education Program help our students
learn
basic conversational English through various themes and units. Beginning with
the ABCs, by the time most students complete our program, they can speak and
understand basic English. They have a foundation upon which they can build
as
they continue their studies. Fun activities that focus on speaking and listening
are an integral part of each class.
Kid
Castle recognizes that today’s children are the adults of tomorrow. To better
prepare our students for the future, the program also includes a series of
moral
stories for students that teach them basic life skills and how to be better
members of society.
Part
of
our After-School Education Program is also available online. This supplement
allows children to review the lessons they have during their day class. By
taking learning home, Kid Castle fosters the interaction between children and
parents, bringing everyone closer together.
Kid
Castle Preschool — Establishing English Learning
Networks
Preparing
our students to be leaders has always been one of our missions. We teach our
children a number of different subjects in order to expose them to the wonders
of the world and to what their future holds. Established island-wide in Taiwan,
the successful Kid Castle Pre-Schools are where children three to six years
old
can get their start.
We
have
incorporated into our preschool curriculum an interactive teaching method that
helps children learn English more effectively. We believe that our interactive
multi-media and computer materials, including CD ROMs, make learning more
appealing and interesting to children. We recognize that going to preschool
is
the first step many young children will take in their education and that each
student’s needs are unique. To aid our students in learning, Kid Castle
incorporates a number of teaching features into the preschool curriculum, such
as colorful pictorial displays in our text books, posters, and educational
videos, and audio sound effects in our audio tapes and videos.
To
aid
our students in socialization, Kid Castle fosters interaction among all of
the
children in the class. We help them begin to establish interpersonal relations,
gain self-confidence, and learn how to express themselves through English,
Total
Physical Response (“TPR”), arts and crafts, and other means.
Finally,
Kid Castle places much emphasis on the interaction and relationship between
children, parents, teachers, and administrators at the preschools. Regular
academic and development reports and meetings between the various parties help
keep parents informed of their children’s progress and assist the parents when
supervising studies of their children after school.
Kid
Castle Publishing — Bringing English to Your Children
Our
specially designed educational materials are an essential part of our business.
Kid Castle publishes a wide range of successful teaching and learning materials
for children, including Chinese textbooks for kindergartens, English textbooks,
workbooks, English magazines, and accompanying guides, music CDs and tapes,
and
other supplemental materials for kindergarten and elementary levels. Our market
includes individuals, organizations, elementary schools, and third-party
language schools. In addition to publications, Kid Castle provides relevant
complimentary resources (including provision of note books and stationery)
and
services (including serving after-school snacks) to its customers.
2
Competitive
Strengths
We
are
one of the leading English-language tutoring centers in Taiwan. We are in the
process of establishing our market position in China, with far-reaching
connections across both regions. We believe that our competitive strengths
distinguish us from our competitors. Those strengths include:
Marketing
advantages
Kid
Castle has:
· |
350
franchises; and
|
· |
over
4,500 schools using our materials.
|
Superior
Quality
We
believe that we have created a successful corporate brand name. We have over
20
years of management experience in the education industry, and we have received
recognition for our teaching materials from five local school districts in
the
ROC. We also have engaged highly-qualified English teachers from some of the
finest learning institutions in the United States and England, including the
University of California Los Angeles, Brown University, Cornell University,
Cambridge University, the University of London, and Warwick
University.
The
English-language Education Market
Analysis
of Preschool and Elementary School Markets in Taiwan
Preschool
Educational Market.
Among
the 1.3 million children in Taiwan between the ages of two to six, we estimated
that 45 percent (approximately 585,000 children) attend preschools and that
approximately 70 percent (about 910,000 children) purchase English-learning
materials (population data provided by the Taiwanese Ministry of the Interior
-
http://www.moi.gov.tw/stat/index.asp).
Elementary
School English-language Materials.
The
Department of Education of ROC has issued a directive that, from the 2002
academic year onward, computer skills and English must be incorporated into
the
school curriculum for all students in third grade and above. As a result, we
believe that, over the next decade, nearly 1.8 million students (the number
of
students in ROC public schools) will require English-language materials as
study
aids. Taiwanese schools have little experience in the new curriculum, proper
teaching materials are inadequate, and qualified teaching personnel are in
short
supply.
After-School
Education.
We
believe that children’s after-school education will move in the direction of
diversification of products, increased dissemination of information, and
additional education that complements the school curriculum with English and
computer skills. We estimate that approximately 50% of Taiwan’s 1.8 million
elementary students aged seven to twelve will participate in after-school
courses over the next decade.
China
Market Overview
According
to the 2005 market survey by the National Bureau of Statistics of China (“NBSC”)
(available at http://www.moe.edu.cn/edoas/website18/info20732.htm)
the
English-education market in China is comprised of 217 million children for
the
preschool market and 108 million elementary students for the after-school
tutoring market.
Despite
such a large market potential and business opportunity, it remains difficult
to
establish private child-education businesses in China. Foreign companies have
difficulties operating in China due to differences in cultural background and
teaching methods. We believe that we are an ideal candidate to operate in China
because we operate successful education institutions in Taiwan, a country that
shares similarities with China in terms of culture, teaching methods, and
expectations for learning outcomes.
Over
the
past ten years, China has seen impressive economic growth. With this economic
growth, consumers have greatly increased their expenditures. And with the
government motto, “Children are our treasure,” parents are generously investing
in their children’s education, including enrolling their children into premium
kindergartens and after-school tutoring to improve English-language skills
and
computer literacy. Parents invest in their children’s education with the desire
and expectation that their children will be qualified to enroll in prominent
secondary schools and internationally recognized universities.
In
2002,
China began to aggressively incorporate English into its elementary school
curriculum. The teaching materials and methods of the state kindergartens are
not able to satisfy the demand of parents searching for a high-quality,
comprehensive learning environment. Chinese society has begun to demand that
kindergarten curriculum be taught in English and Chinese. At 217 million
preschoolers, we believe the current size of China’s preschool education market
is still only at its nascent stages.
3
The
belief that English language is a necessity to function in the modern world
is
being embedded in the minds and hearts of every household in China. That belief
coincides with the following other factors that we believe will transform
Chinese elementary education:
· |
Hosting
the 2008 Olympics has triggered country-wide modernization, investments
in
infrastructure, and policy changes that encourage economic growth
in
China. In particular, the service industry has enjoyed significant
investment and modernization since the announcement of the 2008 Olympics.
Because of that industry’s demand for employees with English-language
skills, we believe that such modernization and growth will offer
broader
opportunities for private foreign business entities in general and
English-language education providers in particular.
|
· |
China’s
preparations for the 2008 Olympics have encouraged broad scientific
and
cultural advancement.
Such advancements further China’s emphasis on education and on its
children. We believe that this will translate into an increased demand
for
English-language instruction.
|
· |
Encouraging
multi-lingual abilities and improving the quality of education are
primary
concerns for the PRC government. Consequently, the English-language
instruction industry has seen a relaxation in government regulation
that
will allow KCEC to better realize its potential in
China.
|
· |
As
a result of joining the World Trade Organization (“WTO”), China is
transforming its education systems to match international standards,
including English-language instruction.
|
· |
Many
college graduates leave China to continue their academic careers
in
foreign countries where fluency in the English language is a
necessity.
|
· |
Many
foreign companies are establishing operations in China. The benefits
of
working for a foreign international company encourage parents to
ensure
their children have strong English-language skills that will qualify
them
for such employment.
|
· |
China
has a long-term plan to develop a more international orientation
for its
economy and its government. Such a plan requires a larger pool of
workers
with English-language skills. In 1996, then Premier Mr. Zhu Rongi
stated
that education is the key to promoting the PRC’s economy. This fundamental
principle evolved into specific policies implemented by the PRC in
2001
and 2003. These policies relaxed entry restrictions to foreign investment
in the education industry and made it easier for foreign education
providers to operate in China. Article Three to the PRC
Private
Education Promotion Law
stated that private education organizations are a beneficial
and
desirable attribute to society and should be highly encouraged and
supported. The
Chinese government has recently encouraged development of privately
operated elementary schools and has launched a cooperative program
aimed
at improving Chinese educational systems using foreign knowledge
and
resources. We believe such government policy will greatly expand
the
private elementary school market and create enormous market potential.
|
· |
On
February 1, 2005, the PRC Government implemented the “Special
Commercial Permit Management Regulation” (the “Management Rule”), which
superseded the “Special Commercial Permit Management Regulation (Trial).”
The Management Rule promotes predictability for private businesses
in
China’s mixed economy. It provides clear guidelines as to market entry
requirements, disclosure mechanisms, and regulations that affect
and
regulate private businesses. The adoption of the Management Rule
exemplifies the PRC Government’s determination to support foreign
investment in private business; it increased transparency and set
out
clear guidelines that allow KCEC to better comply with regulations,
which
in turn led to better efficiency and operational performance. Because
China needs foreign resources and know-how in the English-language
education market, it has utilized its relaxed regulatory scheme to
target
companies like KCEC.
|
Strategy
From
2003
to 2005, we substantially increased our sales and marketing efforts in order
to
more aggressively market our franchises in China. Such expansion resulted in
growth in the sales of our English-learning materials. While we expect to
continue expanding our market share in China, we intend to do so by more
efficiently utilizing our management and capital resources to more effectively
manage our cost of goods sold and other operating expenses. We will continue
to
devote our resources to increasing the number of our franchises and expanding
our publishing operations. On the other hand, we will cut nonessential
operations to reduce our operating costs and improve our profitability.
We
will
plan our growth cautiously by carefully considering the choice of location
for
each of our franchise schools. We first consider whether a particular location
is saturated with our franchise schools or other schools. In the process, we
conduct market research, analysis, and surveys. Then, once we have identified
a
region, we begin a marketing campaign that includes attending school fairs
and
expositions, conducting seminars, and employing news print, media, and other
marketing methods. The increase in the number of franchises may require us
to
hire more personnel, including managers and personnel who provide staff and
teacher training, in order to ensure that each franchise has the proper
oversight and that the quality of our franchised operations is
maintained.
4
Operations
Our
operations are divided between (1) delivery of classroom-based tutoring services
through our own franchises and cooperating schools, (2) distribution and sale
of
our published materials, and (3) delivery of education services through the
Internet.
Kid
Castle has marketing advantages over its franchises and various schools as
it
actively controls the distributions channels of the franchises and various
schools' teaching and learning curriculum. _
Kid
Castle provide its franchises the following service
1 |
Locality
specific management approach guidelines that are specifically designed
for
a regional district to ensure particular franchises' coverage of
student
potentials.
|
2 |
Produce
teaching materials that can be applied in complete units and non-dependant
on supplementary texts.
|
3 |
Franchise
establishment support
|
4 |
Conduct
regular conferences and seminars for head teachers and supervisors
of
franchise schools to receive updated educational and promotional
strategies to improve enrolment and management of various franchises
and
their respective facilities.
|
5 |
Combined
promotional campaigns whereby the Company is responsible of planning
and
design various advertisements to be broadcasted via print materials
or
television broadcasting.
|
6 |
Conduct
regular education training, administration and management seminars
for
franchises administrative staff and teaching staff.
|
The
following table sets forth, for the period indicated, the principle categories
of our consolidated operating revenue:
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
||||||||
Sales
of goods
|
$
|
6,438,286
|
$
|
6,822,420
|
$
|
7,020,532
|
||||
Franchise
income
|
1,767,087
|
2,442,746
|
2,289,655
|
|||||||
Other
operating revenue
|
386,010
|
463,947
|
922,147
|
|||||||
Total
operating revenue
|
8,591,383
|
9,729,113
|
10,232,334
|
Franchises
and Cooperating Schools
Our
classroom-based courses and tutoring services are provided through
company-operated locations, cooperating schools, and our independent franchises.
We believe there is significant potential for additional franchised schools
to
be established both in Taiwan and China, and we are actively seeking to expand
franchises in these territories. Our franchisees provide Kid Castle courses
and
tutoring services under the “Kid Castle” brand name within a specified territory
in accordance with a franchise agreement signed with us. The revenues from
our
franchises are comprised of annual licensing fees for using the Kid Castle
brand
name, consulting service fees, and purchase fees for purchase of Kid Castle
teaching and learning materials. Our franchisees typically enter into exclusive
agreements to purchase our course and marketing materials, which they use in
conducting and promoting their classes.
Franchisees
must obtain our approval for the location and design of a Kid Castle school
and
must operate the franchised school in accordance with certain methods,
standards, and specifications developed by us. The franchisee is usually
required to purchase from us all of its teaching materials, as well as student
explanatory and promotional brochures. Franchisees also have to purchase from
us, or through a channel that we provide, other items necessary for the
operation of a franchise school, such as computers, instructional materials,
and
furniture.
We
actively manage our franchise system. We require franchisees and their employees
to attend initial training seminars in franchise-school operations and Kid
Castle educational programs. We also offer our franchisees and their employees
training seminars each year. Franchise training seminars are designed for each
type of school and may include:
· |
Preschool
English Teaching Seminar;
|
· |
Children’s
English Teaching Seminar;
|
· |
Caretaking English
Teaching Seminar; and
|
· |
English
Kindergarten Teaching Seminar.
|
The
initial training seminar is designed to familiarize teachers with the three
Kid
Castle teaching methods (Audio-Lingual, Total Physical Response, and
Communicative Language Teaching); to introduce our materials; and to help
teachers incorporate our three teaching methods into the daily teaching plan.
We
employ division directors who act as consultants to assist franchises in
technology implementation, business development, marketing, education, and
operations. These employees also facilitate regular communications between
franchisees and Kid Castle.
Unlike
franchise schools, our cooperating schools are not affiliated with our company,
but have entered into contracts with us to use our teaching and learning
materials. Unlike the franchises, the cooperating schools are not required
to
exclusively use our materials or participate in our training
seminars.
5
Cooperating
caretaking schools are our third type of school. These schools serve preschool
and elementary school children in both a caretaker and educational role. These
schools are not affiliated with our company, but enter into contracts with
us to
use our teaching and learning materials.
Currently,
there are approximately 250 and 100 Kid Castle franchises in Taiwan and in
China, respectively, and approximately 4,500 cooperating schools in the two
countries. The cooperating schools include Kid Castle Kindergarten, Kid Castle
Computer School, and Kid Castle Remedial School. The following table shows
the
number of our franchises, cooperating schools, and cooperating caretaking
schools as of the dates indicated:
December 31,
2004
|
December 31,
2005
|
||||||
Franchises
|
340
|
350
|
|||||
Cooperating
schools*
|
4,000
|
4,500
|
*
includes Caretaking schools
Publishing
Our
years
of experience in the education field have enabled us to carefully develop what
we believe to be superior teaching products that incorporate diverse and
innovative content. Our educational products feature a wide range of technology,
including multimedia and audio publications and the Internet. In addition,
we
are developing interactive educational programs that utilize a child’s senses of
hearing, sight, and touch.
Published
materials make up approximately 71 percent of our revenue. The three main
channels that purchase our published teaching materials are franchise schools,
kindergartens, and elementary schools. Our franchise schools are obligated
to
exclusively use Kid Castle teaching and learning materials. Based on data from
the NBSC, as of December 31, 2005 there were approximately 124,400 kindergartens
and 366,200 public and private elementary schools in China. They are potential
customers.
Teaching
Features and Curriculum
Our
children’s English curriculum is summarized as follows:
Category
|
Class
|
Student
|
Levels
|
Period
|
||||
Preschool
Learning
|
Preschool
children
|
Ages
3-6
|
A
total of six levels
|
Six
months
|
||||
Language
Learning
|
Young
children
|
Ages
7-9
|
A
total of fourteen levels
|
Six
months
|
||||
Language
Learning
|
Older
children
|
Ages
10-12
|
A
total of fourteen levels
|
Three
months
|
Kid
Castle's Young Children Teaching Materials incorporate the following
features:
· |
full
conformity with natural language-development patterns for listening,
speaking, reading, and writing;
|
· |
design
and development based on the unique factors of individual students,
such
as age, learning habits, and cognitive
ability;
|
· |
contemporary
topics that capture and reflect students’ interests and
needs;
|
· |
practical
scenarios purposely designed to cater to daily life so as to increase
the
relevance of language usage;
|
· |
emphasis
on oral communication;
|
· |
games
and activities that give students an opportunity to practice language
skills and increase interest in learning
English;
|
· |
categorization
of curriculum from easy to difficult with subjects that correspond
to the
subsequent levels; and
|
· |
diverse
subjects and content.
|
Sales
and Marketing
The
majority of our students’ parents choose our education programs and materials
based on the recommendations of other parents and teachers. We also build
awareness of our brand and promote our products through our franchises and
relationships with the cooperating schools. Kid Castle also maintains an
internal sales force and engages in national and local advertising through
print
and broadcast media and through direct sales to targeted demographics.
Advertising is centrally monitored and is directed primarily at local markets
in
which a kindergarten is located. All marketing activity is tracked to measure
effectiveness and to provide information for future activities. All responses
to
advertising are analyzed to provide data and references for future marketing
efforts.
Individual
franchises have their own marketing methodologies for students. However, we
monitor and provide general marketing strategies to facilitate the franchises’
promotional campaigns. Policies, standards, and procedures for new franchises
and cooperating schools are established centrally, but are implemented at the
local level through an employee in the marketing department. Cooperating schools
also increase our company exposure. As these schools use our teaching and
learning materials, we believe parents and children will grow more familiar
with
the “Kid Castle” brand name and the after-school education we provide through
our caretaking schools.
6
Competition
The
English-language teaching and educational services industry in Asia is highly
fragmented, varying significantly among different geographic locations and
types
of consumers. Our ability to compete depends on our ability to improve existing
or create new English-language learning materials and courses to distinguish
our
company from our competitors. Other providers of English-language instruction
include individual tutors, small language schools operated by individuals,
public institutions, and franchises or branches of larger language teaching
companies, some of which operate internationally. The smaller operations
typically offer large-group teaching and self-teaching materials for home study,
while some larger competitors concentrate on the higher-priced,
business-oriented segment by offering intensive, individualized
programs.
The
following table sets forth our competitors in Taiwan:
COMPETITOR
ANALYSIS IN TAIWAN
Company
|
Year
Established
|
Internet
Learning
|
Number
of Schools
|
In
House R&D
|
Interest
Administration Platform
|
Automatic
Speech Analysis System
|
Magazine
Publication
|
Training
Program for Teachers
|
||||||||
Kid
Castle
|
1986
|
x
|
250
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|||||||||
Giraffe
Language School
|
1986
|
450
|
x
|
|||||||||||||
Joy
Enterprise Organization
|
1981
|
230
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|||||||||||
Jordan’s
Language School
|
1982
|
x
|
182
|
x
|
||||||||||||
Gram
English
|
1981
|
x
|
56
|
x
|
x
|
|||||||||||
Sesame
English Franchised Schools
|
1987
|
50
|
||||||||||||||
Ha
Po Computer English School
|
1996
|
x
|
150
|
x
|
||||||||||||
Hess
Educational Organization
|
1983
|
40
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
The
following table sets forth our competitors in China:
COMPETITOR
ANALYSIS IN CHINA
Company
|
Year
Established
|
Internet
Learning
|
Number
of Schools
|
In
House R&D
|
Interest
Administration Platform
|
Automatic
Speech Analysis System
|
Magazine
Publication
|
Training
Program for Teachers
|
||||||||
Kid
Castle
|
2001
|
x
|
100
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
||||||||
Education
First
|
1993
|
x
|
50
|
x
|
x
|
|||||||||||
Shane
Education
|
2000
|
x
|
15
|
x
|
x
|
|||||||||||
DD
Dragon
|
1997
|
20
|
x
|
x
|
||||||||||||
Onlyedu
|
2004
|
x
|
300
|
x
|
x
|
7
BRIEF
SUMMARY OF COMPETITORS IN TAIWAN
|
||
Company
Name
|
Description
|
|
Joy
Enterprise Organization (“JEO”)
|
JEO
was established in 1981. Its operation focuses on English learning
schools
and kindergartens. JEO is also engaged in the language education
publishing business. Currently JEO owns approximately 230 schools
in
Taiwan.
|
|
Gram
English (“Gram”)
|
Gram
was established in 1981. Gram focuses on English education for elementary
and high school children and for adults and is not present in the
kindergarten market. Currently, Gram has 56 schools in
Taiwan.
|
|
Jordan’s
Language School (“Jordan”)
|
Jordan
was established in 1982 and currently has 182 schools in Taiwan.
In
addition to English education, it is also engaged in teaching mathematics
and computer skills to children. In 2001, Jordan entered the market
in
mainland China.
|
|
Giraffe
Language School (“Giraffe”)
|
Giraffe
was established in 1986. Giraffe currently has 450 English schools
in
Taiwan, which is more than other competitors in Taiwan. Giraffe’s
operations include English schools and kindergarten.
|
|
Ha
Po Computer English School (“Ha
P”)
|
Ha
Po was established in 1996. It currently has 150 schools in Taiwan,
where
it offers both computer and English education.
|
|
Sesame
English Franchised Schools, Taiwan (“Sesame”)
|
Sesame
was established in 1987 in Taiwan. It is a franchise of an international
English educational institution. Currently it has 50 schools in
Taiwan.
|
|
Hess
Eduational Organization
|
Hess
was established in 1983 and currently has 40 English schools in Taiwan.
Hess also operates kindergartens.
|
BRIEF
SUMMARY OF COMPETITORS IN CHINA
|
||
Company
Name
|
Description
|
|
Onlyedu
Education Group (“Onlyedu”)
|
Onlyedu
was established in 2004. It currently has over 300 franchise schools
located in 18 provinces of China.
|
|
Education
First
|
English
First began its development in China in 1993 and currently has 50
kindergarten schools. Its franchise fee and its tuition are higher
than
the market average,
which poses a significant entry barrier for potential franchises.
Education First has not been established long enough to be well
known.
|
|
DD
Dragon Education Organization (“DDDEO”)
|
DDDEO
was established in 1997. It currently has over 20 franchise schools
in the
PRC.
|
|
Shane
Education (“Shane”)
|
Shane
entered the Shanghai market in 2000 and caters to adult students
rather
than to children. Shane teaches Queen’s English and has a significant
British influence. Its tuition is higher than ours, and its operation
is
limited to the Shanghai region.
|
Employees
As
of
December 31, 2005, we had a total of 175 full-time employees and three
part-time employees for the ROC and PRC operations. We intend to hire additional
employees on a part-time or independent contractor basis in connection with
certain projects in China. We do not intend to hire U.S.-based employees in
the
foreseeable future. None of our employees are represented by a labor union,
and
we consider our relationships with our employees to be good.
8
Regulatory
Environment
Taiwan
The
Ministry of Education of Taiwan (“MOE”) requires that teaching and learning
materials that are to be used by elementary schools and junior high schools
for
compulsory education first be submitted to the MOE for review. The material
submission process is as follows:
· |
Following
the submission of materials, the MOE will review the materials and
submit
a decision within 90 days, subject to an extension of 30 days.
|
· |
If
the MOE approves the materials, the applicant must send five copies
of the
final version to the MOE. The MOE performs a final review and makes
a
final decision within 60 days.
|
· |
If
the MOE does not approve the initial submission, the applicant has
45 days
to resubmit the materials with any corrections that the MOE deems
necessary.
|
· |
The
MOE reviews the resubmitted materials and makes its decision within
45
days.
|
· |
If
the materials are not approved, or the corrections are not satisfactory
to
the MOE, the applicant has 30 days to make additional corrections
and
submit the corrected materials to the MOE. The MOE will then return
its
decision within 30 days.
|
· |
If
the MOE does not approve the corrections on the third resubmission,
the
applicant may appeal within 30 days and the MOE will review the appeal
and
make a decision within 30 days after its receipt of the appeal.
|
· |
If
the appeal is rejected by the MOE, the applicant must start the approval
process over.
|
The
Employment Service Act of Taiwan and relevant regulations require all foreign
supplementary education instructor applicants to be 20 years of age or older.
In
addition, it is our company policy to hire candidates with university bachelor
degrees and to have each foreign employee teach the national language
of the
country on his or her passport.
China
According
to the China-Foreign School Cooperation Regulation (“CFSCR”) effective
September 2003, foreign companies cannot operate educational franchises
through wholly-owned entities, but must do so in cooperation with local Chinese
investors. These cooperative arrangements must be approved by the Chinese
government. The CFSCR limits the number of seats on the board of directors
(or
any controlling board or committee) that may be offered to foreign investors
or
their nominees to no more than half of the total number of seats. The director
of the school, as well as the chairman of the board, can be foreign individuals;
however, the principal or the person responsible for administration must be
reviewed by the government.
The
China
Ministry of Education (“CMOE”) has general guidelines for every province and
major city. In addition, each province and some major cities, such as Shanghai
and Beijing, have their own administrative body for education and their own
regulations and requirements. All of our educational materials must comply
with the national curriculum guideline as set out by the central government.
Depending on the administrative procedures of the individual provincial
governments, our educational materials may have to also be recorded with local
governments.
The
CMOE,
under the Kindergarten Operation and Management Regulation, requires the
following:
· |
the
location of the kindergarten must be in accordance with the safety
standards set by the CMOE;
|
· |
schoolmasters,
principals, and teachers must have a diploma from a teachers’ college or
higher and a background in children’s
education;
|
· |
school
staff must have the equivalent of a junior high education or diploma;
and
|
· |
nurses
and similar positions must have a high school education or diploma.
|
The
following violations will result in penalties, including reorganization or
correction to be completed by a certain deadline, suspension of student
enrollment, and suspension of operation:
· |
unlicensed
operation, where the location and environment are unsatisfactory
to
government standards; and
|
· |
distributing
materials that are inappropriate for children or materials that violate
the Educational Standards set by the CMOE.
|
More
severe violations, such as illegal controlled substance usage, possession of
dangerous instruments, corporal punishment, or embezzlement of school funds
or
property will result in punishment and sanctions in accordance with the degree
of violation.
Intellectual
Property and Property Rights
The
name
“Kid Castle” and various drawings used in our materials are trademarked and
registered to us in Taiwan and PRC. Our copyrights, trademarks, service marks,
trade secrets, proprietary technology, and other intellectual property rights
distinguish our products and services from those of our competitors and
contribute to our competitive advantage in our target markets. To protect our
brand, products, and services and the systems that deliver those products and
services to our customers, we rely on a combination of copyright, trademark,
and
trade secret laws as well as confidentiality agreements and licensing
arrangements with our employees, customers, independent contractors, sponsors,
and others.
9
Corporate
History
We
are a
Florida corporation that was incorporated on July 19, 1985 as Omni Doors,
Inc. From inception through June 30, 1998, our primary business was the
assembly and distribution of industrial doors for sale to building contractors
in the South Florida market. Until April 6, 1998, we were a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Millennia, Inc., a publicly-owned Delaware corporation. On
April 6, 1998, the Board of Directors of Millennia declared the payment of
a stock dividend to Millennia’s stockholders. Millennia stockholders received
one share of our common stock for each four shares of Millennia common stock.
This distribution of approximately 570,000 shares of our company represented
approximately five percent (5.0 percent) of the total issued and outstanding
shares of our common stock.
Pursuant
to a contract dated July 14, 1998, Millennia sold 10,260,000 shares
(representing 90 percent of the total outstanding shares) of our common stock
to
an unrelated firm, China Economic Growth Investment Corp., LLC, which then
distributed the shares to its three members, Yong Chen, Zuxiang Huang, and
Zheng
Yao.
On
April 6, 2001, pursuant to a stock purchase agreement dated April 2,
2001, Halter Capital Corporation, a privately-owned Texas corporation, purchased
6,822,900 shares of our common stock from Zheng Yao, representing approximately
60 percent of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock. Simultaneously
with this change in control transaction, Sophia Yao, our then sole officer
and
director, resigned. Kevin B. Halter, Sr., as President and director, and Kevin
B. Halter, Jr., as Secretary-Treasurer and director, were elected to replace
her.
On
June 19, 2002, pursuant to a stock purchase agreement dated June 6,
2002, Powerlink International Finance, Inc., a British Virgin Islands
corporation (“Powerlink”), purchased 2,830,926 shares of our common stock from
Halter Capital Corporation, representing approximately 57 percent of our issued
and outstanding shares of common stock. Simultaneously with the purchase, the
officers and directors of the Company resigned. Chin-Chung Hsu, President,
Treasurer, and Director; Wen-Hao Hsu, Secretary and Director; and Chien-Hwa
Liu,
Director, were elected to replace them.
On
June 25, 2002, we changed
our name to King Ball International Technology Corporation and, on
August 22, 2002, we changed our name again to Kid Castle Educational
Corporation. On October 1, 2002, we acquired all of the issued and
outstanding stock of Higoal Developments Limited (“Higoal”), a Cayman Islands
company, pursuant to an Exchange Agreement dated as of October 1, 2002 (the
“Exchange Agreement”). The Exchange Agreement was among Higoal, the shareholders
of Higoal, Kuo-An Wang, and Kid Castle. Higoal, which is based in Taipei,
Taiwan, is the parent company of Kid Castle Internet Technologies Limited and
Kid Castle Educational Software Development Company Limited. Pursuant to the
Exchange Agreement, Higoal became our wholly-owned subsidiary. In exchange
for
100 percent of the issued and fully paid-up capital of Higoal, we issued
11,880,000 shares of our common stock to the shareholders of Higoal. As a result
of the share exchange, the former shareholders of Higoal hold a majority of
our
outstanding capital stock.
On
September 26, 2005, Mr. and Mrs. Pai purchased 806,960 and 693, 040 shares
of
the common stock of the Company, respectively. As of December 31, 2005, Mr.
Pai,
his spouse, and direct next of kin together controlled 2,841,080 shares or
14.95
percent of the total outstanding common stock of the Company. Mr. and Mrs.
Yang
purchased 1,641,538 and 500,000 shares of the common stock of the Company,
respectively. As of December 31, 2005, Mr. Yang and his wife together controlled
2,141,538 shares or 11.27 percent of the total outstanding common stock of
the
Company.
10
Company
Organization Chart
Where
You Can Find More Information
We
file
annual, quarterly, and special reports, proxy statements, and other information
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Our SEC filings are
available to the public over the Internet from the SEC’s website at
http://www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any document we file at the
SEC’s
public reference room in Washington, D.C. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330
for further information on the public reference rooms. Our website address
is http://www.kidcastle.com.
ITEM 1A. |
RISK
FACTORS
|
Risks
Relating to Our Business
We
have a history of operating losses and we anticipate losses and negative cash
flow to continue for the foreseeable future. Unless we are able to generate
profits and positive cash flow on a consistent basis, we may not be able to
continue operations.
Our
ability to attain a positive cash flow and become profitable depends on our
ability to generate and maintain greater revenue while incurring reasonable
expenses. This, in turn, depends, among other things, on the development of
our
business in Taiwan and the PRC. We may be unable to achieve and maintain
profitability if we fail to do any of the following:
· |
maintain
and improve our current products and services and develop or license
new
products on a timely basis;
|
· |
compete
effectively with existing and potential
competitors;
|
· |
further
develop our business activities;
|
· |
manage
expanding operations; or
|
· |
attract
and retain qualified personnel.
|
We
have
incurred operating losses since inception. As a result, as of December 31,
2005, we had an accumulated deficit of $9,010,356. We incurred net losses of
$1,940,591, $1,254,592, and $1,698,282 for the years ended December 31,
2003, 2004, and 2005, respectively. We had cash flow from operations of
($2,689,688), ($1,544,902) and ($1,295,250) for the years ended
December 31, 2003, 2004, and 2005, respectively. If we are unable to
achieve and maintain a positive cash flow and profitability, we may be unable
to
continue our operations. Even if we do achieve a positive cash flow and
profitability, we cannot be certain that we will be able to sustain or increase
them on a quarterly or annual basis in the future.
11
Our
inability to achieve or maintain profitability or positive cash flow could
result in disappointing financial results, impede implementation of our growth
strategy, or cause the market price of our common stock to decrease.
Specifically, if we cannot effectively maintain, improve, and develop our
products and services, we may not be able to recover our fixed costs or
otherwise turn profitable. We may not be able to develop and introduce new
products, services, and enhancements that respond to technological changes,
evolving education industry standards, or customer needs and trends on a timely
basis. We may experience difficulties that could delay or prevent the successful
development, introduction, or marketing of new products, services, or service
enhancements. These new products, services, and service enhancements may not
achieve market acceptance or our competitors may develop alternative
technologies and methods that gain broader market acceptance than our products
and services. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that we will be able to generate
the cash flow and profits necessary to sustain our business expectations, which
makes our ability to successfully implement our business plan
uncertain.
We
cannot predict whether demand for our products and services will continue to
develop, particularly at the volume or prices that we need to be
profitable.
Although
the market for English-language instruction and education is growing rapidly,
we
cannot be certain that this growth will continue at its present rate, or at
all.
We believe our success ultimately will depend upon, among other things, our
ability to:
· |
increase
awareness of our brand and the availability of our products and
services;
|
· |
continue
to attract and develop relationships with educational institutions
and
regulatory authorities in our targeted geographic markets;
and
|
· |
continue
to attract and retain customers.
|
Because
our operating results are tied, in part, to the success of our franchises,
the
failure of our franchises could adversely affect our operating
results.
Our
revenues include licensing fees received from franchises of Kid Castle.
Accordingly, our future revenues will be impacted by the gross revenues of
Kid
Castle franchises and the number of schools operating by these franchises.
Although our revenues from Kid Castle franchise operations will vary directly
with the gross revenues of our franchises, we are not directly dependent on
the
franchises’ profitability. We believe, however, that the profitability of
existing franchises is key to our ability to attract new franchises and open
new
franchised schools. Therefore, factors that adversely affect the revenues and
profitability of our franchises may have an adverse effect on our operating
results.
There
can
be no assurance that our franchises will operate schools successfully. While
no
individual franchise represents more than 1 percent of our franchise revenues,
a
significant failure of our franchises to operate successfully could adversely
affect our operating results. The resolution of certain franchise financial
difficulties may cause us to incur additional costs due to uncollectible
accounts receivable related to franchise and license fees, the purchase of
teaching and learning materials, and potential claims by franchises that could
have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
An
increase in market competition could have a negative impact on our
business.
Our
markets are new, rapidly evolving, and highly competitive. We expect this
competition to persist and intensify in the future. This increase in competition
could lead to price reductions, decreased sales-volume, under-utilization of
employees, reduced operating margins, and loss of market share. There can be
no
assurance that we will be able to successfully compete for customers in our
targeted markets.
Our
failure to maintain and enhance our competitive position could seriously harm
our business and operating results. We encounter current or potential
competition from a number of sources, including branches and franchises of
international language instruction companies, public institutions and private
schools, and private tutors.
Because
we face competition from established competitors, we may be unable to maintain
market share.
Our
primary competitors include Giraffe in Taiwan, Ladder Digital Education Corp.
in
Taiwan and the PRC, JEO in Taiwan and the PRC, Jordan’s Language School in
Taiwan, Ha Po Computer English School in Taiwan, Hess Educational Organization
in Taiwan, Only Education Group in the PRC and Education First in the PRC.
Our
primary competitors have significant financial, technical, and marketing
resources, and name recognition. Some of these competitors have a longer
operating history and greater overall resources than we do. These companies
also
have established customer support and professional services organizations.
As a
result, our competitors may be able to adapt more quickly to changes in customer
needs, offer products and services at lower prices than we do, and devote
greater resources than we do to the development and sale of teaching/learning
products and services, which could result in reducing our market
share.
12
Because
we intend to expand internationally, we will be subject to risks of conducting
business in foreign countries.
As
we
expand our operations outside of Taiwan, we will be subject to the risks of
conducting business in foreign countries, including:
· |
our
inability to adapt our products and services to local cultural traits
and
customs;
|
· |
our
inability to locate qualified local employees, partners, and
suppliers;
|
· |
difficulties
managing foreign operations;
|
· |
the
potential burdens of complying with a variety of foreign
laws;
|
· |
trade
standards and regulatory
requirements;
|
· |
geopolitical
risks, such as political and economic instability and changes in
diplomatic and trade relationships;
|
· |
legal
uncertainties or unanticipated changes regarding regulatory requirements,
liability, export and import restrictions, tariffs, and other trade
barriers;
|
· |
uncertainties
of laws and enforcement relating to the protection of intellectual
property;
|
· |
political,
economic, and social conditions in the foreign countries where we
conduct
operations;
|
· |
currency
risks and exchange controls;
|
· |
potential
inflation in the applicable foreign economies;
and
|
· |
foreign
taxation of earnings and payments received by us from our franchises
and
affiliates.
|
We
cannot
be certain that the risks associated with our anticipated foreign operations
will not negatively affect our operating results or prospects, particularly
as
these operations expand in scope, scale, and significance.
Because
we may not be able to protect our proprietary rights on a global basis, we
may
incur substantial costs to defend or protect our business and intellectual
property.
We
strategically pursue the registration of our intellectual property rights.
However, effective patent, trademark, service mark, copyright, and trade secret
protection may not always be available, and the steps we have taken may be
inadequate to protect our intellectual property. In addition, there can be
no
assurance that competitors will not independently develop similar intellectual
property. If others are able to copy and use our products and delivery systems,
we may not be able to maintain our competitive position. If we fail to protect
our intellectual property, we may be exposed to expensive litigation or risk
jeopardizing our competitive position. We may have to litigate to enforce our
intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets, or to determine
the
validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. This litigation could
result in substantial costs and the diversion of our management and technical
resources, which could harm our business.
In
addition, laws in the PRC have traditionally been less protective of
intellectual property rights and enforcement of those laws has been sporadic
at
best. Any further reduction in the legal protections granted to intellectual
property rights in the PRC could adversely affect our revenue as we continue
to
expand into the PRC market.
Because
we may not be able to avoid claims that we infringed the proprietary rights
of
others, we may incur substantial costs to defend or protect our business and
intellectual property.
Although
we have taken steps to avoid infringement claims from others, these measures
may
not be adequate to prevent others from claiming that we violated their
copyrights, trademarks, or other proprietary rights. Any claim of infringement
could cause us to incur substantial costs defending against the claim, even
if
the claim is invalid, and could distract our management from our business.
A
party making a claim could secure a judgment that requires us to pay substantial
damages, or we may lose the rights to use or modify our products.
We
substantially rely on loans from shareholders and bank loans and our inability
to obtain sufficient funding may adversely affect our liquidity and financial
condition.
We
substantially rely on loans from shareholders and banks to satisfy our funding
requirements. As of December 31, 2003, 2004, and 2005, our bank loans and
loans from financial institutions were $2,484,471, $4,284,807, and $3,157,
297
respectively. As of December 31, 2005, outstanding loans from our
shareholders were $1.2 million. No assurances can be given that bank loans
or
loans from shareholders will continue to be available in the future. If we
are
unable to secure sufficient financing, our liquidity position would be adversely
affected, and we may be required to seek more expensive sources of funding
to
finance our operations.
Implementing
our strategies may require substantial capital expenditures. To the extent
these
expenditures exceed our cash resources, we will be required to seek additional
debt or equity financing. Our ability to obtain sufficient financing and the
cost of such financing will depend on numerous factors, some of which are beyond
our control, including:
· |
our
financial condition;
|
13
· |
general
economic and capital market
conditions;
|
· |
availability
of credit from banks or lenders and conditions in the financial
markets;
|
· |
investor
confidence in us; and
|
· |
economic,
political and other conditions in Taiwan and the PRC.
|
If
we are
unable to obtain sufficient funding for our operations or development plans
on
commercially acceptable terms, or at all, our liquidity and financial condition
may be adversely affected.
Because
we conduct operations in New Taiwan Dollars and Renminbi (RMB), we are subject
to risk from exchange rate fluctuations.
Our
transactions with suppliers and customers are effected in New Taiwan dollars,
the functional currency of our Taiwanese subsidiary, Kid Castle Internet
Technologies Limited (KCIT). As a result of our expansion in the PRC, our
transactions are also effected in RMB, the functional currency of our PRC
subsidiary, Kid Castle Educational Software Development Company Limited (KCES).
Our financial statements are reported in U.S. dollars. As a result, fluctuations
in the relative exchange rate among the U.S. dollar, the New Taiwan dollar,
and
the RMB will affect our reported shareholders’ equity from one period to the
next. Such impacts could be material and are independent of the underlying
performance of our business. The market price of our securities could be
significantly affected by unfavorable changes in exchange rates. We do not
actively manage our exposure to such unfavorable changes in exchange
rates.
Because
our officers and directors are not U.S. persons, and our operating subsidiaries
are companies formed under the laws of Taiwan and People’s Republic of China,
you may be unable to enforce judgments under the Securities
Act.
Our
operating subsidiaries are a Taiwanese company and a PRC company, and our
officers and directors are residents of various jurisdictions outside the United
States. All or a substantial portion of the assets of both our business and
our
officers and directors are located outside the United States. As a result,
it
may be difficult for investors to effect service of process upon such persons,
or to enforce court judgments obtained against such persons in United States
courts, when their claims are predicated upon the civil liability provisions
of
the Securities Act.
Our
internal controls and management systems are currently not consistent with
international practices, and we are in the process of improving these controls
to enable us to certify their effectiveness in accordance with the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Our failure to timely and successfully upgrade
these
controls and systems could subject us to regulatory actions and harm the price
of our stock.
Our
internal control and management systems were designed to meet the standards
generally adopted by private Taiwan companies, and the internal control and
management systems of our PRC subsidiaries were designed to meet the standards
generally adopted by companies in China. These standards are different from
the
standards and best practices adopted by companies in the United States. We
have
identified areas in which our current control and management systems do not
meet
international standards and practices. In addition, during their audit, our
external auditors brought to our attention a number of areas in which our
current internal controls and management systems do not reduce undetected
material errors or fraud to a relatively low level of risk, which could
adversely affect our ability to accurately and timely record, process,
summarize, and report financial data. Pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002
and related rules and regulations, we are required, within certain deadlines
established by the SEC, to evaluate our internal controls over financial
reporting and to file an assessment of its effectiveness with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission. Our external auditors are required to attest
to such evaluation. Unless we successfully upgrade our controls and systems,
we
will not be able to satisfactorily comply with our obligation under the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and our external auditors will be unable to provide
a satisfactory certification. We have prepared an internal plan of action for
compliance, which includes a schedule of activities to address our need to
meet
these standards and best practices. If we fail to successfully complete the
improvements we have scheduled on a timely basis, or if the activities fail
to
raise our internal controls and management systems to the levels required by
international standards or legal requirements, or if we fail to implement new
or
improved controls, then we may fail to meet our reporting obligations and our
auditors may be unable to certify the management’s assertion of the
effectiveness of our internal controls as required under the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act
of 2002. This could subject us to regulatory scrutiny and result in a loss
of
public confidence in our management, which could, among other things, adversely
affect our stock price.
If
we lose key management or other personnel, we may experience delays in our
product development and other negative effects on our
business.
Our
success is dependent upon the personal efforts and abilities of our executive
officers, Min-Tan Yang, our Chief Executive Officer, and Suang-Yi Pai, our
Chief
Financial Officer. If these key officers cease employment with us before we
find
qualified replacements, it would have a significant negative impact on our
operations. We do not have employment agreements with any of our executive
officers.
14
Moreover,
our growth and success depend on our ability to attract, hire, and retain
additional highly-qualified educators and management, and technical, marketing,
and sales personnel. These individuals are in high demand, and we may not be
able to attract the staff we need. The hiring process is intensely competitive,
time consuming, and may divert the attention of our management from our
operations. Competitors and others have in the past, and may in the future,
attempt to recruit our employees. If we lose the services of any of our senior
management or key education personnel, or if we fail to continue to attract
qualified personnel, our business could suffer.
“Penny
Stock” regulations may impose certain restrictions on marketability of our
common stock.
The
SEC
has adopted regulations which generally define “penny stock” to be an equity
security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share. Our common stock
currently falls within the definition of penny stock and may be subject to
rules
that impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell
such securities to persons other than established customers and accredited
investors (generally those with assets in excess of $1,000,000, or annual
incomes exceeding $200,000 or $300,000, together with their
spouses).
For
transactions covered by these rules, the broker-dealer must make a special
suitability determination for the purchase of such securities and have received
the purchaser’s prior written consent to the transaction. Additionally, for any
transaction, other than exempt transactions, involving a penny stock, the rules
require the delivery, prior to the transaction, of a risk-disclosure document
mandated by the SEC relating to the penny stock market. The broker-dealer also
must disclose the commissions payable and current quotations for the securities
to both the broker-dealer and the registered representative. If the
broker-dealer is the sole market-maker, the broker-dealer must disclose this
fact and the broker-dealer’s presumed control over the market. Finally, monthly
statements must be sent disclosing recent price information for the penny stock
held in the account and information on the limited market in penny stocks.
Consequently, the “penny stock” rules may restrict the ability of broker-dealers
to sell our common stock and may affect the ability of investors to sell our
common stock in the secondary market.
Risks
Relating to The People’s Republic of China
Our
operations in the PRC are subject to political, regulatory, and economic
uncertainties.
Our
operations and assets in the PRC are subject to significant political,
regulatory, and economic uncertainties. Changes in laws and regulations, or
their interpretation, the imposition of confiscatory taxation, restrictions
on
currency conversion, imports and sources of supply, restrictions on the manner
of operating educational institutions or disseminating educational materials,
devaluations of currency, or the nationalization or other expropriation of
private enterprises could have a material adverse effect on our business,
results of operations, and financial condition. Under its current leadership,
the PRC government has been pursuing economic reform policies that encourage
private economic activity and greater economic decentralization. There is no
assurance, however, that the PRC government will continue to pursue these
policies or that it will not significantly alter these policies from time to
time without notice.
In
addition, in July 2003, our subsidiary, KCES, entered into agreements with
a local Chinese party, 21st
Century
Publishing House, in Jiangxi Province, to establish two joint ventures: Jiangxi
21st
Century
Kid Castle Culture Media Co., Ltd. (“KC Culture Media”) and 21st
Century
Kid Castle Language and Education Center (“KC Education Center”). KC Culture
Media and KC Education Center primarily publish and distribute English-language
education materials, enter into franchise and consulting relationships with
kindergarten and language schools, and provide services to cooperative schools
in China. We intend to use them as one of our primary vehicles for our expansion
into the PRC market. Although we received, on January 19, 2004, and
October 31, 2003, licenses from the applicable government authorities to
conduct the business of KC Culture Media and KC Education Center in the PRC,
there exist various factors that render the regulatory environment volatile
and
uncertain. Therefore, it could only be concluded that the PRC market would
eventually be more transparent and less uncertain as it gradually opens up
to
foreign investors.
The
lack of remedies and impartiality under the PRC’s legal system could negatively
impact us.
Unlike
the United States, the PRC has a civil law system based on written statutes
in
which judicial decisions have little precedential value. The PRC government
has
enacted some laws and regulations dealing with matters such as corporate
organization and governance, foreign investment, commerce, taxation, and trade.
However, their experience in implementing, interpreting, and enforcing these
laws and regulations is limited, and our ability to enforce commercial claims
or
to resolve commercial disputes is unpredictable. These matters may be subject
to
the exercise of considerable discretion by agencies of the PRC government,
and
forces unrelated to the legal merits of a particular matter or dispute may
influence their determination.
ITEM 2. |
PROPERTIES
|
We
lease
many of our facilities, consisting principally of administrative office space,
warehouse space, and sales offices. In addition, we lease housing accommodations
for our employees in China. Our principal executive offices consist of 530
square meters of office space, which we own, located on the 8th Floor,
No. 98, Min Chuan Road, Hsien Tien, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. We
believe that our current space is adequate for our needs for the foreseeable
future.
15
The
following table sets forth the location and size of the material facilities
of
our subsidiaries, Kid Castle Internet Technologies Limited and Kid Castle
Educational Software Development Company Limited:
Kid
Castle Internet Technologies Limited
Nature
|
Location
|
Floor
Space (m2)
|
||
Registration
area
|
No.
148, Jianguo Road, Hsien Tien, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
|
48
|
||
Administrative
office
|
8th
Floor, No. 98, Min Chuan Road, Hsien Tien, Taipei, Taiwan,
ROC
|
534
|
||
Administrative
office
|
8th
Floor, No. 100, Min Chuan Road, Hsien Tien, Taipei, Taiwan,
R.O.C.
|
375
|
||
Administrative
office
|
Room 5,
8th Floor, No. 251, Min Chuan 1st Road, Kaohsiung, Taiwan,
R.O.C.
|
312
|
||
Warehouse
|
No.
459, Sec. 2, Zhongshan Rd., Huatan Shiang, Changhua County 503,
Taiwan, ROC
|
5,000
|
Kid
Castle Education Software Development Limited
Nature
|
Location
|
Floor
Space (m2)
|
||
Administration
office
|
4th
Floor, No. 1277, Beijing West Road, Shanghai, PRC
|
1092
|
||
Warehouse
|
No.
305, Lane 2638, Hongmei South Road, Shanghai, PRC
|
800
|
ITEM 3. |
LEGAL
PROCEEDINGS
|
The
Company is not a party to any legal proceedings of a material
nature.
ITEM 4. |
SUBMISSION
OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY
HOLDERS
|
None.
PART
II
ITEM 5. |
MARKET
FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER
MATTERS
|
On
May 4, 1998, the Company’s common stock was approved for quotation on the
NASD Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board under the trading symbol “OMDO.” On
June 28, 2002, the trading symbol was changed to “OMDR.” On August 22,
2002, the trading symbol was changed to “KDCE.” The high and low bid quotations
for the Company’s common stock were as follows for the periods below (as
reported by OTCBB). The quotations below reflect inter-dealer prices without
retail markup, markdown, or commission, and may not represent actual
transactions:
16
Fiscal
Year Ended on December 31, 2005
|
High
Bid
|
Low
Bid
|
|||||
1st
Quarter
|
1.29
|
0.88
|
|||||
2nd
Quarter
|
0.88
|
0.51
|
|||||
3rd
Quarter
|
0.51
|
0.37
|
|||||
4th
Quarter
|
0.54
|
0.25
|
|||||
Fiscal
Year Ended on December 31, 2004
|
High
Bid
|
Low
Bid
|
|||||
1st
Quarter
|
5.00
|
2.90
|
|||||
2nd
Quarter
|
4.00
|
3.00
|
|||||
3rd
Quarter
|
3.50
|
0.90
|
|||||
4th
Quarter
|
1.95
|
0.75
|
As
of
December 31, 2005, the Company had approximately 2,300 shareholders of
record. The
Company has never paid any dividends on its common stock and does not have
any
plans to pay any dividends in the foreseeable future.
Recent
Sale of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered
Securities
Not
applicable.
Purchases
of Equity Securities by Registrant and Affiliated
Purchasers
Not
applicable.
ITEM 6. |
SELECTED
FINANCIAL DATA
|
Five-Year
Selected Financial Data
Years
Ended on December 31,
|
||||||||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
2002
|
2001
|
||||||||||||
Statement
of Operations Data:
|
||||||||||||||||
Operating
Revenue
|
$
|
10,232,334
|
$
|
9,729,113
|
$
|
8,591,383
|
$
|
6,572,974
|
$
|
5,841,739
|
||||||
Operating
Costs
|
3,811,044
|
3,433,558
|
3,022,364
|
2,895,568
|
2,563,731
|
|||||||||||
Net
loss
|
1,698,282
|
1,254,592
|
1,940,591
|
1,906,996
|
570,998
|
|||||||||||
Loss
per share—basic and diluted
|
0.089
|
0.066
|
0.115
|
0.150
|
0.048
|
|||||||||||
Balance
Sheet Data:
|
||||||||||||||||
Current
assets
|
$
|
6,954,257
|
$
|
8,143,067
|
$
|
8,129,906
|
$
|
5,373,309
|
$
|
4,665,911
|
||||||
Total
assets
|
10,982,937
|
12,781,424
|
12,542,216
|
9,772,872
|
8,189,641
|
|||||||||||
Current
liabilities
|
8,436,284
|
8,726,637
|
7,457,171
|
6,365,639
|
4,451,061
|
|||||||||||
Total
liabilities
|
12,280,881
|
12,353,708
|
10,834,219
|
9,136,306
|
5,658,349
|
|||||||||||
Total
shareholders’ equity
|
(1,326,571
|
)
|
393,925
|
1,707,997
|
636,566
|
2,531,292
|
||||||||||
$
|
10,982,937
|
$
|
12,781,424
|
$
|
12,542,216
|
$
|
9,772,782
|
$
|
8,189,641
|
ITEM 7. |
MANAGEMENT’S
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF
OPERATION
|
This
report contains certain forward-looking statements and information relating
to
us that are based on the beliefs and assumptions made by our management as
well
as information currently available to the management. When used in this
document, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate, “ “expect,” and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements
reflect our current views with respect to future events and are subject to
certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. If one or more of these risks
or
uncertainties materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual
results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated,
believed, estimated, or expected.
17
General
We
are
engaged in the business of children’s education, focusing on the publication and
sale of kindergarten language school and primary school teaching materials
and
magazines. We also provide management and consulting services to our franchised
kindergarten and language schools. Our teaching materials include books, audio
tapes, video tapes, and compact discs. A major portion of our educational
materials focuses on English-language education. We also sell educational tools
and equipment that are complementary to our business. Our business originally
started in Taiwan, and, in 2001, we began expanding our business into the
People’s Republic of China (PRC). We officially launched our operations in
Shanghai in April 2002. As in Taiwan, we offer advanced teaching materials
and tools and monthly and bi-weekly magazines to provide children ranging from
two to twelve years of age a chance to learn exceptional English-language and
computer skills.
Critical
Accounting Policies, Judgment, and Estimates
Our
discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations
are
based upon our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance
with
accounting principles generally accepted
in the United States. The preparation of these financial statements requires
us
to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets,
liabilities, revenues, and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets
and liabilities. On an on-going basis, we evaluate our estimates, including
those related to product returns, bad debts, inventories, equity investments,
income taxes, financing operations, pensions, commitments, and contingencies.
We
base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions
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 under different assumptions or conditions. We
believe the following critical accounting policies affect our more significant
judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our financial
statements.
Revenue
Recognition.
We
recognize sales of teaching materials, educational tools, and equipment as
revenue when title of the product and risk of ownership are transferred to
the
customer. Title of the product and risk of ownership are transferred to the
customer at the time of delivery or when the goods arrive at the customer’s
designated location, depending on the associated shipping terms.
Additionally, we deliver products sold by our distributors directly to the
distributors’ customers. We recognize the delivered goods as revenue in a
similar way as sales to our direct customers. We estimate sales returns and
discounts based on historical experience and record them as reductions in
revenues.
If
market
conditions were to decline, we may take actions to increase sales discounts,
possibly resulting in an incremental reduction in revenue at the time when
revenues are recognized.
Allowance
for Doubtful Accounts.
We
maintain allowances for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from
the inability of our customers to make required payments. If the financial
condition of our customers were to deteriorate resulting in an impairment of
their ability to make payments, additional allowances may be
required.
Allowance
for Sales Returns
The
total
for allowance for sales returns and allowance for doubtful accounts in the
third
fiscal quarter amounted to US$1,021,047. Of this total, the allowance for sales
return was US$123,118, and allowance for doubtful accounts was US$897,929.
The
allowance for sales returns in the amount of US$123,118 is calculated based
on
historical operations in the ROC. Allowance for doubtful accounts in the amount
of US$897,929 includes US$733,739 attributable to a Shanghai Wonderland and
the
balance of US$164,190 is attributable to other debtors of the Company. The
estimate of allowance for doubtful debt is made based on a percentage ageing
analysis, whereby 100 percent of overdue receivables in our ROC operations
exceeding 365 days would be recognized as a doubtful account. Reserves for
doubtful accounts in our operations in the PRC region are recognized in three
categories with varying percentages based on the number of days overdue. The
categories are (1) overdue for less than 180 days, (2) overdue between 181
and
365 days, and (3) overdue exceeding 365 days, which are reserved at 1 percent,
80 percent and 100 percent respectively.
The
term
of Shanghai Wonderland's receivables has a duration of one year, based on a
Payment Duration Agreement entered into between our subsidiary, Jiangxi 21st
Century Kid Castle Culture Media Co. Ltd, and Shanghai Wonderland in January,
3,
2004. The accounting records of Jiangxi 21st Century KC Culture indicate that
the Company began shipping inventory to Shanghai Wonderland in April and May
2004. It was not until May or June of 2005 that the Company began requesting
payment of past due receivables from Shanghai Wonderland. The Company continued
its efforts to collect from Shanghai Wonderland with no success. In August,
the
Company determined that Shanghai Wonderland was having difficulty paying its
debts though it had shown no signs of financial or operational crisis and had
continued to develop its business by opening new sales points. We subsequently
entered into a Debt Arrangement Agreement with Shanghai Wonderland in August
2005, which resulted in a write-off of US$733,739 as an allowance for doubtful
accounts.
18
Allowance
for Obsolete Inventories and Lower of Cost or Market.
We
write
down our inventory for estimated obsolescence or unmarketable inventory equal
to
the difference between the cost of inventory and the estimated market value
based upon assumptions about inventory aging, future demand, and market
conditions. If actual market conditions are less favorable than those projected
by management, additional inventory write-downs may be required.
Investment
Impairments.
We
hold
equity interests in companies having operations in areas within our strategic
focus. We record an investment impairment charge when we believe an investment
has experienced a decline in value that is not temporary. Future adverse changes
in market conditions or poor operating results of underlying investments could
result in losses. They could also result in an inability to recover the carrying
value of the investments, an inability that may not be reflected in an
investment’s current carrying value, thereby possibly requiring an impairment
charge in the future.
Fixed
Assets and Depreciation.
Our
fixed
assets are stated at cost. Major improvements to existing facilities and
equipment are capitalized. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs that do
not
extend the life of the applicable asset are charged to expense as incurred.
Buildings are depreciated over a 50-year term. Fixtures and equipment are
depreciated using the straight-line method over their estimated useful lives,
which range from two-and-a-half years to ten years.
Impairment
of Long-Lived Assets.
We
review
our fixed assets and other long-lived assets for impairment whenever events
or
changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may
not
be recoverable. We measure recoverability of assets to be held and used by
comparing the carrying amount of an asset to undiscounted future net cash flows
expected to be generated by the asset over its remaining useful life. If such
assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment is measured by the amount
by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets.
The estimate of fair value is generally based on quoted market prices or on
the
best available information, including prices for similar assets and the results
of using other valuation techniques.
As
of
December 31, 2005, the balance of our amortizable intangible assets was
$699,246, including franchise-related intangible assets of $440,376 and
copyrights of $258,870. The amortizable intangible assets are amortized on
a
straight-line basis over estimated useful lives of 10 years. In determining
the
useful lives and recoverability of the intangibles, assumptions must be made
regarding estimated future cash flows and other factors to determine the fair
value of the assets, which may not represent the true fair value. If these
estimates or their related assumptions change in the future, there may be
significant impact on our results of operations in the period of the change
incurred.
Income
Taxes.
We
account for income taxes under the asset and liability method. Deferred tax
assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences
attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts
of
existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and tax loss
carry-forwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted
tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those
temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on
deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized
in
income in the period that includes the enactment date. Deferred tax assets
are
subject to valuation allowances based upon management’s estimates of
reliability. Actual results may differ significantly from management’s
estimate.
Currency
Risk.
Our
transactions with suppliers and customers are primarily effected in New Taiwan
dollars, which is the functional currency of our Taiwanese subsidiary, Kid
Castle Internet Technologies Limited. As a result of our expansion in the PRC,
we have increased transactions denominated in Renminbi, which is the functional
currency of our PRC subsidiaries, Kid Castle Educational Software Development
Company Limited and Jiangxi 21st Century Kid Castle Culture Media Co., Ltd..
Our
financial statements are reported in U.S. dollars. As a result, fluctuations
in
the relative exchange rate among the U.S. dollar, the New Taiwan dollar, and
the
Renminbi will affect our reported financial results. Such impacts could be
material and are independent of the underlying performance of the business.
The
market price of our securities could be significantly harmed based on
unfavorable changes in exchange rates. We do not actively manage our exposure
to
the effects of such unfavorable changes in exchange rates.
19
Results
of Operations
Comparison
of Fiscal Years 2005 and 2004
Total
Net Operating Revenue.
Total
net operating revenue consists of sales of goods, franchise income, and other
operating revenue. Total net operating revenues increased by $503,221, or 5
percent, to $10,232,334 for the year ended December 31, 2005 (fiscal year
2005) from $9,729,113 for the year ended December 31, 2004 (fiscal year
2004). This increase included an increase in sales of goods in the amount of
$198,112, a decrease in franchise income in the amount of $153,091, and an
increase in other operating revenues in the amount of $458,200.
Sales
of goods.
The
increase in sales of goods, from $6,822,420 for fiscal year 2004 to $7,020,532
for fiscal year 2005, or 2.9 percent, was mainly due to the increase in net
sales of goods generated from our Shanghai operations of $430,196, or 28.9
percent, to $1,917,229 for fiscal year 2005 from $1,487,033 for fiscal year
2004.
Franchise
income.
The
decrease in franchise income, from $2,442,746 for fiscal year 2004 to $2,289,655
for fiscal year 2005, or 6.27 percent, was attributable to a decrease in
franchise income from Taiwan.
Other
operating revenue.
Our
other operating revenues represents revenue from other activities and services
such as training of teachers, arranging for personal English-language tutors,
organizing field trips and educational fairs, and collecting fees for designing
the school layout of our franchised schools. Other operating revenue increased
by $458,200, or 98.76 percent, to $922,147 for fiscal year 2005 from $463,947
for fiscal year 2004. The increase was mainly due to revenue generated from
our
services rendered in connection with the construction and design layout of
our
franchised schools and sales of education-related equipment to our franchised
schools.
Gross
Profit.
Gross
profit increased by $125,735, or 2 percent, to $6,421,290 for fiscal year 2005
from $6,295,555 for fiscal year 2004. The increase in gross profit was
attributable to the increase in sales of goods.
Total
Operating Costs.
Total
operating costs increased by $377,486, or 11 percent, to $3,811,044 for fiscal
year 2005 from $3,433,558 for fiscal year 2004. This increase was mainly due
to
increase in sales of goods and other operating revenue.
Other
Operating Expenses.
Other
operating expenses increased by $42,079, or 0.6 percent, to $6,588,923 for
fiscal year 2005 from $6,546,844 for fiscal year 2004, principally due to
increases in our Shanghai operations.
Interest
Expenses, Net.
Net
interest expenses increased by $86,184, or 57.19 percent, to $236,888 for fiscal
year 2005 from $150,704 for fiscal year 2004, primarily due to an increased
loan
during 2005.
Provision
for Taxes.
Provision for taxes for fiscal years 2005 and 2004 were $ 477,297and $430,729,
respectively. These provisions for income taxes mainly represent the use of
net
operating loss carry-forwards to offset the income generated for our operations
in Taiwan and an increase in the valuation allowance charged against deferred
tax assets generated from our PRC operations in order to reduce the deferred
tax
assets to the extent that the tax benefit is more likely than not to be
realized.
Comparison
of Fiscal Years 2004 and 2003
Total
Net Operating Revenue. Total
net
operating revenue consists of sales of goods, franchise income and other
operating revenue. Total net operating revenues increased by $1,137,730, or
13
percent, to $9,729,113 for the year ended December 31, 2004 (fiscal year
2004) from $8,591,383 for the year ended December 31, 2003 (fiscal year
2003), including the increase in sales of goods of $384,134 and franchise income
of $675,659 and other operating revenues of $77,937.
Sales
of goods.
The
increase in sales of goods, from $6,438,286 for fiscal year 2003 to $6,822,420
for fiscal year 2004, or 6 percent, was mainly due to the increase in net sales
of goods generated from our Shanghai operations of $803,112, or 117 percent,
to
$1,487,033 for fiscal year 2004 from $683,921 for fiscal year 2003.
Franchise
income.
The
increase in franchise income, from $1,767,087 for fiscal year 2003 to $2,442,746
for fiscal year 2004, or 38 percent, was mainly due to the increase in the
number of our franchised schools in Shanghai. Franchise income for Shanghai
increased by $455,619 from $399,771 for fiscal year 2003 to $855,390 for fiscal
year 2004.
Other
operating revenue.
Our
other operating revenues represents revenue from other activities and services
such as training of teachers, arranging for personal English-language tutors,
organizing field trips and educational fairs, and collecting fees for designing
the school layout of our franchised schools. Other operating revenue increased
by $77,937, or 20 percent, to $463,947 for fiscal year 2004 from $386,010 for
fiscal year 2003. The increase was mainly due to revenue generated from our
services rendered in connection with the construction and design layout of
our
franchised schools and sales of education-related equipment to our franchised
schools.
Gross
Profit.
Gross
profit increased by $726,536, or 13 percent, to $6,295,555 for fiscal year
2004
from $5,569,019 for fiscal year 2003. The increase in gross profit was
attributable to the fact that the rate of increase in our franchising costs
from
December 31, 2003 to December 31, 2004 was lower than the rate of
increase in our franchise income for the same period.
20
Total
Operating Costs.
Total
operating costs increased by $411,194, or 14 percent, to $3,433,558 for fiscal
year 2004 from $3,022,364 for fiscal year 2003. Advertising costs increased
by
$125,796, or 31 percent, to $532,015 for fiscal year 2004 from $406,219 for
fiscal year 2003. This increase was mainly due to the additional expenses
incurred with respect to the filming of commercials for our new promotional
campaign for our products and franchised schools.
Other
Operating Expenses.
Other
operating expenses decreased by $60,470, or 1 percent, to $6,546,844 for fiscal
year 2004 from $6,607,314 for fiscal year 2003, principally due to decreases
in
salary expenditures resulting from a reduction in employee headcount in our
Taiwan operations.
Interest
Expenses, Net.
Net
interest expenses decreased by $128,527, or 46 percent, to $150,704 for fiscal
year 2004 from $279,231 for fiscal year 2003, primarily due to the repayment
of
a loan due to a shareholder in 2003 please refer to Note 12 to our Condensed
Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.
Loss
on Write-Off of an Investment.
Loss on
write-off of an investment in fiscal year 2003 was due to an agreement to
restructure our relationship with Global International Education Investment
Ltd.
(Global International) from one of equity ownership to a franchising fee
arrangement. As a result, during fiscal year 2003, we recognized a loss of
$133,267 in our operating results.
Provision
for Taxes.
Provision for taxes for fiscal years 2004 and 2003 were $430,729 and $209,434,
respectively. These provisions for income taxes mainly represent the use of
net
operating loss carry-forwards to offset the income generated for our operations
in Taiwan and an increase in the valuation allowance charged against deferred
tax assets generated from our PRC operations in order to reduce the deferred
tax
assets to the extent that the tax benefit is more likely than not to be
realized.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
Comparison
of Fiscal Years 2005 and 2004
As
of
December 31, 2005, our principal sources of liquidity included cash and
bank balances of $613,391, which increased from $213,564 at December 31,
2004. The change was primarily the result of an increase in revenues from our
operations in Shanghai during 2005.
Net
cash
used in operating activities was $1,295,250 and $1,544,902 during fiscal years
2005 and 2004, respectively. Net cash used in operating activities during fiscal
year 2005 was primarily attributed to net loss and an increase of notes and
accounts receivable.
Net
cash
(used in) provided by investing activities were $1,514,264 and ($354,073) during
fiscal years 2005 and 2004, respectively. The $1,868,337 difference was
primarily attributable to cash provided by pledged notes receivable of $369,807,
an amount due from a shareholder and director of $977,838, and disposal of
property and equipment of $202,822 during fiscal year 2005, as compared to
that
of $15,760, $0, and $70,062 during fiscal year 2004.
Net
cash
(used in) provided by financing activities during fiscal year 2005 was $262,196
as compared to $914,229 during fiscal year 2004. The $652,033 difference was
primarily attributable to cash provided by borrowings from officers/shareholders
of $1,271,800 during fiscal year 2005, as compared to that of ($585,006) during
fiscal year 2004, and the repayment of bank borrowings ($4,068,179) during
fiscal year 2005.
Comparison
of Fiscal Years 2004 and 2003
As
of
December 31, 2004, our principal sources of liquidity included cash and
bank balances of $213,564, which decreased from $1,273,723 at December 31,
2003. The decrease was mainly due to the expenditures to fund the daily
operations and the new investments in our PRC operations (please refer to Note
8
to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for more
information).
Net
cash
used in operating activities was $1,544,902 and $2,689,688 during fiscal years
2004 and 2003, respectively. Net cash used in operating activities during fiscal
year 2004 was primarily attributed to a net loss and an increase in cash used
to
purchase inventories.
Net
cash
(used in) provided by investing activities were ($354,073) and $900,330 during
fiscal years 2004 and 2003, respectively. The $1,254,403 difference was
primarily attributable to cash provided by pledged notes receivable of $15,760
during fiscal year 2004, as compared to that of $1,302,135 during fiscal year
2003.
Net
cash
provided by financing activities during fiscal year 2004 was $914,229 as
compared to $2,920,607 during fiscal year 2003. The $2,006,378 difference was
primarily attributable to net proceeds of $2,514,428 we received from the
issuance of 3,592,040 shares of our common stock during fiscal year 2003, and
the repayment of loans from directors and shareholders of $585,006 during fiscal
year 2004.
Off-Balance
Sheet Arrangements
As
of
December 31, 2005, we did not engage in any off-balance sheet arrangements
as defined in Item 303(a)(4) of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
21
Contractual
Obligations
The
Company, Higoal and its subsidiaries are collectively referred to as the
“Group.” The following table represents the Group’s contractual
obligations:
Payments
Due by Period
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Total
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
Thereafter
|
||||||||||||||||
(Thousand
dollars)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Contractual
obligations
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Bank
borrowing
|
3,157
|
1,643
|
515
|
147
|
93
|
93
|
666
|
|||||||||||||||
Pension
benefit
|
29
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
29
|
|||||||||||||||
Operating
leases
|
1,644
|
305
|
248
|
222
|
208
|
135
|
526
|
|||||||||||||||
Total
|
4,830
|
1,948
|
763
|
369
|
301
|
228
|
1,221
|
Bank
Borrowing. One
of
our financing sources is from bank borrowings. As of December 31, 2005 and
December 31, 2004, the balances of bank borrowings, including current and
non-current portions, were $3,157,297 and $4,284,807, respectively.
Pension
Benefit.
We
have a
non-contributory and funded defined-benefit retirement plan (the “Plan”)
covering all regular employees of KCIT, our subsidiary in Taiwan, as described
in Note 16 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. The benefits
expected to be paid in each of the next five fiscal years, and in the aggregate
for the five fiscal years thereafter are $0 and $29,969, respectively. We also
make defined contributions to a retirement benefits plan for our employees
in
the PRC in accordance with local regulations. The contributions made by us
for
fiscal years 2005, 2004, and 2003 amounted to $51,007, $83,176, and $72,775,
respectively.
Operating
Leases.
We have
entered into several non-cancelable lease arrangements for administrative office
space, warehouse space, and sales offices for various lengths of
time.
Going
Concern
The
accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming the Group will
continue as a going concern. As the Group is aggressively expanding its business
in the PRC and the Group’s PRC operation is still in an emerging stage and has
not turned profitable, the Group has suffered recurring losses from operations
and has a net capital deficiency. The above conditions raise substantial doubt
about the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern if the investment in
the PRC does not gradually see returns. As discussed in Note 12 to our Condensed
Consolidated Financial Statements, the majority of the Group’s existing loans
were guaranteed by two directors of the Group who have expressed their
willingness to continue to support the Group until other sources of funds have
been obtained. Moreover, as discussed in Note 12 to our Condensed Consolidated
Financial Statements, after December 31, 2004, the Group successfully
obtained new bank facilities in the first quarter of 2005 (please refer to
Note
12 to our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for more information).
Management believes that, with continuous growth in the sales in the PRC, the
existing directors’ support and the new bank facilities, the Group will have
sufficient funds for operations. The financial statements do not include any
adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and
classification of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that
may result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Significant
Distributor
As
at
September 30, 2005, the accounts and notes receivable of Shanghai Wonderland
constituted 13 percent of the total receivables and notes receivable of the
Company. The receivables account for 13 percent of our consolidated sales.
During the third fiscal quarter of 2005, collection of receivables from Shanghai
Wonderland experienced difficulty, and the receivable balance of US$733,739,
was
subsequently been recognized as allowance for doubtful accounts at the end
of
the third fiscal quarter.
As
at
September 30, 2005, there existed no other external distributor or customer
that
represents 10 percent or more of consolidated assets, revenues or overall
distributor purchases for the three interim periods in 2005.
New
Accounting Pronouncements
In
January 2003, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued
Interpretation No. 46, “Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities, an
Interpretation of ARB No. 51” (“FIN 46”). FIN 46 clarifies when a company
should consolidate in its financial statements the assets, liabilities and
activities of a variable interest entity. FIN 46 provides general guidance
as to
the definition of a variable interest entity and requires a variable interest
entity to be consolidated if a company absorbs the majority of the variable
interest entity’s expected losses, or is entitled to receive a majority of the
variable interest entity’s residual returns, or both. In December 2003,
FASB issued a revised interpretation of FIN 46 (“FIN 46-R”), which supersedes
FIN 46 and clarifies and expands current accounting guidance for variable
interest entities. FIN 46 and FIN 46-R are effective immediately for all
variable interest entities created after January 31, 2003, and for variable
interest entities created prior to February 1, 2003, no later than the end
of the first reporting period after March 15, 2004. We have performed a
review of any entities created prior to and subsequent to January 31, 2003,
and determined the adoption of FIN 46 and FIN 46-R did not have a material
impact on the Company’s financial reporting and disclosures.
22
On
April 30, 2003, FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards
(“SFAS”) No. 149, “Amendment of Statement 133 on Derivative Instruments and
Hedging Activities” (“SFAS No. 149”). SFAS No. 149 amends and
clarifies accounting for derivative instruments, including certain derivative
instruments embedded in other contracts, and for hedging activities under SFAS
No. 133. The new guidance amends SFAS No. 133 for decisions made as
part of the Derivatives Implementation Group (“DIG”) process that effectively
required amendments to SFAS No. 133, and decisions made in connection with
other FASB projects dealing with financial instruments and in connection with
implementation issues raised in relation to the application of the definition
of
a derivative and characteristics of a derivative that contains financing
components. In addition, it clarifies when a derivative contains a financing
component that warrants special reporting in the statement of cash flows. SFAS
No. 149 is effective for contracts entered into or modified after
September 30, 2003 and for hedging relationships designated after
September 30, 2003. We believe that the adoption of SFAS No. 149 will
have no material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
In
May 2003 FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”)
No. 150, “Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Characteristics
of both Liabilities and Equity” (“SFAS No. 150”). SFAS No. 150
establishes standards for classifying and measuring as liabilities certain
financial instruments that embody obligations of the issuer and have
characteristics of both liabilities and equity. SFAS No. 150 is effective
for all financial instruments created or modified after May 31, 2003 and
otherwise is effective at the beginning of the first interim period beginning
after June 15, 2003. We believe that the adoption of SFAS No. 150 will
have no material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
In
December 2003, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
issued Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) No. 104, “Revenue Recognition,”
which supersedes SAB 101, “Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements.” SAB
104’s primary purpose is to rescind accounting guidance contained in SAB 101
related to multiple element revenue arrangements and revises the SEC’s “Revenue
Recognition in Financial Statements Frequently Asked Questions and Answers” that
have been codified in Topic 13. SAB 104 was effective immediately and did not
have a material impact on our financial reporting and disclosures.
In
December 2003, FASB revised SFAS No. 132, “Employers’ Disclosures
about Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits.” This Statement revises
employers’ disclosures about pension plans and other postretirement benefit
plans. It requires additional disclosures to those in the original SFAS
No. 132 about the assets, obligations, cash flows and net periodic benefit
cost of defined benefit pension plans and other defined benefit postretirement
plans. The required information should be provided separately for pension plans
and for other postretirement benefit plans. This Statement, which also requires
new disclosures for interim periods beginning after December 15, 2003, is
effective for fiscal years ended after December 15, 2003. We have adopted
this Statement since the year ended December 31, 2003, and the adoption of
this Statement has no impact on our consolidated financial
statements.
In
September 2004, FASB’s Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) delayed the
effective date for the recognition and measurement guidance previously discussed
under EITF Issue No. 03-01, “The Meaning of Other-Than-Temporary Impairment
and Its Application to Certain Investments” (“EITF 03-01”) as included in
paragraphs 10-20 of the proposed statement until further guidance is issued
for
its application. The proposed statement will clarify the meaning of
other-than-temporary impairment and its application to investments in debt
and
equity securities, in particular investments within the scope of FASB Statement
No. 115, “Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity
Securities,” and investment accounted for under the cost method. The Group is
currently evaluating the effect of this proposed statement on its financial
position and results of operations.
Non-GAAP
Financial Measures
None.
ITEM 7A. |
QUANTITATIVE
AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET
RISK
|
We
are
exposed to market risk, including changes in certain foreign currency exchange
rates and interest rates. All of these market risks arise in the normal course
of business, as we do not engage in speculative trading activities. We have
not
entered into derivative or hedging transactions to manage risk in connection
with such fluctuations.
The
following analysis provides quantitative information regarding our exposure
to
foreign currency exchange risk and interest rate risk.
Interest
rate exposure
We
are
exposed to fluctuating interest rates related to variable rate bank borrowings.
In analyzing the effect of interest rate fluctuations based on the average
balances of our outstanding bank borrowings for fiscal year 2005, we have
projected that, if interest rates were to increase by 1 percent, the result
would be an annual increase in our interest expense of $32,155. This analysis
does not take into consideration the effect of changes in the level of overall
economic activity on interest rate fluctuations.
23
Foreign
currency exposure
We
have
operations in both Taiwan and the PRC. The functional currency of Higoal
Development Ltd. and its subsidiary, Kid Castle Internet Technologies Ltd.
is NT
Dollars and the financial records are maintained and the financial statements
are prepared for these entities in NT Dollars. The functional currency of Kid
Castle Educational Software Development Company Ltd. and its consolidated
investee, Jiangsi 21st
Century
Kid Castle Culture Media Co. Ltd., is Renminbi (“RMB”), and the financial
records are maintained and the financial statements are prepared for these
entities in RMB. In the normal course of business, these operations are not
exposed to fluctuations in currency values. We do not generally enter into
derivative financial instruments in the normal course of business, nor do we
use
such instruments for speculative purposes. The translation from the applicable
local currency assets and liabilities to the U.S. Dollar is performed using
exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date except for shareholders’
equity, which is translated at historical exchange rates. Revenue and expense
accounts are translated using average exchange rates during the period. Gains
and losses resulting from such translations are recorded as a cumulative
translation adjustment, a separate component of shareholders’
equity.
ITEM 8. |
FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY
DATA
|
The
consolidated financial statements of Kid Castle Educational Corporation and
its
subsidiaries including the notes thereto, together with the report thereon
of
Brock, Schechter & Polakoff, LLP are presented beginning at page F-1,
and are incorporated by reference herein.
ITEM 9. |
CHANGES
IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL
DISCLOSURE
|
Effective
August 3, 2005, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Taipei, Taiwan
(“PricewaterhouseCoopers”) resigned as our independent auditor. On August 3,
2005, we engaged Robert G. Jeffrey, Wayne, New Jersey, as our principal
accountant, to review our consolidated financial statements for the period
ending June 30, 2005 and September 30, 2005. Additional information about the
resignation of PricewaterhouseCoopers and the retention of Robert G. Jeffrey
is
contained on our Current Report on Form 8-K, dated August 3, 2005 and
incorporated herein by reference. On July 28, 2006, we engaged Brock,
Schechter & Polakoff, LLP as our principal accountant and to audit our
consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2005.
Additional information about the resignation of Robert G. Jeffrey and the
retention of Brock, Schechter & Polakoff, LLP is contained on our
Current Report on Form 8-K, filed on August 15, 2006 and incorporated herein
by
reference.
ITEM 9A. |
CONTROLS
AND PROCEDURES
|
Conclusion
Regarding the Effectiveness of Disclosure Controls and
Procedures
Pursuant
to Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(b) our management has performed an evaluation of
the
effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures. The term disclosure
controls and procedures as defined in Exchange Act Rule Rule 13a-15(e) means
controls and other procedures of an issuer that are designed to ensure that
information required to be disclosed by the issuer in the reports that it files
or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and
reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms.
Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and
procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by
an
issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is
accumulated and communicated to the issuer's management, including its principal
executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar
functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required
disclosure.
Based
on
deficiencies noted by our auditors, problems discovered relating to misuse
of
company funds by a company officer, and other issues noted in our management’s
evaluation, our conclusion is that as of December 31, 2005 our disclosure
controls and procedures were ineffective. We are taking steps to improve our
disclosure controls and procedures, instituting a new ERP system and engaging
an
outside accounting firm to advise the Company with respect to setting up
internal auditing and other controls and procedures. The ERP system is expected
to complete its trial run period by end of June 2007 and become independently
and fully operational. The old system used by the Company would be phased out
in
the first six months of 2007. The phase out period involves the amalgamation
of
old data into the new ERP system, providing staff education and training of
how
to utilize the new ERP system as well as parallel running various functions
and
operations of the new ERP system along side the old system.
Management’s
Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our
management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal
control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in the rules
promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Under the supervision
and
with the participation of our management, including our principal executive,
and
financial accounting officer, we have conducted an evaluation of the
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.
24
We
recognize that the internal controls and procedures adopted by the Company
were
inadequate and gave rise to misappropriation of funds as disclosed in our
Current
Report on Form
8-K
filed on June 23, 2006. Among
other
improvements, we
began
implementing a comprehensive ERP system that would improve the Company’s
internal controls. The ERP system is currently at trial and test-run stage.
The
required software and hardware input have been fully installed and the system
is
now running to detect bugs that may reside in the system. The system is expected
to be fully operational in third fiscal quarter 2007. The Company believes
that
full implementation of its new ERP System will prevent misappropriation of
funds
by Company employees because the ERP system will perform the following
functions:
· |
Maintain
detailed records and produce comprehensive financial statements on
a
periodic basis allowing management to review and detect irregular
financial activities.
|
· |
Place
different check-points on the progression of ordinary monetary activities
of the business.
|
· |
Delineate
individual unit/departmental responsibilities and effectively separate
respective departmental transactions so as to avoid intentional
misappropriation of funds from taking place.
|
In
addition to implementing a new ERP system, the following additional procedures
have been implemented:
· |
All
departments requesting funds must obtain written approval from the
Chief
Executive Officer or the Chairman of the Board before the accounting
department may commence processing payments.
|
· |
All
fund transfer applications must be approved by the applicable department
supervisor before the application may be processed. No one can authorize
their own application. This is applicable to all staff including
staff at
the managerial level.
|
· |
Fund
transfer applications in the PRC must additionally be approved by
the
headquarters in Taiwan.
|
· |
All
fund transfer applications must be accompanied by supporting
documentation, such as a copy of the relevant contract copy of the
relevant invoice or stock pre-payment statement.
|
· |
Stock
purchases require the approval of the supervisor or manager of the
relevant department, the approval of the accounts department, and
a stock
receipt and suppliers’ certification. Finally the application must be
approved by the Chairman of the Board before funds may be released.
|
· |
All
pre-payments must be tracked by the fund applicant and the payments
must
be cleared within the month of payment or in accordance with the
date
stipulated in the relevant contract.
|
The
Company recognizes that the internal controls and procedures were inadequate;
it
is assertively attending to the inadequacy and believes that implementation
of
all of the foregoing procedures will significantly strengthen the Company’s
internal financial controls and procedures.
ITEM 9B. |
OTHER
INFORMATION
|
None.
PART
III
ITEM 10. |
DIRECTORS
AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE
REGISTRANT
|
Name
|
Age*
|
Position
with the Company
|
||
Suang
Yi Pai
|
45
|
Chairman,
Director and Acting Chief Financial Officer
|
||
Min
Tan Yang
|
40
|
Chief
Executive Officer and Director
|
||
Chin
Chen Huang
|
38
|
President
of Shanghai Operations and Director
|
||
Ming
Tsung Shih
|
37
|
Director
|
||
Robert
Theng
|
44
|
Director
|
*Age
as at December 31, 2005.
Mr.
Pai was
elected to replace Mr. Kuo An Wang as the chairman of the board on November
2,
2005. Mr. Pai has served as a director of the company since October 2002. Since
1998, Mr. Pai has served as the general manager of Chin Yi Fung Enterprises
Co., Ltd., a privately held company engaged in the manufacture of sandals.
Mr.
Yang
was elected by the board of directors to fill an existing vacancy and appointed
chief executive officer on November 2, 2005. He has a master’s degree from the
Department of Business Administration of Da-Yeh University. Mr. Yang has
served as a director of Shanghai Taiwan Businessmen Elementary School since
January 2005 and as a director of Global International Education Ltd since
July 2001. In 2002, Mr. Yang was appointed as the chairman of two of
the Company’s schools in Taiwan and, currently, he is the chairman of four of
the Company schools.
25
Mr.
Huang
has served as a director since October 2002 and as the President of Shanghai
Operations on July 20, 2005. Prior to becoming the President of Shanghai
Operations, he was our Vice President of Taiwan Operations.
Mr.
Shih
has served as a director since 2003. He is currently employed by Sunspring
Metal
Corporation as a Financial Manager and part-time lecturer in Tunghai
University..
Mr.
Theng
has served as a director since 2003, and he is currently a full-time professor
at Dayeh University of Taiwan and the Vice President of Strategic Planning
and
Control of CV Sinar Jaya, Indonesia, a general contractor and real estate
developer.
None
of
our directors are related to any of our other directors and none have any
pending legal claims or litigation against them.
We
have
adopted a corporate code of ethics. We believe our code of ethics is reasonably
designed to deter wrongdoing and promote honest and ethical conduct; provide
full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in public reports;
comply with applicable laws; ensure prompt internal reporting of code
violations; and provide accountability for adherence to the code. Please refer
to Exhibit 14 for a copy of the translation of Code of Ethics.
ITEM 11. |
EXECUTIVE
COMPENSATION
|
Compensation
The
following table sets forth information about the compensation paid or accrued
by
the Company to the Company’s chief executive officer and the four most highly
compensated executive officers, or named officers, for the last three completed
fiscal years:
26
Summary
Compensation Table
Annual
Compensation
|
Long-Term
Compensation
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Awards
|
Payouts
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name
and Principle Position
|
Year
|
Salary
(US$)
|
Bonus
(US$)
|
Other
Annual Compen-sation
(US$)
|
Restricted
Stock Awards
|
Securities
Under-Lying Options/
SARs
(#)
|
LTIP
Payouts
(U.S.
$)
|
All
Other Compen-sation
|
|||||||||||||||||
Min-Tan
Yang
Chief
Executive Officer(1)
|
2005
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Kuo-An
Wang
|
2005
|
102,288
|
|
46,899(3
|
)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
ex-Chief
Executive
|
2004
|
108,300
|
|
5,700
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Officer(2)
|
2003
|
96,975
|
|
15,086
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Yu-En
Chiu
|
2005
|
82,222
|
4,110(4
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
ex-Chief
Financial
|
2004
|
87,360
|
4,978
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Officer
|
2003
|
80,252
|
10,778
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Chin-Chen
Huang
|
2005
|
59,129
|
|
5,505(5
|
)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Senior
Vice
|
2004
|
63,077
|
|
4,164
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
President
|
2003
|
57,548
|
|
8,392
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Suang-Yi
Pai
|
2005
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Chief
Financial
|
2004
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Officer
and
|
2003
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Secretary
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yu-Zhang
Fan
|
2005
|
58,622
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Assistant
Manager
|
2004
|
53,803
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
2003
|
50,601
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Lih-Fen
Kong
|
2005
|
33,037
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Assistant
Manager
|
2004
|
32,350
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
2003
|
29,161
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Hui-Fen
Su
|
2005
|
33,059
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Assistant
Manager
|
2004
|
31,870
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
2003
|
28,372
|
|
|
(1) |
Min-Tan
Yang was appointed chief executive officer on November 2,
2005.
|
(2) |
Kuo
An Wang resigned as chief executive officer on October 17,
2005.
|
(3) |
Estimated
annual retirement benefits of Mr. Wang under the Company’s
non-contributory defined benefit retirement plan, including health,
accident, and labor insurance premiums in the aggregate amount of
$2,587,
accrued retirement benefits under the Company’s non-contributory defined
benefit retirement plan in the amount of $789, special laborer benefit
retirement fund US$43,523.
|
(4) |
Estimated
annual retirement benefits of Mr. Chiu under the Company’s
non-contributory defined benefit retirement plan, including health,
accident, and labor insurance premiums in the aggregate amount of
$2,739,
accrued retirement benefits under the Company’s non-contributory defined
benefit retirement plan in the amount of
$1,371.
|
(5) |
Estimated
annual retirement benefits of Mrs. Huang under the Company’s
non-contributory defined benefit retirement plan, includes health,
accident, and labor insurance premiums in the aggregate amount of
$3,582,
accrued retirement benefits under the Company’s non-contributory defined
benefit retirement plan in the amount of
$1,923.
|
Director
Compensation
The
Company’s Bylaws provide that the Company’s directors may be paid their expenses
and a fixed sum for attendance at meetings of the Board of Directors, may be
paid a stated salary as a director, and no such payment shall preclude any
director from serving the Company in any other capacity and receiving
compensation therefor. Currently, each independent director is paid NT$20,000
for his attendance at each regular Board meeting.
ITEM 12. |
SECURITY
OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED
STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
|
The
following table sets forth the beneficial ownership of shares of our common
stock by (i) each person who is known to us to be the beneficial owner of more
than 5 percent of our common stock; (ii) each director and named executive
officer (defined above) individually; and (iii) all directors and executive
officers as a group. Beneficial ownership of common stock has been determined
for this purpose in accordance with Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 of the Securities
and
Exchange Commission, under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
These rules provide, among other things, that a person is deemed to be the
beneficial owner of common stock if such person, directly or indirectly, has
or
shares voting power or investment power with respect to the common stock or
has
the right to acquire such ownership within sixty days after the date of this
registration statement.
27
Name
and Address of Beneficial Owner(1)
|
Number
of Shares
|
Percent
of Class(2)
|
|||||
Suang-Yi
Pai
No. 460-1,
Chun Shan Road, Section 2, Hua-Tan Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C
|
2,841,080
|
14.95
|
%
|
||||
Min-Tang
Yang / 3F, No. 10, Lane 31, Chelutou St., Sanchong City, Taipei County
241, Taiwan, R.O.C.
|
2,141,538
|
11.27
|
%
|
||||
Chin-Chen
Huang / No. 4, Alley 11, Lane 338, Dahu Road, Yingge Town, Taipei
County
239, Taiwan, R.O.C.
|
5,000
|
0.03
|
%
|
||||
Ming-Tsung,
Shih / No. 29 Yongdong Street Yushun Villiage, Lukang Township Chang
Hua, Taiwan, R.O.C.
|
|
|
|||||
Robert
Theng / 3 Ally 21 Ln 36 Chieh Shou S. Rd. Changhua 500, Taiwan,
R.O.C.
|
|
|
|||||
Kuo-An
Wang / 2F., No. 299, Xiyuan Road, Xindian City, Taipei County 231,
Taiwan,
R.O.C.
|
1,728,000
|
9.1
|
%
|
||||
Yu-En
Chiu / 5F., No. 5, Lane 75, Ningbo W. St., Zhongzheng District, Taipei
City 100, Taiwan R.O.C.
|
1,296,000
|
6.82
|
%
|
||||
Kuo-Ian
Cheng / No. 575, Ho Kang Road, Ho Mei Town Chang Hua Hsien, Taiwan,
R.O.
C.
|
1,080,000
|
5.68
|
%
|
||||
All
officers and directors as a Group (8 persons)
|
9,091,618
|
47.85
|
%
|
(1)
Unless otherwise indicated, the address of each person listed is 8th Floor,
No. 98 Min Chuan Road, Hsien Tien, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
(2)
Based
on 18,999,703 shares of common stock outstanding as at December 31,
2005.
ITEM 13. |
CERTAIN
RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED
TRANSACTIONS
|
In
late
2005, our company experienced financial difficulties and was incapable of
generating cash flows sufficient to sustain our operations. At the time, our
board of directors approached Messrs. Pai and Yang for financial aid and
management support. Mr. Pai, a director of the Company, was elected
Chairman on November 2, 2005 and subsequently procured short-term loans for
the
Company from two third parties, Olympic Well International Ltd. ("Olympic")
and
Chen-Chen Shih,
payable
in three months in the amount of approximately U.S.$0.69 million and $0.06
million respectively, with a 7 percent annual interest rate. Mr. Yang, who
was
elected as a director of the Company on November 2, 2005, loaned us
approximately U.S.$1.05 million with a 7 percent annual interest
rate.
The
following Loan Agreement Summary List sets out the dates of the various
loans.
Date
(mm/dd/yyyy)
|
Party
to Loan Agreement with KCEC
|
Period
(mm/dd/yyyy)
|
Interest
Rate
|
Amount
of Loan (U.S.$)
|
||||
11/14/2005
|
Mr.
Min-Tan Yang
|
11/04/2005
-12/30/2005
|
7%
|
300,000
|
||||
11/17/2005
|
Mr.
Min-Tan Yang
|
11/17/2005
-12/30/2005
|
7%
|
200,000
|
||||
12/06/2005
|
Mr.
Min-Tan Yang
|
121/06/2005
-12/30/2005
|
7%
|
550,000
|
||||
10/30/2005
|
Olympic
|
10/31/2005
-12/30/2005
|
7%
|
690,000
|
||||
11/30/2005
|
Ms.
Chen-Chen Shih
|
11/30/2005
-12/30/2005
|
7%
|
60,089
|
ITEM 14. |
PRINCIPAL
ACCOUNTANT FEES AND
SERVICES
|
Audit
Fees.
The
total audit fees incurred for years 2004 and 2005 amounted to US$106,822 and
US$69,264, respectively.
Audit-Related
Fees.
The
total audit-related (internal control) fees incurred in 2004 amounted to
US$30,200.
Tax
Fees.
The
fees incurred for engaging tax advisors for years 2004 and 2005 amounted to
US$13,000 for each period.
28
PART
IV
ITEM 15. |
EXHIBITS
AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT
SCHEDULES
|
(a) List
of
documents filed.
(1)
Consolidated
Financial Statements
The
consolidated financial statements of Kid Castle Educational Corporation and
its
subsidiaries including the notes thereto, together with the report thereon
of
Brock, Schechter & Polakoff, LLP, with respect to fiscal 2005, and of
PricewaterhouseCoopers with respect to 2003 and 2004, are presented beginning
at
page F-1.
(2)
Summary
of Quarterly Results
1Q
|
2Q
|
3Q
|
4Q
|
For
the Year
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2005
|
2004
|
2005
|
2004
|
2005
|
2004
|
2005
|
2004
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
(Unaudited)
|
(Unaudited)
|
(Unaudited)
|
(Unaudited)
|
(Unaudited)
|
(Unaudited)
|
(Unaudited)
|
(Unaudited)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Operating
Revenue
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sales
of Goods
|
$
|
2,375,155
|
$
|
2,029,853
|
$
|
1,174,176
|
$
|
1,186,926
|
$
|
2,822,830
|
$
|
2,444,267
|
$
|
684,371
|
$
|
1,161,374
|
$
|
7,020,532
|
$
|
6,822,420
|
|||||||||||
Franchise
income
|
597,925
|
528,132
|
710,121
|
664,608
|
606,879
|
622,244
|
374,730
|
627,762
|
2,289,655
|
2,442,746
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Other
operating revenue
|
149,912
|
52,353
|
156,436
|
151,561
|
142,459
|
185,932
|
734,340
|
74,101
|
922,147
|
463,947
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Total
net operating revenue
|
3,122,992
|
2,610,338
|
2,040,733
|
2,003,095
|
3,572,168
|
3,252,443
|
1,496,441
|
1,863,237
|
10,232,334
|
9,729,113
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Operating
costs
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cost
of goods sold
|
(927,731
|
)
|
(674,505
|
)
|
(579,442
|
)
|
(650,418
|
)
|
(1,194,054
|
)
|
(1,101,089
|
)
|
(30,925
|
)
|
(143,066
|
)
|
(2,732,152
|
)
|
(2,569,078
|
)
|
|||||||||||
Cost
of franchising
|
(113.613
|
)
|
(132,101
|
)
|
(63,042
|
)
|
(113,403
|
)
|
(370,880
|
)
|
(128,476
|
)
|
50,835
|
(100,324
|
)
|
(496,700
|
)
|
(474,304
|
)
|
||||||||||||
Other
operating costs
|
(74,196
|
)
|
(57,195
|
)
|
(103,075
|
)
|
(78,544
|
)
|
(129,805
|
)
|
(171,921
|
)
|
(275,116
|
)
|
(82,516
|
)
|
(582,192
|
)
|
(390,176
|
)
|
|||||||||||
Total
operating costs
|
(1,115,540
|
)
|
(863,801
|
)
|
(745,559
|
)
|
(842,365
|
)
|
(1,694,739
|
)
|
(1,401,486
|
)
|
(255,206
|
)
|
(325,906
|
)
|
(3,811,044
|
)
|
(3,433,558
|
)
|
|||||||||||
Gross
profit
|
2,007,452
|
1,746,537
|
1,295,174
|
1,160,730
|
1,877,429
|
1,850,957
|
1,241,235
|
1,537,331
|
6,421,290
|
6,295,555
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Advertising
costs
|
(33,363
|
)
|
(126,642
|
)
|
(23,491
|
)
|
(327,850
|
)
|
0
|
(72
|
)
|
(34,289
|
)
|
(77,451
|
)
|
0
|
(532,015
|
)
|
|||||||||||||
Other
operating expenses
|
(1,785,500
|
)
|
(2,016,424
|
)
|
(1,465,044
|
)
|
(1,413,680
|
)
|
(2,302,459
|
)
|
(1,525,248
|
)
|
(1,035,920
|
)
|
(1,591,492
|
)
|
(6,588,923
|
)
|
(6,546,844
|
)
|
|||||||||||
(Loss)
income from operations
|
188,589
|
(396,529
|
)
|
(193,361
|
)
|
(580,800
|
)
|
(425,030
|
)
|
325,637
|
171,026
|
(131,612
|
)
|
(258,776
|
)
|
(783,304
|
)
|
||||||||||||||
Interest
expenses, net
|
(59,253
|
)
|
(21,765
|
)
|
(56,730
|
)
|
(43,171
|
)
|
(55,363
|
)
|
(35,956
|
)
|
(65,542
|
)
|
(49,812
|
)
|
(236,888
|
)
|
(150,704
|
)
|
|||||||||||
Share
of loss of investments
|
12,483
|
46,967
|
0
|
(15,542
|
)
|
(34,116
|
)
|
(20,816
|
)
|
(33,169
|
)
|
(47,182
|
)
|
(54,802
|
)
|
(36,573
|
)
|
||||||||||||||
Loss
on write-off of investment
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Other
non-operating income, net
|
(48,939
|
)
|
43,673
|
102,563
|
38,097
|
138,777
|
(10,788
|
)
|
(868,859
|
)
|
80,999
|
(676,458
|
)
|
151,981
|
|||||||||||||||||
(Loss)
income before income taxes
|
92,880
|
(327,654
|
)
|
(147,528
|
)
|
(601,416
|
)
|
(375,732
|
)
|
258,077
|
(796,544
|
)
|
(147,607
|
)
|
(1,226,924
|
)
|
(818,600
|
)
|
|||||||||||||
Benefit
(provision) for taxes
|
(143,453
|
)
|
0
|
(41,297
|
)
|
(1,222
|
)
|
(90,611
|
)
|
(110,345
|
)
|
(201,936
|
)
|
(319,162
|
)
|
(477,297
|
)
|
(430,729
|
)
|
||||||||||||
Net
income (loss) from operations
|
(50,573
|
)
|
(327,654
|
)
|
(188,825
|
)
|
(602,638
|
)
|
(466,343
|
)
|
147,732
|
(998,480
|
)
|
(466,796
|
)
|
(1,704,221
|
)
|
(1,249,329
|
)
|
||||||||||||
Minority
interest income
|
143
|
0
|
(19,202
|
)
|
0
|
35,206
|
(2,611
|
)
|
(10,208
|
)
|
(2,652
|
)
|
5,939
|
(5,263
|
)
|
||||||||||||||||
Net
(loss) income
|
$
|
(50,430
|
)
|
$
|
(327,654
|
)
|
$
|
(208,027
|
)
|
$
|
(602,638
|
)
|
$
|
(432,137
|
)
|
$
|
145,121
|
$
|
(1,008,688
|
)
|
$
|
(469,421
|
)
|
$
|
(1,698,282
|
)
|
$
|
(1,254,592
|
)
|
||
(Loss)
earnings per share—basic and diluted
|
$
|
(0.003
|
)
|
$
|
(0.017
|
)
|
$
|
(0.01
|
)
|
$
|
(0.032
|
)
|
$
|
(0.02
|
)
|
$
|
0.008
|
$
|
(0.053
|
)
|
$
|
(0.025
|
)
|
$
|
(0.089
|
)
|
$
|
(0.066
|
)
|
||
Weighted-average
shares used to compute (loss) earnings per share—basic and
diluted
|
18,999,703
|
18,999,703
|
18,999,703
|
18,999,703
|
18,999,703
|
18,999,703
|
18,999,703
|
18,999,703
|
18,999,703
|
18,999,703
|
29
(3) Financial
Statement Schedules
Schedule
II — Valuation and Qualifying Accounts
Accounts
receivable
Allowance
for doubtful accounts and sales returns
Balance
at Beginning
of
Year
|
Charged
to
Expenses
|
Write-Offs
and Others
|
Translation
Adjustments
|
Balance
at
End
of Year
|
||||||||||||
2003
|
$
|
283,791
|
$
|
182,418
|
$
|
―
|
$
|
(29,368
|
)
|
$
|
436,841
|
|||||
2004
|
436,841
|
29,297
|
(289,007
|
)
|
19,057
|
196,188
|
||||||||||
2005
|
196,188
|
604,928
|
―
|
(48,634
|
)
|
752,482
|
Inventory
Provision
for loss on inventory obsolescence and slow-moving items
Balance
at Beginning
of
Year
|
Charged
(Credit)
to Costs
|
Translation
Adjustments
|
Balance
at
End
of Year
|
||||||||||
2003
|
$
|
751,668
|
$
|
(109,411
|
)
|
$
|
9,538
|
$
|
651,795
|
||||
2004
|
651,795
|
70,792
|
53,150
|
775,737
|
|||||||||
2005
|
775,737
|
5,403
|
(26,689
|
)
|
754,451
|
Deferred
income tax assets
Valuation
allowance for deferred income tax assets — current
Balance
at Beginning
of
Year
|
Charged
(Credit)
to Costs
|
Translation
Adjustments
|
Balance
at
End
of Year
|
||||||||||
2003
|
$
|
―
|
$
|
390,829
|
$
|
3,781
|
$
|
394,610
|
|||||
2004
|
394,610
|
193,573
|
40,306
|
628,489
|
|||||||||
2005
|
624,489
|
261,670
|
(130,941
|
)
|
755,218
|
Valuation
allowance for deferred income tax assets — non current
Balance
at Beginning
of
Year
|
Charged
(Credit)
to Costs
|
Translation
Adjustments
|
Balance
at
End
of Year
|
||||||||||
2003
|
$
|
―
|
$
|
29,796
|
$
|
288
|
$
|
30,084
|
|||||
2004
|
30,084
|
9,445
|
3,090
|
42,619
|
|||||||||
2005
|
42,619
|
36,152
|
193,805
|
272,576
|
(b) Exhibits
The
exhibits filed with this annual report on Form 10-K are listed in the Exhibit
Index that follows the signatures.
30
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
KID CASTLE EDUCATIONAL CORPORATION | ||
|
|
|
By: | /s/ Min-Tan Yang | |
Name: Min-Tan Yang |
||
Title: Chief Executive Officer |
Date:
March 7, 2007
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has
been
signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the
capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature
|
Title
|
Date
|
||
/s/
Min-Tan Yang
|
Director
and President
|
March
7, 2007
|
||
Min-Tan
Yang
|
(Principal
Executive Officer)
|
|||
/s/
Suang-Yi Pai
|
Director,
Chief Financial Officer and
|
March
7, 2007
|
||
Suang-Yi
Pai
|
Chairman
(Principal Financial and
|
|||
Accounting
Officer)
|
||||
/s/
Chin-Chen Huang
|
Director
|
March
7, 2007
|
||
Chin-Chen
Huang
|
||||
/s/
Ming-Tsung Shih
|
Director
|
March
7, 2007
|
||
Ming-Tsung,
Shih
|
||||
/s/
Robert Theng
|
Director
|
March
7, 2007
|
||
Robert
Theng
|
31
Exhibit
Index
Exhibit
Number
|
Description
|
Incorporated
by
Reference
from
Document
|
Exhibit
No.
in
Referenced
Document
|
|||
3.1
|
Articles
of Incorporation
|
|||||
3.2
|
Bylaws
|
Form
10-Q/A filed August 17, 2004
|
3.1
|
|||
10.1
|
Acknowledgements
of Loan, Loan Agreement by and between Chang Hwa Commercial Bank
and Kid
Castle Internet Technology Corporation and Guarantee Agreement by
and
among Chang Hwa Bank Co., Ltd., Kid Castle Internet Technology Corporation
(Borrower), Kuo-An Wang (Guarantor) and Yu-En Chiu (Guarantor) on
March
21, 2005
|
|||||
10.2
|
Acknowledgement
of Loan, Loan Agreement by and between FUHWA Bank and Kid Castle
Internet
Technology Corporation, and Receipt of Borrwing by and among Kid
Castle
Internet Technology Corporation (Borrower), Mr. Kuo-An Wang (Guarantor)
and Yu-En Chiu (Guarantor) and FUHWA Bank on August, 2005
|
|||||
10.3
|
Acknowledgement
of Loan by International Bank of Taipei and Loan agreement by and
between
Kid Castle Internet Technology Corporation and International Bank
of
Taipei on February 2, 2005
|
|||||
|
||||||
10.4
|
Approval
Notice and Purchase Agreement dated as of Febuary 2, 2005 by and
among FCB
Leasing Co., Ltd. (Seller), Kid Castle Internet Technology Corporation
(Buyer), Kuo-An Wang (Guarantor) and Yu-En Chiu (Guarantor) and Agreement
by and between FCB Leasing Co., Ltd. (Seller), Kid Castle Internet
Technology Corporation (Buyer)
|
|||||
10.5
|
Purchase
Agreement by and between Kid Castle Internet Technology Corporation
(Seller) and Bowa Internation Leasing Corporation (Buyer), Purchase
Agreement by and between Kid Castle Internet Technology Corporation
(Buyer) and Bowa Internation Leasing Corporation (Seller) and Agreement
by
and between Kid Castle Internet Technology Corporation and Bowa
Internation Leasing Corporation on November, 2004
|
Form
10-K filed April 15, 2005
|
10.10
|
|||
10.6
|
House
Lease Agreement, dated as of April 28, 2004, by and between Real
Estate Co. of Shanghai China International Travel Service Co. Ltd.
and Kid
Castle Education Software Development Company Ltd.
|
Form
10-K filed April 15, 2005
|
10.11
|
32
Exhibit
Number
|
Description
|
Incorporated
by
Reference
from
Document
|
Exhibit
No.
in
Referenced
Document
|
|||
10.7
|
Lease
Agreement, dated as of May 21, 2004, by and between, Rei-Bi Wang
(Lessor) and Kid Castle Internet Technology Corporation
(Lessee)
|
Form
10-K filed April 15, 2005
|
10.14
|
|||
10.8
|
Lease
Agreement, by and between Kuan Lei Construction Ltd. (Lessor) and
Kid
Castle Internet Technology Corporation (Lessee) on November 1,
2004
|
Form
10-K filed April 15, 2005
|
10.17
|
|||
10.9
|
English
Summary of Lease Agreement of Warehouse by and between Jen Shan Chang
and
Hon Chan Lin (Lessor) and Kid Castle Internet Technology Corporation
(Lessee) on November 1, 2004
|
Form
10-K filed April 15, 2005
|
10.18
|
|||
10.10
|
English-language
summary of joint venture agreement dated as of April 1, 2004, by and
between Tianjin Foreign Enterprises & Experts Service Corp. and
Kid Castle Educational Software Development Co., Ltd.
|
10Q
filed May 14, 2004
|
10.1
|
|||
10.11
|
English-language
summary of joint venture agreement dated as of April 28, 2004, by and
among LANBEISI Education & Culture Industrial Co., Ltd, Sichuan
Province Education Institutional Service Center and Kid Castle Educational
Software Development Co., Ltd.
|
10Q
filed May 14, 2004
|
10.2
|
|||
10.12
|
English-language
summary of Liability Transfer Agreement dated as of March 25, 2004,
by and among Higoal Development Limited, Kidcastle Internet Technologies
Limited, Mr. His Ming Pai and Mr. Kuo-An Wang and Mr. Yu-En
Chiu
|
Form
10-KSB filed March 30, 2004
|
10.30
|
|||
14
|
Code
of Ethics
|
Form
10-K filed April 15, 2005
|
14
|
|||
21
|
Subsidiaries
of the Company
|
Form
10-KSB filed March 30, 2004
|
21
|
|||
31.1
|
Certification
of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
|
|||||
31.2
|
Certification
of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
|
33
Exhibit
Number
|
Description
|
Incorporated
by
Reference
from
Document
|
Exhibit
No.
in
Referenced
Document
|
|||
32.1
|
Certifications
of Principal Executive Officer, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1350, as adopted
pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002
|
|||||
32.2
|
Certifications
of Principal Financial Officer, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1350, as adopted
pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002
|
34
Kid
Castle Educational Corporation
Index
to Consolidated Financial Statements
Pages
|
||
Report
of Brock, Schechter & Polakoff, LLP
|
F-2
|
|
Report
of PricewaterhouseCoopers
|
F-3
|
|
Consolidated
Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2005 and 2004
|
F-4
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004,
and 2003
|
F-5
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Shareholders’ Equity for the years ended December 31,
2005, 2004, and 2003
|
F-6
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004,
and 2003
|
F-7
|
|
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
|
F-
9
|
F-1
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To
the
Shareholders
Kid
Castle Educational Corporation
Taipei,
Taiwan ROC
We
have
audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Kid Castle Educational
Corporation and its Subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2005, and
the related consolidated statements of operations, shareholders’ equity, and
cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2005. These financial statements
are
the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express
an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. The financial
statements and financial statement schedule of the Company as of and for the
years ended December 31, 2004 and December 31, 2003 were audited by other
independent accountants whose report dated March 31, 2005, except as to Note
2.1, Note 20. B. (x) footnote 2. and Note 23 (c) and (d) , which was dated
March
7, 2007, expressed an unqualified opinion on those statements.
We
conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we
plan
and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial
statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining,
on a
test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used
and
significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a
reasonable basis for our opinion.
In
our
opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly,
in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December
31, 2005, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year
ended December 31, 2005 in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting
principles.
Our
audit
was conducted for the purpose of forming an opinion on the basic financial
statements taken as a whole. The financial statement schedule appearing under
Item 15(a)(3) on page 30 is presented for purposes of additional analysis and
is
not a required part of the basic financial statements. Such information has
been
subjected to the auditing procedures applied in the audit of the basic financial
statements and, in our opinion, is fairly stated in all material respects in
relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole.
The
accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company
will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 17 to the financial
statements, the Company has suffered recurring losses from operations and has
a
net capital deficiency that raises substantial doubt about its ability to
continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are
also described in Note 17. The financial statements do not include any
adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
/s/
Brock
Schechter & Polakoff, LLP
Brock,
Schechter & Polakoff, LLP
Buffalo,
New York
March
7,
2007
F-2
Report
of
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To
the
Board of Directors and shareholders of
Kid
Castle Educational Corporation
In
our
opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2004,
and the related consolidated statements of operations, of shareholders’ equity
and of cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2004 and 2003 present fairly,
in all material aspects, the financial position of Kid Castle Educational
Corporation and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) at December 31, 2004, and the
results of their operations and their cash flows for the years ended December
31, 2004 and 2003 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted
in
the United States of America. In addition, in our opinion, the financial
statement schedule for the years ended December 31, 2004 and 2003 appearing
under Item 15 (a) (3) presents fairly, in all material respects, the information
set forth therein when read in conjunction with the related consolidated
financial statements. These financial statements and financial statement
schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management; our responsibility
is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial statement
schedule based on our audits. We conducted our audits of these statements in
accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
(United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit
to
obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free
of
material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence
supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing
the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management,
and
evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our
audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
The
financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2004 have been
prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As
discussed in Note 17 to the financial statements, the Company has suffered
recurring losses from operations and has a net capital deficiency that raise
substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s
plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 17. The financial
statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome
of
this uncertainty.
As
described in Note 2.1, Note 20. B. (x) footnote 2. and Note 23 (c) and (d)
to
the consolidated financial statements included in the 2004 Form 10-K/A, the
consolidated statement of cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2004 was
restated.
/s/
Pricewaterhouse Coopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Taipei,
Taiwan
March 31,
2005, except as to Note 2.1, Note 20. B. (x) footnote 2. and Note 23 (c) and
(d)
, which was dated March 7, 2007
F-3
Kid
Castle Educational Corporation
Consolidated
Balance Sheets
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
||||||
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
|
|||||||
ASSETS
|
|||||||
Current
assets
|
|||||||
Cash
and bank balances
|
$
|
613,391
|
$
|
213,564
|
|||
Bank
fixed deposits - pledged (Note 12)
|
120,813
|
294,331
|
|||||
Notes
and accounts receivable, net (Notes 3 and 19)
|
2,593,276
|
2,401,904
|
|||||
Inventories,
net (Note 4)
|
2,069,492
|
2,979,738
|
|||||
Other
receivables (Notes 5 and 19)
|
223,063
|
337,848
|
|||||
Prepayments
and other current assets (Note 6)
|
411,526
|
478,752
|
|||||
Pledged
notes receivable (Note 12)
|
849,704
|
1,218,356
|
|||||
Deferred
income tax assets (Note 7)
|
72,992
|
218,574
|
|||||
Total
current assets
|
6,954,257
|
8,143,067
|
|||||
Deferred
income tax assets (Note 7)
|
46,382
|
170,477
|
|||||
Prepaid
interest in associates
|
―
|
24,165
|
|||||
Interest
in associates (Note 8)
|
71,158
|
99,467
|
|||||
Property
and equipment, net (Note 9)
|
1,808,411
|
2,188,092
|
|||||
Intangible
assets, net of amortization (Note 10)
|
699,246
|
894,419
|
|||||
Long-term
notes receivable
|
482,483
|
240,971
|
|||||
Pledged
notes receivable (Note 12)
|
357,825
|
407,149
|
|||||
Other
assets
|
563,175
|
613,617
|
|||||
Total
assets
|
$
|
10,982,937
|
$
|
12,781,424
|
|||
LIABILITIES
AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
|
|||||||
Current
liabilities
|
|||||||
Bank
borrowings ― short-term and
maturing within one year (Note 12)
|
$
|
1,516,906
|
$
|
2,632,982
|
|||
Notes
and accounts payable (Note 20)
|
1,385,478
|
1,506,543
|
|||||
Accrued
expenses (Note 11)
|
560,733
|
703,407
|
|||||
Amounts
due to officers (Note 20)
|
977,838
|
-
|
|||||
Other
payables (Note 13)
|
1,057,161
|
283,080
|
|||||
Deposits
received (Note 14)
|
462,007
|
498,266
|
|||||
Receipts
in advance (Note 15)
|
2,353,680
|
2,996,558
|
|||||
Income
tax payable (Note 7)
|
122,481
|
97,142
|
|||||
Obligation
under capital leases due within one year
|
$
|
―
|
$
|
8,659
|
|||
Total
current liabilities
|
8,436,284
|
8,726,637
|
|||||
Bank
borrowings maturing after one year (Note 12)
|
1,640,391
|
1,651,825
|
|||||
Receipts
in advance (Note 15)
|
1,130,207
|
1,124,809
|
|||||
Obligation
under capital leases
|
―
|
―
|
|||||
Deposits
received (Note 14)
|
864,196
|
689,530
|
|||||
Deferred
Liability
|
35,416
|
―
|
|||||
Accrued
pension liabilities (Note 16)
|
174,387
|
160,907
|
|||||
Total
liabilities
|
12,280,881
|
12,353,708
|
|||||
Commitments
and contingencies (Note 17)
|
|||||||
Minority
interest
|
28,627
|
33,791
|
|||||
Shareholders’
equity
|
|||||||
Common
stock, no par share (Note 18):
|
|||||||
25,000,000
shares authorized; 18,999,703 shares issued and outstanding at
December 31, 2005 and 2004
|
7,669,308
|
7,669,308
|
|||||
Additional
paid-in capital
|
194,021
|
194,021
|
|||||
Legal
reserve
|
65,320
|
65,320
|
|||||
Accumulated
deficit (Note 19)
|
(9,010,356
|
)
|
(7,312,074
|
)
|
|||
Accumulated
other comprehensive loss
|
(244,864
|
)
|
(222,650
|
)
|
|||
Total
shareholders’ equity
|
(1,326,571
|
)
|
393,925
|
||||
Total
liabilities and shareholders’ equity
|
$
|
10,982,937
|
$
|
12,781,424
|
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial
Statements.
F-4
Kid
Castle Educational Corporation
Consolidated
Statements of Operations
Years
Ended December 31,
|
||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
|
||||||||||
Operating
revenue (Note 22)
|
||||||||||
Sales
of goods
|
$
|
7,020,532
|
$
|
6,822,420
|
$
|
6,438,286
|
||||
Franchise
income
|
2,289,655
|
2,442,746
|
1,767,087
|
|||||||
Other
operating revenue
|
922,147
|
463,947
|
386,010
|
|||||||
net
operating revenue
|
10,232,334
|
9,729,113
|
8,591,383
|
|||||||
Operating
costs (Note 22)
|
||||||||||
Cost
of goods sold
|
(2,732,152
|
)
|
(2,569,078
|
)
|
(2,248,134
|
)
|
||||
Cost
of franchising
|
(496,700
|
)
|
(474,304
|
)
|
(443,274
|
)
|
||||
Other
operating costs
|
(582,192
|
)
|
(390,176
|
)
|
(330,956
|
)
|
||||
Total
operating costs
|
(3,811,044
|
)
|
(3,433,558
|
)
|
(3,022,364
|
)
|
||||
Gross
profit
|
6,421,290
|
6,295,555
|
5,569,019
|
|||||||
Advertising
costs
|
(91,143
|
)
|
(532,015
|
)
|
(406,219
|
)
|
||||
Other
operating expenses
|
(6,588,923
|
)
|
(6,546,844
|
)
|
(6,607,314
|
)
|
||||
Loss
from operations
|
(258,776
|
)
|
(783,304
|
)
|
(1,444,514
|
)
|
||||
Interest
expenses, net (Note 12)
|
(236,888
|
)
|
(150,704
|
)
|
(279,231
|
)
|
||||
Share
of profit (loss) of investments
|
(54,802
|
)
|
(36,573
|
)
|
(49,349
|
)
|
||||
Loss
on write-off of an investment
|
―
|
―
|
(133,267
|
)
|
||||||
Other
non-operating income, net
|
(676,458
|
)
|
151,981
|
175,204
|
||||||
Loss
before income taxes and minority interest income
|
(1,226,924
|
)
|
(818,600
|
)
|
(1,731,157
|
)
|
||||
Income
taxes (expense) benefit (Note 7)
|
(477,297
|
)
|
(430,729
|
)
|
(209,434
|
)
|
||||
Loss
after income taxes
|
(1,704,221
|
)
|
(1,249,329
|
)
|
(1,940,591
|
)
|
||||
Minority
interest income
|
5,939
|
(5,263
|
)
|
―
|
||||||
Net
loss
|
$
|
(1,698,282
|
)
|
$
|
(1,254,592
|
)
|
$
|
(1,940,591
|
)
|
|
Loss
per share — basic and diluted
|
$
|
(0.089
|
)
|
$
|
(0.066
|
)
|
$
|
(0.115
|
)
|
|
Weighted-average
shares used to compute loss per share — basic and
diluted
|
$
|
18,999,703
|
$
|
18,999,703
|
$
|
16,810,113
|
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial
Statements.
F-5
Kid
Castle Educational Corporation
Consolidated
Statements of Shareholders’ Equity
Common
Stock
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Number
of Shares
|
Amount
|
Additional
Paid-In Capital
|
Legal
Reserve
|
Accumulated
Deficit
|
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Loss
|
Total
|
||||||||||||||||
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
January1, 2003
|
15,074,329
|
4,654,880
|
194,021
|
65,320
|
(4,116,891
|
)
|
(160,764
|
)
|
636,566
|
|||||||||||||
Net
loss for 2003
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
(1,940,591
|
)
|
—
|
(1,940,591
|
)
|
|||||||||||||
Cumulative
translation adjustment
|
―
|
―
|
―
|
―
|
―
|
(2,406
|
)
|
(2,406
|
)
|
|||||||||||||
Comprehensive
loss
|
(1,942,997
|
)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance
of common stock for cash
|
3,592,040
|
2,514,428
|
―
|
―
|
―
|
―
|
2,514,428
|
|||||||||||||||
Repayment
of a liability by issuance of common stock
|
333,334
|
500,000
|
―
|
―
|
―
|
―
|
500,000
|
|||||||||||||||
Balance,
December 31, 2003
|
18,999,703
|
7,669,308
|
194,021
|
65,320
|
(6,057,482
|
)
|
(163,170
|
)
|
1,707,997
|
|||||||||||||
Net
loss for 2004
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
(1,254,592
|
)
|
—
|
(1,254,592
|
)
|
|||||||||||||
Cumulative
translation adjustment
|
―
|
―
|
―
|
―
|
―
|
(59,480
|
)
|
(59,480
|
)
|
|||||||||||||
Comprehensive
loss
|
(1,314,072
|
)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
December 31, 2004
|
18,999,703
|
$
|
7,669,308
|
$
|
194,021
|
$
|
65,320
|
$
|
(7,312,074
|
)
|
$
|
(222,650
|
)
|
$
|
393,925
|
|||||||
Net
loss for 2005
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
(1,698,282
|
)
|
—
|
(1,698,282
|
)
|
|||||||||||||
Cumulative
translation adjustment
|
(22,214
|
)
|
(22,214
|
)
|
||||||||||||||||||
Comprehensive
loss
|
(1,720,496
|
)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
December 31, 2005
|
18,999,703
|
7,669,308
|
194,021
|
65,320
|
(9,010,356
|
)
|
(244,864
|
)
|
(1,326,571
|
)
|
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial
Statements.
F-6
Kid
Castle Educational Corporation
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows
Years
Ended December 31,
|
||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
|
||||||||||
Cash
flows from operating activities
|
||||||||||
Net
loss
|
$
|
(1,698,282
|
)
|
$
|
(1,254,592
|
)
|
$
|
(1,940,591
|
)
|
|
Adjustments
to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating
activities
|
||||||||||
Depreciation
of property and equipment
|
299,884
|
203,077
|
176,564
|
|||||||
Amortization
of intangible assets
|
167,945
|
161,648
|
156,861
|
|||||||
Allowance
for sales returns
|
(30,220
|
)
|
(75,595
|
)
|
127,585
|
|||||
Allowance
for doubtful debts
|
604,928
|
104,892
|
182,418
|
|||||||
Provision
(reversal of) for loss on inventory obsolescence and slow-moving
items
|
5,403
|
70,792
|
(109,411
|
)
|
||||||
Share
of loss of investments in associates
|
―
|
36,573
|
49,349
|
|||||||
Loss
on write-off of an investment
|
54,802
|
―
|
133,267
|
|||||||
Loss
(gain) on disposal of property and equipment
|
11,363
|
6,879
|
(91
|
)
|
||||||
Minority
interest income
|
(4,089
|
)
|
2,616
|
―
|
||||||
(Increase)/decrease
in:
|
||||||||||
Notes
and accounts receivable
|
(1,090,681
|
)
|
65,060
|
(427,489
|
)
|
|||||
Inventories
|
819,533
|
(599,829
|
)
|
(410,659
|
)
|
|||||
Other
receivables
|
387,069
|
(60,977
|
)
|
386,973
|
||||||
Prepayments
and other current assets
|
51,907
|
(264,909
|
)
|
(261,046
|
)
|
|||||
Deferred
income tax assets
|
261,670
|
381,664
|
165,138
|
|||||||
Other
assets
|
30,029
|
(394,070
|
)
|
(52,595
|
)
|
|||||
Increase/(decrease)
in:
|
||||||||||
Notes
and accounts payable
|
(70,890
|
)
|
192,896
|
(648,923
|
)
|
|||||
Accrued
expenses
|
(127,811
|
)
|
(145,690
|
)
|
234,643
|
|||||
Other
payables
|
(719,516
|
)
|
(129
292
|
)
|
(60
116
|
)
|
||||
Receipts
in advance
|
(8,420
|
)
|
(38,325
|
)
|
(932,208
|
)
|
||||
Income
taxes payable
|
29,263
|
47,194
|
43,645
|
|||||||
Deposits
received
|
(288,778
|
)
|
129,253
|
451,811
|
||||||
Accrued
pension liabilities
|
19,641
|
15,833
|
45,187
|
|||||||
Net
cash (used in) provided by operating activities
|
(1,295,250
|
)
|
(1,544,902
|
)
|
(2,689,688
|
)
|
||||
Cash
flows from investing activities
|
||||||||||
Purchase
of property and equipment
|
(203,030
|
)
|
(321,001
|
)
|
(275,899
|
)
|
||||
Proceeds
from disposal of property and equipment
|
202,822
|
70,062
|
13,550
|
|||||||
Net
cash acquired from acquisition of subsidiary
|
―
|
79,151
|
―
|
F-7
Kid
Castle Educational Corporation
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows — (Continued)
Years
Ended December 31,
|
||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
|
||||||||||
Amount
due from shareholder/director
|
977,838
|
―
|
123,366
|
|||||||
Prepayment
of long-term investments
|
―
|
(24,131
|
)
|
(59,745
|
)
|
|||||
Acquisition
of long-term investments
|
―
|
(103,762
|
)
|
(149,239
|
)
|
|||||
Bank
fixed deposits — pledged
|
166,827
|
(70,152
|
)
|
(53,838
|
)
|
|||||
Pledged
notes receivable
|
369,807
|
15,760
|
1,302,135
|
|||||||
Advance
to ex-CFO (Note 20 B(x)2)
|
(2,953,337
|
)
|
(799,820
|
)
|
―
|
|||||
Repayments
of advance to ex-CFO (Note 20 B(x)2)
|
2,953,337
|
799,820
|
―
|
|||||||
Net
cash (used in)provided by investing activities
|
1,514,264
|
(354,073
|
)
|
900,330
|
||||||
Cash
flows from financing activities
|
||||||||||
Proceeds
from bank borrowings
|
$
|
3,067,111
|
$
|
3,351,287
|
$
|
2,718,990
|
||||
Repayment
of bank borrowings
|
(4,068,179
|
)
|
(1,821,481
|
)
|
(2,249,551
|
)
|
||||
Repayment
of capital leases
|
(8,536
|
)
|
(30,571
|
)
|
(20,434
|
)
|
||||
(Repayment
of loan) borrowings from officers/shareholders
|
1,271,800
|
(585,006
|
)
|
(42,826
|
)
|
|||||
Issuance
of common stock
|
―
|
―
|
2,514,428
|
|||||||
Net
cash provided by financing activities
|
262,196
|
914,229
|
2,920,607
|
|||||||
Net
(decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents
|
481,210
|
(984,746
|
)
|
1,131,249
|
||||||
Effect
of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
|
(81,383
|
)
|
(75,413
|
)
|
16,668
|
|||||
Cash
and cash equivalents at beginning of year
|
213,564
|
1,273,723
|
125,806
|
|||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents at end of year
|
$
|
613,391
|
$
|
213,564
|
$
|
1,273,723
|
||||
Supplemental
disclosure of cash flow information
|
||||||||||
Interest
paid
|
$
|
236,978
|
$
|
238,225
|
$
|
425,575
|
||||
Income
taxes paid
|
$
|
177,920
|
$
|
6,280
|
$
|
3,160
|
||||
Supplemental
disclosure of significant non-cash transactions
|
||||||||||
Capital
lease of transportation equipment
|
$
|
―
|
$
|
―
|
$
|
58,072
|
||||
Increase
of long-term investments corresponding to the (decrease) of the following
accounts:
|
||||||||||
Prepaid
long-term investments
|
$
|
―
|
$
|
(61,202
|
)
|
$
|
―
|
|||
Other
receivable — related parties
|
$
|
―
|
$
|
(120,422
|
)
|
$
|
―
|
|||
Write-off
of an equity investment against deferred income:
|
||||||||||
Balance
of an equity investment
|
$
|
―
|
$
|
―
|
$
|
300,710
|
||||
Balance
of deferred income
|
―
|
―
|
(167,443
|
)
|
||||||
Loss
on write-off of an equity investment
|
$
|
―
|
$
|
―
|
$
|
133,267
|
||||
Repayment
of a liability by issuance of common stock
|
$
|
―
|
$
|
―
|
$
|
500,000
|
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these Consolidated Financial
Statements.
F-8
Kid
Castle Educational Corporation
Notes
To
Consolidated Financial Statements
(Expressed
in US Dollars)
NOTE
1 — ORGANIZATION AND DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS
Kid
Castle Internet Technologies Limited (KCIT) was incorporated on
December 17, 1999 under the provisions of the Company Law of the Republic
of China (“ROC”) as a limited liability company. KCIT is engaged in the business
of children’s education focusing on the English language. The business is
comprised of publication, sales and distribution of books, magazines,
audiotapes, videotapes and compact discs, and the franchising and sales of
merchandises complementary to the business of teaching children the English
language. KCIT commenced operations in April 2000 when it acquired the
above business from a related company, Kid Castle Enterprises Limited (KCE),
which was owned by two directors and shareholders of KCIT.
On
March 9, 2001, KCIT formed a wholly-owned subsidiary, Premier Holding
Investment Property Limited incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, which
held the entire common stock of Higoal Developments Limited (Higoal)
incorporated in the Cayman Islands on March 8, 2001. On September 10,
2001, Higoal established a wholly owned subsidiary, Kid Castle Educational
Software Development Company Limited (KCES) in the People’s Republic of China
(the PRC). The existing operations of Higoal are principally located in Taiwan
and are being expanded in the PRC. In June 2002, after KCIT undertook a
series of group restructurings, KCIT became the direct owner of the outstanding
shares of Higoal. Premier Holding Investment Property Limited was then
liquidated in June 2003.
On
September 18, 2002, Higoal issued 11,880,000 shares of common stock to the
shareholders of KCIT in exchange for 100 percent of the outstanding common
stock
of KCIT. As a result of this reorganization, KCIT became a wholly owned
subsidiary of Higoal. On October 1, 2002, Kid Castle Educational
Corporation (the Company), formerly King Ball International Technology Limited
Corporation entered into an exchange agreement with Higoal whereby the Company
issued to the shareholders of Higoal 11,880,000 shares of common stock of the
Company in exchange for 100 percent of the issued and fully paid up capital
of
Higoal.
As
a
result of the share exchange, the former shareholders of Higoal hold a majority
of the Company’s outstanding capital stock. Generally accepted accounting
principles require in certain circumstances that a company whose shareholders
retain the majority voting interest in the combined business to be treated
as
the acquirer for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, the acquisition
has
been accounted for as a “reverse acquisition” whereby Higoal is deemed to have
purchased the Company. However, the Company remains the legal entity and the
Registrant for Securities and Exchange Commission reporting
purposes.
In
July 2003, KCES entered into an agreement with 21” Century Publishing House
to incorporate Jiangxi 21st CenturyKid Castle Culture Media Co., Ltd (Culture
Media). It was agreed that KCES and 21st
CenturyPublishing House each owned 50 percent ownership and that each party
contributed RMB$1 million for the incorporation. On July 2, 2004, KCES
acquired additional 40 percent of Culture Media’s ownership from 21st
Century
Publishing House. KCES now owns 90 percent of Culture Media.
The
Company, Higoal and its subsidiaries collectively are referred to as the
“Group.” The operations of the Group are principally located in Taiwan and the
PRC.
NOTE
2 — SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis
of Accounting and Principles of Consolidation
The
consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its
subsidiaries after elimination of all significant intercompany accounts and
transactions. The preparation of financial statements in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America
requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported
amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and
liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts
of
revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ
from those estimates.
F-9
Kid
Castle Educational Corporation
Notes
To
Consolidated Financial Statements — (Continued)
Foreign
Currency Translation and Transactions
The
functional currency of the Company is U.S. dollars and the financial records
are
maintained and the financial statements are prepared in US$. The functional
currency of Higoal and its subsidiary, KCIT is New Taiwan Dollars (“NT$”) and
the financial records are maintained and the financial statements are prepared
in NT$. The functional currency of KCES and Culture Media is Renminbi (“RMB”)
and the financial records are maintained and the financial statements are
prepared in RMB.
For
the
Company, foreign currency transactions during the year are translated into
US$
at the exchange rates ruling at the transaction dates. Gain and loss resulting
from foreign currency transactions are included in the consolidated statement
of
operations. Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at the
balance sheet date are translated into US$ at year-end exchange rates. All
exchange differences are dealt with in the statement of operations.
For
Higoal and KCIT, foreign currency transactions during the year are translated
into NT$ at the exchange rates ruling at the transaction dates. Gain and loss
resulting from foreign currency transactions are included in the statement
of
operations. Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at the
balance sheet date are translated into NT$ at year end exchange rates. All
exchange differences are dealt with in the statement of operations.
For
KCES
and Culture Media, foreign currency transactions during the year are translated
into RMB at the exchange rates ruling at the transaction dates. Gain and loss
resulting from foreign currency transactions are included in the statement
of
operations. Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at the
balance sheet date are translated into RMB at year end exchange rates. All
exchange differences are dealt with in the statement of operations.
For
the
purpose of preparing the Group’s consolidated financial statements, the
statement of operations of KCES prepared in RMB have been translated at the
average exchange rates of NT$3.926 = RMB1.00 (2004:NT$4.037:RMB1.00;2003:
NT$4.153 = RMB1.00) and the balance sheet expressed in RMB have been translated
at the exchange rate of NT$4.069 = RMB 1.00 (December 31,
2004:NT$3.831=RMB1:00;December 31, 2003: NT$4.112 = RMB1.00) ruling as of
December 31, 2005. Translation adjustments are included as a component of
shareholders’ equity.
For
presentation of the Group’s consolidated financial statements, the consolidated
statement of operations and consolidated statement of cash flows of Higoal
prepared in NT$ have been translated at the average exchange rate of US$1.00
=
NT$32.167 (2004:US$1:00 = NT$33.42;2003: US$1.00 = NT$34.44; 2002: US$1.00
=
NT$34.50) and the consolidate balance sheet of Higoal expressed in NT$ have
been
translated at the exchange rate of US$1.00 = NT$32.835 (December 31,
2004:US$1:00 = NT$31.71;December 31, 2003: US$1.00 =NT$34.11;
December 31, 2002: US$1.00 =NT$34.60) ruling as of December 31, 2005.
Translation adjustments are included as a component of shareholders’
equity.
Revenue
Recognition
Sales
of
books, magazines, audiotapes, video tapes, compact discs and other merchandise
are recognised as revenue on the transfer of risks and rewards of ownership,
which generally coincides with the time when the goods are delivered to
customers and title has passed. Provision is made for expected future sales
returns and discounts when revenue is recognized.
Franchise
income is recognized on a straight-line basis over the terms of the relevant
franchise agreements.
F-10
Kid
Castle Educational Corporation
Notes
To
Consolidated Financial Statements — (Continued)
Allowance
for Doubtful Accounts
An
allowance for doubtful accounts is provided based on the evaluation of
collectibility and aging analysis of note receivable, accounts receivable and
other receivables.
Inventories
Inventories
are stated at the lower of cost or market. Cost includes all costs of purchase,
cost of conversion and other costs incurred in bringing the inventories to
their
present location and condition, and is calculated using the weighted average
method. Market value is determined by reference to the sales proceeds of items
sold in the ordinary course of business after the balance sheet date or to
management estimates based on prevailing market conditions. An allowance for
loss on obsolescence and decline in market value is provided, when
necessary.
Cash
Equivalents
Cash
equivalents include all highly liquid investments with an original maturity
of
three months or less when purchased.
Investments
in Associates
Investments
in other companies in which, through ownership and other factors, the Company
has significant influence, but less than a majority of the voting common stock
are accounted for under the equity method. Under the equity method the Company
includes its share of the investee’s income or loss in its results of
operations. The Company reviews its investments on a regular basis and considers
factors including the operating results, available evidence of the market value
and economic outlook of the relevant industry sector. When the Company concludes
that an investment has suffered impairment that is other-than-temporary, the
impairment is written off against earnings.
Fair
Values of Financial Instruments
The
carrying amounts of certain financial instruments approximate their fair values
as of December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003 because of the relatively
short-term maturity of these instruments.
Property,
Equipment and Depreciation
Property
and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation is computed using the
straight-line method to allocate the cost of depreciable assets over the
estimated useful lives of the assets as follows:
Estimated
Useful
Life
(In
Years)
|
||
Land
|
Indefinite
|
|
Buildings
|
50
|
|
Furniture
and fixtures
|
3-10
|
|
Transportation
equipment
|
2.5-5
|
|
Miscellaneous
equipment
|
5-10
|
Maintenance,
repairs and minor renewals are charged directly to the statement of operations
as incurred. When assets are disposed of, the related cost and accumulated
depreciation thereon are removed from the financial statements and any resulting
gain or loss is included in the statement of operations.
F-11
Kid
Castle Educational Corporation
Notes
To
Consolidated Financial Statements — (Continued)
Intangible
Assets
Franchises
and copyrights are stated at cost and amortized on the straight-line method
over
their estimated useful lives of 10 years.
Long-lived
Assets
Long-lived
assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances
indicate that the carrying amount of the assets might not be recoverable. The
Company does not perform a periodic assessment of assets for impairment in
the
absence of such information or indicators. Conditions that would necessitate
an
impairment assessment include a significant decline in the observable market
value of an asset, a significant change in the extent or manner in which an
asset is used, or a significant adverse change that would indicate that the
carrying amount of an asset or group of assets is not recoverable. For
long-lived assets to be held and used, the Company measures fair value based
on
quoted market prices or based on discounted estimates of future cash
flows.
Advertising
Costs
All
advertising costs incurred in the promotion of the Company’s products and
services are expensed as incurred.
Income
Taxes
The
Group
accounts for income taxes in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting
Standards (“SFAS”) No. 109 “Accounting for Income Taxes.” Under SFAS
No. 109, deferred tax liabilities or assets at the end of each period are
determined using the currently enacted tax rate. Valuation allowances are
established when it is not considered more likely than not that the deferred
tax
assets will be realized.
Net
Earnings (Loss) Per Share
The
Company computes net earnings (loss) per share in accordance with SFAS
No. 128, “Earnings per Share.” Under the provisions of SFAS No. 128,
basic net earnings (loss) per share is computed by dividing the net earnings
(loss) available to common shareholders for the period by the weighted average
number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. The calculation
of diluted net earnings (loss) per share gives effect to potential common
shares. For the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003, the Group
did not have any potential common shares.
Reclassification
The
presentation of certain prior information has been reclassified to conform
to
current presentation.
Recent
Accounting Pronouncements
In
January 2003, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued
Interpretation No. 46, “Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities, an
Interpretation of ARB No. 51” (“FIN 46”). FIN 46 clarifies when a company
should consolidate in its financial statements the assets, liabilities and
activities of a variable interest entity. FIN 46 provides general guidance
as to
the definition of a variable interest entity and requires a variable interest
entity to be consolidated if a company absorbs the majority of the variable
interest entity’s expected losses, or is entitled to receive a majority of the
variable interest entity’s residual returns, or both. In December 2003, the
FASB issued a revised interpretation of FIN 46 (“FIN 46-R”), which supercedes
FIN 46 and clarifies and expands current accounting guidance for variable
interest entities. FIN 46 and FIN 46-R are effective immediately for all
variable interest entities created after January 31, 2003, and for variable
interest entities created prior to February 1, 2003, no later than the end
of the first reporting period after March 15, 2004. The adoption of FIN 46
and FIN 46-R did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial reporting
and disclosures.
F-12
Kid
Castle Educational Corporation
Notes
To
Consolidated Financial Statements — (Continued)
On
April 30, 2003, the FASB issued SFAS No. 149, “Amendment of Statement
133 on Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities”(“SFAS No. 149”). SFAS
No. 149 amends and clarifies accounting for derivative instruments,
including certain derivative instruments embedded in other contracts, and for
hedging activities under SFAS No. 133. The new guidance amends SFAS
No. 133 for decisions made as part of the Derivatives Implementation Group
(“DIG”) process that effectively required amendments to SFAS No. 133, and
decisions made in connection with other FASB projects dealing with financial
instruments and in connection with implementation issues raised in relation
to
the application of the definition of a derivative and characteristics of a
derivative that contains financing components. In addition, it clarifies when
a
derivative contains a financing component that warrants special reporting in
the, statement of cash flows. SFAS No. 149 is effective for contracts
entered into or modified after June 30, 2003 and for hedging relationships
designated after June 30, 2003. The adoption of SFAS No. 149 did not
have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial
statements.
In
May 2003, the FASB issued SFAS No. 150, “Accounting for Certain
Financial Instruments with Characteristics of both Liabilities and Equity”
(“SFAS No. 150”). SFAS No. 150 establishes standards for classifying
and measuring as liabilities certain financial instruments that embody
obligations of the issuer and have characteristics of both liabilities and
equity. SFAS No. 150 is effective for all financial instruments created or
modified after May 31, 2003 and otherwise is effective at the beginning of
the first interim period beginning after June 15, 2003. The adoption of
SFAS No. 150 did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated
financial statements.
In
December 2003, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
issued Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) No. 104, “Revenue Recognition,”
which supercedes SAB 101, “Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements.” SAB
104’s primary purpose is to rescind accounting guidance contained in SAB 101
related to multiple element revenue arrangements and revises the SEC’s “Revenue
Recognition in Financial Statements Frequently Asked Questions and Answers” that
have been codified in Topic 13. SAB 104 was effective immediately and did not
have a material impact on the Company’s financial reporting and
disclosures.
In
December 2003, the FASB issued SFAS No. 132, “Employers’ Disclosures
about Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits.” This Statement revises
employers’ .disclosures about pension plans and other postretirement benefit
plans. It requires additional disclosures to those in the original SFAS
No. 132 about the assets, obligations, cash flows and net periodic benefit
cost of defined benefit pension plans and other defined benefit postretirement
plans. The required information should be provided separately for pension plans
and for other postretirement benefit plans. This Statement, which also requires
new disclosures for interim periods beginning after December 15, 2003, is
effective for fiscal years ended after December 15, 2003. The Company
adopted this Statement for the years ended December 31, 2004 and
2005.
In
September 2004, the EITF delayed the effective date for the recognition and
measurement guidance previously discussed under EITF Issue No. 03-01, “The
Meaning of Other-Than-Temporary Impairment and Its Application to Certain
Investments” (“EITF 03-01”) as included in paragraphs 10-20 of the proposed
statement until further guidance is issued for its application. The proposed
statement will clarify the meaning of other-than-temporary impairment and its
application to investments in debt and equity securities, in particular
investments within the scope of FASB Statement No. 115, “Accounting for
Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities,” and investment accounted for
under the cost method. The Group is currently evaluating the effect of this
proposed statement on its financial position and results of
operations.
F-13
NOTE
3 — NOTES AND ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
||||||
Accounts
receivable
|
|||||||
—
Third parties
|
$
|
2,944,574
|
$
|
2,420,647
|
|||
—
Related parties (Note19 B(vi))
|
401,184
|
177,445
|
|||||
Total
|
3,345,758
|
2,598,092
|
|||||
Less:
Allowance for doubtful accounts and sales returns (Note)
|
(752,482
|
)
|
(196,188
|
)
|
|||
Notes
and accounts receivable, net
|
$
|
2,593,276
|
$
|
2,401,904
|
Note:
The
total for allowance for doubtful accounts and sales returns for the year ended
December 31, 2005 amounted to US$752,482. Of this total, the allowance for
sales
return was US$27,272, and allowance for doubtful accounts was US$725,210. The
allowance for sales returns in the amount of US$27,272 is calculated based
on
historical operations in the ROC. Allowance for doubtful accounts in the amount
of US$725,210 includes US$663,161 attributable to a Shanghai Wonderland which
was having difficulty paying its debts in third fiscal quarter of 2005 and
the
balance of US$62,049 is attributable to other debtors of the Company. The
estimate of allowance for doubtful debt is made based on a percentage ageing
analysis, whereby 100% of overdue receivables in our ROC operations exceeding
365 days would be recognized as a doubtful account. Allowance for doubtful
accounts in our operations in the PRC region are recognized in two categories
with varying percentages based on the number of days overdue. The categories
are
(1) overdue between 181 and 365 days, the customers have been analyzed the
financial factor individually which are revised of 10% to 80%, and (2) overdue
exceeding 365 days which are revised at 100%.
NOTE
4 —INVENTORIES
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
||||||
Work
in progress
|
$
|
127,001
|
$
|
99,610
|
|||
Finished
goods and other merchandise
|
2,696,942
|
3,655,865
|
|||||
2,823,943
|
3,755,475
|
||||||
Less:
Allowance for obsolete inventories
|
(754,451
|
)
|
(775,737
|
)
|
|||
$
|
2,069,492
|
$
|
2,979,738
|
F-14
NOTE
5 —OTHER RECEIVABLES
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
||||||
Tax
paid on behalf of landlord
|
$
|
2,013
|
$
|
1,575
|
|||
Advances
to staff
|
125,590
|
74,396
|
|||||
Penalties
receivable
|
—
|
—
|
|||||
Grants
from Market Information Center
|
—
|
29,959
|
|||||
Receivables
from Shanghai Wonderland Educational Resources Co., Ltd. (“Shanghai
Wonderland”) (Note i)
|
368,528
|
87,082
|
|||||
Bank
pledged deposits
|
—
|
—
|
|||||
Other
receivables
|
86,141
|
114,900
|
|||||
Less
: Allow for doubtful accounts
|
(368,528
|
)
|
—
|
||||
213,744
|
307,912
|
||||||
Other
receivables — related parties (Note 20 B(vii))
|
9,319
|
29,936
|
|||||
$
|
223,063
|
$
|
337,848
|
Note:
(i) |
Shanghai
Wonderland was a distributor of the Group. The Group loaned Shanghai
Wonderland RMB$450,000 (approximately
$54,000),RMB$500,000(approximately$60,000) and RMB$2,500,000
(approximately $310,000) for operations in December 2003, July 2005
and
August 2005, respectively. The identified loans were unsecured and
bore no
interest. Shanghai Wonderland has fully repaid the loan of RMB$450,000
in
December 2004 and January 2005As of December 31, 2005, Shanghai Wonderland
still owes the Group a balance of RMB$3,000,000(approximately $368,528)
.
Such sum has now been itemized and recorded as "allowance for doubtful
accounts" compared to its prior recognition as "Other
receivables".
|
NOTE
6 - PREPAYMENTS AND OTHER CURRENT ASSETS
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
||||||
Prepayments
|
$
|
399,659
|
$
|
159,929
|
|||
Temporary
payments
|
11,038
|
—
|
|||||
Tax
recoverable
|
—
|
34,851
|
|||||
Prepaid
interest
|
—
|
1,064
|
|||||
Others
|
829
|
17,685
|
|||||
411,526
|
213,529
|
||||||
Prepayments
- related parties (Note I9B(viii))
|
—
|
265,223
|
|||||
$
|
411,526
|
$
|
478,752
|
F-15
NOTE
7 -INCOME TAXES
The
income taxes of the Group are substantially attributable to the operations
in
Taiwan and the PRC whose statutory tax rates are 25 percent and 15 percent,
respectively.
Years
Ended December 31,
|
||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
Income
taxes expense (benefit) consisted of:
|
||||||||||
Income
taxes (benefit)
|
$
|
232,086
|
$
|
9,186
|
$
|
651
|
||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
208,343
|
381,665
|
165,138
|
|||||||
Tax
on undistributed earnings (Note 19)
|
36,868
|
39,878
|
43,645
|
|||||||
$
|
477,297
|
$
|
430,729
|
$
|
209,434
|
The
principal differences between taxes on income computed at the applicable
statutory income tax rate in Taiwan and recorded income tax (benefit) expense
are as follows:
Years
Ended December 31,
|
||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
Income
taxes (benefit) expense calculated on applicable statutory tax
rates
|
$
|
(67,397
|
)
|
$
|
(265,709
|
)
|
$
|
(432,789
|
)
|
|
Lower
effective income tax rates of other countries
|
97,185
|
114,107
|
113,962
|
|||||||
Valuation
allowance
|
353,705
|
476,929
|
424,275
|
|||||||
Non-taxable
income
|
—
|
(54,431
|
)
|
(18,720
|
)
|
|||||
Non-deductible
expenses
|
56,936
|
119,955
|
79,061
|
|||||||
Tax
on undistributed earnings
|
36,868
|
39,878
|
43,645
|
|||||||
Income
taxes expense (benefit) as recorded in statement of
operations
|
$
|
477,297
|
$
|
430,729
|
$
|
209,434
|
F-16
Significant
components of the estimated deferred income tax assets as of December 31, 2005
and 2004 are as follows:
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
||||||
Deferred
income tax assets - current assets
|
|||||||
Allowance
for sales returns and discounts
|
$
|
11,606
|
$
|
19,161
|
|||
Allowance
for doubtful debts
|
23,251
|
34,438
|
|||||
Allowance
for obsolete inventories
|
243,383
|
243,494
|
|||||
Web
site design costs
|
—
|
1,782
|
|||||
Pre-operating
expenses
|
—
|
15,711
|
|||||
Future
benefit of tax losses
|
378,546
|
378,546
|
|||||
Others
|
171,424
|
153,931
|
|||||
828,210
|
847,063
|
||||||
Less:
Valuation allowance
|
(755,218
|
)
|
(628,489
|
)
|
|||
$
|
72,992
|
$
|
218,574
|
||||
Deferred
income tax assets - non-current assets
|
|||||||
Provision
for pension fund
|
56,099
|
52,295
|
|||||
Amortization
of intangible assets
|
223,161
|
139,188
|
|||||
Provision
for diminution in value of long-term investment
|
39,698
|
21,613
|
|||||
318,958
|
213,096
|
||||||
Less:
Valuation allowance
|
(272,576
|
)
|
(42,619
|
)
|
|||
$
|
46,382
|
$
|
170,477
|
||||
Total
deferred income tax assets
|
$
|
119,374
|
$
|
389,051
|
At
December 31, 2005, KCESD have net operating losses of approximately US$997,982,
available to be carried forward to offset future taxable income which will
expire in 2007.
The
Company’s net operating loss carry forwards to offset future taxable income is
insignificant.
F-17
NOTE
8 -INTEREST IN ASSOCIATES
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
||||||
21st
Century Kid Castle Language and Education Center (“Education Center”)
(Note (i))
|
|||||||
Investment
cost
|
$
|
92,942
|
$
|
90,620
|
|||
Share
of loss
|
(40,803
|
)
|
(32,752
|
)
|
|||
$
|
52,139
|
$
|
57,868
|
||||
Tianjin
Kid Castle Educational Investment Consulting Co., Ltd. (“Tianjin
Consulting”) (Note (ii))
|
|||||||
Investment
cost
|
$
|
86,746
|
$
|
60,413
|
|||
Share
of loss
|
(80,360
|
)
|
(40,886
|
)
|
|||
$
|
6,386
|
$
|
19,527
|
||||
Sichuan
Lanbeisi Kid Castle Education Development Co., Ltd.
(“Lanbeisi”) (Note (iii))
|
|||||||
Investment
cost
|
$
|
44,612
|
$
|
43,498
|
|||
Share
of loss
|
(31,979
|
)
|
(21,426
|
)
|
|||
$
|
12,633
|
$
|
22,072
|
||||
$
|
71,158
|
$
|
99,467
|
Note:
(i) |
In
October 2003, the Group obtained the government’s approval to co-found
Education Center with 21St Century Publishing House in the PRC.
In 2004,
Education Center registered the total capital as RMB$1,500,000,
and KCES
and 21St Century Publishing House each owns 50 percent of the investee.
It
has been determined that the Group has significant influence and
should
therefore account for its investee on the equity
method.
|
For
the
years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, the Group recognized an investment
loss,
accounted for under the equity method, in Education Center of $7,103 and 7,471
respectively.
(ii) |
On
April 1, 2004, the Group signed a joint venture agreement with Tianjin
Foreign Enterprises & Experts Service Corp., in Tianjin City, PRC.
Pursuant to this joint venture agreement, the Group and Tianjin Foreign
Enterprises & Experts Service Corp. each owns a 50 percent interest in
Tianjin Kid Castle Educational Investment Consulting Co., Ltd. It
has been
determined that the Group has significant influence over its investee
and
accordingly the investment is accounted for under the equity method.
For
the year ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, the Group recognized an
investment loss of $37,846 and 40,886 respectively, accounted for
under
the equity method, in Tianjin
Consulting.
|
(iii) |
On
April 28, 2004, the Group signed a joint venture agreement with Lanbeisi
Education & Culture Industrial Co., Ltd. in Sichuan Province, PRC and
Sichuan Province Education Institutional Service Center in Sichuan
Province, PRC. Pursuant to this joint venture agreement, the Group,
Lanbeisi Education & Culture Industrial Co., Ltd and Sichuan Province
Education Institutional Service Center own, respectively, 45 percent,
45
percent and 10 percent interests in Sichuan Lanbeisi Kid Castle Education
Development Co., Ltd. It has been determined that the Group has
significant influence over its investee and accordingly the investment
is
accounted for under the equity method. For the year ended December
31, For
the years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, the Group recognized
an
investment loss accounted for under the equity method in Lanbeisi
of
$9,853 and 21,246 respectively.
|
F-18
NOTE
9 —PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
||||||
Freehold
land
|
$
|
559,477
|
$
|
579,326
|
|||
Buildings
|
913,659
|
946,074
|
|||||
Furniture
and fixtures
|
823,599
|
812,885
|
|||||
Transportation
equipment
|
85,904
|
259,076
|
|||||
Miscellaneous
equipment
|
225,250
|
225,234
|
|||||
2,607,889
|
2,822,595
|
||||||
Less:
Accumulated depreciation
|
(799,478
|
)
|
(634,503
|
)
|
|||
$
|
1,808,411
|
$
|
2,188,092
|
The
land
and buildings at 8th floor, No. 98 Min Chuan Road, Hsin-Tien City, Taipei
City, Taiwan, with carrying cost of $1,473,136 and $1,437,799 as of December
31,
2005 and 2004, respectively, purchased from a director are pledged to a bank
to
secure a bank loan (Note 12(iv)) granted in December 2003.
Depreciation
charged to the operations was $299,884, $203,077 and$176,564 for the years
ended
December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003, respectively.
NOTE
10 — INTANGIBLE ASSETS
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
||||||
Gross
carrying amount
|
|||||||
Franchise
|
$
|
1,036,178
|
$
|
1,072,939
|
|||
Copyrights
|
609,106
|
630,716
|
|||||
1,645,284
|
1,703,655
|
||||||
Less:
Accumulated amortization
|
|||||||
Franchise
|
(595,802
|
)
|
(509,646
|
)
|
|||
Copyrights
|
(350,236
|
)
|
(299,590
|
)
|
|||
(946,038
|
)
|
(809,236
|
)
|
||||
$
|
699,246
|
$
|
894,419
|
Amortization
charged to operations was $167,945, $161,648 and $156,861 for the years ended
December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003, respectively.
F-19
The
estimated aggregate amortization expenses for each of the five succeeding fiscal
years are as follows:
2006
|
$
|
164,528
|
||
2007
|
164,528
|
|||
2008
|
164,528
|
|||
2009
|
164,528
|
|||
2010
|
41,134
|
|||
$
|
699,246
|
NOTE
11 —ACCRUED EXPENSES
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
||||||
Accrued
compensation
|
$
|
195,489
|
$
|
305,599
|
|||
Accrued
commission
|
—
|
46,610
|
|||||
Accrued
professional fee
|
196,766
|
153,867
|
|||||
Accrued
production cost
|
47,944
|
13,788
|
|||||
Accrued
value-add-in tax
|
—
|
30,969
|
|||||
Accrued
advertising cost
|
—
|
—
|
|||||
Others
|
120,534
|
152,574
|
|||||
$
|
560,733
|
$
|
703,407
|
NOTE
12 —BORROWINGS
Notes
|
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
||||||||
Bank
term loans
|
(i
|
)
|
$
|
564,704
|
$
|
945,932
|
||||
Short-term
unsecured bank loans
|
(ii
|
)
|
539,583
|
725,323
|
||||||
Mid-term
loan
|
(iii
|
)
|
586,436
|
1,130,827
|
||||||
Mid-term
secured bank loan
|
(iv
|
)
|
1,466,574
|
1,482,725
|
||||||
3,157,297
|
4,284,807
|
|||||||||
Less:
Balances maturing within one year included in current liabilities
Bank
term loans
|
145,042
|
721,896
|
||||||||
Short-term
unsecured bank loans
|
539,583
|
725,323
|
||||||||
Mid-term
loans
|
586,436
|
726,720
|
||||||||
Mid-term
secured bank loan
|
245,845
|
459,043
|
||||||||
1,516,906
|
2,632,982
|
|||||||||
Bank
borrowings maturing after one year
|
$
|
1,640,391
|
$
|
1,651,825
|
Notes:
(i) |
The
balance represents discounting notes receivable loans with the bank
using
post-dated checks totaling $873,215 and $1,625,505 received from
franchises and also collateralized by the Group’s bank deposits of $46,456
and $57,813 as of December 31, 2005 and 2004, respectively. The repayment
dates of the loans coincided with the maturity dates of the corresponding
pledged post-dated checks, and was extended on March 21, 2005. The
weighted average interest rates were 5.83 percent and 5.79 percent
per
annum as of December 31, 2005 and 2004,
respectively.
|
F-20
For
the
years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, the interest expenses charged to
operations amounted to $50,225 and $42,213, respectively.
(ii) |
In
March 2005, KCIT obtained an unsecured short-term loan in the amount
of
$304,553, which is guaranteed by two directors and shareholders of
the
Group. The loan bears interest at the Taiwan basic borrowing rate
plus
1.65 percent per annum and is due and payable in February 2006. The
applicable interest rate is approximately 5.45 percent per annum
as of
December 31, 2005.
|
In
August
2005, KCIT obtained an unsecured short-term loan in the amount of $304,553,
which was collateralized by the KCIT’s refundable deposits of $60,911 and notes
receivables approximating 30% of loan balance, and guaranteed by two directors
and shareholders of the Group. The loan bears interest at the Taiwan basic
borrowing rate Plus 1.3 percent per annum, for the year 2005, and be due and
payable in February 2006 and was collateralized by notes receivables in the
amount approximating the loan balance. The applicable interest rate is
approximately 5.1 percent per annum as of December 31, 2005.
For
the
years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, the interest expense charged to
operations from the above three unsecured short-term loans amounted to $24,653
and-$28,887, respectively.
(iii) |
In
June 2005, KCIT obtained a loan of $609,106 from a financial institution,
which bore interest at 5 percent per annum and was repayable in 18
equal
monthly installments, to finance the Group’s operations. The last
installment was due on December 13, 2006. As of December 31, 2005,
the
loan was collateralized by the KCIT’s refundable deposits of $121,821and
notes receivables approximating 20% of loan balance, and the Group
repaid
$196,709
|
In
November 2004, KCIT signed a loan contract with a new financial institution
to
obtain a loan of $630,716, which is guaranteed by two directors and shareholders
of the Group. The loan bears interest at 5.26 percent per annum as of December
31, 2005 and 2004, and is repayable in 18 monthly installments, for the purpose
of financing operations. The last installment will be due on May 10, 2006.
As of
December 31, 2005, the loan was collateralized by the KCIT’s refundable deposits
of $152,277, and the Group repaid $435,067.
For
the
years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, the interest expenses charged to
operations from loans of financial institutions amounted to $32,146 and $40,452,
respectively.
(iv) |
In
August 2005, KCIT obtained a bank loan in the principal amount of
$944,115
to repay its mortgage loan that was originally granted by a bank
on August
10, 2005 and to finance its operations. The loan is secured by the
Group’s
land and buildings and personal guarantees provide by two directors
of the
Group. The loan bears interest at the lending bank’s basic fixed deposit
rate plus 0.69 percent between annum, for the year 2005 to 2007,
and plus
1.69 percent from the annum for the year 2008. On August 10, 2005,
the
bank extended the term of the loan and the Group agreed to repay
the loan,
which is now repayable in 84 equal monthly installments starting
August
10, 2012. As of December 31, 2005, the applicable interest rate is
approximately 2.6 percent, the Group repaid
$17,405.
|
In
February 2005, KCIT obtained a new bank loan of $456,830, which bears interest
at 6 percent per annum and is repayable in 36 equal monthly installments. The
last installment will be due on February 2, 2008, was collateralized by notes
receivables approximating 30 percent of the loan balance, and guaranteed by
two
directors of the Group. As of December 31, 2005, the Group repaid
$117,094.
In
August
2005, KCIT obtained a new bank loan of $213,187, which bears interest at 3.7
percent per annum, and is repayable in 60 equal monthly installments. The last
installment will be due on August 10, 2010, and guaranteed by two directors
of
the Group. As of December 31, 2005, the Group repaid $13,059.
F-21
For
the
years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, the interest expenses charged to
operations from the aforementioned loans amounted to $69,573 and $62,112,
respectively.
NOTE
13 OTHER
PAYABLES
As
of
December 31, 2005, the balance of other payables was $1,057,161, and included
the short-term loans of an annum interest rate of 7% from third parties, Olympic
and Shih, of $347,636 and 60,089, respectively. As discussed in Note 20(X).
1
note 1.
NOTE
14 — DEPOSITS RECEIVED
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
||||||
Deposits
received
|
$
|
1,326,203
|
$
|
1,187,796
|
|||
Less:
Amount refundable within one year included in current
liabilities
|
(462,007
|
)
|
(498,266
|
)
|
|||
Amount
due after one year
|
$
|
864,196
|
$
|
689,530
|
The
balance represents deposits received from franchises for their due performance
under the franchise agreements. The deposits are refundable to franchises upon
expiration of the franchise agreements, usually within a three-year period
for
operations in Taiwan and within five-year period for operations in PRC.
F-22
NOTE
15 —RECEIPTS IN ADVANCE
Notes
|
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
||||||||
Current
liabilities:
|
||||||||||
Sales
deposits received
|
(i
|
)
|
$
|
682,553
|
$
|
565,053
|
||||
Franchise
income received
|
(ii
|
)
|
1,391,625
|
1,906,286
|
||||||
Subscription
fees received
|
(iii
|
)
|
234,342
|
435,635
|
||||||
Other
|
45,160
|
89,584
|
||||||||
2,353,680
|
2,996,558
|
|||||||||
Long-term
liabilities:
|
||||||||||
Franchise
income received
|
(ii
|
)
|
1,130,207
|
1,124,809
|
||||||
Other
|
—
|
—
|
||||||||
1,130,207
|
1,124,809
|
|||||||||
$
|
3,483,887
|
$
|
4,121,367
|
Notes:
(i) |
The
balance represents receipts in advance from customers for goods to
be sold
to them.
|
(ii) |
The
balance represents franchise income received in advance which is
attributable to the periods after the respective year end date in
which
the Group is obliged to provide training to teachers of the franchises
and
marketing material and to sell course material at the agreed price
in the
franchise agreements.
|
(iii) |
The
balance represents subscription fees received in advance for subscription
of magazines published by the
Group.
|
NOTE
16 — RETIREMENT PLANS
In
accordance with the relevant labor laws in Taiwan, the Group has maintained
a
non-contributory and funded defined benefit retirement plan for its employees
in
Taiwan. Net periodic pension cost is based on annual actuarial valuations which
use the projected unit credit cost method of calculation and is charged to
the
consolidated statement of operations on a systematic basis over the average
remaining service lives of current employees. Contribution amounts are
determined in accordance with the advice of professionally qualified actuaries
in Taiwan. Under the plan, the employees are entitled to receive retirement
benefits upon retirement in the manner stipulated by the relevant labor laws
in
Taiwan. The benefits under the plan are based on various factors such as years
of service and the final base salary preceding retirement.
The
net
periodic pension cost is as follows:
Years
Ended December 31,
|
||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
Service
cost
|
$
|
24,995
|
$
|
61,550
|
$
|
53,252
|
||||
Interest
cost
|
9,575
|
6,912
|
4,501
|
|||||||
Actual
return on plan assets
|
(3,295
|
)
|
(1,466
|
)
|
—
|
|||||
Amortization
of unrecognized loss
|
870
|
1,287
|
958
|
|||||||
Net
periodic pension cost
|
$
|
32,145
|
$
|
68,283
|
$
|
58,711
|
F-23
The
net
pension amount recognized in the consolidated balance sheet as at December
31,
2005, and 2004, the measurement dates, is as follows:
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
||||||
Accumulated
benefit obligation at end of year
|
$
|
255,931
|
$
|
188,773
|
|||
Projected
benefit obligation at beginning of year
|
277,862
|
193,668
|
|||||
Translation
reserve
|
(3,948
|
)
|
18,216
|
||||
Service
cost on benefits earned during the period
|
24,995
|
61,550
|
|||||
Member
contributions
|
—
|
—
|
|||||
Interest
cost
|
9,575
|
6,912
|
|||||
Actuarial
(gain)/loss
|
45,141
|
(2,484
|
)
|
||||
Benefits
paid
|
—
|
—
|
|||||
Projected
benefit obligation at end of year
|
$
|
353,625
|
$
|
277,862
|
Changes
in plan assets are as follows:
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
||||||
Fair
value of plan assets at beginning of year
|
$
|
71,512
|
$
|
13,655
|
|||
Translation
reserve
|
(1,019
|
)
|
3,942
|
||||
Actual
return on plan assets
|
98
|
1,466
|
|||||
Employer
contribution
|
12,757
|
52,449
|
|||||
Employee
contribution
|
—
|
—
|
|||||
Benefits
paid
|
—
|
—
|
|||||
Fair
value of plan assets at end of year
|
$
|
83,348
|
$
|
71,512
|
|||
Funded
status
|
$
|
(264,776
|
)
|
$
|
(206,350
|
)
|
|
Unrecognized
net transition amount
|
—
|
—
|
|||||
Unrecognized
prior service cost
|
—
|
—
|
|||||
Unrecognized
net actuarial (gain)/loss
|
90,389
|
45,443
|
|||||
Net
amount recognized
|
$
|
(174,387
|
)
|
$
|
(160,907
|
)
|
As
of
December 31, 2005 and 2004, the asset category of the plan assets consisted
of
cash contributions deposited with Central Trust of China.
Actuarial
assumptions used:
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
||||||
Discount
rate
|
3.50
|
%
|
3.50
|
%
|
|||
Salary
increase rate
|
2.00
|
%
|
2.00
|
%
|
|||
Expected
return on plan assets
|
2.50
|
%
|
3.50
|
%
|
F-24
Under
the
Plan, the benefits expected to be paid in each of the next five fiscal years,
and in the aggregate for the five fiscal years thereafter are as
follow:
Years
ended December 31,
|
||||
2006
|
$
|
—
|
||
2007
|
—
|
|||
2008
|
—
|
|||
2009
|
—
|
|||
2010
|
—
|
|||
Years
2011 to 2015
|
$
|
29,969
|
||
$
|
29,969
|
In
addition, the estimated contribution to be paid to the Plan in 2006 by the
Group
is $29,292.
The
Group
also makes defined contributions to a retirement benefits plan for its employees
in the PRC in accordance with local regulations. The contributions made by
the
Company for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003 amounted to
$51,007, $83,176, and $72,775, respectively.
NOTE
17 —COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
A. Lease
Commitment
During
the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003, the Company incurred lease
expenses amounting to $491,909, $198,478, and $284,259, respectively. As of
December 31, 2005, the Company’s future minimum lease payments under
non-cancellable operating leases expiring in excess of one year are as
follows:
Years
ended December 31,
|
||||
2006
|
$
|
252,170
|
||
2007
|
224,791
|
|||
2008
|
211,238
|
|||
2009
|
137,536
|
|||
2010
|
$
|
107,044
|
||
$
|
932,779
|
B. Going
Concern
The
accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming the Group will
continue as a going concern. As the Group is aggressively expanding its business
in the PRC and the Group’s PRC operation is still in an emerging stage and has
not turned profitable, the Group has suffered recurring losses from operations
and has a net capital deficiency. The above conditions raise substantial doubt
about the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern. Moreover,
management expects that it will be necessary to raise capital in 2006 to fund
operations. The financial statements do no include any adjustments to reflect
the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of assets
or the amounts and classification of liabilities that may result from the
outcome of this uncertainty.
NOTE
18 —COMMON STOCK
Pursuant
to an exchange agreement effective on October 1, 2002, the Company issued to
the
shareholders of Higoal 11,880,000 authorized but unissued shares of common
stock
of the Company in exchange of 100 percent of the issued and fully paid up
capital of Higoal.
The
issued and outstanding common stock of the Company immediately prior to the
above share exchange was 3,120,829 shares. All shares and per share data prior
to October 1, 2002 have been restated to reflect the stock issuance as a
recapitalization of Higoal.
F-25
On
October 2, 2002, the Company issued 73,500 shares of common stock to a
shareholder, Halter Capital Corporation, pursuant to certain anti-dilution
terms
set forth in an stock exchange agreement dated June 6, 2002.
Pursuant
to a special Board resolution passed on April 2, 2003, the Company resolved
to
issue 6,000,000 shares of common stock at a subscription price of $0.70 per
share to investors in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act.
Subsequent to the resolution and before December 31, 2003, the Company issued
3,592,040 shares for cash and received net proceeds of $2,514,428. Additionally,
pursuant to an agreement entered into in November 2003, the Company issued
333,334 shares to ACE Capital Investment Ltd. to repay the liability of $500,000
as required by the original creditor.
On
November 4, 2003, the Company submitted “Common Stock Listing Application” with
American Stock Exchange LLC (“AMEX”) for the listing of its issued and
outstanding shares of common stock. On November 29, 2004, as the Company had
not
received approval for the listing application from AMEX, the management decided
to withdraw the application.
As
of
December 31, 2004, the Company was authorized to issue 25,000,000 shares of
common stock with no par value. And as of December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003,
the
total issued and outstanding shares were 18,999,703, 18,999,703, and 18,999,703
shares, respectively.
NOTE
19 — RESTRICTIONS ON RETAINED EARNINGS
In
accordance with the regulations of the countries where KCIT, KCES, and Culture
Media, the Group’s wholly-owned subsidiaries, were incorporated, certain
restriction on these subsidiaries’ retained earnings are described as
follows:
A. KCIT
Legal
reserve
According
to the Taiwan Company Law, the annual net income should be used initially to
cover any accumulated deficit; thereafter 10 percent of the annual net income
should be set aside as legal reserve until legal reserve has reached 100 percent
of contributed capital. Under the Taiwan Company Law, the legal reserve shall
be
exclusively used to cover accumulated deficit or, if the balance of reserve
exceeds 50 percent of contributed capital, to increase capital not exceeding
50
percent of reserve balance and shall not be used for any other
purpose.
As
of
December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003, the balance of legal reserve as shown on
the
consolidated statement of shareholders’ equity are $65,320, $65,320, and
$65,320, respectively, based on the local statutory financial statements of
the
subsidiary.
Undistributed
earnings
In
accordance with the subsidiary’s Articles of Incorporation, the annual net
income should be used initially to cover income tax and any accumulated deficit;
10 percent of the annual net income should be set aside as legal reserve.
Thereafter, the board of directors may propose and the shareholders may approve
the distribution of the remaining earnings.
B. KCES
and Culture Media
The
laws
and regulations of the PRC require KCES and Culture Media to provide certain
statutory funds, namely, a reserve fund, an enterprise expansion fund, and
a
staff and workers’ bonus and welfare fund, which are appropriated from net
profit (based on the subsidiaries’ statutory accounts) after offsetting any
prior years’ losses but before dividend distribution. These funds are created
for specific purposes and appropriations to these funds are at the discretion
of
the directors. The reserve fund can only be used, upon approval by the relevant
authority, to offset accumulated losses or increase capital. The enterprise
expansion fund can only be used to increase capital upon approval by the
relevant authority. The staff and workers’ bonus and welfare fund can only be
used for special bonuses or collective welfare of the subsidiaries’ employees,
and assets acquired through this fund shall not be taken as the subsidiaries’
assets.
F-26
NOTE
20 — RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
A. Names
of
related parties and relationship with the Company are as follows:
Names
of related parties
|
Relationship
with the Company
|
|
Mr.
Kuo-An Wang
|
He
is a shareholder. In October 2005, he resigned as chairman of the
board of
directors, president and chief executive officer of the Company.
|
|
Mr. Yu-En
Chiu
|
He
is a shareholder. On June 1, 2006, he resigned as vice chairman and
director of the board of directors. Mr. Chiu remains to be the Chairman
of
PRC operation.
|
|
Mr. Min-Tan
Yang
|
Director
and chief executive officer of the Company since November 2,
2005.
|
|
Mr. Suang-Yi
Pai
|
Director
of the board of directors and appointed as chairman of the board
since
November 2, 2005.
|
|
Kid
Castle Enterprises Limited (“KCE”)
|
Its
two directors and shareholders are Mr. Kuo-An Wang and Mr. Yu-En
Chiu.
|
|
Chevady
Culture Enterprise Limited (‘CCE”)
|
Its
chairman of the board of directors is Mr. Kuo-An Wang
|
|
Private
Kid Castle Short Term Language Cram School (“PKC
Language”)
|
Its
chairman of the board of directors is Mr. Yu-En
Chiu.
|
|
Taipei
Country Private Kid Castle Short Term Language Cram School (“TCP
PKC”)
|
Its
chairman of the board of directors is Mr. Yu-En
Chiu.
|
|
Taipei
Country Private Chevady Preschool (“TCP Chevady”)
|
Its
chairman of the board of directors is Mr. Yu-En
Chiu.
|
|
Taipei
Country Private Chung-hua Preschool (“TCP Chung-hua”)
|
Its
chairman of the board of directors is Mr. Yu-En
Chiu.
|
|
Taipei
Country Private Wonderland Preschool (“TCP Wonderland”)
|
Its
chairman of the board of directors is Mr. Yu-En
Chiu.
|
|
Taipei
City Private Kid Castle Preschool (“TCP Kid Castle”)
|
Its
chairman of the board of directors is Mr. Yu-En
Chiu.
|
|
Taipei
Country Private Kid’s Castle Yin Cyun Preschool(“TCP Yin
Cyun”)
|
Its
chairman of the board of directors is Mr. Min-Tan
Yang.
|
|
Yin
Cyun Language & Computer School(“Yin Chyn Language”)
|
Its
chairman of the board of directors is Mr. Min-Tan
Yang.
|
|
21st
Century Publishing House (“Publishing House”)
|
A
joint venture partner (third-party after July 2004).
|
|
Jiangxi
21st Century Kid Castle Culture Media Co., Ltd (“Culture
Media”)
|
An
investment accounted for under the equity method before July 2, 2004.
It
has become a consolidated entity after July 2, 2004.
|
|
21st
Century Kid Castle Language and Education Center (“Education
Center”)
|
An
investment accounted for under the equity method.
|
|
Tianjin
Kid Castle Educational Investment Consulting Co., Ltd. (“Tianjin
Consulting”)
|
An
investment accounted for under the equity method.
|
|
Sichuan
Lanbeisi Kid Castle Education Development Co., Ltd.
(“Lanbeisi”)
|
An
investment accounted for under the equity
method.
|
F-27
B. Significant
transactions and balances with related parties are as follows:
Years
Ended December 31,
|
||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
(i)Sales
to:
|
||||||||||
—
PKC Language
|
$
|
8,763
|
$
|
13,290
|
$
|
15,484
|
||||
—
TCP PKC
|
8,763
|
13,290
|
15,485
|
|||||||
—
TCP Chevady
|
9,070
|
14,151
|
18,922
|
|||||||
—
TCP Chung-hua
|
20,267
|
17,310
|
26,775
|
|||||||
—
TCP Wonderland
|
9,070
|
14,151
|
18,922
|
|||||||
—
TCP Kid Castle
|
8,618
|
16,402
|
26,861
|
|||||||
—
TCP Yin Cyun
|
101,977
|
—
|
—
|
|||||||
—
Yin Chyn Language
|
107,171
|
—
|
—
|
|||||||
—
Publishing House
|
—
|
—
|
157,030
|
|||||||
—
Education Center
|
26,090
|
10,335
|
8,637
|
|||||||
—
Tianjin Consulting
|
20,151
|
10,823
|
—
|
|||||||
—
Lanbeisi
|
47,896
|
20,057
|
—
|
|||||||
$
|
367,836
|
$
|
129,809
|
$
|
288,116
|
|||||
(ii)
Rental income from:
|
||||||||||
KCE
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
1,742
|
||||
CCE
|
1,399
|
1,795
|
1,742
|
|||||||
$
|
1,399
|
$
|
1,795
|
$
|
3,484
|
|||||
(iii)
Franchise income
|
||||||||||
PKC
Language
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
627
|
$
|
—
|
||||
TCP
PKC
|
—
|
627
|
—
|
|||||||
TCP
Chevady
|
3,621
|
4,374
|
3,478
|
|||||||
TCP
Chung-hua
|
—
|
1,781
|
—
|
|||||||
TCP
Wonderland
|
3,621
|
4,374
|
3,478
|
|||||||
TCP
Kid Castle
|
7,269
|
8,649
|
—
|
|||||||
TCP
Yin Cyun
|
11,168
|
—
|
—
|
|||||||
Yin
Chyn Language
|
13,655
|
—
|
—
|
|||||||
Education
Center
|
8,362
|
—
|
—
|
|||||||
Tianjin
Consulting
|
3,316
|
—
|
—
|
|||||||
Lanbeisi
|
1,264
|
—
|
—
|
|||||||
$
|
52,276
|
$
|
20,432
|
$
|
6,956
|
|||||
(iv)
Purchase
|
||||||||||
Publishing
House
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
453,766
|
$
|
507,136
|
(v) |
The
two directors, Mr. Kuo-An Wang and Yu-En Chiu, have given personal
guarantees to certain bank loans and borrowings. Please see the details
as
described in Note 12 - Borrowings.
|
The
management of the Group is of the opinion that the above transactions were
carried out in the normal course of business at agreed upon terms.
(vi) |
Accounts
and notes receivable — related
parties:
|
F-28
Name
of Related Parties
|
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
|||||
—
PKC Language
|
$
|
26,147
|
$
|
16,772
|
|||
—
TCP PKC
|
52,294
|
16,772
|
|||||
—
TCP Chung-hua
|
53,665
|
27,506
|
|||||
—
TCP Chevady
|
48,685
|
24,431
|
|||||
—
TCP Wonderland
|
48,685
|
24,431
|
|||||
—
TCP Kid Castle
|
58,172
|
31,586
|
|||||
—
TCP Yin Cyun
|
33,585
|
—
|
|||||
—
Yin Chyn Language
|
41,133
|
—
|
|||||
—
Publishing House
|
—
|
—
|
|||||
—
Education Center
|
—
|
726
|
|||||
—
Tianjin Consulting
|
20,826
|
15,746
|
|||||
—
Lanbeisi
|
17,992
|
19,475
|
|||||
$
|
401,184
|
$
|
177,445
|
(vii) |
Other
receivables — related parties:
|
Name
of Related Parties
|
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
|||||
Publishing
House (Note 1)
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
13,781
|
|||
Education
Center (Note 2)
|
—
|
268
|
|||||
Tianjin
Consulting (Note 3)
|
15
|
6,825
|
|||||
Lanbeisi
(Note 4)
|
9,304
|
9,062
|
|||||
$
|
9,319
|
$
|
29,936
|
Note:
1. |
As
of December 31, 2003, the amount due from Publishing House consisted
primarily of the remaining amount due under a loan of RMB$1,000,000
(approximately $120,000 from the Group to Publishing House for the
incorporation of Culture Media). The loan is unsecured and bears
no
interest. Pursuant to the terms of the loan, Publishing House was
obligated to repay the loan on or before June 27, 2004 or it would
be
required to transfer its 40 percent ownership interest in Culture
Media to
the Group. On July 2, 2004, as Publishing House did not repay the
loan,
the Group decided to take over 40 percent ownership from Publishing
House.
In so doing, the Group’s ownership in Culture Media increased to 90
percent, and Culture Media has become a consolidated entity as of
December
31, 2004.
|
2. |
Education
Center was founded in October 2003. The amount due from this related
party
is mainly inventory purchases paid by the Group on behalf of Education
Center. The amount due has no fixed repayment term and bears no
interest.
|
3. |
Tianjin
Consulting was incorporated in April 2004. The Group paid certain
pre-operating costs on behalf of Tianjin Consulting. The amount due
from
this related party has no fixed repayment term and bears no
interest.
|
4. |
Lanbeisi
was incorporated in April 2004. The Group paid pre-operating costs
of
RMB$75,000 (approximately $9,000) on behalf of Lanbeisi. The amount
due
from this related party has no fixed repayment term and bears no
interest.
|
F-29
(viii) |
Prepayments
and other current assets
|
Name
of Related Parties
|
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
|||||
Prepayment
to Publishing House
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
265,223
|
|||
|
$ | — |
$
|
265,223
|
Prepayments
to Publishing House are mainly for inventory ordered by Culture Media. According
to each contract signed with Publishing House, Culture Media has to prepay
a
certain percentage of inventories purchased upon the effectiveness of the
contracts. The remaining payments will be made three months after the initial
payment.
(ix) |
Accounts
payable — related parties:
|
Name
of Related Parties
|
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
|||||
Prepayment
to Publishing House
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
265,077
|
|||
|
$ | — |
$
|
265,077
|
(x) |
Significant
transactions and balances with related parties are as
follows:
|
1.
Amount
due to officers/directors:
Name
of Related Parties
|
December 31,
2005
|
December 31,
2004
|
|||||
Mr. Kuo-An
Wang
|
$
|
60,911
|
$
|
—
|
|||
Mr. Min-Tan
Yang (note 1)
|
$
|
840,789
|
$
|
—
|
|||
Mr. Suang-Yi
Pai
|
$
|
76,138
|
$
|
—
|
|||
$
|
977,838
|
$
|
—
|
Note
1.
In the fourth quarter of 2005, Mr. Yang loaned $1,050,000 to the Company, and
third parties, Olympic Well International Ltd.(“Olympic”) and Chen-Chen Shih
(“Shih”), procured by Mr. Pai loaned $690,000 and $60,089, respectively. The
loans were treated as short-term loans, due in three months, with a per annum
interest rate of 7%. A portion of the loan made by Olympic in the amount of
US$342,364 was assigned to Mr. Pai on or about December 30, 2005. That amount,
along with $209,211 which was owed Mr. Yang were forgiven in exchange for the
Company’s forgiveness of Mr. Chiu’s debt to the Company of the amount of
$551,575 (NT$18,500,000, the currency has been translated at the exchange rates
at the time of the loans) at the end of 2005. Outstanding loans of $347,636
(Olympic), $60,089 (Shih) are recorded as other payables, and $840,789 due
to
Mr. Yang was recorded as related parties.
2.
Amount
due from ex-CFO:
During
the year ended December 31, 2004, certain inappropriate withdrawals and
subsequent repayments by the Company’s
then
Chief Financial Officer Yu-En Chiu have been recognized in the Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows as short term non-interest bearing advances to Mr.
Chiu. Mr. Chiu made cash repayments and withdrawals to and from the Company
on an intermittent basis during the year. During the year ended December 31,
2004, the highest balance of the advances to Mr. Yu-En Chiu was $328,546.
As of December 31, 2004, Mr. Yu-En Chiu had repaid all outstanding advances
to the Company.
F-30
However,
he initiated further withdrawals on January 13, 2005. During 2005, the total
amount of withdrawals was NT$95,000,000($2,953,337), and as of December 31,
2005, the highest balance of the deemed loan to Mr. Chiu at any time was
NT$21,660,000($673,361). Mr. Chiu had repaid all such withdrawals to the
Company and the amount due from officers was nil. The circumstances surrounding
Mr. Chiu’s fund misappropriation is more fully described in our June 23,
2006 Form 8-K. (The currency in 8-K’s disclosure have been translated from New
Taiwan Dollars to US dollars based on an exchange rate of US$1 =
NT$33.42.)
NOTE
21 — CONCENTRATION OF CREDIT RISK
Financial
instruments that potentially subject the Group to significant concentrations
of
credit risk consist principally of cash, trade notes receivable and accounts
receivable. The Group’s cash are deposited with various financial institutions
in the ROC and the PRC. The Group offers credit terms on the sale of its
products to certain customers. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations
of its customers’ financial condition and, generally, requires no collateral
from its customers.
The
Company maintains an allowance for uncollectible notes receivable and accounts
receivable based upon the expected collectability of all notes receivable and
accounts receivable.
In
addition to cash, notes receivable and accounts receivable, the Company’s
financial instruments include notes payable and accounts payable, which are
carried at cost, which approximates the fair value because of the short-term
maturity of these instruments.
No
individual customer of the Group accounted for more than 10 percent of operating
revenues for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003. However, one
major customer accounted for approximately 22 percent and 23 percent of notes
(including current and long-term notes receivable) and accounts receivable
as of
December 31, 2005 and 2004, and none accounted for more than 10 percent of
notes
and accounts receivable as of December 31, 2003.
NOTE
22 — GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENTS
The
Group
is principally engaged in the business of children education focusing on English
language in Taiwan and the PRC. Accordingly, the Group has two reportable
geographic segments: Taiwan and the PRC. The Group evaluates the performance
of
each geographic segment based on its net income or loss. The Group also accounts
for inter-segment sales as if the sales were made to third parties. Information
concerning the operations in these geographical segments is as
follows:
F-31
A. For
the year ended December 31, 2005
Taiwan
|
The
PRC
|
Total
|
Corporate
|
Eliminations
|
Consolidated
|
||||||||||||||
REVENUE
|
|||||||||||||||||||
External
revenue
|
$
|
7,200,347
|
$
|
3,017,811
|
$
|
10,218,158
|
$
|
14,176
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
10,232,334
|
|||||||
Inter-segment
revenue
|
4,936
|
—
|
4,936
|
—
|
(4,936
|
)
|
—
|
||||||||||||
$
|
7,205,283
|
$
|
3,017,811
|
$
|
10,223,094
|
$
|
14,176
|
$
|
(4,936
|
)
|
$
|
10,232,334
|
|||||||
DEPRECIATION
AND AMORTIZATION
|
$
|
385,246
|
$
|
82,583
|
$
|
467,829
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
—
|
467,829
|
||||||||
SEGMENT
RESULTS
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Profit
(loss) form operations
|
$
|
1,034,241
|
$
|
(997,982
|
)
|
$
|
36,259
|
$
|
(295,035
|
)
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
(258,776
|
)
|
||||
Interest
income
|
8,608
|
1,107
|
9,715
|
5,172
|
—
|
14,887
|
|||||||||||||
Interest
expenses
|
(225,378
|
)
|
(6,676
|
)
|
(232,054
|
)
|
(19,721
|
)
|
—
|
(251,775
|
)
|
||||||||
Share
of profit of associates
|
—
|
(54,802
|
)
|
(54,802
|
)
|
—
|
—
|
(54,802
|
)
|
||||||||||
Other
non-operating income (loss), net
|
(629,904
|
)
|
(7,718
|
)
|
(637,622
|
)
|
(128
|
)
|
(38,708
|
)
|
(676,458
|
)
|
|||||||
Profit
(loss) before income taxes
|
$
|
187,567
|
$
|
(1,066,071
|
)
|
$
|
(878,504
|
)
|
$
|
(309,712
|
)
|
$
|
(38,708
|
)
|
$
|
(1,226,924
|
)
|
||
Income
taxes
|
(400,290
|
)
|
(76,307
|
)
|
(476,597
|
)
|
(700
|
)
|
(477,297
|
)
|
|||||||||
Minority
interest income
|
—
|
5,939
|
5,939
|
—
|
—
|
5,939
|
|||||||||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
$
|
(212,723
|
)
|
$
|
(1,136,439
|
)
|
$
|
(1,349,162
|
)
|
$
|
(310,412
|
)
|
$
|
(38,708
|
)
|
$
|
(1,698,282
|
)
|
|
Capital
expenditures
|
$
|
162,136
|
$
|
40,894
|
$
|
203,030
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
203,030
|
|
December
31, 2005
|
December
31, 2005
|
|
December
31, 2005
|
|
December
31, 2005
|
|
December
31, 2005
|
|
December
31, 2005
|
|||||||||
Total
assets
|
$
|
8,503,513
|
$
|
2,311,798
|
$
|
10,815,311
|
$
|
299,141
|
$
|
(131,515
|
)
|
$
|
10,982,937
|
F-32
B. For the year ended December 31, 2004
Taiwan
|
The
PRC
|
Total
|
Corporate
|
Eliminations
|
Consolidated
|
||||||||||||||
REVENUE
|
|||||||||||||||||||
External
revenue
|
$
|
7,330,039
|
$
|
2,342,423
|
$
|
9,672,462
|
$
|
56,651
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
9,729,113
|
|||||||
Inter-segment
revenue
|
451,750
|
61,879
|
513,629
|
—
|
(513,629
|
)
|
—
|
||||||||||||
$
|
7,781,789
|
$
|
2,404,302
|
$
|
10,186,091
|
$
|
56,651
|
$
|
(513,629
|
)
|
$
|
9,729,113
|
|||||||
DEPRECIATION
AND AMORTIZATION
|
$
|
317,053
|
$
|
47,672
|
$
|
364,725
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
364,725
|
|||||||
SEGMENT
RESULTS
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Profit
(loss) form operations
|
$
|
630,946
|
$
|
(1,073,998
|
)
|
$
|
(443,052
|
)
|
$
|
(376,160
|
)
|
$
|
35,908
|
$
|
(783,304
|
)
|
|||
Interest
income
|
24,681
|
1,168
|
25,849
|
2,001
|
(3,981
|
)
|
23,869
|
||||||||||||
Interest
expenses
|
(176,085
|
)
|
—
|
(176,085
|
)
|
(2,469
|
)
|
3,981
|
(174,573
|
)
|
|||||||||
Share
of profit of associates
|
—
|
(36,573
|
)
|
(36,573
|
)
|
—
|
—
|
(36,573
|
)
|
||||||||||
Other
non-operating income (loss), net
|
89,485
|
(18,436
|
)
|
71,049
|
18,461
|
62,471
|
151,981
|
||||||||||||
Profit
(loss) before income taxes
|
569,027
|
(1,127,839
|
)
|
(558,812
|
)
|
(358,167
|
)
|
98,379
|
(818,600
|
)
|
|||||||||
Income
taxes
|
(313,597
|
)
|
(115,910
|
)
|
(429,507
|
)
|
(1,222
|
)
|
—
|
(430,729
|
)
|
||||||||
Minority
interest income
|
—
|
(5,263
|
)
|
(5,263
|
)
|
—
|
—
|
(5,263
|
)
|
||||||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
$
|
255,430
|
$
|
(1,249,012
|
)
|
$
|
(993,582
|
)
|
$
|
(359,389
|
)
|
98,379
|
$
|
(1,254,592
|
)
|
||||
Capital
expenditures
|
$
|
134,210
|
$
|
186,928
|
$
|
321,138
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
321,138
|
December
31,
2005
|
December
31,
2005
|
December
31,
2005
|
December
31,
2005
|
December
31,
2005
|
December
31,
2005
|
||||||||||||||
Total
assets
|
$
|
10,313,287
|
$
|
2,827,431
|
$
|
13,140,718
|
$
|
30,225
|
$
|
(389,519
|
)
|
$
|
12,781,424
|
F-33
C. For the year ended December 31, 2003
Taiwan
|
The
PRC
|
Total
|
Corporate
|
Eliminations
|
Consolidated
|
||||||||||||||
REVENUE
|
|||||||||||||||||||
External
revenue
|
$
|
7,507,683
|
$
|
1,083,700
|
$
|
8,591,383
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
8,591,383
|
|||||||
Inter-segment
revenue
|
202,001
|
—
|
202,001
|
—
|
(202,001
|
)
|
—
|
||||||||||||
$
|
7,709,684
|
$
|
1,083,700
|
$
|
8,793,384
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
(202,001
|
)
|
$
|
8,591,383
|
|||||||
DEPRECIATION
AND AMORTIZATION
|
$
|
285,635
|
$
|
47,790
|
$
|
333,425
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
333,425
|
|||||||
SEGMENT
RESULTS
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Profit
(loss) form operations
|
$
|
157,153
|
$
|
(1,071,371
|
)
|
$
|
(914,218
|
)
|
$
|
(522,488
|
)
|
$
|
(7,808
|
)
|
$
|
(1,444,514
|
)
|
||
Interest
income
|
60,108
|
—
|
60,108
|
729
|
—
|
60,837
|
|||||||||||||
Interest
expenses
|
(184,154
|
)
|
—
|
(184,154
|
)
|
(155,914
|
)
|
—
|
(340,068
|
)
|
|||||||||
Share
of profit of associates
|
—
|
(49,349
|
)
|
(49,349
|
)
|
—
|
—
|
(49,349
|
)
|
||||||||||
Loss
on write-off of an investment
|
—
|
(133,267
|
)
|
(133,267
|
)
|
—
|
—
|
(133,267
|
)
|
||||||||||
Other
non-operating income (loss), net
|
163,948
|
(1,208
|
)
|
162,740
|
2,545
|
9,919
|
175,204
|
||||||||||||
Profit
(loss) before income taxes
|
197,055
|
(1,255,195
|
)
|
(1,058,140
|
)
|
(675,128
|
)
|
2,111
|
(1,731,157
|
)
|
|||||||||
Income
taxes
|
(102,158
|
)
|
(106,625
|
)
|
(208,783
|
)
|
(651
|
)
|
—
|
(209,434
|
)
|
||||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
$
|
94,897
|
$
|
(1,361,820
|
)
|
$
|
(1,266,923
|
)
|
$
|
(675,779
|
)
|
$
|
2,111
|
$
|
(1,940,591
|
)
|
|||
Capital
expenditures
|
$
|
170,981
|
$
|
104,918
|
$
|
275,899
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
—
|
$
|
275,899
|
December
31,
2005
|
December
31,
2005
|
December
31,
2005
|
December
31,
2005
|
December
31,
2005
|
December
31,
2005
|
||||||||||||||
Total
assets
|
$
|
10,614,292
|
$
|
2,053,029
|
$
|
12,667,321
|
$
|
7,487
|
$
|
(132,592
|
)
|
$
|
12,542,216
|
NOTE
23 — SUBSEQUENT EVENT
(a). |
On
June 1, 2006 Mr. Yu-En Chiu resigned as Chief Financial Officer and a
Director of the Company following the disclosure of inappropriate
cash
withdrawals by Mr. Chiu. For the best interest of the Company, Mr.
Chiu
was retained, on a short term basis, as the Chairman of the Company’s PRC
operations because of his expert knowledge of the Company’s operations,
products and market in the PRC. At
the same time the Company redesigned its internal control structure
to
centralize the treasury function so that the Company ensured Mr.
Chiu did
not have access to the Company’s funds or authority over the
Company’s accounting or financing matters. On December 29, 2006, the
Company’s management notified Mr. Chiu that
the termination of his employment with the Company would be
effective at February 28, 2007.
|
(b). |
As
of December 28, 2006, the Company, Mr. Pai and Mr. Yang have agreed
to
convert a portion of outstanding loans to stock at a conversion price
of
$0.15 per share and to issue promissory notes for the remaining amount.
The promissory notes are due in one year and have an annual interest
rate
of 7%. As of December 31, 2005, certain outstanding loans payable
by the
Company amount to $1,248,514, of which $347,636 was due to Olympic
$60,089
was due to Shih, and $840,789 was due to Mr. Yang. The maturity dates
of
the loans were extended in February, May and August 2006. As of July
31,
2006, the remaining debt owed by the Company to Olympic and Shih
was
assigned to Mr. Pai pursuant to Assignment Agreements dated as of
August
1, 2006. For further information please refer to Item 1.01 of Form
8-K
filed on January 4, 2007.
|
F-34