LINCOLN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORP - Quarter Report: 2007 September (Form 10-Q)
U.
S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
Form
10-Q
(Mark
One)
T
|
QUARTERLY
REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
1934
|
For
the quarterly period ended September 30, 2007
or
£
|
TRANSITION
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT OF
1934
|
Commission
File Number 000-51371
LINCOLN
EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORPORATION
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
New
Jersey
|
57-1150621
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
|
(IRS
Employer Identification No.)
|
200
Executive Drive, Suite 340
West
Orange, NJ 07052
(Address
of principal executive offices)
(973)
736-9340
(Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to
be
filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during
the
preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required
to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements
for
the past 90 days. Yes T No
£
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of
“accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange
Act. (Check one):
Large
accelerated filer£
|
Accelerated
filerT
|
Non-accelerated
filer£
|
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o No T
As
of
November 7, 2007, there were 25,881,383 shares of the registrant’s common stock
outstanding.
INDEX
TO
FORM 10-Q
FOR
THE
QUARTER ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2007
PART I.
|
||
Item
1.
|
||
1
|
||
3
|
||
4
|
||
5
|
||
7
|
||
Item
2.
|
14
|
|
Item
3.
|
22
|
|
Item
4.
|
23
|
|
PART II.
|
23
|
|
Item
1.
|
23
|
|
Item
6.
|
24
|
PART
I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item
1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In
thousands, except share amounts)
(Unaudited)
September 30,
|
December 31,
|
|||||||
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||
ASSETS
|
||||||||
CURRENT
ASSETS:
|
||||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
$ |
3,537
|
$ |
6,461
|
||||
Restricted
cash
|
1,532
|
920
|
||||||
Accounts
receivable, less allowance of $12,328 and $11,456 at September
30, 2007
and December 31, 2006, respectively
|
20,353
|
20,473
|
||||||
Inventories
|
2,694
|
2,438
|
||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
4,879
|
4,827
|
||||||
Due
from federal programs
|
73
|
-
|
||||||
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
3,088
|
3,049
|
||||||
Prepaid
income taxes
|
5,669
|
-
|
||||||
Total
current assets
|
41,825
|
38,168
|
||||||
PROPERTY,
EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES - At cost, net of accumulated depreciation
and
amortization of $79,078 and $72,870 at September 30, 2007 and
December 31,
2006, respectively
|
101,061
|
94,368
|
||||||
OTHER
ASSETS:
|
||||||||
Deferred
finance charges
|
876
|
1,019
|
||||||
Pension
plan assets, net
|
1,139
|
1,107
|
||||||
Deferred
income taxes, net
|
5,052
|
2,688
|
||||||
Goodwill
|
82,860
|
84,995
|
||||||
Noncurrent
accounts receivable, less allowance of $161 and $84 at September
30, 2007
and December 31, 2006, respectively
|
1,451
|
723
|
||||||
Other
assets, net
|
3,085
|
3,148
|
||||||
Total
other assets
|
94,463
|
93,680
|
||||||
TOTAL
|
$ |
237,349
|
$ |
226,216
|
See
notes
to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
LINCOLN
EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In
thousands, except share amounts)
(Unaudited)
(Continued)
September 30,
|
December 31,
|
|||||||
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||
LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
||||||||
CURRENT
LIABILITIES:
|
||||||||
Current
portion of long-term debt and lease obligations
|
$ |
206
|
$ |
91
|
||||
Unearned
tuition
|
34,605
|
33,150
|
||||||
Accounts
payable
|
14,543
|
12,118
|
||||||
Accrued
expenses
|
12,223
|
10,335
|
||||||
Advance
payments of federal programs
|
-
|
557
|
||||||
Income
taxes payable
|
-
|
2,860
|
||||||
Other
short-term liabilities
|
1,711
|
-
|
||||||
Total
current liabilities
|
63,288
|
59,111
|
||||||
NONCURRENT
LIABILITIES:
|
||||||||
Long-term
debt and lease obligations, net of current portion
|
15,222
|
9,769
|
||||||
Other
long-term liabilities
|
6,874
|
5,553
|
||||||
Total
liabilities
|
85,384
|
74,433
|
||||||
COMMITMENTS
AND CONTINGENCIES (Note 12)
|
||||||||
STOCKHOLDERS'
EQUITY:
|
||||||||
Preferred
stock, no par value - 10,000,000 shares authorized, no shares issued
and
outstanding at September 30, 2007 and December 31, 2006
|
-
|
-
|
||||||
Common
stock, no par value - authorized 100,000,000 shares at September
30, 2007
and December 31, 2006, issued and outstanding 25,506,566 shares at
September 30, 2007 and 25,450,695 shares at December 31,
2006
|
120,327
|
120,182
|
||||||
Additional
paid-in capital
|
9,206
|
7,695
|
||||||
Deferred
compensation
|
(561 | ) | (467 | ) | ||||
Retained
earnings
|
25,404
|
26,784
|
||||||
Accumulated
other comprehensive loss
|
(2,411 | ) | (2,411 | ) | ||||
Total
stockholders' equity
|
151,965
|
151,783
|
||||||
TOTAL
|
$ |
237,349
|
$ |
226,216
|
See
notes
to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In
thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Three
Months Ended
|
Nine
Months Ended
|
|||||||||||||||
September 30,
|
September 30,
|
|||||||||||||||
2007
|
2006
|
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||||||||
REVENUES
|
$ |
86,566
|
$ |
81,911
|
$ |
237,480
|
$ |
227,171
|
||||||||
COSTS
AND EXPENSES:
|
||||||||||||||||
Educational
services and facilities
|
37,053
|
34,944
|
104,540
|
96,093
|
||||||||||||
Selling,
general and administrative
|
41,434
|
41,394
|
124,075
|
117,684
|
||||||||||||
Gain
on sale of assets
|
-
|
(7 | ) | (15 | ) | (7 | ) | |||||||||
Total
costs & expenses
|
78,487
|
76,331
|
228,600
|
213,770
|
||||||||||||
OPERATING
INCOME
|
8,079
|
5,580
|
8,880
|
13,401
|
||||||||||||
OTHER:
|
||||||||||||||||
Interest
income
|
66
|
82
|
149
|
860
|
||||||||||||
Interest
expense
|
(686 | ) | (696 | ) | (1,840 | ) | (1,740 | ) | ||||||||
Other
income (loss)
|
26
|
(200 | ) |
26
|
(130 | ) | ||||||||||
INCOME
FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS BEFORE INCOME TAXES
|
7,485
|
4,766
|
7,215
|
12,391
|
||||||||||||
PROVISION
FOR INCOME TAXES
|
3,115
|
1,978
|
3,008
|
5,098
|
||||||||||||
NET
INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS
|
4,370
|
2,788
|
4,207
|
7,293
|
||||||||||||
LOSS
FROM DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS, NET OF INCOME TAXES
|
(2,331 | ) | (556 | ) | (5,487 | ) | (1,333 | ) | ||||||||
NET
INCOME (LOSS)
|
$ |
2,039
|
$ |
2,232
|
$ | (1,280 | ) | $ |
5,960
|
|||||||
Basic
|
||||||||||||||||
Earnings
per share from continuing operations
|
$ |
0.17
|
$ |
0.11
|
$ |
0.17
|
$ |
0.29
|
||||||||
Loss
per share from discontinued operations
|
(0.09 | ) | (0.02 | ) | (0.22 | ) | (0.05 | ) | ||||||||
Net
income (loss) per share
|
$ |
0.08
|
$ |
0.09
|
$ | (0.05 | ) | $ |
0.24
|
|||||||
Diluted
|
||||||||||||||||
Earnings
per share from continuing operations
|
$ |
0.17
|
$ |
0.11
|
$ |
0.16
|
$ |
0.28
|
||||||||
Loss
per share from discontinued operations
|
(0.09 | ) | (0.02 | ) | (0.21 | ) | (0.05 | ) | ||||||||
Net
income (loss) per share
|
$ |
0.08
|
$ |
0.09
|
$ | (0.05 | ) | $ |
0.23
|
|||||||
Weighted
average number of common shares outstanding:
|
||||||||||||||||
Basic
|
25,503
|
25,410
|
25,482
|
25,300
|
||||||||||||
Diluted
|
26,049
|
26,120
|
26,029
|
26,081
|
See
notes
to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(In
thousands)
(Unaudited)
Accumulated
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Additional
|
Other
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Common
Stock
|
Paid-in
|
Deferred
|
Comprehensive
|
Retained
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares
|
Amount
|
Capital
|
Compensation
|
Loss
|
Earnings
|
Total
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
BALANCE
- December 31, 2006
|
25,451
|
$ |
120,182
|
$ |
7,695
|
$ | (467 | ) | $ | (2,411 | ) | $ |
26,784
|
$ |
151,783
|
|||||||||||||
Net
loss
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(1,280 | ) | (1,280 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Initial
adoption of new accounting pronouncement (Note 2)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(100 | ) | (100 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Issuance
of restricted stock and amortization of deferred
compensation
|
23
|
-
|
320
|
(94 | ) |
-
|
-
|
226
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Stock-based
compensation expense
|
-
|
-
|
1,123
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,123
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Tax
benefit of options exercised
|
-
|
-
|
68
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
68
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Exercise
of stock options
|
33
|
145
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
145
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
BALANCE
- September 30, 2007
|
25,507
|
$ |
120,327
|
$ |
9,206
|
$ | (561 | ) | $ | (2,411 | ) | $ |
25,404
|
$ |
151,965
|
See
notes
to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In
thousands)
(Unaudited)
Nine
Months Ended September 30,
|
||||||||
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||
CASH
FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
|
||||||||
Net
(loss) income
|
$ | (1,280 | ) | $ |
5,960
|
|||
Adjustments
to reconcile net (loss) income to net cash provided by operating
activities:
|
||||||||
Depreciation
and amortization
|
11,734
|
11,076
|
||||||
Amortization
of deferred finance charges
|
143
|
144
|
||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
(2,416 | ) | (2,983 | ) | ||||
Gain
on disposal of assets
|
(15 | ) | (7 | ) | ||||
Impairment
of goodwill and long-lived assets
|
3,099
|
-
|
||||||
Fixed
asset donations
|
(26 | ) | (16 | ) | ||||
Provision
for doubtful accounts
|
12,639
|
12,268
|
||||||
Stock-based
compensation expense and issuance of restricted stock
|
1,349
|
1,133
|
||||||
Tax
benefit associated with exercise of stock options
|
-
|
483
|
||||||
Deferred
rent
|
451
|
850
|
||||||
(Increase)
decrease in assets:
|
||||||||
Accounts
receivable
|
(13,247 | ) | (19,797 | ) | ||||
Inventories
|
(256 | ) | (720 | ) | ||||
Prepaid
expenses and current assets
|
(941 | ) | (498 | ) | ||||
Other
assets
|
(250 | ) |
492
|
|||||
Increase
(decrease) in liabilities:
|
||||||||
Accounts
payable
|
1,321
|
2,562
|
||||||
Other
liabilities
|
1,800
|
(1,084 | ) | |||||
Income
taxes payable/prepaid
|
(8,529 | ) | (5,190 | ) | ||||
Accrued
expenses
|
1,919
|
1,453
|
||||||
Unearned
tuition
|
1,455
|
(4,460 | ) | |||||
Total
adjustments
|
10,230
|
(4,294 | ) | |||||
Net
cash provided by operating activities
|
8,950
|
1,666
|
||||||
CASH
FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
|
||||||||
Restricted
cash
|
(612 | ) | (2,424 | ) | ||||
Capital
expenditures
|
(16,391 | ) | (13,806 | ) | ||||
Acquisitions,
net of cash acquired
|
-
|
(32,807 | ) | |||||
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
(17,003 | ) | (49,037 | ) | ||||
CASH
FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
|
||||||||
Proceeds
from borrowings
|
21,500
|
12,000
|
||||||
Payments
on borrowings
|
(16,500 | ) | (2,079 | ) | ||||
Proceeds
from exercise of stock options
|
145
|
519
|
||||||
Tax
benefit associated with exercise of stock options
|
68
|
-
|
||||||
Principal
payments under capital lease obligations
|
(84 | ) | (886 | ) | ||||
Net
cash provided by financing activities
|
5,129
|
9,554
|
||||||
NET
DECREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
|
(2,924 | ) | (37,817 | ) | ||||
CASH
AND CASH EQUIVALENTS—Beginning of period
|
6,461
|
50,257
|
||||||
CASH
AND CASH EQUIVALENTS—End of period
|
$ |
3,537
|
$ |
12,440
|
See
notes to unaudited condensed
consolidated financial statements.
LINCOLN
EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
CORPORATION AND
SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In
thousands)
(Unaudited)
(Continued)
Nine
Months Ended September 30,
|
||||||||
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||
SUPPLEMENTAL
DISCLOSURES OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION:
|
||||||||
Cash
paid during the year for:
|
||||||||
Interest
|
$ |
1,770
|
$ |
1,704
|
||||
Income
taxes
|
$ |
9,898
|
$ |
11,859
|
||||
SUPPLEMENTAL
SCHEDULE OF NONCASH INVESTING AND FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
|
||||||||
Cash
paid during the year for:
|
||||||||
Fair
value of assets acquired
|
$ |
-
|
$ |
40,021
|
||||
Net
cash paid for the acquisition
|
-
|
(32,807 | ) | |||||
Liabilities
assumed
|
$ |
-
|
$ |
7,214
|
||||
Fixed
assets acquired in capital lease transactions
|
$ |
652
|
$ |
-
|
||||
Fixed
assets acquired in noncash transactions
|
$ |
1,814
|
$ |
-
|
See
notes
to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
NOTES
TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NINE
MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2007 AND 2006
(In
thousands, except share and per share amounts and unless otherwise
stated)
(Unaudited)
1.
|
SUMMARY
OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING
POLICIES
|
Business
Activities– Lincoln Educational Services Corporation and
subsidiaries (the "Company") is a diversified provider of career-oriented
post-secondary education. The Company offers recent high school graduates and
working adults degree and diploma programs in five principal areas of study:
Automotive Technology, Health Sciences (which includes programs for licensed
practical nursing (LPN), medical administrative assistants, medical assistants,
pharmacy technicians, medical coding and billing and dental assisting), Business
and Information Technology, Hospitality Services (spa and culinary) and Skilled
Trades. The Company currently has 34 campuses in 17 states across the United
States.
Basis
of Presentation– The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated
financial statements have been prepared by the Company pursuant to the rules
and
regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and in accordance with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America
(“GAAP”). Certain information and footnote disclosures normally
included in annual financial statements have been omitted or condensed pursuant
to such regulations. These statements, when read in conjunction with
the December 31, 2006 consolidated financial statements of the Company, reflect
all adjustments, consisting solely of normal recurring adjustments, necessary
to
present fairly the consolidated financial position, results of operations,
and
cash flows for such periods. The results of operations for the three
and nine months ended September 30, 2007 are not necessarily indicative of
the
results that may be expected for the fiscal year ending December 31,
2007.
The
unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2007
and the condensed consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2006
and
for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2007 and 2006 include the
accounts of the Company. All significant intercompany accounts and
transactions have been eliminated.
Use
of Estimates in the Preparation of Financial Statements– The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP 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 consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues
and
expenses during the period. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates the
estimates and assumptions, including those related to revenue recognition,
bad
debts, fixed assets, goodwill and other intangible assets, stock-based
compensation, income taxes, benefit plans and certain accruals. Actual
results could differ from those estimates.
2.
|
RECENT
ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
|
In
February 2007, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 159 “The
Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities”,
providing companies with an option to report selected financial assets and
liabilities at fair value. The objective of SFAS No. 159 is to reduce
both complexity in accounting for financial instruments and the volatility
in
earnings caused by measuring related assets and liabilities
differently. Generally accepted accounting principles have required
different measurement attributes for different assets and liabilities that
can
create artificial volatility in earnings. SFAS No. 159 helps to mitigate this
type of accounting-induced volatility by enabling companies to report related
assets and liabilities at fair value, which would likely reduce the need for
companies to comply with detailed rules for hedge accounting. SFAS
No. 159 also establishes presentation and disclosure requirements designed
to
facilitate comparisons between companies that choose different measurement
attributes for similar types of assets and liabilities. SFAS No. 159
requires companies to provide additional information that will help investors
and other users of financial statements to more easily understand the effect
of
the Company’s choice to use fair value on its earnings. It also requires
entities to display the fair value of those assets and liabilities for which
the
Company has chosen to use fair value on the face of the balance
sheet. SFAS No. 159 will be effective for the Company as of January
1, 2008. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the
adoption of this Statement on its consolidated financial
statements.
In
September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 158, “Employers’ Accounting for
Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans, an amendment of FASB
Statements No. 87, 88, 106, and 132(R).” Among other items, SFAS No. 158
requires recognition of the overfunded or underfunded status of an entity’s
defined benefit postretirement plan as an asset or liability in the financial
statements, requires the measurement of defined benefit postretirement plan
assets and obligations as of the end of the employer’s fiscal year, and requires
recognition of the funded status of defined benefit postretirement plans in
other comprehensive income. The Company adopted SFAS No. 158 on
December 31, 2006. The incremental effects of applying SFAS No. 158
on the Company’s December 31, 2006 consolidated financial statements, on a line
by line basis, are as follows:
Balances
Before Adoption of Statement 158
|
Adjustments
|
Balances
After Adoption of Statement 158
|
||||||||||
Pension
plan assets, net
|
$ |
5,169
|
$ | (4,062 | ) | $ |
1,107
|
|||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
1,037
|
1,651
|
2,688
|
|||||||||
Accumulated
other comprehensive income
|
-
|
2,411
|
2,411
|
In
September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, “Fair Value
Measurements.” SFAS No. 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework for
measuring fair value in GAAP, and expands disclosures about fair value
measurements. This Statement applies under other accounting pronouncements
that
require or permit fair value measurements, the Board having previously concluded
in those accounting pronouncements that fair value is the relevant measurement
attribute. Accordingly, this Statement does not require any new fair value
measurements. The provisions of SFAS No. 157 are effective for the Company
as of
January 1, 2008. The adoption of the provision of SFAS No. 157 is not expected
to have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial
statements.
In
September 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued Staff
Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) No. 108 which provides interpretive guidance on how
the effects of the carryover or reversal of prior year unrecorded misstatements
should be considered in quantifying a current year misstatement. SAB No. 108
is
effective for the Company as of January 1, 2007. The adoption of the provision
of SAB No. 108 had no effect on the Company’s consolidated financial
statements.
In
June
2006, the FASB issued FASB Interpretation (“FIN”) No. 48, “Accounting for
Uncertainty in Income Taxes.” FIN No. 48 clarifies the accounting for
uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements
in accordance with FASB SFAS No. 109, “Accounting for Income Taxes”,
which was adopted by the Company on January 1, 2007. FIN No. 48 prescribes
a
recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement
recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken
in a
tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be
more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities.
The
amount recognized is measured as the largest amount of benefit that is greater
than 50 percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The adoption
of FIN No. 48 resulted in a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings
as
of January 1, 2007 of $0.1 million.
In
March
2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 156, “Accounting for Servicing of Financial
Assets.” SFAS No. 156 provides guidance addressing the recognition and
measurement of separately recognized servicing assets and liabilities, common
with mortgage securitization activities, and provides an approach to simplify
efforts to obtain hedge accounting treatment. SFAS No. 156 was adopted on
January 1, 2007. The adoption of the provision of SFAS No. 156 had no effect
on
the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
In
February 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 155, “Accounting for Certain Hybrid
Financial Instruments.” SFAS No. 155 is effective beginning January 1,
2007. The adoption of the provision of SFAS No. 155 had no effect on the
Company’s consolidated financial statements.
3.
|
DISCONTINUED
OPERATIONS
|
On
July
31, 2007 the Company’s Board of Directors approved a plan (the “Plan”) to cease
operations at the Company’s Plymouth Meeting, PA, Norcross, GA and Henderson, NV
campuses. As a result of the above decision, the Company reviewed the
related goodwill and long-lived assets for possible impairment in accordance
with SFAS No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets,” and SFAS No.
144, “Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived
Assets.”
In
connection with the goodwill review, the Company recognized a non-cash
impairment charge of approximately $2.1 million as of June 30,
2007. Additionally, under SFAS No. 144, long-lived assets were tested
for recoverability and it was determined that certain long-lived assets would
not be recoverable at June 30, 2007. As a result, the Company
recorded a non-cash charge of $0.9 million (for a total of $3.0 million) to
reduce the carrying value of these assets to their estimated fair
value.
As
of September 30, 2007 all operations have ceased at these campuses, and
accordingly, the results of operations of these campuses have been reflected
in
the accompanying statements of operations as “Discontinued Operations” for all
periods presented.
The
following amounts relate to the ceasing of operations at these three campuses,
which have been segregated from continuing operations and reported as
discontinued operations:
Three
Months Ended
|
Nine
Months Ended
|
|||||||||||||||
September 30,
|
September 30,
|
|||||||||||||||
2007
|
2006
|
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||||||||
Revenue
|
$ |
727
|
$ |
2,594
|
$ |
4,230
|
$ |
8,210
|
||||||||
Operating
loss
|
(2,359 | ) | (3,544 | ) | (8,339 | ) | (10,475 | ) | ||||||||
Impairment
of goodwill
|
-
|
-
|
(2,135 | ) |
-
|
|||||||||||
Impairment
of long-lived assets
|
(94 | ) |
-
|
(964 | ) |
-
|
||||||||||
Retention
incentives
|
(153 | ) |
-
|
(153 | ) |
-
|
||||||||||
Lease
commitments
|
(1,999 | ) |
-
|
(1,999 | ) |
-
|
||||||||||
Other
commitments
|
(170 | ) |
-
|
(170 | ) |
-
|
||||||||||
Loss
from discontinued operations
|
(4,048 | ) | (950 | ) | (9,530 | ) | (2,265 | ) | ||||||||
Benefit
for income taxes
|
(1,717 | ) | (394 | ) | (4,043 | ) | (932 | ) | ||||||||
Net
loss from discontinued operations
|
$ | (2,331 | ) | $ | (556 | ) | $ | (5,487 | ) | $ | (1,333 | ) |
4.
|
STOCK-BASED
COMPENSATION
|
The
Company currently accounts for stock-based employee compensation arrangements
in
accordance with the provisions of SFAS No. 123R, “Share Based
Payment.” Reflected in the accompanying statements of income is
compensation expense, including amortization of deferred compensation, of
approximately $0.5 million and $0.3 million for the three months ended September
30, 2007 and 2006, respectively, and $1.3 million and 1.0 million for the nine
months ended September 30, 2007 and 2006, respectively. The Company
uses the Black-Scholes valuation model and utilizes straight-line amortization
of compensation expense over the requisite service period of the
grant. The Company makes an estimate of expected forfeitures upon
grant issuance.
5.
|
WEIGHTED
AVERAGE COMMON SHARES
|
The
weighted average numbers of common shares used to compute basic and diluted
income per share for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2007 and
2006, respectively, were as follows:
Three
Months Ended
|
Nine
Months Ended
|
|||||||||||||||
September 30,
|
September 30,
|
|||||||||||||||
(In
thousands)
|
(In
thousands)
|
|||||||||||||||
2007
|
2006
|
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||||||||
Basic
shares outstanding
|
25,503
|
25,410
|
25,482
|
25,300
|
||||||||||||
Dilutive
effect of stock options
|
546
|
710
|
547
|
781
|
||||||||||||
Diluted
shares outstanding
|
26,049
|
26,120
|
26,029
|
26,081
|
For
the
three months ended September 30, 2007 and 2006, options to acquire 691,208
and
240,500 shares, respectively, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2007
and 2006, options to acquire 691,208 and 298,000 shares, respectively, were
excluded from the above table as the result on reported earnings per share
would
have been antidilutive.
6.
|
BUSINESS
ACQUISITIONS
|
On
May
22, 2006, the Company acquired all of the outstanding stock of New England
Institute of Technology at Palm Beach, Inc. (“FLA”) for approximately $40.1
million. The purchase price was $32.9 million, net of cash acquired
plus the assumption of a mortgage note for $7.2 million. The FLA
purchase price has been allocated to identifiable net assets with the excess
of
the purchase price over the estimated fair value of the net assets acquired
recorded as goodwill.
The
following unaudited pro forma results of operations for the nine months ended
September 30, 2006 assumes that the acquisition of FLA occurred January 1,
2006. The unaudited pro forma results of operations are based on
historical results of operations, but include adjustments for depreciation,
amortization, interest, and taxes, but do not necessarily reflect the actual
results that would have occurred.
Nine
months ended September 30, 2006
|
||||||||||||
Historical
2006
|
Pro
forma impact FLA 2006
|
Pro
forma 2006
|
||||||||||
Revenues
|
$ |
227,171
|
$ |
7,148
|
$ |
234,319
|
||||||
Net
income from continuing operations
|
$ |
7,293
|
$ | (302 | ) | $ |
6,991
|
|||||
Earnings
per share from continuing operations- basic
|
$ |
0.29
|
$ |
0.22
|
||||||||
Earnings
per share from continuing operations- diluted
|
$ |
0.28
|
$ |
0.22
|
7.
|
GOODWILL
AND OTHER INTANGIBLE
ASSETS
|
The
Company accounts for its intangible assets in accordance with SFAS No.
142,“Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.” The Company
reviews intangible assets with an indefinite useful life for impairment when
indicators of impairment exist. Annually, or more frequently if
necessary, the Company evaluates goodwill for impairment, with any resulting
impairment reflected as an operating expense.
Goodwill
balance as of December 31, 2006
|
$ |
84,995
|
||
Goodwill
impairment
|
(2,135 | ) | ||
Goodwill
balance as of September 30, 2007
|
$ |
82,860
|
As
described further in Note 3, during the nine months ended September 30, 2007,
the Company recorded a goodwill impairment charge as a result of its decision
to
cease operations at three of its campuses.
Intangible
assets, which are included in other assets in the accompanying condensed
consolidated balance sheets, consist of the following:
At
September 30, 2007
|
At
December 31, 2006
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Weighted
Average Amortization Period (years)
|
Gross
Carrying Amount
|
Accumulated
Amortization
|
Gross
Carrying Amount
|
Accumulated
Amortization
|
||||||||||||||||
Student
Contracts
|
1
|
$ |
2,215
|
$ |
2,209
|
$ |
2,200
|
$ |
2,010
|
|||||||||||
Trade
name
|
Indefinite
|
1,270
|
-
|
1,270
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||
Accreditation
|
Indefinite
|
307
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||
Curriculum
|
10
|
700
|
191
|
700
|
138
|
|||||||||||||||
Non-compete
|
5
|
201
|
55
|
201
|
25
|
|||||||||||||||
Total
|
$ |
4,693
|
$ |
2,455
|
$ |
4,371
|
$ |
2,173
|
The
increase in accreditation assets was due to the purchase of a new nursing
program on March 5, 2007.
Amortization
of intangible assets was approximately $0.1 million and $0.3 million for the
three months ended September 30, 2007 and 2006, respectively, and $0.3 million
and $0.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 and 2006,
respectively
8.
|
LONG-TERM
DEBT
|
The
Company has a credit agreement with a syndicate of banks. Under the
terms of the credit agreement, the syndicate provided the Company with a $100
million credit facility. The credit agreement permits the issuance of
up to $20 million in letters of credit, the amount of which reduces the
availability of permitted borrowings under the credit agreement. The
Company incurred approximately $0.8 million of deferred finance charges under
the existing credit agreement. At September 30, 2007, the Company had
outstanding letters of credit aggregating $4.4 million, comprised primarily
of
letters of credit for the Department of Education and real estate
leases.
The
obligations of the Company under the credit agreement are secured by a lien
on
substantially all of the assets of the Company and its subsidiaries and any
assets that it or its subsidiaries may acquire in the future, including a pledge
of substantially all of the subsidiaries’ common stock. Outstanding
borrowings bear interest at the rate of adjusted LIBOR plus 1.0% to 1.75%,
as
defined, or a base rate (as defined in the credit agreement). In
addition to paying interest on outstanding principal under the credit agreement,
the Company and its subsidiaries are required to pay a commitment fee to the
lender with respect to the unused amounts available under the credit agreement
at a rate equal to 0.25% to 0.40% per year, as defined.
During
the quarter ended September 30, 2007, the Company repaid $16.5 million of
outstanding debt resulting in $5.0 million in debt outstanding under the
credit agreement as of September 30, 2007. Interest on these
borrowings at September 30, 2007 ranged from 6.32% to 8.25%.
The
credit agreement contains various covenants, including a number of financial
covenants. Furthermore, the credit agreement contains customary
events of default as well as an event of default in the event of the suspension
or termination of Title IV Program funding for the Company’s and its
subsidiaries’ campuses aggregating 10% or more of the Company’s EBITDA (as
defined) or its consolidated total assets and such suspension or termination
is
not cured within a specified period. As of September 30, 2007, the
Company was in compliance with the financial covenants contained in the credit
agreement.
|
9.
|
EQUITY
|
Pursuant
to the Company’s 2005 Non-Employee Directors Restricted Stock Plan (the
“Non-Employee Directors Plan”), each of the Company’s seven non-employee
directors received an award of 3,069 restricted shares of common stock equal
to
$0.06 million on July 29, 2005. On January 1, 2006, one non-employee director
resigned, forfeiting 3,069 restricted shares of common stock awarded on July
29,
2005. Two newly appointed non-employee directors each received an award of
3,625
restricted shares of common stock equal to $0.06 million on March 1, 2006.
On May 23, 2006, the date of the Company’s 2006 annual meeting, each
non-employee director received an annual restricted award of 1,781 restricted
shares of common stock equal to $0.03 million. Beginning in 2007, each
non-employee director received, on April 26, 2007, the date of the Company’s
2007 annual meeting, an annual restricted award of 2,825 restricted shares
of
common stock equal to $0.04 million. The number of shares granted to
each non-employee director was based on the fair market value of a share of
common stock on that date. The restricted shares vest ratably on the
first, second and third anniversaries of the grant date; however, there is
no
vesting period on the right to vote or the right to receive dividends on these
restricted shares. As of September 30, 2007, there were a total of 62,512 shares
awarded and 19,442 shares vested under the Non-Employee Directors Plan. The
recognized restricted stock expense for the three months ended September 30,
2007 and 2006 was $0.09 million and $0.06 million, respectively, and for the
nine months ended September 30, 2007 and 2006 was $0.2 million and $0.1 million,
respectively. The deferred compensation or unrecognized restricted stock expense
as of September 30, 2007 and 2006 was $0.6 million and $0.5 million,
respectively.
The
fair
value of the stock options used to compute stock-based compensation is the
estimated present value at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes
option pricing model. The weighted average fair values of
options granted during 2007 were $6.78 using the following weighted average
assumptions for grants:
September 30,
|
||||
2007
|
||||
Expected
volatility
|
55.42 | % | ||
Expected
dividend yield
|
0 | % | ||
Expected
life (term)
|
6
Years
|
|||
Risk-free
interest rate
|
4.36 | % | ||
Weighted-average
exercise price during the year
|
$ |
11.96
|
The
following is a summary of transactions pertaining to the option
plans:
Shares
|
Weighted
Average Exercise Price Per Share
|
Weighted
Average Remaining Contractual Term
|
Aggregate
Intrinsic Value (in thousands)
|
||||||||||
Outstanding,
December 31, 2006
|
1,728,225
|
$ |
8.85
|
||||||||||
Granted
|
185,500
|
11.96
|
|||||||||||
Cancelled
|
(39,000 | ) |
16.79
|
||||||||||
Exercised
|
(33,271 | ) |
4.36
|
$ |
218
|
||||||||
Outstanding,
September 30, 2007
|
1,841,454
|
9.08
|
5.91
years
|
9,788
|
|||||||||
Exercisable
as of September 30, 2007
|
1,249,215
|
6.35
years
|
9,444
|
As
of
September 30, 2007, we estimate that pre-tax compensation expense for all
unvested stock option awards is approximately $3.0 million, which will be
expensed over the weighted-average period of approximately 1.7
years.
The
following table presents a summary of options outstanding at September 30,
2007:
As
of September 30, 2007
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Stock
Options Outstanding
|
Stock
Options Exercisable
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Range
of Exercise Prices
|
Shares
|
Contractual
Weighted Average life (years)
|
Weighted
Average Price
|
Shares
|
Weighted
Exercise Price
|
|||||||||||||||||
$ |
1.55
|
50,898
|
1.73
|
$ |
1.55
|
50,898
|
$ |
1.55
|
||||||||||||||
$ |
3.10
|
883,848
|
4.28
|
3.10
|
876,808
|
3.10
|
||||||||||||||||
$ |
4.00-$13.99
|
215,500
|
8.89
|
11.10
|
19,400
|
5.62
|
||||||||||||||||
$ |
14.00-$19.99
|
563,708
|
7.47
|
15.28
|
234,209
|
14.77
|
||||||||||||||||
$ |
20.00-$25.00
|
127,500
|
6.93
|
22.66
|
67,900
|
22.99
|
||||||||||||||||
1,841,454
|
5.91
|
9.08
|
1,249,215
|
6.35
|
10.
|
SLM
FINANCIAL CORPORATION LOAN
AGREEMENT
|
The
Company entered into a Tiered Discount Loan Program agreement effective
September 1, 2007 with SLM Financial Corporation (SLM) to provide up to $16.0
million of private non-recourse loans to qualifying students. Under
the agreement, the Company is required to pay SLM either 20% or 30% of all
loans
disbursed, depending on each student borrower’s credit score. The
Company is billed at the end of each month based on loans disbursed during
that
month.
The
Company entered into an agreement effective March 28, 2005 to June 30, 2006
with
SLM to provide up to $6.0 million of private recourse loans to qualifying
students. During the term of the agreement, $4.9 million of loans
were disbursed. Under the recourse loan agreement, the Company was
required to fund 30% of all loans disbursed into a SLM reserve
account. A total of $1.5 million has been funded related to total
loans disbursed. For the nine months ended September 30, 2007 no
loans have been disbursed under this program.
11.
|
INCOME
TAXES
|
The
effective tax rate for the three months ended September 30, 2007 and 2006 was
40.6% and 41.5% and for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 and 2006 was
44.8% and 41.1%, respectively. See Note 3 for tax impact of
discontinued operations.
12.
|
COMMITMENTS
AND CONTINGENCIES
|
Litigation
and Regulatory Matters – In the ordinary conduct of the Company’s
business, it is subject to periodic lawsuits, investigations and claims,
including, but not limited to, claims involving students or graduates and
routine employment matters. Although the Company cannot predict with certainty
the ultimate resolution of lawsuits, investigations and claims asserted against
it, the Company does not believe that any currently pending legal proceeding
to
which it is a party will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s
business, financial condition, results of operation or cash flows.
13.
|
PENSION
PLAN
|
The
Company sponsors a noncontributory defined benefit pension plan covering
substantially all of the Company’s union employees. Benefits are
provided based on employees’ years of service and earnings. This plan
was frozen on December 31, 1994 for non-union employees. While the
Company does not expect to make any contributions to the plan in 2007, after
considering the funded status of the plan, movements in the discount rate,
investment performance and related tax consequences, the Company may choose
to
make contributions to the plan in any given year. For the three
months ended September 30, 2007 the net periodic benefit income was
$10,750. For the three months ended September 30, 2006 the net
periodic benefit cost was $0. For the nine months ended September 30,
2007 the net periodic benefit income was $32,500. For the nine months
ended September 30, 2006 the net periodic benefit cost was $25,000.
13.
|
SUBSEQUENT
EVENTS
|
On
October 15, 2007, the Company and Lawrence E. Brown, Vice Chairman of the
Company, mutually agreed to terminate the employment agreement, dated as of
February 1, 2007, between the Company and Mr. Brown, and to enter into a
Separation and Release Agreement (the “Agreement”), setting forth the terms of
Mr. Brown’s separation of employment from the Company.
Under
the
Agreement Mr. Brown’s employment with the Company terminated as of the close of
business on October 31, 2007. It is anticipated that, for a period of
14 months following the date of termination of employment, Mr. Brown may
continue to provide transitional services to the Company, not to exceed ten
hours per month. The Agreement further provides that, in
consideration for a release of claims, the Company will pay Mr. Brown a lump
sum
cash payment of $0.5 million, subject to withholding, and will reimburse Mr.
Brown for the employer-portion of the premiums due for continuation of coverage
under COBRA for a maximum period ending on December 31, 2008. Mr.
Brown will also be entitled to the use of his automobile and reimbursement
of
associated costs by the Company, through December 31, 2008.
In
addition, pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, Mr. Brown has agreed to be
subject to certain restrictive covenants, which, among other things, prohibit
him for the duration of 14 months following the date of termination of
employment, without the Company’s prior written consent, from (i) competing
against the Company and (ii) soliciting employees, consultants, clients or
customers of the Company or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries.
Item
2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND
ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF
OPERATIONS
The
following discussion may contain forward-looking statements regarding us, our
business, prospects and our results of operations that are subject to certain
risks and uncertainties posed by many factors and events that could cause our
actual business, prospects and results of operations to differ materially from
those that may be anticipated by such forward-looking statements. Factors
that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited
to, those described in the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, as filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
report. We undertake no obligation to revise any forward-looking
statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may subsequently
arise. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various
disclosures made by us in this report and in our other reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission that advise interested parties of the risks
and factors that may affect our business.
The
interim financial statements filed on this Form 10-Q and the discussions
contained herein should be read in conjunction with the annual financial
statements and notes included in our Form 10-K for the year ended December
31,
2006, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which includes
audited consolidated financial statements for our three fiscal years ended
December 31, 2006.
General
We
are a
leading and diversified for-profit provider of career-oriented post-secondary
education. We offer recent high school graduates and adults degree and
diploma programs in five principal areas of study: automotive technology,
health sciences, skilled trades, business and information technology and
hospitality services. As of September 30, 2007, 19,463 students were
enrolled at our 34 campuses across 17 states. Our campuses primarily
attract students from their local communities and surrounding areas, although
our four destination campuses attract students from across the United States,
and in some cases, from abroad. We continue to expand our product
offerings and our geographic reach. On March 27, 2006 we opened our
new automotive campus in Queens, New York and on May 22, 2006, we completed
the
acquisition of New England Institute of Technology at Palm Beach, Inc. (“FLA”),
which was subsequently re-branded Lincoln College of Technology.
Impairment
of Goodwill and Long-lived Assets
On
July
31, 2007 our Board of Directors approved a plan (the “Plan”) to cease operations
at our Plymouth Meeting, PA, Norcross, GA and our Henderson, NV
campuses. While we believed that these campuses offered effective and
valuable academic programs, given the current competitive environment the
campuses’ financial results had not met expectations. We concluded
that the continued operation of these campuses was inconsistent with our
strategic goals. As a result of the above, we reviewed the related
goodwill and long-lived assets for possible impairment in accordance with SFAS
No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets,” and SFAS No. 144,
“Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived
Assets.”
As
a
result of the goodwill review, we recognized a non-cash impairment charge of
approximately $2.1 million as of June 30, 2007. Additionally, under
SFAS No. 144, long-lived assets shall be tested for recoverability whenever
events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying amount may
not
be recoverable. As a result of the Plan, some of our long-lived
assets have been abandoned. Accordingly, we determined that certain
long-lived assets would not be recoverable at June 30, 2007 and recorded a
non-cash charge of $0.9 million to reduce the carrying value of these assets
to
their estimated fair value.
Discontinued
Operations
As
of
September 30, 2007 we had ceased all operations at these three campuses and
determined that, in accordance with SFAS No. 144, the operations of these
campuses should be reflected as discontinued operations for all periods
presented. During the three months ended September 30, 2007 the
following has been recorded in discontinued operations in the accompanying
statements of operations as “Discontinued Operations”:
Revenue
|
$ |
727
|
||
Operating
loss
|
(2,359 | ) | ||
Impairment
of long-lived assets
|
(94 | ) | ||
Retention
bonuses paid to staff
|
(153 | ) | ||
Present
value of non-cancelable lease commitments
|
(1,999 | ) | ||
Other
commitments
|
(170 | ) | ||
Loss
from discontinued operations
|
(4,048 | ) | ||
Benefit
for income taxes
|
(1,717 | ) | ||
Net
loss from discontinued operations
|
$ | (2,331 | ) |
Footnote
No. 3 to our condensed consolidated financials statements included in this
quarterly report provides further information on the impact of closing of these
campuses.
Critical
Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our
discussions of our financial condition and results of operations are based
upon
our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance
with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America
(“GAAP”). The preparation of financial statements in conformity with
GAAP 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 consolidated financial statements and the
reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the period. On an
ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and assumptions, including those
related to revenue recognition, bad debts, fixed assets, goodwill and other
intangible assets, stock-based compensation, income taxes and certain
accruals. Actual results could differ from those
estimates. The critical accounting policies discussed herein are not
intended to be a comprehensive list of all of our accounting
policies. In many cases, the accounting treatment of a particular
transaction is specifically dictated by GAAP and does not result in significant
management judgment in the application of such principles. There are
also areas in which management’s judgment in selecting any available alternative
would not produce a materially different result from the result derived from
the
application of our critical accounting policies. We believe that the
following accounting policies are most critical to us in that they represent
the
primary areas where financial information is subject to the application of
management’s estimates, assumptions and judgment in the preparation of our
consolidated financial statements.
Revenue
recognition. Revenues are derived primarily from
programs taught at our campuses. Tuition revenues and one-time fees,
such as nonrefundable application fees and course material fees, are recognized
on a straight-line basis over the length of the applicable program, which is
the
period of time from a student’s start date through his or her graduation date,
including internships or externships that take place prior to
graduation. If a student withdraws from a program prior to a
specified date, any paid but unearned tuition is refunded. Refunds
are calculated and paid in accordance with federal, state and accrediting agency
standards. Other revenues, such as textbook sales, tool sales and
contract training revenues are recognized as services are performed or goods
are
delivered. On an individual student basis, tuition earned in excess
of cash received is recorded as accounts receivable and cash received in excess
of tuition earned is recorded as unearned tuition.
Allowance
for uncollectible accounts. Based upon experience and
judgment, we establish an allowance for uncollectible accounts with respect
to
tuition receivables. We use an internal group of collectors,
augmented by third-party collectors as deemed appropriate, in our collection
efforts. In establishing our allowance for uncollectible accounts, we
consider, among other things, a student’s status (in-school or out-of-school),
whether or not additional financial aid funding will be collected from Title
IV
Programs or other sources, whether or not a student is currently making payments
and overall collection history. Changes in trends in any of these
areas may impact the allowance for uncollectible accounts. The
receivables balances of withdrawn students with delinquent obligations are
reserved based on our collection history. Although we believe that
our reserves are adequate, if the financial condition of our students
deteriorates, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments,
or
if we underestimate the allowances required, additional allowances may be
necessary, which will result in increased selling, general and administrative
expenses in the period such determination is made.
Our
bad
debt expense as a percentage of revenue for the three months ended September
30,
2007 and 2006 was 5.3% and 5.7%, respectively and for the nine months ended
September 30, 2007 and 2006 was 5.2% and 5.2%, respectively. Our
exposure to changes in our bad debt expense could impact our operations. A
change of 1% in our bad debt expense as a percentage of revenues for the three
and nine months ended September 30, 2007 and 2006 would have resulted in an
increase in bad debt expense of $0.9 million and $0.8 million for the three
months ended September 30, 2007 and 2006, respectively and $2.4 million and
$2.3
million for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 and 2006,
respectively.
Because
a
substantial portion of our revenues is derived from Title IV programs, any
legislative or regulatory action that significantly reduces the funding
available under Title IV programs or the ability of our students or campuses
to
participate in Title IV programs could have a material effect on the
realizability of our receivables.
Goodwill.
We test our goodwill for impairment annually, or whenever events or changes
in
circumstances indicate an impairment may have occurred, by comparing its fair
value to its carrying value. Impairment may result from, among other things,
deterioration in the performance of the acquired business, adverse market
conditions, adverse changes in applicable laws or regulations, including changes
that restrict the activities of the acquired business, and a variety of other
circumstances. If we determine that impairment has occurred, we are required
to
record a write-down of the carrying value and charge the impairment as an
operating expense in the period the determination is made. In evaluating the
recoverability of the carrying value of goodwill and other indefinite-lived
intangible assets, we must make assumptions regarding estimated future cash
flows and other factors to determine the fair value of the acquired assets.
Changes in strategy or market conditions could significantly impact these
judgments in the future and require an adjustment to the recorded
balances.
As
discussed in “Impairment of Goodwill and Long-lived Assets” above, as a result
of a decision to close three of our campuses we conducted a review of our
goodwill as of June 30, 2007. In connection with that review, we
recognized a non-cash impairment charge of approximately $2.1 million as of
June
30, 2007. Goodwill represents a significant portion of our total
assets. As of September 30, 2007, goodwill was approximately $82.9 million,
or
34.9%, of our total assets. At December 31, 2006, we tested our goodwill for
impairment utilizing a market capitalization approach and determined that we
did
not have an impairment. Except for the planned cessation of
operations at the three campuses mentioned above, no additional events have
occurred subsequent to December 31, 2006 or June 30, 2007 that would mandate
retesting.
Stock-based
compensation. We currently account for stock-based
employee compensation arrangements in accordance with the provisions of SFAS
No.
123R, “Share Based Payment.” We use a fair value-based
method of accounting for options as prescribed by SFAS No. 123 “Accounting
for Stock-Based Compensation”. Because no public market for our
common stock existed prior to our initial public offering, our board of
directors determined the fair value of our common stock based upon several
factors, including our operating performance, forecasted future operating
results, and our expected valuation in an initial public offering.
Bonus
costs. We accrue the estimated cost of our bonus
programs using current financial and statistical information as compared to
targeted financial achievements and actual student graduate
outcomes. Although we believe our estimated liability recorded for
bonuses is reasonable, actual results could differ and require adjustment of
the
recorded balance.
Effect
of Inflation
Inflation
has not had a material effect on our operations.
Recent
Accounting Pronouncements
In
February 2007, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 159 “The
Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities”,
providing companies with an option to report selected financial assets and
liabilities at fair value. The objective of SFAS No. 159 is to reduce
both complexity in accounting for financial instruments and the volatility
in
earnings caused by measuring related assets and liabilities
differently. Generally accepted accounting principles have required
different measurement attributes for different assets and liabilities that
can
create artificial volatility in earnings. SFAS No. 159 helps to mitigate this
type of accounting-induced volatility by enabling companies to report related
assets and liabilities at fair value, which would likely reduce the need for
companies to comply with detailed rules for hedge accounting. SFAS
No. 159 also establishes presentation and disclosure requirements designed
to
facilitate comparisons between companies that choose different measurement
attributes for similar types of assets and liabilities. SFAS No. 159
requires companies to provide additional information that will help investors
and other users of financial statements to more easily understand the effect
of
the Company’s choice to use fair value on its earnings. It also requires
entities to display the fair value of those assets and liabilities for which
the
Company has chosen to use fair value on the face of the balance
sheet. SFAS No. 159 will be effective for us as of January 1,
2008. We are currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of SFAS
No. 159 on our consolidated financial statements.
In
September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 158, “Employers’ Accounting for
Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans, an amendment of FASB
Statements No. 87, 88, 106, and 132(R).” Among other items, SFAS No. 158
requires recognition of the overfunded or underfunded status of an entity’s
defined benefit postretirement plan as an asset or liability in the financial
statements, requires the measurement of defined benefit postretirement plan
assets and obligations as of the end of the employer’s fiscal year, and requires
recognition of the funded status of defined benefit postretirement plans in
other comprehensive income. The Company adopted SFAS No. 158 on December 31,
2006. The incremental effects of applying SFAS No. 158 on the
Company’s December 31, 2006 consolidated financial statements, on a line by line
basis, are as follows:
Balances
Before Adoption of Statement 158
|
Adjustments
|
Balances
After Adoption of Statement 158
|
||||||||||
Pension
plan assets, net
|
$ |
5,169
|
$ | (4,062 | ) | $ |
1,107
|
|||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
1,037
|
1,651
|
2,688
|
|||||||||
Accumulated
other comprehensive income
|
-
|
2,411
|
2,411
|
In
September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, “Fair Value
Measurements.” SFAS No. 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework for
measuring fair value in GAAP, and expands disclosures about fair value
measurements. This Statement applies under other accounting pronouncements
that
require or permit fair value measurements, the Board having previously concluded
in those accounting pronouncements that fair value is the relevant measurement
attribute. Accordingly, this Statement does not require any new fair value
measurements. The provisions of SFAS No. 157 are effective for the Company
as of
January 1, 2008. The adoption of the provision of SFAS No. 157 is not expected
to have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.
In
September 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued Staff Accounting
Bulletin (“SAB”) No. 108 which provides interpretive guidance on how the effects
of the carryover or reversal of prior year unrecorded misstatements should
be
considered in quantifying a current year misstatement. SAB No. 108 is effective
for the Company as of January 1, 2007. The adoption of the provision of SAB
No.
108 had no effect on our consolidated financial statements.
In
June
2006, FASB issued FASB Interpretation (“FIN”) No. 48, “Accounting for
Uncertainty in Income Taxes.” FIN No. 48 clarifies the accounting for
uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements
in accordance with FASB SFAS No. 109, “Accounting for Income Taxes”,
which was adopted by us on January 1, 2007. FIN No. 48 prescribes a
recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement
recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken
in a
tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be
more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities.
The
amount recognized is measured as the largest amount of benefit that is greater
than 50 percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The adoption
of FIN No. 48 resulted in a negative cumulative effect adjustment to retained
earnings as of January 1, 2007 of approximately $0.1 million.
In
March
2006, FASB issued SFAS No. 156, “Accounting for Servicing of Financial
Assets.” SFAS No. 156 provides guidance addressing the recognition and
measurement of separately recognized servicing assets and liabilities, common
with mortgage securitization activities, and provides an approach to simplify
efforts to obtain hedge accounting treatment. SFAS No. 156 will be adopted
on
January 1, 2007. The adoption of the provision of SFAS No. 156 had no effect
on
our consolidated financial statements.
In
February 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 155, “Accounting for Certain Hybrid
Financial Instruments.” SFAS No. 155 is effective beginning January 1,
2007. The adoption of the provision of SFAS No. 155 had no effect on our
consolidated financial statements.
Results
of Continuing Operations
The
following table sets forth selected consolidated statements of continuing
operations data as a percentage of revenues for each of the periods
indicated.
Three
Months Ended
|
Nine
Months Ended
|
|||||||||||||||
September 30,
|
September 30,
|
|||||||||||||||
2007
|
2006
|
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||||||||
Revenues
|
100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | ||||||||
Costs
and expenses:
|
||||||||||||||||
Educational
services and facilities
|
42.8 | % | 42.7 | % | 44.0 | % | 42.3 | % | ||||||||
Selling,
general and administrative
|
47.9 | % | 50.5 | % | 52.2 | % | 51.8 | % | ||||||||
Total
costs and expenses
|
90.7 | % | 93.2 | % | 96.2 | % | 94.1 | % | ||||||||
Operating
income
|
9.3 | % | 6.8 | % | 3.8 | % | 5.9 | % | ||||||||
Other
loss
|
0.0 | % | (0.3 | )% | 0.0 | % | (0.1 | )% | ||||||||
Interest
expense, net
|
(0.7 | )% | (0.7 | )% | (0.7 | )% | (0.4 | )% | ||||||||
Income
from continuing operations before income taxes
|
8.6 | % | 5.8 | % | 3.1 | % | 5.5 | % | ||||||||
Provision
for income taxes
|
3.6 | % | 2.4 | % | 1.3 | % | 2.2 | % | ||||||||
Net
income from continuing operations
|
5.0 | % | 3.4 | % | 1.8 | % | 3.3 | % |
Three
Months Ended September 30, 2007 Compared to Three Months Ended September 30,
2006
Revenues.
Revenues increased by $4.7 million, or 5.7%, to $86.6 million for the three
months ended September 30, 2007 from $81.9 million for the comparable period
in
2006. The increase in revenue for the quarter was attributable in part to
a 2.3% increase in average student population, which increased to 18,185 for
the
quarter ended September 30, 2007 from 17,774 for the quarter ended September
30,
2006. For a general discussion of trends in our student enrollment,
see “Seasonality and Trends” below.
Educational
services and facilities expenses. Our educational services
and facilities expenses for the quarter ended September 30, 2007 were $37.1
million, representing an increase of $2.1 million, or 6.0%, as compared to
$34.9
million for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. The increase in
educational services and facilities expenses was due to: (i) books and tool
expenses, which increased by $1.2 million, or 23.8%, as compared to the quarter
ended September 30, 2006 due to higher tool sales during the period; and (ii)
facilities expenses, which increased by approximately $0.9 million over the
same
quarter in 2006. Approximately $0.5 million of the increase in
facilities expenses was due to additional square footage at some of our
facilities to accommodate new programs and higher utility, insurance and
property taxes. The remainder of the increase was attributable
to higher repairs and maintenance expense at our facilities ($0.2 million)
and
overflow housing expenses ($0.2 million) at one of our destination campuses
over
the same period in 2006. As a percentage of revenue,
educational services and facilities expenses for the second quarter of 2007
increased to 42.8% from 42.7% in 2006.
Selling,
general and administrative expenses. Our selling, general
and administrative expenses for the quarter ended September 30, 2007 were $41.4
million, consistent with the quarter ended September 30,
2006. For the three months ended September 30, 2007, our sales and
marketing expenses decreased by approximately $2.0 million from the same period
in 2006. This decrease was the result of the additional marketing
expenses incurred in the third quarter of 2006, to compensate for the shortfall
we experienced in the high school market, coupled with a shift in mix between
television advertising and web based initiatives. Offsetting this
decrease in sales and marketing expenses was an increase of $2.0 million in
administrative expenses. The increase in administrative expenses during the
quarter was due to the hiring of additional personnel in anticipation of higher
enrollment levels and to yearly compensation increases to existing
personnel. Additionally, during the quarter we entered into an
agreement with a vendor for certain equipment at our campuses. We
incurred an upfront one time non-cash charge of $0.5 million in connection
with
this agreement. As a percentage of revenue, selling, general
and administrative expenses for the third quarter of 2007 decreased to 47.9%
from 50.5% in 2006.
For
the
quarter ended September 30, 2007, our bad debt expense was 5.3% as compared
to
5.7% for the same quarter in 2006.
Net
interest expense. Our net interest expense for each of the
quarters ended September 30, 2007 and 2006 was $0.6
million. As of September 30, 2007, we had $5.0 million
outstanding under our credit agreement as compared to September 30, 2006 when
we
had $17.2 million of debt comprised of $10.0 million outstanding under our
credit agreement and a mortgage note assumed in connection with our acquisition
of FLA for $7.2 million. For the quarter ended September 30, 2007,
our average amounts outstanding under our credit agreement was $16.0 compared
to
$10.8 for the quarter ended September 30, 2006.
Income
taxes. For the quarter ended September 30, 2007 we recorded
a provision of $3.1 million, or 41.6% of pretax income. As a
percentage of pretax income, our provision was essentially unchanged from the
$2.0 million, or 41.5% of pretax income, for the quarter ended September 30,
2006.
Nine
Months Ended September 30, 2007 Compared to Nine Months Ended September 30,
2006
Revenues.
Revenues increased by $10.3 million, or 4.5%, to $237.5 million for the nine
months ending September 30, 2007 from $227.2 million for the comparable period
in 2006. Included in revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2007
was an increase of approximately $6.5 million over the corresponding prior
period from our acquisition of FLA, on May 22, 2006. The
remainder of the increase in revenue during the period was attributable to
our
Queens facility, which we opened in March 2006. This facility was a
start-up facility in 2006 and only contributed six months of earnings for the
nine month period ending September 30, 2006. For the nine months
ended September 30, 2007, the Queens campus was in operation for the full
period. Revenue for the period was also impacted positively by
tuition increases which averaged 3.5% for 2007 and a 0.4% increase in average
student population, which increased to 17,193 for the nine months
ended September 30, 2007 from 17,132 for the nine months ended September 30,
2006. For a general discussion of trends in our student enrollment,
see “Seasonality and Trends” below.
Educational
services and facilities expenses. Our educational services
and facilities expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 were $104.5
million, representing an increase of $8.4 million, or 8.8%, as compared to
$96.1
million for the nine months ended September 30, 2006. The acquisition of
FLA resulted in $2.5 million of this increase. The remainder of the
increase in educational services and facilities expenses was primarily due
to:
(i) instructional expenses, which increased $0.5 million, or 1.0% due to yearly
compensation increases; (ii) books and tool expenses, which increased by $1.7
million, or 15.0%, as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2006
due
higher tool sales during the period; and (iii) facilities expenses, which
increased by approximately $3.7 million over the same period in
2006. Approximately $1.7 million of the increase in facilities
expenses was due to additional square footage at some of our facilities and
higher utility, insurance and property taxes. The remainder of
the increase was attributable to higher repairs and maintenance expense at
our
facilities ($1.3 million) and increased depreciation expense ($0.5 million)
over
the same period in prior year. Of the $1.3 million
increase in repairs and maintenance expenses as of September 30, 2007, $0.8
million was due to repairs and maintenance expenses at one of our campuses
during the first quarter of 2007. As a percentage of revenue,
educational services and facilities expenses for the third quarter of 2007
increased to 44.0% from 42.3% in 2006.
Selling,
general and administrative expenses. Our selling, general
and administrative expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 were
$124.1 million, representing an increase of $6.4 million, or 5.4%, as compared
to $117.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2006. Included
in the $124.1 million was an incremental increase of $3.2 million, or
50.8%, related to the acquisition of FLA. On a same school basis,
selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $3.2 million from
the
comparable period in 2006, due to increases of $0.9 million in sales expense,
resulting from yearly compensation increases and a higher number of sales
representatives as compared to the same period in 2006, a $1.1 million decrease
in marketing expenditures, a $0.2 million increase in student services, and
a
$3.2 million increase in administrative expenses. The decrease in marketing
expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 was the result of the
additional marketing expenses incurred in the third quarter of 2006, to
compensate for the shortfall we experienced in the high school market, coupled
with a shift in mix between television advertising and web based
initiatives. The increase in administrative expenses during the
period was due to yearly compensation increases and increased expenses
associated with pay incentives. Additionally, during the three months
ended September 30, 2007 we entered into a Master Agreement with a vendor for
certain copiers for our campuses. We incurred an upfront one time
non-cash charge of $0.5 million in connection with this agreement. As
a percentage of revenue, selling, general and administrative expenses for the
nine months ended September 30, 2007 increased to 52.2% from 51.8% in
2006.
For
the
nine months ended September 30, 2007 and 2006, our bad debt expense was 5.2%
and
5.2%, respectively.
Impairment
of goodwill and long-lived assets. As of June 30, 2007, we
recorded a non-cash charge of $3.0 million related to the impairment of goodwill
and other long term assets due to the planned cessation of operations at three
of our campuses. See “Impairment of Goodwill and Long-lived
Assets”.
Net
interest expense. Our net interest expense for the nine
months ended September 30, 2007 was $1.7 million, representing an increase
of
$0.8 million from the nine months ended September 30, 2006. This increase
was primarily due to the decrease in our average cash balances during the period
as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2006.
Income
taxes. For the nine months ended September 30, 2007 we
recorded a provision for income taxes of $3.0 million, or 41.7% of pretax
income, as compared to a provision of $5.1 million, or 41.1% of pretax income,
for the nine months ended September 30, 2006. The increase in our
effective tax rate for the period was primarily attributable to the tax benefit
associated with the exercise of stock options, coupled with the effect of the
FLA acquisition. For federal tax purposes, FLA is a separate C
Corporation.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
Our
primary capital requirements are for facility expansion and maintenance,
acquisitions and the development of new programs. Our principal sources of
liquidity have been cash provided by operating activities and borrowings under
our credit agreement. The following chart summarizes the principal
elements of our cash flow for the nine months ended September 30, 2007 and
2006:
Nine
Months Ended September 30,
|
||||||||
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||
(in
thousands)
|
||||||||
Net
cash provided by operating activities
|
$ |
8,950
|
$ |
1,666
|
||||
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
$ | (17,003 | ) | $ | (49,037 | ) | ||
Net
cash provided by financing activities
|
$ |
5,129
|
$ |
9,554
|
At
September 30, 2007 we had cash and cash equivalents of $3.5 million, compared
to
$6.5 million as of December 31, 2006. For the nine months ended September
30, 2007, cash and cash equivalents decreased by approximately $2.9 million
from
December 31, 2006. This decrease was mainly attributable to normal
seasonal patterns of lower student populations in the first half of the
year. Historically, we have financed our operating activities and
organic growth primarily through cash generated from operations. In
addition, we have financed acquisitions primarily through borrowings under
our
credit facility and cash generated from operations. During the first six
months of 2007, we borrowed $21.5 million under our credit
facility. During the three months ended September 30, 2007, we repaid
$16.5 million of those borrowings. We currently anticipate that we
will be able to meet both our short-term cash needs, as well as our need to
fund
operations and meet our obligations beyond the next twelve months with cash
generated by operations, existing cash balances and borrowings under our credit
agreement. At September 30, 2007, we had borrowings
available under our credit agreement of approximately $90.6 million, including
a
$15.6 million sub-limit on letters of credit.
Our
primary source of cash is tuition collected from our students. Our
students fund their tuition payments from a variety of sources including Title
IV Programs, federal and state grants, private loans and their personal
resources. A significant majority of our students’ tuition payments are
derived from Title IV Programs. Students must apply for a new loan for
each academic period. Federal regulations dictate the timing of
disbursements of funds under Title IV Programs, and loan funds are generally
provided by lenders in two disbursements for each academic year. The first
disbursement is usually received approximately 30 days after the start of a
student’s academic year and the second disbursement is typically received at the
beginning of the sixteenth week after the start of the student’s academic
year. Certain types of grants and other funding are not subject to a
30-day delay. Our programs range from 30 to 84 weeks and may cover one or
two academic years. In certain instances, if a student withdraws from a
program prior to a specified date, any paid but unearned tuition or prorated
Title IV financial aid is refunded with the amount varying by
state.
The
majority of students enrolled at our campuses rely on funds received under
various government-sponsored student financial aid programs to pay a substantial
portion of their tuition and other education-related expenses. The largest
of these programs is Title IV, which represented approximately 80% of our cash
receipts relating to revenues in 2006. As a result of the significance of
the Title IV funds received by our students, we are highly dependent on these
funds to operate our business. Any reduction in the level of Title IV
funds that our students are eligible to receive or any impact on our ability
to
receive Title IV funds would have a significant impact on our operations and
our
financial condition.
Operating
Activities
Net
cash
provided by operating activities was $9.0 million for the nine months ended
September 30, 2007 compared to $1.7 million for the nine months ended September
30, 2006. The $7.3 million increase in cash provided by operating
activities was primarily due to improved focus on the packaging of student
financial aid. This resulted in (i) better cash
collections during the period as compared to the comparable period in prior
year
(as evidenced by the decrease in day’s sales outstanding to 22.8 days for the
three months ended September 30, 2007 from 24.3 days for the three months ended
September 30, 2006) and (ii) an increase as compared to prior year in unearned
tuition.
Investing
Activities
Net
cash
used in investing activities decreased by $32.0 million to $17.0 million for
the
nine months ended September 30, 2007 from $49.0 million for the nine months
ended September 30, 2006. Our decrease in cash used in investing
activities was primarily due to the purchase of FLA in May of 2006, offset
by
increased purchases of property and equipment. Our capital
expenditures primarily result from facility expansion, leasehold improvements,
and investments in classroom and shop technology and in operating
systems.
We
currently lease a majority of our campuses. In October 2005, we completed
the purchase of our Grand Prairie, Texas facility, which we opened in July
2006. In addition, with our purchase of FLA on May 22, 2006, we
acquired real estate valued at approximately $19.8 million. Our
growth strategy is primarily focused on internal growth, including campus
expansions; however, we have in the past and expect to continue to consider
strategic acquisitions. To the extent that these potential strategic
acquisitions are large enough to require financing beyond available cash from
operations and borrowings under our credit facilities, we may incur additional
debt or issue additional debt or equity securities.
Capital
expenditures are expected to increase as we upgrade and expand current equipment
and facilities and open new facilities to meet increased student
enrollments. Additionally, we are evaluating several other expansion
opportunities. We expect to be able to fund these capital expenditures
with cash generated from operating activities.
Financing
Activities
Net
cash
provided by financing activities was $5.1 million for the nine months ended
September 30, 2007 compared to net cash provided by financing activities of
$9.6
million for the nine months ended September 30, 2006. This increase in
2007 was attributable to our borrowing $21.5 million under our credit agreement
during the first half of 2007. During the third quarter we
repaid $16.5 million of these borrowings. Due to normal seasonal
patterns, our student populations are generally at the lowest levels during
the
first half of the year and increase during the second half of the
year. As a result, during the first half of the year, we typically
borrow funds to finance our operations and repay those funds in the second
half
of the year.
Under
the
terms of our credit agreement, the lending syndicate provided us with a $100
million credit facility with a term of five years. The credit agreement
permits the issuance of letters of credit of up to $20 million, the amount
of
which reduces the availability of permitted borrowings under the
agreement.
The
following table sets forth our long-term debt at the dates
indicated:
September 30,
|
December 31,
|
|||||||
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||
Credit
agreement
|
$ |
5,000
|
$ |
-
|
||||
Finance
obligation
|
9,672
|
9,672
|
||||||
Automobile
loans
|
21
|
37
|
||||||
Capital
leases-computers (with rates ranging from 6.7% to 10.7%)
|
735
|
151
|
||||||
Subtotal
|
15,428
|
9,860
|
||||||
Less
current portion
|
(206 | ) | (91 | ) | ||||
$ |
15,222
|
$ |
9,769
|
Contractual
Obligations
Long-Term
Debt. As of September 30, 2007, our long-term debt consisted
of amounts borrowed under our credit agreement, the finance obligation in
connection with our sale-leaseback transaction in 2001 and amounts due under
capital lease obligations.
Lease
Commitments. We lease offices, educational facilities and
various equipment for varying periods through the year 2023 at basic annual
rentals (excluding taxes, insurance, and other expenses under certain
leases).
The
following table contains supplemental information regarding our total
contractual obligations as of September 30, 2007, measured from the end of
our
fiscal year, December 31, 2006 (in thousands):
Payments
Due by Period
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Total
|
Less
than 1 year
|
1-3
years
|
3-5
years
|
After
5 years
|
||||||||||||||||
Credit
agreement
|
$ |
5,000
|
$ |
-
|
$ |
5,000
|
$ |
-
|
$ |
-
|
||||||||||
Capital
leases (including interest)
|
883
|
240
|
348
|
295
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||
Operating
leases
|
135,820
|
15,839
|
28,372
|
24,492
|
67,117
|
|||||||||||||||
Rent
on finance obligation
|
12,454
|
1,334
|
2,669
|
2,669
|
5,782
|
|||||||||||||||
Automobile
loans (including interest)
|
21
|
21
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||
Total
contractual cash obligations
|
$ |
154,178
|
$ |
17,434
|
$ |
36,389
|
$ |
27,456
|
$ |
72,899
|
Capital
Expenditures. We have entered into commitments to expand or
renovate campuses. These commitments are in the range of $4.0 to $6.0 million
in
the aggregate and are due within the next 12 months. Total capital expenditures
for the year are expected to range between 3 to 5% of revenues. We
expect to fund these commitments from cash generated from
operations.
Off-Balance
Sheet Arrangements
We
had no
off-balance sheet arrangements as of September 30, 2007, except for our letters
of credit of $4.4 million which are primarily comprised of letters of credit
for
the DOE and security deposits in connection with certain of our real estate
leases. These off-balance sheet arrangements do not adversely impact our
liquidity or capital resources.
Seasonality
and Trends
Our
net
revenues and operating results normally fluctuate as a result of seasonal
variations in our business, principally due to changes in total student
population. Student population varies as a result of new student
enrollments, graduations and student attrition. Historically, our campuses
have had lower student populations in our first and second quarters and we
have
experienced large class starts in the third and fourth quarters and student
attrition in the first half of the year. Our second half growth is largely
dependent on a successful high school recruiting season. We recruit
our high school students several months ahead of their scheduled start dates,
and thus, while we have visibility on the number of students who have expressed
interest in attending our campuses, we cannot predict with certainty the actual
number of new student enrollments and the related impact on
revenue. Our expenses, however, do not vary significantly over the
course of a year with changes in our student population and net revenues.
During the first half of the year, we make significant investments in marketing,
staff, programs and facilities to ensure that we have the proper staffing to
meet our second half targets and, as a result, such expenses do not fluctuate
significantly on a quarterly basis. To the extent new student enrollments,
and related revenues, in the second half of the year fall short of our
estimates, our operating results could suffer. We expect quarterly
fluctuations in operating results to continue as a result of seasonal enrollment
patterns. Such patterns may change, however, as a result of new school
openings, new program introductions, increased enrollments of adult students
and/or acquisitions.
Similar
to other public for-profit post secondary education companies, the increase
in
our average undergraduate enrollments has not met our historical or anticipated
growth rates. As a result of the slow down in 2005 and 2006, we
entered 2007 with fewer students enrolled than we had in January
2006. This trend has continued through the first half of 2007 and
resulted in a shortfall in our expected enrollments during the first half of
2007. We experienced a reversal of this trend during the third
quarter of 2007, mainly as a result of better execution and the benefit of
initiatives we put in place in the last several quarters. While we
have not seen any change to the challenging environment we are operating in,
we
believe that through better execution and the continued benefit of the various
initiatives we implemented, we will be able to sustain positive organic growth
for the remainder of the year. The slow down that has occurred
in the for-profit post secondary education sector appears to have had a greater
impact on companies, like ours, that are more dependent on their on-ground
business as opposed to on-line students. We believe that the slow
down can be attributed to many factors, including: (a) the economy
and the labor market; (b) the availability of student financing; (c) the
dependency on television to attract students to our school; (d) turnover of
our
sales representatives; and (e) increased competition in the
marketplace.
Despite
soft organic enrollment trends and increased volatility in the near term, we
believe that our growth initiatives as well as the steps we have taken to
address the challenging trends that our industry is currently facing will
produce positive growth over the long-term. We continue to be prudent
and realistic, with a view toward ensuring that operations that have
not grown as rapidly as expected are right sized. Accordingly, we
believe that our operating strategy, business model and infrastructure are
well
suited for the short-term and long-term business opportunities. We
also continue to make investments in areas that are demonstrating solid
growth.
Operating
income is negatively impacted during the initial start-up phase of new campus
expansions. We incur sales and marketing costs as well as campus personnel
costs in advance of the opening of each campus. Typically we begin to
incur such costs approximately 15 months in advance of the campus opening with
the majority of such costs being incurred in the nine-month period prior to
a
campus opening. During 2006, we continued expansion efforts for one new
campus, located in Queens, New York, which opened on March 27,
2006.
Item
3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT
MARKET RISK
The
Company is exposed to certain market risks as part of its on-going business
operations. The Company has a credit agreement with a syndicate of
banks. The obligations of the Company under the credit agreement are
secured by a lien on substantially all of the assets of the Company and its
subsidiaries and any assets that it or its subsidiaries may acquire in the
future, including a pledge of substantially all of the subsidiaries’ common
stock. Outstanding borrowings bear interest at the rate of adjusted
LIBOR plus 1.0% to 1.75%, as defined, or a base rate (as defined in the credit
agreement). As of September 30, 2007, the Company has $5.0 million
outstanding under the credit agreement. Interest on these borrowings
at September 30, 2007 ranged from 6.32% to 8.25%.
Based
on
our outstanding debt balance, a change of one percent in the interest rate
would
cause a change in interest expense of approximately $0.2 million, or less than
$.01 per basic share, on an annual basis. Changes in interest rates
could have an impact on our operations, which are greatly dependent on students’
ability to obtain financing. Any increase in interest rates could
greatly impact our ability to attract students and have an adverse impact on
the
results of our operations.
The
remainder of our interest rate risk is associated with miscellaneous capital
equipment leases, which are not material.
Item
4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
(a)
Evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures. Our Chief Executive
Officer and Chief Financial Officer, after evaluating the effectiveness of
our
disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Securities Exchange Act
Rule 13a-15(e)) as of the end of the quarterly period covered by this
report, have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are adequate
and effective to reasonably ensure that material information required to be
disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act
is
recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specific
by
Securities and Exchange Commissions’ Rules and Forms and that such information
is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive
Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions
regarding required disclosure.
(b)
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. There were no
changes made during our most recently completed fiscal quarter in our internal
control over financial reporting that have materially affected, or are
reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial
reporting.
PART
II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item
1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
In
the
ordinary conduct of our business, we are periodically subject to lawsuits,
investigations and claims, including, but not limited to, claims involving
students or graduates and routine employment matters. Although we cannot
predict with certainty the ultimate resolution of lawsuits, investigations
and
claims asserted against us, we do not believe that any currently pending legal
proceeding to which we are a party will have a material adverse effect on our
business or financial condition, results of operations or cash
flows.
EXHIBIT
INDEX
The
following exhibits are filed with or incorporated by reference into this Form
10-Q.
Exhibit
Number
|
Description
|
3.1
|
Amended
and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company
(1).
|
3.2
|
Amended
and Restated By-laws of the Company (2).
|
4.1
|
Stockholders’
Agreement, dated as of September 15, 1999, among Lincoln Technical
Institute, Inc., Back to School Acquisition, L.L.C., and Five Mile
River
Capital Partners LLC. (1).
|
4.2
|
Letter
agreement, dated August 9, 2000, by Back to School Acquisition, L.L.C.,
amending the Stockholders’ Agreement (1).
|
4.3
|
Letter
agreement, dated August 9, 2000, by Lincoln Technical Institute,
Inc.,
amending the Stockholders’ Agreement (1).
|
4.4
|
Management
Stockholders Agreement, dated as of January 1, 2002, by and among
Lincoln
Technical Institute, Inc., Back to School Acquisition, L.L.C. and
the
Stockholders and other holders of options under the Management Stock
Option Plan listed therein (1).
|
4.5
|
Registration
Rights Agreement between the Company and Back to School Acquisition,
L.L.C. (2).
|
4.6
|
Specimen
Stock Certificate evidencing shares of common stock
(1).
|
10.1
|
Credit
Agreement, dated as of February 15, 2005, among the Company, the
Guarantors from time to time parties thereto, the Lenders from time
to
time parties thereto and Harris Trust and Savings Bank, as Administrative
Agent (1).
|
10.2
|
Amended
and Restated Employment Agreement, dated as of February 1, 2007,
between
the Company and David F. Carney (4).
|
10.3
|
Amended
and Restated Employment Agreement, dated as of February 1, 2007,
between
the Company and Lawrence E. Brown (4).
|
10.4
|
Amended
and Restated Employment Agreement, dated as of February 1, 2007,
between
the Company and Scott M. Shaw (4).
|
10.5
|
Amended
and Restated Employment Agreement, dated as of February 1, 2007,
between
the Company and Cesar Ribeiro (4).
|
10.6
|
Amended
and Restated Employment Agreement, dated as of February 1, 2007,
between
the Company and Shaun E. McAlmont (4).
|
10.7
|
Lincoln
Educational Services Corporation 2005 Long Term Incentive Plan
(1).
|
10.8
|
Lincoln
Educational Services Corporation 2005 Non Employee Directors Restricted
Stock Plan (1).
|
10.9
|
Lincoln
Educational Services Corporation 2005 Deferred Compensation Plan
(1).
|
10.10
|
Lincoln
Technical Institute Management Stock Option Plan, effective January
1,
2002 (1).
|
10.11
|
Form
of Stock Option Agreement, dated January 1, 2002, between Lincoln
Technical Institute, Inc. and certain participants
(1).
|
10.12
|
Management
Stock Subscription Agreement, dated January 1, 2002, among Lincoln
Technical Institute, Inc. and certain management investors
(1).
|
10.13
|
Stockholder’s
Agreement among Lincoln Educational Services Corporation, Back to
School
Acquisition L.L.C., Steven W. Hart and Steven W. Hart 2003
Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (2).
|
10.14
|
Stock
Purchase Agreement, dated as of March 30, 2006, among Lincoln Technical
Institute, Inc., and Richard I. Gouse,
Andrew T. Gouse, individually and as Trustee of the Carolyn Beth
Gouse Irrevocable Trust, Seth A. Kurn and
Steven L. Meltzer (3).
|
Certification
of Chairman & Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
|
|
Certification
of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act of 2002.
|
|
Certification
of Chairman & Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer
pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of
the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
|
________________________________________________
(1)
|
Incorporated
by reference to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1
(Registration No. 333-123664).
|
(2)
|
Incorporated
by reference to the Company’s Form 8-K dated June 28,
2005.
|
(3)
|
Incorporated
by reference to the Company’s Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended
March 31, 2006.
|
(4)
|
Incorporated
by reference to the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December
31, 2006.
|
*
|
Filed
herewith.
|
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto
duly authorized.
Date:
November 9, 2007
LINCOLN
EDUCATIONAL SERVICES CORPORATION
|
|||
By:
|
/s/
Cesar Ribeiro
|
||
Cesar Ribeiro
|
|||
Chief
Financial Officer
|
|||
(Principal
Accounting and Financial Officer)
|
26