LIVE VENTURES Inc - Annual Report: 2006 (Form 10-K)
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
___________
FORM
10-K
ANNUAL
REPORT
PURSUANT
TO SECTIONS 13 OR 15(d)
OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
(Mark
one)
T |
ANNUAL
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT OF
1934
|
For
the
fiscal year ended September 30, 2006
£ |
TRANSITION
REPORT UNDER SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT
OF
1934
|
For
the
Transition period from ________ to ____________
Commission
File Number: 0-24217
YP
CORP.
(Exact
Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
Nevada
|
85-0206668
|
|
(State
or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)
|
(IRS
Employer Identification No.)
|
4840
East Jasmine Street, Suite 105,
Mesa,
Arizona
|
85205
|
|
(Address
of principal executive offices)
|
(Zip
Code)
|
Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code: (480) 654-9646
Securities
registered under Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act: None
Securities
registered under Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act:
Common
Stock, $.001 Par Value
(Title
of
Class)
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined
in
Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes £
No
T
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to
Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes £
No
T
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 if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of
Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best
of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements
incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to
this
Form 10-K £
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is 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.
Large
accelerated filer £ Accelerated
filer £ Non-accelerated
filer T
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes £
No
T.
The
aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates computed
based
on the closing price of such stock on March 31, 2006 was approximately
$29,007,749
The
number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s classes of common stock, as of
December 15, 2006, was 50,020,094 shares.
DOCUMENTS
INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions
of the Proxy Statement for the Registrant’s 2007 Annual Meeting of Shareholders
are incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K.
YP
CORP.
FORM
10-K
For
the year ended September 30, 2006
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Page
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Part
I
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Item
1.
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1
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Item
1A.
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12
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Item
1B.
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21
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Item
2.
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21
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Item
3.
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Item
4.
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Part
II
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Item
5.
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23
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Item
6.
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24
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Item
7.
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25
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Item
7A.
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37
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Item
8.
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43
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Item
9.
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63
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Item
9A.
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63
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Item
9B.
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63
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Part
III
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Item
10.
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63
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Item
11.
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64
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Item
12.
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64
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Item
13.
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64
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Item
14.
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64
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Part
IV
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Item
15.
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64
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Signatures
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67
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PART
I
Forward-Looking
Statements
Part
I of
this Annual Report on Form 10-K, includes statements that constitute
“forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements are often
characterized by the terms “may,” “believes,” “projects,” “expects,” or
“anticipates,” and do not reflect historical facts. Specific forward-looking
statements contained in Part I of this Annual Report include, but are not
limited to our company’s (i) belief that local exchange carrier, or LEC billing,
will continue to be a significant billing channel in the future; (ii) with
the
discontinuance of activation checks, the expectation of increasing our future
telemarketing efforts to generate new business; (iii) expectation of increasing
revenues through the national accounts programs, fulfillment contracts, web
hosting and other arrangements; (iv) expectation that its technologies will
increase recurrent use of its system by users of its directory services; (v)
belief in the growth of Internet usage and the Internet Yellow Page market
as
set forth in recent press releases by The Kelsey Group; (vi) belief that
existing cash on hand will be sufficient to meet our needs for the next twelve
months; and (vii) belief that existing facilities are adequate for its current
and anticipated future needs and that its facilities and their contents are
adequately covered by insurance.
Forward-looking
statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause
our
actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors and
risks
that could affect our results and achievements and cause them to materially
differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements include those
identified in Item
1A. Risk Factors,
as well
as other factors that we are currently unable to identify or quantify, but
may
exist in the future.
In
addition, the foregoing factors may affect generally our business, results
of
operations and financial position. Forward-looking statements speak only as
of
the date the statement was made. We do not undertake and specifically decline
any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
ITEM
1. Business
Our
Company
YP
Corp.,
a Nevada corporation (the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a national
Internet Yellow Pages publisher, headquartered in Mesa, Arizona. Through our
wholly-owned subsidiary, Telco Billing, Inc., or Telco, located in Las Vegas,
Nevada, we publish our Yellow Pages online at or through the following URL’s:
www.Yellow-Page.Net, www.YP.Net and www.YP.Com. Any information contained on
the
foregoing websites or any other websites referenced in this Annual Report are
not a part of this Annual Report.
Summary
Business Description
We
use a
business model similar to print Yellow Pages publishers. We publish basic
directory listings on the Internet free of charge. Our basic listings contain
the business name, address and telephone number for almost 17 million U.S.
businesses. We strive to maintain a listing for almost every business in America
in this format.
We
generate revenues from advertisers that desire increased exposure for their
businesses. As described below, advertisers pay us monthly fees in the same
manner that advertisers pay additional fees to traditional print Yellow Pages
providers for enhanced advertisement font, location or display. The users of
our
website are prospective customers for our advertisers, as well as the other
businesses for which we publish basic listings. We also have arrangements with
third parties to distribute our advertisers’ information to other search
engines, thereby enhancing our advertisers’ presence on the Internet.
Products.
Our
primary product is our Internet Advertising Package™, or IAP. Under this
package, the advertiser pays for additional exposure by purchasing a
Mini-WebPage™. In order to provide search traffic to our advertiser’s
Mini-WebPage, we elevate the advertiser to a preferred listing status, at no
additional charge. We provide our IAP advertisers with enhanced presentation
and
additional unique products, such as larger font, bolded business name, map
directions, ease of communication between our advertisers and users of our
website, a link to the advertiser’s webpage, as well as other
benefits.
We
also
offer our customers other products and services to enhance their use of the
Internet, including a simple, effective, website development tool and a
cost-effective Internet dial-up package. These products are described in greater
detail below under Products
and Services.
In
fiscal
2006, we began providing fulfillment services for certain third parties. Under
the terms of these agreements, we provide hosting and administrative services
under a revenue sharing agreement with the related third party.
Marketing.
Unlike
most print Yellow Pages companies that sell advertising space by visiting or
calling potential advertisers in their area, we solicit advertisers for our
IAP
product by direct mail and telemarketing.
Our
direct mail marketing program historically has included a promotional incentive,
generally in the form of a $3.25 activation check that a solicited business
simply deposits to activate the service and become an IAP advertiser on a
month-by-month basis. In response to a number of inquiries from state regulatory
agencies, we voluntarily entered into an agreement to cease the use of these
activation checks.
In
fiscal
2006, we began acquiring new customers via telemarketing campaigns, for whom
our
monthly billing rates are higher than for those acquired through other means.
With the discontinuance of activation checks, we expect to increase our future
telemarketing efforts to generate new business. Additionally, we are testing
other marketing channels, developing new product offerings and exploring other
strategic partnerships to generate future revenues.
Billing.
Similar
to the local Regional Bell Operating Companies, we are approved to bill our
products and services directly on some of our advertisers’ local telephone bill
through their local exchange carrier, or LEC, commonly referred to as their
local telephone company. We believe that this is an efficient and cost-effective
billing method as compared to direct billing methods. However, during the fourth
quarter of fiscal 2004, several of these LECs changed their internal policies
regarding the use of activation checks as the letter of authorization that
allows us to bill our products and services directly on our advertisers’ local
telephone bill. We therefore began to convert many of our advertisers to billing
via recurring direct bank account withdrawal options through an Automated
Clearing House, or ACH billing, which is an efficient and cost-effective billing
alternative to LEC billing. This transition to ACH billing continued through
fiscal 2005. In fiscal 2006, we began acquiring new customers via telemarketing
campaigns, which are allowed to be billed via LECs. These telemarketing
campaigns have revitalized certain LEC billing channels. See Item
7: Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Operating
Results - Executive Overview
for a
more detailed description of these changes and the impact they have had on
our
business and operations.
Benefits
to Advertisers.
RH
Donnelley indicated in its 2004 report that the Internet is the future of the
Yellow Pages. For advertisers, we believe that online Yellow Pages provide
significant competitive advantages over existing print directories. For example,
the ability of online advertisers to access and modify their displays and
advertisements often results in more current information. Additionally, online
advertisers can more readily advertise temporary or targeted specials or
discounts. We provide added value to advertisers that have purchased our IAP
through promotion and branding of our website to bring customers to our
advertisers. We believe that the large number of IAPs, which include the
Mini-WebPages, provide users of our website with more information about our
advertisers and that this feature is more readily available on our website
than
that of our competitors. We believe that we provide users of our website with
the information they are looking for, more quickly and more efficiently. We
believe our call center provides the highest level of customer service and
therefore provides IAP advertisers with the necessary resources to fully utilize
the benefits of the IAP. We also believe the attraction of these users will,
over the long-term, result in more sales for our IAP advertisers.
Moreover,
we provide additional value through our relationships. We provide the majority
of our IAP advertisers additional exposure by circulating their listings to
other search engines. The circulated listing competes for appearance
in search results across the Internet through a paid advertising agreement
with
Interchange Corp, who in turn circulates listings to destinations such as
epilot.com
and
local.com. Interchange has agreements with approximately 300 search
partners with over 3 billion searches per month to display
advertising. We also have an agreement with Yahoo! Search Services to
improve our IAP advertisers’ appearance in search results at several
high-profile sites including www.msn.com, www.altavista.com, www.cnn.com
and www.infospace.com. In addition to our paid advertising programs,
our preferred listings are syndicated to community
portals at www.mycity.com. MyCity.com has a national network of
online city guides, focused on delivering local search results.
Benefits
to Users of our Website.
We are
a national online Yellow Pages. Users of our website can access information
nationally rather than relying exclusively on local listings such as those
provided in print Yellow Pages directories. In addition, our product offerings
allow users to find and take advantage of our advertisers’ current special
offerings and discounts. Users can access such information easily through their
desktop or laptop computers, cellular telephones or hand-held devices, such
as
personal digital assistants. We believe our offering of a national online Yellow
Pages service meets the growing demand for immediate access and the increasing
need and trend of Internet users who are more frequently traveling to areas
outside the areas serviced by their local print directories. We also believe
that our website meets or exceeds the local Yellow Page search capabilities
of
our major competitors.
Directory
Service and Search Engine.
We
believe that our products offer many competitive advantages over standard search
engines. Our directory service and search engine format allows a user of our
website to search by location using either a business name or business category.
Unlike popular commercial search engines, our search engine does not search
the
Internet to provide results. Instead, it searches our defined database,
resulting in a more focused, refined and, typically, quicker and more accurate
search.
Products
and Services
For
those
advertisers that want additional exposure for their businesses or desire to
take
full advantage of connectivity to the World Wide Web, we offer several products
and services for a fee.
Internet
Advertising Package. Our
primary product is our Internet Advertising Package, or IAP. Under this package,
the advertiser pays for additional exposure by purchasing a Mini-WebPage. This
Mini-WebPage contains, among other useful information, a 40-word description
of
the business, hours of operation, and detailed contact information. The
advertiser can easily access and modify its Mini-WebPage. This product is easily
searched by users of our website on their personal computers, as well as
cellular telephones and other hand-held devices. In order to provide search
traffic to an advertiser’s Mini-WebPage, we elevate the advertiser to a
preferred listing status at no additional charge. As such, the preferred
advertiser enjoys the benefit of having its advertisement displayed in a primary
position before all of the basic listings in that particular category when
users
of our website perform searches on our website. We also provide our IAP
advertisers with enhanced presentation and additional unique products,
including:
·
|
Larger
font.
|
·
|
Bolded
business name.
|
·
|
A
“tagline” whereby the advertiser can differentiate itself from its
competitors.
|
·
|
An
audio advertisement.
|
·
|
Map
directions.
|
·
|
A
Click2Call™ feature, whereby a user of our website can place a telephone
call to one of our advertising customers by clicking the icon that
is
displayed on the Mini-WebPage. This initiates a telephone call by
the
advertiser to the user, in a conference call type format. Once both
are
connected, it functions as a regular telephone call. Because we cover
all
charges for this telephone call, it is free of charge to both the
user and
the IAP advertiser. We have an agreement with WebDialogs, Inc. to
provide
this service.
|
·
|
A
link to the advertiser’s own webpage and email
address.
|
·
|
Additional
distribution network for preferred listings. This feature gives additional
exposure to our IAP advertisers by placing their preferred listing
on
several online directory systems. There currently is no charge to
the IAP
advertiser for these additional channels of
distribution.
|
Our
IAP
advertisers generally pay between $27.50 and $39.95 per month. Our IAP and
the
Internet Dial-Up Package described below account for over 99% of our net
revenues.
Internet
Dial-Up Package™.
We also
offer all of our IAP advertisers a cost-effective and efficient Internet dial-up
package to take advantage of the benefits offered by on-line access. This allows
our advertisers that do not have Internet access to take full advantage of
the
IAP and QuickSite packages that we offer. In most instances, we offer this
service bundled with our IAP service for between $29.95 and $39.95 per month.
In
some regions, we only offer the bundled product and not an IAP standalone
product.
Online
QuickSite Package™.
For
those IAP advertisers that do not have their own website and that desire to
provide more information than is offered through the IAP Mini-WebPage, we will
design and create an eight page, template-driven website for the advertiser.
This is known as a QuickSite™. Once set up, the advertiser can access its new
QuickSite online and make modifications at its discretion. This essentially
serves the same function as display advertisements in print Yellow Pages books,
except that it can be changed more often to meet the advertiser’s needs. Users
of our website can access these QuickSites on the World Wide Web or from the
advertiser’s preferred listing or Mini-WebPage. Currently, this product accounts
for less than 1% of our net revenues.
Fulfillment
Services. Beginning
in fiscal 2006, we began entering into contracts with several third parties
whereby we provide hosting, customer service and certain administrative
functions under a revenue sharing agreement. We believe these agreements allow
us to increase operational efficiencies and expand our customer base.
Billing
Our
billing process allows us to deliver high levels of service to our customers
through convenient and timely billing and payment options. We currently bill
our
advertisers through (i) their LEC, (ii) ACH billing, (iii) their credit card
or
(iv) direct bill invoices.
Until
the
end of fiscal 2004, we historically billed the majority of our advertisers
via
their LEC. However, during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004, several of the
LECs changed their internal policies regarding the use of activation checks
as
the letter of authorization that would allow us to bill our products and
services directly on our advertisers’ local telephone bill. In fiscal 2006, we
began acquiring new customers via telemarketing campaigns, which are allowed
to
be billed via LECs. These telemarketing campaigns, together with our fulfillment
contracts, have revitalized certain LEC billing channels. See
Item
7: Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Operating
Results - Executive Overview
for a
detailed description of these changes and the effects they have had and will
continue to have on our financial condition and results of
operations.
During
fiscal 2004, we began converting many of our advertisers to ACH billing, which
is an efficient and cost-effective billing method and has a faster collection
time than LEC billing. However, it was time-consuming and labor-intensive to
convert customers from one billing channel to another and resulted in missed
billings and customer cancellations. While ACH billing is a cost-effective
billing method, many of our customers prefer LEC billing. Therefore, many of
our
existing marketing programs, including our telemarketing campaign, offer LEC
billing as a payment option. We expect that LEC billing will continue to be
a
significant billing channel in the future.
In
cases
where other billing methods, including LEC billing, ACH billing and recurring
credit card charges, are unavailable or instances where the customer requests
that we bill them directly, we utilize direct bill invoices. Direct billing
has
a higher percentage of uncollectible accounts than other billing methods and,
therefore, is our least attractive billing option.
Billing
Service Agreements.
In
order to bill our advertisers through their LECs, we are required to use one
or
more billing service aggregators. These aggregators have been approved by
various LECs to provide billing, collection, and related services through the
LECs. Under these agreements, our service aggregators bill and collect our
charges to our advertisers through LEC billing and remit to us the proceeds,
net
of fees, bad debt expense, customer returns, and unbillable accounts, typically
within 90 days of submission.
We
also
use billing service providers to process our ACH billings. These service
providers process direct bank withdrawals through an Automated Clearing House
and remit the proceeds, net of fees and refunds to advertisers that cancel
their
service, typically within 15 days of settlement.
Under
our
contractual agreements with our LEC billing service aggregators and our ACH
service providers, these third-parties are entitled to withhold certain amounts
from our net proceeds to serve as a security deposit or “holdbacks” or
“reserves.” In the case of LEC billing aggregators, such amounts are generally
remitted to us over a 12-18 month period, depending on the terms of the
respective agreements. ACH processors maintain a rolling reserve based on
average monthly volume.
During
2005, in an effort to reduce our concentration of credit risk with any single
third-party, we engaged the services of additional service providers. We
currently utilize three LEC billing aggregators and two ACH service providers.
This reduced our concentration of gross accounts receivable with any single
vendor from approximately 65% at the end of fiscal 2005 to approximately 31%
at
the end of fiscal 2006.
Pricing
We
generally price our IAP product between $27.50 and $39.95 per month, which
includes all of the service benefits previously described. We believe that
these
prices are comparable to the prices of our competitors and we believe that
our
site provides superior value to our advertisers when considering the many
benefits that they receive, including the Click2Call feature, the Mini-WebPage,
mapping directions, links to the advertiser websites, and the speed and ease
of
use of our website.
Our
pricing advantage is significant when compared with printed Yellow Pages. For
a
Yellow Pages listing with comparable information content, an advertiser would
typically pay over $200 per month. This listing in the printed Yellow Pages
would include a business description of comparable size to our IAP offering
but
would lack our Click2Call feature, mapping directions, and link to the
advertiser’s website. Our online Yellow Pages provide significant flexibility in
terms of changing content and adding special informational items at any time
throughout the year. Advertisers in printed Yellow Pages are limited by the
publishers’ infrequent re-publication schedule if they desire to change their
advertisement.
Marketing
Unlike
most print Yellow Pages companies that sell advertising space by visiting or
calling potential advertisers in their area, we solicit advertisers for our
IAP
product by direct mail and telemarketing.
Direct
Mail Solicitation.
Our
direct mail marketing solicitation is made up of several pages that describe
in
detail our products, services, pricing, sign-up instructions, and billing
alternatives. Until recently, we included in this solicitation a promotional
sign-up incentive, generally in the form of a $3.25 activation check made
payable to the name of the solicited business.
We
have
received numerous inquiries from the attorney general offices of several states
investigating our promotional activities, specifically, the use of our check
mailer for customer activation. In December 2006, we voluntarily entered into
a
settlement with thirty-four states’ attorneys general to address their inquiries
and bring finality to the process. Under this settlement, we have voluntarily
agreed to the following:
·
|
We
will pay a settlement fee of $2,000,000 to the state consortium,
which
they may distribute among
themselves;
|
·
|
We
will discontinue the use of activation checks as a promotional
incentive;
|
·
|
We
will suspend billing of any active customer that was acquired in
connection with the use of an activation check until a letter is
mailed
notifying the customer of their legal rights to cancel the service
and
providing them a 60-day opportunity to receive a refund equivalent
to the
customer’s last two payments; and
|
·
|
We
will not employ any collection efforts with respect to past-due accounts
of customers that were secured through the use of an activation check,
nor
will we represent our ability to do
so.
|
This
settlement limits our exposure to significant legal fees and costs that may
have
been otherwise incurred had we decided to dispute these inquiries. Further,
we
had been transitioning a significant amount of our marketing efforts away from
the use of activation checks toward the use of telemarketing and other marketing
channels during 2005 and 2006. This settlement accelerates this transition
away
from the use of activation checks and focuses our marketing efforts toward
improving the effectiveness and efficiency of our telemarketing campaigns and
other marketing efforts.
Telemarketing.
During
the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, we began testing our telemarketing sales
campaign. In fiscal 2006, this campaign went into full production and we
utilized multiple third parties to make outbound calls to potential customers
using a marketing list that we provide. We pay these third parties a combination
of hourly rates and commissions.
When
soliciting a new customer, we offer a variety of payment options, including
LEC
billing, ACH billing, and credit card prepayments.
Marketing
List Generation.
To
generate the leads for our telemarketing efforts and to continually update
our
billing records, we purchase business directory information from some of the
largest information providers in the North American market: Qsent, InfoUSA,
and
Amacai. We refer to each information provider’s list of business listings as a
data set. Each data set consists of 10-19 million records with each record
composed of several attributes, such as company name, address, employment range,
telephone number, United States Standard Industrial Classification, or SIC
code,
and Standard Yellow Pages Heading, or SYPH code. While SYPH codes are
proprietary to many vendors, we believe our fluency in multiple industrial
classifications and the additional cost and effort of acquiring data from
several sources gives us a competitive edge over companies that purchase data
from only a single provider of information or a provider that does not verify
the accuracy of the information for each business listing.
We
continue to evaluate the accuracy of data provided to us by our information
providers and continuously expand our list of information providers as necessary
in order to generate an accurate database of potential customers. We believe
the
quality of a lead from each information provider’s data set cannot be evaluated
by business count alone. We consider other factors including overall quality,
duplicates, out of business records, and records without telephone numbers.
Each
information provider verifies the information for each business listing
differently. For example, some will attempt to verify information for each
business by telephone while others will attempt to verify by using a United
States Postal Service Certified Address Standardization process for converting
addresses to a standard zipcode-4 format required to qualify for lower bulk
mailing rates.
Other
Marketing Efforts. We
utilize our expertise and experience as an Internet Yellow Page company to
identify other marketing opportunities. Through our referral networks, we have
generated revenue from national accounts programs (whereby revenues are
generated on a “per click” basis), fulfillment contracts, web hosting and other
arrangements. We also have entered into various marketing arrangements with
other businesses whereby we pay commissions based on sales leads and revenue
generated from these businesses. To date, such commissions have not been
material. We evaluate such business opportunities on a case-by-case basis and
expect to expand future revenues from such marketing efforts.
During
fiscal 2006, we suspended the majority of our branding activities. Whereas
in
the past we have tried to drive traffic to our site, YP.com, changes in the
competitive landscape have made it difficult to compete with local search
engines that are significantly larger than us. We now focus on driving high
quality traffic to our IAP advertisers through our agreements with local search
engines and affiliates. For example, through our agreements with Yahoo! Search
Services and Interchange, a searcher can find our advertisers in the results
of
their search at destinations other than YP.com. We believe that this
distribution strategy provides greater value to our IAP advertisers than merely
branding the YP.com site as a search destination.
In
July
2003, we entered into a licensing agreement with a vendor to license the use
of
the URL www.yp.com
in
exchange for cash and restricted shares of our common stock. Under the terms
of
this agreement, the licensor had the option of transferring the rights to the
URL and the restricted shares to us in exchange for $300,000. In July 2006,
the
licensor exercised this option, and transferred ownership of the URL and the
restricted shares to us. As this option was deemed to be a purchase commitment,
no liability was reflected in our financial statements prior to the exercise
of
the option. We capitalized the URL at its net acquisition price, computed as
the
$300,000 cash payment less the fair market value of the shares acquired
(determined based on the stock price on the date of reacquisition) and we are
amortizing this asset on a straight-line basis over its estimated useful life.
Technology
and Infrastructure
We
have
developed technologies to support the timely delivery of information requested
by a user of our online Yellow Pages system. A staff of senior engineers
experienced in large-scale system design and computer operation develops and
maintains the technology. We believe we are particularly adept at large-scale
database management, design, data modeling, operations and content management.
To
focus
on a quality and timely product, we have divided our technology staff and
technology base into a business operations unit and an advanced technologies
group dedicated to our directory services product. Our business operations
support a sophisticated call center, automated billing of our customers,
customer relationship management, and automated mailing campaign. Our advanced
technologies group supports all programming and other systems enhancements
to
the YP website and internal systems. These operations are described in the
following paragraphs.
YP.Com.
The
front
end of our directory services and the showcase of our technology and marketing
capabilities is our website, YP.Com. The YP.Com website currently is in its
sixth generation of development. We develop ongoing enhancements to our website
on a recurring schedule to meet the increased demand for our services and
products. Our YP.com website provides several key and easy to use features,
including timely information, simple search, search tips, reverse telephone
number lookup, mapping, and residential and business directory listings.
Database
Management Systems. At
the
core of our infrastructure are several high-performance and proprietary database
systems containing several terabytes of data representing billions of records
with hundreds of attributes each, such as business name, telephone number,
address, number of employees, and our unique-to-the-industry 40-word description
of the business. We maintain the data for internal operations on
high-performance servers and with large-scale storage systems at our Mesa,
Arizona facility, which is co-located with our call center operation and
technology teams. To meet the demand for our products and services and to
provide the highest level of reliability, we employ technologies and techniques
providing data redundancy and clustering. Clustering is the use of several
computers deployed in a manner that provides redundancy and additional computer
processing power.
High-Performance
Database and Search Engine. We
believe we provide one of the most complete and high-performing directory
services in the market today. Our proprietary database enables us to collect
and
merge data from multiple sources to provide extensive and accurate content
for
our users. With our xDirectory™ and DirectXML™ technologies, we provide
spellchecking, synonym matching, automated content delivery, and multiple source
data merging in a simple to use paradigm. We believe these technologies simplify
the search process and provide the most relevant content to suit our customers’
and users’ needs. Ultimately, we expect these technologies to increase recurrent
use of our system by users of our directory services.
xDirectory.
xDirectory
is the platform for our high-performance database and search engine. xDirectory
is a proprietary content management system and repository for extensible data
merged from multiple sources of North American listing data. xDirectory also
serves as a platform for several proprietary features, including real-time
search feedback on accuracy, search time, spellchecking, synonym matching,
geographical positioning, automated content syndication, and the proprietary
algorithms to perform listing data match-up and merging into a uniquely accurate
record.
DirectXML.
DirectXML
is the technology that supports our content syndication program and distribution
network. DirectXML integrates our proprietary content management system with
our
distribution network to deliver up-to-date syndicated content. DirectXML
leverages the XML standard for the definition, interoperability, transmission,
validation, and interpretation of data between systems and
organizations.
Extensible
Record.
We
purchase data from some of the largest information providers in North America
and merge that data with our extensive in-house customer data set to form what
we believe is the largest and most comprehensive content in the market. This
effort provides users of our directory services the greatest number of results
per search. Our xDirectory platform has the unique ability to weigh the accuracy
of a wide variety of attributes from the source record for inclusion into the
merged record. xDirectory’s proprietary algorithm for identifying accurate
information and removing inaccuracies during the merge process is complemented
by our customer verification process that confirms the attributes of a given
customer record.
Content
Syndication, Distribution, and Private Label Networks. We
add
value by increasing our IAP advertisers’ visibility by providing automated
conduits and content delivery to numerous search engines besides our own. We
can
deliver content both on the Internet and on mobile devices such as cell phones
and personal digital assistants. Our market position and volume allows us to
provide content to any of our strategic alliances, as discussed elsewhere in
this Annual Report, at a cost below what would be accomplished if one were
to
attempt to duplicate our content and distribution network. We have further
enhanced the capabilities of this global distribution network with our DirectXML
technology, which provides high-volume automated record updates daily to our
distribution partners and private-label customers.
Billing
Operation.
Our
billing process is executed using a two-tier architecture that consists of
foundation and business platforms. Our foundation platform is anchored with
Microsoft® as the primary partner leveraging their SQL Server product line. This
alliance aligns us technically with a stable industry standard with proven
scaling ability to meet our growth needs. System stability is enabled through
built-in design features including high availability, simplified database
administration and security features. Our business applications tier rests
on a
program suite that consists of partner-provided utilities and our own utilities
developed specifically to our billing process. By having development abilities
in-house, we have control over our application, which allows us greater
flexibility, greater security and reduced dependency on an external entity.
These programs also reduce LEC submittal fees by cleaning our customer billing
submittals prior to formal submission. They also optimize which provider best
suits our needs in order to maximize profit potential.
Call
Center Operation. We
use
sophisticated call center technologies to support teams dedicated to servicing
customer needs, managing the provisioning of new customers and selling
additional services to existing customers. The call center operation is built
around a high-volume telephone switch and sophisticated applications that
manage, distribute, and analyze workload across and between call center
representatives. Since our call center is staffed five days a week, an automated
call attendant is employed only after hours, on weekends or during holidays.
Site
Design and Facilities. We
implement our website on a set of large-scale, high-performance Unix servers
with accompanying large-scale storage subsystems that are organized into layers
and groups. Each layer and group provides different functionality across the
site. We organize the site to allow the integration of new information and
functionality without any interruption of service. To ensure our site remains
continuously available to our users, we house the site at environmentally
controlled co-location facilities geographically distributed and repeated
between three locations in Arizona and Nevada. XO Communications, a leader
and
national provider of telecommunications services and facilities, provides the
co-location services. The co-location facilities are interconnected by a
high-performance, scalable and highly-reliable state-of-the-art fiber data
network.
Mailing
List Generation.
The
technology for generating a mailing list is comprised of a proprietary
application and three primary databases for generating a mailing list of leads.
On a monthly basis our information providers send us leads in an electronic
format for integration into a database. After data has been refreshed in each
provider database, our proprietary application performs a comparison-and-merge
process between data sets. The proprietary algorithm within our application
improves the quality of the record by verifying the accuracy of the information
for every business listing sent to us. We compare information from each
information provider to determine matching records, unique records, and the
method employed to verify the information for each business listed in order
to
gauge the accuracy for each respective information provider. A unique record
is
one that exists only in a single provider’s data set. The number of unique
records varies from month to month and is one of the reasons we purchase from
multiple sources. Following the merge process, our proprietary mailing
application employs a sophisticated filtering process to determine address
accuracy and facilitate the delivery of the solicitation mailer. Ultimately,
the
application generates an electronic file containing a list of leads with the
name, address of the lead and type of business of each lead. We then send the
list to our service provider for printing and mass mailing.
The
Internet Yellow Pages Market
According
to The Kelsey Group and the Yellow Pages Integrated Media Association, or YPIMA,
while there are approximately 200 major U.S. Yellow Pages print publishers,
an
increasingly mobile and computer-sophisticated population is accessing the
Yellow Pages by way of the Internet at a sharply increasing rate.
According
to a July 2005 press release from The Kelsey Group, 8% of advertisers indicated
that they were likely to spend more money on Internet Yellow Pages this year,
up
from 2% one year ago. Among the media tracked by this study—print and Internet
Yellow Pages, newspapers, direct mail, magazines, radio, outdoor, coupons,
local
TV, Web site, search engine key word optimization, e-mail, online city guides,
pay-per-click—only Internet Yellow Pages showed a statistically significant
jump. Internet Yellow Pages advertising is expected to grow to an estimated
$1.3
billion by 2009, an estimated annual growth rate of 19% from 2003.
Internet
Yellow Pages provide the following advantages over print Yellow
Pages:
·
|
More
current and extensive listing
information.
|
·
|
Immediate
access to business listings across the nation from any
location.
|
·
|
Broad
accessibility via computers and hand-held devices, such as mobile
phones
and personal digital assistants.
|
·
|
Features
such as mapping, direct calling to the advertiser, and e-mail at
the click
of a button also may be available.
|
Internet
Yellow Pages also offer lower costs for a given level of content and the ability
to easily access and modify displays and advertisements, which allows for
opportunistic or targeted specials or discounts.
Internet
usage, in general, has increased dramatically in recent years. According to
Internet World Stats, 69.3% of the United States population uses the Internet,
a
growth of 117.3% from 2000 to 2006. Search engines are a common method by which
these users navigate the Internet. Our expanding distribution network seeks
to
allow our advertisers to benefit from this growth by receiving prominent
placement in search engine results.
Strategic
Alliances
In
order
to service users of our website more effectively and to extend our brand to
other Internet sources, we have entered into strategic relationships with
business partners that offer content, technology, and distribution capabilities.
The following are descriptions of our most significant strategic
relationships:
·
|
We
have cross-marketing arrangements with reciprocal linking of websites
without any compensation to either party. These arrangements increase
the
page views for our advertisers’ listings by being listed on the linked
websites. During 2006, the number of websites providing such links
to
YP.com fluctuated between 300 and 400 websites. These co-promotional
arrangements typically are terminable on a monthly
basis.
|
·
|
We
have a distribution agreement with Interchange to increase the page
views
for our advertisers’ listings by displaying our advertisers’ information
in the search results of their affiliate sites.
|
·
|
We
have a license agreement with Palm, Inc. whereby we pay a fee to
be a
provider of Yellow Pages content on hand-held devices using the Palm
operating system. We provide this content to Palm through a hypertext
link
from the Palm operating system to our website.
|
·
|
We
have an agreement with Yahoo! Search Services to provide visibility
to our
website so that we can provide traffic to our advertisers. In exchange
for
monthly fees, Yahoo! Search Services tries to ensure that our website
will
be one of the highest placed sites when Yellow Pages searches are
done on
major search engines, such as MSN® and
Yahoo®.
|
·
|
We
utilize WebDialogs in a co-promotional effort to provide automatic
dialing
services to our website users. These services allow these users to
place a
call to one of our IAP advertisers by simply clicking a button. This
function powers our Click2Call
feature.
|
We
are
members of the Yellow Pages Association (fka Yellow Pages Integrated Media
Association) and the Association of Directory Publishers and have been since
1998. These organizations are trade associations for Yellow Pages publishers
or
others that promote the quality of published content and advertising methods.
Customer
Service
We
believe that superior customer service is an important factor in differentiating
ourselves from our competitors. To meet this objective, our customer service
department is comprised of four main departments - inbound, outbound, quality
assurance and administration.
Inbound
Call Center.
Our
call center supports incoming calls from our advertisers for all of our
products. The inbound customer service representatives, or CSRs, are responsible
for taking calls regarding billing, technical service and general questions.
The
CSRs are empowered to activate new accounts, adjust accounts with credits,
accept payments, change the billing method, and cancel accounts. Our proprietary
CSR software is tiered in order to limit the actions taken with an advertiser’s
account, depending on the CSR’s position. If a CSR is unable to accommodate the
advertiser’s request, the CSR transfers the call to a supervisor to ensure the
customer is satisfied. Requests beyond those a supervisor can handle are given
to a department manager or our quality assurance personnel. The CSRs have the
ability to update advertiser’s accounts by adding or changing a Mini-WebPage,
changing hours of operation, changing the business category, and adding the
link
to the advertiser’s website and email. After the CSR makes the requested
changes, the new information will appear on our website within two business
days, enabling the advertiser to make timely changes to their listing. The
inbound customer call center is generally staffed five days a week.
Outbound
Calling.
We
established the outbound call center to help our IAP advertisers receive the
full benefit for the advertising they purchased. The outbound CSRs primarily
call new advertisers. They confirm the sale and, in the case of a new
advertiser, they obtain the information to build the advertiser’s Mini-Webpage.
After
the
outbound CSR speaks with the advertiser and obtains all the information for
the
advertiser’s listing, that listing is then sent to our proofreaders. Every
listing that is updated is proofread prior to being placed on our site. This
additional step ensures that our advertisers are represented professionally
and
accurately to their customers. Since our outbound CSRs only call existing or
new
advertisers, we are not affected by the “National Do Not Call”
list.
Quality
Assurance.
The
goal
of our quality assurance personnel is to monitor inbound and outbound calls,
take calls transferred from CSRs, perform customer satisfaction surveys, and
make test calls into our customer care line on a random basis.
In
addition to the quality assurance representatives, we have a training supervisor
whose responsibility is to produce and distribute training material to the
entire call center to ensure consistent information is provided to all
departments.
Administration.
The
purpose of our administration department is to provide our customers with timely
feedback when requested through the mail, e-mail or by facsimile. In addition
to
the CSRs answering incoming calls, we have individuals trained to assist
customers via email. Our website and our incoming greeting on the telephone
give
our customers and our website users our email address. We review these emails
daily and generally reply within two business days. We have found that many
advertisers prefer to email us with their changes and are very satisfied with
our response time and ability to respond to their request. The administration
department receives, sorts, and distributes all incoming and outgoing mail.
They
also are responsible for filing the hard copies of the cashed incentive checks.
All information that is sent to our advertisers or potential customers by the
call center is routed through the administration department in order to ensure
that accurate and consistent information is sent.
Competition
We
operate in the highly competitive and rapidly expanding and evolving
business-to-business Internet services market. Our largest competitors are
LECs,
which are generally known as local telephone companies, and national search
engines such as Yahoo! and Google that have recently expanded their presence
in
the local search market. We compete with other online Yellow Pages services,
website operators, advertising networks, and traditional offline media, such
as
traditional Yellow Pages directory publishers, television, radio, and print
share advertising. Our services also compete with many directory website
production businesses and Internet information service providers.
The
principal competitive factors of the markets in which we compete include
personalization of service, ease of use of directories, quality and
responsiveness of search results, availability of quality content, value-added
products and services, and access to end-users. We compete for advertising
listings with the suppliers of Internet navigational and informational services,
high-traffic websites, Internet access providers, and other media. This
competition could result in significantly lower prices for advertising and
reductions in advertising revenues. Increased competition could have a material
adverse effect on our business.
Many
of
our competitors have greater capital resources than we have. These capital
resources could allow our competitors to engage in advertising and other
promotional activities that will enhance their brand name recognition at levels
we cannot match. The LECs and national search engines have advantages in terms
of brand name recognition.
We
believe that we are in a position to successfully compete in these markets
due
to the speed of our local search engine, the comprehensiveness of our database,
the effectiveness of marketing programs and the effectiveness of our
distribution network. We further believe that we can compete effectively by
continuing to provide quality services at competitive prices and by actively
developing new products and services for customers.
We
believe our listings and our Mini-WebPages provide users of our website with
readily available information that is easy to understand and from which they
can
make their buying decisions. We believe that our calling center is a competitive
advantage. Through our calling centers, we continually receive and process
requests to update customer information on our website and, accordingly, we
believe our site contains more useful and timely information than that of our
competitors. We further believe that this, in turn, will translate into more
page views and advertisers.
Employees
As
of
September 30, 2006, we engaged 76 full-time and 3 part-time employees. Such
employees are not covered by any collective bargaining agreements.
ITEM
1A. Risk Factors
An
investment in our common stock involves a substantial degree of risk. Before
making an investment decision, you should give careful consideration to the
following risk factors in addition to the other information contained in this
report. The following risk factors, however, may not reflect all of the risks
associated with our business or an investment in our common stock. Accordingly,
you should only consider investing in our common stock if you can afford to
lose
your entire investment.
Risks
Related to Our Business
We
face intense competition, including from companies with greater resources,
which
could adversely affect our growth and could lead to decreased revenues.
Several
companies, including Google, Microsoft, Verizon, and Yahoo, currently market
Internet Yellow Pages or local search services that directly compete with our
services and products. We may not compete effectively with existing and
potential competitors for several reasons, including the following:
·
|
some
competitors have longer operating histories and greater financial
and
other resources than we have and are in better financial condition
than we
are;
|
·
|
some
competitors have better name recognition, as well as larger, more
established, and more extensive marketing, customer service, and
customer
support capabilities than we have;
|
·
|
some
competitors may supply a broader range of services, enabling them
to serve
more or all of their customers’ needs. This could limit our sales and
strengthen our competitors’ existing relationships with their customers,
including our current and potential IAP
advertisers;
|
·
|
some
competitors may be able to better adapt to changing market conditions
and
customer demand; and
|
·
|
barriers
to entry are not significant. As a result, other companies that are
not
currently involved in the Internet-based Yellow Pages advertising
business
may enter the market or develop technology that reduces the need
for our
services.
|
Increased
competitive pressure could lead to reduced market share, as well as lower prices
and reduced margins for our services. If we experience reductions in our revenue
for any reason, our margins may continue to decline, which would adversely
affect our results of operations. We cannot assure you that we will be able
to
compete successfully in the future.
Our
success depends upon our ability to establish and maintain relationships with
our advertisers.
Our
ability to generate revenue depends upon our ability to maintain relationships
with our existing advertisers, to attract new advertisers to sign up for
revenue-generating services, and to generate traffic to our advertisers’
websites. We primarily use direct marketing efforts to attract new advertisers.
These direct marketing efforts may not produce satisfactory results in the
future. We attempt to maintain relationships with our advertisers through
customer service and delivery of traffic to their businesses. An inability
to
either attract additional advertisers to use our service or to maintain
relationships with our advertisers could have a material adverse effect on
our
business, prospects, financial condition, and results of
operations.
If
we do not introduce new or enhanced offerings to our advertisers and users,
we
may be unable to attract and retain those advertisers and users, which would
significantly impede our ability to generate revenue.
We
will
need to introduce new or enhanced products and services in order to attract
and
retain advertisers and users and to remain competitive. Our industry has been
characterized by rapid technological change, changes in advertiser and user
requirements and preferences, and frequent new product and service introductions
embodying new technologies. These changes could render our technology, systems,
and website obsolete. We may experience difficulties that could delay or prevent
us from introducing new products and services. If we do not periodically enhance
our existing products and services, develop new technologies that address our
advertisers’ and users’ needs and preferences, or respond to emerging
technological advances and industry standards and practices on a timely and
cost-effective basis, our products and services may not be attractive to
advertisers and users, which would significantly impede our revenue growth.
In
addition, our reputation and our brand could be damaged if any new product
or
service introduction is not favorably received.
Our
quarterly results of operations could fluctuate due to factors outside of our
control.
Our
operating results have historically fluctuated significantly and we have
experienced recent declines in net revenues and operating profits. We could
continue to experience fluctuations or continued declining operating results
due
to factors that may or may not be within our control. Such factors include
the
following:
·
|
fluctuating
demand for our services, which may depend on a number of factors
including
|
o
|
changes
in economic conditions and our IAP advertisers’
profitability,
|
o
|
varying
IAP advertiser response rates to our direct marketing
efforts,
|
o
|
our
ability to complete direct mailing solicitations on a timely basis
each
month,
|
o
|
changes
in our direct marketing efforts,
|
o
|
IAP
advertiser refunds or cancellations,
and
|
o
|
our
ability to continue to bill through LEC billing, ACH billing or credit
card channels rather than through direct
invoicing;
|
·
|
market
acceptance of new or enhanced versions of our services or products;
|
·
|
price
competition or pricing changes by us or our
competitors;
|
·
|
new
product offerings or other actions by our
competitors;
|
·
|
the
ability of our check processing service providers to continue to
process
and provide billing information regarding our solicitation
checks;
|
·
|
the
amount and timing of expenditures for expansion of our operations,
including the hiring of new employees, capital expenditures, and
related
costs;
|
·
|
technical
difficulties or failures affecting our systems or the Internet in
general;
|
·
|
a
decline in Internet traffic at our
website;
|
·
|
the
cost of acquiring, and the availability of, information for our database
of potential advertisers; and
|
·
|
the
fixed nature of a significant amount of our operating
expenses.
|
The
loss of our ability to bill IAP advertisers through our Local Exchange Carriers
on the IAP advertisers’ telephone bills would adversely impact our results of
operations.
We
rely
heavily on our ability to bill advertisers on their telephone bills through
their respective Local Exchange Carriers, or “LECs.” LEC billing has steadily
increased in recent quarters and accounted for 64% of net billings in the fourth
quarter of 2006.
The
existence of the LECs is the result of Federal legislation. In the same manner,
Congress could pass future legislation that obviates the existence of or the
need for the LECs. Additionally, regulatory agencies could limit or prevent
our
ability to use the LECs to bill our advertisers. The introduction of and
advancement of new technologies, such as WiFi technology or other
wireless-related technologies, could render unnecessary the existence of fixed
telecommunication lines, which also could obviate the need for and access to
the
LECs. Finally, we have historically been affected by the LECs’ internal
policies. With respect to certain LECs, such policies are becoming more
stringent. Our inability to use the LECs to bill our advertisers through their
monthly telephone bills would result in increased dilution and decreased
revenues and would have a material adverse impact on our financial condition
and
results of operations.
Our
revenue may decline over time due to the involvement of the CLECs in the local
telephone markets.
Due
to
competition in the telephony industry, many business customers are finding
alternative telephony suppliers, such as Competitive Local Exchange Carriers,
or
CLECs, that offer less expensive alternatives to the LECs. When the LECs
effectuate a price increase, many business customers look for an alternative
telephone company, which may be a CLEC. When our advertising customers switch
service providers from the LECs to a CLEC, we are precluded from billing these
customers on their monthly telephone bill and must instead convert them to
alternative billing methods such as ACH billing or direct invoicing. This
conversion process can be disruptive to our operations and result in lost
revenue. We cannot provide any assurances that our efforts will be successful.
We may experience future increases in dilution of our customer base that we
are
able to bill on their monthly telephone bills, which, in turn, may result in
decreases in our revenue.
The
loss of our ability to bill IAP advertisers through our ACH billing channel
would adversely impact our results of operations.
We
bill a
significant number of our IAP advertisers through our ACH billing channel.
ACH
transactions are closely regulated by NACHA - The Electronic Payments
Association, which develops operating rules and business practices for the
Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network and for electronic payments in the areas
of Internet commerce and other electronic payment means. Changes in these rules
and business practices could compromise our ability to bill a significant number
of our advertisers through ACH billing, and we would have to transition these
advertisers to other billing channels. Such changes would be disruptive and
result in lost revenue.
We
depend upon our executive officers and key personnel.
Our
performance depends substantially on the performance of our executive officers
and other key personnel. The success of our business in the future will depend
on our ability to attract, train, retain, and motivate high quality personnel,
especially highly qualified technical and managerial personnel. The loss of
services of any executive officers or key personnel could have a material
adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.
We
do not maintain key person life insurance on the lives of any of our executive
officers or key personnel.
Competition
for talented personnel is intense, and there is no assurance that we will be
able to continue to attract, train, retain or motivate other highly qualified
technical and managerial personnel in the future. In addition, market conditions
may require us to pay higher compensation to qualified management and technical
personnel than we currently anticipate. Any inability to attract and retain
qualified management and technical personnel in the future could have a material
adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and results
of
operations.
Our
ability to efficiently process new advertiser sign-ups and to bill our
advertisers monthly depends upon our third party service providers and billing
aggregators and processors, respectively.
We
currently use third party service providers to provide us with advertiser
information at the point of sign-up for our Internet Advertising Package. Our
ability to gather information to bill our advertisers at the point of sign-up
could be adversely affected if one or more of these providers experiences a
disruption in its operations or ceases to do business with us.
We
also
depend upon our billing aggregators and service providers to efficiently bill
and collect monies through our LEC billing and ACH billing channels. We
currently have agreements with three billing aggregators and two ACH service
providers. Any disruption in these third parties’ ability to perform these
functions could adversely affect our financial condition and results of
operations.
We
depend upon third parties to provide certain services and software, and our
business may suffer if the relationships upon which we depend fail to produce
the expected benefits or are terminated.
We
depend
upon third-party software to operate certain of our services. The failure of
this software to perform as expected would have a material adverse effect on
our
business. Additionally, although we believe that several alternative sources
for
this software are available, any failure to obtain and maintain the rights
to
use such software would have a material adverse effect on our business,
prospects, financial condition, and results of operations. We also depend upon
third parties to provide services that allow us to connect to the Internet
with
sufficient capacity and bandwidth so that our business can function properly
and
our websites can handle current and anticipated traffic. Any restrictions or
interruption in our connection to the Internet would have a material adverse
effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of
operations.
The
market for our services is uncertain.
The
demand and market acceptance for our services may be subject to a high level
of
uncertainty. Advertisers and users may not adopt or continue to use
Internet-base Yellow Pages services and other online services that we may offer
in the future. Advertisers may find Internet Yellow Pages advertising to be
less
effective for meeting their business needs than traditional methods of Yellow
Pages or other advertising and marketing. Our business, prospects, financial
condition or results of operations will be materially and adversely affected
if
potential advertisers do not adopt Internet Yellow Pages as an important
component of their advertising expenditures.
We
may not be able to secure additional capital to expand our operations.
Although
we currently have no material long-term needs for capital expenditures, we
will
likely be required to make increased capital expenditures to fund our
anticipated growth of operations, infrastructure, and personnel. We currently
anticipate that our cash on hand as of September 30, 2006, together with cash
flows from operations, will be sufficient to meet our anticipated liquidity
needs for working capital and capital expenditures over the next 12 months.
In
the future, however, we may seek additional capital through the issuance of
debt
or equity depending upon our results of operations, market conditions or
unforeseen needs or opportunities. Our future liquidity and capital requirements
will depend on numerous factors, including the following:
·
|
the
pace of expansion of our
operations;
|
·
|
our
need to respond to competitive pressures;
and
|
·
|
future
acquisitions of complementary products, technologies or
businesses.
|
Our
forecast of the period of time through which our financial resources will be
adequate to support our operations is a forward-looking statement that involves
risks and uncertainties and actual results could vary materially as a result
of
the factors described above. As we require additional capital resources, we
may
seek to sell additional equity or debt securities or draw on our existing bank
line of credit. Debt financing must be repaid at maturity, regardless of whether
or not we have sufficient cash resources available at that time to repay the
debt. The sale of additional equity or convertible debt securities could result
in additional dilution to existing stockholders. We cannot provide assurance
that any financing arrangements will be available in amounts or on terms
acceptable to us, if at all.
Our
business is subject to a strict regulatory environment.
Existing
laws and regulations and any future regulation may have a material adverse
effect on our business. For example, we believe that our direct marketing
programs meet existing requirements of the United States Federal Trade
Commission. Any changes to FTC requirements or changes in our direct or other
marketing practices, however, could result in our marketing practices failing
to
comply with FTC regulations.
We
have
received numerous inquiries from the attorney general offices of several states
investigating our promotional activities, specifically, the use of our check
mailer for customer activation. In December 2006, we voluntarily entered into
a
settlement with thirty-four states’ attorneys general to address their inquiries
and bring finality to the process. We have voluntarily agreed to the
following:
·
|
We
will pay a settlement fee of $2,000,000 to the state consortium,
which
they may distribute among
themselves;
|
·
|
We
will discontinue the use of activation checks as a promotional
incentive;
|
·
|
We
will suspend billing of any active customer that was acquired in
connection with the use of an activation check until a letter is
mailed
notifying the customer of their legal rights to cancel the service
and
providing them a 60-day opportunity to receive a refund equivalent
to the
customer’s last two payments; and
|
·
|
We
will not employ any collection efforts with respect to past-due accounts
of customers that were secured through the use of an activation check,
nor
will we represent our ability to do
so.
|
This
settlement could have an adverse affect on future revenues. Furthermore, there
can be no absolute assurance that the other states, which were not part of
the
above-mentioned state consortium, would not attempt to file similar claims
against us in the future. However, we believe this risk is somewhat mitigated
by
the fact that those states did not join the states in filing complaints against
us and the fact that we are discontinuing the use of our check activators.
Finally, our utilization of ACH billing has exposed us to greater scrutiny
by
the National Automated Clearing House Association, or NACHA. Future actions
from
these and other regulatory agencies could expose us to substantial liability
in
the future, including fines and criminal penalties, preclusion from offering
certain products or services, and the prevention or limitation of certain
marketing practices.
We
may be unable to promote and maintain our brands.
We
believe that establishing and maintaining the brand identities of our Internet
Yellow Pages services is a critical aspect of attracting and expanding a base
of
advertisers and users. Promotion and enhancement of our brands will depend
largely on our success in continuing to provide high quality service. If
advertisers and users do not perceive our existing services to be of high
quality, or if we introduce new services or enter into new business ventures
that are not favorably received by advertisers and users, we will risk diluting
our brand identities and decreasing their attractiveness to existing and
potential IAP advertisers.
We
may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property
rights.
Our
success depends both on our internally developed technology and our third party
technology. We rely on a variety of trademarks, service marks, and designs
to
promote our brand names and identity. We also rely on a combination of
contractual provisions, confidentiality procedures, and trademark, copyright,
trade secrecy, unfair competition, and other intellectual property laws to
protect the proprietary aspects of our products and services. Legal standards
relating to the validity, enforceability, and scope of the protection of certain
intellectual property rights in Internet-related industries are uncertain and
still evolving. The steps we take to protect our intellectual property rights
may not be adequate to protect our intellectual property and may not prevent
our
competitors from gaining access to our intellectual property and proprietary
information. In addition, we cannot provide assurance that courts will always
uphold our intellectual property rights or enforce the contractual arrangements
that we have entered into to protect our proprietary technology.
Third
parties may infringe or misappropriate our copyrights, trademarks, service
marks, trade dress, and other proprietary rights. Any such infringement or
misappropriation could have a material adverse effect on our business,
prospects, financial condition, and results of operations. In addition, the
relationship between regulations governing domain names and laws protecting
trademarks and similar proprietary rights is unclear. We may be unable to
prevent third parties from acquiring domain names that are similar to, infringe
upon or otherwise decrease the value of our trademarks and other proprietary
rights, which may result in the dilution of the brand identity of our services.
We
may
decide to initiate litigation in order to enforce our intellectual property
rights, to protect our trade secrets, or to determine the validity and scope
of
our proprietary rights. Any such litigation could result in substantial expense,
may reduce our profits, and may not adequately protect our intellectual property
rights. In addition, we may be exposed to future litigation by third parties
based on claims that our products or services infringe their intellectual
property rights. Any such claim or litigation against us, whether or not
successful, could result in substantial costs and harm our reputation. In
addition, such claims or litigation could force us to do one or more of the
following:
·
|
cease
selling or using any of our products that incorporate the challenged
intellectual property, which would adversely affect our
revenue;
|
·
|
obtain
a license from the holder of the intellectual property right alleged
to
have been infringed, which license may not be available on reasonable
terms, if at all; and
|
·
|
redesign
or, in the case of trademark claims, rename our products or services
to
avoid infringing the intellectual property rights of third parties,
which
may not be possible and in any event could be costly and
time-consuming.
|
Even
if
we were to prevail, such claims or litigation could be time-consuming and
expensive to prosecute or defend, and could result in the diversion of our
management’s time and attention. These expenses and diversion of managerial
resources could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects,
financial condition, and results of operations.
Capacity
constraints may require us to expand our infrastructure and IAP advertiser
support capabilities.
Our
ability to provide high-quality Internet Yellow Pages services largely depends
upon the efficient and uninterrupted operation of our computer and
communications systems. We may be required to expand our technology,
infrastructure, and IAP advertiser support capabilities in order to accommodate
any significant increases in the numbers of advertisers and users of our
websites. We may not be able to project accurately the rate or timing of
increases, if any, in the use of our services or expand and upgrade our systems
and infrastructure to accommodate these increases in a timely manner. If we
do
not expand and upgrade our infrastructure in a timely manner, we could
experience temporary capacity constraints that may cause unanticipated system
disruptions, slower response times, and lower levels of IAP advertiser service.
Our inability to upgrade and expand our infrastructure and IAP advertiser
support capabilities as required could impair the reputation of our brand and
our services, reduce the volume of users able to access our website, and
diminish the attractiveness of our service offerings to our advertisers.
Any
expansion of our infrastructure may require us to make significant upfront
expenditures for servers, routers, computer equipment, and additional Internet
and intranet equipment, as well as to increase bandwidth for Internet
connectivity. Any such expansion or enhancement will need to be completed and
integrated without system disruptions. An inability to expand our infrastructure
or IAP advertiser service capabilities either internally or through third
parties, if and when necessary, would materially and adversely affect our
business, prospects, financial condition, and results of
operations.
Failure
to achieve and maintain effective internal controls in accordance with Section
404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could have a material adverse effect on our
business and stock price.
Pursuant
to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, beginning with our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, we will
be
required to furnish a report by our management on our internal control over
financial reporting. The internal control report must contain (i) a statement
of
management's responsibility for establishing and maintaining adequate internal
control over financial reporting, (ii) a statement identifying the framework
used by management to conduct the required evaluation of the effectiveness
of
our internal control over financial reporting, (iii) management's assessment
of
the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the
end
of our most recent fiscal year, including a statement as to whether or not
internal control over financial reporting is effective, and (iv) a statement
that the Company's independent auditors have issued an attestation report on
management's assessment of internal control over financial reporting.
In
order
to achieve compliance with Section 404 of the Act within the prescribed period,
we will need to engage in a process to document and evaluate our internal
control over financial reporting, which will be both costly and challenging.
In
this regard, management will need to dedicate internal resources, engage outside
consultants and adopt a detailed work plan to (i) assess and document the
adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, (ii) take steps to
improve control processes where appropriate, (iii) validate through testing
that
controls are functioning as documented, and (iv) implement a continuous
reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting.
We can provide no assurance as to our, or our independent auditors’, conclusions
at September 30, 2008 with respect to the effectiveness of our internal control
over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Act. There is a risk that
neither we nor our independent auditors will be able to conclude at September
30, 2008 that our internal controls over financial reporting are effective
as
required by Section 404 of the Act.
During
the course of our testing we may identify deficiencies that we may not be able
to remediate in time to meet the deadline imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
for
compliance with the requirements of Section 404. In addition, if we fail to
achieve and maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, as such standards
are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able
to
ensure that we can conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal
controls over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Moreover, effective internal controls, particularly those
related to revenue recognition, are necessary for us to produce reliable
financial reports and are important to helping prevent financial fraud. If
we
cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our business and
operating results could be harmed, investors could lose confidence in our
reported financial information, and the trading price of our stock could drop
significantly.
Risks
Related to the Internet
We
may not be able to adapt as the Internet, Internet Yellow Pages services, and
IAP advertiser demands continue to evolve.
Our
failure to respond in a timely manner to changing market conditions or client
requirements could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects,
financial condition, and results of operations. The Internet, e-commerce, and
the Internet Yellow Pages industry are characterized by:
·
|
rapid
technological change;
|
·
|
changes
in advertiser and user requirements and
preferences;
|
·
|
frequent
new product and service introductions embodying new technologies;
and
|
·
|
the
emergence of new industry standards and practices that could render
our
existing service offerings, technology, and hardware and software
infrastructure obsolete.
|
In
order
to compete successfully in the future, we must
·
|
enhance
our existing services and develop new services and technology that
address
the increasingly sophisticated and varied needs of our prospective
or
current IAP advertisers;
|
·
|
license,
develop or acquire technologies useful in our business on a timely
basis;
and
|
·
|
respond
to technological advances and emerging industry standards and practices
on
a cost-effective and timely basis.
|
Our
future success may depend on continued growth in the use of the
Internet.
Because
Internet Yellow Pages is a relatively new and rapidly evolving industry, the
ultimate demand and market acceptance for our services will be subject to a
high
level of uncertainty. Significant issues concerning the commercial use of the
Internet and online service technologies, including security, reliability,
cost,
ease of use, and quality of service, remain unresolved and may inhibit the
growth of Internet business solutions that use these technologies. In addition,
the Internet or other online services could lose their viability due to delays
in the development or adoption of new standards and protocols required to handle
increased levels of Internet activity, or due to increased governmental
regulation. Our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of
operations would be materially and adversely affected if the use of Internet
Yellow Pages and other online services does not continue to grow or grows more
slowly than we expect.
We
may be required to keep pace with rapid technological change in the Internet
industry.
In
order
to remain competitive, we will be required continually to enhance and improve
the functionality and features of our existing services, which could require
us
to invest significant capital. If our competitors introduce new products and
services embodying new technologies, or if new industry standards and practices
emerge, our existing services, technologies, and systems may become obsolete.
We
may not have the funds or technical know-how to upgrade our services,
technology, and systems. If we face material delays in introducing new services,
products, and enhancements, our advertisers and users may forego the use of
our
services and select those of our competitors, in which event our business,
prospects, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially
and adversely affected.
Regulation
of the Internet may adversely affect our business.
Due
to
the increasing popularity and use of the Internet and online services such
as
online Yellow Pages, federal, state, local,
and foreign governments may adopt laws and regulations, or amend existing laws
and regulations, with respect to the Internet and other online services. These
laws and regulations may affect issues such as user privacy, pricing, content,
taxation, copyrights, distribution, and quality of products and services. The
laws governing the Internet remain largely unsettled, even in areas where
legislation has been enacted. It may take years to determine whether and how
existing laws, such as those governing intellectual property, privacy, libel,
and taxation, apply to the Internet and Internet advertising and directory
services. In addition, the growth and development of the market for electronic
commerce may prompt calls for more stringent consumer protection laws, both
in
the United States and abroad, that may impose additional burdens on companies
conducting business over the Internet. Any new legislation could hinder the
growth in use of the Internet generally or in our industry and could impose
additional burdens on companies conducting business online, which could, in
turn, decrease the demand for our services, increase our cost of doing business,
or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects,
financial condition, and results of operations.
We
may not be able to obtain Internet domain names that we would like to
have.
We
believe that our existing Internet domain names are an extremely important
part
of our business. We may desire, or it may be necessary in the future, to use
these or other domain names in the United States and abroad. Various Internet
regulatory bodies regulate the acquisition and maintenance of domain names
in
the United States and other countries. These regulations are subject to change.
Governing bodies may establish additional top-level domains, appoint additional
domain name registrars or modify the requirements for holding domain names.
As a
result, we may be unable to acquire or maintain relevant domain names in all
countries in which we plan to conduct business in the future.
The
extent to which laws protecting trademarks and similar proprietary rights will
be extended to protect domain names currently is not clear. We therefore may
be
unable to prevent competitors from acquiring domain names that are similar
to,
infringe upon or otherwise decrease the value of our domain names, trademarks,
trade names, and other proprietary rights. We cannot provide assurance that
potential users and advertisers will not confuse our domain names, trademarks,
and trade names with other similar names and marks. If that confusion occurs,
we
may lose business to a competitor and some advertisers and users may have
negative experiences with other companies that those advertisers and users
erroneously associate with us. The inability to acquire and maintain domain
names that we desire to use in our business, and the use of confusingly similar
domain names by our competitors, could have a material adverse affect on our
business, prospects, financial conditions, and results of operations in the
future.
Our
business could be negatively impacted if the security of the Internet becomes
compromised.
To
the
extent that our activities involve the storage and transmission of proprietary
information about our advertisers or users, security breaches could damage
our
reputation and expose us to a risk of loss or litigation and possible liability.
We may be required to expend significant capital and other resources to protect
against security breaches or to minimize problems caused by security breaches.
Our security measures may not prevent security breaches. Our failure to prevent
these security breaches or a misappropriation of proprietary information may
have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition,
and results of operations.
Our
technical systems could be vulnerable to online security risks, service
interruptions or damage to our systems.
Our
systems and operations may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from fire,
floods, power loss, telecommunications failures, break-ins, sabotage, computer
viruses, penetration of our network by unauthorized computer users or “hackers,”
natural disaster, and similar events. Preventing, alleviating, or eliminating
computer viruses and other service-related or security problems may require
interruptions, delays or cessation of service. We may need to expend significant
resources protecting against the threat of security breaches or alleviating
potential or actual service interruptions. The occurrence of such unanticipated
problems or security breaches could cause material interruptions or delays
in
our business, loss of data, or misappropriation of proprietary or IAP
advertiser-related information or could render us unable to provide services
to
our IAP advertisers for an indeterminate length of time. The occurrence of
any
or all of these events could materially and adversely affect our business,
prospects, financial condition, and results of operations.
If
we are sued for content distributed through, or linked to by, our website or
those of our advertisers, we may be required to spend substantial resources
to
defend ourselves and could be required to pay monetary damages.
We
aggregate and distribute third-party data and other content over the Internet.
In addition, third-party websites are accessible through our website or those
of
our advertisers. As a result, we could be subject to legal claims for
defamation, negligence, intellectual property infringement, and product or
service liability. Other claims may be based on errors or false or misleading
information provided on or through our website or websites of our directory
licensees. Other claims may be based on links to sexually explicit websites
and
sexually explicit advertisements. We may need to expend substantial resources
to
investigate and defend these claims, regardless of whether we successfully
defend against them. While we carry general business insurance, the amount
of
coverage we maintain may not be adequate. In addition, implementing measures
to
reduce our exposure to this liability may require us to spend substantial
resources and limit the attractiveness of our content to users.
Risks
Related to Our Securities
Stock
prices of technology companies have declined precipitously at times in the
past
and the trading price of our common stock is likely to be volatile, which could
result in substantial losses to investors.
The
trading price of our common stock has been volatile over the past few years
and
investors could experience losses in response to factors including the
following, many of which are beyond our control:
·
|
decreased
demand in the Internet services
sector;
|
·
|
variations
in our operating results;
|
·
|
announcements
of technological innovations or new services by us or our
competitors;
|
·
|
changes
in expectations of our future financial performance, including financial
estimates by securities analysts and
investors;
|
·
|
our
failure to meet analysts’
expectations;
|
·
|
changes
in operating and stock price performance of other technology companies
similar to us;
|
·
|
conditions
or trends in the technology
industry;
|
·
|
additions
or departures of key personnel; and
|
·
|
future
sales of our common stock.
|
Domestic
and international stock markets often experience significant price and volume
fluctuations that are unrelated to the operating performance of companies with
securities trading in those markets. These fluctuations, as well as political
events, terrorist attacks, threatened or actual war, and general economic
conditions unrelated to our performance, may adversely affect the price of
our
common stock. In the past, securities holders of other companies often have
initiated securities class action litigation against those companies following
periods of volatility in the market price of those companies’ securities. If the
market price of our stock fluctuates and our stockholders initiate this type
of
litigation, we could incur substantial costs and experience a diversion of
our
management’s attention and resources, regardless of the outcome. This could
materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition,
and results of operations.
Certain
provisions of Nevada law and in our charter may prevent or delay a change of
control of our company.
We
are
subject to the Nevada anti-takeover laws regulating corporate takeovers. These
anti-takeover laws prevent Nevada corporations from engaging in a merger,
consolidation, sales of its stock or assets, and certain other transactions with
any stockholder, including all affiliates and associates of the stockholder,
who
owns 10% or more of the corporation’s outstanding voting stock, for three years
following the date that the stockholder acquired 10% or more of the
corporation’s voting stock except in certain situations. In addition, our
amended and restated articles of incorporation and bylaws include a number
of
provisions that may deter or impede hostile takeovers or changes of control
or
management. These provisions include the following:
·
|
the
authority of our board to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of serial
preferred stock and to determine the price, rights, preferences,
and
privileges of these shares, without stockholder
approval;
|
·
|
all
stockholder actions must be effected at a duly called meeting of
stockholders and not by written consent unless such action or proposal
is
first approved by our board of
directors;
|
·
|
special
meetings of the stockholders may be called only by the Chairman of
the
Board, the Chief Executive Officer, or the President of our company;
and
|
·
|
cumulative
voting is not allowed in the election of our
directors.
|
These
provisions of Nevada law and our articles and bylaws could prohibit or delay
mergers or other takeover or change of control of our company and may discourage
attempts by other companies to acquire us, even if such a transaction would
be
beneficial to our stockholders.
Our
common stock may be subject to the “penny stock” rules as promulgated under the
Exchange Act.
In
the
event that no exclusion from the definition of “penny stock” under the Exchange
Act is available, then any broker engaging in a transaction in our common stock
will be required to provide its customers with a risk disclosure document,
disclosure of market quotations, if any, disclosure of the compensation of
the
broker-dealer and its sales person in the transaction, and monthly account
statements showing the market values of our securities held in the customer’s
accounts. The bid and offer quotation and compensation information must be
provided prior to effecting the transaction and must be contained on the
customer’s confirmation of sale. Certain brokers are less willing to engage in
transactions involving “penny stocks” as a result of the additional disclosure
requirements described above, which may make it more difficult for holders
of
our common stock to dispose of their shares.
ITEM
1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
Not
applicable.
ITEM
2. Properties
We
have a
long-term operating lease with Arthur Grandlich d/b/a McKellips Corporate Square
for the 16,772 square foot corporate office that is located in Mesa, Arizona.
We
pay rent of approximately $120,000 annually under this lease, which expires
in
June 2011. This facility contains our customer service call center and certain
administrative resources.
We
lease
a 3,500 square foot facility in Las Vegas, Nevada that functions as the primary
operating facility of Telco. In October 2006, we renewed this lease with
Tomorrow 33 Convention, LP for a one year period with lease payments of $8,000
per month. We have an option to extend the lease another year.
We
lease
office space in Las Vegas, Nevada for our telemarketing activities under a
month-to-month lease. Payments under this lease vary depending upon the amount
of space utilized.
We
believe that these facilities are adequate for our current and anticipated
future needs and that both of these facilities and their contents are adequately
covered by insurance.
ITEM
3. Legal Proceedings
Previously,
we disclosed that we had received numerous inquiries from the Attorney General
offices of several states investigating our promotional activities,
specifically, the use of our check mailer for customer activation. On December
14, 2006, we voluntarily entered into a settlement with thirty-four states’
attorneys general to address their inquiries and bring finality to the process.
We have voluntarily agreed to the following:
·
|
We
will pay a settlement fee of $2,000,000 to the state consortium,
which
they may distribute among
themselves;
|
·
|
We
will discontinue the use of activation checks as a promotional
incentive;
|
·
|
We
will suspend billing of any active customer that was acquired in
connection with the use of an activation check until a letter is
mailed
notifying the customer of their legal rights to cancel the service
and
providing them a 60-day opportunity to receive a refund equivalent
to the
customer’s last two payments; and
|
·
|
We
will not employ any collection efforts with respect to past-due accounts
of customers that were secured through the use of an activation check,
nor
will we represent our ability to do
so.
|
We
are
party to certain other legal proceedings and other various claims and lawsuits
in the normal course of our business, which, in the opinion of management,
are
not material to our business or financial condition.
ITEM
4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security
Holders
Not
applicable.
PART
II
ITEM
5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related
Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity
Securities
Our
Common Stock
Our
common stock trades publicly on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol “YPNT.”
The OTCBB is a regulated quotation service that displays real-time quotes,
last-sale prices and volume information in over-the-counter equity securities.
The OTCBB securities are traded by a community of market makers that enter
quotes and trade reports. This market is extremely limited and any prices quoted
are not a reliable indication of the value of our common stock.
The
following table sets forth the quarterly high and low bid prices per share
of
our common stock by the OTCBB during the last two fiscal years. The quotes
represent inter-dealer quotations, without adjustment for retail mark-up,
markdown or commission and may not represent actual transactions.
Fiscal
Year
|
Quarter
Ended
|
High
|
Low
|
|||
2005
|
December
31, 2005
|
$1.70
|
$0.93
|
|||
March
31, 2005
|
$1.31
|
$0.78
|
||||
June
30, 2005
|
$1.14
|
$0.69
|
||||
September
30, 2005
|
$1.12
|
$0.77
|
||||
2006
|
December
31, 2005
|
$0.94
|
$0.40
|
|||
March
31, 2006
|
$1.03
|
$0.51
|
||||
June
30, 2006
|
$1.30
|
$0.95
|
||||
September
30, 2006
|
$1.08
|
$0.79
|
Holders
of Record
On
December 15, 2006, there were approximately 446 holders of record of our common
stock according to our transfer agent. The Company has no record of the number
of shareholders who hold their stock in “street” name with various
brokers.
Dividend
Policy
We
have
one class of outstanding preferred stock (Series E Preferred Stock), of which
there are currently 127,840 shares issued and outstanding. Each share of Series
E Preferred Stock is entitled to and receives a dividend of $0.015 per year,
payable in quarterly installments of $0.00375.
Presently,
we do not pay dividends on our common stock. The timing and amount of future
dividend payments by our company, if any, will be determined by our Board of
Directors based upon our earnings, capital requirements and financial position,
general economic conditions, alternative uses of capital, and other pertinent
factors.
Issuer
Purchases of Equity Securities
Period
|
(a)
Total Number of
Shares
(or Units) Purchased
|
(b)
Average Price
Paid
per
Share
(or Unit)
|
(c)
Total Number of
Shares
(or Units)
Purchased
as Part of
Publicly
Announced
Plans
or Programs2
|
(d)
Maximum Number
(or
Approximate Dollar
Value)
of Shares (or
Units)
that May Yet Be
Purchased
Under the
Plans
or Programs
|
|||||||||
July
2006
|
100,0001
|
$
|
1.01
|
-
|
$
|
2,313,207
|
|||||||
August
2006
|
-
|
N/A
|
-
|
$
|
2,313,207
|
||||||||
September
2006
|
-
|
N/A
|
-
|
$
|
2,313,207
|
||||||||
Total
|
100,000
|
$
|
1.01
|
-
|
$
|
2,313,207
|
1 In
July
2003, we entered into a licensing agreement with a vendor to license the use
of
the URL www.yp.com
in
exchange for cash and restricted shares of the Company’s common stock. Under the
terms of this agreement, the licensor had the option of transferring the rights
to the URL and the restricted shares to the Company in exchange for $300,000.
In
July 2006, the licensor exercised this option, and transferred ownership of
the
URL and the restricted shares to the Company. The portion of the proceeds
allocated to the shares was based on the fair market value of the stock at
the
transaction date.
2 On
May
18, 2005, we announced the adoption of a $3,000,000 stock repurchase program.
To
date, we have purchased 853,850 shares at an aggregate price of $686,793.
ITEM
6. Selected Financial Data
The
selected financial data presented below are derived from our historical
consolidated financial statements for the years indicated, which have been
audited by Epstein, Weber & Conover, P.L.C., our independent registered
public accounting firm. The selected financial data should be read in
conjunction with Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations and our consolidated financial statements and the related
notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
Year
Ended September 30,
|
||||||||||||||||
2006
|
2005
(1)
|
2004
|
2003
|
2002
|
||||||||||||
Statement
of Operations Data
|
||||||||||||||||
Net
revenues
|
$
|
36,881,164
|
$
|
25,204,858
|
$
|
57,168,105
|
$
|
30,767,444
|
$
|
12,618,126
|
||||||
Cost
of services
|
8,069,239
|
3,980,619
|
24,757,880
|
8,473,746
|
3,497,678
|
|||||||||||
Gross
profit
|
28,811,925
|
21,224,239
|
32,410,225
|
22,293,698
|
9,120,448
|
|||||||||||
Operating
income
|
2,124,450
|
1,313,389
|
11,465,946
|
7,281,886
|
1,595,642
|
|||||||||||
Net
income
|
(1,050,920
|
)
|
725,146
|
8,184,930
|
6,472,705
|
2,073,417
|
||||||||||
Net
income (loss) per common share:
|
||||||||||||||||
Basic
|
$
|
(0.02
|
)
|
$
|
0.02
|
$
|
0.17
|
$
|
0.14
|
$
|
0.05
|
|||||
Diluted
|
$
|
(0.02
|
)
|
$
|
0.02
|
$
|
0.17
|
$
|
0.14
|
$
|
0.05
|
|||||
Weighted
average common shares outstanding:
|
||||||||||||||||
Basic
|
44,958,683
|
46,390,356
|
47,375,927
|
45,326,721
|
44,024,329
|
|||||||||||
Diluted
|
44,958,683
|
46,659,918
|
48,075,699
|
45,591,590
|
44,024,329
|
|||||||||||
Cash
dividends declared per common share
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
1,444,763
|
$
|
1,427,640
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
||||||
Statement
of Cash Flows Data
|
||||||||||||||||
Net
cash provided by (used in) operating activities
|
$
|
2,420,083
|
$
|
6,990,161
|
$
|
4,818,203
|
$
|
4,762,238
|
$
|
1,158,015
|
||||||
Net
cash provided by (used in) investing activities
|
(1,088,416
|
)
|
(2,440,092
|
)
|
(2,192,500
|
)
|
(2,798,500
|
)
|
(244,077
|
)
|
||||||
Net
cash provided by (used in) financing activities
|
(235,418
|
)
|
(2,011,587
|
)
|
(1,428,022
|
)
|
(351,998
|
)
|
(830,677
|
)
|
||||||
Balance
Sheet Data
|
||||||||||||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
$
|
7,210,560
|
$
|
6,114,311
|
$
|
3,576,529
|
$
|
2,378,848
|
$
|
767,108
|
||||||
Working
capital
|
13,908,560
|
13,374,171
|
12,484,833
|
6,615,537
|
3,089,108
|
|||||||||||
Property
and equipment, net
|
178,883
|
396,862
|
725,936
|
731,142
|
274,459
|
|||||||||||
Intangible
assets, net
|
5,722,604
|
6,108,823
|
3,326,274
|
3,512,952
|
3,578,542
|
|||||||||||
Total
assets
|
26,727,227
|
23,632,916
|
26,289,604
|
20,356,163
|
9,922,716
|
|||||||||||
Total
long term liabilities
|
-
|
-
|
848,498
|
-
|
115,866
|
|||||||||||
Total
stockholders equity
|
22,376,373
|
22,065,266
|
23,572,393
|
15,709,315
|
8,386,853
|
|||||||||||
|
(1) |
Includes
an increase to income of approximately $100,000 (net of income taxes
of
approximately $54,000) resulting from the cumulative effect of an
accounting change for forfeitures of restricted stock granted to
employees, executives and
consultants
|
ITEM
7.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations
For
a
description of our significant accounting policies and an understanding of
the
significant factors that influenced our performance during the fiscal year
ended
September 30, 2006, this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis” should be read
in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements, including the related
notes, appearing in Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Forward-Looking
Statements
This
portion of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, includes statements that constitute
“forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements are often
characterized by the terms “may,” “believes,” “projects,” “expects,” or
“anticipates,” and do not reflect historical facts. Specific forward-looking
statements contained in this portion of the Annual Report include, but are
not
limited to our (i)
expectation that our billing cycles will not be disrupted; (ii) expectation
that
the number of refund requests will not exceed 40% of customers receiving
notifications; (iii) expectations that we can quickly ramp our telemarketing
efforts to continue to attract new customers; (iv) expectation that our
telemarketing efforts will yield positive customer growth throughout the
remainder of fiscal 2007; (v) our projected revenues, operating income and
net
income for fiscal 2007; (vi) expectation that we can expand our telemarketing
campaigns in the future; and (vii) belief that our existing cash on hand will
provide us with sufficient liquidity to meet our operating needs for the next
twelve months.
Forward-looking
statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause
our
actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors and
risks
that could affect our results and achievements and cause them to materially
differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements include those
identified in Item
1A. Risk Factors,
as well
as other factors that we are currently unable to identify or quantify, but
that
may exist in the future.
In
addition, the foregoing factors may affect generally our business, results
of
operations, and financial position. Forward-looking statements speak only as
of
the date the statement was made. We do not undertake and specifically decline
any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
Executive
Overview
This
section presents a discussion of recent developments and summary information
regarding our industry and operating trends only. For further information
regarding the events summarized herein, you should read this Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in
its
entirety.
Recent
Developments and Outlook
From
2001
to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, our primary source of marketing was
through the use of activation checks mailed to prospective customers. During
this period, we tracked the effectiveness of these activation checks and noticed
a decline in their effectiveness from year-to-year. The response rate with
the
activation check declined from 2.2% in fiscal 2003 to 0.9% in fiscal 2005,
causing this to become a more expensive means of attracting customers.
Therefore, during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, we began utilizing
telemarketing as a supplement to our direct mail activities. In fiscal 2006,
our
response rate to the activation check further dropped to 0.7%. Accordingly,
we
began a transition to telemarketing as our primary means of sales and marketing
efforts. We increased our telemarketing efforts such that it accounted for
approximately 50% of total customer acquisition expenditures during fiscal
2006.
During
fiscal 2006, we received numerous inquiries from the Attorney General offices
of
several states investigating our promotional activities, specifically, the
use
of our check mailer for customer activation. On December 14, 2006, we
voluntarily entered into a settlement with thirty-four states’ attorneys general
to address their inquiries and bring finality to the process. We have
voluntarily agreed to the following:
·
|
We
will pay a settlement fee of $2,000,000 to the state consortium,
which
they may distribute among
themselves;
|
·
|
We
will discontinue the use of activation checks as a promotional
incentive;
|
·
|
We
will suspend billing of any active customer that was acquired in
connection with the use of an activation check until a letter is
mailed
notifying the customer of their legal rights to cancel the service
and
providing them a 60-day opportunity to receive a refund equivalent
to the
customer’s last two payments; and
|
·
|
We
will not employ any collection efforts with respect to past-due accounts
of customers that were secured through the use of an activation check,
nor
will we represent our ability to do
so.
|
This
settlement limits our exposure to significant legal fees and costs that may
have
been otherwise incurred had we decided to dispute these inquiries. Further,
we
have been transitioning a significant amount of our marketing efforts away
from
the use of activation checks toward the use of telemarketing and other marketing
channels during 2005 and 2006. With this settlement, we will be able to
accelerate this transition away from the use of activation checks and focus
our
marketing efforts toward improving the effectiveness and efficiency of our
telemarketing campaigns and other marketing efforts.
The
mailings related to the settlement listed above affects approximately 41,000
customers. However, we have commenced such mailings and do not expect our
billing cycles to be disrupted. Our maximum exposure on refunds under this
settlement is $2,500,000, although we do not expect the number of refund
requests to exceed 40% of such customers. Our
inability to utilize activation checks will cause a near term disruption in
our
marketing efforts. However, as we have been transitioning toward telemarketing
campaigns, we expect that we can quickly ramp up our telemarketing efforts
to
continue to attract new customers.
We
expect
that the mailings related to the attorneys general settlement will result in
a
decline in revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2007. However, we also expect
our telemarketing efforts to yield positive customer growth throughout the
remainder of fiscal 2007. Although there are many variables that impact our
future results, including the number of customer cancellations resulting from
the attorneys general settlement and the success of our future telemarketing
campaigns, we expect that our gross annual revenues for fiscal 2007 will be
between $45,000,000 and $49,000,000, with our operating income between
$11,000,000 and $12,000,000 and net income between $6,000,000 and
$7,000,000.
Changes
in Billing Practices
During
the end of 2004 and throughout 2005, we had been reducing our use of LEC billing
channels as the LECs’ policies regarding the use of our check mailer as our
primary letter of authorization prevented us from billing many existing
customers through this particular billing channel. Additionally, the major
LECs
(i.e. Regional Bell Operating Companies or RBOCs) prevented us from billing
any
new customers acquired via check mailers. As such, we transitioned a significant
number of our customers to alternate billing means, the most significant of
which was ACH billing. ACH billing is less expensive than LEC billing; however,
many of our customers view this as a less desirable billing method, leading
to
increased cancellations. In situations where we cannot bill a customer via
LEC
or ACH billing, or in instances where the customer requests that we bill them
directly, we utilize direct invoices. Direct billing has a higher percentage
of
uncollectible accounts than other billing methods and, therefore, is our least
attractive billing option.
In
fiscal
2006, we began acquiring new customers via telemarketing campaigns, which are
allowed to be billed via LECs. These telemarketing campaigns have reopened
certain LEC billing channels. Additionally, our monthly billing rates are higher
for customers acquired via telemarketing campaigns. For these reasons, as well
as the cessation of the use of our check activator, we expect to continue to
expand our telemarketing campaigns in the future.
The
following represents the breakdown of net billings by channel during recent
fiscal quarters:
Q4
2006
|
Q3
2006
|
Q2
2006
|
Q1
2006
|
Q4
2005
|
Q3
2005
|
Q2
2005
|
Q1
2005
|
||||||||
63%
|
62%
|
49%
|
35%
|
32%
|
23%
|
26%
|
49%
|
||||||||
ACH
billing
|
33%
|
33%
|
43%
|
54%
|
54%
|
64%
|
56%
|
42%
|
|||||||
Direct
billing
|
4%
|
5%
|
8%
|
11%
|
14%
|
13%
|
18%
|
9%
|
Recent
Financial Results
The
following represents a summary of recent financial results:
Q4
2006
|
Q3
2006
|
Q2
2006
|
Q1
2006
|
Q4
2005
|
Q3
2005
|
Q2
2005
|
Q1
2005
|
||||||||||||||||||
Net
Revenues
|
$
|
10,082,487
|
$
|
10,172,705
|
$
|
8,999,196
|
$
|
7,626,776
|
$
|
6,052,936
|
$
|
6,517,158
|
$
|
6,444,609
|
$
|
6,190,155
|
|||||||||
Gross
margin
|
7,047,642
|
7,843,120
|
7,410,732
|
6,510,430
|
4,993,639
|
5,591,353
|
5,583,676
|
5,055,571
|
|||||||||||||||||
Operating
expenses
|
5,878,319
|
6,613,886
|
7,288,932
|
6,906,338
|
5,610,005
|
5,311,145
|
4,674,869
|
4,314,831
|
|||||||||||||||||
Operating
income (loss)
|
1,169,322
|
1,229,234
|
121,800
|
(395,908
|
)
|
(616,366
|
)
|
280,208
|
908,807
|
740,740
|
|||||||||||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
(1,680,673
|
)
|
826,847
|
129,998
|
(327,092
|
)
|
(386,653
|
)
|
(175,887
|
)
|
627,135
|
660,551
|
During
fiscal 2006, we generated net loss of approximately $1,051,000, or ($0.02)
per
share on a diluted basis (which includes non-recurring expenses totaling
approximately $4,144,000 or $0.09 per share consisting of approximately
$3,687,000 of settlement related matters with attorneys general and with a
former vendor and approximately $457,000 of severance costs, further described
below). During fiscal 2005, we generated net income of approximately
$725,000, or $0.02 per share on a diluted basis (which includes non-recurring
expenses totaling approximately $527,000 or $0.01 per share, further described
below).
The
following non-recurring items are relevant to our fiscal 2006 and 2005 quarterly
operating results, each of which are further described in this Executive
Overview:
§
|
Fourth
quarter of fiscal 2006 - includes the following charges associated
with
the voluntary agreement with various regulatory agencies surrounding
the
use of activation checks (described in Recent Developments and Outlook
above):
|
o
|
$2,000,000
payment to cover regulatory and related
expenses
|
o
|
$1,250,000
of accrued refunds and processing fees for existing customers that
wish to
cancel their service in response to the correspondence to be sent
per the
terms of the agreement
|
o
|
$275,000
of legal and professional fees
|
§
|
Third
quarter of fiscal 2006 - no significant non-recurring expenses were
incurred.
|
§
|
Second
quarter of fiscal 2006 - includes an increase of general and
administrative expenses of approximately $80,000 related to separation
costs with our former Chief Financial Officer and $39,000 related
to
separation costs with other
employees.
|
§
|
First
quarter of fiscal 2006 - includes an increase of general and
administrative expenses totaling approximately $338,000 related to
separation costs with our former Chief Executive Officer and an increase
in other expenses associated with an additional expense of $162,000
relating to an outstanding legal matter.
|
§
|
Fourth
quarter of fiscal 2005 - includes an increase of general and
administrative expenses totaling approximately $212,000 relating
to the
termination of consulting agreements with certain of our former
officers offset by a reduction of general and administrative expenses
of approximately $295,000 associated with the true-up of estimates
of
forfeitures of restricted stock grants.
|
§
|
Third
quarter of fiscal 2005 - includes losses of $328,000 associated with
a
litigation settlement and approximately $282,000 associated with
our
agreement to settle outstanding amounts due from two of our largest
stockholders (with the loss being equal to the difference between
the fair
value of debt forgiven and the value of the consideration
received).
|
Critical
Accounting Estimates and Assumptions
The
preparation of our financial statements in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of America requires our management
to
make certain 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. As such, in accordance with the use of
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, our
actual realized results may differ from management’s initial estimates as
reported. A summary of our significant accounting policies are detailed in
the
notes to the financial statements, which are an integral component of this
filing.
The
following summarizes critical estimates made by management in the preparation
of
the financial statements.
Revenue
Recognition. We
generate revenue from customer subscriptions for directory and advertising
services. Our billing and collection procedures include significant involvement
of outside parties, referred to as aggregators for LEC billing and service
providers for ACH billing. Such processes are described below.
ACH
Billing
- For
ACH billing, we submit electronic billing information to our service providers,
who in turn use this information as a basis for processing direct bank
withdrawals through an Automated Clearing House. We receive information
regarding records that are rejected or cannot otherwise be processed on a timely
basis, and we recognize revenue only for those items that are processed.
LEC
Billing
- When a
customer subscribes to our service we create an electronic customer file, which
is the basis for the billing. We submit gross billings electronically to third
party billing aggregators. These billing aggregators compile and format our
electronic customer files and forward the billing records to the appropriate
LECs. The billing for our service flows through to monthly bills of the
individual LEC customers. The LECs collect our billing and remit amounts to
the
billing aggregators, which in turn remit funds to us. The following are
significant accounting estimates and assumptions used in the revenue recognition
process with respect to these billings.
·
|
Customer
refunds.
We have a customer refund policy that allows the customer to request
a
refund if they are not satisfied with the service within the first
120
days of the subscription. We accrue for refunds based on historical
experience of refunds as a percentage of new billings in that 120-day
period. Customer refunds are reserved and charged against gross
revenue.
|
·
|
Non-paying
customers.
There are customers who may not pay the fee for our services even
though
we believe they are valid subscribers. Included in cost of services
is an
accrual for estimated non-paying customers that are recorded at the
time
of billing.
|
·
|
Dilution.
We recognize revenue during the month for which the service is provided
based on net billings accepted by the billing aggregators. We recognize
revenue only for accepted records. However, subsequent to this acceptance,
there are instances in the LEC billing process where a customer cannot
be
billed due to changes in telephone numbers, telephone carriers, data
synchronization issues, etc. These amounts that ultimately cannot
be
billed, as well as certain minor billing adjustments by the LECs
are
commonly referred to as “dilution.” Dilution is estimated at the time of
billing and charged to cost of
services.
|
·
|
Fees.
Processing fees are charged by both the aggregator and the LEC.
Additionally, the LEC charges fees for responding to billing inquiries
by
its customers, processing refunds, and other customer-related services.
Such fees are estimated at the time of billing and charged to cost
of
services.
|
Direct
bill customers - If we are unable to bill via any other means, we bill
subscribers directly via paper invoices. Our collection rate on these billings
is significantly lower than those processed through the LECs. We track
collections on direct billed customers and recognize revenue from those
customers based on the historical collection rates.
Fulfillment
contracts
- Beginning
in fiscal 2006, we began entering into contracts with several third parties
whereby we provide hosting, customer service and certain administrative
functions under a revenue sharing agreements. We recognize revenues only for
those revenues for which we are entitled to when the related services are
performed.
Allowance
for Doubtful Accounts. We
receive cash through the processes discussed above. Under our contractual
arrangements with our third party aggregators and service providers, the LECs
and aggregators/service providers deduct from our gross billings amounts for
returns, nonpaying customers, dilution and fees to arrive at net proceeds
remitted to us. We estimate an allowance for doubtful accounts on the basis
of
information provided by the billing aggregators and service providers. This
information is an indicator of timely payments made by our subscribers. At
September 30, 2006 and 2005, the allowance for doubtful accounts was
approximately 36% and 16% of gross accounts receivable,
respectively.
Carrying
Value of Intellectual Property. The
carrying value of our intellectual property at September 30, 2006, relates
primarily to the purchase of the Yellow-Page.Net Universal Resource Locator,
or
URL, from Telco. The URL is recorded at its $5,000,000 purchase price, less
accumulated amortization of $2,661,000. We have estimated the useful life of
this asset to be 20 years.
We
evaluate the recoverability of the carrying amount of this and other intangible
assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying
amount of this asset may not be fully recoverable. In 2006, there have been
no
events that indicate that this asset may be impaired and, accordingly, no such
impairment tests are warranted. In the event of such changes, impairment would
be assessed if the undiscounted expected cash flows derived for the asset are
less than its carrying amount. The dynamic economic environment in which we
operate and the resulting assumptions used to estimate future cash flows would
impact the outcome of such impairment tests.
Change
in Accounting Principle - Capitalization of Customer Acquisition Costs and
Amortization of those Costs. We
purchase mailing lists and send advertising materials to prospective subscribers
from those mailing lists as well as outbound call campaigns. Customers subscribe
to the services by affirmatively responding to those advertising materials
and
calling campaigns, which serve as the contract for the subscription. Previously,
we capitalized these customer acquisition costs and amortized them on
a straight-line basis over the average expected life of our customers based
on
historical IAP advertiser attrition rates and other factors.
Prior
to
fiscal 2006, the majority of our capitalized customer acquisition costs related
to our mailing campaigns for which we amortized the costs based on historical
IAP advertiser attrition rates attributable to our entire customer base. During
fiscal 2006, we began increasing our expenditures for telemarketing campaigns.
The capitalization of such costs requires that we amortize over the average
expected life of acquired customers, as determined on a cost-pool by cost-pool
basis. Our systems do not allow us to efficiently and accurately monitor
customer lives by method of acquisition. Therefore, we are unable to determine
the average expected life of those customers acquired via telemarketing versus
those acquired via mailing campaigns. As we cannot effectively evaluate such
costs on a cost-pool by cost-pool basis, we determined in fiscal 2006 that
the
more preferable method of accounting for these costs is to expense them when
incurred. We enacted this change in accounting principle during the fourth
quarter of fiscal 2006 and, in accordance with FAS 154, we have restated all
periods presented to reflect this new method of accounting for such
costs.
Income
Taxes. Management
evaluates the probability of the utilization of the deferred income tax assets.
We have estimated net deferred income tax assets of $3,117,000 and net deferred
tax assets of $1,632,000 at September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively, which
relate to various timing differences between book and tax expense recognition.
We are required to make judgments and estimates related to the timing and
utilization of deferred income tax assets, applicable tax rates, and feasible
tax planning strategies.
Stock-Based
Compensation. From
time-to-time, we grant restricted stock awards to employees, directors,
executives, and consultants. Such awards are recorded as an increase to common
stock and paid in capital on the grant date with an offsetting amount of
deferred compensation in stockholders’ equity. This deferred compensation cost
is amortized on a straight-line basis over the vesting period. Prior
to
October 1, 2004, we recognized forfeitures as they occurred. Upon occurrence,
we
reversed the previously recognized expense associated with such grant. Effective
October 1, 2004, we changed to an expense recognition method that is based
on an
estimate of the number of shares that are ultimately expected to vest (see
discussion below in “Results
of Operations - Cumulative Effect of Accounting Change”).
The
impact of changes in such estimates on unamortized deferred compensation cost
are recorded as an adjustment to compensation expense in the period in which
such estimates are revised.
Results
of Operations
Net
Revenues
Year
Ended
September
30,
|
Net
Revenues
|
Change
from
Prior
Year
|
Percent
Change
from
Prior Year
|
|||||||
2006
|
$
|
36,881,164
|
$
|
11,676,306
|
46.3
|
%
|
||||
2005
|
$
|
25,204,858
|
$
|
(31,963,247
|
)
|
(55.9
|
)%
|
|||
2004
|
$
|
57,168,105
|
The
increase in revenues for fiscal 2006, as compared to 2005, was largely due
to an
increased customer count attributable to expanded marketing efforts, the
reintroduction of the LEC billing channel for new customers, and new fulfillment
contracts.
Through
the settlement with the attorneys general described above, we will discontinue
the use of activation checks in fiscal 2007. During fiscal 2006, such efforts
constituted roughly half of our marketing expenditures.
Although
we have concentrations of risk with our billing aggregators (as described in
the
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual
Report) these aggregators bill via many underlying LECs, thereby reducing our
risk associated with credit concentrations. However, there are a few LECs that
service a significant number of our customers. To the extent that future changes
in their billing practices cause a disruption in our ability to bill through
these channels, our revenues could be adversely affected.
The
majority of our IAP customers pay between $27.50 and $39.95 per month.
The
decrease in revenues for the year ended September 30, 2005, as compared to
the
year ended September 30, 2004, was largely due to declines in our paying
subscriber base resulting from our LEC billing issues.
The
success of our business model is based on our ability to retain, add and
efficiently bill our subscribers.
There
have been different methodologies employed in the reporting of customer count.
To more properly reflect customer count we changed our methodology in the first
quarter of fiscal 2006 to count billed listings. A billed listing is defined
by
management as any listing that has successfully been submitted through one
of
our billing channels or in the case of listings billed by direct invoice only
those listings that have paid for their listing at the end of the reporting
period.
Management
believes that this change when coupled with the knowledge of our average price
and percentage of returns and allowances will provide greater insight into
our
business model for the public.
The
following represent our counts for billed listings over the last eight quarters:
Quarter
Ended
|
Average
Billed
Listings
During
Quarter
|
Gross
Revenue
|
Returns
&
Allowances
(%
of
Gross Revenue)
|
Net
Revenues
|
Average
Monthly
Gross
Revenue per
Average
Billed
Listing
|
|||||||||||
September
30th, 2006
|
130,627
|
$
|
10,672,074
|
5.52
|
%
|
$
|
10,082,487
|
$
|
27.23
|
|||||||
June
30th, 2006
|
134,264
|
10,869,020
|
6.41
|
%
|
10,172,705
|
$
|
26.98
|
|||||||||
March
31st, 2006
|
116,622
|
9,823,664
|
8.39
|
%
|
8,999,196
|
$
|
28.08
|
|||||||||
December
31st, 2005
|
90,809
|
8,328,583
|
8.43
|
%
|
7,626,776
|
$
|
30.57
|
|||||||||
September
30th, 2005
|
81,342
|
6,856,082
|
11.71
|
%
|
6,052,936
|
$
|
28.10
|
|||||||||
June
30th, 2005
|
83,096
|
7,419,827
|
12.17
|
%
|
6,517,158
|
$
|
29.76
|
|||||||||
March
31st, 2005
|
76,633
|
7,527,086
|
14.38
|
%
|
6,444,609
|
$
|
32.74
|
|||||||||
December
31st, 2004
|
82,579
|
7,502,125
|
17.49
|
%
|
6,190,155
|
$
|
30.28
|
Our
average monthly gross revenue per average billed listing declined recently,
as a
significant amount of our increase in billed listings was via a new fulfillment
contract. Under the terms of this new contract, our gross revenues are, on
average, approximately $3 lower than comparable billed customers.
Cost
of Services
Year
Ended
September
30,
|
Cost
of
Services
|
Change
from
Prior
Year
|
Percent
Change
from
Prior Year
|
|||||||
2006
|
$
|
8,069,239
|
$
|
4,088,620
|
102.7
|
%
|
||||
2005
|
$
|
3,980,619
|
$
|
(20,777,261
|
)
|
(83.9
|
)%
|
|||
2004
|
$
|
24,757,880
|
The
increase in cost of services for the year ended September 30, 2006, as compared
to September 30, 2005, is largely due to an increase in LEC billings, which
have
higher costs than other billing channels Billings through LEC channels,
comprised 64% of total billings during fiscal 2006 as compared to 32% in fiscal
2005. Increases in dilution expense and adjustments to dilution reserves were
the primary components of the increase in cost of sales from fiscal 2005 to
fiscal 2006.
The
decrease in our cost of services from fiscal 2004 to fiscal 2005 is directly
attributable to a reduction in our dilution expense as a result of our
transition from LEC billing to alternative billing methods. Billings through
LEC
channels, which drives a substantial majority of our dilution expense, decreased
to 32% of total billings during fiscal 2005 from over 90% of total billings
during fiscal 2004. A significant portion of these customers were converted
to
ACH and direct billing methods, which have minimal dilution. We expect cost
of
services to continue to be directly correlated to our usage of LEC billing
channels.
Gross
Profit
Year
Ended
September
30,
|
Gross
Profit
|
Change
from
Prior
Year
|
Percent
Change
from
Prior Year
|
|||||||
2006
|
$
|
28,811,925
|
$
|
7,587,686
|
35.8
|
%
|
||||
2005
|
$
|
21,224,239
|
$
|
(11,185,986
|
)
|
(34.5
|
)%
|
|||
2004
|
$
|
32,410,225
|
The
increase in our gross profits was due primarily to increased revenues partially
offset by increased cost of sales associated with higher utilization of LEC
billing channels. Gross margins decreased to 78% of net revenues in fiscal
2006
compared to 84% of net revenues in fiscal 2005 due to increased dilution in
fiscal 2006 resulting from the increase in LEC billings as previously
discussed.
The
decrease in our gross profits from fiscal 2004 to fiscal 2005 was due to
decreased revenues resulting from a decrease in IAP advertisers, offset in
part
by the decreased dilution as discussed above.
General
and Administrative Expenses
Year
Ended
September
30,
|
General
&
Administrative
Expenses
|
Change
from
Prior
Year
|
Percent
Change
from
Prior Year
|
|||||||
2006
|
$
|
13,800,456
|
$
|
769,842
|
5.9
|
%
|
||||
2005
|
$
|
13,030,614
|
$
|
344,278
|
2.7
|
%
|
||||
2004
|
$
|
12,686,336
|
General
and administrative expenses increased approximately $770,000 for the fiscal
year
ended September 30, 2006 compared to the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005.
The increase in general and administrative expenses for fiscal 2006, as compared
to fiscal 2005, is largely due to the following:
·
|
An
increase in consulting and professional fees of approximately $1,117,000
associated with (i) increased consulting expenses of $957,000, associated
with operational and strategic consulting, and (ii) $162,000 of executive
search and placement services and other miscellaneous activities.
|
·
|
An
increase in compensation expense of approximately $476,000 associated
with
the general increase in revenues and business activity in fiscal
2006.
This increase was comprised of increases of approximately (i) $352,000
of
severance costs associated with the termination of former officers
and
other personnel, (ii) non-cash compensation costs of $179,000 associated
with restricted stock awards, (iii) $307,000 for Directors’ compensation
and Executive bonuses, and (iv) increases in leased and contract
employees
and other miscellaneous compensation expenses of $131,000. These
costs
were partially offset by a decrease in executive consulting fees
of
approximately $493,000.
|
·
|
A
decrease in mailing and other customer costs of approximately $662,000
associated with the reduction of paper invoices and other methods
of
correspondence with customers for which payment is unlikely to be
received.
|
·
|
General
cost reductions of $161,000.
|
General
and administrative expenses increased 2.7 % during fiscal year 2005 compared
to
fiscal 2004. The increase in costs for the year ended September 30, 2005 was
comprised of approximately $828,000 related to our efforts to reconfirm our
existing subscriber base and $584,000 associated with increased customer mailing
costs attributable to an increase in customers that are invoiced directly and
other customer mailing efforts that took place during fiscal 2005. These
increases were offset by the combination of $498,000 of decreased legal costs
in
fiscal 2005 and general expense reductions associated with cost-containment
initiatives.
Our
general and administrative expenses consist largely of fixed and semi-fixed
expenses such as compensation, rent, utilities, etc.
Therefore, we do not consider short-term trends of general and administrative
expenses as a percentage of revenues to be meaningful indicators for evaluating
operational performance.
The
following table sets forth our recent operating performance for general and
administrative expenses:
Q4
2006
|
Q3
2006
|
Q2
2006
|
Q1
2006
|
Q4
2005
|
Q3
2005
|
Q2
2005
|
Q1
2005
|
||||||||||||||||||
Compensation
for employees, leased
employees, officers and directors
|
$
|
2,073,646
|
$
|
1,908,099
|
$
|
2,475,244
|
$
|
2,476,713
|
$
|
2,272,287
|
$
|
2,115,672
|
$
|
1,869,134
|
$
|
2,201,308
|
|||||||||
Professional
fees and other G&A costs
|
1,086,877
|
976,111
|
839,972
|
790,187
|
665,316
|
618,738
|
629,461
|
823,172
|
|||||||||||||||||
Reconfirmation,
mailing, billing and other customer-related
costs
|
39,180
|
245,597
|
396,883
|
491,947
|
407,554
|
517,565
|
614,591
|
295,816
|
Sales
and Marketing Expenses
Year
Ended
September
30,
|
Sales
&
Marketing
Expenses
|
Change
from
Prior
Year
|
Percent
Change
from
Prior Year
|
|||||||
2006
|
$
|
11,452,465
|
$
|
6,142,228
|
115.7
|
%
|
||||
2005
|
$
|
5,310,237
|
$
|
(2,017,313
|
)
|
(27.5
|
)%
|
|||
2004
|
$
|
7,327,550
|
As
discussed elsewhere in this section , we enacted a change in accounting
principle in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 to expense such costs when they
are incurred and have retroactively restated all period presented to reflect
such a change.
Sales
and
marketing expense increased in fiscal 2006 as compared to fiscal 2005 primarily
due to an increase in telemarketing expenditures from $153,000 in fiscal 2005
to
$5,245,000 in fiscal 2006. The remaining increase is due to increased mailing
campaigns partially offset by a decrease in branding activities. As previously
discussed, in connection with the attorneys general campaign, we have ceased
utilizing activation checks in early fiscal 2007. We expect telemarketing
campaigns to be our primary source of sales and marketing expenditures in fiscal
2007.
Sales
and
marketing expenses as a percentage of revenues were 31.1% for fiscal 2006
compared to 21.1% for fiscal 2005 as we have increased our telemarketing and
other sales efforts to fuel revenue growth.
Depreciation
and Amortization
Year
Ended
September
30,
|
Depreciation
&
Amortization
|
Change
from
Prior
Year
|
Percent
Change
from
Prior Year
|
|||||||
2006
|
$
|
1,434,554
|
$
|
(135,445
|
)
|
(8.6
|
)%
|
|||
2005
|
$
|
1,569,999
|
$
|
639,606
|
68.7
|
%
|
||||
2004
|
$
|
930,393
|
Depreciation
and amortization remained largely consistent between the fiscal years ended
September 30, 2006 and 2005. Expenses for depreciation and amortization consist
of amortization of fixed assets, capitalized website costs, intangible assets
and our non-compete agreements.
The
increase in depreciation and amortization expense from fiscal 2004 to fiscal
2005 is attributable to (i) amortization of a $1,821,000 non-compete agreement
acquired in April 2005 as part of the Transfer and Repayment Agreement described
in “Recent Developments” above and in Note 11 of the Notes to Consolidated
Financial Statements included elsewhere in this report, and (ii) increased
amortization of intangible assets associated with website development costs
that
were capitalized during 2005.
Operating
Income
Year
Ended
September
30,
|
Operating
Income
|
Change
from
Prior
Year
|
Percent
Change
from
Prior Year
|
|||||||
2006
|
$
|
2,124,450
|
$
|
811,061
|
61.8
|
%
|
||||
2005
|
$
|
1,313,389
|
$
|
(10,152,557
|
)
|
(88.5
|
)%
|
|||
2004
|
$
|
11,465,946
|
Our
operating income increased in fiscal 2006 from fiscal 2005 due primarily to
revenue increases, offset primarily by increased dilution in our LEC billing
channel and increased sales and marketing activities, as previously described.
Revenues decreases as previously described in fiscal 2005 as compared to fiscal
2004 were the predominant factor in our decrease in operating income for the
year ended September 30, 2005 compared with the year ended September 30, 2004.
Loss
on Attorneys General Settlement
The
loss
on attorneys general settlement, unique to fiscal 2006, relates to the
settlement of matters described in “Executive
Overview - Recent Developments and Outlook”
above.
This loss includes a settlement fee of $2,000,000, $1,250,000 of accrued refunds
and related expenses and $275,000 of legal fees. Such matters have been
concluded and we do not expect any additional future charges relating to these
events.
Other
Income (Expense)
Year
Ended
September
30,
|
Other
Income
(Expense)
|
Change
from
Prior
Year
|
Percent
Change
from
Prior Year
|
|||||||
2006
|
$
|
(186,325
|
)
|
$
|
364,084
|
(66.1
|
)%
|
|||
2005
|
$
|
(550,409
|
)
|
$
|
(1,338,584
|
)
|
(169.8
|
)%
|
||
2004
|
$
|
788,175
|
Other
income (expense) in each of the years presented consist primarily of non-related
matters. Other income (expense) for the year ended September 30, 2006 consists
primarily of a $162,000 expense related to the settlement of an outstanding
matter with a vendor.
Other
income (expense) for the year ended September 30, 2005 includes losses of
$328,000 associated with a litigation settlement and approximately $282,000
associated with our agreement to settle outstanding amounts due from two of
our
largest stockholders. These agreements were reached in fiscal 2005.
Other
income in fiscal 2004 consisted of technical and service income from Simple.net
of $287,000, a nonrecurring reversal of $525,000 of previously accrued
compensation costs for former executives for which payment is no longer
required, and other miscellaneous items.
Income
Tax Benefit (Provision)
Year
Ended
September
30,
|
Income
Tax
Benefit
(Provision)
|
Change
from
Prior
Year
|
Percent
Change
from
Prior Year
|
|||||||
2006
|
$
|
311,779
|
$
|
683,816
|
(183.8
|
)%
|
||||
2005
|
$
|
(372,037
|
)
|
$
|
4,005,176
|
(91.5
|
)%
|
|||
2004
|
$
|
(4,377,213
|
)
|
The
change in our income tax benefit (provision) in each of the above years is
due
primarily to changes in our pre-tax income. As of September 30, 2006, we have
utilized all of our net operating loss carryforwards.
Cumulative
Effect of Accounting Change
During
the first fiscal quarter of 2005, we changed our method of accounting for
forfeitures of restricted stock awards to employees, officers, and directors.
Prior to October 1, 2004, we recognized forfeitures as they occurred.
Upon
occurrence, we reversed the previously recognized expense associated with such
grant. Effective October 1,
2004,
we
changed to an expense recognition method that is based on an estimate of the
number of shares that are ultimately expected to vest. We believe that this
is a
preferable method as it provides less volatility in expense recognition.
Additionally, while both methods of accounting for forfeitures are acceptable
under current guidance, the implementation of FAS 123R
(effective during the first
quarter of fiscal 2006) no longer permits us to recognize forfeitures as they
occur.
This
change resulted in an increase to net income of $99,848, net of income taxes
of
$53,764, during the first quarter of fiscal 2005. Note that this change in
accounting principle was enacted prior to the adoption of FAS 154, which
requires the retroactive application of changes in accounting principles to
all
periods presented.
Net
Income (Loss)
Year
Ended
September
30,
|
Net
Income
(Loss)
|
Change
from
Prior
Year
|
Percent
Change
from
Prior Year
|
|||||||
2006
|
$
|
(1,050,920
|
)
|
$
|
(1,776,066
|
)
|
244.9
|
%
|
||
2005
|
$
|
725,146
|
$
|
(7,459,784
|
)
|
(91.1
|
)%
|
|||
2004
|
$
|
8,184,930
|
We
reported a net loss for fiscal 2006 of $1,051,000 as compared to net income
for
fiscal 2005 of $725,000, a decrease of $1,776,000. The substantial decrease
in
net income in fiscal 2006 is primarily the result of non-recurring expenses
totaling approximately $4,144,000 consisting of approximately $3,687,000 of
settlement related expenditures with attorneys general and with a former vendor
and approximately $457,000 of severance costs and increased sales and marketing
expenditures, which were partially offset by increased gross margins due to
our
ability to utilize the LEC billing channel as previously discussed. The
substantial decrease in net income for the year ended September 30, 2005 is
due
primarily to decreased revenues.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
Net
cash
provided by operating activities decreased approximately $4,570,000, or 65%,
to
$2,420,000 for the year ended September 30, 2006, compared to $6,990,000 for
the
year ended September 30, 2005. The decrease in cash generated from operations
in
fiscal 2006 is primarily due to an increase in accounts receivable and the
related provisions resulting from an increased reliance on the LEC billing
channel. Net cash provided by operating activities was $4,818,000 for the year
ended September 30, 2004.
Our
primary source of cash inflows is net remittances from our billing channels,
including ACH billings and LEC billings. For ACH billings, we generally receive
the net proceeds through our billing service processors within 15 days of
submission. For LEC billings, we receive collections on accounts receivable
through the billing service aggregators under contracts to administer this
billing and collection process. The billing service aggregators generally do
not
remit funds until they are collected. Generally, cash is collected and remitted
to us (net of dilution and other fees and expenses) over a 60- to 120-day period
subsequent to the billing dates. Additionally, for each monthly billing cycle,
the billing aggregators and LECs withhold certain amounts, or “holdback
reserves,” to cover potential future dilution and bad debt expense. These
holdback reserves lengthen our cash conversion cycle as they are remitted to
us
over a 12- to 18-month period of time. We classify these holdback reserves
as
current or long-term receivables on our balance sheet, depending on when they
are scheduled to be remitted to us. As of September 30, 2006, approximately
31%
of our accounts receivable are due from a single aggregator.
Our
most
significant cash outflows include payments for marketing expenses and general
operating expenses. General operating cash outflows consist of payroll
costs, income taxes, and general and administrative expenses that typically
occur within close proximity of expense recognition.
Net
cash
used in investing activities totaled $1,088,000 during fiscal 2006 and consisted
of investments of excess cash in certificates of deposit and other
investments, expenditures for intangible assets and minor purchases of
equipment. During fiscal 2005, cash used for investing activities was
$2,441,000, and also consisted of investments
of excess cash in certificates of deposit and other investments,
expenditures for intangible assets and minor purchases of equipment. During
fiscal 2004, cash used for investing activities was $2,193,000.
Net
cash
used for financing activities was $235,000 during fiscal 2006 and consisted
of
the repurchase of our treasury stock. Cash used for financing activities during
fiscal 2005 were $2,012,000 and consisted predominantly of payments of common
stock dividends of $1,445,000 and purchases of treasury stock totaling $566,000.
Cash used for financing activities during fiscal 2004 were $1,428,000.
We
had
working capital of $13,705,000 as of September 30, 2006, compared to $13,374,000
as of September 30, 2005. Our cash position increased to over $7,211,000 at
September 30, 2006 from approximately $6,114,000 at the end of fiscal
2005.
During
2005, our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $3,000,000
of
our common stock from time to time on the open market or in privately negotiated
transactions. To date, we have purchased 853,850 shares at an aggregate cost
of
$686,793 under the program.
During
fiscal 2006, we entered into a contractual arrangement with an attorney to
settle previous claims and to engage the future services of this attorney.
Under
the terms of the arrangement, we made cash payments during the year totaling
$145,000 and granted 100,000 shares of restricted stock. We are obligated to
make future payments over the next two years totaling $234,750 in exchange
for
future services. Such amounts have not been accrued in the accompanying
financial statements as such payments are for future services.
During
fiscal 2006, we entered into a contractual arrangement with a consulting firm
to
provide strategic and operational related consulting services. Under the terms
of the agreement, we are obligated to make future payments through July 2009
that vary based on the Company’s billed customer count subject to a minimum of
$20,000 per month. Current payments are approximately $100,000 per month. Such
amounts have not been accrued in the accompanying financial statements as such
payments are for future services.
The
following table summarizes our contractual obligations at September 30, 2006
and
the effect such obligations are expected to have on our future liquidity and
cash flows:
Payments
Due by Fiscal Year
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Contractual
obligations
|
Total
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
2011
|
Thereafter
|
|||||||||||||||
Lease
commitments
|
$
|
777,125
|
$
|
296,209
|
$
|
159,899
|
$
|
116,733
|
$
|
116,733
|
$
|
87,550
|
$
|
-
|
||||||||
Noncanceleable
service contracts
|
894,750
|
427,500
|
287,250
|
180,000
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||
$
|
1,671,875
|
$
|
723,709
|
$
|
447,149
|
$
|
296,733
|
$
|
116,733
|
$
|
87,550
|
$
|
-
|
We
believe that our existing cash on hand will provide us with sufficient liquidity
to meet our operating needs for the next twelve months.
At
September 30, 2006, we had no other off-balance sheet arrangements, commitments
or guarantees that require additional disclosure or measurement.
ITEM
7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market
Risk
As
of
September 30, 2006, we did not participate in any market risk-sensitive
commodity instruments for which fair value disclosure would be required under
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 107. We believe that we are
not
subject in any material way to other forms of market risk, such as foreign
currency exchange risk or foreign customer purchases (of which there were none
in fiscal 2006 or 2005) or commodity price risk.
ITEM
8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
YP
CORP.
INDEX
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Page
|
||
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
39
|
|
Consolidated
Financial Statements:
|
|
|
|
||
Consolidated
Balance Sheets at September 30, 2006 and 2005
|
40
|
|
|
||
Consolidated
Statements of Operations for the years ended September 30, 2006,
2005, and
2004
|
41
|
|
|
||
Consolidated
Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the years ended September 30, 2006,
2005, and 2004
|
42
|
|
|
||
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended September 30, 2006,
2005, and
2004
|
43
|
|
|
||
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
|
44
|
REPORT
OF
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING
FIRM
To
the
Stockholders and Board
of
Directors of YP Corp.:
We
have
audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of YP Corp. and
subsidiaries as of September 30, 2006 and 2005 and the related statements of
operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the three years in
the period ended September 30, 2006. 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.
We
conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we
plan
and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the
financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes
examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures
in
the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting
principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as
evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe our audits
provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In
our
opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all
material respects, the consolidated financial position of YP Corp. and
subsidiaries as of September 30, 2006 and 2005, and the consolidated results
of
its operations and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended
September 30, 2006, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted
in the United States of America.
/s/
|
Epstein, Weber & Conover, PLC |
Scottsdale,
Arizona
|
|
December
18, 2006
|
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
BALANCE SHEETS
September
30,
|
|||||||
Assets
|
2006
|
2005
|
|||||
Cash
and equivalents
|
$
|
7,210,560
|
$
|
6,114,311
|
|||
Restricted
cash
|
-
|
500,000
|
|||||
Certificates
of deposit and other investments
|
2,266,268
|
2,004,987
|
|||||
Accounts
receivable, net
|
6,741,781
|
5,338,533
|
|||||
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
259,069
|
602,103
|
|||||
Deferred
tax asset
|
1,781,736
|
381,887
|
|||||
Total
current assets
|
18,259,414
|
14,941,821
|
|||||
Accounts
receivable, long term portion, net
|
1,140,179
|
873,299
|
|||||
Property
and equipment, net
|
178,883
|
396,862
|
|||||
Deposits
and other assets
|
91,360
|
62,029
|
|||||
Intangible
assets, net
|
5,722,604
|
6,108,823
|
|||||
Deferred
tax asset, long term
|
1,334,787
|
1,250,082
|
|||||
Total
assets
|
$
|
26,727,227
|
$
|
23,632,916
|
|||
Liabilities
and Stockholders' Equity
|
|||||||
Accounts
payable
|
$
|
773,653
|
$
|
655,527
|
|||
Accrued
liabilities
|
3,315,439
|
803,268
|
|||||
Income
taxes payable
|
261,762
|
108,855
|
|||||
Total
current liabilities
|
4,350,854
|
1,567,650
|
|||||
Series
E convertible preferred stock, $.001 par value, 200,000 shares authorized,
127,840 issued and outstanding, liquidation preference
$38,202
|
10,866
|
10,866
|
|||||
Common
stock, $.001 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized, 50,021,594
and
48,837,694 issued and outstanding
|
50,022
|
48,838
|
|||||
Treasury
stock
|
(2,407,158
|
)
|
(2,171,740
|
)
|
|||
Paid
in capital
|
12,249,166
|
11,044,400
|
|||||
Deferred
stock compensation
|
(2,854,122
|
)
|
(3,247,535
|
)
|
|||
Retained
earnings
|
15,327,599
|
16,380,437
|
|||||
Total
stockholders' equity
|
22,376,373
|
22,065,266
|
|||||
Total
liabilities and stockholders' equity
|
$
|
26,727,227
|
$
|
23,632,916
|
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
YP
CORP.
AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
Year
ended September 30,
|
||||||||||
2006
|
2005
|
2004
|
||||||||
Net
revenues
|
$
|
36,881,164
|
$
|
25,204,858
|
$
|
57,168,105
|
||||
Cost
of services
|
8,069,239
|
3,980,619
|
24,757,880
|
|||||||
Gross
profit
|
28,811,925
|
21,224,239
|
32,410,225
|
|||||||
Operating
expenses:
|
||||||||||
General
and administrative expenses
|
13,800,456
|
13,030,614
|
12,686,336
|
|||||||
Sales
and marketing expenses
|
11,452,465
|
5,310,237
|
7,327,550
|
|||||||
Depreciation
and amortization
|
1,434,554
|
1,569,999
|
930,393
|
|||||||
Total
operating expenses
|
26,687,475
|
19,910,850
|
20,944,279
|
|||||||
Operating
income
|
2,124,450
|
1,313,389
|
11,465,946
|
|||||||
Other
income (expense):
|
||||||||||
Interest
expense and other financing costs
|
-
|
(8,610
|
)
|
(19,123
|
)
|
|||||
Interest
income
|
224,176
|
242,965
|
327,145
|
|||||||
Loss
on attorneys general settlement
|
(3,525,000
|
)
|
-
|
-
|
||||||
Other
income (expense)
|
(186,325
|
)
|
(550,409
|
)
|
788,175
|
|||||
Total
other income (expense)
|
(3,487,149
|
)
|
(316,054
|
)
|
1,096,197
|
|||||
Income
(loss) before income taxes and cumulative effect of accounting
change
|
(1,362,699
|
)
|
997,335
|
12,562,143
|
||||||
Income
tax benefit (provision)
|
311,779
|
(372,037
|
)
|
(4,377,213
|
)
|
|||||
Cumulative
effect of accounting change (net of income taxes of $53,764 in
2005)
|
-
|
99,848
|
-
|
|||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
$
|
(1,050,920
|
)
|
$
|
725,146
|
$
|
8,184,930
|
|||
Net
income (loss) per common share:
|
||||||||||
Basic:
|
||||||||||
Income
(loss) applicable to common stock before cumulative effect of accounting
change
|
$
|
(0.02
|
)
|
$
|
0.01
|
$
|
0.17
|
|||
Cumulative
effect of accounting change
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
0.00
|
$
|
-
|
||||
Net
income applicable to common stock
|
$
|
(0.02
|
)
|
$
|
0.02
|
$
|
0.17
|
|||
Diluted:
|
||||||||||
Income
(loss) applicable to common stock before cumulative effect of accounting
change
|
$
|
(0.02
|
)
|
$
|
0.01
|
$
|
0.17
|
|||
Cumulative
effect of accounting change
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
0.00
|
$
|
-
|
||||
Net
income (loss) applicable to common stock
|
$
|
(0.02
|
)
|
$
|
0.02
|
$
|
0.17
|
|||
Weighted
average common shares outstanding:
|
||||||||||
Basic
|
44,958,683
|
46,390,356
|
47,375,927
|
|||||||
Diluted
|
44,958,683
|
46,659,918
|
48,075,699
|
Certain
amounts may not total due to rounding of individual components.
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENT OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Common
Stock
|
Preferred
Stock
|
Treasury
|
Paid-In
|
Deferred
|
Retained
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares
|
Amount
|
Shares
|
Amount
|
Stock
|
Capital
|
Compensation
|
Earnings
|
Total
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
September 30, 2003
|
49,348,287
|
$
|
49,349
|
131,840
|
$
|
11,206
|
$
|
(216,422
|
)
|
$
|
9,359,865
|
$
|
(3,840,843
|
)
|
$
|
10,346,160
|
$
|
15,709,315
|
||||||||||
Common
stock issued for services
|
1,010,000
|
1,010
|
1,540,430
|
(1,541,440
|
)
|
-
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Series
E preferred stock dividends
|
(1,957
|
)
|
(1,957
|
)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Common
stock issued in restricted stock plan
|
515,000
|
515
|
1,520,636
|
(1,521,151
|
)
|
-
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Amortization
of deferred stock compensation
|
1,160,620
|
1,160,620
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net
income
|
8,184,930
|
8,184,930
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preferred
shares converted to common
|
3,500
|
3
|
(3,500
|
)
|
(297
|
)
|
1,869
|
1,575
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Common
stock dividends
|
(1,427,640
|
)
|
(1,427,640
|
)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Treasury
stock retired
|
216,422
|
(216,422
|
)
|
-
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Canceled
stock
|
(18,000
|
)
|
(18
|
)
|
(54,432
|
)
|
(54,450
|
)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
September 30, 2004
|
50,858,787
|
$
|
50,859
|
128,340
|
$
|
10,909
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
12,151,946
|
$
|
(5,742,814
|
)
|
$
|
17,101,493
|
$
|
23,572,393
|
|||||||||||
Common
stock issued for services
|
100,000
|
100
|
119,400
|
119,500
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Treasury
stock received as partial settlement of amounts due from
affiliates
|
(1,889,566
|
)
|
(1,889
|
)
|
(1,606,131
|
)
|
1,889
|
(1,606,131
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Treasury
stock acquited as part of stock repurchase program
|
(601,250
|
)
|
(601
|
)
|
(565,609
|
)
|
601
|
(565,609
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Series
E preferred stock dividends
|
(1,439
|
)
|
(1,439
|
)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Conversion
of Series E preferred stock
|
500
|
(500
|
)
|
(43
|
)
|
267
|
224
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Common
stock issued in restricted stock plan
|
885,723
|
886
|
529,490
|
(530,376
|
)
|
-
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Amortization
of deferred stock compensation
|
1,419,557
|
1,419,557
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net
income
|
725,146
|
725,146
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Common
stock dividends
|
(1,444,763
|
)
|
(1,444,763
|
)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cumulative
effect of accounting change
|
(1,166,426
|
)
|
1,012,814
|
(153,612
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Effect
of change in estimated forteiture rate for restricted stock
plan
|
(593,284
|
)
|
593,284
|
-
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Canceled
stock
|
(516,500
|
)
|
(517
|
)
|
517
|
(0
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
September 30, 2005
|
48,837,694
|
$
|
48,838
|
127,840
|
$
|
10,866
|
$
|
(2,171,740
|
)
|
$
|
11,044,400
|
$
|
(3,247,535
|
)
|
$
|
16,380,437
|
$
|
22,065,266
|
||||||||||
Treasury
stock acquired as part of stock repurchase program
|
(252,600
|
)
|
(253
|
)
|
(134,418
|
)
|
253
|
(134,418
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Treasury
stock acquired in connection with URL purchase
|
(100,000
|
)
|
(100
|
)
|
(101,000
|
)
|
100
|
(101,000
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Series E preferred stock dividends | (1,918 | ) | (1,918 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Common
stock issued in restricted stock plan
|
2,396,500
|
2,397
|
1,288,021
|
(1,290,418
|
)
|
-
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Amortization
of deferred stock compensation
|
1,599,363
|
1,599,363
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net
income
|
(1,050,920
|
)
|
(1,050,920
|
)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Effect
of change in estimated forfeiture rate for restricted stock
plan
|
-
|
(84,468
|
)
|
84,468
|
-
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Canceled
stock
|
(860,000
|
)
|
(860
|
)
|
860
|
-
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
September 30, 2006
|
50,021,594
|
$
|
50,022
|
127,840
|
$
|
10,866
|
$
|
(2,407,158
|
)
|
$
|
12,249,166
|
$
|
(2,854,122
|
)
|
$
|
15,327,599
|
$
|
22,376,373
|
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
Year
ended September 30,
|
||||||||||
2006
|
2005
|
2004
|
||||||||
CASH
FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
|
||||||||||
Net
income
|
$
|
(1,050,920
|
)
|
$
|
725,146
|
$
|
8,184,930
|
|||
Adjustments
to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in) operating
activities:
|
||||||||||
Depreciation
and amortization
|
1,434,554
|
1,569,999
|
930,392
|
|||||||
Amortization
of deferred stock compensation
|
1,599,363
|
1,419,557
|
1,160,620
|
|||||||
Issuance
of common stock as compensation for services
|
-
|
119,500
|
-
|
|||||||
Non-cash
interest income on advances to affiliates
|
-
|
(110,019
|
)
|
-
|
||||||
Non-cash
loss on transaction with affiliates
|
-
|
281,884
|
-
|
|||||||
Cumulative
effect of accounting change
|
-
|
(99,848
|
)
|
-
|
||||||
Non-cash
income recognized on return of common stock related to legal settlements
|
-
|
-
|
(54,450
|
)
|
||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
(1,484,554
|
)
|
(507,259
|
)
|
1,673,829
|
|||||
(Gain)
loss on disposal of equipment
|
(3,221
|
)
|
-
|
3,992
|
||||||
Provision
for uncollectible accounts
|
348,789
|
442,775
|
285,070
|
|||||||
Changes
in assets and liabilities:
|
||||||||||
Restricted
cash
|
500,000
|
(500,000
|
)
|
-
|
||||||
Accounts
receivable
|
(2,018,917
|
)
|
3,783,010
|
(2,270,558
|
)
|
|||||
Prepaid
and other current assets
|
343,034
|
(1,365,853
|
)
|
(668,643
|
)
|
|||||
Deposits
and other assets
|
(29,331
|
)
|
177,031
|
(90,750
|
)
|
|||||
Accounts
payable
|
118,126
|
(554,838
|
)
|
781,941
|
||||||
Accrued
liabilities
|
2,510,253
|
260,786
|
(870,764
|
)
|
||||||
Income
taxes payable
|
(152,807
|
)
|
1,348,290
|
(3,928,748
|
)
|
|||||
Advances
to affiliates
|
-
|
-
|
(318,658
|
)
|
||||||
Net
cash provided by operating activities
|
2,420,083
|
6,990,161
|
4,818,203
|
|||||||
CASH
FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
|
||||||||||
Advances
made to affiliates and related parties
|
-
|
-
|
(3,050,000
|
)
|
||||||
Repayments
of advances made to affiliates and related parties
|
-
|
-
|
1,600,000
|
|||||||
Investments
in certificates of deposit and other investments
|
(261,281
|
) |
(2,004,987
|
) | - | |||||
Expenditures
for intangible assets
|
(801,416
|
)
|
(391,077
|
)
|
(391,442
|
)
|
||||
Proceeds
from sale of equipment
|
-
|
-
|
34,320
|
|||||||
Purchases
of equipment
|
(25,719
|
)
|
(44,728
|
)
|
(385,378
|
)
|
||||
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
(1,088,416
|
)
|
(2,440,792
|
)
|
(2,192,500
|
)
|
||||
CASH
FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
|
||||||||||
Series
E preferred stock dividends
|
-
|
(1,439
|
)
|
(1,957
|
)
|
|||||
Common
stock dividends
|
-
|
(1,444,763
|
)
|
(1,427,640
|
)
|
|||||
Proceeds
from conversion of preferred stock
|
-
|
224
|
1,575
|
|||||||
Purchase
of treasury stock
|
(235,418
|
)
|
(565,609
|
)
|
-
|
|||||
Net
cash used in financing activities
|
(235,418
|
)
|
(2,011,587
|
)
|
(1,428,022
|
)
|
||||
INCREASE
IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
|
1,096,249
|
2,537,782
|
1,197,681
|
|||||||
CASH
AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, beginning of year
|
6,114,311
|
3,576,529
|
2,378,848
|
|||||||
CASH
AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, end of year
|
$
|
7,210,560
|
$
|
6,114,311
|
$
|
3,576,529
|
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1. |
ORGANIZATION
AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION
|
YP
Corp.
(the “Company”), formally YP.Net, Inc. and RIGL Corporation, had previously
attempted to develop software solutions for medical practice billing and
administration. The Company had made acquisitions of companies performing
medical practice billing services as test sites for its software and as business
opportunities. The Company was not successful in implementing its medical
practice billing and administration software products and looked to other
business opportunities. The Company acquired Telco Billing, Inc. in June 1999,
through the issuance of 17,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. Prior
to its acquisition of Telco, the Company had not generated significant or
sufficient revenue from planned operations.
Telco
was
formed in April 1998, to provide advertising and directory listings for
businesses on its Internet website in a “Yellow Pages” format. Telco provides
those services to its subscribers for a monthly fee. These services are provided
primarily to businesses throughout the United States. Telco became a wholly
owned subsidiary of YP Corp. after the June 1999 acquisition.
At
the
time that the transaction was agreed to, the Company had 12,567,770 common
shares issued and outstanding. As a result of the merger transaction with Telco,
there were 29,567,770 common shares outstanding, and the former Telco
stockholders held approximately 57% of the Company’s voting stock. For financial
accounting purposes, the acquisition was a reverse acquisition of the Company
by
Telco, under the purchase method of accounting, and was treated as a
recapitalization with Telco as the acquirer. Consistent with reverse acquisition
accounting, (i) all of Telco’s assets, liabilities, and accumulated deficit were
reflected at their combined historical cost (as the accounting acquirer) and
(ii) the preexisting outstanding shares of the Company (the accounting acquiree)
were reflected at their net asset value as if issued on June 16, 1999.
The
accompanying financial statements represent the consolidated financial position
and results of operations of the Company and include the accounts and results
of
operations of the Company, Telco and Telco of Canada, Inc, the Company’s wholly
owned subsidiaries, for the years ended September 30, 2006, 2005, and 2004.
All
amounts, except share and per share amounts, are rounded to the nearest thousand
dollars.
2. |
SUMMARY
OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
|
Cash
and Cash Equivalents:
This
includes all short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible
to known amounts of cash and have original maturities of three months or less.
At times, cash deposits may exceed government insured limits. At September
30,
2006 and 2005, cash deposits exceeded those insured limits by $6,699,000 and
$5,883,000, respectively.
Principles
of Consolidation:
The
consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its
wholly owned subsidiaries, Telco Billing, Inc and Telco of Canada, Inc. All
significant intercompany accounts and transactions are eliminated.
Customer
Acquisition Costs. In
the
fourth quarter of fiscal 2006, the Company enacted a change in accounting
principle to expense customer acquisition costs when incurred. Prior periods
have been restated to reflect the retroactive application of this change. See
Note 3.
Property
and Equipment:
Property
and equipment is stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation
is
recorded on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets
ranging from 3 to 5 years. Depreciation expense was $247,000, $374,000, and
$352,000 for the years ended September 30, 2006, 2005, and 2004,
respectively.
Revenue
Recognition:
The
Company’s revenue is generated by customer subscriptions of directory and
advertising services. Revenue is billed and recognized monthly for services
subscribed in that specific month. The Company utilizes outside billing
companies to perform billing services through two primary channels:
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
·
|
direct
ACH withdrawals; and
|
·
|
inclusion
on the customer’s local telephone bill provided by their Local Exchange
Carriers, or LECs.
|
For
billings via ACH withdrawals, revenue is recognized when such billings are
accepted. For billings via LECs, the Company recognizes revenue based on net
billings accepted by the LECs. Due to the periods of time for which adjustments
may be reported by the LECs and the billing companies, the Company estimates
and
accrues for dilution and fees reported subsequent to year-end for initial
billings related to services provided for periods within the fiscal year. Such
dilution and fees are reported in cost of services in the accompanying
Consolidated Statement of Operations. Customer refunds are recorded as an offset
to gross revenue.
Revenue
for billings to certain customers that are billed directly by the Company and
not through the outside billing companies is recognized based on estimated
future collections. The Company continuously reviews this estimate for
reasonableness based on its collection experience.
Income
Taxes:
The
Company provides for income taxes based on the provisions of SFAS No.
109,
Accounting for Income Taxes, which,
among other things, requires that recognition of deferred income taxes be
measured by the provisions of enacted tax laws in effect at the date of
financial statements.
Net
(Loss) / Income Per Share:
Net
income per share is calculated using the weighted average number of shares
of
common stock outstanding during the year. The Company has adopted the provisions
of SFAS No. 128, Earnings
Per Share.
Financial
Instruments:
Financial instruments consist primarily of cash, accounts receivable, advances
to affiliates and obligations under accounts payable, accrued expenses and
notes
payable. The carrying amounts of cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable,
accrued expenses and notes payable approximate fair value because of the short
maturity of those instruments. The carrying amount of the advances to affiliates
approximates fair value because the Company charges what it believes are market
rate interest rates for comparable credit risk instruments. The Company has
applied certain assumptions in estimating these fair values. The use of
different assumptions or methodologies may have a material effect on the
estimates of fair values.
Use
of
Estimates:
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted
accounting principles 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.
Significant
estimates made in connection with the accompanying financial statements include
the estimate of dilution and fees associated with LEC billings, the estimated
reserve for doubtful accounts receivable, estimated customer retention period
used for the amortization of customer acquisition costs, estimated forfeiture
rates for stock-based compensation, and estimated useful lives for intangible
assets and property and equipment.
Stock-Based
Compensation:
The
Company from time-to-time grants restricted stock awards to employees and
executives. Such awards are recorded as an increase to common stock and paid
in
capital on the grant date with an offsetting amount of deferred compensation
in
stockholders’ equity. This deferred compensation cost is amortized on a
straight-line basis over the vesting period.
The
Company accounts for stock awards issued to non-employees in accordance with
the
provisions of SFAS 123 and Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) Issue No. 96-18
Accounting
for Equity Instruments that are Issued to Other Than Employees for Acquiring,
or
in Conjunction with Selling Goods or Services.
Under
SFAS 123 and EITF 96-18, stock awards to non-employees are accounted for at
fair
value at their respective measurement date.
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Impairment
of Long-lived Assets:
The
Company assesses long-lived assets for impairment in accordance with the
provisions of SFAS 144, Accounting
for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets. SFAS
144
requires that the Company assess the value of a long-lived asset whenever there
is an indication that its carrying amount may not be recoverable. The carrying
amount of a long lived asset is not recoverable if it exceeds the sum of the
undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition
of the asset. The amount of impairment loss, if any, is measured as the
difference between the net book value of the asset and its estimated fair value.
For purposes of these tests, long-lived assets must be grouped with other assets
and liabilities for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of
the
cash flows of other assets and liabilities. No long-lived assets were impaired
during the years ended September 30, 2006, 2005, and 2004.
Recently
Issued Accounting Pronouncements:
In
December 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued SFAS No.
123R, “Share-Based Payment” (“SFAS 123R”). Under this new standard, companies
will no longer be able to account for share-based compensation transactions
using the intrinsic method in accordance with APB 25. Instead, companies will
be
required to account for such transactions using a fair-value method and to
recognize the expense over the service period. This new standard also changes
the way in which companies account for forfeitures of share-based compensation
instruments. SFAS 123R became effective for fiscal years beginning after June
15, 2005 and allowed for several alternative transition methods. In light of
this new standard, the Company decided
to change its method of accounting for forfeitures of restricted
stock,
under
current GAAP rules
effective October 1, 2004.
See Note
3. The Company adopted the provisions of SFAS 123R in the
first
quarter
of
fiscal 2006
on a
prospective basis and does not have a material effect on its financial condition
or results of operations.
In
September of 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157 “Fair Value Measurements”
(SFAS No. 157). SFAS No. 157 establishes a framework for measuring
fair value under generally accepted accounting procedures and expands
disclosures on fair value measurements. This statement applies under previously
established valuation pronouncements and does not require the changing of any
fair value measurements, though it may cause some valuation procedures to
change. Under SFAS No. 157, fair value is established by the price that
would be received to sell the item or the amount to be paid to transfer the
liability of the asset as opposed to the price to be paid for the asset or
received to transfer the liability. Further, it defines fair value as a market
specific valuation as opposed to an entity specific valuation, though the
statement does recognize that there may be instances when the low amount of
market activity for a particular item or liability may challenge an entity’s
ability to establish a market amount. In the instances that the item is
restricted, this pronouncement states that the owner of the asset or liability
should take into consideration what affects the restriction would have if viewed
from the perspective of the buyer or assumer of the liability. This statement
is
effective for all assets valued in financial statements for fiscal years
beginning after November 15, 2007. The Company is currently evaluating the
impact of SFAS No. 157 to its financial position and result of operations.
In
September of 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission released Staff
Accounting Bulletin No. 108 “Considering the effects of Prior Year
Misstatements when Quantifying Misstatements in Current Year Financial
Statements” (SAB 108). SAB 108 provides guidance on the consideration of the
effects of prior year misstatements in quantifying current year misstatements
for the purpose of a materiality assessment.
SAB
108
suggests that a registrant’s materiality evaluation of an identified unadjusted
error should quantify the effects of the identified unadjusted error on each
financial statement and related financial statement disclosure. SAB 108 was
issued on September 13, 2006. The Company’s adoption of SAB No. 108 is
not expected to impact its financial position and results of operations.
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
3.
|
ACCOUNTING
CHANGES
|
Change
in Accounting Principle Subsequent to Adoption of FAS 154 - Accounting for
Customer Acquisition Costs
Historically,
the Company has capitalized customer acquisition costs consisting of mailing
lists and check mailers and amortized them on a straight-line basis over the
average expected life of the related customers based on historical IAP
advertiser attrition rates and other factors.
Prior
to
fiscal 2006, the majority of the capitalized customer acquisition costs related
to the Company’s mailing campaigns for which the Company amortized the costs
based on historical IAP advertiser attrition rates attributable to its entire
customer base. During fiscal 2006, the Company began increasing its expenditures
for telemarketing campaigns. The capitalization of such costs requires that
the
Company amortize them over the average expected life of acquired customers,
as
determined on a cost-pool by cost-pool basis. The Company’s systems do not allow
us to efficiently and accurately monitor customer lives by method of
acquisition. Therefore, the Company is unable to determine the average expected
life of those customers acquired via telemarketing versus those acquired via
mailing campaigns and cannot assess the value of the future benefits. As it
cannot effectively evaluate such costs on a cost-pool by cost-pool basis, the
Company determined in fiscal 2006 that the more preferable method of accounting
for these costs is to expense them when incurred. The Company enacted this
change in accounting principle during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 and,
in
accordance with FAS 154, it has restated all periods presented to reflect this
new method of accounting for such costs.
The
following tables set forth the impact of such a change on the Company’s
financial statements:
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Income
Statement
|
Year
Ended September 30, 2006
|
|||||||||
As
computed prior
to
change
|
As
reported after
change
|
Effect
of change
|
||||||||
Sales
and marketing expense
|
$
|
8,959,000
|
$
|
11,452,000
|
$
|
2,493,000
|
||||
Income
tax expense (benefit)
|
$
|
620,000
|
$
|
(312,000
|
)
|
$
|
(932,000
|
)
|
||
Net
income (loss)
|
$
|
511,000
|
$
|
(1,051,000
|
)
|
$
|
(1,562,000
|
)
|
||
Net income (loss) per common share: |
|
|||||||||
Basic
|
$ | 0.01 | $ | (0.02 | ) | $ | (0.03 | ) | ||
Diluted
|
$ | 0.01 | $ | (0.02 | ) | $ | (0.03 | ) |
Year
Ended September 30, 2005
|
||||||||||
As
Originally
Reported
|
As
Adjusted
|
Effect
of change
|
||||||||
Sales
and marketing expense
|
$
|
7,455,000
|
$
|
5,310,000
|
$
|
(2,145,000
|
)
|
|||
Income
tax expense (benefit)
|
$
|
(429,000
|
)
|
$
|
372,000
|
$
|
801,000
|
|||
Net
income (loss)
|
$
|
(618,000
|
)
|
$
|
725,000
|
$
|
1,343,000
|
|||
Net income (loss) per common share: | ||||||||||
Basic
|
$ | (0.01 | ) | $ | 0.02 | $ | 0.03 | |||
Diluted
|
$ | (0.01 | ) | $ | 0.02 | $ | 0.03 |
Year
Ended September 30, 2004
|
||||||||||
As
Originally
Reported
|
As
Adjusted
|
Effect
of change
|
||||||||
Sales
and marketing expense
|
$
|
6,089,000
|
$
|
7,328,000
|
$
|
1,239,000
|
||||
Income
tax expense (benefit)
|
$
|
4,840,000
|
$
|
4,377,000
|
$
|
(463,000
|
)
|
|||
Net
income (loss)
|
$
|
8,961,000
|
$
|
8,185,000
|
$
|
(776,000
|
)
|
|||
Net income (loss) per share: | ||||||||||
Basic
|
$ | 0.19 | $ | 0.17 | $ | 0.02 | ||||
Diluted
|
$ | 0.19 | $ | 0.17 | $ | 0.02 |
Balance
Sheet
|
September
30, 2006
|
|||||||||
As
computed prior
to
change
|
As
reported after
change
|
Effect
of change
|
||||||||
Customer
acquisition costs, net
|
$
|
4,831,000
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
(4,831,000
|
)
|
|||
Deferred
tax asset (liability), long term
|
$
|
(470,000
|
)
|
$
|
1,335,000
|
$
|
1,805,000
|
|||
Retained
earnings
|
$
|
18,354,000
|
$
|
15,328,000
|
$
|
(3,026,000
|
)
|
|||
Total
stockholders' equity
|
$
|
25,402,000
|
$
|
22,376,000
|
$
|
(3,026,000
|
)
|
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
September
30, 2005
|
||||||||||
As
Originally
Reported
|
As
Adjusted
|
Effect
of change
|
||||||||
Customer
acquisition costs, net
|
$
|
2,338,000
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
(2,338,000
|
)
|
|||
Deferred
tax asset (liability), long term
|
$
|
377,000
|
$
|
1,250,000
|
$
|
873,000
|
||||
Retained
earnings
|
$
|
17,845,000
|
$
|
16,380,000
|
$
|
(1,464,000
|
)
|
|||
Total
stockholders' equity
|
$
|
23,530,000
|
$
|
22,065,000
|
$
|
(1,464,000
|
)
|
|||
|
$ | - |
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
Statement
of Cash Flows
|
Year
Ended September 30, 2006
|
|||||||||
As
computed prior
to
change
|
As
reported after
change
|
Effect
of change
|
||||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
$
|
511,000
|
$
|
(1,051,000
|
)
|
$
|
(1,562,000
|
)
|
||
Adjustments
to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in) operating
activities:
|
||||||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
$
|
(86,000
|
)
|
$
|
(1,018,000
|
)
|
$
|
(932,000
|
)
|
|
Changes
in assets and liabilities:
|
||||||||||
Customer
acquisition costs
|
$
|
(2,493,000
|
)
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
2,493,000
|
|||
Net
cash provided by operating activities
|
$
|
2,420,000
|
$
|
2,420,000
|
$
|
-
|
Year
Ended September 30, 2005
|
||||||||||
As
Originally
Reported
|
As
Adjusted
|
Effect
of change
|
||||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
$
|
(618,000
|
)
|
$
|
725,000
|
$
|
1,343,000
|
|||
Adjustments
to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in) operating
activities
|
||||||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
$
|
(1,308,000
|
)
|
$
|
(507,000
|
)
|
$
|
801,000
|
||
Changes
in assets and liabilities:
|
||||||||||
Customer
acquisition costs
|
$
|
2,145,000
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
(2,145,000
|
)
|
|||
Net
cash provided by operating activities
|
$
|
6,990,000
|
$
|
6,990,000
|
$
|
-
|
Year
Ended September 30, 2004
|
||||||||||
As
Originally
Reported
|
As
Adjusted
|
Effect
of change
|
||||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
$
|
8,961,000
|
$
|
8,185,000
|
$
|
(776,000
|
)
|
|||
Adjustments
to reconcile net income to net cash provided by (used in) operating
activities:
|
||||||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
$
|
2,137,000
|
$
|
1,674,000
|
$
|
(463,000
|
)
|
|||
Changes
in assets and liabilities:
|
||||||||||
Customer
acquisition costs
|
$
|
(1,239,000
|
)
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
1,239,000
|
|||
Net
cash provided by operating activities
|
$
|
4,818,000
|
$
|
4,818,000
|
$
|
-
|
Change
in Accounting Principle Prior to Adoption of FAS 154 - Accounting for
Forfeitures of Restricted Stock
Effective
October 1, 2004, the Company changed its method of accounting for forfeitures
of
restricted stock granted to employees, executives and consultants. Prior to
this
date, the Company recognized forfeitures as they occurred. Upon occurrence,
the
Company reversed the previously recognized expense associated with such grant.
Effective October 1, 2004, the Company changed to an expense recognition method
that is based on an estimate of the number of shares for which the service
is
expected to be rendered. The Company believes that this is a preferable method
as it provides less volatility in expense recognition.
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The
impact of this change for periods prior to October 1, 2004 was an increase
to
income of $100,000 (less than $0.01 per share), net of taxes of $54,000, and
has
been reflected as a cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle in
the
Company’s consolidated statement of operations for the year ended September 30,
2005. Because stock grants are now recorded net of estimated forfeitures, the
cumulative effect of this change also reduced Additional Paid in Capital and
Deferred Compensation by $1,013,000 and $1,166,000, respectively, at October
1,
2004. The effect of the change was to increase net income by $108,000 (net
of
income taxes of $64,000) for the year ended September 30, 2005.
The
estimated pro forma effects of the accounting change on the Company’s results of
operations for the year ended September 30, 2004 is as follows:
Year
Ended September 30, 2004
|
||||
As
reported:
|
||||
Net
income
|
$
|
8,185,000
|
||
Basic
net income per share
|
$
|
0.17
|
||
Diluted
net income per share
|
$
|
0.17
|
||
Pro
forma amounts reflecting the accounting change applied
retroactively:
|
||||
Net
income
|
$
|
8,301,000
|
||
Basic
net income per share
|
$
|
0.18
|
||
Diluted
net income per share
|
$
|
0.17
|
||
Weighted
average common shares outstanding:
|
||||
Basic
|
47,375,927
|
|||
Diluted
|
48,075,699
|
4.
|
BALANCE
SHEET INFORMATION
|
Balance
sheet information is as follows:
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
September
30,
|
|||||||
2006
|
2005
|
||||||
Receivables,
current, net
|
|||||||
Accounts
receivable, current
|
$
|
11,027,000
|
$
|
6,451,000
|
|||
Less:
Allowance for doubtful accounts
|
(4,285,000
|
)
|
(1,112,000
|
)
|
|||
$
|
6,742,000
|
$
|
5,339,000
|
||||
Receivables,
long term, net
|
|||||||
Accounts
receivable, long term
|
$
|
1,374,000
|
$
|
982,000
|
|||
Less:
Allowance for doubtful accounts
|
(234,000
|
)
|
(109,000
|
)
|
|||
$
|
1,140,000
|
$
|
873,000
|
||||
Total
receivables, net
|
|||||||
Gross
receivables
|
$
|
12,401,000
|
$
|
7,433,000
|
|||
Gross
allowance for doubtful accounts
|
(4,519,000
|
)
|
(1,221,000
|
)
|
|||
$
|
7,882,000
|
$
|
6,212,000
|
||||
Components
of allowance for doubtful accounts are as follows:
|
|||||||
Allowance
for dilution and fees on amounts due from billing
aggregators
|
$
|
2,288,000
|
$
|
923,000
|
|||
Allowance
for customer refunds
|
2,231,000
|
298,000
|
|||||
$
|
4,519,000
|
$
|
1,221,000
|
||||
Property
and equipment, net
|
|||||||
Leasehold
improvements
|
$
|
448,000
|
$
|
439,000
|
|||
Furnishings
and fixtures
|
296,000
|
295,000
|
|||||
Office,
computer equipment and other
|
1,055,000
|
1,040,000
|
|||||
1,799,000
|
1,774,000
|
||||||
Less:
Accumulated depreciation
|
(1,620,000
|
)
|
(1,377,000
|
)
|
|||
$
|
179,000
|
$
|
397,000
|
||||
Intangible
assets, net
|
|||||||
Domain
name
|
$
|
5,709,000
|
$
|
5,510,000
|
|||
Non-compete
agreement
|
3,465,000
|
3,465,000
|
|||||
Website
development
|
1,009,000
|
781,000
|
|||||
Software
licenses
|
428,000
|
53,000
|
|||||
10,611,000
|
9,809,000
|
||||||
Less:
Accumulated amortization of intangible
|
(4,888,000
|
)
|
(3,700,000
|
)
|
|||
$
|
5,723,000
|
$
|
6,109,000
|
||||
Accrued
liabilities
|
|||||||
Litigation
accrual
|
$
|
2,958,000
|
$
|
382,000
|
|||
Deferred
revenue
|
188,000
|
291,000
|
|||||
Accrued
expenses - other
|
169,000
|
130,000
|
|||||
$
|
3,315,000
|
$
|
803,000
|
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
5.
|
ACCOUNTS
RECEIVABLE
|
The
Company provides billing information to third party billing companies for the
majority of its monthly billings. Two billing channels account for the majority
of the Company’s accounts receivable. Billings submitted are “filtered” by these
billing companies and the LECs. Net accepted billings are recognized as revenue
and accounts receivable. The billing companies remit payments to the Company
on
the basis of cash ultimately received from the LECs by those billing companies.
The billing companies and LECs charge fees for their services, which are netted
against the gross accounts receivable balance. The billing companies also apply
holdbacks to the remittances for potentially uncollectible accounts. These
amounts will vary due to numerous factors and the Company may not be certain
as
to the actual amounts on any specific billing submittal until several months
after that submittal. The Company estimates the amount of these charges and
holdbacks based on historical experience and subsequent information received
from the billing companies. The Company also estimates uncollectible account
balances and provides an allowance for such estimates. The billing companies
retain certain holdbacks that may not be collected by the Company for a period
extending beyond one year. These balances have been classified as long-term
assets in the accompanying balance sheet.
The
Company experiences significant dilution of its gross billings by the billing
companies. The Company negotiates collections with the billing companies on
the
basis of the contracted terms and historical experience. The Company’s cash flow
may be affected by holdbacks, fees, and other matters, which are determined
by
the LECs and the billing companies.
The
handling and processing of cash receipts pertaining to trade accounts receivable
is maintained primarily by three third-party billing companies. The gross
receivable due from such billing services providers represented 27%, 27% and
27%, respectively, of the Company’s total gross accounts receivable at September
30, 2006.
Subscription
receivables that are directly billed by the Company are valued and reported
at
the estimated future collection amount. Determining the expected collections
requires an estimation of both uncollectible accounts and refunds. The net
direct-billed subscriptions receivable at September 30, 2006 and 2005,
respectively, were $260,000 and $372,000.
Certain
receivables have been classified as long-term because issues arise whereby
the
billing companies change holdback terms and collection experience is such that
collection can extend beyond one year. The breakdown of current and long-term
receivables and their respective allowances is in Note 4 above.
6.
|
INTANGIBLE
ASSETS
|
The
Company’s intangible assets consist of licenses for the use of Internet domain
names or Universal Resource Locators, or URLs, capitalized website development
costs, and other information technology licenses. All such licenses are
capitalized at their original cost and amortized over their estimated useful
lives.
In
connection with the Company’s acquisition of Telco, the Company was required to
provide an accelerated payment of license fees for the use of the URL
Yellow-page.net. The URL is recorded at its cost of $5,000,000, net of
accumulated amortization. The URL is amortized on an accelerated basis over
the
twenty-year term of the licensing agreement. Amortization expense on the URL
was
$238,000, $285,000, and $317,000 for the years ended September 30, 2006, 2005,
and 2004, respectively.
In
July
2003, the Company entered into a licensing agreement with a vendor to license
the use of the URL www.yp.com
in
exchange for cash and restricted shares of the Company’s common stock. Under the
terms of this agreement, the licensor had the option of transferring the rights
to the URL and the restricted shares to the Company in exchange for $300,000.
In
July 2006, the licensor exercised this option, and transferred ownership of
the
URL and the restricted shares to the Company. As this option was deemed to
be a
purchase commitment, no liability was reflected in the Company’s financial
statements prior to the exercise of the option. The Company capitalized the
URL
at its net acquisition price, computed as the $300,000 cash payment less the
fair market value of the shares acquired (determined based on the stock price
on
the date of reacquisition) and will amortize this asset on a straight-line
basis
over its estimated useful life.
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The
following summarizes the estimated future amortization expense related to
intangible assets:
Years
ended September 30,
|
||||
2007
|
$
|
1,266,000
|
||
2008
|
|
1,185,000
|
||
2009
|
|
1,063,000
|
||
2010
|
590,000
|
|||
2011
|
186,000
|
|||
Thereafter
|
1,433,000
|
|||
Total
|
$
|
5,723,000
|
7.
|
STOCKHOLDERS’
EQUITY
|
Common
Stock Issued for Services
The
Company historically has granted shares of its common stock to officers,
directors and consultants as payment for services rendered. The value of those
shares was determined based on the trading value of the stock at the dates
on
which the agreements were made for the services. During the year ended September
30, 2006, there were no shares granted to officers directors and consultants
other than grants of restricted stock as described in Note 13. During the year
ended September 30, 2005, the Company issued 100,000 shares to a consulting
firm
valued at $119,500. During the year ended September 30, 2004, the Company issued
1,010,000 shares of common stock to officers and directors, or entities
controlled by those individuals, valued at $1,541,000.
Common
Shares Received and Retired Under Legal Settlements
During
the year ended September 30, 2004, the Company settled litigation with a former
officer which involved, among other things, the return of 18,000 shares of
the
Company’s common stock. This transaction resulted in a net gain of $54,000
included in other income in the accompanying consolidated statement of
operations. These shares were canceled when received.
Common
Stock Repurchased from Vendor
The
Company recorded these shares as treasury stock based on their fair market
value
at the date of acquisition.
Series
E Convertible Preferred Stock
During
the year ended September 30, 2002, pursuant to an existing tender offer, holders
of 131,840 shares of the Company’s common stock exchanged said shares for an
equal number of the Series E Convertible Preferred shares, at the then $0.085
market value of the common stock. The shares carry a $0.30 per share liquidation
preference and accrue dividends at the rate of 5% per annum on the liquidation
preference per share, payable quarterly from legally available funds. If such
funds are not available, dividends shall continue to accumulate until they
can
be paid from legally available funds. Holders of the preferred shares are
entitled, after two years from issuance, to convert them into common shares
on a
one-to-one basis together with payment of $0.45 per converted share.
Treasury
Stock
The
Company’s treasury stock consists of shares repurchased on the open market or
shares received through various agreements with third parties. The value of
such
shares is determined based on cash paid or quoted market prices. During fiscal
2004, all then-outstanding treasury shares, valued at $216,000 were retired.
On
April 1, 2005, the Company acquired 1,889,566 shares valued at $1,606,000 as
partial settlement of amounts due from affiliates as described in Note 11.
On
May 18, 2005, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a plan to repurchase
up to $3,000,000 of common stock from time to time on the open market or in
privately negotiated transactions. In fiscal 2006 the Company acquired 252,600
shares for $134,000 and in fiscal 2005, the Company acquired 601,250 shares
for
$566,000 under this plan. In July 2006, the Company acquired 100,000 shares
valued at $101,000 in connection with an option agreement as described in Note
6.
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Dividends
During
the years ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, the Company paid dividends of
$0
and $1,445,000, respectively, to holders of common stock, including restricted
stock, and $1,900 and $1,400, respectively, to holders of Series E preferred
stock. Dividends paid on unvested shares of common stock are charged to
compensation expense. The amount of dividends charged to compensation expense
in
fiscal 2006 and 2005 were $0 and $76,000, respectively.
8. |
NET
INCOME PER SHARE
|
Net
income per share is calculated using the weighted average number of shares
of
common stock outstanding during the year. Preferred stock dividends are
subtracted from net income to determine the amount available to common
stockholders.
The
following table presents the computation of basic and diluted loss per share
from continuing operations:
Year
Ended
September
30, 2006
|
Year
Ended
September
30, 2005
|
Year
Ended
September
30, 2004
|
||||||||
Income
(loss) before cumulative effect of accounting change
|
$
|
(1,051,000
|
)
|
$
|
625,000
|
$
|
8,185,000
|
|||
Less:
preferred stock dividends
|
(2,000
|
) |
(1,000
|
)
|
(2,000
|
)
|
||||
Income
(loss) applicable to common stock before cumulative effect of accounting
change
|
(1,053,000
|
)
|
624,000
|
8,183,000
|
||||||
Cumulative
effect of accounting change
|
-
|
100,000
|
-
|
|||||||
Net
income (loss) applicable to common stock
|
$
|
(1,053,000
|
)
|
$
|
724,000
|
$
|
8,183,000
|
|||
Basic
weighted average common shares outstanding:
|
44,958,683
|
46,390,356
|
47,375,927
|
|||||||
Add
incremental shares for:
|
||||||||||
Unvested
restricted stock
|
-
|
186,470
|
510,745
|
|||||||
Series
E convertible preferred stock
|
-
|
73,577
|
104,032
|
|||||||
Outstanding
warrants
|
-
|
9,515
|
84,995
|
|||||||
Diluted
weighted average common shares outstanding:
|
44,958,683
|
46,659,918
|
48,075,699
|
|||||||
Net
income (loss) per share:
|
||||||||||
Basic:
|
||||||||||
Income
(loss) applicable to common stock before cumulative effect of accounting
change
|
$
|
(0.02
|
)
|
$
|
0.01
|
$
|
0.17
|
|||
Cumulative
effect of accounting change
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
0.00
|
$
|
-
|
||||
Net
income (loss) applicable to common stock
|
$
|
(0.02
|
)
|
$
|
0.02
|
$
|
0.17
|
|||
Diluted:
|
||||||||||
Income
(loss) applicable to common stock before cumulative effect of accounting
change
|
$
|
(0.02
|
)
|
$
|
0.01
|
$
|
0.17
|
|||
Cumulative
effect of accounting change
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
0.00
|
$
|
-
|
||||
Net
income (loss) applicable to common stock
|
$
|
(0.02
|
)
|
$
|
0.02
|
$
|
0.17
|
Note:
Certain amounts may not total due to rounding of individual
components
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The
following potentially dilutive securities were excluded from the calculation
of
net income (loss) per share because the effects are antidilutive:
September
30,
|
||||||||||
2006
|
2005
|
2004
|
||||||||
Warrants
to purchase shares of common stock
|
-
|
437,500
|
-
|
|||||||
Series
E convertible preferred stock
|
127,840
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||
Shares
of non-vested restricted stock
|
3,718,575
|
1,614,035
|
-
|
|||||||
4,346,415
|
1,614,035
|
-
|
9.
|
COMMITMENTS
AND CONTINGENCIES
|
The
Company leases its office space and certain equipment under long-term operating
leases expiring through fiscal year 2008. Rent expense under these leases was
$341,000, $365,000, and $370,000 for the years ended September 30, 2006, 2005
and 2004, respectively.
At
September 30, 2006, future minimum annual lease payments under operating lease
agreements for fiscal years ended September 30 are as follows:
Fiscal
2007
|
$
|
296,000
|
||
Fiscal
2008
|
160,000
|
|||
Fiscal
2009
|
117,000
|
|||
Fiscal
2010
|
117,000
|
|||
Fiscal
2011
|
88,000
|
|||
Thereafter
|
-
|
|||
$
|
778,000
|
Termination
and Employment Agreements with Related Parties
See
Note
11.
Litigation
The
Company is party to certain legal proceedings incidental to the conduct of
its
business. Management believes that the outcome of pending legal proceedings
will
not, either individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect
on
its business, financial position, and results of operations, cash flows or
liquidity.
During
the second quarter of fiscal 2006, the Company settled outstanding
litigation with a former vendor, resulting in a cash payment of $490,000. As
$328,000 of the settlement was previously accrued, there was $162,000 of expense
incurred in the year ended September 30, 2006 associated with this settlement.
In connection with this payment, the Company is no longer required to
maintain our bond that was previously reflected as restricted cash in the
accompanying balance sheet included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
Accordingly, the bond has been released and this amount has been reclassified
from restricted cash to cash in the balance sheet as of September 30,
2006.
The
Company has received numerous inquiries from the Attorney General offices of
several states investigating its promotional activities, specifically, the
use
of its check mailer for customer activation. On December 14, 2006, the Company
voluntarily entered into a settlement with thirty-four states’ attorneys general
to address their inquiries and bring finality to the process. The Company has
voluntarily agreed to the following:
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
·
|
The
Company will pay a settlement fee of $2,000,000 to the state consortium,
which they may distribute among
themselves;
|
·
|
The
Company will discontinue the use of activation checks as a promotional
incentive;
|
·
|
The
Company will suspend billing of any active customer that was acquired
in
connection with the use of an activation check until a letter is
mailed
notifying the customer of their legal rights to cancel the service
and
providing them a 60-day opportunity to receive a refund equivalent
to the
customer’s last two payments; and
|
·
|
The
Company will not employ any collection efforts with respect to past-due
accounts of customers that were secured through the use of an activation
check, nor will it represent its ability to do
so.
|
The
Company has recorded a charge of $3,525,000 in other income and expense in
the
accompanying consolidated statement of operations for fiscal 2006, consisting
of
a settlement accrual of $2,000,000, a reserve for refunds to existing customers
covered by the 60 day opportunity mentioned above and other related costs
of $1,250,000 and legal fees of $275,000. Management has analyzed the number
of
customers eligible and applied probabilities to estimate additional $1,250,000
in refunds and costs. Customers have through February 2007 to apply these
refunds. Actual refunds may differ from these estimates.
Other
Contractual Commitments
During
the second quarter of fiscal 2006, the Company entered into a contractual
arrangement with an attorney to settle previous claims and to engage the future
services of this attorney. Under the terms of the arrangement, the Company
made
cash payments during the year totaling $145,000 and granted 100,000 shares
of
restricted stock. Under the terms of the agreement, the Company is obligated
to
make future payments over the next two years totaling $339,750 in exchange
for
future services. Future amounts payable under this agreement have not been
accrued in the accompanying financial statements as such payments are for future
services.
During
the third quarter of fiscal 2006, we entered into a contractual arrangement
with
a consulting firm to provide strategic and operational related consulting
services. Under the terms of the agreement, we are obligated to make future
payments through July 2009 that vary based on the Company’s billed customer
count subject to a minimum of $20,000 per month. Current payments are
approximately $100,000 per month. Future amounts payable under this agreement
have not been accrued in the accompanying financial statements as such payments
are for future services.
10.
|
PROVISION
FOR INCOME TAXES
|
Deferred
income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the
carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes
and
the amounts used for income tax purposes.
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Income
taxes for years ended September 30, is summarized as follows:
2006
|
2005
|
2004
|
||||||||
Current
provision
|
$
|
1,173,000
|
$
|
880,000
|
$
|
3,682,000
|
||||
Deferred
(benefit) provision
|
(1,485,000
|
)
|
(508,000
|
)
|
695,000
|
|||||
Net
income tax (benefit) provision
|
$
|
(312,000
|
)
|
$
|
372,000
|
$
|
4,377,000
|
A
reconciliation of the differences between the effective and statutory income
tax
rates for years ended September 30, is as follows:
2006
|
2005
|
2004
|
|||||||||||||||||
Amount
|
Percent
|
Amount
|
Percent
|
Amount
|
Percent
|
||||||||||||||
Federal
statutory rates
|
$
|
(463,000
|
)
|
34
|
%
|
$
|
339,000
|
34
|
%
|
$
|
4,271,000
|
34
|
%
|
||||||
State
income taxes
|
(46,000
|
)
|
3
|
%
|
34,000
|
3
|
%
|
301,000
|
2
|
%
|
|||||||||
Write
off of deferred tax asset related to vested restricted
stock
|
217,000
|
(16 | %) | ||||||||||||||||
Other
|
(20,000
|
)
|
1
|
%
|
(1,000
|
)
|
(0
|
)%
|
(195,000
|
)
|
(2
|
)%
|
|||||||
Effective
rate
|
$
|
(312,000
|
)
|
22
|
%
|
$
|
372,000
|
37
|
%
|
$
|
4,377,000
|
35
|
%
|
At
September 30, deferred income tax assets and liabilities were comprised
of:
2006
|
2005
|
||||||
Deferred
income tax assets:
|
|||||||
Book
to tax differences in accounts receivable
|
$
|
1,315,000
|
$
|
286,000
|
|||
Book
to tax differences in accrued expenses
|
467,000
|
119,000
|
|||||
Book
to tax differences for stock based compensation
|
1,280,000
|
1,235,000
|
|||||
Book
to tax differences in intangible assets
|
122,000
|
118,000
|
|||||
Total
deferred income tax asset
|
3,184,000
|
1,758,000
|
|||||
Deferred
income tax liabilities:
|
|||||||
Book
to tax differences in depreciation
|
67,000
|
126,000
|
|||||
Book
to tax differences in prepaid assets
|
-
|
-
|
|||||
Book
to tax differences in customer acquisition costs
|
-
|
||||||
Total
deferred income tax liability
|
67,000
|
126,000
|
|||||
Net
deferred income tax asset (liability)
|
$
|
3,117,000
|
$
|
1,632,000
|
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
11.
|
RELATED
PARTY TRANSACTIONS
|
Changes
in Officers and Directors
Prior
to
fiscal 2004, the Company entered into Executive Consulting Agreements with
four
entities, each of which was controlled by one of the Company’s four former
executive officers. These agreements called for fees to be paid for the services
provided by these individuals as officers of the Company, as well as their
respective staffs. During fiscal 2004, the Company terminated the Executive
Consulting Agreements with the entities controlled by its former CEO, former
Executive Vice President of Marketing, and former CFO. In fiscal 2005,
the
Company terminated the remaining Executive Consulting Agreement with the entity
controlled by a former Executive Vice President. These
termination agreements provided for cash payments totaling $2,145,000 in
exchange for consulting services and non-compete agreements. Approximately
$1,643,000 of
the
settlement payments described above has been allocated to non-compete
agreements. The values attributed to the non-compete agreements are being
amortized on a straight line basis over the six-year life of the non-compete
agreements.
The
remaining $502,000 was allocated to the consulting service portion of the
termination agreements, which were originally expected to be rendered over
a
two-year period, In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, however, the Company
concluded all matters with respect to these parties, made all remaining payments
owed under the termination agreements, and expensed the remaining unamortized
amount of $212,000 attributed to the consulting services. All
amounts related to these agreements were paid by September 30,
2005.
During
the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, the Company entered into a separation
agreement with its Chief Operating Officer. Under the agreement, the Company
made a cash payment of $80,000. No further amounts are owed under this
agreement.
On
November 3, 2005, the Company entered into a Separation Agreement with its
Chief
Executive Officer. Under the terms of the agreement, the Company made a cash
payment of $337,500 in the second quarter of fiscal 2006. The agreement also
provides for the continued vesting of 700,000 shares of the Chief Executive
Officers’ restricted stock awards that were granted in fiscal 2004 and 2005.
At
a
meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company, held on January 8, 2006,
John
T. Kurtzweil, R.A. Johnson-Clague, Peter J. Bergmann and Paul Gottlieb each
resigned from the Board of Directors of the Company and the respective
committees of the Board of Directors on which they were serving. Subsequent
to
the foregoing resignations, Joseph F. Cunningham, Jr. and Elisabeth Demarse
were
elected to the Board of Directors of the Company. In addition, Daniel L. Coury,
Sr., a current member of the Board of Directors, was elected Chairman of the
Board and Mr. Cunningham was appointed to serve as the Chairman of the Audit
Committee of the Board of Directors.
On
January 19, 2006, the Company entered into a Separation Agreement & General
Release with its Chief Financial Officer. Under the terms of the agreement,
the
Company made a cash payment of approximately $95,000 in the second quarter
of
fiscal 2006. The agreement also provides for the continued vesting of the Chief
Financial Officers’ restricted stock awards (totaling 150,000 shares) that were
granted in fiscal 2004 and 2005.
On
August
12, 2006, the Company elected Benjamin Milk and Richard Butler as new
independent members of the Company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Milk is a past
Executive Director of the SEC and will sit on the Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee. Mr. Butler is a past president of two California financial
institutions and will serve as Chairman of the Company’s Compensation Committee.
Effective
September 19, 2006, the Company appointed Mr. Coury to serve as its permanent
Chief Executive Officer and President, subject to the terms of his employment
agreement. Mr. Coury will remain a member of the Company’s Board of Directors;
however, he has resigned his position as Chairman of the Board. Joseph
Cunningham, the Chairman of the Company’s Audit Committee, will also assume the
title of Chairman of the Board.
On
September 19, 2006, the Company entered into an employment agreement with Daniel
L. Coury, Sr., which calls for Mr. Coury to serve as the Chief Executive Officer
and President of the Company. Mr. Coury has acted as interim Chief Executive
Officer since January 25, 2006. As permanent Chief Executive Officer and
President, Mr. Coury will receive a salary of $420,000, plus 10% annual salary
increases, beginning with the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2008;
an annual bonus of $150,000, provided the Company obtains certain performance
measures as established by the Company’s Board of Directors; a one time bonus of
$150,000 if and when the common stock of the Company is listed on a national
exchange; and a grant of 1,000,000 shares of restricted stock of the Company
(“Restricted Shares”), which vest upon the earlier to occur of three years or a
“change of control” (as defined in the Company’s 2003 Stock Plan); provided,
however, that Mr. Coury is obligated to return 1/3 of the Restricted Shares
at
the end of each fiscal year unless certain performance targets are reached
for
that fiscal year.
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Additionally,
in the event that Mr. Coury terminates his employment for “good reason” or the
Company terminates his employment other than for “Cause” or on account of his
death or “disability,” as each of those terms is defined in the employment
agreement, Mr. Coury will receive 12 months of continuing salary, and all
restricted stock granted to the employee prior to the employment agreement
and
the portion of the Restricted Shares that remain unvested and for which the
annual risk of forfeiture has lapsed due to annual performance targets being
achieved will be immediately accelerated.
On
September 19, 2006, the Company also amended the employment agreements of Gary
Perschbacher, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, and John Raven, the
Company’s Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Perschbacher’s amended employment
agreement provides for an extension of the term until September 20, 2009; 10%
annual salary increases, beginning with the Company’s fiscal year ending
September 30, 2008; and a grant of 100,000 shares of restricted stock of the
Company pursuant to the Company’s 2003 Stock Plan. Mr. Raven’s amended
employment agreement provides for an extension of the term until September
20,
2009; an annual salary of $220,000, plus 10% annual salary increases, beginning
with the Company’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2008; a $25,000 cash bonus
upon execution of the employment agreement; and a grant of 25,000 shares of
restricted stock of the Company pursuant to the Company’s 2003 Stock Plan.
On
September 19, 2006, the Company also granted to Joseph Cunningham, a member
of
the Company’s Board of Directors, 100,000 shares of restricted stock of the
Company in connection with his appointment to serve as Chairman of the Board
of
Directors and Chairman of the Company’s Audit Committee. Mr. Cunningham will
receive an aggregate of $6,000 per month in lieu of all other director
compensation for his service as Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Audit
Committee.
12.
|
CONCENTRATION
OF CREDIT RISK
|
The
Company maintains cash balances at banks in Arizona and Nevada. Accounts are
insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to $100,000. At
September 30, 2006 and 2005, the Company had bank balances exceeding those
insured limits of $6,699,000 and $5,883,000, respectively.
Financial
instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit
risk are primarily trade accounts receivable. The trade accounts receivable
are
due primarily from business customers over widespread geographical locations
within the LEC billing areas across the United States. The Company historically
has experienced significant dilution and customer credits due to billing
difficulties and uncollectible trade accounts receivable. The Company estimates
and provides an allowance for uncollectible accounts receivable. The handling
and processing of cash receipts pertaining to trade accounts receivable is
maintained primarily by three third-party billing companies. The Company is
dependent upon these billing companies for collection of its accounts
receivable. The
gross
receivable due from such billing services providers represented 27%, 27% and
27%, respectively, of the Company’s total gross accounts receivable at September
30, 2006.
13.
|
STOCK
BASED COMPENSATION
|
During
the year ended September 30, 2003, the Company’s board of directors and a
majority of it stockholders voted to terminate the Company’s 2002 Employees,
Officers & Directors Stock Option Plan and approved the Company’s 2003 Stock
Plan. The 3,000,000 shares of Company common stock previously allocated to
the
2002 Plan were re-allocated to the 2003 Plan. During the year ended September
30, 2004, an additional 2,000,000 shares were authorized by the board of
directors and approved by the Company’s stockholders to be issued under the 2003
Plan. All Company personnel and contractors are eligible to participate in
the
plan.
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
As
of
September 30, 2006, 4,879,750 shares authorized under the 2003 Plan were
granted
and remain outstanding, of which 999,750 have vested and 3,879,750 are in
the
form of restricted stock. These shares of restricted stock were granted to
the
Company’s service providers, executives and directors. Of the 3,879,750,
2,923,750 shares vest on a cliff basis 3 years from the date of grant, 537,500
vest on a cliff basis 5 years from the date of grant, and 419,000 vest on
a
cliff basis 10 years from the date of grant. Certain market performance criteria
may accelerate the vesting of a portion of these awards if the stock price
exceeds $5 per share. As of September 30, 2006, total unrecognized compensation
cost related to nonvested awards was $2,854,122. The weighted average period
over which such compensation cost is to be recognized is 3.2
years.
The
vesting of substantially all shares of restricted stock accelerates upon a
change of control, as defined in the 2003 Plan. Compensation expense is
determined at the date of grant, is equal to the stock price at the date of
grant, and is deferred and recognized on a straight-line basis over the vesting
period. The weighted-average grant-date fair value of the shares outstanding
is
$1.34 per share.
During
the year ended September 30, 2004, the Company issued an additional 1,000,000
shares of restricted common stock outside of the 2003 Plan to an officer of
the
Company valued at $1,540,000. At September 30, 2006, 600,000 of these shares
remain outstanding. During the year ended September 30, 2004, the Company issued
10,000 shares to an employee valued at $1,000 that were not subject to any
vesting provisions.
During
the years ended September 30, 2006, 2005, and 2004, the Company recognized
compensation expense of $1,599,000, $1,420,000, and $1,161,000, respectively,
under the 2003 Plan and other restricted stock issuances.
At
September 30, 2006, there were no options exercisable or outstanding. No options
were granted in the years ended September 30, 2006, 2005 and 2004.
The
Company has issued warrants in connection with certain debt and equity
transactions. Warrants outstanding are summarized as follows:
2006
|
2005
|
2004
|
|||||||||||||||||
Number
of
Warrants
|
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
|
Number
of
Warrants
|
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
|
Number
of
Warrants
|
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
|
||||||||||||||
Warrants
outstanding at beginning of year
|
500,000
|
$
|
2.12
|
500,000
|
$
|
2.12
|
500,000
|
$
|
2.12
|
||||||||||
Granted
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||
Expired
|
(500,000
|
) |
2.12
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
||||||||||||
Exercised
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|||||||||||||
Warrants
outstanding at September 30,
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
500,000
|
$
|
2.12
|
500,000
|
$
|
2.12
|
The
warrants were granted in the year ended September 30, 2001 in connection with
the settlement with the former URL holder (See Note 6). The exercise prices
of
the warrants range from $1.00 to $3.00. The fair value of these options at
the
date of grant was negligible, estimated using the Black-Scholes option-pricing
model. The 500,000 warrants outstanding at September 30, 2005, expire in
September 2006.
14.
|
EMPLOYEE
BENEFIT PLAN
|
The
Company maintains a 401(k) profit sharing plan for its employees and service
providers who are eligible to participate in the plan upon reaching age 21
and
completion of three months of service. The Company made contributions of $8,000,
$7,000, and $7,000 to the plan for the years ended September 30, 2006, 2005,
and
2005, respectively.
15.
|
OTHER
INCOME (EXPENSE)
|
In
addition to interest income and interest expense, other income (expense)
includes the following items:
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Year
ended September 30, 2006
a.
|
A
loss of $3,525,000 consisting of a settlement accrual of $2,000,000,
a
reserve for refunds of $1,250,000 and legal fees of $275,000 related
to
the attorneys general settlement described in Note 9;
and
|
b.
|
A
loss of $162,000 consisting of an additional accrual for the settlement
of
a matter with a former public relations
vendor;
|
Year
ended September 30, 2005
·
|
A
loss of $282,000 from the Transfer and Repayment Agreement as described
above in Note 11 above. This amount is equal to the difference between
the
carrying value of Advances to Affiliates and the value of the
consideration received;
|
·
|
A
loss of $328,000 from an arbitration judgment involving disputed
fees
associated with a former public relations firm described in Note
9 above;
and
|
·
|
The
elimination of $287,000 in other income in fiscal 2005 as the result
of a
termination agreement with Simple.Net, Inc. See Note 11 above for
further
discussion.
|
Year
ended September 30, 2004
·
|
Other
income of $287,000 from an agreement with Simple.Net, Inc. for technical
services provided to an affiliate;
|
·
|
$54,000
from the receipt of stock in accordance with the settlement of a
dispute;
and
|
·
|
$600,000
relating to the reversal of previously accrued compensation cost
for
former executives, for which payment is no longer expected, offset
by
other miscellaneous amounts.
|
16.
|
SELECTED
QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA
(UNAUDITED)
|
Quarterly
financial information for 2006 and 2005 follows:
YP
CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Quarter
Ended
|
|||||||||||||
December
31,
2005
|
March
31,
2006
|
June
30,
2006
|
September
30,
2006
|
||||||||||
Net
revenues
|
$
|
7,626,776
|
$
|
8,999,196
|
$
|
10,172,705
|
$
|
10,082,487
|
|||||
Gross
profit
|
6,510,430
|
7,410,732
|
7,843,120
|
7,047,642
|
|||||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
(327,092
|
)
|
129,998
|
826,847
|
(1,680,673
|
)
|
|||||||
Earnings
(loss) per share information:
|
|||||||||||||
Basic
income (loss) per share
|
$
|
(0.01
|
)
|
$
|
0.00
|
$
|
0.02
|
$
|
(0.04
|
)
|
|||
Diluted
income (loss) per share
|
$
|
(0.01
|
)
|
$
|
0.00
|
$
|
0.02
|
$
|
(0.04
|
)
|
Quarter
Ended
|
|||||||||||||
December
31,
2004
|
March
30,
2005
|
June
30,
2005
|
September
30,
2005
|
||||||||||
Net
revenues
|
$
|
6,190,155
|
$
|
6,444,609
|
$
|
6,517,158
|
$
|
6,052,936
|
|||||
Gross
profit
|
5,055,571
|
5,583,676
|
5,591,353
|
4,993,639
|
|||||||||
Net
income (loss) before cumulative effect
of accounting change
|
560,703
|
627,135
|
(175,887
|
)
|
(386,653
|
)
|
|||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
660,551
|
627,135
|
(175,887
|
)
|
(386,653
|
)
|
|||||||
Earnings
(loss) per share information:
|
|||||||||||||
Basic
before cumulative effect of
accounting change
|
$
|
0.01
|
$
|
0.01
|
$
|
(0.00
|
)
|
$
|
(0.01
|
)
|
|||
Diluted
before cumulative effect of
accounting change
|
$
|
0.01
|
$
|
0.01
|
$
|
(0.00
|
)
|
$
|
(0.01
|
)
|
|||
Basic
income (loss) per share
|
$
|
0.01
|
$
|
0.01
|
$
|
(0.00
|
)
|
$
|
(0.01
|
)
|
|||
Diluted
income (loss) per share
|
$
|
0.01
|
$
|
0.01
|
$
|
(0.00
|
)
|
$
|
(0.01
|
)
|
17.
|
SUBSEQUENT
EVENTS
|
On
December 14, 2006, the Company settled an outstanding matter with a consortium
of attorneys general. See Note 9.
ITEM
9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on
Accounting and Financial Disclosures
Not
applicable.
ITEM
9A.
Controls and Procedures
Disclosure
controls and procedures are designed with an objective of ensuring that
information required to be disclosed in our periodic reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, such as this Annual Report on Form 10-K,
is
recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified
by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Disclosure controls also are designed
with an objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and
communicated to our management, including our chief executive officer and chief
financial officer, in order to allow timely consideration regarding required
disclosures.
The
evaluation of our disclosure controls by our chief executive officer and chief
financial officer included a review of the controls’ objectives and design, the
operation of the controls, and the effect of the controls on the information
presented in this Annual Report. Our management, including our chief executive
officer and chief financial officer, does not expect that disclosure controls
can or will prevent or detect all errors and all fraud, if any. A control
system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable,
not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met.
Also,
projections of any evaluation of the disclosure controls and procedures to
future periods are subject to the risk that the disclosure controls and
procedures may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that
the
degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may
deteriorate.
Based
on
their review and evaluation as of the end of the period covered by this Form
10-K, and subject to the inherent limitations all as described above, our
principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded
that
our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and
15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) are effective as of the
end
of the period covered by this report. They are not aware of any significant
changes in our disclosure controls or in other factors that could significantly
affect these controls subsequent to the date of their evaluation, including
any
corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material
weaknesses. During the period covered by this Form 10-K, there have not been
any
changes in our internal control over financial reporting that have materially
affected, or that are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal
control over financial reporting.
ITEM
9B. Other Information
On
November 30, 2006, YP Corp. awarded its Chief Executive Officer, Daniel L.
Coury, Sr., a cash bonus in the amount of $150,000 as a reward for his
performance in fiscal 2006, pursuant to his Employment Agreement.
On
December 15, 2006, YP Corp. awarded its Chief Operating Officer, John Raven,
a
cash bonus in the amount of $5,000 as a reward for his performance in fiscal
2006.
PART
III
Certain
information required by Part III is omitted from this Annual Report on Form
10-K
because we will file our definitive Proxy Statement for our 2007 Annual Meeting
of Shareholders to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act
(the
“2007 Proxy Statement”) not later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year
covered by this Annual Report. Certain information included in the 2007 Proxy
Statement is incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM
10. Directors and Executive Officers
The
information required by this Item relating to our executive officers and
directors and the disclosure required by Item 405 of Regulation S-K concerning
Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance will be set forth under
the captions “Election of Directors,” and “Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership
Reporting Compliance” in our 2007 Proxy Statement.
The
Company has adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to its officers, directors
and
employees.
ITEM
11.
Executive Compensation
Information
regarding director and executive compensation will be set forth under the
captions “Election of Directors” and “Executive Officers and Compensation” in
our 2007 Proxy Statement.
ITEM
12.
|
Security
Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related
Stockholder Matters
|
Information
regarding security ownership of certain beneficial owners and management will
be
set forth under the captions “Security Ownership of Principal Stockholders and
Management” and “Equity Compensation Plan Information,” respectively, in our
2007 Proxy Statement.
ITEM
13.
Certain Relationships and Related
Transactions
Information
regarding certain relationships and related transactions of management will
be
set forth under the caption “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions” in
the 2007 Proxy Statement.
ITEM
14.
Principal Accountant Fees and
Services
Information
regarding this item will be set forth under the caption “Principal Accountant
Fees and Services” in the 2007 Proxy Statement.
PART
IV
ITEM
15. Exhibits and Financial Statement
Schedules
(1)
|
Financial
Statements are listed on the Index to Consolidated Financial Statements
on
page 40 of this Annual Report.
|
(2)
|
There
are no financial statement schedules required to be filed with this
Annual
Report.
|
(3)
|
The
following exhibits are filed with or incorporated by reference into
this
Annual Report.
|
Exhibit
Number
|
Description
|
Previously
Filed as Exhibit
|
File
Number
|
Date
Previously
Filed
|
||
Amended
and Restated Articles of Incorporation
|
Attached
hereto
|
|||||
Amended
and Restated Bylaws
|
Attached
hereto
|
|||||
10.1
|
YP
Corp. Amended and Restated 2003 Stock Plan
|
Exhibit
10 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB for the fiscal
quarter ended December 31, 2003
|
000-24217
|
2/11/04
|
||
10.2
|
Form
of 2003 Stock Plan Restricted Stock Agreement
|
Exhibit
10 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB for the fiscal
quarter ending March 31, 2005
|
000-24217
|
5/16/05
|
||
10.3
|
Standard
Industrial/Commercial Multi-Tenant Lease for Mesa facility, dated
June 1,
1998, between the Registrant and Art Grandlich, d/b/a McKellips Corporate
Square
|
Exhibit
10.5 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the fiscal year
ended September 30, 1999
|
000-24217
|
9/19/00
|
||
Amendment
No. 1 to Standard Industrial/Commercial Multi-Tenant Lease for Mesa
facility, dated August 17, 1998, between the Registrant and Arthur
Grandlich, d/b/a McKellips Corporate Square
|
Attached
hereto
|
|||||
10.4.1
|
Amendment
No. 2 to Standard Industrial/Commercial Multi-Tenant Lease for Mesa
facility, dated January 7, 2003, between the Registrant and Arthur
Grandlich, d/b/a McKellips Corporate Square
|
Exhibit
10.14 to Amendment No. 2 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form
10-KSB/A for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2002
|
000-24217
|
7/8/03
|
||
Amendment
No. 3 to Standard Industrial/Commercial Multi-Tenant Lease for Mesa
facility, dated March 23, 2006, between the Registrant and J3 Harmon,
LLC, successor in interest to The Estate of Arthur
Grandlich
|
Attached
hereto
|
|||||
Amendment
No. 4 to Standard Industrial/Commercial Multi-Tenant Lease for Mesa
facility, dated April 12, 2006, between the Registrant and J3 Harmon,
LLC, successor in interest to The Estate of Arthur
Grandlich
|
Attached
hereto
|
|||||
10.5
|
Standard
Industrial Lease for Nevada facility, dated September 3, 2003, between
the
Registrant and Tomorrow 33 Convention, LP
|
Exhibit
10.4 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the fiscal year
ended September 30, 2003
|
000-24217
|
12/31/03
|
||
Amendment
No. 1 to Standard Industrial Lease for Nevada facility, dated October
4,
2006, between the Registrant and Tomorrow 33 Convention,
LP
|
Attached
hereto
|
|||||
10.7
|
Loan
and Security Agreement, dated April 13, 2004, between the Registrant
and
Merrill
Lynch Business Financial Services, Inc.
|
Exhibit
10.1 to Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form
10-QSB for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2004
|
000-24217
|
12/29/04
|
||
10.8
|
Separation
Agreement, dated January 19, 2006, between the Registrant and Chris
Broquist
|
Exhibit
10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K
|
000-24217
|
1/25/06
|
||
Employment
Agreement, dated September 19, 2006, between the Registrant and Daniel
L.
Coury
|
Attached
hereto
|
|||||
Employment
Agreement, dated September 19, 2006, between the Registrant and Gary
Perschbacher
|
Attached
hereto
|
|||||
10.11
|
Wholesale
Fulfillment Agreement, dated March 1, 2005, between Registrant and
Fulfillment House and Company
|
Exhibit
10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K
|
000-2417
|
5/4/06
|
||
10.12
|
Separation
Agreement, dated November 3, 2005, between the Registrant and Peter
J.
Bergmann
|
Exhibit
10.1 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal
quarter ending December 31, 2005
|
000-24217
|
2/14/06
|
10.13
|
Employment
Agreement, dated February 6, 2006, between the Registrant and John
Raven
|
Exhibit
10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K
|
000-24217
|
2/21/06
|
|||
First
Amendment to Employment Agreement, dated September 19, 2006, between
the
Registrant and John Raven
|
Attached
hereto
|
||||||
10.14
|
Exclusive
Domain Name Licensing Agreement, dated July 8, 2003, between the
Registrant and Onramp Access, Inc.
|
Exhibit
10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K
|
000-24217
|
7/22/03
|
|||
Stock
Repurchase and Domain Name Transfer Agreement, dated July 21, 2006,
between Registrant and Onramp Access, Inc.
|
Attached
hereto
|
||||||
10.16
|
Processing
Agreement, dated August 26, 2003, between the Registrant and Integrated
Payment Systems Inc., d/b/a First Data
|
Exhibit
10.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K
|
000-24217
|
10/24/03
|
|||
10.17
|
Master
Services Agreement, dated August 1, 2002, between the Registrant
and
eBillit, Inc.
|
Exhibit
10.24 to Amendment No. 1 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form
10-QSB/A for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2003
|
000-24217
|
7/8/03
|
|||
10.18
|
Billings
and Related Services Agreement, dated September 1, 2001, between
the
Registrant and ACI Communications, Inc.
|
Exhibit
10.33 to Amendment No. 2 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form
10-KSB/A for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2002
|
000-24217
|
7/8/03
|
|||
14
|
Code
of Business Conduct and Ethics, Adopted December 31, 2003
|
Exhibit
14 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-QSB for the period
ended March 31, 2004
|
000-24217
|
5/13/04
|
|||
Preferability Letter | Attached hereto | ||||||
21
|
Company
Subsidiaries
|
Exhibit
21 to Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ending
September 30, 2005
|
000-24217
|
12/19/05
|
|||
Consent
of Epstein, Weber and Conover P.L.C
|
Attached
hereto
|
||||||
Certification
pursuant to SEC Release No. 33-8238, as adopted pursuant to Section
302 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
|
Attached
hereto
|
||||||
Certification
pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section
906 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
|
Attached
hereto
|
SIGNATURES
In
accordance with Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, the registrant caused
this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized.
Dated:
December 28, 2006
|
/s/ Daniel
L. Coury, Sr.
|
|
Daniel
L. Coury, Sr.
|
||
Chief
Executive Officer
|
BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
|
||||
Signature
|
Title
|
Date
|
||
/s/
Daniel L. Coury, Sr.
|
Chief
Executive Officer (Principal
Executive Officer)
|
December
28, 2006
|
||
Daniel
L. Coury, Sr.
|
||||
/s/
Gary L. Perschbacher
|
Chief
Financial Officer (Principal
Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)
|
December
28, 2006
|
||
Gary
L. Perschbacher
|
||||
/s/
Joseph F. Cunningham, Jr.
|
Chairman
of the Board
|
December
28, 2006
|
||
Joseph
F. Cunningham, Jr.
|
||||
/s/
Richard D. Butler.
|
Director
|
December
28, 2006
|
||
Richard
D. Butler
|
||||
/s/
Elisabeth DeMarse
|
Director
|
December
28, 2006
|
||
Elisabeth
DeMarse
|
||||
/s/
Benjamin Milk.
|
Director
|
December
28, 2006
|
||
Benjamin
Milk
|
67