Neonode Inc. - Quarter Report: 2006 April (Form 10-Q)
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-Q
(Mark
one)
x Quarterly
report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d)
of
the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For
the quarterly period ended April 30, 2006
o Transition
report pursuant to section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities
and Exchange Act of 1934
For
the
transition period from _______ to ________
Commission
file number 0-8419
SBE,
INC.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
|
94-1517641
|
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of
|
(I.R.S.
Employer
|
|
incorporation
or organization)
|
Identification
No.)
|
4000
Executive Parkway, Suite 200, San Ramon, California 94583
(Address
of principal executive offices and zip code)
(925)
355-2000
(Registrant's
telephone number, including area code)
Indicate
by check mark whether 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 registrant was required
to
file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for
the
past 90 days.
Yes
x No
o
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated
filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check
one):
Large
accelerated filer o Accelerated
filer o Non-accelerated
filer x
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes
o No
x
The
number of shares of registrant's common stock outstanding as of June 7, 2006
was
10,334,186.
SBE,
INC.
3
|
||
4
|
||
5
|
||
6
|
||
17
|
||
29
|
||
30
|
||
31
|
||
36
|
||
37
|
||
40
|
||
|
PART I. |
Financial
Information
|
Item 1. |
Financial
Statements
|
SBE,
INC.
(In
thousands)
April
30,
|
October
31,
|
||||||
2006
|
2005
(A)
|
||||||
|
(unaudited)
|
||||||
ASSETS
|
|||||||
Current
assets:
|
|||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
$
|
1,643
|
$
|
3,632
|
|||
Trade
accounts receivable, net
|
1,586
|
1,555
|
|||||
Inventories
|
1,188
|
1,283
|
|||||
Other
|
248
|
293
|
|||||
Total
current assets
|
4,665
|
6,763
|
|||||
Property,
plant and equipment, net
|
610
|
563
|
|||||
Capitalized
software costs, net
|
9,163
|
11,424
|
|||||
Other
|
53
|
82
|
|||||
Total
assets
|
$
|
14,491
|
$
|
18,832
|
|||
LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
|||||||
Current
liabilities:
|
|||||||
Trade
accounts payable
|
$
|
917
|
$
|
743
|
|||
Accrued
payroll and employee benefits
|
125
|
155
|
|||||
Capital
lease obligations - current portion
|
51
|
29
|
|||||
Deferred
revenues
|
211
|
138
|
|||||
Other
accrued expenses
|
169
|
178
|
|||||
Total
current liabilities
|
1,473
|
1,243
|
|||||
Capital
lease obligations and deferred rent net of current portion
|
300
|
241
|
|||||
Total
liabilities
|
1,773
|
1,484
|
|||||
Commitments
(note 7)
|
|||||||
Stockholders'
equity:
|
|||||||
Common
stock
|
34,157
|
35,431
|
|||||
Deferred
compensation
|
---
|
(2,401
|
)
|
||||
Accumulated
deficit
|
(21,439
|
)
|
(15,682
|
)
|
|||
Total
stockholders' equity
|
12,718
|
17,348
|
|||||
Total
liabilities and stockholders' equity
|
$
|
14,491
|
$
|
18,832
|
|||
(A) |
Derived
from audited financial statements
|
See
notes
to condensed financial statements.
SBE,
INC.
(In
thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Three
months ended
|
Six
months ended
|
||||||||||||
April
30,
|
April
30,
|
||||||||||||
2006
|
2005
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Net
sales
|
$
|
1,816
|
$
|
1,706
|
$
|
3,216
|
$
|
4,520
|
|||||
Amortization
of capitalized software
|
1,023
|
5
|
2,046
|
20
|
|||||||||
Cost
of sales
|
1,280
|
1,071
|
2,083
|
2,285
|
|||||||||
Gross
profit (loss)
|
(487
|
)
|
630
|
(913
|
)
|
2,215
|
|||||||
Operating
expenses
|
|||||||||||||
Product
research and development
|
1,147
|
573
|
2,094
|
1,046
|
|||||||||
Sales
and marketing
|
651
|
567
|
1,236
|
1,126
|
|||||||||
General
and administrative
|
756
|
426
|
1,538
|
795
|
|||||||||
Total
operating expenses
|
2,554
|
1,566
|
4,868
|
2,967
|
|||||||||
Operating
loss
|
(3,041
|
)
|
(936
|
)
|
(5,781
|
)
|
(752
|
)
|
|||||
Interest
income (expense)
|
12
|
---
|
29
|
(3
|
)
|
||||||||
Loss
before income taxes
|
(3,029
|
)
|
(936
|
)
|
(5,752
|
)
|
(755
|
)
|
|||||
Income
tax provision
|
---
|
---
|
5
|
5
|
|||||||||
Net
loss
|
$
|
(3,029
|
)
|
$
|
(936
|
)
|
$
|
(5,757
|
)
|
$
|
(760
|
)
|
|
Basic
and diluted loss per share
|
$
|
(0.30
|
)
|
$
|
(0.18
|
)
|
$
|
(0.58
|
)
|
$
|
(0.15
|
)
|
|
Basic
and diluted - weighted average shares used in per share
computations
|
10,123
|
5,207
|
10,008
|
5,175
|
See
notes
to condensed financial statements.
SBE,
INC.
(In
thousands)
(Unaudited)
Six
months ended
|
|||||||
April
30,
|
|||||||
2006
|
2005
|
||||||
Cash
flows from operating activities:
|
|||||||
Net
loss
|
$
|
(5,757
|
)
|
$
|
(760
|
)
|
|
Adjustments
to reconcile net loss to net cash used by operating
activities:
|
|||||||
Equity
based compensation expense
|
1,108
|
32
|
|||||
Depreciation
and amortization
|
2,165
|
125
|
|||||
Impairment
of capitalized software
|
256
|
---
|
|||||
Changes
in operating assets and liabilities:
|
|||||||
Accounts
receivable
|
(31
|
)
|
69
|
||||
Inventories
|
95
|
451
|
|||||
Other
assets
|
74
|
(294
|
)
|
||||
Trade
accounts payable
|
174
|
(2
|
)
|
||||
Other
accrued liabilities
|
97
|
(163
|
)
|
||||
Net
cash used by operating activities
|
(1,819
|
)
|
(542
|
)
|
|||
Cash
flows from investing activities:
|
|||||||
Purchases
of property, plant and equipment
|
(167
|
)
|
(70
|
)
|
|||
Capitalized
software costs
|
(40
|
)
|
(120
|
)
|
|||
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
(207
|
)
|
(190
|
)
|
|||
Cash
flows from financing activities:
|
|||||||
Stock
offering expense
|
(2
|
)
|
---
|
||||
Proceeds
from exercise of stock options
|
39
|
104
|
|||||
Net
cash provided by financing activities
|
37
|
104
|
|||||
Net
increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
|
(1,989
|
)
|
(628
|
)
|
|||
Cash
and cash equivalents at beginning of period
|
3,632
|
1,849
|
|||||
Cash
and cash equivalents at end of period
|
$
|
1,643
|
$
|
1,221
|
|||
SUPPLEMENTAL
SCHEDULE OF NON-CASH FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
|
|||||||
Non-cash
stock portion of Antares purchase price
|
$
|
---
|
$
|
196
|
See
notes
to condensed financial statements.
SBE,
INC.
(Unaudited)
1. Interim
Period Reporting:
These
condensed consolidated financial statements of SBE, Inc. (the Company) are
unaudited and include all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring
adjustments, that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair
presentation of the financial position and results of operations and cash flows
for the interim periods. The results of operations for the three and six months
ended April 30, 2006 are not necessarily indicative of expected results for
the
full 2006 fiscal year.
Certain
information and footnote disclosures normally contained in financial statements
prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles have been
condensed or omitted. These condensed consolidated financial statements should
be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes contained in
our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2005.
Management
Estimates
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted
accounting principles in the U.S. requires us to make estimates and assumptions
that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, as well as certain
disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial
statements and the reported amounts of net
sales
and
expenses
during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates.
Significant estimates and judgments made by us include matters such as warranty
obligations, indemnification obligations, collectibility of accounts receivable,
realizability of inventories and recoverability of capitalized software and
deferred tax assets.
Stock-Based
Compensation
Effective
November 1, 2005, we adopted the provisions of Statement of Financial Accounting
Standards No. 123R (Revised 2004), Share-Based
Payment (SFAS
123R) using the modified prospective method. See Note 5 for additional
information regarding stock-based compensation.
Segment
Information
After
we
acquired PyX Technologies, Inc. (PyX) on July 26, 2005 we organized our
operations into two business segments: Embedded Products and Storage Products.
During the quarter ended January 31, 2006 we reorganized the Company to one
industry segment by combining the previously segmented engineering, sales and
marketing groups to focus on delivering IP-based hardware and software products
that are embedded in data storage systems. Although we continue to support
customers using our legacy products, our overall sales and product development
focus is on the IP based data storage markets. We
now
have
only one chief operating decision maker and analyze financial information on
a
single segment basis and our financial reporting is done a combined
basis.
2. Inventories:
Inventories
comprised the following (in thousands):
April
30,
|
October
31,
|
||||||
2006
|
2005
|
||||||
Finished
goods
|
$
|
616
|
$
|
815
|
|||
Parts
and materials
|
572
|
468
|
|||||
$
|
1,188
|
$
|
1,283
|
The
total
reserve for slow moving and obsolete inventory was $2,472,000 and $2,313,000
at
April 30, 2006 and October 31, 2005, respectively.
3.
Capitalized Software:
Capitalized
software costs comprised the following (in thousands):
April
30,
|
October
31,
|
||||||
2006
|
2005
|
||||||
Purchased
software
|
$
|
14,217
|
$
|
14,177
|
|||
Less
accumulated amortization
|
(5,054
|
)
|
(2,753
|
)
|
|||
$
|
9,163
|
$
|
11,424
|
Capitalized
software costs consist of software relating to current products and the design
of future Internet
Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI)
software products acquired with our acquisition of PyX on July 26, 2005. We
capitalized $40,000, $121,000 and $12,424,000 of purchased software costs in
the
six months ended April 30, 2006 and 2005 and for the fiscal year ended October,
31, 2005, respectively. Amortization of capitalized software costs totaled
$1,279,000 and $2,301,000 for the three and six months ended April 30, 2006
and
$4,700 and $20,300 for the three and six months ended April 30, 2005,
respectively. Of the $1,279,000 and $2,301,000 of amortization in the three
and
six months ended April, 30, 2006, $1,023,000 and $2,046,000, respectively,
were
amortized to cost of goods sold. In
addition, in the three months ended April 30, 2006, we wrote-off $256,000 of
capitalized software development costs related to our discontinued Voice over
IP
(VoIP) products. This write-off is included in our product research and
development expense for the three and six months ended April 30, 2006. We
amortize capitalized software related to the acquisition of PyX to cost of
sales
expense on a straight line basis over 36 months, beginning August 1, 2005,
which
is the expected useful life and which does not materially differ from the
expected cash inflow from the sale of products related to the acquired PyX
product line. It
is our
belief that no impairment to the PyX software asset existed as of April 30,
2006.
4. Net
Loss Per Share:
Basic
loss per common share for the three and six months ended April 30, 2006 and
2005
was computed by dividing the net loss for such period by the weighted average
number
of
shares
of common stock outstanding for such period. Common stock equivalents for the
three months and six months ended April 30, 2006 and 2005 were anti-dilutive
and
as such were not included in the calculation of diluted net income per share.
Three
Months Ended
|
Six
Months Ended
|
||||||||||||
(in
thousands)
|
April
30,
|
April
30,
|
|||||||||||
2006
|
2005
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Common
Stock Equivalents
|
|||||||||||||
Employee
stock options
|
463
|
867
|
492
|
1,007
|
|||||||||
Common
Stock issued relating to purchase of Antares
|
---
|
69
|
---
|
69
|
|||||||||
Warrants
to purchase common stock
|
---
|
91
|
---
|
98
|
|||||||||
Common
stock equivalents
|
463
|
1,027
|
492
|
1,174
|
Earnings
per share is calculated as follows:
Three
months ended
|
Six
months ended
|
||||||||||||
(in
thousands, except per share amounts)
|
April
30,
|
April
30,
|
|||||||||||
2006
|
2005
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
BASIC
|
|||||||||||||
Weighted
average number of common shares outstanding
|
10,123
|
5,207
|
10,008
|
5,175
|
|||||||||
Number
of shares for computation of
|
|||||||||||||
net
loss per share
|
10,123
|
5,207
|
10,008
|
5,175
|
|||||||||
Net
loss
|
$
|
(3,029
|
)
|
$
|
(936
|
)
|
$
|
(5,757
|
)
|
$
|
(760
|
)
|
|
Net
loss per share
|
$
|
(0.30
|
)
|
$
|
(0.18
|
)
|
$
|
(0.58
|
)
|
$
|
(0.15
|
)
|
DILUTED
|
|||||||||||||
Weighted
average number of common shares outstanding
|
10,123
|
5,207
|
10,008
|
5,175
|
|||||||||
Shares
issuable pursuant to options granted under stock option plans and
warrants
granted,
|
|||||||||||||
less
assumed repurchase at the average fair market value for the
period
|
(a
|
)
|
(a
|
)
|
(a
|
)
|
(a
|
)
|
|||||
Number
of shares for computation of net loss per share
|
10,123
|
5,207
|
10,008
|
5,175
|
|||||||||
Net
loss
|
$
|
(3,029
|
)
|
$
|
(936
|
)
|
$
|
(5,757
|
)
|
$
|
(760
|
)
|
|
Net
loss per share
|
$
|
(0.30
|
)
|
$
|
(0.18
|
)
|
$
|
(0.58
|
)
|
$
|
(0.15
|
)
|
|
(a)
|
In
loss periods, all common share equivalents would had an anti-dilutive
effect on
net
loss
per share and therefore were
excluded.
|
5.
Stock-Based Compensation:
Effective
November 1, 2005, we adopted SFAS 123R using the modified prospective method,
which requires measurement of compensation cost for all stock-based awards
at
fair value on the grant date and recognition of compensation expense over the
requisite service period for awards expected to vest. The fair value of stock
option grants is determined using the Black-Scholes valuation model, which
is
consistent with our valuation techniques previously utilized for options in
footnote disclosures required under
SFAS
No.
123, Accounting
for Stock Based Compensation
(SFAS
123) as amended by SFAS No. 148, Accounting
for Stock-Based Compensation - Transition and Disclosure (SFAS
148). The fair value of restricted stock awards is determined based on the
number of shares granted and the quoted price of our common stock. Such fair
values will be recognized as compensation expense over the requisite service
period, net of estimated forfeitures, using the accelerated method under SFAS
123R.
The
fair
value method under SFAS 123R is similar to the fair value method under SFAS
123
as amended by SFAS 148 with respect to measurement and recognition of
stock-based compensation. However, SFAS 123 permitted us to recognize
forfeitures as they occur, while SFAS 123R requires us to estimate future
forfeitures and adjust our estimate on a quarterly basis. SFAS 123R also
requires a classification change in the statement of cash flows whereby the
income tax benefit from stock option exercises is reported as a financing cash
flow rather than an operating cash flow as previously reported.
We
have
several approved stock option plans for which stock options and restricted
stock
awards are available to grant to employees and directors. All employee and
director stock options granted under our stock option plans have an exercise
price equal to the market value of the underlying common stock on the grant
date. There are no vesting provisions tied to performance conditions for any
options, as vesting for all outstanding option grants was based only on
continued service as an employee of the Company. All of our outstanding stock
options and restricted stock awards are classified as equity instruments.
Stock
Options
We
sponsor four employee stock option plans, the 1996
Stock Option Plan (the 1996 Plan), the 1998 Non-Officer Stock Option Plan (the
1998 Plan),
the PyX
2005 Stock Option Plan (the PyX Plan) and the 2006 Equity Incentive Plan (the
2006 Plan).
A total
of 2,730,000 shares of common stock were reserved under the 1996 Plan at October
31, 2005.
The
1996 Plan terminated effective January 17, 2006 and although we can no longer
issue stock options out of the plan, the outstanding options at the date of
termination will remain outstanding and vest in accordance with their terms.
Stock options to purchase 1,620,336 shares of our common stock granted under
our
1996 Plan were outstanding as of April 30, 2006, of which 1,097,305 were vested.
A total of 650,000 shares of common stock are reserved under the 1998 Plan,
a
total of 1,500,000 shares of common stock are reserved under the 2006 Plan
and a
total of 1,021,200
shares of our common stock will be issuable upon exercise of the assumed PyX
Plan stock options at
April
30, 2006, respectively. Additionally, in 2001, stockholders approved a
Non-Employee Director Stock Option Plan (the Director Plan). A total of 340,000
shares of Common Stock are reserved for issuance under the Director Plan.
Options granted under the Director Plan vest over a one to four-year period,
expire five to seven years after the date of grant and have exercise prices
reflecting market value at the date of grant. Stock options granted under the
1996, 1998, 2006 and PyX Plans are exercisable over a maximum term of ten years
from the date of grant, vest in various installments over a one to four-year
period and have exercise prices reflecting the market value of the shares of
common stock on the date of grant.
On
the
date of adoption of SFAS 123R, there were options to purchase 4,213,704 shares
of our common stock outstanding, of which 1,400,397 were fully vested. Included
in the
outstanding
stock options on the date of adoption are options to purchase 2,038,950 shares
of our common stock related to the PyX 2005 Stock Option Plan that was assumed
by us in our acquisition of PyX. The fair value related to the unvested portion
of the PyX stock options assumed totaled $2,484,000 and was recorded as deferred
compensation in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005. On the date of adoption
of
SFAS 123R, we reduced deferred compensation and common stock by $2,311,000,
the
value of the unamortized balance of the deferred compensation. We recorded
compensation expense related to the PyX options at the rate of $159,000 and
$332,000 for the three and six months periods ended April 30, 2006,
respectively. In April 2006, we cancelled options to purchase 1,017,750 shares
of our common stock that were assumed by us in the PyX acquisition and were
issued to two employees who terminated their employment with us. After the
cancellation of the options held by the terminated employees, the future
compensation expense required by SFAS 123R related to the PyX stock options
has
been reduced to $87,000 per quarter over the remaining 12-quarter vesting
period.
We
awarded stock option grants to certain non-employee strategic business advisors
as a part of their fee structure. The fair value of these option grants is
estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model
and
is recalculated on a quarterly basis based on market price until vested. For
the
three and six month periods ended April 30, 2006 we recorded, $13,500 and
$49,000, respectively, of compensation expense related to non-employee stock
options, respectively.
For
the
three and six months ended April 30, 2006, we recorded approximately $134,000
and $275,000, respectively, of stock-based compensation expense in the
accompanying statements of operations that is associated with unvested employee
stock options outstanding at the date of adoption of SFAS 123R. The fair value
of the unearned portion of stock-based compensation related to the unvested
employee stock options is calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing
model as of the grant date of the underlying stock options. We recognized no
net
deferred tax impact on the adoption of SFAS 123R. As of April 30, 2006, there
was approximately $890,000 of remaining unamortized stock-based compensation
expense associated with unvested employee stock options outstanding at the
date
of adoption of SFAS 123R which will be expensed over the remaining service
period through September 2009. There
was
no stock-based compensation expense related to employee stock options and
employee stock purchases recognized during the three and six months ended
April 30,
2005,
respectively.
We
granted options to purchase 495,000 and 730,000 shares of our common stock
to
employees and members of the Board of Directors during the three and six month
periods ended April 30, 2006, respectively. For the three and six months ended
April 30, 2006, we recorded approximately $35,000 and $41,000, respectively,
of
stock-based compensation expense in the accompanying statements of operations
associated with employee and director stock options that were granted during
the
six months ended April 30, 2006. The fair value of the unearned portion of
stock-based compensation related to the employee and director stock options
is
calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model as of the grant date
of
the underlying stock options. As of April 30, 2006, there was approximately
$679,000 of remaining unamortized stock-based compensation expense associated
with the stock options granted to employees and directors during the six months
ended April 30, 2006, which will be expensed over the remaining service period
through September 2010.
The
fair
value of each option grant is estimated on the date of grant using the
Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following weighted-average
assumptions:
Options
Granted
|
|||||||
Unvested
Options
|
During
Six Months
|
||||||
On
November 1,
|
Ended
April 30,
|
||||||
2005
|
2006
|
||||||
Expected
life (in years)
|
4.19
|
3.36
- 4.00
|
|||||
Risk-free
interest rate
|
2.65%
- 4.36
|
%
|
4.375
|
%
|
|||
Volatility
|
53.76%
-151.22
|
%
|
97.46%
- 97.75
|
%
|
|||
Dividend
yield
|
0.00
|
%
|
0.00
|
%
|
|||
Forfeiture
rate
|
6.71
|
%
|
5.47
|
%
|
The
fair
value of stock-based awards to employees is calculated using the Black-Scholes
option pricing model, even though this model was developed to estimate the
fair
value of freely tradable, fully transferable options without vesting
restrictions, which differ significantly from the our stock options. The
Black-Scholes model also requires subjective assumptions, including future
stock
price volatility and expected time to exercise, which greatly affect the
calculated values. The expected term and forfeiture rate of options granted
is
derived from historical data on employee exercises and post-vesting employment
termination behavior. The risk-free rate is based on the U.S Treasury rates
in
effect during the corresponding period of grant. The expected volatility is
based on the historical volatility of our stock price. These factors could
change in the future, which would affect the stock-based compensation expense
in
future periods.
The
Company grants unrestricted and restricted stock out of its 1996 and 2006 stock
option plans to employees and members of its Board of Directors in-lieu of
a
portion of their compensation. The following table summarizes our stock option,
stock for pay and restricted stock activity in fiscal 2006:
Weighted
|
Average
|
||||||
Number
of
|
Exercise
|
||||||
options
|
Price
|
||||||
Outstanding
at October 31, 2005
|
4,213,704
|
$
|
2.66
|
||||
Granted
Stock Options
|
765,120
|
0.89
|
|||||
Granted
Restricted Stock
|
277,000
|
1.05
|
|||||
Granted
Stock for Pay
|
322,123
|
1.15
|
|||||
Exercised
|
(364,345
|
)
|
0.33
|
||||
Cancelled
|
(1,311,381
|
)
|
2.78
|
||||
Outstanding
at April 30, 2006
|
3,902,221
|
$
|
2.22
|
||||
As
of April 30, 2006:
|
|||||||
Options
exercisable
|
1,777,471
|
$
|
2.71
|
||||
Shares
available for grant
|
848,244
|
||||||
As
of
April 30, 2006 the stock options and restricted stock outstanding out of the
stock option plans are as follows:
Stock
Options
|
Restricted
Stock
|
Total
|
||||||||
PyX
stock options
|
1,021,200
|
---
|
1,021,200
|
|||||||
Employee
stock options
|
2,339,021
|
---
|
2,339,021
|
|||||||
Board
of Director stock options
|
185,000
|
---
|
185,000
|
|||||||
Advisor
stock options
|
80,000
|
80,000
|
||||||||
Restricted
stock to employees
|
---
|
277,000
|
277,000
|
|||||||
Total
|
3,625,221
|
277,000
|
3,902,221
|
The
weighted average grant-date fair value of options granted during the six months
ended April 30, 2006 and 2005 was $0.89 and $3.88, respectively. The total
intrinsic value of options exercised during the six months ended April 30,
2006
and 2005 was $16,798 and $120,114, respectively.
The
following table summarizes information with respect to all options to purchase
shares of common stock outstanding under the
1996
Plan, the 1998 Plan, the 2006 Plan,
the PyX
Plan
and the
Director Plan at April 30, 2006:
Options
Outstanding
|
Options
Exercisable
|
|||||||||||||||
Weighted
|
||||||||||||||||
Average
|
Weighted
|
Weighted
|
||||||||||||||
Number
|
Remaining
|
Average
|
Number
|
Average
|
||||||||||||
Range
of
|
Outstanding
|
Contractual
Life
|
Exercise
|
Exercisable
|
Exercise
|
|||||||||||
Exercise
Price
|
at
4/30/06
|
(years)
|
Price
|
at
4/30/06
|
Price
|
|||||||||||
$
0.00 - $ 1.00
|
1,182,900
|
5.0
|
$
|
0.73
|
544,066
|
$
|
0.91
|
|||||||||
$
1.01 - $ 2.00
|
328,000
|
5.1
|
$
|
1.34
|
107,374
|
$
|
1.54
|
|||||||||
$
2.01 - $ 3.00
|
1,689,076
|
5.3
|
$
|
2.39
|
580,133
|
$
|
2.44
|
|||||||||
$
3.01 - $ 4.00
|
237,249
|
4.9
|
$
|
3.61
|
139,955
|
$
|
3.90
|
|||||||||
$
4.01 - $ 5.00
|
250,246
|
3.9
|
$
|
4.53
|
199,966
|
$
|
4.55
|
|||||||||
$
5.01 - $ 6.00
|
135,750
|
1.7
|
$
|
5.29
|
135,750
|
$
|
5.29
|
|||||||||
$
6.01 - $ 7.00
|
13,000
|
3.9
|
$
|
6.87
|
8,603
|
$
|
6.84
|
|||||||||
$
7.01 - $ 8.00
|
25,000
|
4.7
|
$
|
7.09
|
20,624
|
$
|
7.10
|
|||||||||
$
8.01 -$ 9.00
|
40,000
|
0.8
|
$
|
8.63
|
40,000
|
$
|
8.63
|
|||||||||
$
9.01 - $20.00
|
1,000
|
0.6
|
$
|
17.28
|
1,000
|
$
|
17.28
|
|||||||||
3,902,221
|
4.9
|
$
|
2.22
|
1,777,471
|
$
|
2.71
|
Restricted
Stock Awards
On
March
21, 2006, our Board of Directors (Board) approved restricted stock grants to
all
employees in order to continue to motivate and retain our employees. The shares
of restricted stock granted under the plan vests 25% on the first anniversary
of
the initial grant date with the remainder vesting monthly thereafter for the
following six months. A total of 277,000 restricted shares of our common stock
have been issued to employees under the restricted stock grants with initial
vesting dates of April 1, 2007 through April 24, 2007. The total fair value
of
the restricted stock grants on the date of issuance is $291,000 and will be
amortized over the 18-month vesting period at the rate of $16,200
per
month. For the three and six month periods ended April 30, 2006 we recorded
$9,200 of amortization expense related to the restricted stock
grants.
Weighted
Average
|
|||||||
Shares
|
Grant-Date
|
||||||
Unvested
Stock Units
|
Fair
Value
|
||||||
Unvested
at November 1, 2005
|
---
|
---
|
|||||
Granted
|
534,982
|
$
|
1.29
|
||||
Vested
|
(254,619
|
)
|
1.55
|
||||
Cancelled
|
(3,363
|
)
|
1.55
|
||||
Unvested
at April 30, 2006
|
277,000
|
$
|
1.05
|
Stock
For Pay Plan
On
January 12, 2006, our Board of Directors (Board) approved a company-wide 30%
reduction in employee base salaries, effective January 16, 2006. In order to
continue to motivate and retain our employees despite such salary reductions,
the Board also approved stock grants to all of our employees pursuant to the
1996 Stock Option Plan and 2006 Plan. Effective April 1, 2006, the Board
modified the 30% across the board reduction in employee base salaries to a
cash
salary reduction ranging from 10% to 20% of the employees base salaries. The
level of the reduction of the cash portion of the salary for each employee
is
dependent on their respective position and base salary and employees with lower
salaries generally have lower reductions. A total of 278,465 shares of our
common stock have been issued since January 1, 2006 pursuant to the stock for
pay plan. For
the
three and six months ended April 30, 2006, we recorded approximately $261,000
and $320,000, of stock-based compensation associated with such stock
grants.
In
addition, the Board approved the suspension of all cash payments of Board and
Board committee fees, until further notice. A total of 43,658 shares of our
common stock has been issued to Board members under the stock for fee plan
since
January 1, 2006. For
the
three and six months ended April 30, 2006, we recorded approximately $39,000
and
$71,000, of stock-based compensation and director expense associated with the
stock for fee plan.
Prior
Year
Prior
to
November 1, 2005, we accounted for stock-based awards under the intrinsic value
method, which followed the recognition and measurement principles of APB Opinion
No. 25, Accounting
for Stock Issued to Employees,
and
related interpretations. Under this method, compensation expense was recorded
on
the date of grant only if the current market price of the underlying stock
exceeded the exercise price. Our
practice is to award employee stock options with an exercise price equal to
the
market price on the date of the award. Accordingly,
no stock-based employee compensation cost has previously been recognized in
net
income for the stock option plans. Had compensation cost for our stock option
plans been determined based on the fair value recognition provisions of SFAS
123, our net income and income per share would have been as
follows:
Three
Months
|
Six
Months
|
||||||
Ended
April 30,
|
Ended
April 30,
|
||||||
2005
|
2005
|
||||||
Net
loss, as reported
|
$
|
(936
|
)
|
$
|
(760
|
)
|
|
Add:
Total stock-based compensation expense (benefit) included in the
net loss
determined under the recognition and measurement principles of APB
25
|
---
|
---
|
|||||
Deduct:
Total stock-based employee compensation
expense determined under fair value based method for all awards,
net of
related tax effects
|
388
|
1,139
|
|||||
Pro
forma net loss
|
$
|
(1,324
|
)
|
$
|
(1,899
|
)
|
|
Loss
per share:
|
|||||||
Basic
- as reported
|
$
|
(0.18
|
)
|
$
|
(0.15
|
)
|
|
Basic
- pro forma
|
$
|
(0.25
|
)
|
$
|
(0.37
|
)
|
|
Diluted
- as reported
|
$
|
(0.18
|
)
|
$
|
(0.15
|
)
|
|
Diluted
- pro forma
|
$
|
(0.25
|
)
|
$
|
(0.37
|
)
|
The
fair
value of each option grant is estimated on the date of grant using the
Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following weighted-average
assumptions:
Options
granted in three months ended April 30, 2005
|
||||
Expected
life (in years)
|
4.00
|
|||
Risk-free
interest rate
|
3.01
|
%
|
||
Volatility
|
121.5
|
%
|
||
Dividend
yield
|
0.00
|
%
|
The
following table summarizes stock-based compensation expense related to employee
stock options - under SFAS 123(R), restricted stock awards, stock for pay and
non-employee consultant and PyX stock based compensation expense for the three
and six months ended April 30, 2006 which was allocated to product costs
and operating expense as follows (in thousands):
Three
Months
|
Six
Months
|
||||||
April 30,
2006
|
April
20, 2006
|
||||||
Cost
of goods sold
|
$
|
16
|
$
|
20
|
|||
Product
research and development
|
125
|
164
|
|||||
Sales
and Marketing
|
122
|
166
|
|||||
General
and administrative
|
387
|
758
|
|||||
Total
|
$
|
650
|
$
|
1,108
|
6. Revenue
Recognition and Concentration of Risk:
Our
policy is to recognize revenue for hardware product sales when title transfers
and risk of loss has passed to the customer, which is generally upon shipment
of
our hardware products to our customers. We defer and recognize service revenue
over the contractual period or as services are rendered. Our policy complies
with the guidance provided by Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 104, Revenue
Recognition in Financial Statements,
issued
by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC.
We
account for the licensing of software in accordance with American Institute
of
Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Statement of Position (SOP) 97-2,
Software
Revenue Recognition.
The
application of SOP 97-2 requires judgment, including whether a software
arrangement includes multiple elements, and if so, whether vendor-specific
objective evidence (VSOE) of fair value exists for those elements. We will
defer
all revenues related to the sale of our software products until such time that
we are able to established VSOE for the undelivered elements related to our
iSCSI software products or when we fulfill the undelivered elements.
Deferred
revenues represent post-delivery engineering support and the right to receive
specified upgrades/enhancements of our iSCSI software on a when-and-if-available
basis.
In
the
first three and six months of fiscal 2006 and 2005, most of our sales were
attributable to sales of wireless communications products and were derived
from
a limited number of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers.
In
our
second
quarter of fiscal 2006, we had sales to three
customers that each represented greater than 10% of our net sales for the
quarter and
collectively they represented 67%
of net
sales during the
second
quarter of fiscal 2006. Raytheon, 29%, Data Connection Limited (DCL), 19% and
Nortel, 19% of our sales for the three months ended April 30, 2006. In the
three
months ended April 30, 2005, we had three customers that
each
represented greater than 10% of our net sales and
collectively represented 64% of our net sales. HP, 34%, DCL, 20% and Lucent,10%
of our sales for the three months ended April 30, 2005.
In
the
first six months of fiscal 2006, we had sales to three customers that were
each
greater than 10% of our sales for that period and they collectively represented
64% of net sales during the first two quarters of fiscal 2006. DCL,
29%,
Raytheon, 19% and Nortel,16% of our sales for the six months ended April 30,
2006. In
the
first six months of fiscal 2005, we had sales to three customers that
individually represented greater than 10% of our net sales for that period
and
collectively represented 61% of our net sales for the first two quarters of
fiscal 2005.
HP
represented 23%, DCL represented 22% and Nortel represented 16% of our sales
for
the six months ended April 30, 2005.
Three
customers: Raytheon, 30%, DCL, 22% and Nortel,16%, combined accounted for 68%
of
our accounts receivable at April 30, 2006.
A
significant reduction in orders from any of our OEM customers, or a failure
to collect outstanding accounts receivable from any of our OEM customers, could
have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial
condition and cash flows.
International
sales constituted 29% and 41% of net sales for the three and six month periods
ended April 30, 2006 compared to 6% and 15% of net sales for the three and
six
month periods ended April 30, 2005, respectively. International sales are
primarily executed with customers in the United Kingdom and represented 25%
and
35% of our sales for the three and six month periods ended April 30, 2006,
respectively. All international sales are executed in U.S. dollars.
7. Warranty
Obligations and Other Guarantees:
The
following is a summary of our agreements that we
have
determined are within the scope of FASB Interpretation (FIN) No. 45 Guarantor's
Accounting and Disclosure Requirements for Guarantees, including Indirect
Guarantees of Indebtedness of Others
--
an
interpretation of FASB Statements No. 5, 57 and 107 and rescission of FIN
34.
We
accrue
the estimated costs to be incurred in performing warranty services at the time
of revenue recognition and shipment of the products to
our
customers.
Our
estimate
of costs
to service our warranty obligations is based on historical experience and
expectation of future conditions. To the extent we experience increased warranty
claim activity or increased costs associated with servicing those claims, the
warranty accrual will increase, resulting in decreased gross
margin.
The
following table sets forth an analysis of our warranty reserve (in
thousands):
April
30,
|
April
30,
|
||||||
2006
|
2005
|
||||||
Warranty
reserve at beginning of period
|
$
|
22
|
$
|
20
|
|||
Less:
Cost to service warranty obligations
|
(1
|
)
|
(4
|
)
|
|||
Plus:
Increases to reserves
|
1
|
4
|
|||||
Total
warranty reserve included in other accrued expenses
|
$
|
22
|
$
|
20
|
We
have
agreed to indemnify each
of
our
executive
officers
and directors for certain events or occurrences arising as a result of the
officer or director serving in such capacity. The term of the indemnification
period is for the officer's or director's lifetime. The maximum potential amount
of future payments we could be required to make under these indemnification
agreements is unlimited. However, we have a directors’
and
officers’
liability insurance policy that should
enable
us to
recover a portion of future amounts paid. As a result of our insurance policy
coverage, we believe the estimated fair value of these indemnification
agreements is minimal and have no liabilities recorded for these agreements
as
of April 30, 2006 and October 31, 2005,
respectively.
We
enter
into indemnification provisions under our agreements with other companies in
the
ordinary course of business, typically with business partners, contractors,
customers and
landlords.
Under these provisions we generally indemnify and hold harmless the
indemnified
party for losses suffered or incurred by the indemnified party as a result
of
our activities or, in some cases, as a result of the indemnified party's
activities under the agreement. These indemnification provisions often include
indemnifications relating to representations made by us with regard to
intellectual property rights. These indemnification provisions generally survive
termination of the underlying agreement. The maximum potential amount of future
payments we could be required to make under these indemnification provisions
is
unlimited. We have not incurred material costs to defend lawsuits or settle
claims related to these indemnification agreements. As a result, we believe
the
estimated fair value of these agreements is minimal. Accordingly, we have no
liabilities recorded for these agreements as of April 30, 2006 and October
31,
2005,
respectively.
Our
commitment as the secondary guarantor on the sublease of our previous
headquarters terminated in March 2006.
Item 2. |
Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
|
Forward
Looking Statements
The
following Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and
uncertainties. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "intends"
and
similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but
are
not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. Readers are cautioned
that the forward-looking statements reflect our analysis only as of the date
hereof, and we assume no obligation to update these statements. Actual events
or
results may differ materially from the results discussed in or implied by the
forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include,
but are not limited to, those risks and uncertainties set forth under the
caption "Risk Factors" below.
The
following discussion should be read in conjunction with the condensed
consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in Item 1
of
this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in our Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended October 31, 2005.
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis
Overview
We
develop, manufacture and sell standards-based storage software and
communications products to OEMs who embed our products into their systems to
provide data storage and network connectivity solutions for the enterprise
storage and telecommunications markets. Our products include iSCSI
storage software, wide area network (WAN) and local area network (LAN) network
interface cards (NICs) and central processor units (CPUs). Our products perform
critical Internet Protocol (IP)-based storage, computing and, Input/Output
(I/O)
tasks in diverse markets such as
IP
storage area network (SAN) and network attached storage (NAS) storage networks,
high-end enterprise level computing servers, Linux super-computing clusters,
workstations, media gateways,
routers
and Internet access devices. Our
products are distributed worldwide through a direct sales force, distributors,
independent manufacturers' representatives and value-added
resellers.
After
we
acquired PyX Technologies, Inc. (PyX) in July 2005 we organized our operations
into two business segments: Embedded Products and Storage Products. During
the
quarter ended January 31, 2006 we reorganized the company to one industry
segment by combining the previously segmented engineering, sales, marketing
groups to focus on delivering IP-based hardware and software products that
are
embedded in both storage and communications networks. Although we continue
to
support customers using our legacy products, our overall sales and product
development focus is on the IP based data storage markets. We now have only
one
chief operating decision maker and analyze financial information on a single
segment basis and our financial reporting is done a combined basis.
Our
business is characterized by a concentration of sales to a small number of
OEMs
and distributors who provide products and services to the data storage and
telecommunications markets. Consequently, the timing of significant orders
from
major customers and their product cycles cause fluctuation in our operating
results. Data Connections Limited (DCL), Nortel Networks Corporation, (Nortel)
and Raytheon Company (Raytheon) are our largest customers representing a
combined total of 67% and 64% of our sales in the three and six months ended
April 30, 2006, respectively.
During
the three and six months ended April 30, 2006, $72,000, or 4% of sales and
$151,000 or 5% of our sales, compared to $79,000, or 5% of sales and $253,000,
or 6% of sales for the three and six months ended April 30, 2005, respectively
were sold to distributors. Our reserves for distributor programs totaled
approximately $22,000 and $22,000 as of April 30, 2006 and 2005,
respectively.
On
April
30, 2006, we had a sales backlog of product orders of approximately $1.0 million
compared to a sales backlog of product orders of approximately $1.2 million
at
October 31, 2005.
Critical
Accounting Policies and Estimates
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted
accounting principles in the United States of America requires management to
make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and
liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date
of
the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses
during the reporting period. Such estimates include levels of reserves for
doubtful accounts, obsolete inventory, warranty costs and deferred tax assets.
Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Our
critical accounting policies and estimates include the following:
Revenue
Recognition:
Hardware
Products
Our
policy is to recognize revenue for hardware product sales when title transfers
and risk of loss has passed to the customer, which is generally upon shipment
of
our hardware products to our customers. We defer and recognize service revenue
over the contractual period or as services are rendered. We estimate expected
sales returns and record the amount as a reduction of revenues and cost of
goods
sold (COGS) at the time of shipment. Our policy complies with the guidance
provided by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s
Staff
Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 104, Revenue
Recognition in Financial Statements,
issued
by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Judgments are required in evaluating
the credit worthiness of our customers. Credit is not extended to customers
and
revenue is not recognized until we have determined that collectibility
is reasonably
assured. Our sales transactions are denominated in U.S. dollars.
The
software component of our hardware products is considered incidental. Therefore,
we do not recognize software revenue related to our hardware products separately
from the hardware product sale.
When
selling hardware, our agreements with OEMs, such as DCL and Nortel, typically
incorporate clauses reflecting the following understandings:
-
|
all
prices are fixed and determinable at the time of
sale;
|
-
|
title
and risk of loss pass at the time of shipment (FOB shipping
point);
|
-
|
collectibility
of the sales price is probable (the OEM is creditworthy, the OEM
is
obligated to pay and such obligation is not contingent on the ultimate
sale of the OEM’s integrated
solution);
|
-
|
the
OEM’s obligation to us will not be changed in the event of theft or
physical destruction or damage of the
product;
|
-
|
we
do not have significant obligations for future performance to directly
assist in the resale of the product by the OEMs;
and
|
-
|
there
is no contractual right of return other than for defective
products.
|
Our
agreements with our distributors include certain product rotation and price
protection rights. All distributors have the right to rotate slow moving
products once each fiscal quarter. The maximum dollar value of inventory
eligible for rotation is equal to 25% of our products purchased by the
distributor during the previous quarter. In order to take advantage of their
product rotation rights, the distributors must order and take delivery of
additional products of ours equal to at least the dollar value of the products
that they want to rotate.
Each
distributor is also allowed certain price protection rights. If and when we
reduce or plan to reduce the price of any of our products and the distributor
is
holding any of the affected products in inventory, we will credit the
distributor the difference in price when they place their next order with us.
We
record an allowance for price protection at the time of the price reduction,
thereby reducing our net sales and accounts receivable. The allowance is based
on the price difference of the inventory held by our stocking distributors
at
the time we expect to reduce selling prices. We believe we are able to fully
evaluate potential returns and adjustments and continue to recognize the sale
based on shipment to our distributors. Reserves for the right of return and
restocking are established based on the requirements of Financial
Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
Statements
of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS)
48,
Revenue
Recognition when Right of Return Exists.
Software
Products
With
the
acquisition of PyX, we will also derive future revenues from the following
sources: (1) software, which includes new iSCSI target and initiator software
licenses and (2) services, which include consulting. We
account for the licensing of software in accordance with SOP 97-2, Software
Revenue Recognition.
The
application of SOP 97-2 requires judgment, including whether a software
arrangement includes multiple elements, and if so, whether vendor-specific
objective evidence (VSOE) of fair value exists for those elements. Customers
receive certain elements of our products over a period of time. These elements
include free post-delivery telephone support and the right to receive
unspecified upgrades/enhancements of our iSCSI software on a
when-and-if-available basis, the fair value of which is recognized over the
product’s estimated life cycle. Changes to the elements in a software
arrangement, the ability to identify VSOE for those elements, the fair value
of
the respective elements, and changes to a product’s estimated life cycle could
materially impact the amount of earned and unearned revenues. Judgment is also
required to assess whether future releases of certain software represent new
products or upgrades and enhancements to existing products. We will defer all
revenue related to the bundled sale of our software products for which we do
not
have VSOE and amortize the deferred revenues over its estimated life.
For
software license arrangements that do not require significant modification
or
customization of the underlying software, we will recognize new software license
revenues when: (1) we enter into a legally binding arrangement with a customer
for the license of software; (2) we deliver the products; (3) customer payment
is deemed fixed or determinable and free of contingencies or significant
uncertainties; and (4) collection is reasonably assured. Substantially all
of
our new software license revenue will be recognized in this manner. No software
license revenue has been recognized to date.
As
of
April 30, 2006, we have deferred all license revenues related to software
arrangements until the specified upgrade is delivered. Once the specified
upgrade is delivered, revenues for the license will be recognized over the
term
of the contract or over the economic life of the product, whichever is shorter.
If there is significant uncertainty about the project completion or receipt
of
payment for the services, revenue is deferred until the uncertainty is
sufficiently resolved.
Certain
software arrangements include consulting implementation services sold separately
under consulting engagement contracts. Consulting revenues from these
arrangements are generally accounted for separately from new software license
revenues because the arrangements qualify as service transactions as defined
in
SOP 97-2. The more significant factors considered in determining whether the
revenue should be accounted for separately include the nature of services (i.e.,
consideration of whether the services are essential to the functionality of
the
licensed product), degree of risk, availability of services from other vendors,
timing of payments and impact of milestones or acceptance criteria on the
realizability of the software license fee. For the six months ended April 30,
2006, we recognized $10,000 of software consulting revenue.
Allowance
for Doubtful Accounts:
Our
policy is to maintain allowances for estimated losses resulting from the
inability of our customers to make required payments. Credit limits are
established through a process of reviewing the financial history and stability
of each customer. Where appropriate, we obtain credit rating reports and
financial statements of the customer when determining or modifying their credit
limits. We regularly evaluate the collectibility of our trade receivable
balances based on a combination of factors. When a customer’s account balance
becomes past due, we initiate dialogue with the customer to determine the cause.
If it is determined that the customer will be unable to meet its financial
obligation to us, such as in the case of a bankruptcy filing, deterioration
in
the customer’s operating results or financial position or other material events
impacting their business, we record a specific allowance to reduce the related
receivable to the amount we expect to recover. Should all efforts fail to
recover the related receivable, we will write-off the account.
We
also
record an allowance for all customers based on certain other factors including
the length of time the receivables are past due and historical collection
experience with customers. We believe our reported allowances are adequate.
If
the financial conditions of those customers were to deteriorate, however,
resulting in their inability to make payments, we may need to record additional
allowances which would result in additional general and administrative expenses
being recorded for the period in which such determination was made.
Inventories:
Inventories
are stated at the lower of cost, using the first-in, first-out method, or market
value. We utilize standard cost, which approximates actual costs for certain
indirect costs.
We
are exposed
to a number of economic and industry factors that could result in portions
of
our inventory becoming either obsolete or in excess of anticipated usage, or
subject to lower of cost or market issues. These factors include, but are not
limited to, technological changes in our markets, our ability to meet changing
customer requirements, competitive pressures in products and prices, and the
availability of key components from our suppliers. Our policy is to establish
inventory reserves when conditions exist that suggest that our inventory may
be
in excess of anticipated demand or is obsolete based upon our assumptions about
future demand for our products and market conditions. We regularly evaluate
our
ability to realize the value of our inventory based on a combination of factors
including the following: historical usage rates, forecasted sales or usage,
product end-of-life dates, estimated current and future market values and new
product introductions. Purchasing practices and alternative usage avenues are
explored within these processes to mitigate inventory exposure. When recorded,
our reserves are intended to reduce the carrying value of our inventory to
its
net realizable value. If actual demand for our products deteriorates, or market
conditions are less favorable than those that we project, additional inventory
reserves may be required.
Stock-Based
Compensation:
Effective
November 1, 2005, we adopted the provisions of SFAS 123R, Share-Based
Payment,
using
the modified prospective method, which requires measurement of
compensation
cost for all stock-based awards at fair value on the grant date and recognition
of compensation expense over the requisite service period for awards expected
to
vest.
The
fair
value method under SFAS 123R is similar to the fair value method under SFAS
123,
Accounting
for Stock Based Compensation
, as
amended by SFAS 148, Accounting
for Stock-Based Compensation - Transition and Disclosure with
respect to measurement and recognition of stock-based compensation. However,
SFAS 123 permitted us to recognize forfeitures as they occur, while SFAS 123R
requires us to estimate future forfeitures and adjust our estimate on a periodic
basis. SFAS 123R also requires a classification change in the statement of
cash
flows whereby the income tax benefit from stock option exercises is reported
as
a financing cash flow rather than an operating cash flow as previously reported.
We
have
several approved stock option plans for which stock options and restricted
stock
awards are available to grant to employees and directors. All employee and
director stock options granted under our stock option plans have an exercise
price equal to the market value of the underlying common stock on the grant
date. There are no vesting provisions tied to performance conditions for any
option as vesting for all outstanding option grants was based only on continued
service as an employee of SBE. All of our outstanding stock options and
restricted stock awards are classified as equity instruments.
Stock
Options
On
the
date of adoption of SFAS 123R, there were options to purchase 4,213,704 shares
of common stock outstanding, of which 1,400,397 were fully vested. Included
in
the outstanding stock options on the date of adoption are options to purchase
2,038,950 shares of common stock related to the PyX 2005 Stock Option Plan
that
were assumed by us in our acquisition of PyX in July 2005. We
granted 730,000 stock options to employees and members of our Board of Directors
during the six-month period ended April 30, 2006
For
the
three and six months ended April 30, 2006, we recorded approximately $341,000
and $697,000, respectively, of stock-based compensation expense, respectively,
associated with outstanding unvested employee stock options, employee and Board
of Directors stock options granted during the six months ended April 30, 2006
and stock options issued to non-employee advisors. As of April 30, 2006, there
was approximately $2.6 million of remaining unamortized stock-based compensation
expense associated with unvested employee stock options that were outstanding
on
November 1, 2005 (the date of adoption of SFAS 123R), unvested employee and
Board of Directors stock options granted during the six months ended April
30,
2006 and unvested stock options issued to non-employee advisors that will be
expensed over the remaining service period through September 2009. There
was
no stock-based compensation expense related to employee stock options and
employee stock purchases recognized during the three and six months ended April
30, 2005.
Stock
For Pay Awards
On
January 12, 2006, our Board approved a company-wide 30% reduction in employee
base salaries, effective January 16, 2006. In order to continue to motivate
and
retain our
employees
despite such salary reductions, the Board also approved stock grants to all
of
our employees pursuant to the 1996 Stock Option Plan and 2006 Plan. Effective
April 1, 2006, the Board modified the 30% reduction in employee base salaries
to
a cash salary reduction ranging from 10% to 20% of the employee’s base salaries.
The level of the reduction of the cash portion of the salary for each employee
is dependent on their respective position and base salary and employees with
lower salaries generally have lower reductions. A total of 278,465 shares of
our
common stock have been issued since January 1, 2006 pursuant to the stock for
pay plan. The stock issued to employees in-lieu of a portion of their cash
compensation is valued at the market price on the date of issuance and is
included in compensation expense. For
the
three and six months ended April 30, 2006, we recorded approximately $261,000
and $320,000 of stock-based compensation associated with the stock for pay
plan.
In
addition, the Board approved the suspension of all cash payments of Board and
Board committee fees, until further notice. A total of 43,658 shares of our
common stock has been issued to Board members under the stock for fee plan
since
January 1, 2006. The stock issued to Board member in-lieu of a of their cash
compensation is valued at the market price on the date of issuance and is
included in General and Administrative expense. For
the
three and six months ended April 30, 2006, we recorded approximately $39,000
and
$71,000, of stock-based compensation and director expense associated with such
stock grants.
Restricted
Stock Awards
On
March
21, 2006, our Board approved restricted stock grants to all employees in order
to continue to motivate and retain our employees. The shares of restricted
stock
granted under the plan vest 25% on the first anniversary of the initial grant
date with the remainder vesting monthly thereafter for the following six months.
A total of 277,000 restricted shares of our common stock have been issued to
employees under the restricted stock grants with initial vesting dates of April
1, 2007 through April 24, 2007. The total fair value of the restricted stock
grants on the date of issuance is $291,000 and will be amortized over the 18
month vesting period at the rate of $16,200 per month. Included in operating
expense for the three and six month periods ended April 30, 2006 is $9,200
of
amortization expense related to the restricted stock grants.
Income
Taxes:
We
account for income taxes in accordance with SFAS No. 109, Accounting
for Income Taxes (SFAS
109) .
SFAS 109
requires recognition of deferred tax liabilities and assets for the expected
future tax consequences of items that have been included in the financial
statements or tax returns. Deferred income taxes represent the future net tax
effects resulting from temporary differences between the financial statement
and
tax bases of assets and liabilities, using enacted tax rates in effect for
the
year in which the differences are expected to reverse. Valuation allowances
are
recorded against net deferred tax assets where, in our opinion, realization
is
uncertain. Based on the uncertainty of future pre-tax income, we fully reserved
our deferred tax assets as of April 30, 2006 and October 31, 2005, respectively.
In the event we were to determine that we would be able to realize our deferred
tax assets in the future, an adjustment to the deferred tax asset would increase
income in the period such determination was made. The provision for income
taxes
represents the net change in deferred tax amounts, plus income taxes payable
for
the
current
period.
Long-lived
Asset Impairment:
Capitalized
software costs consist of costs to purchase software and costs to internally
develop software. Capitalization of software costs begins upon the establishment
of technological feasibility. All capitalized software costs are amortized
as
related sales are recorded on a per-unit basis with a minimum amortization
to
cost of goods sold based on a straight-line method over a three-year estimated
useful life. We amortize capitalized software acquired from PyX to cost of
sales
on a straight line basis over thirty-six months, beginning August 1, 2005,
which
is the expected useful life and does not materially differ from the expected
cash inflow from the sale of products related to the acquired PyX product line.
We
assess
any impairment when events may indicate we have impairment and at least annually
by estimating the future cash flow from the associated asset in accordance
with
SFAS No. 144, Accounting
for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.
If the
estimated undiscounted cash flow related to these assets decreases in the future
or the useful life is shorter than originally
estimated, we
may
incur charges for impairment of these assets. The impairment is based on the
estimated discounted cash flow associated with the asset. It is our belief
that
no impairment to the software asset exists as of April 30, 2006.
Impairment
of Capitalized Software:
During
the three months ended April 30, 2006, we wrote-off $256,000 of capitalized
software development costs related to our discontinued VoIP products. This
write-off is included in our Product Research and Development expense for the
three and six months ended April 30, 2006.
New
Accounting Pronouncements:
In
May
2005, the FASB issued SFAS No. 154, Accounting
Changes and Error Corrections (SFAS
154). This new standard replaces APB Opinion 20, Accounting
Changes,
and FASB
No. 3, Reporting
Accounting Changes in Interim Financial Statements.
Among
other changes, SFAS 154 requires a voluntary change in accounting principle
to
be applied retrospectively with all prior period financial statements presented
using the new accounting principle, unless it is impracticable to do so. SFAS
154 also provides that (1) a change in method of depreciating or amortizing
a
long-lived non-financial asset be accounted for as a change in estimate
(prospectively) that was effected by a change in accounting principle, and
(2)
correction of errors in previously issued financial statements should be termed
a "restatement." The new standard is effective for accounting changes and
correction of errors made in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2005.
We
believe the adoption of the provisions of SFAS 154 will not have a material
impact on our results of operations, financial positions or liquidity.
Results
of Operations
The
following table sets forth, as a percentage of net sales, our consolidated
statements of operations data for the three and six months ended April 30,
2006
and 2005. These
operating
results are not necessarily indicative of our operating results for any future
period.
Three
Months Ended
|
Six
Months Ended
|
||||||||||||
April
30,
|
April
30,
|
||||||||||||
2006
|
2005
|
2006
|
2005
|
||||||||||
Net
sales
|
100
|
%
|
100
|
%
|
100
|
%
|
100
|
%
|
|||||
Amortization
of software
|
56
|
---
|
63
|
---
|
|||||||||
Cost
of sales
|
71
|
63
|
65
|
51
|
|||||||||
Gross
profit (loss)
|
(27
|
)
|
37
|
(28
|
)
|
49
|
|||||||
Product
research and development
|
63
|
34
|
65
|
23
|
|||||||||
Sales
and marketing
|
36
|
33
|
38
|
25
|
|||||||||
General
and administrative
|
42
|
25
|
48
|
18
|
|||||||||
Total
operating expenses
|
141
|
92
|
151
|
66
|
|||||||||
Operating
and net loss
|
(168)%
|
|
(55)%
|
|
(179)%
|
|
(17)%
|
|
Net
Sales
Net
sales
for the second quarter of fiscal 2006 were $1.8 million, a 6% increase from
$1.7
million in the second quarter of fiscal 2005. For the first six months of fiscal
2006, net sales were $3.2 million, which represented a 29% decrease over net
sales of $4.5 million for the same period in fiscal 2005. This decrease was
primarily attributable to a decline in shipments to the Hewlett Packard Company
(HP). Sales to HP was $1.0 million in the six months ended April 30, 2005
compared to no sales for the same period of fiscal 2006. Sales
to
HP, primarily of VME products, represented 0% and 23% of total sales for the
three
and
six months ended April 30, 2005 as compared
to no sales during the comparable periods in fiscal 2006.
We
shipped our final order of VME products to HP in the first fiscal quarter of
2005. Data
Connection Limited (DCL) represented 19% and 29%, Nortel Networks (Nortel)
represented 19% and 16% and Raytheon represented 29% and 19% of our net sales
for the three months and six months ended April 30, 2006, respectively. DCL
represented 34% and 22%, and Nortel represented 20% and !6% and Lucent
represented 10% and less than 10% of
our
sales in the three and six month periods ended April 30, 2005,
respectively.
Sales
of
our adapter products were $1.2 million and $2.0 million for the three and six
months ended April 30, 2006, respectively, as compared to $812,000 and $1.7
million for the same periods in fiscal 2005, respectively. Sales of our HighWire
products were $379,000 and $970,000 for the three and six months ended April
30,
2006, respectively, as compared to $707,000 and $1.3 million for the same
periods in fiscal 2005, respectively. Our adapter products are used primarily
in
edge-of-the-network applications such as Virtual Private Network (VPN) and
other
routers, VoIP gateways and security devices. Our HighWire products are primarily
targeted at core-of-the-network applications used primarily by
telecommunications central offices and VoIP providers.
In
the
short term, our net sales will continue to be generated by sales of our adapter
and Highwire products as we transition from our legacy embedded products to
software and
hardware
products directed at the IP SAN storage market. Over the next few quarters,
we
expect to see an increase in our software sales as the storage OEMs who have
selected our iSCSI software begin to complete their product design phase and
begin to roll-out their storage products to end-users. In the three months
ended
April 30, 2006, we licensed over 400 copies of our iSCSI storage software to
our
OEM customers compared to none in the previous quarters. These software licenses
generated over $65,000 in deferred revenues. Over the next few years, we expect
our net sales will be generated
primarily
by
sales of
our iSCSI storage software products that facilitate backup and disaster recover
functions as well and iSCSI gateway products as we transition away from our
traditional base of telecommunications-based hardware connectivity products.
We
have begun to see market acceptance of our iSCSI software products and as of
April 30, 2006 have signed software contracts with 14 storage OEMs. Although
we
expect to see sales growth in our iSCSI
products as these OEMs products are completed and released to the marketplace,
there can be no assurance that our OEM customers will be successful in selling
their products incorporating our iSCSI software to end-user customers.
In
addition, we
will
continue to sell and support our legacy Adapter, Highwire and VME products,
but
we expect sales for them to decline significantly as the OEM products in which
they are embedded are phased out.
International
sales constituted 29% and 41% of net sales for the three and six month periods
ended April 30, 2006 compared to 6% and 15% of net sales for the three and
six
month periods ended April 30, 2005, respectively. International sales are
primarily executed with customers in the United Kingdom and represented 25%
and
35% of our sales for the three and six month periods ended April 30, 2006,
respectively. All international sales are executed in U.S. dollars.
Our
sales
backlog at April 30, 2006 was $1.0 million,
compared
to $1.2 million at October 31, 2005. Because our sales are generally
concentrated with a small group of OEM customers, we could experience
significant fluctuations in our quarterly sales volumes due to fluctuating
demand from any major customer or delay in the rollout of any significant new
product by a major customer.
Cost
of Goods Sold
Cost
of
Goods Sold (COGS) includes direct material cost, manufacturing cost, internal
production department cost and amortization of product related software costs.
For the three and six months ended April 30, 2006 COGS includes, amortization
expense of intangible and long-lived assets related to the PyX acquisition
of
$1.0 million and $2.0 million, respectively, compared to none for the same
periods of fiscal 2005. The $12.3 million software long-lived asset recorded
when we acquired PyX is scheduled to be amortized to COGS expense over 13
quarters beginning with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005 at the rate of $1.0
million per quarter. Included in COGS expense for the three and six months
ended
April 30, 2006 is $16,000 and $20,000 of non-cash stock based compensation
expense related to the Stock for Pay program, stock option expense per SFAS
123R
and the issuance of restricted stock to employees compared to none in
2005.
Gross
Margin
Gross
margin as a percentage of sales in the second quarter of fiscal 2006 was a
negative
27%
as
compared to a positive 37% for the second quarter of fiscal 2005. For the first
six months of fiscal 2006, our gross margin was a negative 28% as compared
to
positive 49% for the same period in fiscal 2005. The
decrease in our gross profit margin for the quarter ended April 30, 2006 is
related to a combination of the inclusion of $1.0 million of amortization
expense related to the acquired PyX software asset and an inventory write-down
related to the cancellation of our VoIP product development program totaling
$297,000 in the quarter just ended. The decrease in our gross profit margin
for
the six months ended April 30, 2006 is related to a combination of the reduction
in sales of $1.0 million of 70% gross margin products to HP and the inclusion
of
$2.0 million of amortization expense related to the acquired PyX software asset
and an inventory write-down related to the cancellation of our VoIP product
development program totaling $297,000 in the six months ended April 30,
2006.
Product
Research and Development
Product
research and development (R&D) expenses for the three and six month periods
ended April 30, 2006 were $1.1 million and $2.1 million, respectively, a 100%
increase from $573,000 and $1.0 million, respectively, for the three and six
month periods ended April 30, 2005. The increase is related to a combination
of
new employees and an increase in our spending on new product development
projects. When we acquired PyX in July 2005 we hired six new employees in our
engineering group. The three and six months ended April 30, 2006 includes
$687,000 and $833,000 of direct development project related development expense
including $255,000 of amortization of previously capitalized VoIP development
expense that was amortized to expense due to the cancellation of the VoIP
development project. We remain committed to the development and enhancement
of
new and existing IP storage software and hardware products, particularly, iSCSI.
Included in R&D expense for the three and six months ended April 30, 2006 is
$125,000 and $164,000 of non-cash stock based compensation expense related
to
the Stock for Pay program, stock option expense per SFAS 123R and the issuance
of restricted stock to employees compared to none in 2005. We did not capitalize
any internal software development costs in the six months ended April 30,
2006.
Sales
and Marketing
Sales
and
marketing expenses for the three and six month periods ended April 30, 2006
were
$651,000 and $1.2 million, respectively, compared to $567,000 and $1.1 million
for the same periods in fiscal 2005. Included in sales and marketing expense
for
the three and six months ended April 30, 2006 is $122,000 and $166,000 of
non-cash stock based compensation expense related to the Stock for Pay program,
stock option expense per SFAS 123R and the issuance of restricted stock to
employees compared to none in 2005. We
expect
our sales and marketing expenses to increase over the remainder of fiscal 2006
as we continue to accelerate our product marketing efforts and attend an
increasing number of industry-specific trade shows, especially for our iSCSI
and
other related storage products.
General
and Administrative
General
and administrative expenses for the three and six months periods ended April
30,
2006 were $756,000 and $1.5 million, respectively, an increase from $426,000
and
$795,000
for the same periods in fiscal 2005. Included in general and administrative
expense for the three and six months ended April 30, 2006 is $387,000 and
$758,000 of non-cash stock based compensation expense related to the Stock
for
Pay program, Stock for fee for the Board of Directors, stock option expense
related to the assumption of the PyX stock options, stock option expense per
SFAS 123R and the issuance of restricted stock to employees compared to none
in
2005.
Net
Loss
As
a
result of the factors discussed above, we recorded a net loss of $3.0 million
and $5.8 million in the three and six month periods ended April 30, 2006, as
compared to a net loss of $936,000 and $760,000 for the same periods in fiscal
2005.
Off-Balance
Sheet Arrangements
We
do not
have any transactions, arrangements or other relationships with unconsolidated
entities that are reasonably likely to affect our liquidity or capital
resources. We have no special purpose or limited purpose entities that provide
off-balance sheet financing, liquidity, or market or credit risk support. We
also do not engage in leasing, hedging, research and development services or
other relationships that could expose us to liability that is not reflected
on
the face of the financial statements.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
Our
liquidity is dependent on many factors, including sales volume, operating profit
and the efficiency of asset use and turnover. Our future liquidity will be
affected by, among other things:
-
|
actual
versus anticipated increase in sales of our
products;
|
-
|
ongoing
cost control actions and expenses, including, for example, inventory
costs, research and development expenses and capital
expenditures;
|
-
|
timing
of product shipments, which occur primarily during the last month
of the
quarter;
|
-
|
our
gross profit margin;
|
-
|
our
ability to raise additional capital, if necessary;
and
|
-
|
our
ability to secure credit facilities, if
necessary.
|
At
April
30, 2006, we had cash and cash equivalents of $1.6 million, as compared to
$3.6
million at October 31, 2005. In
the
first six months of fiscal 2006, $1.8 million of cash was used in operating
activities, primarily as a result of our net loss.
The
loss was partially offset by an increase in liabilities and a decrease in
inventory and other assets. Working
capital, consisting of our current assets less our current liabilities, at
April
30, 2006 was $3.2 million, as compared to $5.5 million at October 31,
2005.
In
the
first six months of fiscal 2006, we purchased $167,000 of fixed assets,
consisting primarily of computer and engineering equipment, and $40,000 in
software, primarily for engineering and product design activities and payments
related to the contract to design our VoIP products. Capital expenditures for
each of the remaining quarters of fiscal 2006 are expected to range from $25,000
to $100,000 per quarter.
We
received $37,000, net of expenses, in the first six months of fiscal 2006 from
payments related to common stock purchases made by employees pursuant to the
exercise of employee stock options.
In
mid-January 2006 we took steps to reduce our cash flow break-even point. We
changed the formula for paying all officers and employees and our Board of
Directors for their services. For the January 31, 2006 through March 31, 2006
payrolls, officer and employee compensation were paid 70% in cash and 30% in
shares of our common stock. Beginning with our April 15, 2006 payroll the
formula was changed to a range of 80% to 90% in cash and 10% to 20% in shares
of
our common stock. Our Board of Directors’ monthly fees are paid entirely in our
common stock. Concurrent with our stock-for-pay program, we are controlling
or
eliminating other cash operating expenses. These cost cutting measures have
reduced our quarterly operating cash expenses by approximately $550,000 and
reduced our projected quarterly cash break-even point to approximately $2.5
to
$2.7 million from approximately $3.5 million to $3.8 million in net sales at
a
cash gross margin of 50% to 55%.
Although
our current gross margin is significantly lower than the mid-50% range, we
expect our gross margin to increase significantly as software sales become
the
dominant product in our product sales mix.
We
expect
to continue to increase our expenditures on engineering and sales and marketing
activities to develop and market new and existing products, especially in the
IP
storage markets for data back-up and disaster recovery. We will have significant
non-cash expenses in the coming quarters and years related to the amortization
of the software and deferred compensation recorded as a result of the PyX
acquisition and the adoption of SFAS 123R on November 1, 2005. Because of the
non-cash expenses related to the PyX acquisition, expensing of employee stock
options and anticipated increases in our expenditure levels, we expect to
generate net losses for the foreseeable future. Our projected sales are to
a
limited number of new and existing OEM customers and are based on internal
and
customer-provided estimates of future demand, not firm customer orders. In
addition, the market for IP storage, particularly iSCSI NAS and SAN storage
appliances, is new and may not gain acceptance as quickly as we predict.
As
of
April 30, 2006, we had $1.6 million in cash and we are not operating at cash
breakeven. Unless we are able to increase our sales to get to cash breakeven,
we
will not have sufficient cash generated from our business activities to support
our operations for the next twelve months. If our projected sales do not
materialize, we may need to reduce expenses and raise additional capital through
customer prepayments or the issuance of debt or equity securities. If we raise
additional funds through the issuance of preferred stock or debt, these
securities could have rights, privileges or preferences senior to those of
common stock, and debt covenants could impose restrictions on our operations.
The sale of equity or debt could result in additional dilution to current
stockholders, and such financing may not be available to us on acceptable terms,
if at all.
Item 3. |
Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures about Market
Risk
|
Our
cash
and cash equivalents are subject to interest rate risk. We invest primarily
on a
short-term basis in instruments having a maturity of less than three months.
Our
financial
instrument
holdings at April 30, 2006 were analyzed to determine their sensitivity to
interest rate changes. The fair values of these instruments were determined
by
net present values. In our sensitivity analysis, the same change in interest
rate was used for all maturities and all other factors were held constant.
If
interest rates increased by 10%, the expected effect on net income related
to
our financial instruments would be immaterial. We hold no assets or liabilities
denominated in a foreign currency. Since October 31, 2005, there has been no
change in our exposure to market risk.
Item 4. |
Controls
and Procedures
|
Evaluation
of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
An
evaluation as of April 30, 2006 was carried out under the supervision of and
with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer
and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation
of
our “disclosure controls and procedures,” which are defined under SEC rules as
controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that
information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act, is recorded,
processed, summarized and reported within required time
periods. In
our
financial reporting process, our Chief Financial Officer, in discussions with
our independent registered public accounting firm, identified a certain
“material weakness” (as such term is defined under Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board Auditing Standard No. 2) in disclosure controls and
procedures. As a result of this material weakness, our Chief
Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have determined that our
disclosure controls and procedures are ineffective.
The
material weakness identified is related to our management’s inadequate technical
expertise with respect to income tax accounting and income tax disclosure in
the
2005 financial statements. The lack of technical expertise is related to our
accounting and disclosure of deferred income tax liability for long-lived assets
capitalized in the PyX acquisition. Although the lack of technical expertise
did
not result in any net changes to the balance sheets, statements of operations
or
cash flows, it did result in an adjustment to the disclosures related to
deferred income tax assets and liability in the notes to the 2005 financial
statements. We
have
retained income tax reporting specialists for assistance in future
periods.
Limitations
on the Effectiveness of Controls
A
control
system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable,
not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the controls are met. Because
of
the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls
can
provide absolute assurance that all control issues within a company, if any,
have been detected. Accordingly, our disclosure controls and procedures are
designed to provide reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives
of
our disclosure control system are met and, as set forth above, our Chief
Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded, based on their
evaluation as of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report on
Form
10-Q, that our disclosure controls and procedures were not sufficiently
effective to provide reasonable assurance that the objectives of our disclosure
control system were met.
Changes
in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There
were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined
in
Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the quarter
ended April 30, 2006 that have materially affected, or are reasonably
likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
However, management intends to take steps to remediate the material weakness
described above.
PART II. |
Other
Information
|
Item 1A. |
Risk
Factors
|
In
addition to the other information in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q,
stockholders or prospective investors should carefully consider the following
risk factors:
Risks
Related to Our Business
We
may not realize any anticipated benefits from the acquisition of PyX
Technologies, Inc. (PyX).
We
acquired PyX on July 26, 2005. While we believe that our opportunities are
greater than our opportunities prior to the acquisition and that we will be
able
to create substantially more stockholder value, there is substantial risk that
the synergies and benefits sought in the acquisition might not be fully
achieved. There is no assurance that PyX’s technology can be successfully
integrated into our existing product platforms or that our financial results
will meet or exceed the financial results that would have been achieved absent
the acquisition. As a result, our operations and financial results may suffer
and the market price of our common stock may decline.
Our
iSCSI products will require a substantial product development investment by
us
and we may not realize any return on our investment.
The
development of new or enhanced products is a complex and uncertain process.
As
we integrate the PyX iSCSI products into our product line, our customers may
experience design, manufacturing, marketing and other difficulties that could
delay or prevent the development, introduction or marketing of new products
and
enhancements, both to our existing product line as well as to the PyX products.
Development costs and expenses are incurred before we generate any net revenue
from sales of the products resulting from these efforts. We expect to incur
substantial research and development expenses relating to the iSCSI product
lines, which could have a negative impact on our earnings in future
periods.
If
PyX’s products contain undetected errors, we could incur significant unexpected
expenses and experience product returns and lost
sales.
The
iSCSI
software products developed by PyX are highly technical and complex. While
PyX’s
products have been tested, because of their nature, we can not be certain of
their
performance
either as stand-alone products or when integrated with our existing product
line. Because of PyX’s short operating history, we have little information on
the performance of its products. There can be no assurance that defects or
errors may not arise or be discovered in the future. Any defects or errors
in
PyX's products discovered in the future could result in a loss of customers
or
decrease in net revenue and market share.
We
depend upon a small number of Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) customers.
The loss of any of these customers, or their failure to sell their products,
could limit our ability to generate revenues. In particular, the Hewlett Packard
Company (HP) ceased to be a significant customer of ours in the first quarter
of
fiscal 2005, and our success depends on being able to replace net sales
previously attributable to HP with sales to other
customers.
In
the
first quarter of fiscal 2005, sales of VME products to HP accounted for 36%
of
our net sales. We made our final shipment for $1.0 million of our VME products
to HP in the first quarter of fiscal 2005. Our future success depends on being
able to replace net sales previously attributable to HP with sales to other
customers. We
can
provide no assurance that we will succeed
in
obtaining new orders from existing or new customers
sufficient to replace or
exceed
the
net
sales
previously attributable
to HP or that we will become a qualified supplier with new OEM customers or
remain a qualified supplier with existing OEM customers.
Orders
by
our OEM customers are affected by factors such as new product introductions,
product life cycles, inventory levels, manufacturing strategies, contract
awards, competitive conditions and general economic conditions. Our sales to
any
single OEM customer are also subject to significant variability from quarter
to
quarter. Such fluctuations may have a material adverse effect on our operating
results. A significant reduction in orders from any of our OEM customers, could
have a material adverse effect on our operating results, financial condition
and
cash flows.
A
failure
to collect outstanding accounts receivable from any of our OEM customers could
have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial
condition and cash flows.
Our
future capital needs may exceed our ability to raise
capital.
The
development and marketing of our products is capital-intensive. We believe
that
our existing cash balances and our anticipated cash flow from operations will
satisfy our working capital needs for the foreseeable future. Declines in our
sales or a failure to keep expenses in line with revenues could require us
to
seek additional financing in fiscal 2006. In addition, should we experience
a
significant growth in customer orders or wish to make strategic acquisitions
of
a business or assets, we may be required to seek additional capital to meet
our
working capital needs. There can be no assurance that additional financing,
if
required, will be available on reasonable terms or at all. To the extent that
additional capital is raised through the sale of additional equity or
convertible debt securities, the issuance of such securities could result in
additional dilution to our stockholders.
Because
of our dependence on single suppliers for some components, we may be unable
to
obtain an adequate supply of such components, or we may be required to pay
higher prices or to purchase components of lesser
quality.
The
chip
sets used in some of our products are currently available only from a single
supplier. If these suppliers discontinue or upgrade some of the components
used
in our products, we could be required to redesign a product to incorporate
newer
or alternative technology. The inability to obtain sufficient key components
as
required, or to develop alternative sources if and as required in the future,
could result in delays or reductions in product shipments or margins that,
in
turn, would have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results,
financial condition and cash flows. If enough components are unavailable, we
may
have to pay a premium in order to meet customer demand. Paying premiums for
parts, building inventories of scarce parts and obsolescence of existing
inventories could lower or eliminate our profit margin, reduce our cash flow
and
otherwise harm our business. To offset potential component shortages, we have
in
the past, and may in the future, carry an inventory of these components. As
a
result, our inventory of components parts may become obsolete and may result
in
write-downs.
If
we fail to develop and produce new products, we may lose sales and our
reputation may be harmed.
The
markets for our products are characterized by rapidly changing technologies,
evolving industry standards and frequent new product introductions. Our future
success will depend on our ability to enhance our existing products and to
introduce new products and features to meet and adapt to changing customer
requirements and emerging storage technologies such as, SATA, iSCSI, SAS,
Gigabit Ethernet, 10G and TOE. There can be no assurance that we will be
successful in identifying, developing, manufacturing and marketing new products
or enhancing our existing products. In addition, there can be no assurance
that
services, products or technologies developed by others will not render our
products obsolete.
In
the
past, we have focused a significant portion of our research and development,
marketing and sales efforts on telecommunication connectivity products such
as
Voice over IP (VoIP), HighWire, WAN and LAN adapter products. In the future,
we
will focus our research and development activities developing products for
the
storage markets, in particular the IP SAN storage market serviced by iSCSI
software and related hardware products. The success of these storage products
is
dependent on several factors, including timely completion of new product
designs, achievement of acceptable software and hardware manufacturing quality
and yields, introduction of competitive products by other companies, market
acceptance of our products and our ability to sell our products. If our new
storage products developed by us do not gain market acceptance, our business,
operating results, financial condition and cash flows would be materially
adversely affected.
The
storage and embedded products market is intensely competitive, and our failure
to compete effectively could reduce our revenues and
margins.
We
compete directly with traditional vendors of storage software and hardware
devices, including Fibre Channel SAN products, open source “free” software, and
application
specific
storage solutions. We compete with communications suppliers of routers,
switches, gateways, network interface cards and other products that connect
to
the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and the Internet. In the future,
we
expect competition from companies offering client/server
access
solutions based on emerging technologies such as Fibre Channel, iSCSI, SAS
and
other technologies. In addition, we may encounter increased competition from
operating system and network operating system vendors to the extent that such
vendors include full communications and storage capabilities in their products.
We may also encounter future competition from telephony service providers (such
as AT&T or the regional Bell operating companies) and storage product
providers (such as EMC Corporation, Network Appliance, Inc. and Qlogic
Corporation).
Increased
competition with respect to any of our products could result in price reductions
and loss of market share, which would adversely affect our business, operating
results, financial condition and cash flows. Many of our current and potential
competitors have greater financial, marketing, technical and other resources
than we do. There can be no assurance that we will be able to compete
successfully with our existing competitors or will be able to compete
successfully with new competitors.
We
depend on our key personnel. If we are unable to retain our current personnel
and hire additional qualified personnel as needed, our business will be harmed.
We
are
highly dependent on the technical, management, marketing and sales skills of
a
limited number of key employees. We do not have employment agreements with,
or
life insurance on the lives of, any of our key employees. The loss of the
services of any key employees could adversely affect our business and operating
results. Our future success will depend on our ability to continue to attract
and retain highly talented personnel to the extent our business grows.
Competition for qualified personnel in the networking and software industries,
and in the San Francisco Bay Area, is intense. There can be no assurance that
we
will be successful in retaining our key employees or that we can attract or
retain additional skilled personnel as required. None of our employees are
covered by life insurance that names the Company as beneficiary.
We
may be unable to protect our software, which could reduce any competitive
advantage we have.
Although
we believe that our future success will depend primarily on continuing
innovation, sales, marketing and technical expertise and the quality of product
support and customer relations, we must also protect the proprietary technology
contained in our products. We do not currently hold any patents and rely on
a
combination of copyright, trademark, trade secret laws and contractual
provisions to establish and protect proprietary rights in our products. There
can be no assurance that steps taken by us in this regard will be adequate
to
deter misappropriation or independent third-party development of our technology.
Although we believe that our products and technology do not infringe on the
proprietary rights of others, there can be no assurance that third parties
will
not assert infringement claims against us.
Risks
Associated with Ownership of Our Common Stock
The
market price of our common stock is likely to continue to be volatile. You
may
not be able to resell your shares at or above the price at which you purchased
such shares.
The
trading price of our common stock is subject to wide fluctuations in response
to
quarter-to-quarter fluctuations in operating results, the failure to meet
analyst estimates, announcements of technological innovations or new products
by
us or our competitors, general conditions in the computer and communications
industries and other events or factors. In addition, stock markets have
experienced extreme price and trading volume volatility in recent years. This
volatility has had a substantial effect on the market price of the securities
of
many high technology companies for reasons frequently unrelated to the operating
performance of the specific companies. These broad market fluctuations may
adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Our common stock has
historically had relatively small trading volumes. As a result, small
transactions in our common stock can have a disproportionately large impact
on
the quoted price of our common stock.
If
we continue to experiences losses we could experience difficulty meeting our
business plan, and our stock price could be negatively
affected.
We
may
experience operating losses and negative cash flow from operations as we develop
and market the iSCSI software solution acquired in the PyX acquisition. Any
failure to achieve or maintain profitability could negatively impact the market
price of our common stock. Historically, PyX has not been profitable on a
quarterly or annual basis, and we expect that the combined company will incur
net losses for the foreseeable future. We anticipate that we will continue
to
incur significant product development, sales and marketing and administrative
expenses. As a result, we will need to generate significant quarterly revenues
if we are to achieve and maintain profitability. A substantial failure to
achieve profitability could make it difficult or impossible for us to grow
our
business. Our business strategy may not be successful, and we may not generate
significant revenues or achieve profitability. Any failure to significantly
increase revenues would also harm our ability to achieve and maintain
profitability. If we do achieve profitability in the future, we may not be
able
to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual
basis.
Future
sales of our common stock, including shares issued in the PyX acquisition and
the private placement could cause the market price for our common stock to
significantly decline.
Sales
of
substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market could cause the
market price of our common stock to fall, and could make it more difficult
for
us to raise capital through public offerings or other sales of our capital
stock. In addition, the public perception that these sales might occur could
have the same undesirable effects. The PyX shareholders who received shares
of
our common stock in the PyX acquisition entered into agreements that provide,
in
part, that, with respect to 95% of the shares of our common stock that the
shareholders received in connection with the acquisition, the shareholders
can
not sell these shares until July 27, 2006. We registered for the resale all
of
the shares that we issued in the merger and private placement effective November
14, 2005. The purchasers in the private placement are not subject to any lockup
with respect to the shares they purchased in the private placement. As a result,
sales under the registration statement will include a very substantial number
of
shares and percentage of
our
common stock. Holders of approximately 46.7% of the outstanding shares of our
common stock will have the right to sell their shares pursuant to these
registration rights and holders of an additional approximately 5.7% of the
outstanding shares of our common stock, assuming no further issuances of shares
of our common stock, will have the right to sell their shares after the one
year
period has passed. Such free transferability could materially and adversely
affect the market price of our common stock.
Our
common stock has been at risk for delisting from the Nasdaq SmallCap Market.
If
it is delisted, our stock price and your liquidity may be
impacted.
Our
common stock is currently listed on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market. Nasdaq has
requirements that a company must meet in order to remain listed on the Nasdaq
SmallCap Market. These requirements include maintaining a minimum closing bid
price of $1.00 and minimum stockholders’ equity of $2.5 million. Our
stockholders’ equity as of April 30, 2006 was approximately $12.7 million and
our closing bid price on April 30, 2006 was $1.07. Although
we
currently meet all of the minimum continued listing requirements for the Nasdaq
SmallCap Market,
should
our stock price decline, our common stock could be subject to potential
delisting from the Nasdaq SmallCap Market.
If
we
fail to maintain the standards necessary to be quoted on the Nasdaq SmallCap
Market and our common stock is delisted, trading in our common stock would
be
conducted on the OTC Bulletin Board as long as we continue to file reports
required by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The OTC Bulletin Board
is
generally considered to be a less efficient market than the Nasdaq SmallCap
Market, and our stock price, as well as the liquidity of our common
stock,
may be
adversely impacted as a result.
Our
certificate of incorporation and bylaws and the Delaware General Corporation
Law
contain provisions that could delay or prevent a change in
control.
Our
board
of directors has the authority to issue up to 2,000,000 shares of preferred
stock and to determine the price, rights, preferences and privileges of those
shares without any further vote or action by the stockholders. The rights of
the
holders of common stock will be subject to, and may be materially adversely
affected by, the rights of the holders of any preferred stock that may be issued
in the future. The issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of making
it more difficult for a third party to acquire a majority of our outstanding
voting stock. Furthermore, certain other provisions of our certificate of
incorporation and bylaws may have the effect of delaying or preventing changes
in control or management, which could adversely affect the market price of
our
common stock. In addition, we are subject to the provisions of Section 203
of
the Delaware General Corporation Law, an anti-takeover law.
Item 4. |
Submission
of Matters to a Vote of Security
Holders
|
The
annual meeting of stockholders was held on Tuesday, March 21, 2006, at our
corporate
offices located at 4000 Executive Parkway, Suite 200, San Ramon, California.
The
stockholders approved the following three items:
(i) |
The
election of one director to hold office until the 2009 Annual Meeting
of
Stockholders:
|
For
|
Withhold
|
||||||
William
B. Heye, Jr.
|
5,542,497
|
1,406,454
|
The
following are the other directors whose terms of office as directors continued
after the annual meeting of stockholders: Marion M. Stuckey, John Reardon and
Ronald J. Ritchie. On March 3, 2006, Greg Yamamoto was appointed to the Board
of
Directors, and on April 24, 2006, we announced the appointment of John D’Errico
to the Board of Directors.
(ii) |
The
approval of our 2006 Equity Incentive Plan and the reservation of
1,500,000 shares
of common stock for issuance under the Plan.
|
For
|
Against
|
Abstain
|
|||||
3,102,386
|
782,836
|
15,155
|
(iii) |
The
ratification of the selection of BDO Seidman LLP as our independent
auditors
for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2006.
|
For
|
Against
|
Abstain
|
|||||
6,729,519
|
216,636
|
2,796
|
Item 6. |
Exhibits
|
List
of
Exhibits
Exhibit
|
||
Number
|
Description
|
|
3.1(1)
|
Certificate
of Incorporation, as amended through December 15, 1997.
|
|
3.2(2)
|
Bylaws,
as amended through December 8, 1998.
|
|
10.1(3)*
|
1996
Stock Option Plan, as amended.
|
|
10.2(3)*
|
2001
Non-Employee Directors' Stock Option Plan, as amended.
|
|
10.3(3)
|
1992
Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as
amended.
|
10.4(3)
|
1998
Non-Officer Stock Option Plan as amended.
|
|
10.5(4)
|
2005
PyX Technologies Stock Option Plan.
|
|
10.6(5)
|
2006
Equity Incentive Plan.
|
|
10.6(6)
|
Lease
for 4000 Executive Parkway, Suite 200 dated July 27, 2005 between
the
Company and Alexander Properties Company.
|
|
10.7(3)*
|
Full
Recourse Promissory Note executed by William B. Heye, Jr. in favor
of the
Company dated November 6, 1998, as amended and restated on December
14,
2001.
|
|
10.8([_])+
|
Letter
Agreement, dated October 30, 2001, amending (i) Amendment No. S/M018-4
dated April 3, 2001, and (ii) Purchase Agreement dated May 6, 1991,
each
between SBE, Inc. and Compaq Computer Corporation.
|
|
10.9(7)
|
Securities
Purchase Agreement, dated July 27, 2003, between SBE, Inc. and purchasers
of SBE’s common stock thereunder, including form of warrant issued
thereunder.
|
|
10.10(7)
|
Form
of warrant issued to associates of Puglisi & Co. ($1.50 exercise
price).
|
|
10.11(7)
|
Form
of warrant issued to associates of Puglisi & Co. ($1.75 and $2.00
exercise price).
|
|
10.12(8)
|
Unit
Subscription Agreement, dated May 4, 2005, by and between SBE, Inc.
and
the other parties thereto.
|
|
10.13(8)
|
Agreement
and Plan of Merger and Reorganization, dated March 28, 2005, by and
among
SBE, Inc., PyX Acquisition Sub, LLC, PyX Technologies, Inc. and the
parties identified on Exhibit A thereto.
|
|
10.14(8)
|
Investor
Rights Agreement, dated July 26, 2005, between SBE, Inc. and the
investors
listed on Exhibit A thereto.
|
|
10.15(8)
|
Form
of warrant issued on July 26, 2005.
|
|
10.16(9)
|
Executive
Severance Benefits Agreement between the Company and Leo Fang, dated
May
24, 2006.
|
|
10.17
|
Executive
Severance Benefits Agreement between the Company and Kenneth G. Yamamoto,
dated March 15, 2006.
|
|
10.18(10)
|
Executive
Severance Benefits Agreement between the Company and David W. Brunton,
dated April 12, 2004.
|
|
10.19(10)
|
Executive
Severance Benefits Agreement between the Company and Kirk Anderson,
dated
April 12, 2004.
|
31.1
|
Certification
of Chief Executive Officer
|
|
31.2
|
Certification
of Chief Financial Officer
|
|
32.1
|
Certification
of Chief Executive Officer pursuant
to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of
the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
|
|
32.1
|
Certification
of Chief Financial Officer pursuant
to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of
the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
|
|
*
|
Indicates
management contract or compensation plans or arrangements filed pursuant
to Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation SK.
|
+
|
Certain
confidential information has been deleted from this exhibit pursuant
to a
confidential treatment order that has been granted.
|
(1)
|
Filed
as an exhibit to Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October
31,
1997 and incorporated herein by reference.
|
(2)
|
Filed
as an exhibit to Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October
31,
1998 and incorporated herein by reference.
|
(3)
|
Filed
as an exhibit to Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October
31,
2002 and incorporated herein by reference.
|
(4)
|
Filed
as an exhibit to Registration Statement on Form S-8 dated September
20,
2005 and incorporated herein by reference.
|
(5)
|
Filed
as an exhibit to Registration Statement on Form S-8 dated March 24,
2006
and incorporated herein by reference.
|
(6)
|
.Filed
as an exhibit to Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October
31,
2005 and incorporated herein by reference.
|
(7)
|
Filed
as an exhibit to Registration Statement on Form S-3 dated July 11,
2003
and incorporated herein by reference.
|
(8)
|
Filed
as an exhibit to Proxy Statement on Form 14A dated June 24, 2005
and
incorporated herein by reference.
|
(9)
|
Filed
as an exhibit to Current Report on Form 8-K dated May 26, 2006 and
incorporated herein by reference.
|
(10)
|
Filed
as an exhibit to Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
January 31, 2005.
|
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto
duly authorized, on June 12, 2006.
SBE,
INC.
(Registrant)
|
||
|
|
|
Date: June 12, 2006 | By: | /s/ KENNETH G. YAMAMOTO |
|
||
Name:
Kenneth G. Yamamoto
Title:
Chief Executive Officer and President
(Principal Executive
Officer)
|
Date: June 12, 2006 | By: | /s/ DAVID W. BRUNTON |
|
||
Name:
David W. Brunton
Title:
Chief Financial Officer, Vice President,
Finance and
Secretary
(Principal Financial and Accounting
Officer)
|
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