Nova Lifestyle, Inc. - Quarter Report: 2019 September (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

Commission file number: 011-36259

NOVA LIFESTYLE, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Indicate by checkmark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the last 90 days.

YES  ☒    NO  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

YES  ☒    NO  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” accelerated filer” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act:

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

YES  ☐   NO  ☒

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date: 27,846,485 shares of common stock outstanding as of November 1, 2019. 

Nova LifeStyle, Inc.

Table of Contents

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements

NOVA LIFESTYLE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 (UNAUDITED) AND DECEMBER 31, 2018

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

NOVA LIFESTYLE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (CONT’D)

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 (UNAUDITED) AND DECEMBER 31, 2018

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

NOVA LIFESTYLE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

FOR THE NINE AND THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 AND 2018 (UNAUDITED)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

NOVA LIFESTYLE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 AND 2018 (UNAUDITED)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

NOVA LIFESTYLE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (CONT’D)

FOR THE NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 AND 2018 (UNAUDITED)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

NOVA LIFESTYLE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES 

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 AND 2018 (UNAUDITED)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

NOVA LIFESTYLE, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE NINE AND THREE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 AND 2018 (UNAUDITED)

Note 1 - Organization and Description of Business

Nova LifeStyle, Inc. (“Nova LifeStyle” or the “Company”), formerly known as Stevens Resources, Inc., was incorporated in the State of Nevada on September 9, 2009.

The Company is a U.S. holding company with no material assets other than the ownership interests of its subsidiaries through which it markets, designs and sells furniture worldwide: Nova Furniture Limited in the British Virgin Islands (“Nova Furniture”), Nova Furniture Ltd. in Samoa (“Nova Samoa”), Bright Swallow International Group Limited (“Bright Swallow” or “BSI”), Nova Furniture Macao Commercial Offshore Limited (“Nova Macao”) and Diamond Bar Outdoors, Inc. (“Diamond Bar”).

Nova Macao was organized under the laws of Macao on May 20, 2006, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nova Furniture.  Diamond Bar was incorporated in California on June 15, 2000.  Nova Macao is a trading company, importing, marketing and selling products designed and manufactured by third-party manufacturers for the U.S. and international markets. Diamond Bar markets and sells products manufactured by third-party manufacturers under the Diamond Sofa brand to distributors and retailers principally in the U.S. market.  On April 24, 2013, the Company completed the acquisition of Bright Swallow, an established furniture company with a global client base.  

On December 7, 2017, Nova LifeStyle, Inc. incorporated i Design Blockchain Technology, Inc. (“i Design”) under the laws of the State of California. The purpose of i Design is to build the Company’s own blockchain technology team. This new company will focus on the application of blockchain technology in the furniture industry, including encouraging and facilitating interactions among designers and customers, and building a blockchain-powered platform that enables designers to showcase their products, including current and future furniture designs. This company is in the planning stage and has had minimal operations to date.

The “Company” and “Nova” collectively refer to Nova LifeStyle, the U.S. parent, and its subsidiaries, Nova Furniture, Nova Samoa, Nova Macao, Diamond Bar, i Design and BSI. 

Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding interim financial reporting. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries. All significant inter-company transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

The interim condensed consolidated financial information as of September 30, 2019 and for the nine and three month periods ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 have been prepared without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC. Certain information and footnote disclosures, which are normally included in consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. The interim condensed consolidated financial information should be read in conjunction with the Financial Statements and the notes thereto, included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, previously filed with the SEC on April 1, 2019.

In the opinion of management, all adjustments (which include all significant normal and recurring adjustments) necessary to present a fair statement of the Company’s interim condensed consolidated financial position as of September 30, 2019, its interim condensed consolidated results of operations and cash flows for the nine and three month periods ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, as applicable, have been made. The interim results of operations are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for the full fiscal year or any future periods.

Use of Estimates

In preparing consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP, management makes estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities as of the dates of the consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Significant estimates and assumptions made by management include, but are not limited to, revenue recognition, the allowance for bad debt, valuation of inventories, the valuation of stock-based compensation, income taxes and unrecognized tax benefits, valuation allowance for deferred tax assets, assumptions used in assessing impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill, and loss contingencies. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (ASU 2016-02), as amended, which supersedes the lease accounting guidance under Topic 840, and generally requires lessees to recognize operating and financing lease liabilities and corresponding right-of-use (ROU) assets on the balance sheet and to provide enhanced disclosures surrounding the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leasing arrangements. The Company adopted the new guidance using the modified retrospective transition approach by applying the new standard to all leases existing at the date of initial application and not restating comparative periods. The most significant impact was the recognition of ROU assets and lease liabilities for operating leases. For information regarding the impact of Topic 842 adoption, see Significant Accounting Policies - Leases and Note 12 – Commitments and Contingencies.

Significant Accounting Policies - Leases

On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted Topic 842 using the modified retrospective transition approach by applying the new standard to all leases existing at the date of initial application. Results and disclosure requirements for reporting periods beginning after January 1, 2019 are presented under Topic 842, while prior period amounts have not been adjusted and continue to be reported in accordance with its historical accounting under Topic 840.

The Company elected the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance, which allowed it to carry forward its historical lease classification, its assessment on whether a contract was or contains a lease, and its initial direct costs for any leases that existed prior to January 1, 2019. The Company also elected to combine its lease and non-lease components and to keep leases with an initial term of 12 months or less off the balance sheet and recognize the associated lease payments in the consolidated statements of income on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Upon adoption, the Company recognized total ROU assets of $3.13 million, with corresponding liabilities of $3.13 million on the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The ROU assets include adjustments for prepayments and accrued lease payments. The adoption did not impact its beginning retained earnings, or its prior year condensed consolidated statements of income and statements of cash flows.

Under Topic 842, the Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception. ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of remaining lease payments over the lease term. For this purpose, the Company considers only payments that are fixed and determinable at the time of commencement. As most of its leases do not provide an implicit rate, it uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The Company’s incremental borrowing rate is a hypothetical rate based on its understanding of what its credit rating would be. The ROU asset also includes any lease payments made prior to commencement and is recorded net of any lease incentives received. The Company’s lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that it will exercise such options.

Operating leases are included in operating lease right-of-use assets, operating lease liabilities, current and non-current operating lease liabilities, on the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

Business Combination

For a business combination, the assets acquired, the liabilities assumed and any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree are recognized at the acquisition date and measured at their fair values as of that date. In a business combination achieved in stages, the identifiable assets and liabilities, as well as the noncontrolling interest in the acquiree, are recognized at the full amounts of their fair values. In a bargain purchase in which the total acquisition-date fair value of the identifiable net assets acquired exceeds the fair value of the consideration transferred plus any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree, that excess in earnings is recognized as a gain attributable to the acquirer.

Deferred tax liability and assets are recognized for the deferred tax consequences of differences between the tax bases and the recognized values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 740-10.

Goodwill

Goodwill is the excess of purchase price and related costs over the value assigned to the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets of businesses acquired. In accordance with ASC Topic 350, “Intangibles-Goodwill and Other,” goodwill is not amortized but is tested for impairment, annually or more frequently when circumstances indicate a possible impairment may exist. Impairment testing is performed at a reporting unit level. An impairment loss generally would be recognized when the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, with the fair value of the reporting unit determined using discounted cash flow (“DCF”) analysis. A number of significant assumptions and estimates are involved in the application of the DCF analysis to forecast operating cash flows, including the discount rate, the internal rate of return and projections of realizations and costs to produce. Management considers historical experience and all available information at the time the fair values of its reporting units are estimated.

ASC Topic 350 also permits an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not (that is, a likelihood of more than 50 percent) that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, including goodwill. If it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then the two-step goodwill impairment test is required to be performed. Otherwise, no further testing is required. Performing the qualitative assessment involved identifying the relevant drivers of fair value, evaluating the significance of all identified relevant events and circumstances, and weighing the factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. After evaluating and weighing all these relevant events and circumstances, it was concluded that a positive assertion can be made from the qualitative assessment that it is more likely than not that the fair value of Diamond Bar is greater than its carrying amount. As such, it is not necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test for the Diamond Bar reporting unit.  Accordingly, as of September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company concluded there was no impairment of goodwill of Diamond Bar.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

For purposes of the statement of cash flows, the Company considers cash, money market funds, investments in interest bearing demand deposit accounts, time deposits and all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. 

Accounts Receivable

The Company’s accounts receivable arise from product sales. The Company does not adjust its receivables for the effects of a significant financing component at contract inception if it expects to collect the receivables in one year or less from the time of sale. The Company does not expect to collect receivables greater than one year from the time of sale.

The Company’s policy is to maintain an allowance for potential credit losses on accounts receivable. Management reviews the composition of accounts receivable and analyzes historical bad debts, customer concentrations, customer credit worthiness, current economic trends and changes in customer payment patterns to evaluate the adequacy of these reserves.   An analysis of the allowance for doubtful accounts is as follows:

During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, bad debts (reversal) expenses were ($214,610) and $2,298,488, respectively; and $5,136 and $2,128,579 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Advances to Suppliers

Advances to suppliers are reported net of allowance when the Company determines that amounts outstanding are not likely to be collected in cash or utilized against purchase of inventories. Based on its historical record and actual practice, the Company receives goods within 5 to 9 months from the date the advance payment is made. As such, no reserve on supplier prepayments had been made or recorded by the Company. Any provisions for allowance for advances to suppliers, if deemed necessary, are included in general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss). During the nine and three months ended September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, no provision was made on advances to suppliers.

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realizable value, with cost determined on a weighted-average basis. Write-down of potential obsolete or slow moving inventories is recorded based on management’s assumptions about future demands and market conditions. The Company did not record any write-downs of inventories at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018.

Plant, Property and Equipment

Plant, property and equipment are stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation and impairment losses, if any. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred, while additions, renewals and improvements are capitalized. When property and equipment are retired or otherwise disposed of, the related cost and accumulated depreciation is removed from the respective accounts, and any gain or loss is included in operations. Depreciation of property and equipment is provided using the straight-line method for substantially all assets with no salvage value and estimated lives as follows:

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets 

Long-lived assets, which include property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable.

Recoverability of long-lived assets to be held and used is measured by comparing the carrying amount of an asset to the estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its estimated undiscounted future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized by the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the assets. Fair value is generally determined using the asset’s expected future discounted cash flows or market value, if readily determinable.

Based on its review, the Company believes that as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, there was no impairment of its long-lived assets. 

Treasury Stock

Treasury stock purchases are accounted for under the cost method whereby the entire cost of the acquired stock is recorded as treasury stock. Gains and losses on the subsequent reissuance of shares are credited or charged to additional paid-in capital using the average-cost method. Upon retirement of treasury stock, the amounts in excess of par value are charged entirely to retained earnings.

Research and Development

Research and development costs are related primarily to the Company designing and testing its new products during the development stage. Research and development costs are recognized in general and administrative expenses and expensed as incurred. Research and development expenses were $85,124 and $86,790 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Research and development expenses were $29,852 and $7,985 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Income Taxes

In its interim financial statements, the Company follows the guidance in ASC 270 “Interim Reporting” and ASC 740 “Income Taxes” whereby the Company utilizes the expected annual effective rate in determining its income tax provision. The income tax benefits for the nine and three months ended September 30, 2019 of approximately $782,000 and $12,000 are primarily related to a reversal of tax liability reserves due to a statute of limitations expiration in 2019 and quarter-to-date losses generated from U.S. operations. The income tax benefit for the nine and three months ended September 30, 2018 were approximately $505,000 and $942,000 and were primarily related to income from operations.

Income taxes are accounted for using an asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred income taxes are recognized for the tax consequences in future years of differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their financial reporting amounts at each period end based on enacted tax laws and statutory tax rates applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

The Company follows ASC Topic 740, which prescribes a more-likely-than-not threshold for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. ASC Topic 740 also provides guidance on recognition of income tax assets and liabilities, classification of current and deferred income tax assets and liabilities, accounting for interest and penalties associated with tax positions, accounting for income taxes in interim periods, and income tax disclosures.

Under the provisions of ASC Topic 740, when tax returns are filed, it is highly certain that some positions taken would be sustained upon examination by the taxing authorities, while others are subject to uncertainty about the merits of the position taken or the amount of the position that would be ultimately sustained. The benefit of a tax position is recognized in the financial statements in the period during which, based on all available evidence, management believes it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon examination, including the resolution of appeals or litigation processes, if any. Tax positions taken are not offset or aggregated with other positions. Tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold are measured as the largest amount of tax benefit that is more than 50 percent likely of being realized upon settlement with the applicable taxing authority. The portion of the benefits associated with tax positions taken that exceeds the amount measured as described above is reflected as a liability for unrecognized tax benefits in the accompanying balance sheets along with any associated interest and penalties that would be payable to the taxing authorities upon examination.

Nova Lifestyle, Inc. and Diamond Bar Outdoors, Inc. (“Diamond Bar”) are subject to U.S. federal and state income taxes. Nova Furniture BVI and Bright Swallow International Group Limited (“BSI”) were incorporated in the BVI, Nova Samoa was incorporated in Samoa, and Nova Macau was incorporated in Macau. There is no income tax for companies domiciled in the BVI, Samoa and Macau. Accordingly, the Company’s consolidated financial statements do not present any income tax provisions related to the BVI, Samoa and Macau tax jurisdictions where Nova Furniture BVI and BSI, Nova Samoa and Nova Macau are domiciled.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Act”) created new taxes on certain foreign-sourced earnings, such as global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) under IRC Section 951A, which is effective for the Company for tax years beginning after January 1, 2018. For the quarter ended September 30, 2019, the Company has calculated its best estimate of the impact of the GILTI in its income tax provision in accordance with its understanding of the Act and guidance available as of the date of this filing.

A reconciliation of the January 1, 2019 through September 30, 2019 amount of unrecognized tax benefits excluding interest and penalties (“Gross UTB”) is as follows:

At September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the Company had cumulatively accrued approximately $2,400 and $619,000 for estimated interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits, respectively. The Company recorded reversal of interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as a component of income tax benefit, which totaled $616,203 and $4,949 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, and 2018, respectively; and $1,003 and $67,949 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The Company does not anticipate any significant changes to its unrecognized tax benefits within the next 12 months.

As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, a total of $109,000 and $1.34 million, respectively, of unrecognized tax benefit was recorded as long-term taxes payable, as ASC 740 specifies that tax positions for which the timing of the ultimate resolution is uncertain should be recognized as long-term liabilities. Other long-term taxes payable as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 consisted of an income tax payable of $1.82 million and $2.01 million, respectively, primarily arising from a one-time transition tax recognized in the fourth quarter of 2017 on its post-1986 foreign unremitted earnings. The Company elected to pay the one-time transition tax over eight years, commencing in April 2018.

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenues when its customers obtain control of promised goods or services, in an amount that reflects the consideration which it expects to receive in exchange for those goods. The Company recognizes revenues following the five step model prescribed under ASU No. 2014-09: (i) identifies contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identifies the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determines the transaction price; (iv) allocates the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognizes revenues when (or as) it satisfies the performance obligation.

Revenues from product sales are recognized when the customer obtains control of the Company’s product, which occurs at a point in time, typically upon delivery to the customer. The Company expenses incremental costs of obtaining a contract as and when incurred if the expected amortization period of the asset that it would have recognized is one year or less or the amount is immaterial.

Revenues from product sales are recorded net of reserves established for applicable discounts and allowances that are offered within contracts with the Company’s customers.

Product revenue reserves, which are classified as a reduction in product revenues, are generally characterized in the following categories: discounts, returns and rebates. These reserves are based on estimates of the amounts earned or to be claimed on the related sales and are classified as reductions of accounts receivable as the amount is payable to the Company’s customer.

The Company’s sales policy allows for product returns within the warranty period if the product is defective and the defects are the Company’s fault.  As alternatives to the product return option, the customers have the option of requesting a discount from the Company for products with quality issues or of receiving replacement parts from the Company at no cost. The amount for product returns, the discount provided to the Company’s customers, and the costs for replacement parts were immaterial for the nine and three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018.

The Company generally expenses sales commissions when incurred because the amortization period would have been one year or less. These costs are recorded within selling expenses on the Company’s consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss).

Cost of Sales

Cost of sales consists primarily of costs of finished goods purchased from third-party manufacturers. Write-downs of inventory to the lower of cost or net realizable value is also recorded in the cost of sales.

Shipping and Handling Costs

Shipping and handling costs related to delivery of finished goods are included in selling expenses. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, shipping and handling costs (income) were $1,411 and $(6,624), respectively; and $548 and $(347) for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018.

Advertising 

Advertising expenses consist primarily of costs of promotion and marketing for the Company’s image and products, and costs of direct advertising, and are included in selling expenses. The Company expenses all advertising costs as incurred. Advertising expense was $163,065 and $554,070 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively; and $24,371 and $9,754 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018.

Share-based compensation

The Company accounts for share-based compensation awards to employees in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718, “Compensation – Stock Compensation”, which requires that share-based payment transactions with employees be measured based on the grant-date fair value of the equity instrument issued and recognized as compensation expense over the requisite service period.

The Company accounts for share-based compensation awards to non-employees in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718 and FASB ASC Subtopic 505-50, “Equity-Based Payments to Non-employees”. Share-based compensation associated with the issuance of equity instruments to non-employees is measured at the fair value of the equity instrument issued or committed to be issued, as this is more reliable than the fair value of the services received. The fair value is measured at the date that the commitment for performance by the counterparty has been reached or the counterparty’s performance is complete.

Earnings per Share (EPS)

Basic EPS is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS is computed similar to basic net income per share except that the denominator is increased to include the number of additional common shares that would have been outstanding if all the potential common shares pertaining to warrants, stock options, and similar instruments had been issued and if the additional common shares were dilutive. Diluted earnings per share are based on the assumption that all dilutive convertible shares and stock options and warrants were converted or exercised. Dilution is computed by applying the treasury stock method for the outstanding unvested restricted stock, options and warrants, and the if-converted method for the outstanding convertible instruments. Under the treasury stock method, options and warrants are assumed to be exercised at the beginning of the period (or at the time of issuance, if later) and as if funds obtained thereby were used to purchase common stock at the average market price during the period. Under the if-converted method, outstanding convertible instruments are assumed to be converted into common stock at the beginning of the period (or at the time of issuance, if later).

The following table presents a reconciliation of basic and diluted (loss) income per share for the nine and three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018: 

For the nine and three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, 858,334 shares purchasable under warrants, 25,000 shares of unvested restricted stock and options to purchase 1,385,000 shares of the Company’s stock were anti-dilutive and were excluded from the EPS calculation.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to credit risk consist primarily of accounts and other receivables. The Company does not require collateral or other security to support these receivables. The Company conducts periodic reviews of the financial condition and payment practices of its customers to minimize collection risk on accounts receivable.

Two customers accounted for 60% (48% and 12% each) of the Company’s sales for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and two customers accounted for 36% (18%, and 18% each) of the Company’s sales for the same period of 2018. Two customers accounted for 65% (53% and 12% each) of the Company’s sales for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and one customer accounted for 17% of the Company’s sales for the same period of 2018. Gross accounts receivable from these customers were $6,892,589 and $44,212,605 as of September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

The Company purchased its products from three major vendors during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, accounting for a total of 79% (39%, 21% and 19% each) and 84% (33%, 30% and 21% each) of the Company’s purchases, respectively. The Company purchased its products from three major vendors during the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, accounting for a total of 86% (46%, 27% and 13%) and 74% (39%, 24%, and 11% each) of the Company’s purchases, respectively. Advances made to these vendors were $8,264,427 and $18,651,339 as of September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Accounts payable to these vendors were $1,857 and $3,043,782 as of September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” requires disclosure of the fair value of financial instruments held by the Company. ASC Topic 825, “Financial Instruments,” defines fair value and establishes a three-level valuation hierarchy for disclosures of fair value measurement that enhances disclosure requirements for fair value measures. The carrying amounts reported in the consolidated balance sheets for receivables and current liabilities each qualify as financial instruments and are a reasonable estimate of their fair values because of the short period of time between the origination of such instruments and their expected realization and their current market rate of interest. The three levels of valuation hierarchy are defined as follows:

The carrying value of cash, accounts receivable, advances to suppliers, other receivables, accounts payable, short-term line of credit, advance from customers, other payables and accrued liabilities approximate estimated fair values because of their short maturities.  The estimated fair value of the long-term lines of credit approximated the carrying amount as the interest rates are considered as approximate to the current rate for comparable loans at the respective balance sheet dates.

Foreign Currency Translation and Transactions

The consolidated financial statements are presented in United States Dollar (“$” or “USD”), which is also the functional currency of Nova LifeStyle, Nova Furniture, Nova Samoa, Nova Macao, Bright Swallow, Diamond Bar and i Design.

Segment Reporting 

ASC Topic 280, “Segment Reporting,” requires use of the “management approach” model for segment reporting. The management approach model is based on the way a company’s chief operating decision maker organizes segments within the company for making operating decisions assessing performance and allocating resources. Reportable segments are based on products and services, geography, legal structure, management structure, or any other manner in which management disaggregates a company.

Management determined that the Company’s operations constitute a single reportable segment in accordance with ASC 280. The Company operates exclusively in one business and industry segment: the design and sale of furniture.

Management concluded that the Company had one reportable segment under ASC 280 because Diamond Bar is a furniture distributor based in California focusing on customers in the US, Bright Swallow is a furniture distributor focusing on customers in Canada, and Nova Macao is a furniture distributor based in Macao focusing on international customers. They are all operated under the same senior management of the Company, and management views the operations of Diamond Bar, Bright Swallow and Nova Macao as a whole for making business decisions.

After the disposal of Nova Dongguan and its subsidiaries in October 2016, all of the Company’s long-lived assets are mainly property, plant and equipment located in the United States for administrative purposes.

Net sales to customers by geographic area are determined by reference to the physical locations of the Company’s customers. For example, if the products are delivered to a customer in the US, the sales are recorded as generated in the U.S.; if the customer directs us to ship its products to China, the sales are recorded as sold in China.

New Accounting Pronouncements

Recently issued accounting pronouncements not yet adopted

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326), which requires entities to measure all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. This replaces the existing incurred loss model and is applicable to the measurement of credit losses on financial assets measured at amortized cost. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early application will be permitted for all entities for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2018. Adoption of the ASUs is on a modified retrospective basis. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the standard will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. The guidance removes Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test, which requires a hypothetical purchase price allocation. A goodwill impairment will now be the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill. The guidance should be adopted on a prospective basis for the annual or any interim goodwill impairment tests beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this standard on its consolidated financial statements.

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, “Compensation — Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Non-employee Share-Based Payment Accounting,” which expands the scope of ASC 718 to include share-based payment transactions for acquiring goods and services from non-employees. An entity should apply the requirements of ASC 718 to non-employee awards except for specific guidance on inputs to an option pricing model and the attribution of cost. The amendments specify that ASC 718 applies to all share-based payment transactions in which a grantor acquires goods or services to be used or consumed in a grantor's own operations by issuing share-based payment awards. The new guidance is effective for SEC filers for fiscal years, and interim reporting periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2019 (i.e., January 1, 2020, for calendar year entities). Early adoption is permitted. The Company is evaluating the effects of the adoption of this guidance and currently believes that it will impact the accounting of the share-based awards granted to non-employees.

Note 3 - Inventories

The inventories as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 totaled $25,345,239 and $6,371,112, respectively, and were all finished goods.

Note 4 - Plant, Property and Equipment, Net

As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, plant, property and equipment consisted of the following:

Depreciation expense was $27,548 and $28,488 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively; and $9,038 and $9,098 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Note 5 - Intangible Assets, net

The Company acquired a customer relationship with a fair value of $50,000 on August 31, 2011, as part of its acquisition of Diamond Bar. Concurrently with its acquisition of Diamond Bar, the Company entered into a trademark purchase and assignment agreement for all rights, title and interest in two trademarks (Diamond Sofa and Diamond Furniture) for $200,000 paid in full at the closing. Amortization of said customer relationship and the trademarks is provided using the straight-line method and estimated lives were 5 years each.

The Company acquired a customer relationship with a fair value of $6,100,559 on April 24, 2013, as part of its acquisition of Bright Swallow. Amortization of said customer relationship is provided using the straight-line method and its estimated life was 15 years. 

Intangible assets consisted of the following as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018:

Amortization of intangible assets was $305,028 and $101,676 for the nine and three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Estimated amortization expense relating to the existing intangible assets with finite lives for each of the next five years is as follows:

Note 6 - Prepaid Expenses and Other Receivables

Prepaid expenses and other receivables consisted of the following at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018: 

As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, prepaid expenses and other receivables mainly represented prepaid insurance, a Paypal account balance and an account balance with a stock broker in connection with the share repurchase program (Note 10). 

Note 7 - Accrued Liabilities and Other Payables

Accrued liabilities and other payables consisted of the following as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018:

As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, other accrued expenses mainly included legal and professional fees, transportation expenses and utilities. Other payables represented other tax payable and meal expenses. 

Note 8 - Lines of Credit

On September 19, 2017, Diamond Bar extended the line of credit up to a maximum of $8,000,000 to mature on June 1, 2019. The annual interest rate was 5.50% as of June 30, 2019. The line of credit was secured by all of the assets of Diamond Bar and is guaranteed by Nova LifeStyle. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, Diamond Bar had $0 and $6,248,162 outstanding on the line of credit, respectively.  During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded interest expense of $35,444 and $92,524, respectively; and $0 and $36,696 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The Company paid off the lines of credit during the nine months ended September 30, 2019.

As of September 30, 2019, we do not have any lines of credit.

The Diamond Bar loan had the following covenants: (i) maintain a minimum tangible net worth of not less than $20 million; (ii) maintain a ratio of debt to tangible net worth not in excess of 2.5 to 1.0; (iii) the pre-tax income must be not less than 1% of total revenue quarterly; and (iv) maintain a current ratio in excess of 1.25 to 1.00. As of December 31, 2018, Diamond Bar was in compliance with the stated covenants.  

Note 9 - Related Party Transactions

On September 30, 2011, Diamond Bar leased a showroom in High Point, North Carolina from the Company’s president who is currently also the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. The lease is to be renewed and has been renewed each year since 2011. On March 27, 2019, the Company renewed the lease for an additional one year term. The lease was for the amount of $34,561, with a term of one year and only for use during two furniture exhibitions to be held between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company paid rental amounts of $17,281 and $34,561 that are included in selling expenses, respectively; and $0 and $17,281 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

On January 4, 2018, the Company entered into a sales representative agreement with a consulting firm, which is owned by the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, for sales representative service for a term of two years. The Company agreed to compensate the sales representative via commission at predetermined rates of the relevant sales amount. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded $97,223 and $111,458 as commission expense to this sales representative consulting firm, respectively; and $29,112 and $55,691 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Note 10 - Stockholders’ Equity

Share repurchase program

On December 12, 2017, the Company issued a press release announcing that the Board of Directors of the Company had approved a 10b-18 share repurchase program to repurchase up to $5 million of its outstanding common stock. Under the repurchase program, shares of the Company’s common stock may be repurchased from time to time over the next 12 months. The program expired on December 8, 2018 and no shares have been repurchased under the program.

On June 4, 2019, the Board of Directors of the Company adopted a 10b-18 share repurchase program to repurchase up to $2 million of its common stock. The share repurchase authorization permits shares to be repurchased from time to time at the discretion of the Company’s management, in compliance with Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The program is effective as of June 5, 2019 and will expire on June 4, 2020. During the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company had repurchased 532,037 and 677,727 shares of its common stock, respectively.

Warrants

The following is a summary of the warrant activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2019: 

Shares Issued to Consultants 

On February 1, 2016, the Company entered into an agreement with a consultant for E-Commerce consulting services with a term of 24 months. The Company agreed to grant the consultant 10,000 shares of the Company’s common stock per month, for a total commitment of 240,000 shares. Twelve and half percent (12.5%) of those shares vested on April 30, 2016, 12.5% on July 30, 2016, 12.5% on October 31, 2016, 12.5% on January 31, 2017, 12.5% on April 30, 2017, 12.5% on July 30, 2017, 12.5% on October 31, 2017, and the remaining 12.5% on January 31, 2018. The fair value of the 240,000 shares was $326,400, which was calculated based on the stock price of $1.36 per share on February 1, 2016, the date the agreement was executed, and was amortized over the service term. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company amortized $0 and $13,600 as consulting expenses, respectively; and $0 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018.

On June 30, 2017, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with a consultant for business advisory services for a term of 12 months. The Company agreed to compensate the consultant a one-time amount of $10,000 worth of shares of the Company’s common stock based on the price per share on June 30, 2017. The Company also granted the consultant $10,000 worth of shares of the Company’s common stock per month starting from July 1, 2017 for a period of 12 months. The shares were granted pursuant to Nova LifeStyle, Inc.’s 2014 Omnibus Long-Term Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) approved by the Board of Directors (“Board”) of the Company on May 13, 2014 and ratified at the annual shareholder meeting on June 30, 2014. The Plan was registered under Form S-8 on July 30, 2014. On June 12, 2018, the Company renewed the agreement with the consultant for an additional year and agreed to compensate the consultant $10,000 worth of shares of the Company’s common stock per month starting from July 1, 2018 for a period of 12 months. The shares will be issued pursuant to the Plan. On January 31, 2019, the Company terminated the agreement. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded $10,000 and $95,000 as consulting expense, respectively; and $0 and $30,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

On November 16, 2017, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with a consultant for consulting and strategy services effective on November 16, 2017 for one year. The Company agreed to grant the consultant 100,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. Twenty-five percent (25%) of those shares vested on February 15, 2018, 25% on May 15, 2018, 25% will vest on August 15, 2018 and the remaining 25% vested on November 15, 2018. The fair value of 100,000 shares was $173,000, which was calculated based on the stock price of $1.73 per share on November 16, 2017 and was amortized over the service term. The shares were granted pursuant to the Plan. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company amortized $0 and $129,395 as consulting expense, respectively; and $0 and $43,605 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

On December 10, 2017, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with a consultant for business advisory services effective as of January 1, 2018 and ending on December 31, 2018. The Company agreed to compensate the consultant a one-time amount of $15,000 worth of shares of the Company’s common stock based on the price per share on December 15, 2017. The Company also granted the consultant $15,000 worth of shares of the Company’s common stock per month starting from January 1, 2018 for 12 months. The shares were granted pursuant to the Plan. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company amortized $0 and $146,250 as consulting expense, respectively; and $0 and $48,750 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

On November 16, 2018, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with a consultant for consulting and strategy services effective on November 16, 2018 for one year. The Company agreed to grant the consultant 100,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. Twenty-five percent (25%) of those shares vested on February 15, 2019 and 25% on May 15, 2019; 25% will vest on August 15, 2019 and the remaining 25% will vest on November 15, 2019. The fair value of 100,000 shares was $90,000 which was calculated based on the stock price of $0.90 per share on November 16, 2018 and will be amortized over the service term. The shares would be issued pursuant to the Plan. During the nine and three months ended September 30, 2019, the Company amortized $67,500 and $22,500 as consulting expenses, respectively.

On December 1, 2018, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with a consultant for business advisory services effective as of January 1, 2019 and ending on December 31, 2019. The Company granted the consultant $15,000 worth of shares of the Company’s common stock per month starting from January 1, 2019 for 12 months. The shares were granted pursuant to the Plan. During the nine and three months ended September 30, 2019, the Company amortized $135,000 and $45,000 as consulting expenses, respectively.

Shares and Warrants Issued through Private Placement

Private Placement on May 28, 2015

On May 28, 2015, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with certain purchasers (the “Purchasers”) pursuant to which the Company offered to the Purchasers, in a registered direct offering, an aggregate of 2,970,509 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share. Of these, 2,000,001 shares were sold to the Purchasers at a negotiated purchase price of $2.00 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of $4,000,002, before deducting fees to the placement agent and other estimated offering expenses payable by the Company. In accordance with the terms of the Purchase Agreement, the Company exchanged outstanding 2014 Series A Warrants with their holders for 660,030 shares of common stock, and exchanged the outstanding 2014 Series C Warrants with their holders for 310,478 shares of common stock.

In a concurrent private placement, the Company also sold to the Purchasers a warrant to purchase one share of the Company’s common stock for each share purchased for cash in the offering, pursuant to that certain Common Stock Purchase Warrant, by and between the Company and each Purchaser (the “2015 Warrants”). The 2015 Warrants became exercisable beginning on the six month anniversary of the date of issuance (the “Initial Exercise Date”) at an exercise price of $2.71 per share and will expire on the five year anniversary of the Initial Exercise Date. The purchase price of one share of the Company’s common stock under the 2015 Warrants is equal to the exercise price. 

The warrants issued in the private placement described above are exercisable for a fixed number of shares, and are classified as equity instruments under ASC 815-40-25-10. The Company accounted for the warrants issued in the 2015 private placement based on the fair value method under ASC Topic 505, and the fair value of the warrants was calculated using the Black-Scholes model under the following assumptions: estimated life of 5 years, volatility of 107%, risk-free interest rate of 1.55% and dividend yield of 0%. No estimate of forfeitures was made as the Company has a short history of granting options and warrants. The fair value of the warrants issued to investors at grant date was $3,147,530.

Shares and Options Issued to Independent Directors

On April 10, 2017, the Company entered into a restricted stock award agreement under the 2014 Omnibus Long-Term Incentive Plan with a new independent director of the Board. The Company agreed to grant $20,000 worth of stock to the independent director with a grant date on April 10, 2017. The restricted period lapses as of 50% of the restricted stock granted vested on April 10, 2017 based on the closing price of common stock on Nasdaq as of April 10, 2017, and 50% of the restricted stock granted vested on June 30, 2017 based on the closing price of common stock on Nasdaq as of June 30, 2017. During the nine and three months ended September 30, 2018, the Company amortized $1,260 and $0 as directors’ stock compensation expenses, respectively. 

On September 26, 2017, the Company entered into stock option agreements under the 2014 Omnibus Long-Term Incentive Plan with the three independent members of the board of directors. The Company agreed to grant the Company’s three independent directors options to purchase an aggregate of 300,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $1.65 per share, with a term of 5 years. Twenty-five percent (25%) of those stock options vested on September 30, 2017, 25% on December 31, 2017, 25% on March 31, 2018, and the remaining 25% vested on June 30, 2018.

The fair value of the stock option granted is estimated on the date of the grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model (“BSOPM”). The BSOPM has assumptions for risk free interest rates, dividends, stock volatility and expected life of an option grant. The risk-free interest rate is based upon market yields for United States Treasury debt securities at a maturity near the term remaining on the option. Dividend rates are based on the Company’s dividend history. The stock volatility factor is based on the historical volatility of the Company’s stock price. The expected life of an option grant is based on management’s estimate as no options have been exercised in the Plan to date. The fair value of the option granted to of the independent directors is recognized as director fee over the vesting period of the stock option award. The fair value of the options was calculated using the following assumptions, estimated life of five years, volatility of 84%, risk free interest rate of 1.87%, and dividend yield of 0%. The fair value of 300,000 stock options was $324,907 at the grant date. During the nine and three months ended September 30, 2018, the Company recorded $162,454 and $0 as directors’ stock compensation expenses, respectively.

On November 7, 2018, the Company entered into stock option agreements under the 2014 Omnibus Long-Term Incentive Plan with the three independent members of the board of directors. The Company agreed to grant the Company’s three independent directors options to purchase an aggregate of 300,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $1.18 per share, with a term of 5 years. Twenty-five percent (25%) of those stock options vested on November 30, 2018, 25% on will vest on February 28, 2019, 25% on May 31, 2019, and the remaining 25% will vest on August 31, 2019. The fair value of the stock options granted is estimated on the date of the grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model (“BSOPM”) as described above. The fair value of the options was calculated using the following assumptions: estimated life of ten years, volatility of 84%, risk free interest rate of 3.07%, and dividend yield of 0%. The fair value of 300,000 stock options was $240,105 at the grant date. During the nine and three months ended September 30, 2019, the Company recorded $180,079 and $60,026 as directors’ stock compensation expenses, respectively.

Shares Issued to Employees and Service Providers

On May 18, 2016, the Company entered into agreements with three designers for product design services for a term of 24 months. The Company agreed to grant each designer 240,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. Twenty five percent (25%) of those shares vested on May 31, 2016, 25% on December 18, 2016, 25% on June 18, 2017 and the remaining 25% on December 18, 2017. The fair value of these shares was $388,800, which was calculated based on the stock price of $0.54 per share on May 18, 2016, the date the agreement was executed, and was amortized over the service term. During the nine and three months ended September 30, 2018, the Company amortized $72,967 and $0 as stock compensation expenses, respectively.

On February 27, 2018, the Company renewed an employment agreement with the Company’s Corporate Secretary for a term of one year. The Company agreed to grant an award of 30,000 restricted Stock Units to the officer pursuant to the Company’s 2014 Omnibus Long-Term Incentive Plan. The fair value of these shares was $68,100, which was calculated based on the stock price of $2.27 per share on February 27, 2018, the date the awards were determined by the Compensation Committee of the Board. Twenty-five percent (25%) of those shares vested on February 27, 2018, 25% on March 31, 2018, 25% on June 30, 2018 and the remaining 25% vested on September 30, 2018. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company amortized $10,821 and $40,114 as stock compensation, respectively; and $0 and $16,978 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

On December 13, 2018, the Company extended an employment agreement with the Company’s Corporate Secretary for a term of one year. The Company agreed to grant an award of 30,000 restricted Stock Units to the officer pursuant to the Company’s 2014 Omnibus Long-Term Incentive Plan. The fair value of these shares was $23,100, which was calculated based on the stock price of $0.77 per share on December 13, 2018, the date the awards were determined by the Compensation Committee of the Board. Twenty-five percent (25%) of those shares vested on December 13, 2018, 25% on March 31, 2019, 25% on June 30, 2019 and the remaining 25% vested on September 30, 2019. During the nine and three months ended September 30, 2019, the Company amortized $17,325 and $5,775 as stock compensation, respectively.

Options Issued to Employees

On August 29, 2017 (the “Grant Date”), the Board approved option grants to the Company’s employees to purchase an aggregate of 780,000 shares of the Company’s common stock (including options to purchase 100,000 shares and 35,000 shares to the Company’s CEO and CFO, respectively) at an exercise price of $1.26 per share, with a term of 5 years, pursuant to the Company’s 2014 Omnibus Long-Term Incentive Plan. Fifty percent (50%) of those stock options vested immediately, and the remaining 50% vested on the six-month anniversary of the Grant Date.

The fair value of the stock option granted is estimated on the date of the grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model (“BSOPM”) as described in options granted to independent directors above. The fair value of the option granted to employees is recognized as compensation expense over the vesting period of the stock option award. The fair value of the options was calculated using the following assumptions: estimated life of ten years, volatility of 84%, risk free interest rate of 1.70%, and dividend yield of 0%. The fair value of 780,000 stock options was $643,182 at the grant date. During the nine and three months ended September 30, 2018, the Company recorded $321,591 and $0 as stock compensation, respectively.

On August 24, 2018 (the “Grant Date”), the Board approved an option grant to the Company’s CFO to purchase an aggregate of 35,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $1.85 per share, with a term of 5 years, pursuant to the Company’s 2014 Omnibus Long-Term Incentive Plan. Fifty percent (50%) of those stock options vested immediately, and the remaining 50% vested on the six-month anniversary of the Grant Date.

The fair value of the option granted to the CFO in 2018 is recognized as compensation expense over the vesting period of the stock option award. The fair value of the options was calculated using the following assumptions: estimated life of ten years, volatility of 84%, risk free interest rate of 2.72%, and dividend yield of 0%. The fair value of 35,000 stock options was $43,680 at the grant date. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded $21,840 as stock compensation; and $0 and $21,840 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

On August 12, 2019 (the “Grant Date”), the Board approved an option grant to the Company’s CFO to purchase an aggregate of 35,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $0.77 per shares, with a term of 5 years, pursuant to the Company’s 2014 Omnibus Long-Term Incentive Plan. Fifty percent (50%) of those stock options vested immediately, and the remaining 50% vested on the six-month anniversary of the Grant Date.

The fair value of the option granted to the CFO in 2019 is recognized as compensation expense over the vesting period of the stock option award. The fair value of the options was calculated using the following assumptions: estimated life of ten years, volatility of 87%, risk free interest rate of 1.49%, and dividend yield of 0%. The fair value of 35,000 stock options was $18,318 at the grant date. During the nine and three months ended September 30, 2019, the Company recorded $9,159 as stock compensation.

As of September 30, 2019, unrecognized share-based compensation expense related to options was $9,159.

Stock option activity under the Company’s stock-based compensation plans is shown below:

Statutory Reserves

As a U.S. holding company, the Company’s ability to pay dividends is primarily dependent on the Company receiving distributions of funds from its subsidiaries. Relevant PRC statutory laws and regulations permit payments of dividends by the Company’s PRC subsidiary, Nova Macao, only out of the subsidiary’s retained earnings, if any, as determined in accordance with PRC accounting standards and regulations. The results of operations reflected in the financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP differ from those reflected in the statutory financial statements of Nova Macao. Pursuant to the corporate laws of the PRC and Macao, including the PRC Regulations on Enterprises with Foreign Investment, Nova Macao is required to maintain a statutory reserve by appropriating from after-tax profit before declaration or payment of dividends. The statutory reserve represents restricted retained earnings. As a result of the Macau laws and regulations that require annual appropriations of 10% of after-tax income to be set aside prior to payment of dividends as a general statutory reserve fund until such reserve balance reaches 50% of the subsidiary’s registered capital. Nova Macao is restricted in its ability to transfer a portion of its net assets to the Company as a dividend.

Surplus Reserve Fund

At September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, Nova Macao had surplus reserves of $6,241, representing 50% of its registered capital.

Common Welfare Fund

The common welfare fund is a voluntary fund to which Nova Macao can elect to transfer 5% to 10% of its net income. This fund can only be utilized on capital items for the collective benefit of the subsidiary’s employees, such as construction of dormitories, cafeteria facilities, and other staff welfare facilities. This fund is non-distributable other than upon liquidation. Nova Macao does not participate in this voluntary fund.

Note 11 - Geographical Sales

Geographical distribution of sales consisted of the following for the nine and three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018:

* excluding China

Note 12 - Commitments and Contingencies

Lease Commitments

On June 17, 2013, the Company entered into a lease agreement for office, warehouse, storage, and distribution space with a five year term, commencing on November 1, 2013 and expiring on October 31, 2018. The lease agreement also provides an option to extend the term for an additional six years. On April 23, 2018, the Company extended the lease for another 36 months with an expiration date of October 31, 2021. The monthly rental payment is $42,000 with an annual 3% increase.  

On January 7, 2014, the Company entered into a sublease agreement with Diamond Bar for warehouse space with a five-year term commencing on November 1, 2013 and which expired on October 31, 2018. The Company subleased a portion of its warehouse space to one of its customers with a one-year term commencing on December 1, 2013 and expiring on November 30, 2014, which has been renewed every year, expired on October 31, 2018, and was not renewed. The sublease income of $6,000 per month was recorded against the rental expense. During the nine and three months ended September 30, 2018, the Company recorded $47,330 and $11,330 in sublease income, respectively.

On September 13, 2017, Bright Swallow renewed the lease for another two year term, commencing on October 1, 2017 and expiring on September 30, 2019. The monthly rental payment is 20,000 Hong Kong Dollars ($2,548). The Company terminated the lease on December 31, 2018.

The Company has entered into several lease agreements for office and warehouse space in Commerce, California and showroom space in Las Vegas, Nevada and High Point, North Carolina on monthly or annual terms.

Total rental payments for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 were $863,760 and $638,398, respectively; and $286,251 and $241,004 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

The components of lease costs, lease term and discount rate with respect of leases with an initial term of more than 12 months are as follows:

The following is a schedule, by years, of maturities of lease liabilities as of September 30, 2019:

Legal Proceedings

On December 28, 2018, a federal putative class action complaint was filed by George Barney against the Company and its former and current CEOs and CFOs (Thanh H. Lam, Ya Ming Wong, Jeffery Chuang and Yuen Ching Ho) in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, claiming the Company violated federal securities laws and pursuing remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Security Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 (the “Barney Action”). Richard Deutner and ITENT EDV were subsequently substituted as plaintiffs and, on June 18, 2019, they filed an Amended Complaint.  In the Amended Complaint, plaintiffs seek to recover compensatory damages caused by the Company’s alleged violations of federal securities laws during the period from December 3, 2015 through December 20, 2018.  Plaintiffs claim that the Company: (1) overstated its purported strategic alliance with a customer in China to operate as lead designer and manufacturer for all furnishings in such customer’s planned $460 million senior care center in China; (2) the Company inflated its reported sales in 2016 and 2017 with the Company’s two major customers; and (3) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.  In support of these claims, plaintiffs rely primarily upon a blog appearing in Seeking Alpha on December 21, 2018 in which it was claimed that an investigation of the Company failed to confirm the existence of several entities identified as significant customers, Plaintiffs purported to verify some of the information alleged in the Seeking Alpha blog.   The Company denies the material allegations of the Amended Complaint and plans to defend the action vigorously.  On August 2, 2019, defendants moved to dismiss the Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.  Defendants argued that the Seeking Alpha blog was not a sufficiently reliable source to serve as the basis of a federal securities claim, that plaintiffs used the wrong company names in seeking to locate the Company’s customers, plaintiffs could not establish loss causation, and plaintiffs did not adequately allege intentional or reckless misrepresentations.  This Motion has been fully briefed and we are waiting for a decision from the Court.

Independent of the litigation, the Audit Committee engaged the Company’s auditor to perform special procedures to confirm the reported sales.  Those procedures included but were not limited to the examination and testing of relevant documentation relating to the sales made by the Company to the customers identified in the purported research report for the periods 2015-2018, and 100% sampling of all transactions between the Company and the subject customers.  The Audit Committee finished its special procedures in March 2019 and the Company’s independent auditor has reported to the Audit Committee that, regarding the four subject customers mentioned in the purported research report, the special procedures resulted in no evidence of fictitious sales or of fictitious customers. Please see the details in the Form 8-K filed by the Company with SEC on March 29, 2019.

On March 8, 2019, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, shareholder Jie Yuan (the “Jie Action”) filed a derivative lawsuit purportedly on behalf of the Company against its former and current CEOs and CFOs (Thanh H. Lam, Ya Ming Wong, Jeffery Chuang and Yuen Ching Ho) and directors (Charlie Huy La, Bin Liu, Umesh Patel, and Min Su) and vice president (Steven Qiang Liu) (collectively, the “Defendants”) seeking to recover any losses the Company sustains as a result of alleged securities violations outlined in the Seeking Alpha blog and Barney securities class action complaint. Specifically, the derivative lawsuit alleges that the Defendants caused the Company to make the alleged false and/or misleading statements giving rise to the putative securities class action.  The Plaintiff also alleges that President and CEO Lam engaged in self-dealing by leasing her property to Diamond Bar, a Company subsidiary, and asserts, in conclusory fashion, that Lam, former CEO and director Ya Ming Wong, former CFO and director Yuen Ching Ho, and director Umesh Patel sold securities during the period of time when the alleged false and/or misleading statements were made “with knowledge of material non-public information . . . .”

On May 15, 2019, Wilson Samuels (the “Samuels Action”) also filed a putative derivative complaint purportedly on behalf of the Company against the same current and former directors and officers named in the Jie Action other than Steven Qiang Liu. That action was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Samuels repeats the allegations of the Complaint in the Jie Action.  Additionally, Samuels claims that, in announcing its change of auditing firms in September 2016, the Company asserted that this change was made because its existing auditor ceased auditing public companies subject to regulation in the United States without disclosing that its new auditing firm was created in a merger of three accounting firms, including a firm whose registration was revoked by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.  Samuels also claims that the Company redeemed its stock in reliance upon the same purported fraudulent recognition of revenues claimed in the putative class action.  He purports to state direct claims under Sections 10(b) and 20 of the Exchange Act and SEC Rule 10b-5.

While these derivative actions are purportedly asserted on behalf of the Company, it is possible that the Company may directly incur attorneys’ fees and is advancing the costs of defense for its current directors and officers.  The Company believes there is no basis to the derivative complaints and they will be vigorously defended.  At this point, however, plaintiffs in both the Jie and Samuels actions have agreed to stay those proceeding pending the Court’s decision on the Motion to Dismiss in the Barney Action.

Other than the above, the Company is not currently a party to any legal proceeding, investigation or claim which, in the opinion of the management, is likely to have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition or results of operations.

Note 13 - Subsequent Events

The Company has evaluated all events that have occurred subsequent to September 30, 2019 through the date that the consolidated financial statements were issued, and no subsequent event has been identified.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS 

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” the negatives of such terms and other terms of similar meaning typically identify forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, those listed under the heading “Risk Factors” and those listed in our 2018 Form 10-K (as defined below). The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our Financial Statements and related Notes thereto included elsewhere in this report and in our 2018 Form 10-K. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this report to “we,” “us,” “Nova,” “Nova Lifestyle” or the “Company” refer to Nova Lifestyle, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Safe Harbor Declaration

The following discussion and analysis is based upon our financial statements as of the dates and for the periods presented in this section. You should read this discussion and analysis in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto found in Part I, Item 1 of this Form 10-Q and our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 (the “2018 Form 10-K”). All references to the third quarter and first nine months of 2019 and 2018 mean the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2019 and 2018. In addition to historical information, the following discussion and other parts of this report contain certain forward-looking information. When used in this discussion, the words, “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results, due to a number of risks, uncertainties and factors beyond our control. We do not undertake to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, even if experience or future changes show that the indicated results or events will not be realized. Furthermore, we cannot guarantee future results, events, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Readers also are urged to carefully review and consider our discussions regarding the various factors that affect the company’s business, which are described in this section and elsewhere in this report. For more information, see our discussion of risk factors located at Part I, Item 1A of our 2018 Form 10-K.

Overview

Nova LifeStyle, Inc. is a distributor of contemporary styled residential and commercial furniture incorporated into a dynamic marketing and sales platform offering retail as well as online selection and global purchase fulfillment.  We monitor popular trends and products to create design elements that are then integrated into our product lines that can be used as both stand-alone or whole-room and home furnishing solutions.  Through our global network of retailers, e-commerce platforms, stagers and hospitality providers, Nova LifeStyle also sells (through an exclusive third-party manufacturing partner) a managed variety of high quality bedding foundation components.

Nova LifeStyle’s brand family currently includes Diamond Sofa (www.diamondsofa.com) and Bright Swallow.

Our customers principally consist of distributors and retailers with specific geographic territories that deploy middle to high end private label home furnishings which have very little competitive overlap with our specific furnishing products or product lines.  Nova LifeStyle is constantly seeking to integrate new sources of distribution and manufacturing that are properly aligned with our growth strategy. This allows us to continually focus on building both our overall distribution and manufacturing relationships through a deployment of popular, as well as trend-based, furnishing solutions worldwide.

We are a U.S. holding company with no material assets in the U.S. other than the ownership interests of our wholly owned subsidiaries through which we market, design and sell residential furniture worldwide: Nova Furniture Macao Commercial Offshore Limited, Bright Swallow International Group Limited, and Diamond Bar Outdoors, Inc. Nova Macao was organized under the laws of Macao on May 20, 2006. Nova Macao is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nova Lifestyle.  Diamond Bar is a California corporation organized on June 15, 2000, which we acquired pursuant to a stock purchase agreement on August 31, 2011.  On April 24, 2013, we acquired all of the outstanding stock of Bright Swallow.  On December 7, 2017, we incorporated i Design Blockchain Technology, Inc. (“i Design”) under the laws of the State of California. The purpose of i Design is to build our own blockchain technology team. This company is in the planning stage and has had minimal operations to date.

Our experience developing and marketing products for international markets has enabled us to develop the scale, logistics, marketing, manufacturing efficiencies and design expertise that serve as the foundation for us to expand aggressively into the highly attractive U.S., Canadian, European, Australian, Asian and Middle Eastern markets. 

Due to the recent imposition of significant trade tariffs on importation from China to United States, we are actively pursuing alternative product lines with positive growth potential. One of such areas pertains to the health-oriented furniture segment which continues to experience popularity, particularly in Asia. Since the second quarter of 2019, we have developed a line of high-end physiotherapeutic jade mats with China based manufacturing partners for use in therapy clinics, hospitality, and real estate projects in Asia. We are in the process of launching our first flagship retail store in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which is expected to open by the end of 2019 and will serve as one of our primary distribution channels. Marketing of jade mats will focus on their premium therapeutic qualities and target health conscious general consumers and professionals.

Principal Factors Affecting Our Financial Performance

At the beginning of 2019 we commenced a transition of our business.  We began moving away from low cost, low margin products to a mix of products that appeal to a higher-end ultimate consumer.  This move is intended to improve our gross profit margin, receivable collections and net profitability, and to increase our return on long-term equity, over the long-term.  We decided to terminate sales and marketing efforts to customers that represented a high purchase volume but low profit margin, and we adjusted our product line, which included the launch of our Summer 2019 Collection in the Las Vegas Market, with a view to attracting a higher-end ultimate customer. We believe these new strategies, and the recent launch of our Summer 2019 Collection, will provide us with significant long term growth opportunities.  The transition is expected to continue to adversely impact our revenue and our net profit in the short-term as we roll out new products and market those products to our existing client base and to new potential customers better suited for the higher end products, and as we assess our new products’ market acceptance.  Significant factors that we believe could affect our operating results are the (i) prices of our products to our international retailer and wholesaler customers and their markups to end consumers; (ii) consumer acceptance of our new brands and product collections; (iii) general economic conditions in the U.S., Chinese, Canadian, European and other international markets; and (iv) trade tariffs imposed by the United States on certain products manufactured in China. We believe most of our customers are willing to pay higher prices for our high quality and stylish products, timely delivery, and strong production capacity, which we expect will allow us to maintain high gross profit margins for our products. We do not manufacture our products, rather we utilize third party manufacturers. In response to the tariffs imposed by the United States on certain products manufactured in China, we are attempting to shift a portion of our product manufacturing from third party manufacturers located in China to third party manufacturers located in other parts of Asia, such as Vietnam, India and/or Malaysia, countries unaffected by the tariffs. Implementation of a relocation of manufacturing (which by necessity includes an assessment of the factory’s ability to deliver the quantity of the product, in accordance with the Company’s specifications, and in accordance with the Company’s quality control requirements) is time-consuming, but we expect that a portion of our manufacturing will be transitioned to one or more of these venues during 2019.  Some of our manufacturing will continue to be performed in China because the intellectual know-how necessary to manufacture certain products is not generally available in other Asian countries. Consumer preference trends favoring high quality and stylish products and lifestyle-based furniture suites should also allow us to maintain our high gross profit margins. The markets in North America (excluding the United States) and particularly in Europe remain challenging because such markets are experiencing a slower than anticipated recovery from the international financial crisis. However, we believe that discretionary purchases of furniture by middle to upper middle-income consumers, our target global consumer market, will increase along with expected growth in the worldwide furniture trade and the recovery of housing markets. Furthermore, we believe that our expansion of direct sales in the U.S. will have a positive impact on our net sales and net income, while helping to diversify our customer base and end consumer markets.

Due to the recent imposition of significant trade tariffs on importation from China to United States, we are actively pursuing alternative product lines with positive growth potential. One of such areas pertains to the health-oriented furniture segment which continues to experience popularity, particularly in Asia. Since the second quarter of 2019, we have developed a line of high-end physiotherapeutic jade mats with China based manufacturing partners for use in therapy clinics, hospitality, and real estate projects in Asia. We are in the process of launching our first flagship retail store in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which is expected to open by the end of 2019 and will serve as one of our primary distribution channels. Marketing of jade mats will focus on their premium therapeutic qualities and target health conscious general consumers and professionals. We have limited experience with operations in Southeast Asia and considerable management attention and resources may be required to manage these new markets and product lines. We may be subject to additional risks including credit risk, currency exchange rate fluctuations, foreign exchange controls, import and export requirements, potentially adverse tax consequences and higher costs associated with doing business internationally.

Critical Accounting Policies

While our significant accounting policies are described more fully in Note 2 to our accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, we believe the following accounting policies are the most critical to aid you in fully understanding and evaluating this Management’s Discussion and Analysis. 

There have been no material changes to our critical accounting policies and estimates as compared to the critical accounting policies and estimates described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018.

On January 1, 2019, we adopted Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (ASU 2016-02), as amended, which supersedes the lease accounting guidance under Topic 840, and generally requires lessees to recognize operating and financing lease liabilities and corresponding right-of-use (ROU) assets on the balance sheet and to provide enhanced disclosures surrounding the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leasing arrangements. We adopted the new guidance using the modified retrospective transition approach by applying the new standard to all leases existing at the date of initial application and not restating comparative periods. The most significant impact was the recognition of ROU assets and lease liabilities for operating leases. See Note 2— Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Note 12 — Commitments and Contingencies in the notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements included in Part I, Item 1, of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for additional information regarding the adoption.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for Nova LifeStyle and its subsidiaries, Diamond Bar, Bright Swallow, Nova Macao, i Design, Nova Furniture and Nova Samoa.

Use of Estimates

In preparing consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP, we make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Significant estimates and assumptions made by us, include but are not limited to, revenue recognition, the allowance for bad debt, valuation of inventories, the valuation of stock-based compensation, income taxes and unrecognized tax benefits, valuation allowance for deferred tax assets, assumptions used in assessing impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill. Actual results could differ from those estimates. 

Accounts Receivable

Our policy is to maintain an allowance for potential credit losses on accounts receivable. We review the composition of accounts receivable and analyze historical bad debts, customer concentrations, customer credit worthiness, current economic trends and changes in customer payment patterns to evaluate the adequacy of these reserves.  We maintained an allowance for bad debt of $10,185 and $224,795 as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively. During the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, bad debt expenses were $5,136 and $2,128,579, respectively. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, bad debt (reversal) expenses were ($214,610) and $2,298,488, respectively. As of September 30, 2019, we had gross receivable of $9,032,056, of which $1,371,506 was over 90 days but within 180 days past due. The allowance for doubtful accounts is our best estimate of the amount of probable credit losses in our existing trade accounts receivable. We determine the allowance based on historical bad debt experience, customer concentrations, customer credit worthiness, current economic trends and changes in customer payment patterns.

Advances to Suppliers

Advances to suppliers are reported net of allowance when we determine that amounts outstanding are not likely to be collected in cash or utilized against purchase of inventories. Based on our historical records, we generally receive goods within 5 to 9 months from the date the advance payment is made. As such, no reserve on supplier prepayments has been made or recorded by us. Any provisions for allowance for advance to suppliers, if deemed necessary, will be included in general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss).

Income Taxes

In our interim financial statements, we follow the guidance in ASC 270 “Interim Reporting” and ASC 740 “Income Taxes” whereby the Company utilizes the expected annual effective rate in determining its income tax provision. The income tax benefits for the nine and three months ended September 30, 2019 of approximately $782,000 and $12,000 are primarily related to a reversal of tax liability reserves due to a statute of limitations expiration in 2019 and quarter-to-date losses generated from U.S. operations. The income tax benefit for the nine and three months ended September 30, 2018 were approximately $505,000 and $942,000 and were primarily related to income from operations.

Income taxes are accounted for using an asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred income taxes are recognized for the tax consequences in future years of differences between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their financial reporting amounts at each period end based on enacted tax laws and statutory tax rates, applicable to the periods in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

We follow ASC Topic 740, which prescribes a more-likely-than-not threshold for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. ASC Topic 740 also provides guidance on recognition of income tax assets and liabilities, classification of current and deferred income tax assets and liabilities, accounting for interest and penalties associated with tax positions, accounting for income taxes in interim periods, and income tax disclosures.

Under the provisions of ASC Topic 740, when tax returns are filed, it is highly certain that some positions taken would be sustained upon examination by the taxing authorities, while others are subject to uncertainty about the merits of the position taken or the amount of the position that would be ultimately sustained. The benefit of a tax position is recognized in the financial statements in the period during which, based on all available evidence, management believes it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon examination, including the resolution of appeals or litigation processes, if any. Tax positions taken are not offset or aggregated with other positions. Tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold are measured as the largest amount of tax benefit that is more than 50 percent likely of being realized upon settlement with the applicable taxing authority. The portion of the benefits associated with tax positions taken that exceeds the amount measured as described above is reflected as a liability for unrecognized tax benefits in the accompanying balance sheets along with any associated interest and penalties that would be payable to the taxing authorities upon examination.

Nova Lifestyle, Inc. and Diamond Bar Outdoors, Inc. (“Diamond Bar”) are subject to U.S. federal and state income taxes. Nova Furniture BVI and Bright Swallow International Group Limited (“BSI”) were incorporated in the BVI, Nova Samoa was incorporated in Samoa and Nova Macau was incorporated in Macau. There is no income tax for companies domiciled in the BVI, Samoa and Macau. Accordingly, the Company’s consolidated financial statements do not present any income tax provisions related to the BVI, Samoa and Macau tax jurisdictions where Nova Furniture BVI and BSI, Nova Samoa and Nova Macau are domiciled.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Act”) created new taxes on certain foreign-sourced earnings such as global intangible low-taxed income (“GILTI”) under IRC Section 951A, which is effective for the Company for tax years beginning after January 1, 2018. For the quarter ended September 30, 2019, the Company has calculated its best estimate of the impact of the GILTI in its income tax provision in accordance with its understanding of the Act and guidance available as of the date of this filing.

Revenue Recognition 

We recognize revenues when our customer obtains control of promised goods or services, in an amount that reflects the consideration which it expects to receive in exchange for those goods. We recognize revenues following the five step model prescribed under ASU No. 2014-09: (i) identify contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenues when (or as) we satisfy the performance obligation.

Revenue from product sales is recognized when the customer obtains control of our product, which typically occurs upon delivery to the customer. We expense incremental costs of obtaining a contract as and when incurred if the expected amortization period of the asset that it would have recognized is one year or less or the amount is immaterial.

Revenue from product sales is recorded net of reserves established for applicable discounts and allowances that are offered within contracts with our customers.

Product revenue reserves, which are classified as a reduction in product revenues, are generally characterized in the following categories: discounts, returns and rebates. These reserves are based on estimates of the amounts earned or to be claimed on the related sales and are classified as reductions of accounts receivable as the amount is payable to our customer.

Our sales policy allows for the return of product within the warranty period if the product is defective and the defects are our fault.  As alternatives for the product return option, the customers have the option of asking us for a discount for products with quality issues, or of receiving replacement parts from us at no cost. The amount of reserves for return of products, the discount provided to the customers, and cost for the replacement parts were immaterial for the nine months ended September 30, 2019.

We generally expense sales commissions when incurred because the amortization period would have been one year or less. These costs are recorded within selling expenses on our consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss).

Foreign Currency Translation and Transactions

The accompanying consolidated financial statements are presented in United States Dollar (“$” or “USD”), which is also the functional currency of Nova LifeStyle, Nova Furniture, Nova Samoa, Nova Macao, Bright Swallow, Diamond Bar and i Design.

Segment Reporting

ASC Topic 280, “Segment Reporting,” requires use of the “management approach” model for segment reporting. The management approach model is based on the way a company’s chief operating decision maker organizes segments within the company for making operating decisions, assessing performance and allocating resources. Reportable segments are based on products and services, geography, legal structure, management structure, or any other manner in which management disaggregates a company.

We determined that our operations constitute a single reportable segment in accordance with ASC 280. We operate exclusively in one business and industry segment: the design and sale of furniture.

We concluded that we had one reportable segment under ASC 280 because Diamond Bar is a furniture distributor based in California focusing on customers in the US, Bright Swallow is a furniture distributor focusing on customers primarily in Canada, and Nova Macao is a furniture distributor based in Macao focusing on international customers. Each of our subsidiaries is operated under the same senior management of our company, and we view the operations of Diamond Bar, Bright Swallow and Nova Macao as a whole for making business decisions.

Net sales to customers by geographic area are determined by reference to the physical product shipment delivery locations requested by our customers. For example, if the products are delivered to a customer in the U.S., the sales are recorded as generated in the U.S.; if the customer directs us to ship its products to China, the sales are recorded as sold in China.

New Accounting Pronouncements 

Recently issued accounting pronouncements not yet adopted 

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326), which requires entities to measure all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. This replaces the existing incurred loss model and is applicable to the measurement of credit losses on financial assets measured at amortized cost. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years.  Early application will be permitted for all entities for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2018.  Adoption of the ASUs is on a modified retrospective basis. We are currently evaluating the impact that the standard will have on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures. 

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. The guidance removes Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test, which requires a hypothetical purchase price allocation. A goodwill impairment will now be the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill. The guidance should be adopted on a prospective basis for the annual or any interim goodwill impairment tests beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. We are currently evaluating the impact of adopting this standard on our consolidated financial statements.

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, “Compensation — Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Non-employee Share-Based Payment Accounting,” which expands the scope of ASC 718 to include share-based payment transactions for acquiring goods and services from non-employees. An entity should apply the requirements of ASC 718 to non-employee awards except for specific guidance on inputs to an option pricing model and the attribution of cost. The amendments specify that ASC 718 applies to all share-based payment transactions in which a grantor acquires goods or services to be used or consumed in a grantor's own operations by issuing share-based payment awards. The new guidance is effective for SEC filers for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim reporting periods within those fiscal years (i.e., January 1, 2020, for calendar year entities). Early adoption is permitted. We are evaluating the effects of the adoption of this guidance and currently believe that it will impact the accounting of the share-based awards granted to non-employees.

Results of Operations

Comparison of Three Months Ended September 30, 2019 and 2018

The following table sets forth the results of our operations for three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018. Certain columns may not add due to rounding.

Net Sales

Net sales for the three months ended September 30, 2019 were $9.32 million, a decrease of 44.33% from $16.75 million in the same period of 2018. This decrease in net sales resulted primarily from a 28.05% decrease in sales volume and 22.63% decrease in average selling price. Our largest selling product categories in the three months ended September 30, 2019 were sofas, decorations and beds, which accounted for approximately 74%, 5% and 3% of sales, respectively. In the three months ended September 30, 2018, the largest three selling categories were sofas, cabinets and beds, which accounted for approximately 64%, 10% and 9% of sales, respectively. 

Our revenue has been adversely impacted by two factors, (a) our decisions to move away from low cost, low margin products to a mix of products that appeal to a higher-end ultimate consumer and to eliminate customers generating low margin sales and customers that have slow payment histories, and (b) the increased trade tariffs imposed by the United States on products manufactured in China. The trade tariffs imposed by the United States would have effectively reduced or eliminated our gross margin on our low cost, low margin products, which in part drove our decision to move away from those products.  The resulting shift from those low cost, low margin products caused certain of our distributors that historically had represented a significant portion of our revenue to move their business to other providers.  The $7.42 million decrease in net sales in the three months ended September 30, 2019, compared to the same period of 2018, was mainly due to decreased sales to Australia, Asia, and North America. Sales to North America were $4.25 million in the three months ended September 30, 2019, a decrease of 67.9% from $13.24 million in 2018, primarily due to the trade war tariffs, which took effect in September 2018 and have caused a significant number of our sales orders to be held up. We also temporarily eliminated sales to customers generating high volume but low profit margin sales. Sales to Asia, excluding China, decreased 100% to $0 million in the three months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $2.82 million in the same period of 2018. Australia sales also decreased 100% to $0 million in the three months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $0.55 million in 2018. We stopped selling to customers from which it took us a long time to collect our accounts receivable. We thus ceased our marketing efforts in these regions altogether. We changed our sales strategy to seek sales of high margin products and shorter collection time on the customers’ accounts receivable. See the discussion of our tightened credit terms below under the heading Liquidity and Capital Resources.  China sales were $4.96 million in the three months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $0 million in 2018, primarily as a result of increasing sales orders from one of our customers in China. Sales to other countries decreased to $0.12 million in the three months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $0.15 million in 2018, primarily due to receiving fewer sales orders from customers.

Cost of Sales

Cost of sales consists primarily of costs of finished goods purchased from third-party manufacturers. Total cost of sales decreased by 43% to $7.75 million in the three months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $13.53 million in the same period of 2018. Cost of sales as a percentage of sales increased to 83% in the three months ended September 30, 2019, compared to 81% in the same period of 2018. The decrease of cost of sales in dollars is primarily due to decreased sales. The increase in cost of sales as a percentage of sales is primarily a result of the increased cost of products purchased from third parties, which have increased our costs and reduced our profit margin for sales to certain customers.

Gross Profit

Gross profit decreased by 51% to $1.57 million in the three months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $3.22 million in the same period of 2018. Our gross profit margin decreased to 17% in the three months ended September 30, 2019, compared to 19% in the same period of 2018. The decrease in gross profit margin was mainly due to the increased cost of products purchased from third-party manufacturers and high tariffs on products from China.

Operating Expenses 

Operating expenses consisted of selling, general and administrative expenses and research and development expenses. Operating expenses were $1.94 million in the three months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $4.58 million in the same period of 2018. Selling expenses decreased by 55%, or $0.47 million, to $0.38 million in the three months ended September 30, 2019, from $0.85 million in the same period of 2018, due primarily to decreased sales commissions, marketing, advertising and show expenses. General and administrative expenses decreased by 58%, or $2.16 million, to $1.56 million in the three months ended September 30, 2019, from $3.72 million in the same period of 2018, primarily due to a decrease in travel and entertainment expense of $0.12 million and bad debt expense of $2.12 million.

Other Expenses, Net

Other expenses, net, was $38,558 in the three months ended September 30, 2019, compared with other expenses, net, of $77,497 in the same period of 2018, representing a decrease in other expenses of $38,939. The decrease in other expenses was due primarily to the decreased interest expense on our lines of credit to $0 in the three months ended September 30, 2019 from $36,696 in the same period of 2018. We recorded a higher interest income on our increased average balances at banks in 2019. Interest income was $400 and $66 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Also, there was a decrease in non-operating expenses of $3,486 to $0, from $3,486 in the same period of 2018.

Income Tax Benefit

Income tax benefit was $11,915 in the three months ended September 30, 2019, compared with $942,267 of income tax benefit in the same period of 2018. The decrease in income tax benefit for the three months ended September 30, 2019 was primarily related to a decreased reversal of tax liability due to a statute of limitation expiration, compared with the same period of 2018.

Net Loss

As a result of the foregoing, our net loss was $0.40 million in the three months ended September 30, 2019, as compared with $0.49 million of net loss for the same period of 2018.  

Comparison of Nine months Ended September 30, 2019 and 2018

The following table sets forth the results of our operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018. Certain columns may not add due to rounding.

Net Sales

Net sales for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 were $24.58 million, a decrease of 61% from $63.16 million in the same period of 2018; this decrease in net sales resulted primarily from a 35.97% decrease in sales volume and 39.20% decrease in average selling price. Our largest selling product categories in the nine months ended September 30, 2019 were sofas, cabinets and beds, which accounted for approximately 61%, 11% and 5% of sales, respectively. In the nine months ended September 30, 2018, the largest three selling categories were sofas, TV cabinets and beds, which accounted for approximately 59%, 8% and 7% of sales, respectively.

Our revenue has been adversely impacted by two factors: (a) our decision to move away from low cost, low margin products to a mix of products that appeal to a higher-end ultimate consumer and to eliminate customers generating low margin sales and customers that have slow payment histories, and (b) the increased trade tariffs imposed by the United States on products manufactured in China. The trade tariffs imposed by the United States would have effectively reduced or eliminated our gross margin on our low cost, low margin products, which in part drove our decision to move away from those products. The resulting shift from those low cost, low margin products caused certain of our distributors that historically had represented a significant portion of our revenue to move their business to other providers.  The $38.58 million decrease in net sales in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to the same period of 2018, includes a $27.85 million decrease in sales in North America, an $11.08 million decrease in sales in Australia and an $11.68 million decrease in sales in Asia, offset by a $11.79 million increase in sales in China and a $0.23 million increase in sales in other countries. North American sales decreased by 69.2% to $12.37 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $40.22 million in 2018. Due to higher tariffs, we have temporarily stopped taking orders from customers with low margins. Australia sales were $0 in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $11.08 million in the same period of 2018. Sales to Asia, excluding China, decreased by 100% to $0 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $11.68 million in the same period of 2018. We stopped selling to customers with long collection time on their accounts receivable and ceased our marketing efforts in these regions. We changed our sales strategy to aim for sales of high margin products and shorter collection times on the customers’ accounts receivable. China sales were $11.79 million in nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $0 million in 2018, primarily as a result of increasing sales orders from one of our customers in China. Sales to other countries also increased to $0.41 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $0.18 million in sales in 2018, primarily due to an increase in sales orders from two customers in New Zealand.

Cost of Sales

Cost of sales consists primarily of finished goods purchased from other manufacturers. Total cost of sales decreased 61% to $20.03 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $50.83 million in the same period of 2018. Cost of sales as a percentage of sales was 81% and 80% in the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The increase in cost of sales as a percentage of sales resulted primarily a result of the increased cost of products purchased from third parties, which have increased our costs and reduced our profit margin for sales to certain customers. The decrease of cost of sales in dollar terms is primarily due to the decreased sales.

Gross Profit

Gross profit decreased 63% to $4.55 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $12.33 million in the same period of 2018. Our gross profit margin was 19% and 20% in the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The decrease in gross profit in dollar terms resulted primarily from decreased sales in 2019.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses consist of selling, general and administrative expenses and research and development expenses. Operating expenses were $5.86 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $10.11 million in the same period of 2018. Selling expenses decreased by 53% to $1.19 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, from $2.53 million in the same period of 2018, due primarily to decreased sales commissions, marketing, advertising and show expenses. General and administrative expenses decreased 38% to $4.67 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, from $7.57 million in the same period of 2018, primarily due to a decrease in bad debt expense of $2.51 million, and a decrease in travel and entertainment expense of 0.32 million. 

Other Expenses, Net

Other expenses, net was $54,327 in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared with other expenses, net, of $199,139 in the same period of 2018, representing a decrease in other expenses of $0.14 million.  Interest expense decreased by $57,080 due to a lower average balance of our lines of credit in the nine months ended September 30, 2019. We recorded a higher interest income on our increased average balances at banks in 2019. Interest income was $61,238 and $108 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. Also, there was an increase in non-operating income of $37,319 to $37,915, from $596 in the same period of 2018.

Income Tax Benefit

Income tax benefit was $782,362 in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared with $505,074 of income tax benefit in the same period of 2018. The increase in income tax benefit for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 was primarily related to a reversal of tax liability reserves due to a statute of limitations expiration in 2019 and losses generated from U.S. operations in the nine months ended September 30, 2019.

Net (Loss) Income

As a result of the foregoing, our net loss was $0.58 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, as compared with $2.53 million of net income for the same period of 2018.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Our principal demands for liquidity are related to our efforts to increase sales, and to purchase inventory, and for expenditures related to sales distribution and general corporate purposes. We intend to meet our liquidity requirements, including capital expenditures related to purchase of inventories and the expansion of our business, primarily through cash flow provided by operations, collections of accounts receivable, and credit facilities from banks.

We rely primarily on internally generated cash flow and proceeds under credit facilities to support growth.  We may seek additional financing in the form of bank loans or other credit facilities or funds raised through future offerings of our equity or debt, if and when we determine such offerings are required.  As of September 30, 2019, we do not have any credit facilities.

We had net working capital of $71,839,882 at September 30, 2019, a decrease of $1,776,831 from net working capital of $73,616,713 at December 31, 2018. The ratio of current assets to current liabilities was 53.88-to-1 at September 30, 2019.

The following is a summary of cash provided by or used in each of the indicated types of activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018: 

Net cash provided by operating activities was $7.71 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, an increase of cash inflow of $13.22 million from $5.51 million of cash used in operating activities in the same period of 2018. The increase of cash inflow was attributable primarily to an increased cash inflow of $60.66 million from accounts receivable to $58.65 million cash inflow in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $2.01 million cash outflow in the same period of 2018, such increase being primarily due to collected accounts receivable from our customers. In past years, we had allowed our key customers to take longer than the granted credit periods to settle their purchases, in order to boost sales. Starting from the second half of 2018, we had been monitoring them closely for payment but our accounts receivable still reached a record high of $67.5 million as of December 31, 2018, and this negatively impacted to our cash flow from operating activities. In 2019, the industry environment worsened as a result of the imposition by the U.S. of tariffs on products manufactured in China. We determined not to accept new sales orders from those key customers until they settled all overdue balances. As a result of customer payments and the significant reduction in sales, we were able to reduce our accounts receivable balance by approximately $58.44 million in the first three quarters of 2019. We will continue our efforts to tighten customers’ credit terms and expect that most of our customers will pay according to the contract terms going forward. The increase in operating cash inflow was partially offset by the increase in cash outflow for advances to suppliers of $14.86 million to $26.00 million cash outflow in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $11.14 million cash outflow in the same period of 2018; and by the increase in cash outflow for inventory of $19.56 million to $18.97 million cash outflow in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $0.59 million cash inflow in the same period of 2018.

Due to the recent imposition of significant trade tariffs on importation from China to the United States, we are actively developing alternative markets and product lines. We have been developing relationships with potential customers in Asia who intend to purchase high-end health furniture products for use in therapy clinics, hospitality and real estate projects. We have also been networking with sales agents to develop these markets. In the second quarter of 2019, we sourced physiotherapeutic jade mats from manufacturers in China. As of September 30, 2019, we had advanced deposits for approximately $35.7 million in order to procure the products. These advances can ensure that our products are prioritized and help lock in purchase prices and bulk purchase discounts with our suppliers. We expect to receive these products within the year.

The operating cash flow is also negatively impacted by the increase in cash outflow for accounts payable of $5.50 million to $3.69 million in cash outflow in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $1.81 million in cash inflow in the same period of 2018, such increase being mainly due to more timely payments to suppliers; and the increase in cash outflow for tax payable of $1.28 million to $2.02 million cash outflow in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $0.73 million cash outflow in the same period of 2018, such increase in cash outflows being mainly a result of $2.01 million of one-time transition tax recognized in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Net cash used in investing activities was $25,902 in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, an increase of cash outflow of $12,942 from $12,960 in outflow in the same period of 2018. In the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, we incurred cash outflow of $25,902 and $12,960 from purchases of property and equipment, respectively. 

Net cash used in financing activities was $6.76 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2019, an increase of cash outflow of $7.4 million from cash inflow of $0.68 million in the same period of 2018. In the nine months ended September 30, 2019, we repaid $23.76 million in bank loans and borrowed $17.51 million in bank loans, while repurchasing common stock for $515,455.  In the nine months ended September 30, 2018, we repaid $55.41 million in bank loans, and borrowed $56.06 million in bank loans, while cash received from exercise of options for common stock was $31,500.

As of September 30, 2019, we had gross accounts receivable of $9,032,056, of which $6,805,268 was not yet past due, $855,282 was fewer than 90 days past due and $1,371,506 was over 90 days but within 180 days past due. We had an allowance for bad debt of $10,185. As of November 1, 2019, $1,206,851 accounts receivable outstanding at September 30, 2019 had been collected.

All accounts receivable outstanding at December 31, 2018 had been collected during 2019.

As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, we had advances to suppliers of $36,623,592 and $10,625,021, respectively. These supplier prepayments are made for goods before we actually receive them. The balance of advances to suppliers has increased by $25.99 million, mainly a result of making deposits of $35.7 million with suppliers who manufacture physiotherapeutic jade mats in China.

For a new product, the normal lead time from new product R&D, prototype, and mass production to delivery of goods from our suppliers to us is approximately six to nine months after we make advance payments to our suppliers. For other products, the typical time is five months after our advance payment. We will consider the need for a reserve when and if a supplier fails to fulfill our orders within the time frame as stipulated in the purchase contracts. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, no reserve on supplier prepayments had been made or recorded by us.

As of November 1, 2019, $8,142,739, or 22.2%, of our advances to suppliers outstanding at September 30, 2019 had been delivered to us in the form of inventory purchases.

Most of the remaining balance of $28,480,853 in advances to suppliers outstanding at September 30, 2019 is expected to be delivered to us in the form of inventory purchases through the fourth quarter of 2019.

Lines of Credit

On September 19, 2017, Diamond Bar extended the line of credit up to a maximum of $8,000,000 to mature on June 1, 2019. The annual interest rate was 5.50% as of September 30, 2019. The line of credit is secured by all of the assets of Diamond Bar and is guaranteed by Nova LifeStyle. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, Diamond Bar had $0 and $6,248,162 outstanding on the line of credit, respectively.  During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded interest expense of $35,444 and $92,524, respectively; and $0 and $36,696 for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively. We paid off the lines of credit during the nine months ended September 30, 2019.

As of September 30, 2019, we do not have any credit facilities.

The Diamond Bar loan had the following covenants: (i) maintain a minimum tangible net worth of not less than $20 million; (ii) maintain a ratio of debt to tangible net worth not in excess of 2.5 to 1.0; (iii) the pre-tax income must not be less than 1% of total quarterly revenue; and (iv) maintain a current ratio in excess of 1.25 to 1.00. As of December 31, 2018, Diamond Bar was in compliance with the stated covenants.  

Shelf Registration; Resale Registration Statement

On July 13, 2017, the Company filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 under which the Company may, from time to time, sell securities in one or more offerings up to a total dollar amount of $60,000,000.  The shelf registration statement was declared effective as of October 12, 2017.

Other Long-Term Liabilities

As of September 30, 2019, we recorded long-term taxes payable of $1.93 million, consisting of an income tax payable of $1.82 million, primarily arising from a one-time transition tax recognized in the fourth quarter of 2017 on our post-1986 foreign unremitted earnings, and a $0.11 million unrecognized tax benefit, as ASC 740 specifies that tax positions for which the timing of the ultimate resolution is uncertain should be recognized as long-term liabilities.

We elected to pay the one-time transition tax over the eight years commencing April 2018.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

There are no off-balance sheet arrangements between us and any other entity that have, or are reasonably likely to have, a current or future effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources that is material to shareholders.

We have not entered into any other financial guarantees or other commitments to guarantee the payment obligations of any third parties. We have not entered into any derivative contracts that are indexed to our shares and classified as stockholders’ equity or that are not reflected in our consolidated financial statements. Furthermore, we do not have any retained or contingent interest in assets transferred to an unconsolidated entity that serves as credit, liquidity or market risk support to such entity. We do not have any variable interest in any unconsolidated entity that provides financing, liquidity, market risk or credit support to us or engages in leasing, hedging or research and development services with us.

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

Not required.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We have evaluated, under the supervision of our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and our Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), the effectiveness of disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) as of September 30, 2019. Based on this evaluation, our CEO and CFO concluded that as of the end of the period covered by this report, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act (a) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and (b) is accumulated and communicated to management, including our CEO and CFO, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives, and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives as described above.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

On December 28, 2018, a federal putative class action complaint was filed by George Barney against the Company and its former and current CEOs and CFOs (Thanh H. Lam, Ya Ming Wong, Jeffery Chuang and Yuen Ching Ho) in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, claiming the Company violated federal securities laws and pursuing remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Security Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 (the “Barney Action”). Richard Deutner and ITENT EDV were subsequently substituted as plaintiffs and, on June 18, 2019, they filed an Amended Complaint.  In the Amended Complaint, plaintiffs seek to recover compensatory damages caused by the Company’s alleged violations of federal securities laws during the period from December 3, 2015 through December 20, 2018.  Plaintiffs claim that the Company: (1) overstated its purported strategic alliance with a customer in China to operate as lead designer and manufacturer for all furnishings in such customer’s planned $460 million senior care center in China; (2) the Company inflated its reported sales in 2016 and 2017 with the Company’s two major customers; and (3) as a result, the Company’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.  In support of these claims, plaintiffs rely primarily upon a blog appearing in Seeking Alpha on December 21, 2018 in which it was claimed that an investigation of the Company failed to confirm the existence of several entities identified as significant customers, Plaintiffs purported to verify some of the information alleged in the Seeking Alpha blog.   The Company denies the material allegations of the Amended Complaint and plans to defend the action vigorously.  On August 2, 2019, defendants moved to dismiss the Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.  Defendants argued that the Seeking Alpha blog was not a sufficiently reliable source to serve as the basis of a federal securities claim, that plaintiffs used the wrong company names in seeking to locate the Company’s customers, plaintiffs could not establish loss causation, and plaintiffs did not adequately allege intentional or reckless misrepresentations. This Motion has been fully briefed and we are waiting for a decision from the Court.

Independent of the litigation, the Audit Committee engaged the Company’s auditor to perform special procedures to confirm the reported sales.  Those procedures included but were not limited to the examination and testing of relevant documentation relating to the sales made by the Company to the customers identified in the purported research report for the periods 2015-2018, and 100% sampling of all transactions between the Company and the subject customers.  The Audit Committee finished its special procedures in March 2019 and the Company’s independent auditor has reported to the Audit Committee that, regarding the four subject customers mentioned in the purported research report, the special procedures resulted in no evidence of fictitious sales or of fictitious customers. Please see the details in the Form 8-K filed by the Company with SEC on March 29, 2019.

On March 8, 2019, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, shareholder Jie Yuan (the “Jie Action”) filed a derivative lawsuit purportedly on behalf of the Company against its former and current CEOs and CFOs (Thanh H. Lam, Ya Ming Wong, Jeffery Chuang and Yuen Ching Ho) and directors (Charlie Huy La, Bin Liu, Umesh Patel, and Min Su) and vice president (Steven Qing Liu) (collectively, the “Defendants”) seeking to recover any losses the Company sustains as a result of alleged securities violations outlined in the Seeking Alpha blog and Barney securities class action complaint. Specifically, the derivative lawsuit alleges that the Defendants caused the Company to make the alleged false and/or misleading statements giving rise to the putative securities class action.  The Plaintiff also alleges that President and CEO Lam engaged in self-dealing by leasing her property to Diamond Bar, a Company subsidiary, and asserts, in conclusory fashion, that Lam, former CEO and director Ya Ming Wong, former CFO and director Yuen Ching Ho, and director Umesh Patel sold securities during the period of time when the alleged false and/or misleading statements were made “with knowledge of material non-public information . . . .”

On May 15, 2019, Wilson Samuels (the “Samuels Action”) also filed a putative derivative complaint purportedly on behalf of the Company against the same current and former directors and officers named in the Jie Action other than Steven Qiang Liu. That action was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Samuels repeats the allegations of the Complaint in the Jie Action.  Additionally, Samuels claims that, in announcing its change of auditing firms in September 2016, the Company asserted that this change was made because its existing auditor ceased auditing public companies subject to regulation in the United States without disclosing that its new auditing firm was created in a merger of three accounting firms, including a firm whose registration was revoked by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.  Samuels also claims that the Company redeemed its stock in reliance upon the same purported fraudulent recognition of revenues claimed in the putative class action.  He purports to state direct claims under Sections 10(b) and 20 of the Exchange Act and SEC Rule 10b-5.

While these derivative actions are purportedly asserted on behalf of the Company, it is possible that the Company may directly incur attorneys’ fees and is advancing the costs of defense for its current directors and officers.  The Company believes there is no basis to the derivative complaints and they will be vigorously defended.  At this point, however, plaintiffs in both the Jie and Samuels actions have agreed to stay those proceeding pending the Court’s decision on the Motion to Dismiss in the Barney Action. 

Other than the above, the Company is not currently a party to any legal proceeding, investigation or claim which, in the opinion of the management, is likely to have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition or results of operations.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

c) Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

On June 4, 2019, our board of directors authorized a share repurchase program, under which we may repurchase up to $2 million of our common stock over the next 12 months from June 5, 2019 through June 4, 2020. The share repurchase program was publicly announced on June 11, 2019.

As of September 30, 2019, we had repurchased 677,727 shares of common stock under this share repurchase program. The table below is a summary of the shares repurchased by us for the three months ended September 30, 2019.

Item 6. Exhibits

See the Exhibit Index following the signature page to this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for a list of exhibits filed or furnished with this report, which Exhibit Index is incorporated herein by reference.

EXHIBIT INDEX

† Filed herewith

‡ Furnished herewith

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.