REMARK HOLDINGS, INC. - Quarter Report: 2009 June (Form 10-Q)
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
|
WASHINGTON,
D. C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
x QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO
SECTION 13 OR 15(d)
OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the quarterly period ended
June 30,
2009
OR
o TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION
13 OR 15(d)
OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the transition period from _____ to _____
Commission file number 001-33720
________________________________________
HSW
INTERNATIONAL, INC.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
|
33-1135689
|
|
(State
of Incorporation)
|
(I.R.S.
Employer
|
|
Identification
Number)
|
One
Capital City Plaza
3350
Peachtree Road, Suite 1600
Atlanta,
GA 30326
(Address
of principal executive offices, including zip code)
404-364-5823
(Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be
filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the
preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required
to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements
for the past 90 days. Yes x No o
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on
its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be
submitted and posted 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 and post such
files). Yes o No o
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting
company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,”
“accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the
Exchange Act.
Large
accelerated filer o
|
Accelerated
filer o
|
|
Non-accelerated
filer o
|
Smaller
reporting company x
|
|
(Do
not check if a smaller reporting company)
|
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in
Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes o No x
At
August 14, 2009, the number of common shares outstanding was
53,698,292.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Page
|
||
PART
I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION
|
||
Item
1.
|
Condensed
Consolidated Financial Statements
|
|
Condensed
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of June 30, 2009 and December 31,
2008 (unaudited)
|
1
|
|
Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Three and Six Months Ended
June 30, 2009 and 2008 (unaudited)
|
2
|
|
Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Six Months Ended June 30,
2009 and 2008 (unaudited)
|
3
|
|
Notes
to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited)
|
4
|
|
Item
2.
|
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
|
11
|
Item
3.
|
Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
|
18
|
Item
4.
|
Controls
and Procedures
|
18
|
PART
II – OTHER INFORMATION
|
||
Item
1.
|
Legal
Proceedings
|
19
|
Item
1A.
|
Risk
Factors
|
19
|
Item
2.
|
Unregistered
Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
|
30
|
Item
3.
|
Defaults
Upon Senior Securities
|
30
|
Item
4.
|
Submission
of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
|
30
|
Item
5.
|
Other
Information
|
30
|
Item
6.
|
Exhibits
|
30
|
Signature
|
31
|
PART I
– FINANCIAL INFORMATION
HSW
INTERNATIONAL, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED)
(expressed
in U.S. Dollars)
June
30,
|
December
31,
|
|||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Assets
|
||||||||
Current
assets
|
||||||||
Cash and cash
equivalents
|
$ | 13,750,608 | $ | 18,020,159 | ||||
Trade accounts receivable,
net
|
55,350 | 103,020 | ||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current
assets
|
1,134,812 | 1,660,097 | ||||||
Total current
assets
|
14,940,770 | 19,783,276 | ||||||
Property
and equipment, net
|
656,609 | 727,311 | ||||||
Licenses
to operate in China
|
2,150,000 | 2,150,000 | ||||||
Goodwill
|
1,940,986 | 1,972,944 | ||||||
Intangibles,
net
|
1,596,848 | 1,676,122 | ||||||
Total assets
|
$ | 21,285,213 | $ | 26,309,653 | ||||
Liabilities and Stockholders’
Equity
|
||||||||
Current
liabilities
|
||||||||
Accounts payable
|
$ | 694,169 | $ | 554,673 | ||||
Accrued expenses and other current
liabilities
|
383,575 | 322,094 | ||||||
Advances from shareholder and
affiliate
|
83,547 | 83,044 | ||||||
Total current
liabilities
|
1,161,291 | 959,811 | ||||||
Deferred
tax liability
|
873,420 | 873,420 | ||||||
Commitments
and contingencies
|
||||||||
Stockholders’
equity
|
||||||||
Preferred stock, $.001 par value;
10,000,000 shares authorized, none issued
|
— | — | ||||||
Common stock, $.001 par value;
200,000,000 shares authorized, 53,698,292 and
|
||||||||
53,638,784 issued and outstanding
at June 30, 2009 and December 31, 2008, respectively
|
53,699 | 53,639 | ||||||
Additional
paid-in-capital
|
99,963,123 | 98,606,934 | ||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive
income (loss)
|
28,861 | (1,126 | ) | |||||
Accumulated
deficit
|
(80,795,181 | ) | (74,183,025 | ) | ||||
Total stockholders’
equity
|
19,250,502 | 24,476,422 | ||||||
Total liabilities and
stockholders’ equity
|
$ | 21,285,213 | $ | 26,309,653 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated
financial statements.
1
HSW INTERNATIONAL, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED)
(expressed
in U.S. Dollars)
Three
Months Ended June 30,
|
Six
Months Ended June 30,
|
|||||||||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||||||||
Operating
revenue
|
||||||||||||||||
Social media
|
$ | 45,493 | $ | — | $ | 125,100 | $ | — | ||||||||
Digital online
publishing
|
42,661 | 30,841 | 89,384 | 75,678 | ||||||||||||
Sales to
affiliates
|
— | 97,148 | — | 97,148 | ||||||||||||
Total revenue
|
88,154 | 127,989 | 214,484 | 172,826 | ||||||||||||
Cost
of services
|
374,890 | 240,683 | 763,418 | 565,955 | ||||||||||||
Gross
margin
|
(286,736 | ) | (112,694 | ) | (548,934 | ) | (393,129 | ) | ||||||||
Operating
expenses
|
||||||||||||||||
Selling, general and
administrative (including stock-based
|
||||||||||||||||
compensation expense of $651,543
and $1,561,704 for
|
||||||||||||||||
the three months ended June 30,
2009 and 2008,
|
||||||||||||||||
respectively, and $1,356,249 and
$2,852,025 for
|
||||||||||||||||
the six months ended June 30,
2009 and 2008, respectively)
|
2,983,782 | 4,239,175 | 6,017,413 | 8,785,282 | ||||||||||||
Depreciation and
amortization
|
121,771 | 56,702 | 237,559 | 84,862 | ||||||||||||
Total operating
expenses
|
3,105,553 | 4,295,877 | 6,254,972 | 8,870,144 | ||||||||||||
Operating loss
|
(3,392,289 | ) | (4,408,571 | ) | (6,803,906 | ) | (9,263,273 | ) | ||||||||
Other
income
|
||||||||||||||||
Interest income
|
16,258 | 165,352 | 31,750 | 257,259 | ||||||||||||
Other income
|
— | — | 160,000 | — | ||||||||||||
Total other
income
|
16,258 | 165,352 | 191,750 | 257,259 | ||||||||||||
Loss
from continuing operations before income taxes
|
(3,376,031 | ) | (4,243,219 | ) | (6,612,156 | ) | (9,006,014 | ) | ||||||||
Income
taxes
|
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
Loss
from continuing operations
|
(3,376,031 | ) | (4,243,219 | ) | (6,612,156 | ) | (9,006,014 | ) | ||||||||
Loss
from discontinued operations, net of income taxes
|
— | — | — | (133,526 | ) | |||||||||||
Net
loss
|
$ | (3,376,031 | ) | $ | (4,243,219 | ) | $ | (6,612,156 | ) | $ | (9,139,540 | ) | ||||
Basic
and diluted loss per share
|
||||||||||||||||
Loss from continuing
operations
|
$ | (0.06 | ) | $ | (0.08 | ) | $ | (0.12 | ) | $ | (0.17 | ) | ||||
Net loss per share
|
$ | (0.06 | ) | $ | (0.08 | ) | $ | (0.12 | ) | $ | (0.17 | ) | ||||
Basic
and diluted weighted average shares outstanding
|
53,618,292 | 53,574,919 | 53,616,589 | 52,301,171 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated
financial statements.
2
HSW
INTERNATIONAL, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (UNAUDITED)
(expressed
in U.S. Dollars)
Six
Months Ended June 30,
|
||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Cash
flows from operating activities:
|
||||||||
Net cash used in continuing
operating activities
|
$ | (4,196,913 | ) | $ | (5,453,784 | ) | ||
Net cash used in discontinued
operating activities
|
— | (521,430 | ) | |||||
Cash
used in operating activities
|
(4,196,913 | ) | (5,975,214 | ) | ||||
Cash
flows from investing activities:
|
||||||||
Purchases of property and
equipment
|
(84,459 | ) | (454,573 | ) | ||||
Acquisitions, net of
cash
|
(15,042 | ) | — | |||||
Sale of INTAC legacy
businesses
|
— | (4,500,000 | ) | |||||
Merger related costs,
net
|
— | (107,027 | ) | |||||
Cash
used in investing activities
|
(99,501 | ) | (5,061,600 | ) | ||||
Cash
flows from financing activities:
|
||||||||
Proceeds from issuance of common
stock, net
|
— | 35,229,607 | ||||||
Cash
provided by financing activities
|
— | 35,229,607 | ||||||
Net
change in cash and cash equivalents
|
(4,296,414 | ) | 24,192,793 | |||||
Impact
of foreign currency translation on cash
|
26,863 | (153,269 | ) | |||||
Cash
and cash equivalents at beginning of period
|
18,020,159 | 3,639,831 | ||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents at end of period
|
$ | 13,750,608 | $ | 27,679,355 | ||||
Six
Months Ended June 30,
|
||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Other
non-cash financing and investing activities
|
||||||||
Receipt of shares for sale of
INTAC legacy businesses
|
$ | — | $ | 18,400,000 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated
financial statements.
3
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)
1. DESCRIPTION
OF BUSINESS
Overview
HSW
International, Inc. (“HSW International” or “HSWI”) is an online publishing
company that develops and operates Internet businesses focused on providing
consumers in the world’s digital economies with locally relevant, high quality
information and ways to connect with each other. Our international
websites published under the HowStuffWorks brand provide readers in China and
Brazil with thousands of articles about how the world around them works, serving
as destinations for credible, easy-to-understand reference
information. HSW International is the exclusive licensee in China and
Brazil for the digital publication of translated content from HowStuffWorks.com,
a subsidiary of Discovery Communications, Inc., and in China for the digital
publication of translated content from World Book Inc., publishers of World Book
Encyclopedia. Our DailyStrength brand, which we acquired on November
26, 2008, helps hundreds of thousands of readers share information and support
on www.dailystrength.org,
a comprehensive health-related social media website. We acquired
DailyStrength in part to diversify our business and to publish another product
that offers insight on highly relevant topics. We generate revenue
primarily through the sale of online advertising on our websites.
Liquidity
Considerations
The
global financial crisis continues to have a negative effect on the demand for
advertising in general, including online advertising. Economic
uncertainty has had and might continue to have a direct impact on our revenue as
orders for online advertising have declined and our typical advertiser is
spending less per order than in the prior year. In consideration of
projected market conditions, we implemented cost reductions at the end of our
fourth quarter of 2008 to reduce headcount and better align our costs with our
2009 initiatives. We consistently monitor our cash position to make
adjustments as we believe necessary to maintain our operational objectives of
funding ongoing operations and continuing to make technological investments in
our websites and their respective brands.
2. BASIS
OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Principles
of Consolidation
The
condensed consolidated financial statements from continuing operations include
the accounts of (1) HSWI, (2) our subsidiary HSW Brasil - Tecnologia e
Informação Ltda., (3) HSW (HK) Inc. Limited, (4) Bonet (Beijing) Technology
Limited Liability Company, (5) BoWenWang Technology (Beijing) Limited Liability
Company, and (6) Daily Strength, Inc. The equity of certain of these
entities is partially or fully held by citizens of the country of incorporation
to comply with local laws and regulations.
The
accompanying interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the three
and six months ended June 30, 2009, and 2008, are unaudited. Certain
information and note disclosures normally included in financial statements
prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the
United States of America for financial information have been omitted pursuant to
the rules and regulations of Article 10 of SEC
Regulation S-X. In the opinion of management, these condensed
consolidated financial statements contain all adjustments, consisting of normal
recurring adjustments, necessary to present fairly the financial position,
results of operations and cash flows for the periods indicated. The
year-end condensed consolidated balance sheet data was derived from audited
financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America. Operating results for the three and six months ended June
30, 2009, are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for any
other future interim period or for the year ending December 31,
2009. You should read the unaudited condensed consolidated financial
statements in conjunction with Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations, as well as with HSWI’s
consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in the
Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2008.
4
Recent
Accounting Pronouncements
In
May 2009, the FASB issued SFAS No. 165, Subsequent
Events. This new standard establishes general standards for
disclosure of date events that occur after the balance sheet date but, before
the report is issued or available to be issued. This requirement is effective
for statements issued for interim and annual periods ending after June 15,
2009. Prior to issuance of this statement, the primary guidance on
subsequent events was in the auditing standards.
In
April 2009, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position (“FSP”) FAS 141(R) -1,
Accounting for Assets Acquired
and Liabilities Assumed in a Business Combination That Arise from
Contingencies. This FSP provides additional guidance and
disclosure requirements regarding the recognition and measurement of contingent
assets acquired and contingent liabilities assumed in a business combination
where the fair value of the contingent assets and liabilities cannot be
determined as of the acquisition date. This FSP is effective for acquisitions
occurring after January 1, 2009. The adoption of this FSP did
not have any impact on the Company, and its future impact will be dependent upon
the specific terms of future business combinations, if any.
In
April 2009, the FASB issued FSP 107-1 and APB 28-1 (“FSP 107-1”). FSP
107-1 amends SFAS 107, Disclosures about Fair Value of
Financial Instruments, to require disclosures about fair value of
financial instruments in interim financial statements as well as in annual
financial statements. FSP 107-1 also amends Accounting Principles
Board Opinion 28, Interim
Financial Reporting, to require those disclosures in all interim
financial statements. FSP 107-1 is effective for interim and annual
periods ending after June 15, 2009, with early adoption
permitted. The Company does not have financial instruments as of June
30, 2009, therefore, the Company is not impacted by this FSP.
In
June 2008, the FASB issued FSP Emerging Issues Task Force Issue 03-6-1, Determining Whether Instruments
Granted in Share-Based Payment Transactions are Participating Securities
(“FSP 03-6-1”). FSP 03-6-1 clarifies that unvested share-based
payment awards that contain nonforfeitable rights to dividends or dividend
equivalents (whether paid or unpaid) are participating securities and are to be
included in the computation of earnings per share under the two-class method
described in SFAS 128, Earnings Per
Share. FSP 03-6-1 is effective for fiscal years beginning
after December 15, 2008 (January 1, 2009 for us) with early adoption
prohibited. The retrospective adoption of this pronouncement did not
have an impact on net loss per share for the three or six months ended June 30,
2008.
In
February 2008, the FASB issued FSP 157-2, Partial Deferral of the Effective
Date of SFAS 157, which delayed the effective date of SFAS 157, Fair Value Measurements, for
all nonrecurring fair value measurements of nonfinancial assets and nonfinancial
liabilities until January 1, 2009. SFAS 157 emphasizes that fair
value is a market-based measurement, not an entity-specific
measurement. Therefore, a fair value measurement would be determined
based on the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset
or liability. The adoption of FSP 157-2, as of January 1, 2009, did
not have a material impact on our condensed consolidated financial
statements.
In
December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS 141(R), Business
Combinations. SFAS 141(R) expands the definition of a business
combination and requires the fair value of the purchase price of an acquisition,
including the issuance of equity securities, to be determined on the acquisition
date. SFAS 141(R) also requires that all assets, liabilities,
contingent considerations, and contingencies of an acquired business be recorded
at fair value at the acquisition date. In addition, SFAS 141(R)
requires that acquisition costs generally be expensed as incurred, restructuring
costs generally be expensed in periods subsequent to the acquisition date, and
changes in accounting for deferred tax asset valuation allowances and acquired
income tax uncertainties after the measurement period impact income tax
expense. SFAS 141(R) is effective for fiscal years beginning after
December 15, 2008 with early adoption prohibited. The adoption
of SFAS 141(R) will impact our condensed consolidated financial statements when
and if further acquisitions occur.
In
December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS 160, Noncontrolling Interests in
Consolidated Financial Statements, an Amendment of ARB
51. SFAS 160 changes the accounting and reporting for minority
interests such that minority interests will be recharacterized as noncontrolling
interests and will be required to be reported as a component of equity, and
requires that purchases or sales of equity interests that do not result in a
change in control be accounted for as equity transactions and, upon a loss of
control, requires the interest sold, as well as any interest retained, to be
recorded at fair value with any gain or loss recognized in
earnings. SFAS 160 is effective for fiscal years beginning on or
after December 15, 2008 with early adoption prohibited. The
adoption of SFAS 160 did not have a material impact on our condensed
consolidated financial statements.
5
3.
ACQUISITION
On
November 26, 2008, the Company acquired Daily Strength, Inc., a health-related
social networking site, for $3.125 million before $0.17 million of
expenses. The Company is contingently obligated to pay an earnout of
up to an additional $3.525 million based on the achievement of certain page view
targets.
Our
acquisition of DailyStrength should allow us to further leverage our web
publishing infrastructure, provide us with an opportunity to diversify our
initial focus on the emerging economies and enter the healthcare digital
market. The maturity of the online healthcare market provides us with
additional access to digital revenues and the ability to enter the social
networking space with relevant and useful content for individuals who share
common concerns.
Allocation
of Purchase Price
The
application of purchase accounting under SFAS 141 requires us to allocate the
total purchase price to the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities
assumed based on their fair values at the acquisition date. The
allocation process requires an analysis of customer relationships, contractual
commitments and legal contingencies to identify and record the fair value of all
assets acquired and liabilities assumed. In valuing acquired assets and assumed
liabilities, fair values are based on, but are not limited to: future expected
cash flows; current replacement cost for similar capacity for certain fixed
assets; and appropriate discount rates and growth rates. We are in
the process of finalizing the valuations of certain assets and liabilities;
therefore, the allocation of the purchase price is subject to
refinement.
We
recorded goodwill of $1.9 million associated with the DailyStrength transaction
based on the opportunity to expand the member base, the DailyStrength team and
the potential for visitor growth on the site from technological investments in
new features. We assigned the goodwill resulting from the acquisition
to our Social Media segment. The goodwill and intangible assets
acquired are not tax-deductible. The deferred tax liabilities related
to finite-lived intangible assets will be reflected as a tax benefit in the
consolidated statements of income in proportion to and over the amortization
period of the related intangible assets.
The
following table summarizes the estimated fair values of the assets acquired and
liabilities assumed at the date of acquisition:
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
$ | 77,000 | ||
Trade
accounts receivable
|
12,000 | |||
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
5,000 | |||
Property
and equipment
|
30,000 | |||
Website
trade name (indefinite life)
|
988,000 | |||
Non-compete
agreement (3 year life)
|
354,000 | |||
Website
features (7 year life)
|
151,000 | |||
Website
content (6 year life)
|
117,000 | |||
Member
relationships (11 year life)
|
63,000 | |||
Goodwill
|
1,973,000 | |||
Assets acquired
|
3,770,000 | |||
Accounts
payable and other liabilities
|
(142,000 | ) | ||
Deferred
tax liabilities
|
(336,000 | ) | ||
Net assets
acquired
|
$ | 3,292,000 |
6
4. SEGMENTS
SFAS
131, Disclosures about
Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information, establishes standards
for reporting information about operating segments. This standard
requires segmentation based on our internal organization and reporting of
revenue and operating income based upon internal accounting
methods. Our financial reporting systems present various data for
management to operate the business, including internal profit and loss
statements. The segments are designed to allocate resources
internally and provide a framework to determine management
responsibility. Operating segments are components of an enterprise
about which separate financial information is available that is evaluated
regularly by the chief operating decision maker, or decision making group, in
deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing
performance. Because of our integrated business structure, operating
costs included in one segment can benefit other segments, and therefore these
segments are not designed to measure operating income or loss directly related
to the products included in each segment. Reconciling amounts include
adjustments to conform with U.S. GAAP and corporate-level activity not
specifically attributed to a segment. Corporate expenses include,
among other items: corporate-level general and administration costs, technology
costs and on-going maintenance charges; share-based compensation expense related
to stock and stock option grants; depreciation and amortization expense;
interest expense and income; and charges related to acquired content not yet
published on our sites.
The
Company conducts business in two operating segments: (1) Social Media; and (2)
Digital Online Publishing. Our Social Media segment is comprised of
our DailyStrength operations, which generate revenues from the advertisers based
primarily in the United States. Our Digital Online Publishing segment
consists of our websites in Brazil and China and generates revenues from
advertisers based in the respective countries.
Revenue,
operating loss and total assets regarding reportable segments are presented in
the following tables:
Social
|
Digital
Online
|
|||||||||||||||
Media
|
Publishing
|
Corporate
|
Total
|
|||||||||||||
Three
Months Ended June 30, 2009
|
||||||||||||||||
Revenue
|
$ | 45,493 | $ | 42,661 | $ | — | $ | 88,154 | ||||||||
Operating loss
|
$ | (322,739 | ) | $ | (428,310 | ) | $ | (2,641,240 | ) | $ | (3,392,289 | ) | ||||
Interest income
|
— | — | 16,258 | 16,258 | ||||||||||||
Loss from continuing
operations
|
$ | (3,376,031 | ) |
Social
|
Digital
Online
|
|||||||||||||||
Media
|
Publishing
|
Corporate
|
Total
|
|||||||||||||
Three
Months Ended June 30, 2008
|
||||||||||||||||
Revenue
|
$ | — | $ | 127,989 | $ | — | $ | 127,989 | ||||||||
Operating loss
|
$ | — | $ | (833,788 | ) | $ | (3,574,783 | ) | $ | (4,408,571 | ) | |||||
Interest income
|
— | — | 165,352 | 165,352 | ||||||||||||
Loss from continuing
operations
|
$ | (4,243,219 | ) |
7
Social
|
Digital
Online
|
|||||||||||||||
Media
|
Publishing
|
Corporate
|
Total
|
|||||||||||||
Six
Months Ended June 30, 2009
|
||||||||||||||||
Revenue
|
$ | 125,100 | $ | 89,384 | $ | — | $ | 214,484 | ||||||||
Operating loss
|
$ | (643,391 | ) | $ | (901,598 | ) | $ | (5,258,917 | ) | $ | (6,803,906 | ) | ||||
Interest income
|
— | — | 31,750 | 31,750 | ||||||||||||
Other income
|
160,000 | — | — | 160,000 | ||||||||||||
Loss from continuing
operations
|
$ | (6,612,156 | ) |
Social
|
Digital
Online
|
|||||||||||||||
Media
|
Publishing
|
Corporate
|
Total
|
|||||||||||||
Six
Months Ended June 30, 2008
|
||||||||||||||||
Revenue
|
$ | — | $ | 172,826 | $ | — | $ | 172,826 | ||||||||
Operating loss
|
$ | — | $ | (1,665,905 | ) | $ | (7,597,368 | ) | $ | (9,263,273 | ) | |||||
Interest income
|
— | — | 257,259 | 257,259 | ||||||||||||
Loss from continuing
operations
|
$ | (9,006,014 | ) |
June
30,
|
December
31,
|
|||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Total
assets:
|
||||||||
Social
media
|
$ | 3,624,430 | $ | 3,784,945 | ||||
Digital
online publishing
|
612,138 | 731,371 | ||||||
Business segments
|
4,236,568 | 4,516,316 | ||||||
Corporate
|
17,048,645 | 21,793,337 | ||||||
Total assets
|
$ | 21,285,213 | $ | 26,309,653 |
8
5. STOCKHOLDERS’
EQUITY
Stock-Based
Compensation
Under
the 2006 Equity Incentive Plan adopted April 13, 2006 (the “Plan”), HSWI
authorized 8,000,000 shares for grant as part of a long term incentive plan to
attract, retain and motivate its eligible executives, employees, officers,
directors and consultants. Options to purchase common stock under the
Plan have been granted to our officers and employees with an exercise price
equal to the fair market value of the underlying shares on the date of
grant.
On
March 25, 2009, we granted 80,000 shares of restricted stock to four members of
the Board of Directors. The grant date fair value was $0.18 per
share. The restricted stock vests on December 31, 2009. As
of June 30, 2009, unrecognized compensation expense relating to non-vested
restricted stock approximated $9,000 and is expected to be recognized by
December 2009.
In
accordance with SFAS 123(R), we measure stock-based compensation cost at the
grant date based on the fair value of the award, and recognize it as an expense
over the requisite service period. Stock-based compensation expense for
the three months ended June 30, 2009 and 2008 was approximately $0.7 million and
$1.6 million, respectively. Stock-based compensation expense for the
six months ended June 30, 2009 and 2008 was approximately $1.4 million and $2.9
million, respectively. As of June 30, 2009, unrecognized compensation
expense relating to non-vested stock options approximated $0.4 million that we
expect to recognize through 2011. During the three and six months ended
June 30, 2009, no options were granted, forfeited, expired or
exercised. Through June 30, 2009, no options had been exercised under
the Plan.
The
grant date fair value of options vested during the three and six months ended
June 30, 2009, was $0.6 million and $1.0 million, respectively.
Earnings
per Share
The
following is a reconciliation of the numerators and denominators of our basic
and diluted earnings per share computations:
Three
Months Ended June 30,
|
Six
Months Ended June 30,
|
|||||||||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||||||||
Loss
per share:
|
||||||||||||||||
Loss
from continuing operations
|
$ | (3,376,031 | ) | $ | (4,243,219 | ) | $ | (6,612,156 | ) | $ | (9,006,014 | ) | ||||
Loss
from discontinued operations
|
— | — | — | (133,526 | ) | |||||||||||
Net
loss
|
$ | (3,376,031 | ) | $ | (4,243,219 | ) | $ | (6,612,156 | ) | $ | (9,139,540 | ) | ||||
Weighted
average shares outstanding
|
53,618,292 | 53,574,919 | 53,616,589 | 52,301,171 | ||||||||||||
Basic
and diluted loss per share
|
||||||||||||||||
Loss
from continuing operations
|
$ | (0.06 | ) | $ | (0.08 | ) | $ | (0.12 | ) | $ | (0.17 | ) | ||||
Loss
from discontinued operations
|
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
Net
loss
|
$ | (0.06 | ) | $ | (0.08 | ) | $ | (0.12 | ) | $ | (0.17 | ) | ||||
Weighted
average shares outstanding
|
53,618,292 | 53,574,919 | 53,616,589 | 52,301,171 | ||||||||||||
Dilutive
stock options
|
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
Total
common shares and dilutive securities
|
53,618,292 | 53,574,919 | 53,616,589 | 52,301,171 |
9
We
did not include stock options, restricted stock and warrants in the diluted
earnings per share calculation above because they were
anti-dilutive.
Three
Months Ended June 30,
|
Six
Months Ended June 30,
|
|||||||||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||||||||
Anti-dilutive
securities not included in diluted net loss
|
||||||||||||||||
per share
calculation:
|
||||||||||||||||
Stock
compensation plans
|
7,433,456 | 6,937,493 | 7,401,870 | 6,924,791 | ||||||||||||
Warrants
to purchase common stock
|
250,000 | 250,000 | 250,000 | 250,000 | ||||||||||||
Total anti-dilutive
securities
|
7,683,456 | 7,187,493 | 7,651,870 | 7,174,791 |
6. COMPREHENSIVE
INCOME
The
components of total comprehensive income were as follows:
Three
Months Ended June 30,
|
Six
Months Ended June 30,
|
|||||||||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||||||||
Net
loss
|
$ | (3,376,031 | ) | $ | (4,243,219 | ) | $ | (6,612,156 | ) | $ | (9,139,540 | ) | ||||
Net
change in foreign currency translation adjustment,
|
||||||||||||||||
net of tax
|
26,565 | (351,834 | ) | 29,987 | (153,269 | ) | ||||||||||
Total
comprehensive income
|
$ | (3,349,466 | ) | $ | (4,595,053 | ) | $ | (6,582,169 | ) | $ | (9,292,809 | ) |
7. RELATED
PARTY TRANSACTIONS
In
August 2006, HSW Brazil entered into a 36-month services agreement
with Administradora de Bens Capela (“Capela”), a Brazilian corporation, whereby
Capela provided sales, business development, and operations personnel to our
Brazilian subsidiary. Under the agreement, we granted Capela options to
purchase 800,000 shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $6.50 per
share, the market value on the date of the grant. These options
vested over the three-year contract period.
Capela
was deemed an affiliate due to an ownership interest in HowStuffWorks, our
largest shareholder. As of December 17, 2007, Capela no longer had an
ownership interest in HowStuffWorks.
8. SUBSEQUENT
EVENTS
The
Company evaluated subsequent events through the time of filing this Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q on August 14, 2009. We are not aware of any
significant events that occurred subsequent to the balance sheet date but prior
to the filing of this report that would have a material impact on our condensed
consolidated financial statements.
10
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking Information
The
following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of our Financial Condition and
Results of Operations should be read in conjunction with the condensed
consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included as part of this
Form 10-Q. This Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements based
on current expectations. We sometimes identify forward-looking
statements with such words as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “estimate”,
“seek”, “intend”, “believe” or similar words concerning future events. The
forward-looking statements contained herein include, without limitation,
statements concerning future revenue sources and concentration, gross profit
margins, selling, general and administrative expenses, capital resources, and
the effects of general industry and economic conditions and are subject to risks
and uncertainties including, but not limited to, those discussed below, in Part
II, Item 1A. and elsewhere in this Form 10-Q that could cause actual results to
differ materially from the results contemplated by these forward-looking
statements. Relevant risks and uncertainties include those referenced
in our filings with the SEC, and include but are not limited to: reliance on
third parties for content; economic and industry conditions specific to Brazil
and China, such as the state of their telecommunications and internet
infrastructure and uncertainty regarding protection of intellectual property;
challenges inherent in developing an online business in Brazil and China,
including obtaining regulatory approvals and adjusting to changing political and
economic policies; governmental laws and regulations, including unclear and
changing laws and regulations related to the internet sector in China; general
industry conditions and competition; general economic conditions, such as
interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; and restrictions on
intellectual property under agreements with third parties. We also
urge you to carefully review the risk factors set forth in Part II, Item 1A. and
other documents we file from time to time with the SEC, including our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008.
Business
Overview and Recent Events
HSW
International is an online publishing company that develops and operates
Internet businesses focused on providing consumers in the world’s digital
economies with locally relevant, high quality information and ways to connect
with each other. Our international websites published under the
HowStuffWorks brand provide readers in China and Brazil with thousands of
articles about how the world around them works, serving as destinations for
credible, easy-to-understand reference information. HSW International
is the exclusive licensee in China and Brazil for the digital publication of
translated content from HowStuffWorks.com, a subsidiary of Discovery
Communications, Inc., and in China for the digital publication of translated
content from World Book Encyclopedia. Our DailyStrength business
helps hundreds of thousands of readers share information and support on www.dailystrength.org,
a comprehensive health-related social media website. We generate
revenue primarily through the sale of online advertising on our
websites.
Business
Trends
Much
of our business consists of websites we recently established or
acquired. We expect that our business should grow as these websites
achieve greater awareness within their markets, resulting in increased usage
against which we can sell advertising. While significant online
advertising markets exist in the United States and Brazil, we believe it will
take additional time for meaningful online advertisement rates to develop in
China.
Our
Brazilian website ComoTudoFunciona, which
launched in March 2007, is our most mature business. The number of
page views for ComoTudoFunciona has grown by
36% during the second quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in
2008. Additionally, the number of unique visitors to the website have
increased by 43% for the same periods. We expect to see continued
growth in the number of users and page views, which we believe should result in
increased revenues.
Our
Chinese website BoWenWang launched in June
2008, and early results show usage development consistent with a
recently-launched website. Unlike in Brazil, where we established our
website with significant promotional commitments from one of the country’s
largest Internet portals, BoWenWang launched with a
focus on organic traffic development. This has contributed to initial
usage trending below that in Brazil. We believe that by focusing on
developing business relationships to further the exposure of the website, we
should be able to continue to grow usage. However, the current
economic environment in China and the rate of development of its Internet
advertising market could negatively affect the growth rate of our revenues for
our Chinese business.
We
acquired our DailyStrength website in November 2008. Trends are not
yet available for this business due to the brief time which it has been under
our control. Since the acquisition, our operating focus has been
establishing infrastructure and developing enhancements for the
website.
11
Both
seasonal fluctuations in Internet usage and traditional retail seasonality have
affected, and are likely to continue to affect, our
business. Internet usage generally slows during the summer months,
and expenditures by advertisers typically increase in the fourth quarter of each
year. These seasonal trends have caused and will likely continue to
cause, fluctuations in our quarterly results.
The
advertising market declined overall in 2008 and the first half of 2009 due to
the global economic downturn. This decline affected online
advertising expenditures as well, and has resulted in lower revenue for our
business than expected. The economic environment might cause
advertisers to continue to reduce the amount they spend on online advertising,
which could negatively affect the growth rate of our revenues. The
international economic challenges contributed to the impairment charge we took
as of December 31, 2008 for the intangible asset of the licenses to operate in
China. If operating results deteriorate or do not improve, and/or if
unfavorable changes occur in other economic factors used to estimate fair
values, we might incur additional non-cash impairment charges to goodwill or
other intangible assets in the future.
Recognizing
the difficultly of the economic environment, we have reduced operating expenses
in 2009 in an attempt to better align spending with expectations for
growth. We continue to invest in building the necessary employee and
systems infrastructures required to manage our growth and develop and promote
our products and services. Additionally, we will maintain an
awareness of the alignment of our costs and revenues, and make operating
adjustments as we believe necessary to best position HSW International for
success.
Business
Development
On
November 26, 2008, we acquired DailyStrength to diversify our
business. This acquisition provides us with a footprint in the US
healthcare market, and we believe this addition is synergistic to our existing
technology. The DailyStrength acquisition extends HSW International’s
proven publishing platform with social networking applications and
communities. DailyStrength hosts more than 500 communities focused on
issues such as weight loss, divorce, parenting and illnesses. Users
of the site both read and interact with high-quality, reference
information. The site features health journals, discussion forums,
virtual hugs, member-created groups and treatment reviews, plus unique content
provided on a daily basis by physicians and other health
professionals.
12
Our
Operations
ComoTudoFunciona
– HowStuffWorks Brazil
We
entered the Brazilian online publishing market in March 2007. At June
30, 2009, we had approximately 5,700 articles that were either (i) articles from
the HowStuffWorks content database translated from English to Portuguese, or
(ii) originally created content. The web site address is http://hsw.com.br/. We
are developing our business strategy in Brazil as we continue to expand by (i)
adding original proprietary digital content designed to meet the information
needs of the Brazilian online community, (ii) expanding the amount of translated
content from HowStuffWorks, and (iii) refining local marketing
strategies. We recognized approximately $34,000 and $128,000 of
revenue from our Brazilian operations during the three months ended June 30,
2009 and 2008, respectively, and $80,000 and $173,000 of revenue during the six
months ended June 30, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The decrease in
Brazil revenue is due to sales to affiliates recorded during 2008 that did not
recur in 2009.
BoWenWang
– HowStuffWorks China
In
June 2008, we entered China’s online publishing market utilizing the contributed
assets from HowStuffWorks and INTAC’s relationships and knowledge of the Chinese
markets to obtain our internet licenses. In September 2008, we
announced an exclusive content partnership with World Book, Inc. In
2009, World Book, Inc. will create thousands of original Chinese-language
articles providing information on all branches of knowledge, including arts,
sciences, history, technology, mathematics, sports and recreation, exclusively
for HSW International's Beijing-based website, BoWenWang (http://www.bowenwang.com.cn/). At
June 30, 2009, we published approximately 8,000 articles on our Chinese
website. Revenue generated from the operations based in China was
approximately $9,000 during the three and six months ended June 30,
2009. No revenue was generated from the operations based in China
during the three and six months ended June 30, 2008.
DailyStrength
We
are developing our business strategy for DailyStrength, or DS, with emphasis on
expanding its offerings, in addition to integrating the best of DailyStrength’s
social media technologies into HSW International’s web publishing
platform. DailyStrength.org offers content authored by medical
professionals, support groups, a treatment directory with definitions, private
messaging, one-on-one chat forums and personal goal
trackers. DailyStrength primarily serves English-speaking
territories, such as the United States, Canada, Australia and the United
Kingdom. The medical panel of professionals contributes articles and
journals providing insight to a number of topics relevant to the DS user group
and communities. DailyStrength and its user groups create online
communities and support services to help people cope with health, stress and
other challenges of modern life.
13
Results
of Operations
The
following table sets forth our operations for the three and six months ended
June 30, 2009 and 2008.
Three
Months Ended June 30,
|
Six
Months Ended June 30,
|
|||||||||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||||||||
Operating
revenue
|
||||||||||||||||
Social media
|
$ | 45,493 | $ | — | $ | 125,100 | $ | — | ||||||||
Digital online
publishing
|
42,661 | 127,989 | 89,384 | 172,826 | ||||||||||||
Total revenue
|
88,154 | 127,989 | 214,484 | 172,826 | ||||||||||||
Cost
of services
|
374,890 | 240,683 | 763,418 | 565,955 | ||||||||||||
Gross
margin
|
(286,736 | ) | (112,694 | ) | (548,934 | ) | (393,129 | ) | ||||||||
Operating
expenses
|
||||||||||||||||
Selling, general and
administrative (including stock-based
|
||||||||||||||||
compensation expense of $651,543
and $1,561,704 for
|
||||||||||||||||
the three months ended June 30,
2009 and 2008,
|
||||||||||||||||
respectively, and $1,356,249 and
$2,852,025 for
|
||||||||||||||||
the six months ended June 30,
2009 and 2008, respectively)
|
2,983,782 | 4,239,175 | 6,017,413 | 8,785,282 | ||||||||||||
Depreciation and
amortization
|
121,771 | 56,702 | 237,559 | 84,862 | ||||||||||||
Total operating
expenses
|
3,105,553 | 4,295,877 | 6,254,972 | 8,870,144 | ||||||||||||
Operating
loss
|
||||||||||||||||
Social media
|
(322,739 | ) | — | (643,391 | ) | — | ||||||||||
Digital online
publishing
|
(428,310 | ) | (833,788 | ) | (901,598 | ) | (1,665,905 | ) | ||||||||
Business segments
|
(751,049 | ) | (833,788 | ) | (1,544,989 | ) | (1,665,905 | ) | ||||||||
Corporate
|
(2,641,240 | ) | (3,574,783 | ) | (5,258,917 | ) | (7,597,368 | ) | ||||||||
Total operating
loss
|
(3,392,289 | ) | (4,408,571 | ) | (6,803,906 | ) | (9,263,273 | ) | ||||||||
Other
income (expense)
|
||||||||||||||||
Interest income
|
16,258 | 165,352 | 31,750 | 257,259 | ||||||||||||
Other income
|
— | — | 160,000 | — | ||||||||||||
Total other income
(expense)
|
16,258 | 165,352 | 191,750 | 257,259 | ||||||||||||
Loss
from continuing operations before income taxes
|
(3,376,031 | ) | (4,243,219 | ) | (6,612,156 | ) | (9,006,014 | ) | ||||||||
Income
taxes
|
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
Loss
from continuing operations
|
(3,376,031 | ) | (4,243,219 | ) | (6,612,156 | ) | (9,006,014 | ) | ||||||||
Loss
from discontinued operations, net of income taxes
|
— | — | — | (133,526 | ) | |||||||||||
Net
loss
|
$ | (3,376,031 | ) | $ | (4,243,219 | ) | $ | (6,612,156 | ) | $ | (9,139,540 | ) |
14
Segment
Data
We
monitor and analyze our financial results on a segment basis for reporting and
management purposes, as is presented in Note 4 to our Condensed Consolidated
Financial Statements hereto. Operating segments are components of an
enterprise about which separate financial information is available that is
evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision maker, or decision making
group, in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing
performance.
Our
Social Media segment is comprised of our DailyStrength operations, which
generate the majority of its revenues from the advertisers based in the United
States. Our Digital Online Publishing segment consists of our Brazil
and China based websites and generates revenues from advertisers in the
respective countries.
Revenue
Total
revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2009 was $88,154, a decrease of
$39,835 from the comparable period in 2008. The decrease was
primarily due to affiliated sales of $97,148 during the second quarter of 2008
which did not recur during 2009. This decrease was partially offset
by the addition of DailyStrength, our Social Media segment, to our portfolio of
websites. Revenue generated from our Social Media segment and Digital
Online Publishing segment was $45,493 or 52% and $42,661 or 48%, respectively,
of total revenue for the second quarter of 2009. For the three months
ended June 30, 2009, our Brazil-based website generated approximately 49% of
revenue from the Digital Online Publishing segment from paid-for-impression
advertising and generated 51% from pay-per-performance ads. Revenue
of approximately $9,000 was recognized in the Digital Online Publishing segment
from China during the three months ended June 30, 2009.
Total
revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2009 was $214,484, an increase of
$41,658 from the comparable period in 2008. This increase reflects
the addition of DailyStrength, our Social Media segment, to our portfolio of
websites. Revenue generated from our Social Media segment and Digital
Online Publishing segment was $125,100 or 58% and $89,384 or 42%, respectively,
of total revenue for the first half of 2009. For the six months ended
June 30, 2009, our Brazil-based website generated approximately 63% of revenue
from the Digital Online Publishing segment from paid-for-impression advertising
and generated 37% from pay-per-performance ads. Revenue of
approximately $9,000 was recognized in the Digital Online Publishing segment
from China during the six months ended June 30, 2009.
Cost
of Services
Cost
of services includes the ongoing third-party costs to translate, localize and
enhance articles from English to Portuguese and Mandarin Chinese, costs incurred
to acquire original articles written by medical experts and other third parties,
as well as site development charges. Article acquisition and
translation costs were approximately $375,000 and $763,000 for the three and six
months ended June 30, 2009 and represent articles acquired for future
publication on our websites. These costs were approximately $241,000
and $566,000, respectively, for the prior year periods. Article
acquisition and article translation costs vary due to the volume of new content
deployed on our site during any quarter. These costs also fluctuate
due to varying needs and timing, which determine the number of articles to be
published.
Operations
- Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Our
total selling, general and administrative expenses decreased by
$1.2 million from $4.2 million to $3.0 million for the three months ended
June 30, 2009 from the comparable period in 2008. Our stock-based
compensation expense was $0.9 million less than the same period in 2008
reflecting our higher stock price in earlier periods. Lower employee
costs of $0.3 million also contributed to the decrease from the prior year
period.
Our
total selling, general and administrative expenses decreased by
$2.8 million from $8.8 million to $6.0 million for the six months ended
June 30, 2009 from the comparable period in 2008. Consulting, legal
and accounting expenses decreased $0.6 million, which is primarily attributable
to costs associated with the INTAC legacy businesses disposition during the
first quarter of 2008. Additionally, our stock-based compensation
expense was $1.5 million less than the same period in 2008 reflecting our higher
stock price in earlier periods. Lower travel costs of $0.2 million
and lower employee costs of $0.1 million also contributed to the decrease from
the prior year period. The remaining $0.4 million decrease was
related to cost reduction efforts.
15
Operating
Loss
Our
operating loss was $0.3 million and $0.6 million for the Social Media segment,
and $0.4 million and $0.9 million for the Digital Online Publishing segment
and our corporate level operating loss was $2.6 million and $5.3
million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2009,
respectively.
Other
Income
Total
other income decreased approximately $149,000 and $66,000 for the three and six
months ended June 30, 2009, respectively, compared to the same period in 2008
due to lower interest income. The decrease for the six months ended
June 30, 2009 was partially offset by a contract termination payment from a
former customer that is classified as Other Income herein. The
decrease in interest income reflects a decrease in cash on hand as well as a
decrease in bank interest rates.
Discontinued
Operations - INTAC Legacy Businesses
The
$0.5 million loss from discontinued operations was reduced by a $0.4 million
gain upon final disposition on February 29, 2008.
16
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
Six
Months Ended June 30,
|
||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Cash
flows
|
||||||||
Used in operating
activities
|
$ | (4,196,913 | ) | $ | (5,975,214 | ) | ||
Used in investing
activities
|
(99,501 | ) | (5,061,600 | ) | ||||
Provided by financing
activities
|
— | 35,229,607 | ||||||
Net
change in cash and cash equivalents
|
(4,296,414 | ) | 24,192,793 | |||||
Impact of currency translation on
cash
|
26,863 | (153,269 | ) | |||||
Cash and cash equivalents at
beginning of period
|
18,020,159 | 3,639,831 | ||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents at end of period
|
$ | 13,750,608 | $ | 27,679,355 |
Cash
and cash equivalents was $13.8 million at June 30, 2009, compared to $18.0
million at December 31, 2008. The decrease in cash is primarily due
to the use of working capital to fund operations.
Cash
flows from operations
Our
net cash used in operating activities during the six months ended June 30, 2009
decreased by $1.8 million compared to the same period in the prior
year. Consulting, legal and accounting expenses decreased $0.6
million, which is primarily attributable to costs associated with the INTAC
legacy businesses disposition during the first quarter of 2008 and net cash used
in discontinued operating activities of $0.5 million for the six months ended
June 30, 2008.
Cash
flows from investing activities
During
the six months ended June 30, 2009, net cash used in investing activities was
approximately $0.1 million compared to $5.1 million in the same period of
2008. Cash used in investing activities during the six months ended
June 30, 2008 includes $4.5 million of cash used in conjunction with the sale of
our INTAC legacy businesses, and $0.5 million invested in building our
technology environment and infrastructure.
Cash
flows from financing activities
For
the six months ended June 30, 2008, net cash provided by financing activities
was approximately $35.2 million as a result of the proceeds we received from the
sale of our common stock during the first quarter of 2008. We had no
financing activities in 2009.
Liquidity
Considerations
The
global financial crisis continues to have a negative effect on the demand for
advertising in general, including online advertising. Economic
uncertainty has had and might continue to have a direct impact on our revenue as
orders for online advertising have declined and our typical advertiser is
spending less per order than in the prior year. In consideration of
projected market conditions, we implemented cost reductions at the end of our
fourth quarter of 2008 to reduce headcount and better align our costs with our
2009 initiatives. We consistently monitor our cash position to make
adjustments as we believe necessary to maintain our operational objectives of
funding ongoing operations and continuing to make technological investments in
our websites and their respective brands.
We
expect to expend significant resources in expanding and gaining market share for
our internet platforms in Brazil and China and to develop our healthcare social
networking strategy, including up-front expenditures to create or acquire
content. These expenditures will be made in the respective markets
based on our success and anticipated market conditions and trends. We
expect that most of these expenditures will be paid or under commitment before
we begin to realize significant revenues. Additionally, in the normal
course of business, we continue to explore various business initiatives that may
lead to additional sources of revenue and growth. We believe that our
current cash balance and expected cash generated from future operations will be
sufficient to fund operations for longer than the next twelve
months. If cash on hand and generated from operations is insufficient
to satisfy our working capital and capital expenditure requirements, we might
sell additional equity or obtain bank financing to fund further development and
attain profitability. There is no assurance that such financing will
be available or that we will be able to complete financing on satisfactory
terms, if at all.
17
Item
3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market
Risk
We
translate the foreign currency financial statements of our international
operations into U.S. dollars at current exchange rates, except revenue and
expenses, which we translate at average exchange rates during each reporting
period. We accumulate net exchange gains or losses resulting from the
translation of assets and liabilities in a separate section of stockholders’
equity titled “accumulated other comprehensive income
(loss)”. Generally, our foreign expenses are denominated in the same
currency as the associated foreign revenue, and at this stage of development the
exposure to rate changes is minimal.
Financial
instruments that potentially subject us to a concentration of credit risk
consist principally of cash and accounts receivables. At June 30, 2009, 99% of
our cash was denominated in U.S. dollars. The remaining 1% was
denominated in Brazilian Reais, Chinese Rehminbi or Hong Kong
Dollars. All our cash is placed with financial institutions we
believe are of high credit quality. Our cash is maintained in bank
deposit accounts, which, at times, exceed federally insured
limits. We have not experienced any losses in such accounts and do
not believe our cash is exposed to any significant credit risk.
We
do not use financial instruments to hedge our foreign exchange exposure because
the effects of the foreign exchange rate fluctuations are not currently
significant. We do not use financial instruments for trading
purposes. We do not use any derivative financial instruments to
mitigate any of our currency risks. The net assets of our foreign
operations at June 30, 2009, were approximately $0.5 million.
We
have not entered into long-term agreements or borrowing arrangements with third
parties under which any amounts were outstanding during 2009. Therefore,
we do not believe we have any material exposure to market risk changes in
interest rates.
We
do not currently have any credit facilities and therefore are not subject to
interest rate risk. Due to the nature of our short-term investments
and our lack of debt, we have concluded that we face no material market risk
exposure.
Item 4. Controls and
Procedures
Our
Vice Chairman and our Chief Financial Officer evaluated the effectiveness of our
disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(b) as of
the end of the period covered by this quarterly report. Based on that
evaluation, the Vice Chairman and our Chief Financial Officer concluded that our
disclosure controls and procedures were effective to provide reasonable
assurance that information required to be disclosed by us in reports we file or
submit under the Exchange Act is (i) recorded, processed, summarized, and
reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange
Commission’s rules and forms, and (ii) is accumulated and communicated to
our management, including our Vice Chairman and our Chief Financial Officer, as
appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required
disclosures.
There
has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting identified
in connection with the evaluation required by paragraph (d) of Exchange Act
Rules 13a-15 or 15d-15 that occurred during our last fiscal quarter that has
materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal
control over financial reporting.
18
PART II
– OTHER INFORMATION
Item
1. Legal Proceedings.
None.
Item
1A. Risk Factors.
This
report contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those
discussed in this report. Factors that could cause or contribute to these
differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed below and elsewhere
in this report and in any documents incorporated in this report by
reference.
We
are in the early development of our business and prospects are difficult to
evaluate.
We
have no significant operating history, and limited experience in the Chinese and
Brazilian markets. We are in the early development of our business,
including the new strategy of entering the health social networking market with
the DailyStrength acquisition in November 2008, with a limited operating history
upon which investors and others can evaluate our current business and
prospects. Our prospects must be considered in light of the many risks,
uncertainties, expenses, delays, and difficulties frequently encountered by
companies in their early stages of development. Some of the risks and
difficulties we expect to encounter include our ability to:
·
|
successfully
commercialize and monetize the contributed and acquired
assets;
|
·
|
continue
to raise additional working capital, the lack of which would likely have a
significant negative impact on our long term business plan and our ability
to take advantage of our strategic alliances and to successfully execute
our expansion plan;
|
·
|
manage
our expense structure as a U.S. public company including, without
limitation, compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act;
|
·
|
manage
the anticipated rise in operating
expenses;
|
·
|
manage
and implement successfully new business
strategies;
|
·
|
adapt
and successfully execute our evolving and unpredictable business model,
with which we will have only limited
experience;
|
·
|
establish
and take advantage of contacts and strategic
relationships;
|
·
|
adapt
to our potential diversification into other industries and geographic
regions;
|
·
|
manage
and adapt to rapidly changing and expanding
operations;
|
·
|
implement
and improve operational, financial and management systems and
processes;
|
·
|
respond
effectively to competitive
developments;
|
·
|
attract,
retain and motivate qualified personnel;
and
|
·
|
manage
each of the other risks set forth in this
report.
|
Because
of our lack of operating history and the early stage of development of our
business, we will have limited insight into trends and conditions that may exist
or might emerge and affect our business, especially with respect to the online
publishing market. We cannot be certain that our business strategy will be
successful or that it will successfully address these risks. Any failure
by us to successfully implement our new business plans could have a material
adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial
condition.
We
may not have sufficient liquidity to support the time required for our business
to fully develop.
The
Company is in the process of launching Internet businesses in three different
markets, including publishing businesses in two emerging markets. We
believe that our cash resources on hand are sufficient to fund these businesses
for a period of not less than 12 months unless revenues increase significantly
or we find other sources of capital, neither of which can be assured. Our
management and directors continually evaluate our progress and likelihood of
success in each of our markets, and our ability to raise additional capital,
against the relative value of our resources and other opportunities.
Accordingly, we might decide to suspend our activities in one or more of our
markets in order to focus our limited resources in the
other(s).
19
We
may not succeed in marketing and monetizing our assets to potential customers or
developing strategic partnerships for the distribution of our products and
services.
Our
plans to market and monetize our assets in the Chinese and Brazilian online
markets through the Internet are new and unproven. Moreover, we will have
limited experience in determining the pricing of the products and services that
we plan to develop. Because we have never marketed or sold these products
and services, we may not be successful in establishing a customer base or
strategic partnerships for the distribution of our products and services.
If we are not successful in developing, releasing and marketing these products
and services on a profitable basis, our results of operations would be
materially and adversely affected.
We
do not have significant experience in the Brazilian and Chinese
marketplaces. Additionally, we may not have the resources available to
simultaneously develop operations in China and Brazil. Accordingly, there
may be a delay in developing such operations or we might decide not to pursue
these markets, which could affect our business plan and results of
operations.
The
growth we seek is rare.
Substantial
future growth will be required in order for us to realize our business
objectives. Growth of this magnitude is rare. To the extent we are
capable of growing our business as necessary, we expect that such growth will
place a significant strain on our managerial, operational and financial
resources. We must manage our growth, if any, through appropriate systems
and controls in each of these areas. We must also establish, train and
manage a larger work force. If we do not manage the growth of our business
effectively, our business, results of operations and financial condition could
be materially and adversely affected.
We
face intense competition, which could have an adverse effect on our business,
financial condition and results of operations.
The
online publishing market is highly competitive. We encounter significant
competition across our business lines and in each market in which we offer our
products and services. In the online publishing market, we expect that our
competitors will include national Internet portals in China such as Baidu,
NetEase.com, Shanda Interactive Entertainment, Sina, sohu.com and tom.com;
national websites in Brazil such as Terra and UOL; and health information
websites in the U.S. like MedHelp.com and trusera.com, which will compete with
us for online advertising revenue and end users. Many of our
competitors have more experience, resources and visitors than us.
Resales
of our common stock and additional obligations to issue our common stock may
cause the market price of our stock to fall.
An
aggregate of 33,634,192 shares of our common stock held by INTAC affiliates,
HowStuffWorks and investors that participated in our equity financings was
registered and such investors could resell that stock. In addition,
HowStuffWorks holds a warrant to purchase 250,000 shares of our common
stock. The issuance of these new shares and the resale of additional
shares of our common stock could depress the market price for our common
stock.
20
Various
factors could negatively affect the market price or market for our common
stock.
The
market for and price of our common stock could be affected by the following
factors:
·
|
general
market and economic conditions;
|
·
|
our
common stock has been thinly traded;
and
|
·
|
minimal
third party research is available regarding our
company.
|
Additionally,
the terms of the HowStuffWorks December 2007 merger with Discovery provided that
payment to HowStuffWorks shareholders for a significant portion of
HowStuffWorks’ ownership of our common stock would not be paid at the October
2007 closing of the transaction and instead will be payable to HowStuffWorks’
former shareholders in three semi-annual installments beginning on October 2008,
subject to the consent of the former shareholders’ representative. Such
payments will be in the form of cash or shares of HSWI stock now held by
HowStuffWorks. The amount of shares of our common stock owned by
Discovery in the future may fall or rise due to a combination
of reasons. All of our rights to publish HowStuffWorks content will
remain effective regardless of the number of shares owned by HowStuffWorks in
the future. If Discovery and HowStuffWorks’ former shareholders’
representative elect to distribute shares of our common stock to former
HowStuffWorks shareholders, a significant number of shares may be sold by such
shareholders relative to the daily market trading volumes for our common stock.
While we intend to take reasonable measures aimed to ensure that any such
potential sales are not disruptive to the market for our common stock, we cannot
be certain as to the outcome.
These
factors may similarly affect our common stock, and may have the effect of
depressing the market price for our common stock or limiting the market for
resale of our common stock.
Our
internal control over financial reporting and our disclosure controls and
procedures may not prevent all possible errors that could occur. Internal
control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures, no
matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not
absolute, assurance that the control system’s objective will be
met.
A
control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only
reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be
satisfied. Internal control over financial reporting and disclosure
controls and procedures are designed to give a reasonable assurance that they
are effective to achieve their objectives. We cannot provide absolute
assurance that all of our possible future control issues will be detected.
These inherent limitations include the possibility that judgments in our
decision making can be faulty, and that isolated breakdowns can occur because of
simple human error or mistake. The design of our system of controls is
based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events,
and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed absolutely in
achieving our stated goals under all potential future or unforeseeable
conditions. Because of the inherent limitations in a
cost effective control system, misstatements due to error could occur and not be
detected.
We
may have additional tax liabilities if tax positions we have taken in prior
years are challenged.
We
and our subsidiaries are subject to taxes in the United States and various
foreign jurisdictions. We believed that our tax returns appropriately
reflected our tax liability when those tax returns were filed. However,
our tax positions may be challenged by the applicable tax authorities. Any
successful challenge to one or more of our prior tax positions could result in a
material tax liability to us or to one or more of our subsidiaries, including
INTAC, for one or more prior years.
21
The
state of the Internet infrastructure in China and Brazil may limit our
growth.
We
rely on the Internet for certain aspects of our business, including the
publication of content online and our Internet portals. The Internet
infrastructures in China and Brazil are not well developed and are subject to
regulatory control and, in the case of China, ownership by the Chinese
government. The cost of Internet access is high relative to the average
income in China. Failure to further develop these infrastructures could
limit our ability to grow. Alternatively, as these infrastructures improve
and Internet use increases, we may not be able to scale our systems
proportionately. Our reliance on these infrastructures will make us
vulnerable to disruptions or failures in service, without sufficient access to
alternative networks and services. Such disruptions or failures could
reduce our user satisfaction. Should these risks be realized, our ability
to increase revenues and profitability would be impaired.
Our
operations are vulnerable to natural disasters and other events.
While
we believe we have adequate backup systems in place, we could still experience
system failures and electrical outages from time to time in the future, which
could disrupt our operations. All of our servers and routers are currently
hosted in a single location, a Tier 4 data center. We do not have a
documented disaster recovery plan in the event of damage from fire, floods,
typhoons, earthquakes, power loss, and telecommunications failures, break ins
and similar events. If any of the foregoing occurs, we may experience a
temporary system shutdown. If there is significant disruption or damage to
the data center hosting our web servers, our ability to provide access to our
websites would be interrupted. We do not carry any business interruption
insurance. Although we carry property insurance, our coverage may not be
adequate to compensate us for all losses, particularly with respect to loss of
business and reputation that may occur.
Our
network operations may be vulnerable to hacking, viruses and other disruptions,
which may make our products and services less attractive and
reliable.
Internet
usage of our products could decline if any well publicized compromise of our
security occurs. “Hacking” involves efforts to gain unauthorized access to
information or systems or to cause intentional malfunctions or loss or
corruption of data, software, hardware or other computer equipment.
Hackers, if successful, could misappropriate proprietary information or cause
disruptions in our service. We may be required to expend capital and other
resources to protect our website against hackers. We cannot assure you
that any measures we may take will be effective. In addition, the
inadvertent transmission of computer viruses could expose us to a material risk
of loss or litigation and possible liability, as well as materially damage our
reputation and decrease our user traffic.
Unauthorized
use of our intellectual property by third parties, and the expenses incurred in
protecting our intellectual property rights, may adversely affect our
business.
We
regard our copyrights, service marks, trademarks, trade secrets and other
intellectual property as critical to our success. Unauthorized use of our
intellectual property by third parties may adversely affect our business and
reputation. We rely on trademark and copyright law, trade secret
protection and confidentiality agreements with our employees, customers,
business partners and others to protect our intellectual property rights.
Despite our precautions, it is possible for third parties to obtain and use our
intellectual property without authorization. Furthermore, the validity,
enforceability and scope of protection of intellectual property in Internet
related industries are uncertain and still evolving. In particular, the
laws of the PRC, Brazil and certain other countries are uncertain or do not
protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the
United States. Moreover, litigation may be necessary in
the future to enforce our intellectual property rights, to protect our trade
secrets or to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of
others. Future litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion
of resources.
We
may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims, which may force us
to incur substantial legal expenses and, if determined adversely against us,
materially disrupt our business.
We
cannot be certain that our products and services will not infringe valid
patents, copyrights or other intellectual property rights held by third
parties. We may in the future be subject to legal proceedings and claims
from time to time relating to the intellectual property of others in the
ordinary course of our business. In particular, if we are found to have
violated the intellectual property rights of others, we may be enjoined from
using such intellectual property, and may incur licensing fees or be forced to
develop alternatives. We may incur substantial expenses in defending
against these third party infringement claims, regardless of their merit.
Successful infringement claims against us may result in substantial monetary
liability or may materially disrupt the conduct of our business.
22
Our
sublicensed content is subject to the terms and conditions of agreements between
HowStuffWorks and third parties.
Under
the terms of our contribution agreements, HowStuffWorks transferred and
contributed to us all rights, but only those rights, which belong to and are
held by HowStuffWorks pursuant to third-party licenses. Some of those
licenses, including those with Publications International, Inc. contain
restrictions on the use of such content and termination provisions for breaches
of the license agreements. Accordingly, a breach of any third party
license by HowStuffWorks may cause us to lose our license with such third
party, which could have a material adverse effect on the implementation of our
business plan, value of our content offering and results of our
operations.
A
slowdown or other adverse developments in the PRC or Brazil economy may
materially and adversely affect our customers, demand for our services and our
business.
Although
the PRC economy has grown significantly in recent years, we cannot assure you
that such growth will continue and we may be sensitive to a slowdown in economic
growth or other adverse changes in the PRC and Brazil economies. This is
particularly true in light of current financial and economic
uncertainties. In response to adverse economic developments,
companies may reduce spending on marketing and advertising. As a result, a
slowdown in overall economic growth, an economic downturn or recession or other
adverse economic developments in China or Brazil may materially reduce the
demand for our services and materially and adversely affect our
business.
PRC
laws and regulations related to the PRC Internet sector are unclear and will
likely change in the near future. If we are found to be in violation of
current or future PRC laws or regulations, we could be subject to severe
penalties.
The
PRC regulates its Internet sector by making pronouncements or enacting
regulations regarding the legality of foreign investment in the PRC Internet
sector and the existence and enforcement of content restrictions on the
Internet. There are substantial uncertainties regarding the interpretation
of current PRC Internet laws and regulations, including those discussed
below.
The
PRC enacted regulations applying to Internet related services and
telecommunications related activities. While many aspects of these
regulations remain unclear, they purport to limit and require licensing of
various aspects of the provision of Internet information services. The MII
has also stated that the activities of Internet content providers are subject to
regulation by various PRC government authorities, depending on the specific
activities conducted by the Internet content provider. Various government
authorities have stated publicly that they are in the process of preparing new
laws and regulations that will govern these activities. The areas of
regulation currently include online advertising, online news reporting, online
publishing, online securities trading and the provision of industry specific
(e.g., drug related) information over the Internet. Other aspects of our
online operations may be subject to regulation in the future.
Under
the agreement reached in November 1999 between the PRC and the United
States concerning the United States’ support of China’s entry into the World
Trade Organization, or the WTO, foreign investment in PRC Internet services was to be liberalized to allow for 30% foreign
ownership in key telecommunication services, including PRC Internet ventures,
for the first year after China’s entry into the WTO, 49% in the second year and
50% thereafter. China officially entered the WTO on December 11,
2001. However, the implementation of China’s WTO accession agreements is
still subject to various conditions.
The
interpretation and application of existing PRC laws and regulations, the
directives of the MII and the possible new laws or regulations have created
substantial uncertainties regarding the legality of existing and future foreign
investments in, and the businesses and activities of, PRC Internet companies,
including us. Accordingly, it is possible that the relevant PRC
authorities could, at any time, assert that any portion or all of our ownership
structure and business violate existing or future PRC laws, regulations or
policies. It is also possible that the new laws or regulations governing
the PRC Internet sector that have been adopted or may be adopted in the future
will prohibit or restrict foreign investment in, or other aspects of, any of our
proposed businesses and operations. In addition, these new laws and
regulations may be retroactively applied to us.
23
If
we are found to be in violation of any existing or future PRC laws or
regulations, the relevant PRC authorities would have broad discretion in dealing
with such violation, including, without limitation, the following:
·
|
levying
fines;
|
·
|
confiscating
our income;
|
·
|
revoking
our business licenses;
|
·
|
shutting
down our servers and/or blocking our
websites;
|
·
|
requiring
us to restructure our ownership structure or operations;
and
|
·
|
requiring
us to discontinue any portion or all of our Internet
business.
|
Any
of these actions could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition
and results of operations.
The
online advertising markets in China and Brazil are still developing, and present
risk to our revenues to be generated from our online publishing business using
the contributed assets.
Our
online publishing businesses in China and Brazil are expected to derive
significant revenue from online advertisements. The online advertising
markets in China and Brazil are still developing, and future growth and
expansion of these markets is uncertain. If these online advertising
markets do not grow at expected rates, our results of operations and financial
condition will be materially adversely affected.
Our
international operations subject us to other significant risks including
unpredictable governmental regulation in China and Brazil.
Our
international operations expose us to a wide variety of other risks including
increased credit risks, customs duties, import quotas and other trade
restrictions, potentially greater inflationary pressures, and the risk of
failure or material interruption of wireless systems and services. Changes
may occur in foreign trade and investment laws in the territories and countries
where we will operate. U.S. laws and regulations relating to investment
and trade in foreign countries could also change to our detriment. Any of
these factors could materially and adversely affect our revenues and
profits. We are subject to risk of political instability and trade
sanctions within China.
China
has traditionally been a closed market with strict political controls. As
China shifts to a market economy, growing economic and social freedoms may
conflict with the more restrictive political and governmental policies. In
addition, democratic countries throughout the world have, from time to time,
attempted to use economic and other sanctions to achieve political or social
change in other countries. Each of these factors could result in economic
sanctions, economic instability, the disruption of trading and war within China
and the Asia Pacific Rim, any of which could result in our inability to conduct business operations in China. Because a
substantial amount of our business is expected to be within China, the
disruption of distribution channels into China would have material and adverse
consequences to our business.
In
the past, the Brazilian government has intervened in the Brazilian economy and
occasionally made drastic changes in economic policy. The Brazilian
government’s actions to control inflation and affect other policies have
included high interest rates, wage and price controls, currency devaluations,
capital controls and limits on exports, among other actions. Our business,
financial condition, revenues, results of operations, prospects and the market
price of our securities may be adversely affected by changes in Brazilian
government policies, as well as general economic factors,
including:
·
|
currency
fluctuations;
|
·
|
exchange
controls and restrictions on remittances abroad, such as those that were
briefly imposed on such remittances (including dividends) in 1989 and in
the beginning of 1990;
|
·
|
inflation;
|
·
|
price
instability;
|
·
|
energy
policy;
|
·
|
interest
rate increases;
|
·
|
liquidity
of domestic capital and lending
markets;
|
·
|
changes
in tax policy; and
|
·
|
other
political, domestic, social and economic developments in or affecting
Brazil.
|
24
Also,
the President of Brazil has considerable power to determine governmental
policies and actions that relate to the Brazilian economy and, consequently,
affect the operations and financial performance of businesses operating in
Brazil. We have no control over, and cannot predict what policies or
actions the Brazilian government may take in the future.
Further
risks relating to international operations include, but are not restricted to,
unexpected changes in legal and regulatory requirements, changes in tariffs,
exchange rates and other barriers, political and economic instability, possible
effects of war and acts of terrorism, difficulties in account receivable
collection, difficulties in managing distributors or representatives,
difficulties in staffing and managing international operations, difficulties in
protecting our intellectual property overseas, seasonality of sales and
potentially adverse tax consequences. Any of these factors could
materially and adversely affect our revenues and profits.
Restrictions
on currency exchange may limit our ability to utilize our revenues
effectively.
Some
of our operating expenses are denominated in Chinese Renminbi. Currently,
we may purchase foreign exchange for settlement of “current account
transactions” without the approval of the Chinese State Administration for
Foreign Exchange, or SAFE. We may also retain foreign exchange in our
current account (subject to a ceiling approved by the SAFE) to satisfy foreign
exchange liabilities or to pay dividends. However, the relevant PRC
governmental authorities may limit or eliminate our ability to purchase and
retain foreign currencies in the future.
Additionally,
some of our revenues and operating expenses are denominated in Brazilian Reais. Brazilian law
allows the Brazilian government to impose restrictions on the conversion of the
Real into foreign
currencies and on the remittance to foreign investors of proceeds from their
investments in Brazil. The government may impose such restrictions
whenever there is a serious imbalance in Brazil’s balance of payments or there
are reasons to foresee a serious imbalance. The Brazilian government last
imposed remittance restrictions for approximately six months in 1989 and early
1990. The likelihood that the Brazilian government would impose such
restrictions again may depend on the extent of Brazil’s foreign currency
reserves, the availability of foreign currency in the foreign exchange markets
on the date a payment is due, the size of Brazil’s debt service burden relative
to the economy as a whole, Brazil’s policy toward the International Monetary
Fund and other factors.
Since
a significant amount of our revenues will be denominated in Renminbi, existing
and future restrictions on the exchange of Renminbi to other currencies may
limit our ability to use revenue generated in Renminbi to fund our business
activities outside China, if any, or expenditures denominated in foreign
currencies. Similarly, in the event that a significant amount of our
revenues are denominated in Reais, any future
restrictions on the exchange of Reais for other currencies or
the remittance to foreign investors of proceeds from their investments in Brazil
may limit our ability to use revenue generated in Reais to fund our business
activities outside Brazil, or expenditures denominated in foreign
currencies.
We
are subject to risks of currency fluctuations and exchange
restrictions.
Currency
fluctuations, devaluations and exchange restrictions may adversely affect our
liquidity and results of operations. In some countries, local currencies
may not be readily converted into Euros or U.S. dollars (or other “hard
currencies”) or may only be converted at government controlled rates, and, in
some countries, the transfer of hard currencies offshore has been restricted
from time to time. Very limited hedging transactions are available in
China to reduce its exposure to exchange rate fluctuations. To date, we
have not entered into any hedging transactions in an effort to reduce our
exposure to foreign currency exchange risk. While we may decide to enter
into hedging transactions in the future, the availability and effectiveness of
these hedges may be limited and we may not be able to successfully hedge our
exposure, if at all. Our revenues as expressed in our U.S. dollar
financial statements will decline in value if Renminbi or Reais depreciate relative to
the U.S. dollar. In addition, our currency exchange losses may be
magnified by PRC exchange control regulations that restrict our ability to
convert Renminbi into U.S. dollars or by Brazilian exchange control regulations
that restrict our ability to convert Reais into U.S.
dollars.
25
Regulation
and censorship of information collection and distribution in China may adversely
affect our business.
China
has enacted regulations governing Internet access and the distribution of news
and other information. Furthermore, the Propaganda Department of the
Chinese Communist Party has been given the responsibility to censor news
published in China to ensure, supervise and control a particular political
ideology. In addition, the MII has published implementing regulations that
subject online information providers to potential liability for content included
on their portals and the actions of subscribers and others using their systems,
including liability for violation of PRC laws prohibiting the distribution of
content deemed to be socially destabilizing. Because many PRC laws,
regulations and legal requirements with regard to the Internet are relatively
new and untested, their interpretation and enforcement may involve significant
uncertainty. In addition, the PRC legal system is a civil law system in
which decided legal cases have limited binding force as legal precedents.
As a result, in many cases it is difficult to determine the type of content that
may result in liability for a website operator.
Periodically,
the Ministry of Public Security has stopped the distribution over the Internet
of information which it believes to be socially destabilizing. The
Ministry of Public Security has the authority to cause any local Internet
service provider to block any website maintained outside China at its sole
discretion. If the PRC government were to take action to limit or
eliminate the distribution of information through our portals or to limit or
regulate current or future applications available to users of our portals, our
business would be adversely affected.
The
State Secrecy Bureau, which is directly responsible for the protection of state
secrets of all PRC government and Chinese Communist Party organizations, is
authorized to block any website it deems to be leaking state secrets or failing
to meet the relevant regulations relating to the protection of state secrets in
the distribution of online information. Under the applicable regulations,
we may be held liable for any content transmitted on our portal.
Furthermore, where the transmitted content clearly violates the laws of the PRC,
we will be required to delete it, and where the transmitted content is
considered suspicious, we are required to report such content. We must
also undergo computer security inspections, and if we fail to implement the
relevant safeguards against security breaches, our operations in the PRC may be
shut down.
Although
the PRC has several laws and regulations relating to the use of the Internet,
addressing personal privacy in use of the Internet and the freedom of
communications, the PRC government does not restrict online service providers in
the collection, transmission and commercial use of personal information or
data. Personal data is protected from unlawful use by general statutes and
by any contractual arrangement between the user and the service
provider.
Potential
additional Chinese regulation could affect our business in China.
The
Ministry of Information Industry, the Chinese governmental agency which
regulates the Internet in China, promulgated a directive effective
January 31, 2008, providing that online videos can only be broadcast or
streamed by state-owned or controlled companies. Subsequently, the
Ministry of Information Industry acted to provide exceptions for certain
non-state-owned or controlled companies. While it is possible that our
Chinese website would not be permitted to display online videos, which could
have a material effect on the content provided on such website, it is not yet
clear what, if any, effect this regulation has upon our business in
China.
26
Political
and economic policies of the PRC government could affect our
business.
A
significant portion of our business, assets and operations are located in China
and a significant portion of our future revenues are expected to be derived from
our operations in China. Accordingly, our business could be adversely
affected by changes in political, economic or social conditions in China,
adjustments in PRC government policies or changes in laws and
regulations.
The
economy of China differs from the economies of most countries belonging to the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in a number of respects,
including:
·
|
structure;
|
·
|
level
of government involvement;
|
·
|
level
of development;
|
·
|
level
of capital reinvestment;
|
·
|
growth
rate;
|
·
|
control
of foreign exchange; and
|
·
|
methods
of allocating resources.
|
Since
1949, China has been primarily a planned economy subject to a system of
macroeconomic management. Although the Chinese government still owns a
significant portion of the productive assets in China, economic reform policies
since the late 1970s have emphasized decentralization, autonomous enterprises
and the utilization of market mechanisms. We cannot predict what effects
the economic reform and macroeconomic measures adopted by the Chinese government
may have on our business or results of operations.
The
PRC legal system embodies uncertainties which could limit the legal protections
available to us.
The
PRC legal system is a civil law system based on written statutes. Unlike
common law systems, it is a system in which decided legal cases have little
precedential value. In 1979, the PRC government began to promulgate a
comprehensive system of laws and regulations governing economic matters in
general. We are subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign
investment in mainland China. However, these laws, regulations and legal
requirements are relatively recent, and their interpretation and enforcement
involve uncertainties. These uncertainties could limit the legal
protections available to us and other foreign investors. In addition, we
cannot predict the effect of future developments in the PRC legal system,
particularly with regard to the Internet, our ownership
structure and currency exchange, including the promulgation of new laws, changes
to existing laws or the interpretation or enforcement thereof, or the preemption
of local regulations by national laws.
It
may be difficult to enforce any civil judgments against us or our board of
directors or officers, because in the future a significant portion of our assets
could be located outside of the United States.
Although
the combined company is incorporated in the State of Delaware, in the future a
substantial portion of our assets could be located in the PRC. As a
result, it may be difficult for investors to enforce outside the United States
any actions brought against us in the United States, including actions
predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of
the United States or of the securities laws of any state of the United
States. In addition, certain of our directors and officers and all or a
substantial portion of their assets may be located outside the United States
(principally in the PRC). As a result, it may not be possible for
investors to effect service of process within the United States upon those
directors and officers, or to enforce against them or us judgments obtained in
United States courts, including judgments predicated upon the civil liability
provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or of the
securities laws of any state of the United States. There is doubt as to
the enforceability in the PRC, in original actions or in actions for enforcement
of judgments of United States courts, of civil liabilities predicated solely
upon the federal securities laws of the United States or the securities laws of
any state of the United States.
27
If
we are not able to attract and retain key management and consultants, we may not
successfully integrate the contributed assets into our historical business or
achieve our other business objectives.
We
will depend upon our senior management and consultants for our business
success. The loss of the service of any of the key members of our senior
management may significantly delay or prevent the integration of the contributed
assets and other business objectives. Our ability to attract and retain
qualified personnel, consultants and advisors will be critical to our
success. We may be unable to attract and retain these individuals, and our
failure to do so would adversely affect our business.
The
concentration of our stock ownership will likely limit your ability to influence
corporate matters.
HowStuffWorks beneficially
owns a significant percentage of our outstanding common stock and entered into a
stockholders agreement. The stockholders agreement entitles
HowStuffWorks to designate nominees to our board of directors.
Furthermore, Jeff Arnold, our current Chairman of the Board, is the Chief
Executive Officer and Chairman of HowStuffWorks, and another member of our Board
of Directors is President-Digital Media and Business Development of its parent
company, Discovery. As a result, HowStuffWorks has the ability to
influence our management and affairs and determine the outcome of matters
submitted to stockholders for approval, including the election and removal of
directors, amendments to the charter, approval of equity-based employee
compensation plans and any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially
all of our assets.
The
concentration of our stock ownership, as well as our Amended and Restated
Certificate of Incorporation, Amended and Restated Bylaws, stockholders
agreement and Delaware law contain provisions that may make our acquisition more
difficult without the approval of our board of directors, which could
discourage, delay or prevent a transaction involving our change of
control.
As
of June 30, 2009, HowStuffWorks owned approximately 43% of our outstanding
shares of common stock. As a result, it will be difficult for our other
stockholders to approve a takeover of us without the cooperation of
HowStuffWorks.
Furthermore,
our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated
Bylaws contain certain anti-takeover provisions, including but not limited to
the following provisions:
·
|
only
our board of directors may call special meetings of our
stockholders;
|
·
|
our
stockholders may take action only at a meeting of our stockholders and not
by written consent;
|
·
|
we
require advance notice for stockholder proposals of not less than 60 nor
more than 90 days prior to a meeting at which stockholder proposals
may be introduced.
|
In
addition, the stockholders agreement gives HowStuffWorks the right to
designate nominees to our board of directors.
These
anti-takeover defenses could discourage, delay or prevent a transaction
involving a change of control of us. These provisions could also
discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other
stockholders to cause us to take other corporate actions you may
desire.
Section 203
of the Delaware General Corporation Law may also delay, defer or prevent a
change in control that our stockholders might consider to be in their best
interest. We are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General
Corporation Law which, subject to certain exceptions, prohibits “business
combinations” between a publicly-held Delaware corporation and an “interested
stockholder,” which is generally defined as a stockholder who becomes a
beneficial owner of 15% or more of a Delaware corporation’s voting stock for a
three-year period following the date that such stockholder became an interested
stockholder. Section 203 could have the effect of delaying, deferring
or preventing a change in control of us that our stockholders might consider to
be in their best interest.
28
Acquisitions,
business combinations and other transactions present integration risk and may
have negative consequences for our business and our stockholders.
The
process of integrating acquired businesses, like DailyStrength, into our
existing operations may result in unforeseen difficulties and liabilities and
may require a disproportionate amount of resources and management attention.
Difficulties that we may encounter in integrating the operations of acquired
businesses could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and
financial position. Moreover, we may not realize any of the anticipated benefits
of an acquisition and integration costs may exceed anticipated amounts. We may
enter into joint ventures, strategic alliances or similar arrangements with
third parties. These transactions may result in changes in the nature
and scope of our operations and changes in our financial condition.
Financing for these transactions may come from cash on hand, proceeds from
the issuance of additional common stock or proceeds from debt
financing.
The
issuance of additional equity or debt securities could:
·
|
cause
substantial dilution of the percentage ownership of our stockholders at
the time of the issuance;
|
·
|
cause
substantial dilution of our earnings per
share;
|
·
|
subject
us to the risks associated with increased
leverage;
|
·
|
subject
us to restrictive covenants that could limit our flexibility in conducting
future business
activities; and
|
·
|
adversely
affect the prevailing market price for our outstanding
securities.
|
We
may not be able to raise additional funds when needed for our business or to
exploit opportunities.
We
may need to raise additional funds to support expansion, develop new or enhanced
applications and services, respond to competitive pressures, acquire
complementary businesses or technologies or take advantage of unanticipated
opportunities. If required, we may attempt to raise such additional funds
through public or private debt or equity financing, strategic relationships or
other arrangements. There can be no assurance that such financing will be
available on acceptable terms, if at all, or that such financing will not be
dilutive to our stockholders.
We
face competition from other social media companies.
We
face competition for our DailyStrength website from other social media
companies, including start-ups as well as developed companies that are enhancing
or developing social media technologies. Also, we may compete with
companies that provide health-focused websites because these companies, like us,
are trying to sell advertising for health content on the Internet. Among
the social media and health-focused website companies, there are a number of
large, established competitors with significantly greater employees and cash
resources than we have. We expect that some of these companies will
increasingly use their resources to compete against us in a variety of ways,
including by making acquisitions, investing more aggressively in research and
development, and competing more aggressively for advertisers and users. If
our competitors are successful in providing similar or better social media
destinations for health, we could experience a decline in user traffic.
Any such decline could negatively affect our revenues and growth
opportunities.
We
may not be able to successfully grow and monetize our social media
business.
Formidable
growth of users and revenue is required for our DailyStrength social media
business to generate sufficient revenue to cover operating costs. If we
fail to maintain and enhance the “DailyStrength” brand, if we are unable to
attract sufficient users for our DailyStrength website, or if we incur excessive
expenses in these efforts, our business, operating results and financial
condition will be materially and adversely affected.
29
We
generate our revenue almost entirely from advertising, and the reduction in
spending by or loss of advertisers could seriously harm our
business.
We
generated the majority of our revenues in 2008 and the first six months of 2009
from our advertisers. The global financial crisis continues to have a
negative effect on the demand for advertising in general, including online
advertising. Economic uncertainty has had and might continue to have
a direct impact on our revenue as orders for online advertising have declined
and our typical advertiser is spending less per order than in the prior
year. Our advertisers can generally terminate their contracts with us
at any time. Advertisers will not continue to do business with us if their
investment in advertising with us does not generate sales leads, and ultimately
customers, or if we do not deliver their advertisements in an appropriate and
effective manner. If we are unable to be competitive and provide value to
our advertisers, they may stop placing ads with us, which would negatively harm
our revenues and business. In addition, expenditures by advertisers tend
to be cyclical, reflecting overall economic conditions and budgeting and buying
patterns. Any decreases in or delays in advertising spending due to
general economic conditions could reduce our revenues or negatively impact our
ability to grow our revenues.
Item
2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of
Proceeds.
None.
Item
3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities.
None.
Item
4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.
None.
Item
5. Other Information.
None.
Item
6. Exhibits.
Exhibit
3.1
|
Amended
and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of HSW International, Inc.
(filed as Exhibit 99.2 to the Form 8-A filed on October 3,
2007 and incorporated herein by reference).
|
|
Exhibit
3.2
|
Second
Amended and Restated Bylaws of HSW International, Inc. (filed as
Exhibit 3.2 to the Form 8-K filed on December 18, 2007 and
incorporated herein by reference).
|
|
Exhibit 31.1
|
Certification
of Vice Chairman pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
(filed herewith).
|
|
Exhibit 31.2
|
Certification
of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act of 2002 (filed herewith).
|
|
Exhibit
32*
|
Certifications
of Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Title 18 of the
United States Code Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
|
_________________________________
*
This exhibit is hereby furnished to the SEC as an accompanying document and is
not to be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 or otherwise subject to the liabilities of the Section nor
shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the
Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
30
SIGNATURE
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.
HSW
INTERNATIONAL, INC.
|
|||
Date:
August 14, 2009
|
By:
|
/s/
Shawn G. Meredith
|
|
Shawn
G. Meredith
|
|||
Chief
Financial Officer
|
31