SOLITRON DEVICES INC - Annual Report: 2009 (Form 10-K)
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-K
x ANNUAL
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
1934
For the
fiscal year ended February 28, 2009
or
¨ TRANSITION REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
1934
For the
transition period from _______ to _______
Commission
File No. 1-4978
SOLITRON DEVICES, INC.
(Name of Registrant as
Specified in Its Charter)
Delaware
|
22-1684144
|
|
(State
or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)
|
(IRS
Employer Identification Number)
|
|
3301 Electronics Way, West Palm Beach,
Florida
|
33407
|
|
(Address
of Principal Executive Offices)
|
(Zip
Code)
|
Registrant’s
Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (561) 848-4311
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Each Class
|
Name of Each Exchange on Which
Registered
|
|
None
|
N/A
|
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
Common Stock, $0.01 par
value
(Title of
Class)
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in
Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ¨ No x
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to
Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes ¨ No x
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 ¨
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 ¨ No ¨
Indicate
by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of
Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best
of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements
incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this
Form 10-K. x
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. (Check one)
:
Large
accelerated filer ¨ Accelerated
filer ¨ Non-accelerated
filer ¨ Smaller
reporting company x
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Act). Yes ¨ No x
The
aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by
non-affiliates of the registrant as of August 29, 2008 was $6,066,148 (based on
the closing sales price of the registrant’s common stock on that
date).
The
number of shares of the registrant’s common stock, $0.01 par value, outstanding
as of May 15, 2009 was 2,263,775.
Table of
Contents
Page
|
||
PART
I
|
3
|
|
Item
1.
|
Business
|
3
|
Item
1A.
|
Risk
Factors
|
11
|
Item
1B.
|
Unresolved
Staff Comments
|
16
|
Item
2.
|
Properties
|
16
|
Item
3.
|
Legal
Proceedings
|
16
|
Item
4.
|
Submission
of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
|
16
|
Part
II
|
17
|
|
Item
5.
|
Market
for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer
Purchases of Equity Securities
|
17
|
Item
6.
|
Selected
Financial Data
|
17
|
Item
7.
|
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
|
18
|
Item
7A.
|
Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
|
22
|
Item
8.
|
Financial
Statements and Supplementary Data
|
23
|
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
25
|
|
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
26
|
|
Solitron
Devices, Inc., Notes to Financial Statements
|
31
|
|
Item
9.
|
Changes
In and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial
Disclosure
|
43
|
Item
9A(T).
|
Controls
and Procedures
|
43
|
Item
9B.
|
Other
Information
|
43
|
Part
III
|
44
|
|
Item
10.
|
Directors,
Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
|
44
|
Item
11.
|
Executive
Compensation
|
46
|
Item
12
|
Security
Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related
Stockholder Matters
|
50
|
Item
13.
|
Certain
Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director
Independence
|
51
|
Item
14.
|
Principal
Accountant Fees and Services
|
51
|
Part
IV
|
53
|
|
Item
15.
|
Exhibits
and Financial Statement Schedules
|
53
|
Signatures
|
55
|
2
PART
I
ITEM 1.
|
BUSINESS
|
GENERAL
Solitron
Devices, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company" or "Solitron"), designs,
develops, manufactures and markets solid-state semiconductor components and
related devices primarily for the military and aerospace markets. The
Company manufactures a large variety of bipolar and metal oxide semiconductor
("MOS") power transistors, power and control hybrids, junction and power MOS
field effect transistors ("Power MOSFETS"), field effect transistors and other
related products. Most of the Company's products are custom made
pursuant to contracts with customers whose end products are sold to the United
States government. Other products, such as Joint Army/Navy ("JAN")
transistors, diodes and Standard Military Drawings (“SMD”) voltage regulators,
are sold as standard or catalog items.
The
Company was incorporated under the laws of the State of New York in March 1959,
and reincorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware in August
1987. For information concerning the Company’s financial condition,
results of operations, and related financial data, you should review the
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations” and the “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” sections of
this document. You should also review and consider the risks relating
to the Company’s business, operations, financial performance, and cash flows
below under “Risk Factors.”
PRODUCTS
The
Company designs, manufactures and assembles bipolar and MOS power transistors,
power and control hybrids, junction and Power MOSFETs, field effect transistors
and other related products.
Set forth
below by principal product type are the percentage (i) contributions to the
Company's total sales of each of the Company's principal product lines for the
fiscal year ended February 28, 2009 and for the fiscal year ended February 29,
2008 and (ii) contributions to the Company's total order backlog at February 28,
2009 and February 29, 2008.
%
of Total Sales
|
%
of Total Sales
|
% Backlog
|
%
Backlog
|
|||||||||||||
for
Fiscal Year Ended
|
for
Fiscal Year Ended
|
at
|
at
|
|||||||||||||
February
|
February
|
February
|
February
|
|||||||||||||
Product
|
28, 2009
|
29, 2008
|
28, 2009
|
29, 2008
|
||||||||||||
Power
Transistors
|
14 | % | 15 | % | 7 | % | 12 | % | ||||||||
Hybrids
|
59 | % | 58 | % | 58 | % | 64 | % | ||||||||
Field
Effect Transistors
|
8 | % | 11 | % | 12 | % | 10 | % | ||||||||
Power
MOSFETS
|
19 | % | 16 | % | 23 | % | 14 | % | ||||||||
100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
The
Company’s backlog at February 28, 2009 and revenue for the year ended February
28, 2009 reflect demand for the Company’s products at such date and for such
period. For more information, see “Backlog” below. The
variation in the proportionate share of each product line for each period
reflects changes emanating from: demand, Congressional appropriations process
and timing associated with awards of defense contracts, and shifts in technology
and consolidation of defense prime contractors.
The
Company’s semiconductor products can be classified as active electronic
components. Active electronic components are those that control and
direct the flow of electrical current by means of a control signal such as a
voltage or current. The Company’s active electronic components
include bipolar transistors and MOS transistors.
3
It is
customary to subdivide active electronic components into those of a discrete
nature and those which are non-discrete. Discrete devices contain one
single semiconductor element; non-discrete devices consist of integrated
circuits or hybrid circuits, which contain two or more elements, either active
or passive, interconnected to make up a selected complete electrical
circuit. In the case of an integrated circuit, a number of active and
passive elements are incorporated onto a single silicon chip. A
hybrid circuit, on the other hand, is made up of a number of individual
components that are mounted onto a suitable surface material, interconnected by
various means, and suitably encapsulated. Hybrid and integrated
circuits can either be analog or digital; presently, the Company manufactures
only analog components. The Company’s products are either standard devices, such
as catalog type items (e.g., transistors and voltage regulators), or
application-specific devices, also referred to as custom or semi-custom
products. The latter are designed and manufactured to meet a
customer’s particular requirements. For the fiscal year ended
February 28, 2009 approximately 90% of the Company’s sales have been of custom
products, and the remaining 10% have been of standard or catalog
products.
Approximately
90% of the semiconductor components produced by the Company are
manufactured pursuant to approved Source Control Drawings (SCD) from the United
States government and/or its prime contractors; the remainder are primarily JAN
qualified products approved for use by the military. The Company’s
semiconductor products are used as components of military, commercial, and
aerospace electronic equipment, such as ground and airborne radar systems, power
distribution systems, missiles, missile control systems, and
spacecraft. The Company’s products have been used on the space
shuttle and on spacecraft sent to the moon, to Jupiter (on Galileo) and, most
recently, to Mars (on Global Surveyor and Mars
Sojourner). Approximately 90% of the Company’s sales have been
attributable to contracts with customers whose products are sold to the United
States government. The remaining 10% of sales are for non-military,
scientific and industrial applications.
Custom
products are typically sold to the United States Government and defense or
aerospace companies such as Raytheon Company, Lockheed Martin, Smith Industries,
Harris Corporation, General Electric Aviation, and Northrop Grumman Systems
Corporation, while standard products are sold to the same customer base and to
the general electronic industry and incorporate such items as power supplies and
other electronic control products. The Company has standard and
custom products available in all of its major product lines.
The
following is a general description of the principal product lines manufactured
by the Company.
Power
Transistors:
Power
transistors are high current and/or high voltage control devices commonly used
for active gain applications in electronic circuits. The Company
manufactures a large variety of power bipolar transistors for applications
requiring currents in the range of 0.1A to 150A or voltages in the range of 30V
to 1000V. The Company employs over 60 types of silicon chips to
manufacture over 500 types of power bipolar transistors and is currently
expanding this line in response to increased market demand resulting from other
companies’ (e.g., Motorola—now “On” Semiconductors) departure from the military
market. The Company also manufactures power diodes under the same
military specification. Additionally, it manufactures power N-Channel
and P-Channel Power MOSFET transistors and is continuously expanding that line
in accordance with customers’ requirements. The Company is qualified
to deliver these products under MIL-PRF-19500 in accordance with JAN, JANTX and
JANTXV. JAN, JANTX AND JANTXV denotes various quality military screening
levels. The Company manufactures both standard and custom power
transistors.
The
Company has been certified and qualified since 1968 under MIL-PRF-19500 (and its
predecessor) standards promulgated by the Defense Supply Center Columbus
(“DSCC”). These standards specify the uniformity and quality of
bipolar transistors and diodes purchased for United States military
programs. The purpose of the program is to standardize the
documentation and testing for bipolar semiconductors for use in United States
military and aerospace applications. Attainment of certification
and/or qualification to MIL-PRF-19500 requirements is important since it is a
prerequisite for a manufacturer to be selected to supply bipolar semiconductors
for defense-related purposes. MIL-PRF-19500 establishes specific
criteria for manufacturing construction techniques and materials used for
bipolar semiconductors and assures that these types of devices will be
manufactured under conditions that have been demonstrated to be capable of
continuously producing highly reliable products. This program
requires a manufacturer to demonstrate its products’ performance
capabilities. A manufacturer receives certification once its Product
Quality Assurance Program Plan is reviewed and approved by DSCC. A
manufacturer receives qualification once it has demonstrated that it can build
and test a sample product in conformity with its certified Product Quality
Assurance Program Plan. The Company expects that its continued maintenance of
MIL-PRF-19500 qualification will continue to improve its business posture by
increasing product marketability. The Company is currently expanding its
Transistor product offering.
4
Hybrids:
Hybrids
are compact electronic circuits that contain a selection of passive and active
components mounted on printed substrates and encapsulated in appropriate
packages. The Company manufactures thick film hybrids, which
generally contain discrete semiconductor chips, integrated circuits, chip
capacitors and thick film or thin film resistors. Most of the hybrids
are of the high-power type and are custom manufactured for military and
aerospace systems. Some of the Company’s hybrids include high power
voltage regulators, power amplifiers, power drivers, boosters and
controllers. The Company manufactures both standard and custom
hybrids.
The
Company has been certified (since 1990) and qualified (since 1995) under
MIL-PRF-38534 Class H (and its predecessor) standards promulgated by the
DSCC. These standards specify the uniformity and quality of hybrid
products purchased for United States military programs. The purpose
of the program is to standardize the documentation and testing for hybrid
microcircuits for use in United States military and aerospace
applications. Attainment of certification and/or qualification under
MIL-PRF-38534 Class H requirements is important since it is a prerequisite for a
manufacturer to be selected to supply hybrids for defense-related
purposes. MIL-PRF-38534 Class H establishes definite criteria for
manufacturing construction techniques and materials used for hybrid
microcircuits and assure that these types of devices will be manufactured under
conditions that have been demonstrated to be capable of continuously producing
highly reliable products. This program requires a manufacturer to
demonstrate its products’ performance capabilities. Certification is
a prerequisite of qualification. A manufacturer receives
certification once its Product Quality Assurance Program Plan is reviewed and
approved by DSCC. A manufacturer receives qualification once it has
demonstrated that it can build and test a sample product in conformity with its
certified Product Quality Assurance Program Plan. The Company expects that its
continued maintenance of MIL-PRF-38534 Class H qualification will continue to
improve its business posture by increasing product marketability.
Voltage
Regulators:
The
Company also qualified a line of voltage regulators in accordance with Class M
of MIL-PRF-38535, which allows it to sell these products in accordance with SMD
specifications published by DSCC. The Company also makes standard and
custom voltage regulators.
Field Effect
Transistors:
Field
effect transistors are surface-controlled devices where conduction of electrical
current is controlled by the electrical potential applied to a capacitively
coupled control element. The Company manufactures about 30 different
types of junction and MOS field effect transistor chips. They are
used to produce over 350 different field effect transistor
types. Most of the Company’s field effect transistors conform to
standard Joint Electronic Device Engineering Council designated transistors,
commonly referred to as standard 2N number types. The Company is
currently expanding its Field Effect Transistor product offering. The
Company manufactures both standard and custom field effect
transistors.
MANUFACTURING
The
Company’s engineers design its transistors, diodes, field effect transistors and
hybrids, as well as other customized products, based upon requirements
established by customers, with the cooperation of the product and marketing
personnel. The design of standard or catalog products is based on
specific industry standards.
Each new
design is first produced on a CAD/CAE (Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided
Engineering) computer system. The design layout is then reduced to
the desired micro size and transferred to silicon wafers in a series of steps
that include photolithography, chemical or plasma etching, oxidation, diffusion
and metallization. The wafers then go through a fabrication
process. When the process is completed, each wafer contains a large
number of silicon chips, each chip being a single transistor device or a single
diode. The wafers are tested using a computerized test system prior
to being separated into individual chips. The chips are then
assembled in standard or custom packages, incorporated in hybrids or sold as
chips to other companies. The chips are normally mounted inside a
chosen package using eutectic, soft solder or epoxy die attach techniques, and
then wire bonded to the package pins using gold or aluminum
wires. Many of the packages are manufactured by the Company and, in
most cases, the Company plates its packages with gold, nickel or other metals
utilizing outside vendors to perform the plating operation.
5
In the
case of hybrids, design engineers formulate the circuit and layout
designs. Ceramic substrates are then printed with thick film gold
conductors to form the interconnect pattern and with thick film resistive inks
to form the resistors of the designed circuit. Semiconductor chips,
resistor chips, capacitor chips and inductors are then mounted on the substrates
and sequential wire bonding is used to interconnect the various components to
the printed substrate, as well as to connect the circuit to the external package
pins. The Company manufactures approximately 20% of the hybrid
packages it uses and purchases the balance from suppliers.
In
addition to Company-performed testing and inspection procedures, certain of the
Company’s products are subject to source inspections required by customers
(including the United States government). In such cases, designated
inspectors are authorized to perform a detailed on-premise inspection of each
individual device prior to encapsulation in a casing or before dispatch of the
finished unit to ensure that the quality and performance of the product meets
the prescribed specifications.
ISO
9001:2000
In March
2000, Underwriters Laboratories awarded the Company ISO 9001
qualification. The ISO 9001 Program is a series of quality management
and assurance standards developed by a technical committee of the European
Community Commission working under the International Organization for
Standardization. During an August 2004 surveillance audit, the
Company was subsequently qualified as meeting the new ISO 9001:2000
standard. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2008, the
Company underwent an additional surveillance audit that resulted in
recertification.
MARKETING AND
CUSTOMERS
The
Company’s products are sold throughout the United States and abroad primarily
directly and through a network of manufacturers’ representatives and
distributors. The Company is represented (i) in the United States by
two representative organizations that operate out of 2 different locations with
7 salespeople and 2 stocking distributor organizations that operate out of 12
locations and a third stocking distributor that operates out of 350 sales
offices worldwide employing 2,700 people and (ii) in the international market by
a representative organization in Israel with one salesperson. The
Company also directly employs several sales, marketing, and application
engineering personnel to coordinate operations with the representatives and
distributors and to handle key accounts.
During
the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009, the Company sold products to
approximately 120 customers. Of these 120 customers, 52 had not purchased
products from the Company during the previous fiscal
year. During the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009, Raytheon
Company accounted for approximately 35% of total sales, as compared to the 34%
it accounted for during the fiscal year ended February 29, 2008. During the
fiscal year ended February 28, 2009, sales to BAE Systems Australia accounted
for approximately 11% of total sales, as compared to the 8% it accounted for
during the fiscal year ended February 29, 2008. Other than Raytheon Company and
BAE Systems Australia, the Company had no customers that accounted for more than
10% of net sales during the last fiscal year. Fifteen of the Company’s customers
accounted for approximately 88% of the Company’s sales during the fiscal year
ended February 28, 2009. It has been the Company’s experience that a
large percentage of its sales have been attributable to a relatively small
number of customers in any particular period. As a result of the
mergers and acquisitions in general, and among large defense contractors in
particular, the number of large customers will most
likely continue to decline in number, but this does not necessarily mean that
the Company will experience a decline in sales. The Company expects
customer concentration to continue. The loss of any major customer
without offsetting orders from other sources would have a material adverse
effect on the business, financial condition and results of operations of the
Company.
During
the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009 and since that date, a substantial
portion of the Company’s products were sold pursuant to contracts or
subcontracts with or to customers whose end products are sold to the United
States Government. Accordingly, the Company’s sales may be adversely
impacted by Congressional appropriations and changes in national defense
policies and priorities. As a result of recent Congressional
appropriations and a decrease in military spending on programs that the Company
participates in, the Company had a 2% decrease in net bookings during the fiscal
year ended February 28, 2009 as compared to the previous
year. All of the Company’s contracts with the United States
Government or its prime contractors contain provisions permitting termination at
any time at the convenience of the United States Government or the prime
contractor upon payment to the Company of costs incurred plus a reasonable
profit.
6
Although
average sales prices are typically higher for products with military and space
applications than for products with non-military, scientific and industrial
applications, the Company hopes to minimize this differential by focusing on
these quality-sensitive niche markets where price sensitivity is very
low. There can be no assurance; however, that the Company will be
successful in increasing its sales to these market segments, which increase in
sales could be critical to the future success of the Company. To
date, the Company has made only limited inroads in penetrating such
markets.
Sales to
foreign customers, located mostly in Canada, Western Europe and Israel,
accounted for approximately 14% of the Company’s net sales for the fiscal year
ended February 28, 2009 as compared to 12% for the year ended February 29,
2008. All sales to foreign customers are conducted utilizing
exclusively U.S. dollars.
BACKLOG
The
Company’s order backlog, which consists of semiconductor and hybrid related open
orders, more than 96% of which are scheduled for delivery within 12 months, was
approximately $6,304,000 at February 28, 2009, as compared to
$5,826,000 as of February 29, 2008. The entire backlog consisted of orders for
electronic components. The Company currently anticipates that the
majority of its open order backlog will be filled by February 28,
2010. In the event that bookings in the long-term decline
significantly below the level experienced in the last fiscal year, the Company
may be required to implement cost-cutting or other downsizing measures to
continue its business operations. Such cost-cutting measures could
inhibit future growth prospects. See “Management’s Discussion
and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Bookings and
Backlog.”
The
Company’s backlog as of any particular date may not be representative of actual
sales for any succeeding period because lead times for the release of purchase
orders depend upon the scheduling practices of individual
customers. The delivery times of new or non-standard products can be
affected by scheduling factors and other manufacturing considerations, variances
in the rate of booking new orders from month to month and the possibility of
customer changes in delivery schedules or cancellations of
orders. Also, delivery times of new or non-standard products are
affected by the availability of raw material, scheduling factors, manufacturing
considerations and customer delivery requirements.
The rate
of booking new orders varies significantly from month to month, mostly as a
result of sharp fluctuations in the government budgeting and appropriation
process. The Company has historically experienced somewhat decreased
levels of bookings during the summer months, primarily as a result of such
budgeting and appropriation activities. For these reasons, and
because of the possibility of customer changes in delivery schedules or
cancellations of orders, the Company’s backlog as of any particular date may not
be indicative of actual sales for any succeeding period. See
“Management’s Discussions and Analysis of Financial Conditions – Result of
Operations” for a discussion of the decrease in bookings for the year ended
February 28, 2009 as compared to the previous year.
PATENTS AND
LICENSES
The
Company owned approximately 33 patents (all of which have now expired or have
been allowed to lapse) relating to the design and manufacture of its products.
The terminations of these patents have not had a material adverse effect on the
Company. The Company believes that engineering standards,
manufacturing techniques and product reliability are more important to the
successful manufacture and sale of its products than the old patents it
had.
FUTURE
PLANS
The
Company plans to obtain quality certification in accordance with quality level
AS9100 which will allow the Company to increase its sales of space-level
products to customers requiring such quality certification.
To
increase liquidity, the Company plans to (a) continue improving operating
efficiencies, (b) further reduce overhead expenses, (c) develop alternative
lower cost packaging technologies and lower cost packaging supplies, and (d)
develop products utilizing its current manufacturing technologies geared toward
market segments it is currently unable to serve.
The
Company also plans to continue its efforts in selling commercial semiconductors
and power modules and to develop appropriate strategic alliance
arrangements. If these plans are successful, the Company intends to
aggressively pursue sales of these products which could require the Company to
invest in the building up of inventories of finished goods and invest in
capital (automatic assembly and test) equipment. The
source of capital funding will be defined and disclosed subsequent to such
strategic partnership being formed. Such financing could come from equipment
leasing, among other financing alternatives.
7
Despite
its intentions, the Company cannot assure you that these plans will be
successful in easing liquidity problems, reducing costs or improving
sales.
COMPETITION
The
electronic component industry, in general, is highly competitive and has been
characterized by price erosion, rapid technological changes and foreign
competition. However, in the market segments in which the
Company operates, while highly competitive and subject to the same price
erosion, technological change is slow and minimal. The Company believes that it
is well regarded by its customers in the segments of the market in which
competition is dependent less on price and more on product reliability,
performance and service. Management believes, however, that to the extent the
Company’s business is targeted at the military and aerospace markets, where
there has been virtually no foreign competition, it is subjected to less
competition than manufacturers of commercial electronic
components. Additionally, the decline in military orders in programs
the Company participates in and the shift in the requirement of the Defense
Department whereby the use of Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) components is
encouraged over the use of high reliability components that the Company
manufactures, prompting the number of competitors to decline, afford the Company
the opportunity to increase its market share. As the Company attempts
to shift its focus to the sale of products having non-military, non-aerospace
applications it will be subject to greater price erosion and foreign
competition. The Company continues its efforts to identify a
niche market for high-end industrial custom power modules and custom motor
controllers where the Company’s capabilities can offer a technological advantage
to customers in the motor driver, and power supplies
industries. However, there is no guarantee that the Company will be
successful in this effort.
The
Company has numerous competitors across all of its product
lines. The Company is not in direct competition with any other
semiconductor manufacturer for an identical mixture of products; however, one or
more of the major manufacturers of semiconductors manufactures some of the
Company’s products. A few such major competitors (e.g., IXYS
Corporation, Motorola Inc. (now On Semiconductors), Intersil Corporation,
Fairchild Semiconductor, among others) have elected to withdraw from the
military market altogether. However, there is no assurance that the Company’s
business will increase as a result of such withdrawals. Other
competitors in the military market include International Rectifier (the Omnirel
Division), Microsemi Corporation (the NES and APT Divisions), M.S. Kennedy
Corporation (a wholly owned subsidiary of Anaren, Inc.), Natel Engineering
Company and Sensitron Semiconductor. The Company competes principally
on the basis of product quality, turn-around time, customer service and
price. The Company believes that competition for sales of products
that will ultimately be sold to the United States government has intensified and
will continue to intensify as United States defense spending on high reliability
components continues to decrease and the Department of Defense pushes for
implementation of its 1995 decision to purchase COTS standard products in lieu
of products made in accordance with more stringent military
specifications.
The
Company believes that its primary competitive advantage is its ability to
produce high quality products as a result of its years of experience, its
sophisticated technologies and its experienced staff. The Company
believes that its ability to produce highly reliable custom hybrids in a short
period of time will give it a strategic advantage in attempting to penetrate
high-end commercial markets and in selling military products complementary with
those currently sold, as doing so would enable the Company to produce products
early in design and development cycles. The Company believes that it
will be able to improve its capability to respond quickly to customer needs and
deliver products on time.
EMPLOYEES
At
February 28, 2009, the Company had 81 employees (as compared to 83 at February
29, 2008), 54 of whom were engaged in production activities, 3 in sales and
marketing, 6 in executive and administrative capacities and 18 in technical and
support activities. Of the 81 employees, 77 were full time employees and 4 were
part time employees.
The
Company has never had a work stoppage, and none of its employees are represented
by a labor organization. The Company considers its employee relations
to be good.
8
SOURCES AND AVAILABILITY OF
RAW MATERIAL
The
Company purchases its raw materials from multiple suppliers and has a minimum of
two suppliers for most of its material requirements. A few of the key
suppliers of raw materials and finished packages purchased by the Company are:
Egide USA Inc., Platronics Seals, CPS Technologies Corporation, Coining Inc.,
IXYS Corporation, Purecoat International LLC, and Stellar Industries Inc.
Because of a diminishing number of sources for components and packages in
particular, and the sharp increase in the prices of raw silicon semiconductor
wafers, precious metals and gold (used in the finish of the packages), the
Company has been obliged to pay higher prices, which consequently has increased
costs of goods sold. Should a shortage of three-inch silicon wafers
occur, we might not be able to switch our manufacturing capabilities to another
size wafer in time to meet our customer’s needs, leading to lost
revenues.
EFFECT OF GOVERNMENT
REGULATION
The
Company received DSCC approval to supply its products in accordance with
MIL-PRF-19500 and Class H of MIL-PRF-38534. These qualifications are
required to supply to the U.S. Government or its prime
contractors. The Company expects that its continued maintenance of
these qualifications will continue to improve its business posture by increasing
product marketability.
RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT
During
the last two fiscal years, the Company has not spent any significant funds on
research and development. This may have an adverse effect on future
operations. The cost of designing custom products is borne in full by
the customer, either as a direct charge or is amortized in the unit price
charged to the customer.
ENVIRONMENTAL
REGULATION
While the
Company believes that it has the environmental permits necessary to conduct its
business and that its operations conform to present environmental regulations,
increased public attention has been focused on the environmental impact of
semiconductor manufacturing operations. The Company, in the conduct
of its manufacturing operations, has handled and does handle materials that are
considered hazardous, toxic or volatile under federal, state and local laws and,
therefore, is subject to regulations related to their use, storage, discharge
and disposal. No assurance can be made that the risk of accidental
release of such materials can be completely eliminated. In the event
of a violation of environmental laws, the Company could be held liable for
damages and the costs of remediation. In addition, the Company, along with the
rest of the semiconductor industry, is subject to variable interpretations and
governmental priorities concerning environmental laws and
regulations. Environmental statutes have been interpreted to provide
for joint and several liability and strict liability regardless of actual
fault. There can be no assurance that the Company and its
subsidiaries will not be required to incur costs to comply with, or that the
operations, business or financial condition of the Company will not be
materially adversely affected by current or future environmental laws or
regulations.
ENVIRONMENTAL
LIABILITIES
The
Company entered into an Ability to Pay Multi-Site Settlement Agreement with the
United States Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”), effective February 24,
2006 (“Settlement Agreement”), to resolve the Company’s alleged liability to
USEPA at the following sites: Solitron Microwave Superfund Site, Port
Salerno, Florida (“Port Salerno Site”); Petroleum Products Corporation Superfund
Site, Pembroke Park, Florida; Casmalia Resources Superfund Site, Santa Barbara,
California (“Casmalia Site”); Solitron Devices Site, Riviera Beach, Florida (the
“Riviera Beach Site”); and City Industries Superfund Site, Orlando, Florida
(collectively, the “Sites”). The Settlement Agreement required the
Company to pay to USEPA the sum of $74,000 by February 24, 2008; the Company
paid the entire sum of $74,000 to USEPA on February 27, 2006. In
addition, the Company is required to pay to USEPA the sum of $10,000 or 5% of
Solitron’s net after-tax income over the first $500,000, if any, whichever is
greater, for each year from fiscal years 2009-2013. For payment to
USEPA to be above $10,000 for any of these five years, the Company’s net income
must exceed $700,000 for such year, which has happened in fiscal year 2001,
fiscal year 2006, fiscal year 2008, and the current fiscal year. In
February 2009, the Company paid $10,000 to USEPA for fiscal year 2009 based on
preliminary net income projections and has accrued an additional $15,000 current
liability for fiscal year 2009. The final amount will be paid to
USEPA in June 2009. This amount is carried as an environmental expense. The
Company has accrued $40,000 for its remaining minimum obligations under the
Settlement Agreement.
In
consideration of the payments made by the Company under the Settlement
Agreement, USEPA agreed not to sue or take any administrative action against the
Company with regard to any of the Sites. The Company has also been
notified by a group of alleged responsible parties formed at the Casmalia Site
(“Casmalia PRP Group”) that, based on their review and lack of objection to the
Settlement Agreement, the Casmalia PRP Group does not anticipate pursuing
Solitron for cost recovery at the Casmalia Site.
9
On
October 21, 1993, a Consent Final Judgment was entered into between the Company
and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (“FDEP”) in the Circuit
Court of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida in and for Martin County,
Florida, in Case No. 91-1232 CA (the “Consent Final Judgment”). The
Consent Final Judgment required the Company to remediate the Port Salerno Site
and Riviera Beach Site, make monthly payments to escrow accounts for each Site
until the sale of the Sites to fund the remediation work, take all reasonable
steps to sell the two Sites and, upon the sale of the Sites, apply the net
proceeds from the sales to fund the remediation work. Both Sites have
been sold (Riviera Beach Site on October 12, 1999 and Port Salerno Site on March
17, 2003) pursuant to purchase agreements approved by FDEP.
Prior to
the sale of the Port Salerno Site and Riviera Beach Site, USEPA took over from
FDEP as the lead regulatory agency for the remediation of the
Sites. At the closing of the sale of each Site, the net
proceeds of sale were distributed to USEPA and/or FDEP or other parties, as
directed by the agencies. In addition, upon the sale of the Riviera
Beach Site, the Riviera Beach Escrow Account was transferred to USEPA, as
directed by the agencies. The current balance in the Port Salerno
Escrow Account is approximately $58,000. At present, work at the Port
Salerno Site is being performed by USEPA. Work at the Riviera Beach
Site is being performed by Honeywell, Inc. (“Honeywell”), pursuant to an
Administrative Order on Consent entered into between Honeywell and
USEPA. The Company has been notified by FDEP that the performance of
remediation work by USEPA at the Port Salerno Site and by Honeywell at the
Riviera Beach Site will be construed by FDEP as discharging the Company’s
remediation obligations under the Consent Final Judgment.
There
remains a possibility that FDEP will determine at some time in the future that
the final remedy approved by USEPA and implemented at either, or both of, the
Port Salerno Site and Riviera Beach Site does not meet the State cleanup
requirements imposed by the Consent Final Judgment. If such a final
determination is made by FDEP, there is a possibility that FDEP will require the
Company to implement additional remedial action at either, or both of, the Port
Salerno Site and Riviera Beach Site.
By letter
dated November 16, 2006, FDEP notified the Company that FDEP has unreimbursed
expenses associated with the Port Salerno Site and Riviera Beach Site of
$214,800. FDEP further notified the Company that FDEP required the
Company to resume payments under the Consent Final Judgment to ensure that there
are adequate funds to cover FDEP’s unreimbursed expenses and the Company’s
residual liability under the Consent Final Judgment. During a follow
up telephone conversation with the Company’s attorney, FDEP advised the Company
that FDEP will prepare a justification for the asserted unreimbursed
expenses. Upon receipt of the cost reimbursement package, the Company
is required to transfer $58,000.00 from the Port Salerno Escrow Account to FDEP
as partial payment for FDEP’s unreimbursed expenses that are otherwise
recoverable under the Consent Final Judgment. FDEP further stated,
during the telephone conversation, that FDEP will work with the Company to
establish a reduced payment schedule for the Company to resume under the Consent
Final Judgment based on an appropriate showing by the Company of financial
hardship. The Company is currently awaiting receipt of FDEP’s cost
reimbursement package. Upon receipt of that documentation, the
Company will be required to provide a recommendation to FDEP for resumption of
payments to FDEP under the Consent Final Judgment based on the Company’s present
ability to pay.
On August
7, 2002, the Company received a Request for Information from the State of New
York Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYDEC”), seeking information on
whether the Company had disposed of certain wastes at the Clarkstown Landfill
Site located in the Town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York (The
Clarkstown Landfill Site”). By letter dated August 29, 2002, the
Company responded to the Request for Information and advised NYDEC that the
Company’s former Tappan, New York facility had closed in the mid-1980’s, prior
to the initiation of the Company’s bankruptcy proceedings described
below. The Company contends that, to the extent that NYDEC has a
claim against the Company as a result of the Company’s alleged disposal of
wastes at the Clarkstown Landfill Site prior to the closing of the Company’s
former Tappan facility in the mid-1980’s, the claim was discharged in bankruptcy
as a result of the Bankruptcy Court’s August 1993 Order. At NYDEC’s
request, the Company entered into a revised Tolling Agreement with NYDEC on
October 8, 2007, which provides for the tolling of applicable statutes of
limitation through the earlier of June 26, 2009, or the date the State
institutes a suit against the Company for any claims associated with the
Clarkstown Landfill Site. It is not known at this time whether NYDEC
will pursue a claim against the Company in connection with the Clarkstown
Landfill Site. As of the date of this filing, no such claim has been
made.
10
BANKRUPTCY
PROCEEDINGS
On
January 24, 1992 (the “Petition Date”), the Company and its wholly-owned
subsidiary, Solitron Specialty Products, Inc. (f/k/a Solitron Microwave, Inc.),
a Delaware corporation, filed voluntary petitions seeking reorganization under
Chapter 11 (“Chapter 11”) of the United States Bankruptcy Code, as amended (the
“Bankruptcy Code”), in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern
District of Florida (the “Bankruptcy Court”). On August 20, 1993, the
Bankruptcy Court entered an Order (the “Order of Confirmation”) confirming the
Company’s Fourth Amended Plan of Reorganization, as modified by the Company’s
First Modification of Fourth Amended Plan of Reorganization (the “Plan of
Reorganization” or “Plan”). The Plan became effective on August 30,
1993 (the “Effective Date”). On July 12, 1996, the Bankruptcy Court officially
closed the case.
Pursuant
to the Plan of Reorganization, beginning in approximately May 1995, the Company
was required to begin making quarterly payments to holders of unsecured claims
until they received 35% of their claims. However, due to negotiations
between the parties, the unsecured creditors agreed to a deferment of this
payment and the Company agreed to make payments until its obligations are
fulfilled (for more information see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations”). At the time, it was estimated
that there was an aggregate of approximately $7,100,000 in unsecured claims and,
accordingly, that the Company was required to pay approximately $2,292,000 to
holders of allowed unsecured claims in quarterly installments of approximately
$62,000. On February 28, 2009, the remaining balance of these claims
was approximately $1,086,000.
Beginning
on the date the Company’s net after tax income exceeds $500,000, the Company is
obligated to pay (on an annual basis) each of the holders of unsecured claims
(pro rata) and Vector Trading and Holding Corporation (“Vector”), a
successor to certain assets and liabilities of the Company, and Vector’s
participants and successors, 5% of its net after tax income in excess of
$500,000 until the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date, up to a maximum
aggregate of $1,500,000 to the holders of unsecured claims (pro rata) and up to
a maximum aggregate of $1,500,000 to Vector participants and their
successors (the “Profit Participation”). As the Company earned
$637,000 in the fiscal year ended February 28, 2001, net after the accrual of
$15,000 for the Profit Participation, it distributed, during the fiscal year
ended February 28, 2002, approximately $7,500 to its unsecured creditors and
approximately $7,500 to Vector and its successors in interest as contemplated by
the Plan. As net income for the fiscal years ended February 28, 2003, 2004 and
2005 did not exceed $500,000, there were no distributions related to those
fiscal years. As of August 2005, this obligation for profit
participation had expired.
ITEM
1A. RISK
FACTORS
The
following important business risks and factors, and those business risks and
factors described elsewhere in this report or our other Securities and Exchange
Commission filings, could cause our actual results to differ materially from
those stated in our forward-looking statements, and which could affect the value
of an investment in the Company. All references to “we”, “us”, “our”
and the like refer to the Company.
Our
complex manufacturing processes may lower yields and reduce our
revenues.
Our
manufacturing processes are highly complex, require advanced and costly
equipment and are continuously being modified in an effort to improve yields and
product performance. Minute impurities or other difficulties in the
manufacturing process can lower yields. Our manufacturing efficiency
will be an important factor in our future profitability, and we cannot assure
you that we will be able to maintain our manufacturing efficiency or increase
manufacturing efficiency to the same extent as our competitors.
In
addition, as is common in the semiconductor industry, we have from time to time
experienced difficulty in effecting transitions to new manufacturing
processes. As a consequence, we may suffer delays in product
deliveries or reduced yields. We may experience manufacturing
problems in achieving acceptable yields or experience product delivery delays in
the future as a result of, among other things, capacity constraints,
construction delays, upgrading or expanding existing facilities or changing our
process technologies, any of which could result in a loss of future
revenues. Our operating results could also be adversely affected by
the increase in fixed costs and operating expenses related to increases in
production capability if revenues do not increase proportionately.
Our
ability to repair and maintain the aging manufacturing equipment we own may
adversely affect our ability to deliver products to our customers’
requirements. We may be forced to expend significant funds in order
to acquire replacement capital equipment that may not be readily available, thus
resulting in manufacturing delays.
11
Our
business could be materially and adversely affected if we are unable to obtain
qualified supplies of raw materials, parts and finished components on a timely
basis and at a cost-effective price.
The
Company relies on its relationships with certain key suppliers for its supply of
raw materials, parts and finished components that are qualified for use in the
end-products the Company manufactures. While the Company currently
has favorable working relationships with its suppliers, it cannot be sure that
these relationships will continue in the future. Additionally, the
Company cannot guarantee the availability or pricing of raw
materials. The price of qualified raw materials can be highly
volatile due to several factors, including a general shortage of raw materials,
an unexpected increase in the demand for raw materials, disruptions in the
suppliers’ business and competitive pressure among suppliers of raw materials to
increase the price of raw materials. Suppliers may also choose, from
time to time, to extend lead times or limit supplies due to a shortage in
supplies. Additionally, some of the Company’s key suppliers of raw
materials may have the capability of manufacturing the end products themselves
and may therefore cease to supply the Company with its raw materials and compete
directly with the Company for the manufacture of the
end-products. Any interruption in availability of these qualified raw
materials may impair the Company’s ability to manufacture its products on a
timely and cost-effective basis. If the Company must identify
alternative sources for its qualified raw materials, it would be adversely
affected due to the time and process required in order for such alternative raw
materials to be qualified for use in the applicable end-products. Any
significant price increase in the Company’s raw materials that cannot be passed
on to customers or a shortage in the supply of raw materials could have a
material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition or
results of operations.
We
are dependent on government contracts, which are subject to termination, price
renegotiations and regulatory compliance, which can increase the cost of doing
business and negatively impact our revenues.
All of
our contracts with the U.S. government and its prime contractors contain
customary provisions permitting termination at any time at the convenience of
the U.S. government or its prime contractors upon payment to us for costs
incurred plus a reasonable profit. Certain contracts are also subject
to price renegotiations in accordance with U.S. government sole source
procurement provisions. Nevertheless, we cannot assure you that the
foregoing government contracting risks will not materially and adversely affect
our business, prospects, financial condition or results of
operations. Furthermore, we cannot assure you that we would be able
to procure new government contracts to offset any revenue losses incurred due to
early termination or price renegotiation of existing government
contracts.
Our
government business is also subject to specific procurement regulations, which
increase our performance and compliance costs. These costs might
increase in the future, reducing our margins. Failure to comply with
procurement regulations could lead to suspension or debarment, for cause, from
government subcontracting for a period of time. Among the causes for
debarment are violations of various statutes, including those related to
procurement integrity, export control, government security regulations,
employment practices, protection of the environment, and accuracy of
records. The termination of a government contract or relationship as
a result of any of these violations would have a negative impact on our
reputation and operations, and could negatively impact our ability to obtain
future government contracts.
Changes
in government policy or economic conditions could negatively impact our
results.
A large
portion of the Company’s sales are to military and aerospace markets which are
subject to the business risk of changes in governmental appropriations and
changes in national defense policies and priorities. Any such changes
could result in a change in demand for the Company’s products, which could have
a material effect on the Company’s business, prospects, financial condition and
results of operations.
Our
results may also be affected by changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies,
laws and regulations, or other activities of U.S. and non-U.S. governments,
agencies and similar organizations. Furthermore, our business,
prospects, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely
affected by the shift in the requirement of the U.S. Department of Defense
policy toward the use of standard industrial components over the use of high
reliability components that we manufacture. Our results may also be
affected by social and economic conditions, which impact our sales, including in
markets subject to ongoing political hostilities, such as regions of the Middle
East.
12
Our
inventories may become obsolete and other assets may be subject to
risks.
The life
cycles of some of our products depend heavily upon the life cycles of the end
products into which our products are designed. Products with short
life cycles require us to manage closely our production and inventory
levels. Inventory may also become obsolete because of adverse changes
in end-market demand. We may in the future be adversely affected by
obsolete or excess inventories which may result from unanticipated changes in
the estimated total demand for our products or the estimated life cycles of the
end products into which our products are designed. The asset values
determined under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for inventory and
other assets each involve the making of material estimates by us, many of which
could be based on mistaken assumptions or judgments.
Environmental regulations could
require us to incur significant costs.
In the
conduct of our manufacturing operations, we have handled and do handle materials
that are considered hazardous, toxic or volatile under federal, state and local
laws and, therefore, are subject to regulations related to their use, storage,
discharge and disposal. No assurance can be made that the risk of
accidental release of such materials can be completely eliminated. In
the event of a violation of environmental laws, we could be held liable for
damages and the cost of remediation and, along with the rest of the
semiconductor industry, we are subject to variable interpretations and
governmental priorities concerning environmental laws and
regulations. Environmental statutes have been interpreted to provide
for joint and several liability and strict liability regardless of actual fault.
There can be no assurance that we will not be required to incur costs to comply
with, or that our operations, business or financial condition will not be
materially affected by, current or future environmental laws or
regulations. See “Business – Environmental Liabilities.”
Our
business is highly competitive, and increased competition could reduce gross
profit margins and the value of an investment in our Company.
The
semiconductor industry, and the semiconductor product markets specifically, are
highly competitive. Competition is based on price, product
performance, quality, turn-around time, reliability and customer
service. The gross profit margins realizable in our markets can
differ across regions, depending on the economic strength of end-product markets
in those regions. Even in strong markets, price pressures may emerge
as competitors attempt to gain more share by lowering
prices. Competition in the various markets in which we participate
comes from companies of various sizes, many of which are larger and have greater
financial and other resources than we have and thus can better withstand adverse
economic or market conditions. In addition, companies not currently
in direct competition with us may introduce competing products in the
future.
Downturns
in the business cycle could reduce the revenues and profitability of our
business.
The
semiconductor industry is highly cyclical. Semiconductor
industry-wide sales declined significantly in 2001, 2002 2004, 2008, and the
beginning of 2009. Our markets may experience other, possibly more
severe and prolonged, downturns in the future. We may also experience
significant changes in our operating profit margins as a result of variations in
sales, changes in product mix, price competition for orders and costs associated
with the introduction of new products.
Our
operating results may decrease due to the decline of profitability in the
semiconductor industry.
Intense
competition and a general slowdown in the demand for military-rated
semiconductors worldwide have resulted in decreases in the profitability of many
of our products. We expect that profitability for our products will
continue to decline in the future. A decline in profitability for our
products, if not offset by reductions in the costs of manufacturing these
products, would decrease our profits and could have a material adverse effect on
our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Uncertainty
of current economic conditions, domestically and globally, could continue to
affect demand for our products and negatively impact our business.
Current
conditions in the domestic and global economies are extremely
uncertain. As a result, it is difficult to estimate the level of
growth for the economy as a whole. It is even more difficult to
estimate growth in various parts of the economy, including the markets in which
we participate. Because all components of our budgeting and
forecasting are dependent upon estimates of growth in the markets we serve and
demand for our products, the prevailing economic uncertainties render estimates
of future income and expenditures even more difficult than usual to make. The
future direction of the overall domestic and global economies will have a
significant impact on our overall performance.
13
Cost
reduction efforts may be unsuccessful or insufficient to improve our
profitability and may adversely impact productivity.
During
fiscal years 2008 and 2009, we continued certain cost-cutting measures
originally started several years ago, and we have a plan to implement further
cost-saving measures if necessary. The impact of these cost-reduction
efforts on our profitability may be influenced by:
|
·
|
our
ability to successfully complete these ongoing
efforts;
|
|
·
|
the
possibility that these efforts may not generate the level of cost savings
we expect or enable us to effectively compete and return to profitability;
and
|
|
·
|
the
risk that we may not be able to retain key
employees.
|
Since
these cost-reduction efforts involve all aspects of our business, they could
adversely impact productivity to an extent we did not anticipate and may inhibit
future growth prospects.
We
may not achieve the intended effects of our new business strategy, which could
adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of
operations.
In
recognition of the changes in global geopolitical affairs and in United States
military spending, we are attempting to increase sales of our products for
non-military, scientific and industrial niche markets, such as medical
electronics, machine tool controls, satellites, telecommunications networks and
other market segments in which purchasing decisions are generally based
primarily on product quality, long-term reliability and performance, rather than
on product price. We are also attempting to offer additional products
to the military markets that are complementary to those we currently sell to the
military markets. We cannot assure you that these efforts will be
successful and, if they are, that they will have the intended effects of
increasing profitability. Furthermore, as we attempt to shift our
focus to the sale of products having non-military, non-aerospace applications,
we will be subject to greater price erosion and foreign
competition.
Our
inability to introduce new products could result in decreased revenues and loss
of market share to competitors; new technologies could also reduce the demand
for our products.
Rapidly
changing technology and industry standards, along with frequent new product
introductions, characterize the semiconductor industry. Our success
in these markets depends on our ability to design, develop, manufacture,
assemble, test, market and support new products and enhancements on a timely and
cost-effective basis. There can be no assurance that we will
successfully identify new product opportunities and develop and bring new
products to market in a timely and cost-effective manner or those products or
technologies developed by others will not render our products or technologies
obsolete or noncompetitive. A fundamental shift in technology in our
product markets could have a material adverse effect on us. In light
of the fact that many of our competitors have substantially greater revenues
than us and that we have not spent any funds on research and development in
recent years, we may not be able to accomplish the foregoing, which might have a
material adverse effect on the Company, our business, prospects, financial
condition or results of operations.
Loss
of, or reduction of business from, substantial clients could hurt our business
by reducing our revenues, profitability and cash flow.
During
the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009, fifteen customers accounted for
approximately 88% of our revenues. The loss or financial failure of
any significant customer or distributor, any reduction in orders by any of our
significant customers or distributors, or the cancellation of a significant
order could materially and adversely affect our
business. Furthermore, due to industry consolidation, the loss
of any one customer or significant order may have a greater impact than we
anticipate. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to retain
long-term relationships or secure renewals of short-term relationships with our
more substantial customers in the future.
A
shortage of three-inch silicon wafers could result in lost revenues due to an
inability to build our products.
Some of
our products contain components manufactured in-house from three-inch silicon
wafers. The worldwide supply of three-inch silicon wafers is
dwindling. We currently have enough wafers in inventory and on order
to meet our manufacturing needs for three years. Should a shortage of
three-inch silicon wafers occur, or if we are not able to obtain three-inch
silicon wafers at an economically suitable cost, we may not be able to switch
our manufacturing capabilities to another size wafer in time to meet our
customer’s needs, leading to lost revenues.
14
The
nature of our products exposes us to potentially significant product liability
risk.
Our
business exposes us to potential product liability risks that are inherent in
the manufacturing and marketing of high-reliability electronic components for
critical applications. No assurance can be made that our product
liability insurance coverage is adequate or that present coverage will continue
to be available at acceptable costs, or that a product liability claim would not
materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial conditions or
results of operations.
We
depend on the recruitment and retention of qualified personnel, and our failure
to attract and retain such personnel could seriously harm our
business.
Due to
the specialized nature of our business, our future performance is highly
dependent on the continued services of our key engineering personnel and
executive officers. Our prospects depend on our ability to attract
and retain qualified engineering, manufacturing, marketing, sales and management
personnel for our operations. Competition for personnel is intense,
and we may not be successful in attracting or retaining qualified
personnel. Our failure to compete for these personnel could seriously
harm our business, prospects, results of operations and financial
condition.
Provisions
in our charter documents and rights agreement could make it more difficult to
acquire our Company and may reduce the market price of our stock.
Our
Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws contain certain provisions, and we have
adopted a stockholder rights plan (as more fully described in our current report
on Form 8-K filed on June 20, 2001), each of which could delay or prevent a
change in control of our company or the removal of management, and which could
also deter potential acquirers from making an offer to our stockholders and
limit any opportunity to realize premiums over prevailing market prices of our
common stock.
Natural
disasters, like hurricanes, or occurrences of other natural disasters whether in
the United States or internationally may affect the markets in which our common
stock trades, the markets in which we operate and our
profitability.
Natural
disasters, like those related to hurricanes, or threats or occurrences of other
similar events, whether in the United States or internationally, may affect the
markets in which our common stock trades, the markets in which we operate and
our profitability. Hurricanes have affected us in the past, and may
continue to affect us in the future, resulting in damage to our manufacturing
facility in South Florida and our manufacturing equipment, office closures and
impairing our ability to produce and deliver our products. Such
events could also affect our domestic and international sales, disrupt our
supply chains, primarily for raw materials and process chemicals and gases,
affect the physical facilities of our suppliers or customers, and make
transportation of our supplies and products more difficult or cost prohibitive.
Due to the broad and uncertain effects that natural events have had on financial
and economic markets generally, we cannot provide any estimate of how these
activities might affect our future results.
Failure
to protect our proprietary technologies or maintain the right to use certain
technologies may negatively affect our ability to compete.
We rely
heavily on our proprietary technologies. Our future success and competitive
position may depend in part upon our ability to obtain or maintain protection of
certain proprietary technologies used in our principal products. We do not have
patent protection on many aspects of our technology. Our reliance upon
protection of some of our technology as “trade secrets” will not necessarily
protect us from the use by other persons of our technology, or their use of
technology that is similar or superior to that which is embodied in our trade
secrets. Others may be able to independently duplicate or exceed our technology
in whole or in part. We may not be successful in maintaining the confidentiality
of our technology, dissemination of which could have material adverse effects on
our business. In addition, litigation may be necessary to determine the scope
and validity of our proprietary rights.
Obtaining
or protecting our proprietary rights may require us to defend claims of
intellectual property infringement by our competitors. We could become subject
to lawsuits in which it is alleged that we have infringed or are infringing upon
the intellectual property rights of others with or without our prior awareness
of the existence of those third-party rights, if any.
15
If any
infringements, real or imagined, happen to exist, arise or are claimed in the
future, we may be exposed to substantial liability for damages and may need to
obtain licenses from the patent owners, discontinue or change our processes or
products or expend significant resources to develop or acquire non-infringing
technologies. We may not be successful in such efforts or such licenses may not
be available under reasonable terms. Our failure to develop or
acquire
non-infringing technologies or to obtain licenses on acceptable terms or the
occurrence of related litigation itself could have material adverse effects on
our operating results, financial condition and cash flows.
The
price of our common stock has fluctuated widely in the past and may fluctuate
widely in the future.
Our
common stock, which is traded on the over-the-counter bulletin board, has
experienced and may continue to experience significant price and volume
fluctuations that could adversely affect the market price of our common stock
without regard to our operating performance. In addition, we believe that
factors such as quarterly fluctuations in financial results, financial
performance and other activities of other publicly traded companies in the
semiconductor industry could cause the price of our common stock to fluctuate
substantially. In addition, in recent periods, our common stock, the stock
market in general and the market for shares of semiconductor industry-related
stocks in particular have experienced extreme price fluctuations which have
often been unrelated to the operating performance of the affected companies. Any
similar fluctuations in the future could adversely affect the market price of
our common stock.
ITEM 1B
|
UNRESOLVED STAFF
COMMENTS.
|
None
ITEM 2.
|
PROPERTIES.
|
The
Company’s manufacturing operations and its corporate headquarters are located in
one leased facility in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Company leases
approximately 47,000 sq. ft. for its facility. The lease is for a
term of ten years ending on December 31, 2011 and does not include an option to
renew the lease under current terms. The Company believes that its facility in
West Palm Beach, Florida is suitable and adequate to meet its requirements
currently and for the foreseeable future.
ITEM 3.
|
LEGAL
PROCEEDINGS
|
We may
from time to time become a party to various legal proceedings arising in the
ordinary course of business. As of February 28, 2009, we had no known
material current, pending, or threatened litigation.
ITEM 4.
|
SUBMISSION OF MATTERS
TO A VOTE OF SECURITY
HOLDERS
|
None.
16
PART II
ITEM
5.
|
MARKET FOR
REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND
ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY
SECURITIES
|
Since
March 1995, the Company’s Common Stock has been traded on the Over The Counter
Bulletin Board (“OTCBB”). The Company’s Common Stock was traded on
the New York Stock Exchange until October 13, 1993, at which time it began
trading on the NASDAQ Small Cap Market where it was traded until March
1995.
The
following table sets forth for the periods indicated, high and low bid
information of the Common Stock as reported by the OTCBB. The prices
set forth below reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, mark-down,
or commission and may not necessarily represent actual
transactions.
FISCAL
YEAR ENDED
|
FISCAL
YEAR ENDED
|
|||||||||||||||
FEBRUARY 28, 2009
|
FEBRUARY 29, 2008
|
|||||||||||||||
HIGH
|
LOW
|
HIGH
|
LOW
|
|||||||||||||
First
Quarter
|
$ | 3.30 | $ | 1.50 | $ | 1.98 | $ | 1.55 | ||||||||
Second
Quarter
|
$ | 3.48 | $ | 2.28 | $ | 2.11 | $ | 1.58 | ||||||||
Third
Quarter
|
$ | 2.98 | $ | 2.10 | $ | 2.49 | $ | 2.00 | ||||||||
Fourth
Quarter
|
$ | 2.60 | $ | 1.65 | $ | 2.95 | $ | 2.37 |
As of May
15, 2009, there were approximately 1,738 holders of record of the Company’s
Common Stock. On May 12, 2009, the last sale price of the Common
Stock as reported on the OTCBB was $2.00 per share.
Certificates
representing 44,930 “old shares” of Common Stock, which were subject to an
approximate 10 to 1 reverse split (which was authorized by the Bankruptcy Court
on September 1993), have not been exchanged by the stockholders as of February
28, 2009. Subsequent to such stock split, these certificates now
represent 4,393 shares of Common Stock, which are included in the 2,263,775
shares outstanding as of February 28, 2009 indicated in the beginning of this
filing. These “old shares” have been included in the number of shares
outstanding as set forth in the Company’s filings with the commission since the
date of such stock split through its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period
ended February 28, 2009.
The
Company has 173,287 shares of treasury stock in certificate form in its
possession. These shares of treasury stock are not included in the
number of shares issued and outstanding for the fiscal years ended February 28,
2009 and February 29, 2008.
The
Company has not paid any dividends since emerging from bankruptcy and the
Company does not contemplate declaring dividends in the foreseeable
future. Pursuant to the Company’s ability to pay its settlement
proposal with USEPA, the Company agreed not to pay dividends on any shares of
capital stock until the settlement amount for environmental liabilities is
agreed upon and paid in full.
During
the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009, the Company did not issue any shares of
its Common Stock to employees.
ITEM 6.
|
SELECTED FINANCIAL
DATA.
|
Not
applicable.
17
ITEM 7.
|
MANAGEMENT’S
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF
OPERATIONS.
|
You
should read the following discussion in conjunction with the “Financial
Statements and Supplementary Data” section of this Annual Report on Form
10-K. You also should review and consider the risks relating to the
Company’s business, operations, financial performance, and cash flows presented
earlier under “Risk Factors.”
INTRODUCTION
The
Company designs, develops, manufactures and markets solid-state semiconductor
components and related devices primarily for the military and aerospace
markets. The Company manufactures a large variety of bipolar and MOS
power transistors, power and control hybrids, junction and power MOFSET’s, field
effect transistors and other related products. Most of the Company’s
products are custom made pursuant to contracts with customers whose end products
are sold to the United States government. Other products, such as JAN
transistors, diodes and SMD voltage regulators, are sold as standard or catalog
items.
The
following table is included solely for use in comparative analysis of income
before extraordinary items to complement Management’s Discussion and Analysis of
Financial Condition and Results of Operations:
(Dollars
in Thousands)
|
||||||||
Year Ended February 28/29,
|
||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Net
Sales
|
$ | 8,459 | $ | 7,792 | ||||
Cost
of sales
|
6,338 | 5,893 | ||||||
Gross
profit
|
2,121 | 1,899 | ||||||
Selling,
general and administrative expenses
|
1,191 | 1,149 | ||||||
Operating
income
|
930 | 750 | ||||||
Interest
income
|
64 | 162 | ||||||
Environmental
Expenses/Other, net
|
(3 | ) | 16 | |||||
Income
tax expense
|
22 | 3 | ||||||
Net
income
|
$ | 969 | $ | 925 |
TRENDS AND
UNCERTAINTIES:
During
the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009, the Company’s book-to-bill ratio was
approximately 1.06 as compared to approximately 1.17 for the fiscal year ended
February 29, 2008 reflecting a decrease in the volume of orders
booked. The Company does not believe that, in most years, the
year-to-year change in the book-to-bill ratio indicates a specific trend in the
demand for the Company’s products. Generally, the intake of orders
over the last twenty four months has varied greatly as a result of the
fluctuations in the general economy, variations in defense spending on programs
the Company supports, and the timing of contract awards by the Department of
Defense and subsequently by its prime contractors, which is expected to continue
over the next twelve to twenty four months. The Company continues to identify
means intended to reduce its variable manufacturing costs to offset the
potential impact of low volume of orders to be shipped. However, should order
intake fall drastically below the level experienced in the last twenty four
months, the Company might be required to implement further cost cutting or other
downsizing measures to continue its business operations.
SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING
PRINCIPLES:
Cash and Cash
Equivalents
Cash and
cash equivalents include demand deposits and money market accounts.
Treasury
Bills
During
the first quarter of fiscal year 2008, the Company’s management decided to
reclassify its investment in treasury bills from cash and cash equivalents and
report it separately as “Investment in Treasury Bills”. Investment in Treasury
Bills includes treasury bills with maturities of one year or less and is stated
at market value. The corresponding amount of cash and cash
equivalents shown on the prior period balance sheet and statement of cash flows
has been reclassified to reflect this change in accounting principle (see
footnote 1).
18
Earnings Per Common
Share
Earnings
per common share is presented in accordance with SFAS No. 128 “Earnings per
Share.” Basic earnings per common share is computed using the
weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the
period. Diluted earnings per common share incorporate the incremental
shares issuable upon the assumed exercise of stock options to the extent they
are not anti-dilutive using the treasury stock method.
Shipping and
Handling
Shipping
and handling costs billed to customers by the Company are recorded in net
sales. Shipping costs incurred by the Company are recorded in cost of
sales.
Inventories
Inventories
are stated at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined using
the “first-in, first-out” (FIFO) method. The Company buys raw
material only to fill customer orders. Excess raw material is created
only when a vendor imposes a minimum buy in excess of actual
requirements. Such excess material will usually be utilized to meet
the requirements of the customer’s subsequent orders. If excess
material is not utilized after two fiscal years it is fully
reserved. Any inventory item once designated as reserved is carried
at zero value in all subsequent valuation activities.
The
Company’s inventory valuation policy is as follows:
Raw
material /Work in process:
|
All
material purchased, processed and/or used in the last two fiscal years is
valued at the lower of its acquisition cost or market. All
material not purchased/used in the last two fiscal years is fully reserved
for.
|
|
Finished
goods:
|
All
finished goods with firm orders for later delivery are valued (material
and overhead) at the lower or cost or market. All finished
goods with no orders are fully
reserved.
|
RESULTS OF
OPERATIONS
2009 vs.
2008
Net sales
for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009 increased by approximately 9% to
$8,459,000 versus $7,792,000 during the fiscal year ended February 29, 2008, as
a result of an increase in the demand for the Company’s products due to changes
in defense spending on military programs the Company supports, as well as
increased delivery requirements by its customers.
Bookings
were greater than sales by approximately 6%; thus, the backlog increased from
$5,826,000 as of February 29, 2008 to $6,304,000 as of February 28,
2009. The Company has experienced a decrease in the level of
bookings of approximately 2% for the year ended February 28, 2009 as compared to
the previous year primarily due to changes in military spending on programs the
Company supports.
During
the year ended February 28, 2009, the Company shipped 294,919 units
as compared with 790,386 units shipped during the year ended February 29,
2008. It should be noted that since the Company manufactures a wide
variety of products with an average sales price ranging from less than one
dollar to several hundred dollars, such periodic variations in the Company’s
volume of units shipped might not be a reliable indicator of the Company’s
performance.
Cost of
sales for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009 increased to $6,338,000 from
$5,893,000 for the fiscal year ended February 29,
2008. Expressed as a percentage of sales, cost of sales
decreased from approximately 76% for the fiscal year ended February 29, 2008 to
approximately 75% for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009. This
decrease as a percentage of sales was principally as a result of lower indirect
labor and manufacturing overhead costs.
During
the year ended February 28, 2009, the Company’s gross profit was $2,121,000 (25%
margin) as compared to $1,899,000 (24% margin) for the year ended February 29,
2008. The gross profit increase was due principally to lower indirect
labor and manufacturing overhead costs.
During
the year ended February 28, 2009, selling, general and administrative based
expenses, as a percentage of sales, were approximately 14% as compared with 15%
for the year ended February 29, 2008. Selling, general and
administrative expenses increased approximately 4% to $1,191,000 for the fiscal
year ended February 28, 2009 from $1,149,000 for the fiscal year ended February
29, 2008. This increase is primarily the result of an increase in
sales wages and sales travel.
19
Operating
income for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009 was $930,000 as compared to
an operating income of $750,000 for the fiscal year ended February 29,
2008. This increase was primarily attributable to higher
sales.
Interest
income for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009 decreased to $64,000 from
$162,000 during the fiscal year ended February 29, 2008. This
decrease was attributable to lower interest rates earned on cash and cash
equivalents.
Accrued
environmental expenses for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009 increased to
$15,000 from $0 for the fiscal year ended February 29, 2008. This
increase was due to a greater amount due to USEPA under the Company’s Ability to
Pay Multi-Site Settlement Agreement with USEPA dated February 4, 2006 as
described earlier under “Business – Environmental Liabilities”.
Net
income for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009 was $969,000 as compared to
net income of $925,000 for the fiscal year ended February 29,
2008. This increase is attributable an increase in sales
and to decreases in indirect labor and manufacturing overhead
costs.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL
RESOURCES
Subject
to the following discussion, the Company expects its sole source of liquidity
over the next twelve months to be cash from operations. However, due
to the level of current backlog and level of new order intake, the Company might
operate at a loss during part of the next fiscal year. The Company
anticipates that its capital expenditures required to sustain operations will be
approximately $200,000 for the next fiscal year and will be funded from
operations.
Based
upon (i) management’s best information as to current national defense
priorities, future defense programs, as well as management’s expectations as to
future defense spending, (ii) the market trends signaling a steady level of
bookings, but with an increase in the cost of raw materials and operations that
will result in the potential erosion of profit levels and
continued price pressures due to intense competition, and (iii) the continued
competition in the defense and aerospace market, the Company believes that it
will have sufficient cash on hand to satisfy its operating needs over the next
12 months. However, due to the level of current backlog and new order
intake (due to the status of the general economy and the shift to Commercial Off
–The-Shelf (COTS) by the defense industry), the Company might operate at a loss
during part of the next fiscal year. Thus, based on these
factors and at the
current level of bookings, costs of raw materials and services, profit margins
and sales levels, the Company may not generate sufficient cash to satisfy its
operating needs and its obligations to pre-bankruptcy creditors
in accordance with the Plan. Thus, the Company
is in continuous negotiations with all claim holders to reschedule
these payments. In the event the Company is unable to restructure its
obligations to pre-bankruptcy creditors or the slowdown in the intake of new
orders continue, the Company has a contingency plan to further reduce its size
and thereby reduce its cost of operations within certain
limitations. Over the long-term, the Company believes that if the
volume and prices of product sales remain as presently anticipated, the Company
will generate sufficient cash from operations to sustain operations and pay
pre-bankruptcy creditor obligations at the current reduced
level of payments. In the event that bookings
in the long-term decline
significantly below the level experienced during the previous two fiscal years,
the Company may be required to implement cost-cutting or other downsizing
measures to continue its business operations. Such cost-cutting
measures could inhibit future growth prospects. In appropriate situations, the
Company may seek strategic alliances, joint ventures with others or acquisitions
in order to maximize marketing potential and utilization of existing resources
and provide further opportunities for growth.
The
Company is continuing to negotiate with the unsecured creditors in an attempt to
arrive at reduced payment schedules. To date, these parties have not
expressed objection to the current reduced level of
payments. However, no assurance can be made that the
Company can reach a suitable agreement with the unsecured creditors, or obtain
additional sources of capital and/or cash or that the Company can generate
sufficient cash to meet its obligations.
At
February 28, 2009 and February 29, 2008 respectively, the Company had cash and
cash equivalents of $440,000 and $75,000. The cash
increase was primarily due to positive net cash flow from
operations.
At
February 28, 2009, the Company had working capital of $6,972,000 as compared
with a working capital at February 29, 2008
of $6,016,000. The increase was due to an increase in cash
and equivalents.
20
See
“Environmental Liabilities”, “Bankruptcy Proceedings” and “Properties” in Part
I, Items 1 and 2, for more information.
OFF-BALANCE SHEET
ARRANGEMENTS
The
Company has not engaged in any off-balance sheet arrangements.
BOOKINGS AND
BACKLOG
During
the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009, the Company’s net bookings were
$8,932,000 in new orders as compared with $9,135,000 for the year ended February
29, 2008, reflecting a decrease of approximately 2%. The Company’s backlog increased to
$6,304,000 at February 28, 2009 as compared with $5,826,000 as of February 29,
2008, reflecting an 8% increase. In the event that bookings in the
long-term decline significantly below the level experienced in the period ended
February 28, 2009, the Company may be required to implement additional
cost-cutting and other downsizing measures to continue its business
operations. Such cost-cutting measures could inhibit future growth
prospects and current productivity.
See Part
I, Item 1, “Business – Marketing and Customers”.
FUTURE
PLANS
The
Company plans to obtain quality certification in accordance with quality level
AS9100 which will allow the Company to increase its sales of space-level
products to customers requiring such quality certification.
To
increase liquidity, the Company plans to (a) continue improving operating
efficiencies, (b) further reduce overhead expenses, (c) develop alternative
lower cost packaging technologies and lower cost packaging supplies, and (d)
develop products utilizing its current manufacturing technologies geared toward
market segments it is currently unable to serve.
The
Company also plans to continue its efforts in selling commercial semiconductors
and power modules and to develop appropriate strategic alliance
arrangements. If these plans are successful, the Company intends to
aggressively pursue sales of these products which could require the Company to
invest in the building up of inventories of finished goods and invest in
capital (automatic assembly and test) equipment. The
source of capital funding will be defined subsequent to such strategic
partnership being formed. Such financing could come from equipment leasing,
among other financing alternatives.
Despite
its intentions, the Company cannot assure you that these plans will be
successful in easing liquidity problems, reducing costs or improving
sales.
INFLATION
The rate
of inflation has not had a material effect on the Company’s revenues and costs
and expenses, and it is not anticipated that inflation will have a material
effect on the Company in the near future. However, sharp increases in
the cost of precious metals has had an adverse impact on the Company’s cost of
raw materials.
SEASONALITY
The
Company’s bookings of new orders and sales are largely dependent on
congressional budgeting and appropriation activities and the cycles associated
therewith. The Company has historically experienced a decreased level
of bookings during the summer months as a result of a slowdown in the level of
budgeting and appropriation activities.
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
Some of
the statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are "forward-looking
statements," as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding our
business, financial condition, results of operations, strategies or
prospects. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that these
statements do not relate strictly to historical or current matters. Rather,
forward-looking statements relate to anticipated or expected events, activities,
trends or results. Because forward-looking statements relate to matters that
have not yet occurred, these statements are inherently subject to risks and
uncertainties. Many factors could cause our actual activities or results to
differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in forward-looking
statements. These factors include those described under the caption "Risk
Factors" in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including those identified below.
We do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking
statements.
21
Some of
the factors that may impact our business, financial condition, results of
operations, strategies or prospects include:
|
·
|
Our
complex manufacturing processes may lower yields and reduce our
revenues.
|
|
·
|
Our
business could be materially and adversely affected if we are unable to
obtain qualified supplies of raw materials and parts on a timely basis and
at a cost-effective price.
|
|
·
|
We
are dependent on government contracts, which are subject to termination,
price renegotiations and regulatory compliance, which can increase the
cost of doing business and negatively impact our
revenues.
|
|
·
|
Changes
in government policy or economic conditions could negatively impact our
results.
|
|
·
|
Our
inventories may become obsolete and other assets may be subject to
risks.
|
|
·
|
Environmental
regulations could require us to incur significant
costs.
|
|
·
|
Our
business is highly competitive, and increased competition could reduce
gross profit margins and the value of an investment in our
Company.
|
|
·
|
Downturns
in the business cycle could reduce the revenues and profitability of our
business.
|
|
·
|
Our
operating results may decrease due to the decline of profitability in the
semiconductor industry.
|
|
·
|
Uncertainty
of current economic conditions, domestically and globally, could continue
to affect demand for our products and negatively impact our
business.
|
|
·
|
Cost
reduction efforts may be unsuccessful or insufficient to improve our
profitability and may adversely impact
productivity.
|
|
·
|
We
may not achieve the intended effects of our new business strategy, which
could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of
operations.
|
|
·
|
Our
inability to introduce new products could result in decreased revenues and
loss of market share to competitors; new technologies could also reduce
the demand for our products.
|
|
·
|
Loss
of, or reduction of business from, substantial clients could hurt our
business by reducing our revenues, profitability and cash
flow.
|
|
·
|
A
shortage of three-inch silicon wafers could result in lost revenues due to
an inability to build our products.
|
|
·
|
The
nature of our products exposes us to potentially significant product
liability risk.
|
|
·
|
We
depend on the recruitment and retention of qualified personnel, and our
failure to attract and retain such personnel could seriously harm our
business.
|
|
·
|
Provisions
in our charter documents and rights agreement could make it more difficult
to acquire our Company and may reduce the market price of our
stock.
|
|
·
|
Natural
disasters, like hurricanes, or occurrences of other natural disasters
whether in the United States or internationally may affect the markets in
which our common stock trades, the markets in which we operate and our
profitability.
|
|
·
|
Natural
disasters, like hurricanes, or occurrences of other natural disasters
whether in the United States or internationally may affect the
availability of raw materials which may adversely affect our
profitability.
|
|
·
|
Failure
to protect our proprietary technologies or maintain the right to use
certain technologies may negatively affect our ability to
compete.
|
|
·
|
The
price of our common stock has fluctuated widely in the past and may
fluctuate widely in the future.
|
ITEM
7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE
DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.
Not
applicable.
22
ITEM
8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND
SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.
Index to
Financial Statements
Page
|
||
Management’s
Report on Internal Control Over Financial
|
|
|
Reporting
|
24
|
|
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
25
|
|
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
26
|
|
Balance
Sheets as of February 28, 2009 and February
|
||
29,
2008
|
27
|
|
Statements
of Income
|
||
for
the years ended February 28, 2009 and February 29, 2008
|
28
|
|
Statements
of Stockholders’ Equity
|
||
for
the years ended February 28, 2009 and February 29, 2008
|
29
|
|
Statements
of Cash Flows for the years
|
||
ended
February 28, 2009 and February 29, 2008
|
30
|
|
Notes
to Financial Statements
|
|
31-43
|
23
Management’s
Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Management
of Solitron Devices, Inc. (the “Company”) is responsible for establishing and
maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is
defined in the Securities Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). Under the
supervision and with the participation of the Company’s management, including
the Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) and the Chief
Financial Officer (principal financial officer), the Company’s management
conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of its internal control over
financial reporting as of February 28, 2009 as required by the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 Rule 13a-15(c). In making this assessment, the
Company’s management used the criteria set forth in the framework in “Internal
Control – Integrated framework” issued by the Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on the evaluation
conducted under the framework in “Internal Control – Integrated Framework,” the
Company’s management concluded that the Company’s internal control over
financial reporting was effective as of February 28, 2009.
This
annual report does not include an attestation report of the Company’s registered
public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial
reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by the
Company’s registered public accounting firm pursuant to temporary rules of the
SEC that permit the Company to provide only management’s report in this Annual
Report on Form 10-K.
Solitron
Devices, Inc.
May 22,
2009
24
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT
REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the
Board of Directors and
Stockholders
of Solitron Devices, Inc.
We have
audited the accompanying balance sheet of SOLITRON DEVICES, INC. as of February
28, 2009 and the related statements of income, changes in stockholders’ equity,
and cash flows for the year ended February 28, 2009. Solitron Devices,
Inc.’s management is responsible for these financial statements. Our
responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on
our audit.
We
conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require
that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether
the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The
company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its
internal control over financial reporting. Our audit included
consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for
designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not
for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the company’s
internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no
such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis,
evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial
statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates
made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement
presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis
for our opinion.
In our
opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all
material respects, the financial position of Solitron Devices, Inc. as of
February 28, 2009, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the
year ended February 28, 2009 in conformity with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States of America.
Friedman,
Cohen, Taubman & Company LLC
Plantation,
Florida
May 15,
2009
25
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT
REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the
Board of Directors and
Stockholders
of Solitron Devices, Inc.
We have
audited the accompanying balance sheet of SOLITRON DEVICES, INC. as of February
29, 2008 and the related statements of income, stockholders’ equity and cash
flows for the year ended February 29, 2008. Solitron Devices, Inc.’s management
is responsible for these financial statements. Our responsibility is
to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our
audits.
We
conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require
that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether
the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The
company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its
internal control over financial reporting. Our audit included
consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for
designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not
for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the company’s
internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no
such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis,
evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements,
assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by
management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement
presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis
for our opinion.
In our
opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all
material respects, the financial position of Solitron Devices, Inc. as of
February 29, 2008 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the
year ended February 29, 2008 in conformity with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States of America.
DeLeon
& Company, P.A.
Pembroke
Pines, Florida
May 23,
2008
26
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
BALANCE
SHEETS
AS OF
FEBRUARY 28, 2009 AND FEBRUARY 29, 2008
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
(in
thousands, except for share and per
share
amounts)
|
||||||||
ASSETS
|
||||||||
CURRENT
ASSETS:
|
||||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
$ | 440 | $ | 75 | ||||
Treasury
bills
|
5,113 | 4,410 | ||||||
Accounts
receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts of $7
|
871 | 1,026 | ||||||
Inventories,
net
|
2,569 | 2,985 | ||||||
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
139 | 104 | ||||||
TOTAL
CURRENT ASSETS
|
9,132 | 8,600 | ||||||
PROPERTY,
PLANT AND EQUIPMENT, net
|
581 | 562 | ||||||
OTHER
ASSETS
|
52 | 245 | ||||||
TOTAL
ASSETS
|
$ | 9,765 | $ | 9,407 | ||||
LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
|
||||||||
CURRENT
LIABILITIES:
|
||||||||
Accounts
payable-Post-petition
|
$ | 443 | $ | 529 | ||||
Accounts
payable-Pre-petition, current portion
|
1,086 | 1,114 | ||||||
Customer
deposits
|
61 | 387 | ||||||
Accrued
expenses and other current liabilities
|
570 | 554 | ||||||
TOTAL
CURRENT LIABILITIES
|
2,160 | 2,584 | ||||||
LONG-TERM
LIABILITIES, net of current portion
|
158 | 345 | ||||||
TOTAL
LIABILITIES
|
2,318 | 2,929 | ||||||
COMMITMENTS
& CONTINGENCIES
|
||||||||
STOCKHOLDERS’
EQUITY
|
||||||||
Preferred
stock, $.01 par value, authorized 500,000 shares, none
issued
|
- | - | ||||||
Common
stock, $.01 par value, authorized 10,000,000 shares,
|
||||||||
2,263,775
shares issued and outstanding, net of 173,287 shares of treasury
stock
|
23 | 23 | ||||||
Additional
paid-in capital
|
2,733 | 2,733 | ||||||
Retained
Earnings
|
4,691 | 3,722 | ||||||
TOTAL
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
7,447 | 6,478 | ||||||
TOTAL
LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
$ | 9,765 | $ | 9,407 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial
statements.
27
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
STATEMENTS
OF INCOME
YEARS
ENDED FEBRUARY 28, 2009 AND FEBRUARY 29, 2008
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
(in
thousands, except for share and per
share
amounts)
|
||||||||
Net
sales
|
$ | 8,459 | $ | 7,792 | ||||
Cost
of sales
|
6,338 | 5,893 | ||||||
Gross
profit
|
2,121 | 1,899 | ||||||
Selling,
general and administrative expenses
|
1,191 | 1,149 | ||||||
Operating
income
|
930 | 750 | ||||||
Other
income (expenses):
|
||||||||
Environmental
expenses
|
(15 | ) | - | |||||
Interest
income
|
64 | 162 | ||||||
Other,
net
|
12 | 16 | ||||||
Income
before income taxes
|
$ | 991 | $ | 928 | ||||
Provision
for income taxes
|
22 | 3 | ||||||
Net
Income
|
$ | 969 | $ | 925 | ||||
Income
per share from continuing operations-Basic
|
$ | 0.41 | $ | 0.33 | ||||
Income
per share from continuing operations-Diluted
|
$ | 0.38 | $ | 0.31 | ||||
Net
Income per share-Basic
|
$ | 0.43 | $ | 0.41 | ||||
Net
Income per share-Diluted
|
$ | 0.39 | $ | 0.38 | ||||
Weighted
Average shares outstanding-Basic
|
2,263,253 | 2,263,043 | ||||||
Weighted
Average shares outstanding-Diluted
|
2,454,155 | 2,451,928 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial
statements.
28
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
STATEMENTS
OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
YEARS
ENDED FEBRUARY 28, 2009 AND FEBRUARY 29, 2008
Common Stock
|
Additional
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Number
of
|
Paid-in
|
Retained
|
||||||||||||||||||
Shares
|
Amount
|
Capital
|
Earnings
|
Total
|
||||||||||||||||
(in
thousands, except for number of shares)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
February 28, 2007
|
2,263,048 | 23 | 2,733 | 2,797 | 5,553 | |||||||||||||||
Fractional
shares paid Cash-in-Lieu
|
(11 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Net
Income
|
- | - | - | 925 | 925 | |||||||||||||||
Balance,
February 29, 2008
|
2,263,037 | 23 | 2,733 | 3,722 | 6,478 | |||||||||||||||
Fractional
shares certificated
|
738 | |||||||||||||||||||
Net
Income
|
- | - | - | 969 | 969 | |||||||||||||||
Balance,
February 28, 2009
|
2,263,775 | $ | 23 | $ | 2,733 | $ | 4,691 | $ | 7,447 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial
statements.
29
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
STATEMENTS
OF CASH FLOWS
YEARS
ENDED FEBRUARY 28, 2009 AND FEBRUARY 29, 2008
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
(in
thousands)
|
||||||||
CASH
FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
|
||||||||
Net
income
|
$ | 969 | $ | 925 | ||||
Adjustments
to reconcile net income to net cash
|
||||||||
provided
by operating activities:
|
||||||||
Depreciation
and amortization
|
202 | 179 | ||||||
Changes
in operating assets and liabilities:
|
||||||||
(Increase)
decrease in:
|
||||||||
Accounts
receivable
|
155 | (384 | ) | |||||
Inventories
|
416 | (303 | ) | |||||
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
(35 | ) | 24 | |||||
Other
assets
|
193 | (192 | ) | |||||
Increase
(decrease) in:
|
||||||||
Accounts
payable-post-petition
|
(86 | ) | 289 | |||||
Accounts
payable-pre-petition
|
(28 | ) | (28 | ) | ||||
Customer
deposit
|
(326 | ) | 387 | |||||
Accrued
expenses and Other liabilities
|
16 | 124 | ||||||
Other
long-term liabilities
|
(187 | ) | 177 | |||||
Total
adjustments
|
320 | 273 | ||||||
NET
CASH PROVIDED BY OPERATING ACTIVITIES
|
1,289 | 1,198 | ||||||
CASH
FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES;
|
||||||||
Investment
in treasury bills
|
(703 | ) | (1,034 | ) | ||||
Purchases
of property, plant and equipment
|
(221 | ) | (252 | ) | ||||
NET
CASH (USED IN) INVESTING ACTIVITIES
|
(924 | ) | (1,286 | ) | ||||
CASH
FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES;
|
||||||||
Proceeds
from conversion of stock options
|
- | - | ||||||
NET
CASH PROVIDED BY FINANCING ACTIVITIES
|
- | - | ||||||
NET
INCREASE/(DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
|
365 | (88 | ) | |||||
CASH
AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT THE BEGINNING OF YEAR
|
75 | 163 | ||||||
CASH
AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT END OF YEAR
|
$ | 440 | $ | 75 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial
statements.
30
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
NOTES TO
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1.
Summary of Operations and Significant Accounting Policies
Nature of Operations and
Activities
Solitron
Devices, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company” or “Solitron”), designs,
develops, manufactures and markets solid-state semiconductor components and
related devices primarily for the military and aerospace markets. The
Company was incorporated under the laws of the State of New York in 1959, and
reincorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware in August
1987.
Change of
Entity
During
the fiscal year ended February 28, 2008 the Company dissolved its subsidiaries,
all of which were inactive, by board resolution and the Company dropped the
titles “Consolidated” and “And Subsidiaries” from its
financial statements.
Cash and Cash
Equivalents
Cash and
cash equivalents include demand deposits and money market accounts.
Investment in Treasury
Bills
During
the first quarter of fiscal year 2008, the Company’s management decided to
reclassify its investment in treasury bills from cash and cash equivalents and
report it separately as “Investment in Treasury Bills”. Investment in Treasury
Bills includes treasury bills with maturities of one year or less and is stated
at market value. The corresponding amount of cash and cash
equivalents shown on the prior period balance sheet and statement of cash flows
has been reclassified to reflect this change in accounting
principle.
Accounts
Receivable
The
Company extends unsecured credit to its customers in the ordinary course of
business but mitigates the associated credit risk by performing credit checks
and actively pursuing past due accounts. An allowance for doubtful
accounts has been established. The allowance amount was $7,000 as of
February 28, 2009 and February 29, 2008.
Shipping and
Handling
Shipping
and handling costs billed to customers are recorded in net
sales. Shipping costs incurred by the Company are recorded in cost of
sales.
Inventories
Inventories
are stated at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined using
the “first-in, first-out” (FIFO) method. The Company buys raw
material only to fill customer orders. Excess raw material is created
only when a vendor imposes a minimum buy in excess of actual
requirements. Such excess material will usually be utilized to meet
the requirements of the customer’s subsequent orders. If excess
material is not utilized after two fiscal years it is fully
reserved. Any inventory item once designated as reserved is carried
at zero value in all subsequent valuation activities.
The
Company’s inventory valuation policy is as follows:
Raw material /Work in process:
|
All
material purchased, processed and/or used in the last two fiscal years is
valued at the lower of its acquisition cost or market. All
material not purchased/used in the last two fiscal years is fully reserved
for.
|
Finished
goods:
|
All
finished goods with firm orders for later delivery are valued (material
and overhead) at the lower or cost or market. All finished
goods with no orders are fully
reserved.
|
Direct
labor costs:
|
Direct
labor costs are allocated to finished goods and work in process inventory
based on engineering estimates of the amount of man hours required from
the different direct labor departments to bring each device to its
particular level of completion.
|
31
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
NOTES TO
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
In
November 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Financial
Accounting Standards No. 151 (“SFAS 151“) “Inventory Costs
an amendment of ARB No. 43, Chapter 4”. This statement became effective
for fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2005. ARB No. 43, Chapter 4 required
that under some circumstances items such as idle facility expense, excessive
spoilage, double freight, and handling costs may be so abnormal as to require
treatment as current period charges. SFAS 151 requires that these items be
recognized as current-period charges regardless of whether they meet the
criterion of “so abnormal”. The Company adopted SFAS 151 on March 1,
2006. The adoption of SFAS 151 does not have a material effect on the
Company.
Property, Plant and
Equipment
Property,
plant, and equipment are stated at cost. Major renewals and
improvements are capitalized, while maintenance and repairs are expensed as
incurred. Depreciation is provided on a straight-line basis over the
estimated useful lives of the related assets.
Concentrations of Credit
Risk
Financial
instruments, which potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit
risk, consist principally of cash and trade receivables. The Company
places its cash with high credit quality institutions. At times such
amounts may be in excess of the FDIC insurance limits. The Company
has not experienced any losses in such account and believes that it is not
exposed to any significant credit risk on the account. As of February
28, 2009, $190,000 of the Company’s cash reserves were subject to this
risk. With respect to the trade receivables, most of the Company’s
products are custom made pursuant to contracts with customers whose end products
are sold to the United States Government. The Company performs
ongoing credit evaluations of its customers’ financial condition and maintains
allowances for potential credit losses. Actual losses and allowances
have historically been within management’s expectations.
Revenue
Recognition
We
recognize revenue in accordance with SEC Staff Accounting
Bulletin No. 104, Revenue Recognition. This
pronouncement requires that four basic criteria be met before revenue can be
recognized: 1) there is evidence that an arrangement exists;
2) delivery has occurred; 3) the fee is fixed or determinable; and
4) collectibility is reasonably assured. We recognize revenue upon
determination that all criteria for revenue recognition have been met The
criteria are usually met at the time of product shipment. Shipping terms are
generally FCA (Free Carrier) shipping point.
Income
Taxes
Income
taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method of Statement of
Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 109, “Accounting for Income
Taxes”. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the
future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial
statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their
respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit
carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using
enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which
those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or
settled. Under SFAS 109, the effect on deferred tax assets and
liabilities or a change in tax rate is recognized in income in the period that
includes the enactment date. Deferred tax assets are reduced to
estimated amounts to be realized by the use of a valuation
allowance.
Net Income Per Common
Share
Net
income per common share is presented in accordance with SFAS No. 128 “Earnings
per Share.” Basic earnings per common share is computed using the
weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the
period. Diluted earnings per common share incorporate the incremental
shares issuable upon the assumed exercise of stock options to the extent they
are not anti-dilutive using the treasury stock method.
Stock Based
Compensation
In
December 2002, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued SFAS No.
148, “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation-Transition and Disclosure, and
amendment of FASB Statement No. 123”. This statement amends SFAS No.
123, to provide alternative methods of transition for a voluntary change to the
fair value based method of
accounting for stock-based employee compensation. This statement also
amends the disclosure requirements of SFAS No. 123 to require prominent
disclosures in both annual and interim financial statements about the method of
accounting for stock-based employee compensation and the effect of the method
used on reported results. The Company has prepared its annual and
interim financial statements for the fiscal years ended February 28, 2009 and
February 29, 2008 in accordance with SFAS No. 148.
32
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
NOTES TO
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
During
the fiscal years ended February 28, 2009 and February 29, 2008, the Company did
not issue any stock-based compensation to its employees.
Financial
Statement Estimates
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates
and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and
disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial
statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the
reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates,
and the differences could be material. Such estimates include
depreciable life, valuation allowance, and allowance for inventory
obsolescence.
Recent Accounting
Pronouncements
No recent
accounting pronouncements that affect the Company were issued.
2. Liquidity
and Petition in Bankruptcy
Liquidity
The
Company has significant obligations arising from settlements in connection with
its bankruptcy necessitating it to make substantial cash payments that cannot be
supported by the current level of operations. However, the Company
has projected that it will be able to generate sufficient funds to support its
ongoing operations. The Company must be able to obtain forbearance or
be able to renegotiate its bankruptcy related required payments to unsecured
creditors, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (“FDEP”), or raise
sufficient cash in order to pay these obligations as currently due, in order to
remain a going concern. The Company continues to negotiate with
its unsecured creditors and FDEP in an attempt to arrive at reduced payment
schedules. To date, these parties have not expressed objection to the
reduced level of payments. However, no assurance can be made that the
Company can reach a suitable agreement with the unsecured creditors or taxing
authorities or obtain additional sources of capital and/or cash or that the
Company can generate sufficient cash to meet its
obligations. The Company has a contingency plan to reduce
its size and thereby reduce its cost of operations within certain
limitations. The financial statements do not include any adjustments
to reflect the possible future effect on the recoverability and classification
of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that may result from
the possible uncertainties described above.
Petition in
Bankruptcy
On
January 24, 1992, the Company filed voluntary petitions under the Federal
Bankruptcy Code. The Company was authorized to continue in the
management and control of its business and property as debtor-in-possession
under the Bankruptcy Code.
On August
20, 1993 the Company’s Plan of Reorganization, as amended and modified (the
“Plan”), was confirmed by the Bankruptcy Court and the Company emerged from
bankruptcy on August 30, 1993. On July 12, 1996 the Bankruptcy Court
officially closed the case.
(a) Pursuant
to the Plan of Reorganization, the Company was required to make quarterly
payments to holders of unsecured claims until they receive 35% of their
pre-petition claims over a period of ten years beginning in approximately May
1995. However, due to negotiations between the parties, the unsecured
creditors agreed to a reduced payment schedule and the Company agreed to make
payments until its obligations are fulfilled. At February 28, 2009,
the Company is currently scheduled to pay approximately $1,086,000 to holders of
allowed unsecured claims in quarterly installments of approximately
$62,000. As of February 28, 2009, the amount due to holders of
allowed unsecured claims is accrued as a current pre-petition
liability.
33
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
NOTES TO
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(b) Beginning
on the later of (i) the payment of all administrative claims and all unsecured
claims, but not later than 18 months after the Effective Date (August 30, 1993)
and (ii) the date the Company's net after tax income exceeds $500,000, the
Company will pay (on an annual basis) each of (x) the holders of unsecured
claims (pro rata) and (y) Vector Trading and Holding Corporation (“Vector”), 5%
of its net after tax income in excess of $500,000 until the tenth anniversary of
the Effective Date, up to a maximum aggregate of $1,500,000 of such payments to
the holders of unsecured claims (pro rata) and up to a maximum aggregate of
$1,500,000 of such payments to Vector. This obligation expired as of
August 2005.
(c) Under
the Plan, the Company is required to remediate its former non-operating facility
located in Port Salerno and its former facility located in Riviera Beach,
Florida. The Plan contemplated that monies to fund the remediation
will be made available from the proceeds of the sale or lease of the properties,
to the extent that the Company is successful in its efforts to sell or lease
such properties. The Riviera Beach Property was sold on October
12, 1999 by the Company. Under the terms of the sale, USEPA received
the net proceeds of $419,000. USEPA also received approximately
$19,000 from the Riviera Beach environmental escrowed monies to defray its
cleanup costs. The Port Salerno (formerly occupied by Solitron
Microwave) property was sold on March 17, 2003. Under the terms of
the sale, USEPA received $153,155 and Martin County received on behalf of FDEP
$278,148 (the net proceeds). Further, pursuant to the Plan, a
purchaser of this facility would not be liable for existing environmental
problems under certain conditions. In connection with facilitating
the remediation of the property, the Company will also, to the extent
the proceeds from the sale or lease of these properties are not
sufficient to pay for the remediation, be required to escrow the following
amounts on a monthly basis beginning on September 30, 1995: (i) year
1 - $5,000 per month; (ii) year 2 - $7,500 per month; (iii) year 3 -
$10,000 per month; and (iv) $10,000 per month thereafter until remediation is
completed. The Company has notified FDEP of its inability to pay
pursuant to this schedule and is making payments at the rate of $1,000 per
month. As of February 28, 2009, the Company has deposited $90,000
into the escrow accounts. As of February 28, 2009, approximately
$58,000 remains in the Port Salerno escrow account.
(d) The
Company has paid all of the allowed administrative claims and allowed wage
claims since August 1993.
The Plan
provided for the distribution of common stock of the Company such that,
post-petition, the Company's common stock would be held as follows:
Party-In-Interest
|
Common Stock
|
|||
Vector
|
25 | % | ||
Unsecured
Creditors
|
40 | % | ||
Company's
President
|
10 | % | ||
Pre-Petition
Stockholders
|
20 | % | ||
Reserved
for future issuance under an employee stock incentive plan to be issued
based upon the terms and conditions of the plan at the discretion of the
Board of Directors
|
5 | % | ||
100 | % |
On
October 4, 1994, the Company and Vector agreed that Vector’s 25% stock ownership
would be distributed among various parties. Vector participants
were: Vector principal (Howard White) who received 273,943 shares
(subsequently sold to Inversiones Globales); AHI Drillings, Inc. who received
77,037 shares; Cointrol Credit Co. II who received 20,095 shares; Service
Finance who received 77,037 shares; Trans Resources who received 77,037 shares;
and Martin Associates who received 22,848 shares. Based
solely on the Company’s knowledge (and not from any filings which may have to be
made with the SEC), and as the result of an out of court agreement made
subsequent to a lawsuit filed against Vector by John Stayduhar, a previous
Chairman/CEO of the Company, shares held by Inversiones Globales (174,000), by
AHI Drillings, Inc. (77,037), by Service Finance (77,037), by Trans Resources
(77,037), and by Martin Associates (22,737) were transferred to Mr.
Stayduhar. This gave Mr. Stayduhar approximately 20.61% of the shares
of the Company.
34
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
NOTES TO
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
3.
Earnings Per Share
The
shares used in the computation of the Company’s basic and diluted earnings per
common share were as follows:
Fiscal
Year Ended
|
||||||||
February
28/29,
|
||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Weighted
average common shares outstanding
|
2,263,253 | 2,263,043 | ||||||
Dilutive
effect of employee stock options
|
190,902 | 188,885 | ||||||
Weighted
average common shares outstanding, assuming dilution
|
2,454,155 | 2,451,928 |
Weighted
average common shares outstanding, assuming dilution, include the incremental
shares that would be issued upon the assumed exercise of stock
options. For fiscal years 2009 and 2008, 13,800 of the Company’s
outstanding stock options were excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings
per share because the exercise prices of the stock options were greater than or
equal to the average price of the common shares, and therefore their inclusion
would have been anti-dilutive. These options could be dilutive in the
future if the average share price increases and is greater than the exercise
price of these options.
4.
Inventories
As of
February 28, 2009, inventories consist of the following:
Gross
|
Reserve
|
Net
|
||||||||||
Raw
Materials
|
$ | 1,462,000 | $ | (319,000 | ) | $ | 1,143,000 | |||||
Work-In-Process
|
1,963,000 | (614,000 | ) | 1,349,000 | ||||||||
Finished
Goods
|
509,000 | (432,000 | ) | 77,000 | ||||||||
Totals
|
$ | 3,934,000 | $ | (1,365,000 | ) | $ | 2,569,000 |
5. Property, Plant and
Equipment
As of
February 28, 2009, property, plant, and equipment consist of the
following:
Estimated
|
|||||
Useful Life
|
|||||
Leasehold
Improvements
|
$ | 197,000 |
4-11
years
|
||
Machinery
and Equipment
|
1,983,000 |
5
years
|
|||
2,180,000 | |||||
Less
Accumulated Depreciation And Amortization
|
1,599,000 | ||||
$ | 581,000 |
Depreciation
and amortization expense was $202,000 and $179,000 for 2009 and 2008
respectively, and is included in Cost of Sales in the accompanying Statements of
Income.
35
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
NOTES TO
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
6.
Accrued Expenses
As of
February 28, 2009 accrued expenses and other current liabilities consist of the
following:
Payroll
and related employee benefits
|
$ | 522,000 | ||
Income
taxes
|
16,000 | |||
Property
taxes
|
7,000 | |||
Environmental
liabilities
|
15,000 | |||
Other
liabilities
|
10,000 | |||
$ | 570,000 |
7.
Long-Term Liabilities
As of
February 28, 2009, long-term liabilities consist of the following
items:
Environmental
liability
|
$ | 158,000 |
Environmental
liability has an estimated payout period of seven years at a discounted interest
rate of 8.25%. Environmental liability is shown net of $54,000 of
deferred interest.
Contractual
or estimated payment requirements on other long-term liabilities excluding
amounts representing interest during the next five years and thereafter are as
follows. It is reasonably possible that the estimates could change in the near
term:
Fiscal Year Ending February 28/29
|
Amount
|
|||
2010
|
$ | 27,000 | ||
2011
|
27,000 | |||
2012
|
27,000 | |||
2013
|
27,000 | |||
2014
|
27,000 | |||
Thereafter
|
23,000 | |||
Total
|
$ | 158,000 |
Imputed
interest expense for fiscal years ended February 28, 2009 and February 29, 2008
amounted to $0 relating to accounts payable -
pre-petition. Such pre-petition payables were scheduled to be
paid by May 2005 at the end of ten years based on the payment schedules set by
the court and carried imputed interest to that date. The Company was
not able to meet the payment plan and agreed to a lower amount after negotiating
with the creditor committees. As a result of such
agreement, the amounts due to pre-petition creditors has been classified as a
current liability and no further imputed interest has been
calculated.
8. Income
Taxes
At
February 28, 2009, the Company has net operating loss carryforwards of
approximately $8,680,000 that expire through 2022. Such net operating
losses are available to offset future taxable income, if any. As the
utilization of such net operating losses for tax purposes is not assured, the
deferred tax asset has been mostly reserved through the recording of a 100%
valuation allowance. Should a cumulative change in the ownership of
more than 50% occur within a three-year period, there could be an annual
limitation on the use of the net operating loss carryforward.
36
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
NOTES TO
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Total net
deferred taxes are comprised of the following at February 28, 2009:
Deferred
tax assets:
|
||||
Loss
carryforwards
|
$ | 3,266,000 | ||
Allowance
for doubtful accounts
|
2,900 | |||
Inventory
allowance
|
3,544,400 | |||
Depreciation
|
80,000 | |||
Section
263A capitalized costs
|
342,000 | |||
Total
deferred tax assets
|
7,236,000 | |||
Valuation
allowance
|
(7,236,000 | ) | ||
Total
net deferred taxes
|
$ | 0 |
The
change in the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets is due principally to
the utilization of the net operating loss for the year ending February 28,
2009.
A
reconciliation of the U.S. federal statutory tax rate to the Company’s effective
tax rate for fiscal year ended February 28, 2009 is as
follows:
U.S.
federal statutory rate
|
34.0 | % | ||
Change
in valuation allowance
|
(34.0 | ) | ||
Alternative
Minimum Taxes
|
0.3 | |||
Effective
income tax rate
|
0.3 | % |
9. Stock
Options
The
Company’s 2000 Stock Option Plan provides that stock options are valid for ten
years and vest twelve months after the award date unless otherwise stated in the
option awards.
On
January 23, 2006 the Board of Directors granted stock options to certain key
employees and directors. The options, which become vested on January 23, 2007,
were for a total of 14,700 shares and the exercise price was fixed at $3.95 per
share, which was the price on the OTCBB at the time of the grant. The options
are exercisable through January 23, 2016.
On May
16, 2005 the Board of Directors granted stock options to certain key employees
and directors. The options, which became vested on May 15, 2006, were for a
total of 47,000 shares and the exercise price was fixed at $0.75 per share,
which was the price on the OTCBB at the time of the grant. The options are
exercisable through May 15, 2015.
On May
17, 2004 the Board of Directors granted stock options to certain key employees
and directors. The options, which became vested on May 16, 2005, were for a
total number of 47,500 shares and the exercise price was fixed at 1.05 per
share, which was the price on the OTCBB at the time of the grant. The options
are exercisable through May 16, 2014.
37
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
NOTES TO
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
On May
17, 2004 the Board of Directors awarded the Company’s President options totaling
175,636 shares, which are fully vested. The exercise price of these
options was fixed at $1.05 per share (the closing price on the OTCBB at the time
of the grant).
In
December 2000 a grant equal to 10% of the outstanding shares (245,624) was made
to the Company’s President at the exercisable price of $0.40 per share (the
closing stock price on the date of the grant). Fifty percent (50%) of
the total number of shares is immediately exercisable and the other 50% vests in
five equal installments over the following five years. All of these
options are now fully vested.
The
Company’s 2007 Stock Incentive Plan allows the Company to grant common stock,
options, restricted stock, and stock appreciation rights to eligible
individuals. As of February 28, 2009, the Company had not granted any
awards under the 2007 Stock Incentive Plan.
Below is
a summary of the Company’s Stock Option Activity:
Options
Outstanding
|
Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price
|
Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term
|
Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
|
|||||||||||||
Balance,
February 28, 2007
|
467,660 | $ | 0.771 | |||||||||||||
Expired
or Cancelled
|
(600 | ) | $ | 3.950 | ||||||||||||
Balance,
February 29, 2008
|
467,060 | $ | 0.767 | 6.5 | 880,000 | |||||||||||
Balance,
February 28, 2009
|
467,060 | $ | 0.767 | 5.5 | 412,000 |
No
options were granted or exercised in the years ended February 28, 2009 and
February 29, 2008.
All of
the Company’s outstanding options were vested as of February 28,
2009. No shares vested during the years ended February 28, 2009 and
February 29, 2008.
The
following table summarizes information about stock options outstanding and
exercisable at February 28, 2009:
Options Outstanding
|
Exercisable Options
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Range
of
Exercise Prices
|
Number
of
Outstanding
Options
|
Remaining
Contractual
Life
|
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
|
Number
|
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
|
|||||||||||||||||
$ |
0.400
|
$ | 0.400 | 254,624 |
2
years
|
$ | 0.400 | 254,624 | $ | 0.400 | ||||||||||||
$ |
1.050
|
$ | 1.050 | 176,636 |
6
years
|
$ | 1.050 | 176,636 | $ | 1.050 | ||||||||||||
$ |
0.750
|
$ | 0.750 | 22,000 |
7
years
|
$ | 0.750 | 22,000 | $ | 0.750 | ||||||||||||
$ |
3.950
|
$ | 3.950 | 13,800 |
7
years
|
$ | 3.950 | 13,800 | $ | 3.950 | ||||||||||||
467,060 | $ | 0.767 | 467,060 | $ | 0.767 |
All
options with a remaining contractual life outstanding are fully
vested.
38
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
NOTES TO
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
10. Employee
Benefit Plans
The
Company has a 401k and Profit Sharing Plan (the "Profit Sharing Plan") in which
substantially all employees may participate after three months of
service. Contributions to the Profit Sharing Plan by participants are
voluntary. The Company may match participant's contributions up to 25% of 4% of
each participant's annual compensation. In addition, the Company may
make additional contributions at its discretion. The Company did not
contribute to the Profit Sharing Plan during the fiscal years ended February 28,
2009 and February 29, 2008.
11.
Export Sales and Major Customers
Revenues
from domestic and export sales to unaffiliated customers for the year ended
February 28, 2009 are as follows:
Power
|
Field
Effect
|
Power
|
||||||||||||||||||
Geographic Region
|
Transistors
|
Hybrids
|
Transistors
|
MOSFETS
|
Totals
|
|||||||||||||||
Europe
and Australia
|
$ | 76,000 | $ | 914,000 | $ | 42,000 | $ | 0 | $ | 1,032,000 | ||||||||||
Canada
and Latin America
|
26,000 | 0 | 10,000 | 22,000 | 58,000 | |||||||||||||||
Far
East and Middle East
|
20,000 | 0 | 3,000 | 66,000 | 89,000 | |||||||||||||||
United
States
|
1,039,000 | 4,094,000 | 618,000 | 1,529,000 | 7,280,000 | |||||||||||||||
Totals
|
$ | 1,161,000 | $ | 5,008,000 | $ | 673,000 | $ | 1,617,000 | $ | 8,459,000 |
Revenues
from domestic and export sales to unaffiliated customers for the year ended
February 29, 2008 are as follows:
Power
|
Field
Effect
|
Power
|
||||||||||||||||||
Geographic Region
|
Transistors
|
Hybrids
|
Transistors
|
MOSFETS
|
Totals
|
|||||||||||||||
Europe
and Australia
|
$ | 16,000 | $ | 584,000 | $ | 96,000 | $ | 10,000 | $ | 706,000 | ||||||||||
Canada
and Latin America
|
40,000 | 0 | 0 | 32,000 | 72,000 | |||||||||||||||
Far
East and Middle East
|
81,000 | 0 | 2,000 | 71,000 | 154,000 | |||||||||||||||
United
States
|
1,032,000 | 3,935,000 | 759,000 | 1,134,000 | 6,860,000 | |||||||||||||||
Totals
|
$ | 1,169,000 | $ | 4,519,000 | $ | 857,000 | $ | 1,247,000 | $ | 7,792,000 |
Revenues
from domestic and export sales are attributed to global geographic region
according to the location of the customer’s primary manufacturing or operating
facilities.
Sales to
the Company's top two customers accounted for 46% of net sales for the year
ended February 28, 2009 as compared with 42% of the Company's net sales for
the year ended February 29, 2008. Sales to Raytheon Company accounted
for approximately 35% of net sales for the year ended February 28, 2009 and 34%
for the year ended February 29, 2008. Sales to BAE Systems Australia
accounted for approximately 11% of net sales for the year ended February 28,
2009 and 8% for the year ended February 29, 2008.
12. Major
Suppliers
For the
year ended February 28, 2009, purchases from the Company’s two top suppliers,
Platronics Seals and Egide USA Inc., accounted for 19% of the Company's
total purchases of production materials. For the year ended February 29,
2008, purchases from the Company’s two top suppliers, CPS Technologies
Corporation and Egide USA Inc., accounted for 18% of total purchases of
production materials.
39
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
NOTES TO
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
13.
Commitments and Contingencies
Employment
Agreement
In
December 2000, the Company entered into a five-year employment agreement with
its President. This agreement provides, among other things, for
annual compensation of $240,000 and a bonus pursuant to a
formula. The agreement stipulates that the President shall be
entitled to a bonus equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the Company’s pre-tax
income in excess of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars
($250,000). For purposes of the agreement, “pre –tax income” shall
mean net income before taxes, excluding (i) all extraordinary gains or losses,
(ii) gains resulting from debt forgiven associated with the buyout of unsecured
creditors, and (iii) any bonuses paid to employees. The bonus payable
hereunder shall be paid within ninety (90) days after the end of the fiscal
year. The President of the Company voluntarily took a 30% reduction
in compensation at the time that salary reductions, ranging from 6% to 12%, went
into effect for all of the employees of the Company during fiscal year
2002. As of June 2, 2003, 66% of the reduction in salary was
restored. As of January 1, 2004, the President’s salary was restored
to 94% of the contracted value. As of January 30, 2005, the
President’s salary was restored to 100% of the contracted value. This level
remains in effect at February 28, 2009.
The
Company accrued $130,883 as a bonus to Mr. Saraf for the fiscal year ended
February 28, 2009. The Compensation Committee will meet on May 18,
2009 to approve the bonus to be paid during June 2009.
The
Company accrued $121,430 as a bonus to Mr. Saraf for the fiscal year ended
February 29, 2008. The Compensation Committee met and approved the
bonus paid June 2008.
The
President’s employment agreement stipulates, in Article 2.2, “Option to Extend”,
that the contract is automatically extended for one year periods unless a notice
is given by either party one year prior to the yearly anniversary.
Upon
execution of the agreement, the President received a grant of options to
purchase ten percent (10%) of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common
stock, par value $.01 calculated on a fully diluted basis, at an exercise price
per share equal to the closing asking price of the Company’s common stock on the
OTCBB on the date of the grant ($0.40). Fifty percent (50%) of the
Initial Stock Options granted were vested immediately upon grant. The
remaining fifty percent (50%) of the Initial Stock Options vested in equal
amounts on each of the first five anniversaries of the date of
grant. These options were fully vested during the year ended February
28, 2006.
These
stock options were in addition to, and not in lieu of or in substitution for,
the stock options (the “1992 Stock Options”) granted to the President pursuant
to the Incentive Stock Option Plan Agreement dated October 20, 1992 under
Solitron Devices, Inc. 1987 Stock Option Plan between the Company and the
President.
Environmental
Compliance:
The
Company entered into an Ability to Pay Multi-Site Settlement Agreement with the
United States Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”), effective February 24,
2006 (“Settlement Agreement”), to resolve the Company’s alleged liability to
USEPA at the following sites: Solitron Microwave Superfund Site, Port
Salerno, Florida (“Port Salerno Site”); Petroleum Products Corporation Superfund
Site, Pembroke Park, Florida; Casmalia Resources Superfund Site, Santa Barbara,
California “(Casmalia Site”); Solitron Devices Site, Riviera Beach, Florida (the
“Riviera Beach Site”); and City Industries Superfund Site, Orlando, Florida
(collectively, the “Sites”). The Settlement Agreement required the
Company to pay to USEPA the sum of $74,000 by February 24, 2008; the Company
paid the entire sum of $74,000 to USEPA on February 27, 2006. In
addition, the Company is required to pay to USEPA the sum of $10,000 or 5% of
Solitron’s net after-tax income over the first $500,000, if any, whichever is
greater, for each year from fiscal years 2009-2013. For payment to
USEPA to be above $10,000 for any of these five years, the Company’s net income
must exceed $700,000 for such year, which has happened in fiscal year 2001,
fiscal year 2006, fiscal year 2008, and the current fiscal
year. . In February 2009 the Company paid $10,000 to USEPA
for fiscal year 2009 based on preliminary net income projections and has accrued
an additional $15,000 current liability for fiscal year 2009. The
final amount will be paid to USEPA June 2009. This amount is carried as an
environmental expense. The Company has accrued $40,000
for its remaining minimum obligations under the Settlement Agreement which is
reflected in “Accrued expenses and other current liabilities” on the Company’s
Balance Sheets at February 28, 2009.
40
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
NOTES TO
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
In
consideration of the payments made by the Company under the Settlement
Agreement, USEPA agreed not to sue or take any administrative action against the
Company with regard to any of the Sites. The Company has also been
notified by a group of alleged responsible parties formed at the Casmalia Site
(“Casmalia PRP Group”) that, based on their
review and lack of objection to the Settlement Agreement, the Casmalia PRP Group
does not anticipate pursuing Solitron for cost recovery at the Casmalia
site.
On
October 21, 1993, a Consent Final Judgment was entered into between the Company
and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (“FDEP”) in the Circuit
Court of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida in and for Martin County,
Florida, in Case No. 91-1232 CA (the “Consent Final Judgment”). The
Consent Final Judgment required the Company to remediate the Port Salerno and
Riviera Beach Sites, make monthly payments to escrow accounts for each Site
until the sale of the Sites to fund the remediation work, take all reasonable
steps to sell the two Sites and, upon the sale of the Sites, apply the net
proceeds from the sales to fund the remediation work. Both Sites have
been sold pursuant to purchase agreements approved by FDEP.
Prior to
the sale of the Port Salerno Site and Riviera Beach Site, USEPA took over from
FDEP as the lead regulatory agency for the remediation of the
Sites. At the closing of the sale of each Site, the net
proceeds of sale were distributed to USEPA and/or FDEP or other parties, as
directed by the agencies. In addition, upon the sale of the Riviera
Beach Site, the Riviera Beach Escrow Account was transferred to USEPA, as
directed by the agencies. The current balance in the Port Salerno
Escrow Account is approximately $58,000. At present, work at the Port
Salerno Site is being performed by USEPA. Work at the Riviera Beach
Site is being performed by Honeywell, Inc. (“Honeywell”), pursuant to an
Administrative Order on Consent entered into between Honeywell and
USEPA. The Company has been notified by FDEP that the successful
performance of remediation work in accordance with the Consent Final Judgment
standards by USEPA at the Port Salerno Site and by Honeywell at the Riviera
Beach Site will be construed by FDEP as discharging the Company’s remediation
obligations under the Consent Final Judgment.
There
remains a possibility that FDEP will determine at some time in the future that
the final remedy approved by USEPA and implemented at either, or both of, the
Port Salerno Site and Riviera Beach Site does not meet the State cleanup
requirements imposed by the Consent Final Judgment. If such a final
determination is made by FDEP, there is a possibility that FDEP will require the
Company to implement additional remedial action at either, or both of, the Port
Salerno Site and Riviera Beach Site.
By letter
dated November 16, 2006, FDEP notified the Company that FDEP has unreimbursed
expenses associated with the Port Salerno Site and Riviera Beach Site of
$214,800. FDEP further notified the Company that FDEP required the
Company to resume payments under Consent Final Judgment to ensure that there are
adequate funds to cover FDEP’s unreimbursed expenses and the Company’s residual
liability under the Consent Final Judgment. During a follow up
telephone conversation with the Company’s attorney, FDEP advised the Company
that FDEP will prepare a justification for the asserted unreimbursed
expenses. Upon receipt of the cost reimbursement package, the Company
is required to transfer $55,000.00 from the Port Salerno Escrow Account to FDEP
as partial payment for FDEP’s unreimbursed expenses that are otherwise
recoverable under the Consent Final Judgment. FDEP further stated,
during the telephone conversation, that FDEP will work with the Company to
establish a reduced payment schedule for the Company to resume under the Consent
Final Judgment based on an appropriate showing by the Company of financial
hardship. The Company is currently awaiting receipt of FDEP’s cost
reimbursement package. Upon receipt of that documentation, the
Company will be required to provide a recommendation to FDEP for resumption of
payments to FDEP under the Consent Final Judgment based on the Company’s present
ability to pay.
On August
7, 2002, the Company received a Request for Information from the State of New
York Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYDEC”), seeking information on
whether the Company had disposed of certain wastes at the Clarkstown Landfill
Site located in the Town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York (The
Clarkstown Landfill Site”). By letter dated August 29, 2002, the
Company responded to the Request for Information and advised NYDEC that the
Company’s former Tappan, New York facility had closed in the mid-1980’s, prior
to the initiation of the Company’s bankruptcy proceedings described
below. The Company contends that, to the extent that NYDEC has a
claim against the Company as a result of the Company’s alleged disposal of
wastes at the Clarkstown Landfill Site prior to the closing of the Company’s
former Tappan facility in the mid-1980’s, the claim was discharged in
bankruptcy as a result of the Bankruptcy Court’s August 1993
Order. At NYDEC’s request, the Company entered into a revised Tolling
Agreement with NYDEC on October 8, 2007, which provides for the tolling of
applicable statutes of limitation through the earlier of June 26, 2009, or the
date the State institutes a suit against the Company for any claims associated
with the Clarkstown Landfill Site. It is not known at this time
whether NYDEC will pursue a claim against the Company in connection with the
Clarkstown Landfill Site. As of the date of this filing, no such
claim has been made.
41
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
NOTES TO
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Operating
Leases
In 2001,
the Company entered into a lease agreement for its production
facility. The lease has a 10-year term, which expires in the year
2011 and has no option to renew under current terms. The lease is
subject to escalations based on operating expenses. Future minimum
lease payments for all non-cancelable operating leases are as
follows:
Fiscal Year Ending February
28/29
|
Amount
|
|||
2010
|
466,000 | |||
2011
|
481,000 | |||
Thereafter
|
411,000 | |||
Total
|
$ | 1,358,000 |
Total
rent expense was $443,000 for the year ended February 28, 2009 as compared with
$455,000 for the year ended February 29, 2008.
14. Other
Income
During
the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009, the Company recognized approximately
$12,000 of other income attributable to receivables
adjustments. During the fiscal year ended February 29, 2008, the
Company recognized approximately $16,000 of other income attributable to
receivables adjustments.
42
ITEM 9.
|
CHANGES IN AND
DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL
DISCLOSURE.
|
None.
ITEM 9A(T).
|
CONTROLS AND
PROCEDURES
|
Our
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
The
Company carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the
participation of its management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief
Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and
procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e), and 15d-15(e)) as of the
end of the period covered by this Annual Report. Based upon that
evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded
that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the
period covered by this Annual Report.
Changes
in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Based on
an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of our
management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer,
there has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during
our last fiscal quarter identified in connection with that evaluation, that has
materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal
control over financial reporting.
ITEM 9B.
|
OTHER
INFORMATION
|
None.
43
PART III
ITEM
10.
|
DIRECTORS , EXECUTIVE
OFFICERS AND CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE.
|
The table
below sets forth the name, age, and position of the directors and executive
officers of the Company. The table below also sets forth the year in
which each director was first elected to the Board and the year in which the
term of each director expires. Pursuant to the Company's Certificate of
Incorporation, the Board of Directors is divided into three classes, each of
which consists of (as nearly as may be possible) one third of the
directors. Directors are elected for three-year
terms. Pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization, all shares of Common
Stock issued to Vector and its participants and to the holders of allowed
unsecured claims must be voted for all purposes (including the election of
members of the Board of Directors) as directed by the Board of
Directors. Pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization, Vector originally
owned 25% and the holders of allowed unsecured claims own an aggregate of 40% of
all shares of Common Stock issuable pursuant to the Plan of Reorganization
(other than shares issuable to Mr. Saraf upon the exercise of options granted
prior to the Effective Date). On October 4, 1994, the Company and
Vector agreed that its 25% of stock would be redistributed between six parties
(see Note 2 of the Consolidated Financial Statements). Some of the
Vector stock subsequently was transferred to John Stayduhar’s Revocable Trust
which is not subject to voting restrictions (see Note 2 of the Consolidated
Financial Statements).
Year
|
||||||||
First
|
Term
As
|
|||||||
Became
|
Director
|
|||||||
Name
|
Age
|
Position
with Solitron
|
Director
|
Expires(1)
|
||||
Shevach
Saraf
|
66
|
Chairman
of the Board,
|
1992
|
Expired
|
||||
Chief
Executive Officer,
|
||||||||
President,
Chief Financial Officer
|
||||||||
and
Treasurer
|
||||||||
Dr.
Jacob A. Davis
|
72
|
Director
|
1996
|
Expired
|
||||
Mr.
Joseph Schlig
|
81
|
Director
|
1996
|
Expired
|
1) The
term of each Director has expired. Each Director shall continue in
office until his successor is elected at the next annual meeting of
stockholders.
Mr. Shevach Saraf has been
President of the Company since November 1992, Chief Executive Officer of the
Company since December 1992, Chairman of the Board since September 1993 and
Chief Financial Officer since 2000. He has 45 years experience in
operations and engineering management with electronics and electromechanical
manufacturing companies.
Before
joining Solitron in 1992, Mr. Saraf was Vice President of Operations and a
member of the Board of Directors of Image Graphics, Inc (“Image Graphics”)., a
military and commercial electron beam recorder manufacturer based in Shelton,
CT. As head of Image Graphics’ engineering, manufacturing materials
and field service operations, he turned around the firm’s chronic cost and
schedule overruns to on-schedule and better-than-budget
performance. Earlier, he was President of Value Adding Services, a
management consulting firm in Cheshire, CT. This company provided
consulting and turnaround services to electronics and electromechanical
manufacturing companies with particular emphasis on operations. From
1982-1987, Mr. Saraf was Vice President of operations for Harmer Simmons Power
Supplies, Inc., a power supplies manufacturer in Seymour, CT. He
founded and directed all aspects of the company’s startup and growth, achieving
$12 million in annual sales and a staff of 180 employees. Mr. Saraf
also held executive positions with Photofabrication Technology, Inc. and
Measurements Group of Vishay Intertechnology, Inc.
44
Born and
raised in Tel Aviv, Israel, he served in the Israeli Air Force from 1960-1971 as
an electronics technical officer. He received his master’s in
business administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, and his
master’s in management from Rensselaer at Hartford (formerly known as Hartford
[CT] Graduate Center). He also received associate degrees from the
Israeli Institute of Productivity, the Teachers & Instructors Institute, and
the Israeli Air Force Technical Academy.
Dr. Jacob (Jay) A. Davis was
elected a Director of the Company on August 26, 1996. Dr. Davis also serves as
the Chairman of the Compensation Committee and a member of the Audit
Committee. From 1995 to 1999, he was Vice President of Business
Planning and Finance for AET, Inc, a developing software company based in
Melbourne, Florida. In 1994 and 1995, he was Visiting Professor in
Engineering Management at Florida Institute of Technology. He was a
Vice-Chairman of the Brevard SCORE Chapter and has devoted significant time to
counseling with local businesses. He was an active member of the
International Executive Service Corps (IESC) serving in South Russia during May
and June of 1996.
Prior to
joining AET, Dr. Davis was with Harris Semiconductor for 26
years. During the last 12 years with Harris Semiconductor, he was
Vice President-General Manager of the Military and Aerospace Division, the
Custom Integrated Circuits Division and the Harris Microwave
Division. Dr. Davis has served in a variety of other capacities at
Harris Semiconductor including Vice President of Engineering, Director of
Manufacturing, Director of Special Services, and Device Research
Engineer.
Dr. Davis
received a doctor of philosophy from Purdue University in 1969 and a bachelors
of science in electrical engineering from North Carolina State
University. He is a Member of the IEEE and the Electrochemical
Society, and has served on a variety of advisory boards for several
Universities. He holds four patents and has given a number of
overview papers and invited presentations at several conferences.
Mr. Joseph Schlig was elected
a Director of the Company on August 26, 1996. Since 1985, he has been
Managing Director of Fairhaven Associates, a professional consulting firm
supporting small and medium size businesses in strategic planning, financial,
marketing and operations management and organizational
development. From 1995 to 1997, Mr. Schlig also served as Chief
Financial Officer of Industrial Technologies, Inc.,
(INTE.PK—NASDAQ). For the prior five years, Mr. Schlig was a business
consultant to private companies and to the State of Connecticut Department of
Economic Development.
Prior to
1985, Mr. Schlig had many years of business experience including Director of
Marketing, Latin America for ITT and Director of International Operations for
Revlon. Mr. Schlig has also operated several small/medium size
companies in both the public and private sectors. He also served as a
director of the Trumbull Technology Foundation, and a Director of the MIT
Enterprise Forum of Connecticut and served as a director of the Bridgeport
Economic Development Corporation. He was an alternate member of the
Board of Finance of the Town of Trumbull, Connecticut. He is
currently a Trustee of the Trumbull Public Library System.
Mr.
Schlig has an engineering degree from the Stevens Institute of Technology and an
MBA from the Harvard Business School where he was a Baker
Scholar. Mr. Schlig is the Chairman of the Audit Committee and a
member of the Compensation Committee.
45
Audit
Committee
The
Company’s Board of Directors has an Audit Committee. The Audit
Committee consists of Messrs. Davis and Schlig (Chairman). The
Company has determined that the members of the audit committee are independent
pursuant to the NASDAQ Stock Marketplace Rules. The Company’s Audit
Committee generally has responsibility for appointing, overseeing and
determining the compensation of our independent certified public accountants,
reviewing the plan and scope of the independent certified public accountants’
audit, reviewing our audit and control functions, approving all non-audit
services provided by our independent certified public accountants and reporting
to our full Board of Directors regarding all of the
foregoing. Additionally, our Audit Committee provides our Board of
Directors with such additional information and materials as it may deem
necessary to make our Board of Directors aware of significant financial matters
that require its attention. The Company has adopted an Audit
Committee Charter, a copy of which is published on the Company’s web site,
www.solitrondevices.com on the Investor Relations page. The Company
has determined that the Audit Committee “financial expert” is Mr. Joseph
Schlig.
CODE OF
ETHICS
The
Company has adopted a Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers, which
includes the Company’s principal executive officer, principal financial officer
and controller, pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The Code of Ethics
is published on the Company’s web site, www.solitrondevices.com on the Investor
Relations page.
Section 16(a) Beneficial
Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section
16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, requires directors and
executive officers of the Company and ten percent stockholders of the Company to
file initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership of Common
Stock and other equity securities of the Company with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Directors, executive officers, and ten percent
stockholders are required to furnish the Company with copies of all Section
16(a) forms they file. To the Company’s knowledge, based solely on a
review of the copies of such reports furnished to the Company and
representations that no other reports were required during the year ended
February 28, 2009, all Section 16(a) filing requirements applicable to directors
and executive officers of the Company and ten percent stockholders of the
Company were complied with.
ITEM
11.
|
EXECUTIVE
COMPENSATION
|
SUMMARY
COMPENSATION TABLE
The
following table provides certain summary information concerning compensation
paid by the Company, to or on behalf of the following named officer for the
fiscal years ended February 28, 2009 and February 29, 2008.
Name
and
Principal
Position
|
Year
|
Salary($)
|
Bonus($)
|
All
Other
Compensation($)
|
Total($)
|
|||||||||||||
Shevach
Saraf
|
2009
|
271,346 | 130,883 | (1) | 22,358 | (2) | 383,704 | |||||||||||
Chairman
of the Board,
|
2008
|
296,461 | 121,430 | (3) | 23,571 | (2) | 441,462 | |||||||||||
President,
CFO, Treasurer
|
_________
(1)
|
The
Compensation Committee met on May 18, 2009 and approved a bonus of
$130,883 to Mr. Saraf for fiscal year ended February
28, 2009 to be paid during June 2009. This amount was accrued
in fiscal year 2009.
|
(2)
|
Life,
Disability, & Medical Insurance premiums plus personal car
expenses.
|
(3)
|
The
Company accrued $121,430 for a bonus to Mr. Saraf for fiscal year ended
February 29, 2008. The Compensation Committee
met and approved the bonus to be paid during June
2008.
|
46
OUTSTANDING
EQUITY AWARDS AT FISCAL YEAR END
The
following table sets forth certain summary information covering unexercised
options to purchase the Company's Common Stock as of February 28, 2009 held by
the following named officer.
Option
Awards
|
|||||||||||||||||
Name
|
Number
of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
(#)
Exercisable
(1)
|
Number
of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
(#)
Unexerciseable
|
Equity
Incentive
Plan
Awards:
Number
of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Unearned
Options
(#)
|
Option
Exercise
Price
($)
|
Option
Expiration
Date
|
||||||||||||
Shevach
Saraf
|
254,624 | - | - | $ | .40 |
12/1/2010
|
|||||||||||
175,636 | - | - | $ | 1.05 |
5/14/2013
|
(1) These
options were fully vested as of February 28, 2009.
DIRECTOR
COMPENSATION
Name
|
Fees
Earned
Or
Paid
In
Cash($)
|
Non-Equity
Incentive
Plan
Compensation($)
(2)
|
Total($)
|
|||||||||
Dr.
Jacob A. Davis (1)
|
13,500 | 12,000 | 25,500 | |||||||||
Mr.
Joseph Schlig (1)
|
13,500 | 12,000 | 25,500 |
(1)
The directors hold fully vested unexercised options in the following
amounts: Dr. Davis, 11,000 shares, Mr. Schlig, 3,000 shares.
(2)
During fiscal year 2009, the Company paid each of its directors $12,000 as
additional incentive for services rendered in fiscal year
2008.
Each
director who is not employed by the Company receives $1,500 for each meeting of
the Board he attends and $250 for each committee meeting he attends on a date on
which no meeting of the Board is held. In addition, all out-of-pocket
expenses incurred by a director in attending Board or committee meetings are
reimbursed by the Company. The Chairmen of the Audit and Compensation
Committees receive $1,500 per quarter for their additional duties and
responsibilities. In addition, annually at the discretion of the CEO
each director who is not employed by the Company may receive additional cash or
equity awards for their services on the Board.
The
Company accrued $9,000 for each of its directors as additional incentive for
services rendered in fiscal year 2009, such amount will be paid in June 2009.
This additional $9,000 in compensation is not reflected in the Director
Compensation table above.
Employment
Agreement
In
December 2000, the Company entered into a five-year employment agreement with
its President and CEO. The employment agreement stipulates that the
contract is automatically extended for one-year periods unless a notice is given
by either party one year prior to the yearly anniversary. This
agreement provides, among other things, for annual compensation of $240,000 and
a bonus pursuant to a formula. The employment agreement stipulates
that the President shall be entitled to a bonus equal to fifteen percent (15%)
of the Company’s pre-tax income in excess of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars
($250,000). For purposes of the agreement, “pre-tax income” shall
mean net income before taxes, excluding (i) all extraordinary gains or losses,
(ii) gains resulting from debt forgiven associated with the buyout of unsecured
creditors, and (iii) any bonus paid to employee. The bonus payable
thereunder shall be paid within ninety (90) days after the end of the fiscal
year.
47
Upon
execution of the agreement, the President received a grant to purchase ten
percent (10%) of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock, par value
$.01 calculated on a fully diluted basis, at an exercise price per share equal
to the closing asking price of the company’s common stock on the OTCBB on the
date of the grant ($0.40). Fifty percent (50%) of the initial stock
options granted vested immediately upon grant. The remaining fifty
percent (50%) of the initial stock options vested in equal amount on each of the
first five anniversaries of the date of grant. All of these options
are now fully vested. These stock options are in addition to, and not
in lieu of or in substitution for, the stock options (the “1992 Stock Options”)
granted to the President pursuant to the Incentive Stock Option Plan Agreement
dated October 20, 1992 under Solitron Devices, Inc. 1987 Stock Option Plan
between the Company and the President.
Under the
employment agreement, if the President's employment is terminated due to his
death, the Company will pay the following amounts to the President's estate: (i)
his base salary through the last day of the calendar month in which he dies,
(ii) his bonus for the prior year which has been earned but not paid, (iii) his
bonus for the then current year of employment prorated for the actual number of
days of such year the President is employed during such year (which shall be
calculated by assuming that the bonus for such year would be equal to the bonus
for the previous year plus an amount equal to the percentage increase in the
consumer price index for the prior twelve month period) and (iv) a death benefit
in an amount equal to three times the President's then current base salary
(including any amount deferred under any deferred compensation plan) plus an
amount equal to the most recent bonus awarded to the President, to the extent
funded by life insurance policies as provided for in the employment
agreement.
Under the
employment agreement, if the President's employment is terminated due to his
failure to perform his duties under the employment agreement due to Disability
for a consecutive period of more than six months, the Company may terminate the
employment agreement upon thirty (30) days written notice to him. The
President shall continue to receive compensation until the end of the thirty
(30) day notice period. For purposes of the employment agreement, the
term "Disability" shall mean the inability to engage in any substantial gainful
activity with the Company by reason of any medically determinable physical or
mental impairment for at least six consecutive months. In addition,
under the employment agreement, the Company shall maintain a disability policy
providing employee payments in the event of a disability.
In the
event the President terminates his employment agreement for Good Reason, the
Company shall pay the President his base salary and bonus through the remainder
of the term of the employment agreement. For purposes of the
employment agreement, “Good Reason” shall mean
(a) breach of any provision of the employment agreement by the employee
including, without limitation, a reduction in his duties or responsibilities,
(b) the appointment of any other person as Chairman of the Board, President or
Chief Executive Officer of the Company or the removal of the employee from that
position, (c) the failure of the stockholders to elect the employee as a
director of the Company or the removal of the employee from the Board of
Directors, or (d) the relocation of the Company’s business operations or
principal office more than 30 miles from its present location.
In the
event the Company terminates the President's employment for "Cause" (other than
a termination for Disability), the Company shall pay to the President his base
salary through the date of termination stated in the notice, and the President
shall, if so requested by the Board of Directors, perform his duties under the
employment agreement through the date of termination stated in the
notice. As used herein, "Cause" shall mean any
willful (a) dissemination of genuine trade secrets or other material confidences
of the employees by employee for the personal gain of the employee, (b)
dishonesty of employee in the course of his employment which is punishable by
criminal and civil law or is materially prejudicial to employer, (c) deliberate
activity of employee which is materially prejudicial to the financial interests
of the Company as reasonably determined by a majority of the Board of Directors
of the Company, or any act, or failure to act, by employee involving fraud,
willful malfeasance or gross negligence in the performance of his duties
hereunder as reasonably determined by a majority of the disinterested members of
the Board of Directors of employer, or (d) Disability of
employee.
48
In the
event the Company terminates the President's employment for any reason other
than for Cause or upon President's death or disability, then (a) the employment
agreement shall nonetheless be deemed terminated, and the Company shall pay the
President upon any such termination a lump sum equal to the larger of his base
salary and bonus for the remaining term under the employment agreement and his
base salary and bonus for two (2) years and (b) the Company will pay the premium
for the President's COBRA insurance benefits for the President and his family
for 18 months or provide equivalent coverage. The
foregoing payments shall also be made in the event that the
President's employment with the Company is terminated following a Change of
Control notwithstanding the reason for such termination. For purposes
of the employment agreement, "Change in Control" of the Company shall mean: (1)
any "person"
(other than Employee) as such term is used in Section 13(d) and 14(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") (other
than the employee or any group of which the employee is a part, or any Company
owned, directly or indirectly, by the stockholders of the Company in
substantially the same proportions as their ownership of stock of the Company)
is or becomes the "beneficial owner" (as
defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of
securities of the Company representing thirty percent (30%) or more of the
combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities; (2) at any
time, Incumbent Directors cease, for any reason, to constitute at least a
majority of the Board of Directors of the Company. As used herein,
“Incumbent
Directors” means (a) the individuals who constitute the Board upon the
execution of this Agreement and (b) any other director whose election by the
Board or nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders was approved by a
vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the Incumbent Directors then in office
which two-thirds includes the employee; (3)the shareholders of the Company
approve a merger or consolidation of the Company with any other corporation,
other than a merger or consolidation which would result in the voting securities
of the Company outstanding immediately prior thereto continuing to represent
(either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of
the surviving entity) more than 80% of the combined voting power of the voting
securities of the Company or such surviving entity outstanding immediately after
such merger or consolidation; provided, however that no "Change of Control"
shall be deemed to have occurred until the closing of any such
transaction; and provided further, that a merger or consolidation effected to
implement a recapitalization of the Company (or similar transaction) in which no
person (as hereinabove defined) acquires more than 25% of the combined voting
power of the Company’s then outstanding securities shall not constitute a Change
in Control of the Company; (4) the stockholders of the Company approve a plan of
complete liquidation of the Company or the sale or disposition by the Company of
all or substantially all of the Company's assets or (5) the Company, in one or a
series of transactions, sells all or substantially all of its
assets.
Any
payments payable under the employment agreement to the President that are in the
nature of compensation in the event of the Company's termination of the
President under the employment agreement shall not exceed the maximum amount
which may be paid to the President without causing such payments or any other
payments or benefits provided to the President to become subject to the
deduction limitation provided for in Section 280G(a) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended, or the excise tax provided for in Section 4999 of the
Code, or any successor provisions of applicable law.
Under the
employment agreement, upon a termination by the President for Cause, termination
by the Company without Cause, or the effectuation of a Change of Control, all
stock options of the Company held by the President upon the date of termination
will immediately vest upon termination and upon the effectuation of a Change of
Control.
At a
meeting of the Compensation Committee on January 23, 2006, the Committee
approved an increase to the President’s annual compensation to $280,000,
effective March 1, 2006.
The
President of the Company may also participate in the Company’s 2000 Stock Option
Plan, the Company’s 2007 Stock Incentive Plan, the Company’s deferred
Compensation Plan and the Company’s Employee 401-K and Profit Sharing Plan (the
“Profit Sharing Plan”). During the fiscal year ended February 28,
2009, no amounts were deferred by executive officers under the Company’s
deferred Compensation Plan and the Company did not match any employee
contributions to the Profit Sharing Plan.
49
ITEM
12.
|
SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF
CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER
MATTERS
|
The
following table sets forth certain information regarding the beneficial
ownership of Common Stock as of May 20, 2009 by (i) all
directors, (ii) the Chief Executive Officer, (iii) all officers and directors of
the Company as a group, and (iv) each person known by the Company to
beneficially own in excess of 5% of the Company's outstanding Common
Stock.
The
Company does not know of any other beneficial owner of more than 5% of the
outstanding shares of Common Stock other than as shown below. Unless
otherwise indicated below, each stockholder has sole voting and investment power
with respect to the shares beneficially owned. Except as noted below,
all shares were owned directly with sole voting and investment
power.
Name and Address
|
Number
of Shares
Beneficially Owned (1)
|
Percentage
of
Outstanding Shares (1)
|
||||||
Shevach
Saraf
3301
Electronics Way
West
Palm Beach, FL 33407
|
650,415 | (2) | 28.73 | % | ||||
Dr.
Jacob Davis
370
Franklyn Avenue
Indialantic,
FL 32903
|
11,000 | (2) | * | |||||
Joseph
Schlig
129
Mayfield Drive
Trumbull,
CT 06611
|
11,000 | (2) | * | |||||
All
Executive Officers and
Directors
as a Group (3 persons)
|
672,415 | (2) | 29.70 | % | ||||
John
Stayduhar
C/O
John Farina
1610
Forum Place #900
West
Palm Beach, FL 33401
|
285,232 | (3) | 12.60 | % | ||||
|
||||||||
Alexander
C. Toppan
40
Spectacle Ridge Road
South
Kent, CT 06785
|
179,500 | (4) | 7.93 | % | ||||
GRT
Deep Woods Partners
50
Milk Street, 21st
Floor
Boston,
MA 02109
|
226,048 | (5) | 9.99 | % |
* Less
than 1%
|
(1)
|
For
purposes of this table, beneficial ownership is computed pursuant to Rule
13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; the inclusion
of shares beneficially owned should not be construed as an admission that
such shares are beneficially owned for purposes of Section 16 of such
Act.
|
|
(2)
|
Includes
shares that may be acquired upon exercise of options that are exercisable
within sixty (60) days of May 20, 2009 in the following
amounts: Mr. Saraf – 432,260 shares; Mr. Schlig – 3,000 shares;
Dr. Davis – 11,000 shares.
|
|
(3)
|
This
number is based solely on the Schedule 13D filed with the Commission on
December 2, 2008.
|
|
(4)
|
This
number is based solely on the Schedule 13G/A filed with the Commission on
January 11, 2008.
|
|
(5)
|
This
number is based solely on information provided by the stock holder to the
Company May 21, 2009.
|
50
EQUITY
COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION
Plan
Category
|
Number
of securities
to
be issued upon
exercise
of
outstanding
options,
warrants
and rights
|
Weighted-average
exercise
price of
outstanding
options,
warrants
and
rights
|
Number
of securities
remaining
available for
future
issuance under
equity
compensation
plans
(excluding
securities
reflected in
column
(a))
|
|||||||||
(a)
|
(b)
|
(c)
|
||||||||||
Equity
compensation plans approved by security holders
|
- | - | - | |||||||||
Equity
compensation plans not approved by security holders
|
467,060 | $ | 0.767 | 739,940 | (1) | |||||||
Total
|
467,060 | $ | 0.767 | 739,940 | (1) |
(1)
Consists of 39,940 shares of common stock available under the Solitron Devices,
Inc. 2000 Stock Option Plan (the “2000 Plan”) and 700,000 shares of common stock
available under the Solitron Devices, Inc. 2007 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2007
Plan”).
The 2000
Plan was created effective July 10, 2000 to provide employees with an
opportunity to acquire a proprietary interest in the Company. Options
issued under the 2000 Plan are for the purchase of Solitron Devices, Inc. common
stock, par value of $0.01 per share and are priced at the closing price on the
date of the grant. Options may be granted under the 2000 Plan to any
employee, officer, or director of the Company as well as to any independent
contractor or consultant performing services for the Company. Options
granted have a one-year vesting period and expire ten years from the date of
grant. Options granted are not transferable and have restrictions
placed on their exercise in the event of termination of employment, death, or
disability. Each option granted under the 2000 Plan is a non-qualified stock
option that is not intended to meet the requirements of Section 422 of the
Code.
The 2007
Plan was created effective June 4, 2007 to enable the Company to attract,
retain, reward and motivate eligible individuals by providing them with an
opportunity to acquire or increase a proprietary interest in Solitron and to
incentivize them to expend maximum effort for the growth and success of the
Company , so as to strengthen the mutuality of the interests between the
eligible individuals and the stockholders of the Company. Pursuant to
the 2007 Plan, the Company may grant common stock, options, restricted stock,
stock appreciation rights to eligible individuals. Pursuant to the
2007 Plan, the Company is authorized to grant incentive awards for up to 700,000
shares of common stock subject to adjustment in the event of a stock split,
stock dividend, recapitalization or similar capital change. All
employees, officers, directors (employee or non-employee directors) of the
Company are eligible to receive awards under the 2007 Plan.
ITEM
13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND
RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
Director
Independence
The Board
of Directors is currently composed of three directors, Mr. Saraf, Dr. Davis and
Mr. Schlig. Dr. Davis and Mr. Schlig each meets the criteria for
independence specified in the listing standards of the Nasdaq Stock
Market.
ITEM
14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES
AND SERVICES
The
aggregate fees paid by the Company for the years ended February 29, 2008 and
February 28, 2009, to its former accounting firm, DeLeon & Company,
P.A. (“DL&C”) are as follows:
Audit
Fees: The aggregate fees for professional services rendered by
DL&C in connection with (i) the audit of our annual financial statements
(Form 10-K), and (ii) reviews of our quarterly financial statements (Form 10-Q)
for the years ended February 28, 2009 and February 29, 2008, were approximately
$46,000 and $51,000 respectively.
51
Tax
Fees: The aggregate fees for professional services rendered by
DL&C for tax compliance for the years ended February 29, 2008 and February
28, 2009 were approximately $4,000 and $5,000 respectively. There
were no other fees paid for tax services for the years ended February 28, 2009
and February 29, 2008.
The
aggregate fees paid by the Company during the fiscal year ended February 28,
2009, to its current accounting firm, Friedman, Cohen, Taubman & Company
LLC (“FCT&Co ”) are as follows:
Audit
Fees: The aggregate fees for professional services rendered by
FCT&Co in connection with (i) the audit of our annual financial statements
(Form 10-K), for work performed during the fiscal year ended February 28, 2009,
were approximately $13,000.
Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures
for Audit and Permitted Non-Audit Services.
The Audit
Committee has a policy of considering and, if deemed appropriate, approving, on
a case by case basis, any audit or permitted non-audit service proposed to be
performed by the Company’s principal accountant in advance of the performance of
such service. These services may include audit services,
audit-related services, tax services and other services. The Audit
Committee has not implemented a policy or procedure which delegates the
authority to approve, or pre-approve, audit or permitted non-audit services to
be performed by the Company’s principal accountant. In connection
with making any pre-approval decision, the Audit Committee must consider whether
the provision of such permitted non-audit services performed by the
Company’s principal accountant is consistent with maintaining the
Company’s principal accountant’s status as our independent auditors
at such time.
Consistent
with these policies and procedures, the Audit Committee approved all of the
services rendered by DL&C and FCT&Co during the year ended February 28,
2009, as described above.
52
PART
IV
ITEM
15. EXHIBITS
(a) Exhibits
2.1
|
Debtors'
Fourth Amended Plan of Reorganization of the Company (incorporated by
reference to the Company's Form 8-K, dated September 3, 1993, as amended
by the Company's Form 8-K/A, dated October 12, 1993).
|
2.2
|
Debtors'
First Modification of Fourth Amended Plan of Reorganization of the Company
(incorporated by reference to the Company's Form 8-K, dated September 3,
1993, as amended by the Company's Form 8-K/A, dated October 12,
1993).
|
2.3
|
Order
Confirming Debtors' Fourth Amended Plan of Reorganization of the Company
(incorporated by reference to the Company's Form 8-K, dated September 3,
1993, as amended by the Company's Form 8-K/A, dated October 12,
1993).
|
2.4
|
Consent
Final Judgment of the Company (incorporated by reference to the Company's
Form 8-K, dated September 3, 1993, as amended by the Company's Form 8-K/A,
dated October 12, 1993).
|
3.1
|
Certificate
of Incorporation of the Company (incorporated by reference to the
Company's Form 10-K for the year ended February 28,
1993).
|
3.2
|
Bylaws
of the Company (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 10-K for
the year ended February 28, 1993).
|
3.3
|
Amendment
No. 1 to the Bylaws of Solitron Devices, Inc. (incorporated by reference
to the Company's Form 8-K dated December 12, 2007).
|
4.1
|
Rights
Agreement dated as of May 31, 2001, between Solitron Devices, Inc. and
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as Rights Agent
(incorporated by reference to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K
filed on June 20, 2001).
|
10.1
+
|
1987
Incentive Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to the Company’s
Form 10-K for the years ended February 28, 1994 and February 28,
1995).
|
10.2
|
Purchase
Agreement, dated October 5, 1992, by and among Solitron Devices, Inc.,
Solitron Specialty Products, Inc. (f/k/a Solitron Microwave, Inc.) and
Vector Trading and Holding Corporation, along with and as amended by: (i)
Amendment Number One to Purchase Agreement, dated October 28, 1992, by and
among Solitron Devices, Inc., Solitron Specialty Products, Inc. (f/k/a
Solitron Microwave, Inc.) and Vector Trading and Holding Corporation; (ii)
Order, dated December 23, 1992, Authorizing the Sale of Certain of the
Debtors' Assets to Vector Trading and Holding Corporation; (iii) Amendment
Number Two to Purchase Agreement. dated February 28, 1993, by and among
Solitron Devices, Inc., Solitron Specialty Products, Inc. (f/k/a Solitron
Microwave, Inc.) and Vector Trading and Holding Corporation; and (iv)
Order, dated March 4, 1993, Granting Vector Trading and Holding
Corporation's Motion for Entry of Amended Order Authorizing Sale of
Certain of the Debtors' Assets (incorporated by reference to the Company's
Form 10-K for the year ended February 28, 1993).
|
10.3
|
Shared
Services and Equipment Agreement, dated February 28, 1993, by and among
Solitron Devices, Inc., Solitron Specialty Products, Inc. (f/k/a Solitron
Microwave, Inc.) and S/V Microwave (incorporated by
reference to the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended February 28,
1993).
|
10.4
|
Commercial
Lease Agreement, dated January 1, 1992, between William C. Clark, as
Trustee, and Solitron Devices, Inc. (incorporated by reference to the
Company's Form 10-K for the year ended February 28,
1993).
|
53
10.5 |
Reduction
in Space and Rent Agreement dated November 1, 2001 between Solitron
Devices, Inc. and
Technology Place, Inc. (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Annual
Report on Form10-KSB for the year ended February 28,
2002).
|
10.6
+
|
Employment
Agreement, dated December 1, 2000, between Solitron Devices, Inc. and
Shevach Saraf (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 10-K for
the year ended February 28, 2001)
|
10.7
|
Ability
to Pay Multi-Site Settlement Agreement, effective as of February 24, 2006,
between
Solitron
Devices, Inc. and the United States Environmental Protection
Agency (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Annual
Report on Form10-KSB for the year ended February 28,
2006).
|
10.8
|
Solitron
Devices, Inc. 2007 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to the
Company's Form 8-K dated June 8, 2007, as amended by the Company's Form
8-K/A, dated June 12, 2007).
|
16.1
|
Letter
from DeLeon & Company, P.A. dated January 28, 2009 to the Securities
and Exchange Commission (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form
8-K/A filed January 30, 2009)
|
23.1
*
|
Consent
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
23.2
*
|
Consent
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
31*
|
Certification
of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant
to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.
|
32*
|
Certification
of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant
to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
|
+Management
contracts or compensatory plans, contracts or
arrangements.
*
Filed herewith.
|
54
SIGNATURES
In
accordance with Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, the Registrant caused
this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly
authorized.
SOLITRON
DEVICES, INC.
|
|
/s/
Shevach Saraf
|
|
By:
|
Shevach
Saraf
|
Title:
|
Chairman
of the Board, President,
|
Chief
Executive Officer, Treasurer and
|
|
Chief
Financial Officer
|
|
Date:
May 22, 2009
|
In
accordance with the Exchange Act, this report has been signed below by the
following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the
dates indicated.
Signature
|
Title
|
Date
|
||
/s/
Shevach Saraf
|
May
22, 2009
|
|||
Shevach
Saraf
|
Chairman
of the Board,
|
|||
President,
Chief
|
||||
Executive
Officer, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer.
|
||||
/s/
Jacob Davis
|
May
22, 2009
|
|||
Jacob
Davis
|
Director
|
|||
/s/
Joseph Schlig
|
May
22, 2009
|
|||
Joseph
Schlig
|
Director
|
55
EXHIBIT
INDEX
EXHIBIT
|
DESCRIPTION
|
|
23.1
|
Consent
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
|
23.2
|
Consent
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
|
31
|
Certification
of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to
Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
|
|
32
|
Certification
of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer
pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.
|
56