U S GLOBAL INVESTORS INC - Quarter Report: 2012 December (Form 10-Q)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

OR

(210) 308-1234

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(Former name, former address, and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

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 [X]                                 NO [ ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See 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 [X]              Non-accelerated filer [    ]          Smaller Reporting Company [    ]

(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

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

YES [ ]                                NO [X]

On January 18, 2013, there were 13,863,089 shares of Registrant’s class A nonvoting common stock issued and 13,420,818 shares of Registrant’s class A nonvoting common stock issued and outstanding, no shares of Registrant’s class B nonvoting common shares outstanding, and 2,072,459 shares of Registrant’s class C voting common stock issued and outstanding.

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U.S. GLOBAL INVESTORS, INC.

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of this statement.

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The accompanying notes are an integral part of this statement.

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U.S. GLOBAL INVESTORS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (UNAUDITED)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of this statement.

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (UNAUDITED)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of this statement.

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)

NOTE 1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION

U.S. Global Investors, Inc. (the “Company” or “U.S. Global”) has prepared the consolidated financial statements pursuant to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) that permit reduced disclosure for interim periods. The financial information included herein reflects all adjustments (consisting solely of normal recurring adjustments), which are, in management’s opinion, necessary for a fair presentation of results for the interim periods presented. The Company has consistently followed the accounting policies set forth in the notes to the consolidated financial statements in the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012.

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, United Shareholder Services, Inc. (“USSI”), U.S. Global Investors (Guernsey) Limited, U.S. Global Brokerage, Inc., and U.S. Global Investors (Bermuda) Limited.

All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Certain amounts have been reclassified for comparative purposes. The results of operations for the six months ended December 31, 2012, are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the entire year.

The unaudited interim financial information in these condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements contained in the Company’s annual report.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-05, Presentation of Comprehensive Income. This standard eliminates the current option to report other comprehensive income and its components in the statement of changes in equity. Under this guidance, an entity can elect to present items of net income and other comprehensive income in one continuous statement or in two separate, but consecutive, statements. This guidance is effective for publicly traded companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011, and interim and annual periods thereafter, except for the changes that relate to the presentation of reclassification adjustments. Early adoption is permitted, but full retrospective application is required. As the Company reports comprehensive income within its consolidated statement of operations, the adoption of this guidance did not result in a change in the presentation of comprehensive income in the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

NOTE 2. DIVIDEND

Payment of cash dividends is within the discretion of the Company’s board of directors and is dependent on earnings, operations, capital requirements, general financial condition of the Company and general business conditions. In addition to its regular monthly dividend, the Company made a one-time special dividend of $0.02 per share in December 2012. Beginning in January 2013, the Company lowered its monthly dividend from $0.02 to $0.005. A monthly dividend of $0.005 per share is authorized through March 2013 and will be reviewed by the board quarterly.

NOTE 3. INVESTMENTS

As of December 31, 2012, the Company held investments with a market value of approximately $13.6 million and a cost basis of approximately $13.4 million. The market value of these investments is approximately 34.2 percent of the Company’s total assets.

Investments in securities classified as trading are reflected as current assets on the consolidated balance sheet at their fair market value. Unrealized holding gains and losses on trading securities are included in earnings in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.

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Investments in securities classified as available-for-sale, which may not be readily marketable, are reflected as non-current assets on the consolidated balance sheet at their fair value. Unrealized holding gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are excluded from earnings and reported in other comprehensive income as a separate component of shareholders’ equity until realized.

The Company records security transactions on trade date. Realized gains (losses) from security transactions are calculated on the first-in/first-out cost basis, unless otherwise identifiable, and are recorded in earnings on the date of sale.

The following summarizes the market value, cost, and unrealized gain or loss on investments as of December 31, 2012, and June 30, 2012.

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The following details the components of the Company’s available-for-sale investments as of December 31, 2012, and June 30, 2012.

The following tables show the gross unrealized losses and fair values of available-for-sale investment securities with unrealized losses aggregated by investment category and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position:

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Investment income can be volatile and varies depending on market fluctuations, the Company’s ability to participate in investment opportunities, and timing of transactions. A significant portion of the unrealized gains and losses for the three and six months ended December 31, 2012, is concentrated in a small number of issuers. The Company expects that gains and losses will continue to fluctuate in the future.

Investment income (loss) from the Company’s investments includes:

The following summarizes investment income reflected in earnings for the periods discussed:

NOTE 4. FAIR VALUE DISCLOSURES

Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 820, Fair Value Measurement and Disclosures (formerly SFAS 157), defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. ASC 820 establishes a hierarchy that prioritizes inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value and requires companies to disclose the fair value of their financial instruments according to a fair value hierarchy (i.e., Levels 1, 2, and 3 inputs, as defined below). The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs. Additionally, companies are required to provide enhanced disclosures regarding instruments in the Level 3 category (which have inputs to the valuation techniques that are unobservable and require significant management judgment), including a reconciliation of the beginning and ending values separately for each major category of assets or liabilities.

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Financial instruments measured and reported at fair value are classified and disclosed in one of the following categories:

Level 1 – Valuations based on quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities at the reporting date. Since valuations are based on quoted prices that are readily and regularly available in an active market, value of these products does not entail a significant degree of judgment.

Level 2 – Valuations based on quoted prices in markets that are not active or for which all significant inputs are observable, directly or indirectly.

Level 3 – Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement.

The Company’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment and considers factors specific to the financial instrument.

For actively traded securities, the Company values investments using the closing price of the securities on the exchange or market on which the securities principally trade. If the security is not actively traded, it is valued based on the last bid and/or ask quotation. Securities that are not traded on an exchange or market are generally valued at cost, monitored by management and fair value adjusted as considered necessary. The Company values the mutual funds, offshore funds and a venture capital investment at net asset value.

The following table presents fair value measurements, as of December 31, 2012, for the three major categories of U.S. Global’s investments measured at fair value on a recurring basis:

Approximately 56 percent of the Company’s financial assets measured at fair value are derived from Level 1 inputs including SEC-registered mutual funds and equity securities traded on an active market, 43 percent of the Company’s financial assets measured at fair value are derived from Level 2 inputs, including an investment in an offshore fund, and the remaining one percent are Level 3 inputs. The Company recognizes transfers between levels at the end of each quarter. The Company did not transfer any securities between Level 1 and Level 2 during the six months ended December 31, 2012.

In Level 2, the Company has an investment in an offshore fund with a fair value of $986,542 that invests in companies in the energy and natural resources sectors. The Company may redeem this investment on the first business day of each month after providing a redemption notice at least forty-five days prior to the proposed redemption date.

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The Company also has a Level 2 investment in an offshore fund with a fair value of $4,813,785 that invests in dividend-paying equity and debt securities of companies located around the world. The Company may redeem this investment on the first business day of each month after providing a redemption notice at least forty-five days prior to the proposed redemption date.

The Company has a venture capital investment that was measured at fair value using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) at December 31, 2012, with a fair value of $168,464 that primarily invests in companies in the medical and medical technology sectors. The Company may redeem this investment with general partner approval. As of December 31, 2012, the Company has an unfunded commitment of $62,500 related to this investment.

The following table presents additional information about investments measured at fair value on a recurring basis and for which the Company has utilized significant unobservable inputs to determine fair value:

NOTE 5. INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, TRANSFER AGENT AND OTHER FEES

The Company serves as investment adviser to U.S. Global Investors Funds (“USGIF”) and receives a fee based on a specified percentage of net assets under management.

USSI also serves as transfer agent to USGIF and receives fees based on the number of shareholder accounts as well as transaction and activity-based fees. Additionally, the Company receives certain miscellaneous fees directly from USGIF shareholders. Fees for providing investment management, administrative, distribution and transfer agent services to USGIF continue to be the Company’s primary revenue source.

The advisory agreement for the nine equity funds provides for a base advisory fee that is adjusted upwards or downwards by 0.25 percent when there is a performance difference of 5 percent or more between a fund’s performance and that of its designated benchmark index over the prior rolling 12 months. For the three and six months ended December 31, 2012, the Company adjusted its base advisory fees upward by $181,850 and downward by $165,064, respectively. For the corresponding periods in fiscal 2012, base advisory fees were decreased by $914,987 and $649,854.

The Company has voluntarily waived or reduced its fees and/or agreed to pay expenses on all thirteen funds. These caps will continue on a voluntary basis at the Company’s discretion. Effective with the March 1, 2010, offering of institutional class shares in three USGIF funds, the Company voluntarily agreed to waive all institutional class-specific expenses. The aggregate fees waived and expenses borne by the Company for the three and six months ended December 31, 2012, were $854,558 and $1,704,599 compared with $795,925 and $1,599,154, respectively, for the corresponding periods in fiscal 2012.

The above waived fees include amounts waived under an agreement whereby the Company has voluntarily agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse the U.S. Treasury Securities Cash Fund and the U.S. Government Securities Savings Fund to the extent necessary to maintain the respective fund’s yield at a certain level as determined by the Company (Minimum Yield). Yields on such products have declined to record lows as a result of the decline in the federal funds’ rate pursuant to the Federal Reserve’s economic policy to spur economic growth through low interest rates and quantitative easing. For

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the three and six months ended December 31, 2012, total fees waived and/or expenses reimbursed as a result of this agreement were $286,600 and $587,235. For the corresponding periods in fiscal year 2012, the total fees waived and/or expenses reimbursed were $395,762 and $800,912.

The Company may recapture any fees waived and/or expenses reimbursed within three years after the end of the funds’ fiscal year of such waiver and/or reimbursement to the extent that such recapture would not cause the funds’ yield to fall below the Minimum Yield. Thus, $1,562,956 of these waivers is recoverable by the Company through December 31, 2013, $1,604,076 through December 31, 2014, and $1,245,458 through December 31, 2015. Management believes that these potential recoveries will be realized only in a rising interest rate environment and that these waivers could increase in the future. Such increases in fee waivers could be significant and will negatively impact the Company’s revenues and net income. Management cannot predict the impact of the waivers and/or reimbursements due to the number of variables and the range of potential outcomes.

The Company provides advisory services for three offshore clients and receives advisory fees based on the net asset values of the clients and performance fees, if any, based on the overall increase in net asset values. The Company recorded advisory fees from these clients totaling $79,012 and $169,574 for the three and six months ended December 31, 2012. The Company recorded advisory and performance fees totaling $82,401 and $177,098 for the corresponding periods in fiscal 2012. The performance fees for these clients are calculated and recorded in accordance with the terms of the advisory agreements. These fees may fluctuate significantly from year to year based on factors that may be out of the Company’s control. Frank Holmes, CEO, serves as a director of the offshore clients.

The Company receives additional revenue from several sources including custodial fee revenues, mailroom operations and investment income.

Substantially all of the cash and cash equivalents included in the balance sheet at December 31, 2012, and June 30, 2012, is invested in USGIF money market funds.

NOTE 6. BORROWINGS

As of December 31, 2012, the Company has no long-term liabilities.

The Company has access to a $1 million credit facility with a one-year maturity for working capital purposes. The credit agreement requires the Company to maintain certain quarterly financial covenants to access the line of credit. As of December 31, 2012, this credit facility remained unutilized by the Company.

NOTE 7. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

The Company accounts for stock-based compensation in accordance with ASC 718 Compensation – Stock Compensation (formerly SFAS No. 123 (revised 2004) Share-Based Payment). Stock-based compensation expense is recorded for the cost of stock options. Stock-based compensation expense for the three and six months ended December 31, 2012, was $610 and $8,320, compared to $7,882 and $17,542 in the corresponding periods in fiscal 2012. As of December 31, 2012, and 2011, respectively, there was approximately $8,947 and $33,201 of total unrecognized share-based compensation cost related to share-based compensation granted under the plans that will be recognized over the remainder of their respective vesting periods.

Stock compensation plans

The Company’s stock option plans provide for the granting of class A shares as either incentive or nonqualified stock options to employees and non-employee directors. Options are subject to terms and conditions determined by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. The following table summarizes information about the Company’s stock option plans for the six months ended December 31, 2012.

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NOTE 8. EARNINGS PER SHARE

The basic earnings per share (“EPS”) calculation excludes dilution and is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS reflects the potential dilution of EPS that could occur if options to issue common stock were exercised.

The following table sets forth the computation for basic and diluted EPS: