VALUE LINE INC - Quarter Report: 2009 July (Form 10-Q)
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-Q
(Mark
One)
x
|
QUARTERLY
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
1934
|
For the
quarterly period ended July 31,
2009
or
o |
TRANSITION
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
1934
|
For the
transition period from _____________________________________ to
__________________________________
Commission
File Number: 0-11306
VALUE LINE,
INC.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
New York
|
13-3139843
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
|
(I.R.S.
Employer Identification No.)
|
220 East 42nd Street, New York, New
York
|
10017-5891
|
(Address
of principal executive offices)
|
(Zip
Code)
|
(212)
907-1500
(Registrant's
telephone number, including area code)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be
filed by Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the
preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required
to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for
the past 90 days. Yes x No
o
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on
its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be
submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (232.405 of this
chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the
registrant was required to submit and post such
files)”.
Yes o No
o
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting
company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,”
“accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the
Exchange Act.
Large
accelerated filer o
|
Accelerated
filer o
|
Non-accelerated
filer x
|
Smaller
reporting company o
|
(Do
not check if a smaller reporting
company)
|
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes o No x
Indicate
the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer's classes of common
stock, as of the latest practicable date.
Class
|
Outstanding at August 31,
2009
|
Common stock, $.10 par
value
|
9,981,600
Shares
|
VALUE
LINE INC.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
|
|
Page No.
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PART
I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
|
|
||
Item 1.
|
|
Condensed
Consolidated Financial Statements
|
|
|
|
Consolidated
Condensed Balance Sheets as of July 31, 2009 and April 30,
2009
|
|
3
|
|
|
Consolidated
Condensed Statements of Income for the three months ended July 31, 2009
and 2008
|
|
4
|
|
|
Consolidated
Condensed Statements of Cash Flows for the three months ended July 31,
2009 and 2008
|
|
5
|
|
Consolidated
Condensed Statement of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity for the three
months ended July 31, 2009
|
6
|
|||
Consolidated
Condensed Statement of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity for the three
months ended July 31, 2008
|
7
|
|||
|
Notes
to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements
|
|
8
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Item
2.
|
|
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
|
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15
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Item
3.
|
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Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
|
|
23
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Item
4.
|
|
Controls
and Procedures
|
|
24
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PART
II. OTHER INFORMATION
|
|
||
Item
1.
|
|
Legal
Proceedings
|
|
25
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Item 1A.
|
|
Risk
Factors
|
|
25
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Item
6.
|
|
Exhibits
|
|
25
|
|
Signatures
|
|
26
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EX-31.1
(Certifications required under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002)
|
|
EX-31.2
(Certifications required under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002)
|
|
EX-32.1
(Certifications required under Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002)
|
Part
I - Financial Information
Item
1. Financial Statements
Value
Line, Inc.
Consolidated
Condensed Balance Sheets
(in
thousands, except share amounts)
July
31,
|
Apr.
30,
|
|||||||
2009
|
2009
|
|||||||
(unaudited)
|
||||||||
Assets
|
||||||||
Current
Assets:
|
||||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents (including short term investments of $52,041 and
$42,068, respectively)
|
$ | 52,506 | $ | 42,936 | ||||
Trading
securities
|
15,902 | 17,203 | ||||||
Securities
available for sale
|
38,066 | 46,526 | ||||||
Accounts
receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $47 and $47,
respectively
|
2,199 | 2,353 | ||||||
Receivable
from affiliates
|
1,564 | 1,312 | ||||||
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
884 | 1,047 | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
11,942 | 493 | ||||||
Total
current assets
|
123,063 | 111,870 | ||||||
Long
term assets
|
||||||||
Property
and equipment, net
|
4,443 | 4,474 | ||||||
Capitalized
software and other intangible assets, net
|
1,392 | 1,211 | ||||||
Total
long term assets
|
5,835 | 5,685 | ||||||
Total
assets
|
$ | 128,898 | $ | 117,555 | ||||
Liabilities
and Shareholders' Equity
|
||||||||
Current
Liabilities:
|
||||||||
Accounts
payable and accrued liabilities
|
$ | 2,876 | $ | 2,865 | ||||
Payable
to parent company
|
163 | - | ||||||
Accrued
salaries
|
1,352 | 1,438 | ||||||
Dividends
payable
|
1,996 | 2,994 | ||||||
Accrued
taxes payable
|
- | 392 | ||||||
Reserve
for settlement
|
47,706 | - | ||||||
Unearned
revenue
|
23,126 | 23,742 | ||||||
Total
current liabilities
|
77,219 | 31,431 | ||||||
Long
term liabilities
|
||||||||
Unearned
revenue
|
4,366 | 5,255 | ||||||
Total
long term liabilities
|
4,366 | 5,255 | ||||||
Shareholders'
Equity:
|
||||||||
Common
stock, $.10 par value; authorized 30,000,000 shares; issued 10,000,000
shares
|
1,000 | 1,000 | ||||||
Additional
paid-in capital
|
991 | 991 | ||||||
Retained
earnings
|
45,359 | 78,935 | ||||||
Treasury
stock, at cost (18,400 shares on 7/31/09 and 4/30/09)
|
(354 | ) | (354 | ) | ||||
Accumulated
other comprehensive income, net of tax
|
317 | 297 | ||||||
Total
shareholders' equity
|
47,313 | 80,869 | ||||||
Total
liabilities and shareholders' equity
|
$ | 128,898 | $ | 117,555 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated condensed
financial statements.
3
Part
I - Financial Information
Item
1. Financial Statements
Value
Line, Inc.
Consolidated
Condensed Statements of Income/(Loss)
(in
thousands, except share & per share amounts)
(unaudited)
Three
months ended
|
||||||||
July
31,
|
||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Revenues:
|
||||||||
Investment
periodicals and related publications
|
$ | 9,321 | $ | 10,337 | ||||
Copyright
data fees
|
767 | 1,681 | ||||||
Investment
management fees & services
|
4,700 | 8,195 | ||||||
Total
revenues
|
14,788 | 20,213 | ||||||
Expenses:
|
||||||||
Advertising
and promotion
|
2,080 | 3,241 | ||||||
Salaries
and employee benefits
|
4,287 | 4,857 | ||||||
Production
and distribution
|
1,177 | 1,530 | ||||||
Office
and administration
|
2,324 | 3,120 | ||||||
Provision
for settlement
|
47,706 | - | ||||||
Total
expenses
|
57,574 | 12,748 | ||||||
Income/(loss)
from operations
|
(42,786 | ) | 7,465 | |||||
Income
from securities transactions, net
|
218 | 632 | ||||||
Income/(loss)
before income taxes
|
(42,568 | ) | 8,097 | |||||
Income
tax (benefit)/provision
|
(10,988 | ) | 3,035 | |||||
Net
income/(loss)
|
$ | (31,580 | ) | $ | 5,062 | |||
Earnings/(loss)
per share, basic & fully diluted
|
$ | (3.16 | ) | $ | 0.51 | |||
Weighted
average number of common shares
|
9,981,600 | 9,981,600 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated condensed
financial statements.
4
Part
I - Financial Information
Item
1. Financial Statements
Value
Line, Inc.
Consolidated
Condensed Statements of Cash Flows
(in
thousands)
(unaudited)
For
the three months
|
||||||||
ended
|
||||||||
July
31,
|
July
31,
|
|||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Cash
flows from operating activities:
|
||||||||
Net
income/(loss)
|
$ | (31,580 | ) | $ | 5,062 | |||
Adjustments
to reconcile net income/(loss) to net cash provided by operating
activities:
|
||||||||
Depreciation
and amortization
|
211 | 375 | ||||||
Amortization
of bond premium
|
314 | - | ||||||
Losses
on sales of trading securities and securities available for
sale
|
81 | 191 | ||||||
Unrealized
(gains) on trading securities
|
(20 | ) | (31 | ) | ||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
(11,452 | ) | 11 | |||||
Changes
in assets and liabilities:
|
||||||||
Proceeds
from sales of trading securities
|
1,164 | 3,155 | ||||||
Decrease
in unearned revenue
|
(1,505 | ) | (2,350 | ) | ||||
Increase
in deferred charges
|
- | 110 | ||||||
Increase
in reserve for settlement
|
47,706 | - | ||||||
Increase/(decrease)
in accounts payable and accrued expenses
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11 | (2,007 | ) | |||||
Decrease
in accrued salaries
|
(86 | ) | (27 | ) | ||||
(Decrease)/increase
in accrued taxes payable
|
(392 | ) | 2,634 | |||||
Decrease
in prepaid expenses and other current assets
|
156 | 58 | ||||||
(Increase)/decrease
in accounts receivable
|
154 | (772 | ) | |||||
Increase
in receivable from affiliates
|
(89 | ) | (208 | ) | ||||
Total
adjustments
|
36,253 | 1,139 | ||||||
Net
cash provided by operating activities
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4,673 | 6,201 | ||||||
Cash
flows from investing activities:
|
||||||||
Purchases
and sales of securities classified as available for sale:
|
||||||||
Proceeds
from sales of fixed income securities
|
26,502 | 3,165 | ||||||
Purchase
of fixed income securities
|
(18,250 | ) | - | |||||
Purchases
of equity securities
|
- | (3 | ) | |||||
Acquisition
of property and equipment
|
(47 | ) | (7 | ) | ||||
Expenditures
for capitalized software
|
(314 | ) | (16 | ) | ||||
Net
cash provided by investing activities
|
7,891 | 3,139 | ||||||
Cash
flows from financing activities:
|
||||||||
Dividends
paid
|
(2,994 | ) | (2,995 | ) | ||||
Net
cash used in financing activities
|
(2,994 | ) | (2,995 | ) | ||||
Net
increase in cash and cash equivalents
|
9,570 | 6,345 | ||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents at beginning of year
|
42,936 | 8,955 | ||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents at end of period
|
$ | 52,506 | $ | 15,300 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated condensed
financial statements.
5
Part
I - Financial Information
Item
1. Financial Statements
Value
Line, Inc.
Consolidated
Condensed Statement of Changes in Shareholders' Equity
For
the Three Months Ended July 31, 2009
(in
thousands, except share amounts)
(unaudited)
Common stock
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accumulated
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number
|
Additional
|
Other
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
of
|
paid-in
|
Treasury
|
Comprehensive
|
Retained
|
Comprehensive
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
shares
|
Amount
|
capital
|
Stock
|
income/(loss)
|
earnings
|
income
|
Total
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance
at April 30, 2009
|
9,981,600 | $ | 1,000 | $ | 991 | $ | (354 | ) | $ | 78,935 | $ | 297 | $ | 80,869 | ||||||||||||||||||
Comprehensive
income
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net
(loss)
|
$ | (31,580 | ) | (31,580 | ) | (31,580 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other comprehensive
income, net
of tax:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Change
in unrealized gains on securities, net of taxes
|
20 | 20 | 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Comprehensive
income/(loss)
|
$ | (31,560 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends
declared
|
(1,996 | ) | (1,996 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance
at July 31, 2009
|
9,981,600 | $ | 1,000 | $ | 991 | $ | (354 | ) | $ | 45,359 | $ | 317 | $ | 47,313 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated condensed
financial statements.
6
Part
I - Financial Information
Item
1. Financial Statements
Value
Line, Inc.
Consolidated
Condensed Statement of Changes in Shareholders' Equity
For
the Three Months Ended July 31, 2008
(in
thousands, except share amounts)
(unaudited)
Common stock
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accumulated
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number
|
Additional
|
Other
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
of
|
paid-in
|
Treasury
|
Comprehensive
|
Retained
|
Comprehensive
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
shares
|
Amount
|
capital
|
Stock
|
income
|
earnings
|
income
|
Total
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance
at April 30, 2008
|
9,981,600 | $ | 1,000 | $ | 991 | $ | (354 | ) | $ | 70,954 | $ | 15,263 | $ | 87,854 | ||||||||||||||||||
Comprehensive
income
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net
income
|
$ | 5,062 | 5,062 | 5,062 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other comprehensive
income, net
of
tax:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Change
in unrealized gains on securities, net of taxes
|
(1,212 | ) | (1,212 | ) | (1,212 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Comprehensive
income
|
$ | 3,850 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends
declared
|
(3,993 | ) | (3,993 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance
at July 31, 2008
|
9,981,600 | $ | 1,000 | $ | 991 | $ | (354 | ) | $ | 72,023 | $ | 14,051 | $ | 87,711 |
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated condensed
financial statements.
7
Value
Line, Inc.
Notes
to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements
Note
1-Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies:
The
interim consolidated condensed financial statements of Value Line, Inc.,
together with its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as the “Company”), are
unaudited. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited consolidated
condensed financial statements contain all adjustments (consisting of normal
recurring accruals except as noted below) considered necessary for a fair
presentation. This report should be read in conjunction with the financial
statements and footnotes contained in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K,
dated July 16, 2009 for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2009. Results of
operations covered by this report may not be indicative of the results of
operations for the entire year.
Value
Line, Inc. (the "Company", "VLI") is incorporated in the State of New York. The
Company's primary businesses are producing investment related periodical
publications and making available copyright data including certain Value Line
trademarks and Value Line proprietary ranking system information to third
parties under written agreements for use in third party managed and marketed
investment products, providing investment management services to the Value Line
Funds, institutions and individual accounts and providing distribution,
marketing, and administrative services to the Value Line Funds. The name "Value
Line" as used to describe the Company, its products, and its subsidiaries, is a
registered trademark of the Company.
Principles
of consolidation: The consolidated condensed financial statements include the
accounts of the Company and all of its subsidiaries. All significant
intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in
consolidation.
Revenue
Recognition:
Depending
upon the product, subscription fulfillment is available in print, via internet
access and CD-ROM. The length of a subscription varies by product and offer
received by the subscriber. Generally, subscriptions are available as trial
subscriptions, annual subscriptions and/or multi-year subscriptions.
Subscription revenues are recognized on a straight line basis over the life of
the subscription. Accordingly, the amount of subscription fees to be earned by
fulfilling subscriptions after the date of the balance sheet is shown as
unearned revenue within current and long-term liabilities. Changes in unearned
revenue generally indicate the trend for subscription revenues over the
following year as the current portion of deferred revenue is expected to be
recognized as revenue within 12 months.
Copyright
data revenues are derived from providing certain Value Line trademarks and Value
Line proprietary ranking system information to third parties under written
agreements for use in selecting securities for third party marketed products,
including unit investment trusts, annuities and exchange traded funds. Value
Line earns asset based copyright data fees as specified in the individual
agreements. Revenue is recognized monthly over the term of the agreement and
will fluctuate as the market value of the underlying portfolio increases or
decreases in value.
Investment
management fees consist of management fees from the Value Line Mutual Funds
("Value Line Funds"), and from asset management clients. Investment management
fees for the mutual funds are earned on a monthly basis as services are
performed and the fee is calculated based on average daily net assets of the
mutual funds in accordance with each fund's advisory agreement. Investment
management fees for the asset management accounts are earned on a monthly basis
as services are performed and the fee is calculated on assets in accordance with
each of the management agreements (see note 6).
The
management fees and average daily net assets for the Value Line Funds are
calculated by State Street Bank, which serves as the fund accountant, fund
administrator, and custodian of the Funds. The management fees for the
non-mutual fund asset management clients are calculated by the Company based on
the asset valuations provided by third party custodians.
The Value
Line Funds are open-end management companies registered under the Investment
Company Act of 1940. Shareholder transactions for the Value Line Mutual Funds
are processed each business day by the third party transfer agent of the Funds.
Shares can be redeemed without advanced notice upon request of the shareowners
each day that the New York Stock Exchange is open. Assets within the separately
managed accounts are held at third party custodians, are subject to the terms of
each advisory agreement and do not have any advance notice requirement for
withdrawals, although they have a 30 day advance notice requirement for
termination of the account.
Service
and distribution fees are received from the Value Line Funds in accordance with
service and distribution plans under rule 12b-1 of the Investment Company Act of
1940. The plans are compensation plans, which means that the distributor’s fees
under the plans are payable without regard to actual expenses incurred by the
distributor, and therefore the distributor may earn a profit under the plan.
Expenses incurred by EULAV Securities, Inc. ("ESI") (formerly, Value Line
Securities, Inc. ("VLS"), the distributor of the Value Line Funds, include
payments to securities dealers, banks, financial institutions and other
organizations (including an allocation of VLI expenses), that provide
distribution, marketing, and administrative services with respect to the
distribution of the Value Line Funds. Service and distribution fees are received
on a monthly basis and calculated on the average daily net assets of the
respective mutual fund in accordance with each fund prospectus (see note
6).
8
Value
Line, Inc.
Notes
to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements
Valuation
of Securities:
The
Company's securities classified as available for sale consist of shares of the
Value Line Funds and government debt securities accounted for in accordance with
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No.115, "Accounting for Certain
Investments in Debt and Equity Securities". The securities available for sale
and trading securities reflected in the consolidated condensed financial
statements are valued at market and unrealized gains and losses on securities
classified as available for sale, net of applicable taxes, are reported as a
separate component of Shareholders' Equity. Unrealized gains and losses on
trading securities are included in the Statement of Income. Realized gains and
losses on sales of the securities classified as available for sale are recorded
in earnings on trade date and are determined on the identified cost
method.
The
Company classifies its securities available for sale as current assets. It does
so to properly reflect its liquidity and to recognize the fact that it has
assets available for sale to fully satisfy its current liabilities should the
need arise.
Market
valuation of securities listed on a securities exchange is based on the closing
sales prices on the last business day of each month. Valuation of open-end
mutual fund shares is based upon the publicly quoted net asset value of the
shares. The market value of the Company's fixed maturity government debt
obligations are determined utilizing publicly quoted market prices or other
observable inputs.
Effective
for fiscal 2009, the Company adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 157, Fair Value Measurements
(“FAS 157"). In accordance with FAS 157, fair value is defined as the price that
the Company would receive upon selling an investment in a timely transaction to
an independent buyer in the principal or most advantageous market for the
investment. FAS 157 established a three-tier hierarchy to maximize the use of
observable market data and minimize the use of unobservable inputs and to
establish classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes.
Inputs refer broadly to the information that market participants would use in
pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk. Examples of
risks include those inherent in a particular valuation technique used to measure
fair value such as the risk inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique.
Inputs are classified as observable or unobservable. Observable inputs are
inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the
asset or liability developed based on market data obtained from sources
independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect
the reporting entity’s
own assumptions about the factors market participants would use in pricing the
asset or liability developed based on the best information available in the
circumstances. The three-tier hierarchy of inputs is summarized in the three
broad levels listed below.
Level 1 –
quoted prices in active markets for identical investments
Level 2 –
other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar
investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.)
Level 3 –
significant unobservable inputs (including the Company’s own assumptions in
determining the fair value of investments)
The
valuation techniques used by the Company to measure fair value during the three
months ended July 31, 2009 for Level 1 securities consisted exclusively of
quoted prices.
The
securities valued as Level 2 investments consist of municipal bonds (that are
pre-refunded by U.S. Treasury securities) and other U.S. Treasury securities.
Valuation techniques used by the Company to measure fair value for government
securities during the period consisted primarily of third party pricing services
that utilized actual market data such as trades of comparable bond issues,
broker/dealer quotations for the same or similar investments in active markets
and other observable inputs. When necessary, the third party service uses
discounted future cash flows to calculate the net present value.
The
following is a summary of the inputs used as of July 31, 2009 in valuing the
Company’s investments carried at fair value:
(In Thousands)
|
||||||||||||||||
Valuation Inputs
|
Total
Investments
|
Cash
Equivalents
|
Investments in
Trading
Securities
|
Investments in
Securities
Available for
Sale
|
||||||||||||
Level 1 - Quoted Prices
|
$ | 52,041 | $ | 52,041 | - | - | ||||||||||
Level 2 - Other Significant Observable Inputs
|
$ | 53,968 | - | $ | 15,902 | $ | 38,066 | |||||||||
Level 3 - Significant Unobservable
Inputs
|
- | - | - | - | ||||||||||||
Total
|
$ | 106,009 | $ | 52,041 | $ | 15,902 | $ | 38,066 |
The
Company had no other financial instruments including futures, forwards and swap
contracts. For the period ended July 31, 2009, there were no Level 3
investments. The Company does not have any liabilities subject to FAS
157.
Advertising
expenses: The Company expenses advertising costs as incurred.
Reclassification:
Certain items in the prior year financial statements have been reclassified to
conform to the current year presentation.
9
Value
Line, Inc.
Notes
to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements
Income
Taxes:
The
Company computes its income tax provision in accordance with the provisions of
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 109, "Accounting for Income
Taxes". Deferred tax liabilities and assets are recognized for the expected
future tax consequences of events that have been reflected in the Consolidated
Condensed Financial Statements. Deferred tax liabilities and assets are
determined based on the differences between the book values and the tax bases of
particular assets and liabilities, using tax rates currently in effect for the
years in which the differences are expected to reverse.
In July
2006, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Interpretation No. 48,
"Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes - an Interpretation of FASB
Statement No. 109" (the "Interpretation" or "FIN 48"). The Interpretation
establishes for all entities, a minimum threshold for financial statement
recognition of the benefit of positions taken in filing tax returns (including
whether an entity is taxable in a particular jurisdiction), and requires certain
expanded tax disclosures. The Interpretation is effective for fiscal years
beginning after December 15, 2006, and is to be applied to all open tax years as
of the date of effectiveness. As of July 31, 2009, management has reviewed the
tax positions for the years still subject to tax audit under the statute of
limitations, evaluated the implications of FIN 48, and determined that there is
no impact to the Company's financial statements.
Earnings
per share: Earnings per share are based on the weighted average number of shares
of common stock and common stock equivalents outstanding during each
year.
Cash and
Cash Equivalents: For purposes of the Consolidated Condensed Statements of Cash
Flows, the Company considers all cash held at banks and short term liquid
investments with an original maturity of less than three months to be cash and
cash equivalents. As of July 31, and April 30, 2009 cash equivalents included
$52,041,000 and $42,068,000, respectively, invested in the Value Line U.S.
Government Money Market Fund. The Value Line Cash Fund was renamed the U.S.
Government Money Market Fund in August 2009.
Use of
Estimates: The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally
accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and
assumptions that affect certain reported amounts and disclosures. Accordingly,
actual results could differ from those estimates.
Note
2-Investments:
Securities
held by the Company are classified as Trading Securities and Available-for-Sale
Securities. All securities held in ESI, as a broker/dealer, are classified as
trading securities. Securities held by the Company and its other subsidiaries,
are classified as available-for-sale securities.
Trading
Securities:
Trading
securities held by the Company at July 31, 2009 had an aggregate cost of
$15,811,000 and a market value of $15,902,000. Trading securities held by the
Company at April 30, 2009 had an aggregate cost of $17,133,000 and a market
value of $17,203,000. The proceeds from sales of trading securities during the
three months ended July 31, 2009 were $1,164,000 and the related net realized
trading losses amounted to $61,000. The proceeds from sales of trading
securities during the three months ended July 31, 2008 were $3,155,000 and the
related net realized trading losses amounted to $125,000. The net changes in
unrealized gains for the periods ended July 31, 2009 and 2008, of $20,000 and
$31,000, respectively, were included in the Consolidated Condensed Statement of
Income.
Securities
Available for Sale
Equity
Securities:
The
Company sold its portfolio of equity securities during the second quarter of
fiscal 2009 and did not hold any equity securities as of July 31, and April 30,
2009.
During
the three months ended July 31, 2008 there were no sales and no realized gains
or losses on equity securities, for which unrealized gains and losses were
included in Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income as of July 31, 2008. The
decrease in gross unrealized gains on equity securities classified as available
for sale of $1,690,000, net of deferred tax benefit of $595,000, were included
in Shareholders' Equity at July 31, 2008.
Government
Debt Securities (Fixed Income Securities):
Government
debt securities consist of federal, state, and local government securities
within the United States. The aggregate cost and fair value at July 31, 2009 for
government debt securities classified as available for sale were as
follows:
(In
Thousands)
|
||||||||||||
Amortized
Historical
|
Gross
Unrealized
|
|||||||||||
Maturity
|
Cost
|
Fair Value
|
Holding Gains
|
|||||||||
Due
within 1 year
|
$ | 15,299 | $ | 15,355 | $ | 56 | ||||||
Due
1 year through 5 years
|
22,278 | 22,711 | 433 | |||||||||
Total
investment in government
debt securities
|
$ | 37,577 | $ | 38,066 | $ | 489 |
10
Value
Line, Inc.
Notes
to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements
The
aggregate cost and fair value at April 30, 2009 for government debt securities
classified as available for sale were as follows:
(In
Thousands)
|
||||||||||||
Amortized
Historical
|
Gross
Unrealized
|
|||||||||||
Maturity
|
Cost
|
Fair Value
|
Holding
Gains
|
|||||||||
Due
within 1 year
|
$ | 8,593 | $ | 8,598 | $ | 5 | ||||||
Due
1 year through 5 years
|
37,474 | 37,927 | 453 | |||||||||
Total
investment in government
debt securities
|
$ | 46,067 | $ | 46,525 | $ | 458 |
The
increase in gross unrealized gain on fixed income securities classified as
available for sale of $11,000 and $625,000 net of deferred income tax of $4,000
and $220,000, respectively, were included in Accumulated Other Comprehensive
Income on the Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheets as of July 31, and April 30,
2009, respectively.
The
average yield on the Government debt securities classified as available for sale
at July 31, and April 30, 2009 was 2.28% and 2.52%, respectively.
Proceeds
from sales of government debt securities classified as available for sale during
the three months ended July 31, 2009 and 2008 were $26,502,000 and $3,165,000,
respectively. During the three months ended July 31, 2009 and 2008, losses on
sales of fixed income securities of $20,000 and $66,000, respectively, were
reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in the Balance Sheet to
the Consolidated Condensed Statement of Income.
For the
three months ended July 31, 2009 and 2008, income from securities transactions
also included $1,000 and $58,000 of dividend income; $274,000 and $736,000 of
interest income, net of bond amortization of $314,000 and $0, respectively. In
the first quarter of fiscal years 2010 and 2009 income from securities
transactions also included $2,000 and $0 of related interest expense,
respectively.
Note
3-Supplementary Cash Flow Information:
Cash
payments for income taxes were $863,000 and $401,000 for the three months ended
July 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively.
Note
4-Employees' Profit Sharing and Savings Plan:
Substantially
all employees of the Company and its subsidiaries are members of the Value Line,
Inc. Profit Sharing and Savings Plan (the "Plan"). In general, this is a
qualified, contributory plan which provides for a discretionary annual Company
contribution.
Note
5-Comprehensive Income:
Financial
Accounting Standards No. 130, "Reporting Comprehensive Income", requires the
reporting of comprehensive income in addition to net income from operations.
Comprehensive income is a more inclusive financial reporting methodology that
includes disclosure of certain financial information that otherwise would not be
recognized in the calculation of net income.
At July
31, 2009 and 2008, the Company held both equity securities and U.S. Government
debt securities that are classified as Available for Sale on the Consolidated
Condensed Balance Sheets. The change in valuation of these securities, net of
deferred income taxes, has been recorded in Accumulated Other Comprehensive
Income in the Company's Balance Sheets.
The
components of comprehensive income that are included in the Statement of Changes
in Shareholders' Equity are as follows:
(in
thousands)
|
||||||||||||
Before
|
Tax
|
Net
of
|
||||||||||
Tax
|
(Expense)
|
Tax
|
||||||||||
Three
months ended July 31, 2009
|
Amount
|
or Benefit
|
Amount
|
|||||||||
Unrealized
Gains/(Losses) on Securities:
|
||||||||||||
Unrealized
Holding Gains/(Losses)
|
$ | 11 | (4 | ) | $ | 7 | ||||||
Add:
Reclassification adjustments for losses realized in net
income
|
20 | (7 | ) | 13 | ||||||||
Less:
Reclassification adjustments for gains realized in net
income
|
- | - | - | |||||||||
Other
Comprehensive income
|
$ | 31 | $ | (11 | ) | $ | 20 |
11
Value
Line, Inc.
Notes
to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements
(in
thousands)
|
||||||||||||
Three
months ended July 31, 2008
|
Before Tax |
Tax (Expense) |
Net
of Tax |
|||||||||
Unrealized
Gains/(Losses) on Securities:
|
||||||||||||
Unrealized
Holding Gains/(Losses)
|
$ | (2,061 | ) | $ | 725 | $ | (1,336 | ) | ||||
Add:
Reclassification adjustments for losses realized in net
income
|
205 | (72 | ) | 133 | ||||||||
Less:
Reclassification adjustments for gains realized in net
income
|
(14 | ) | 5 | (9 | ) | |||||||
Other
Comprehensive income
|
$ | (1,870 | ) | $ | 658 | $ | (1,212 | ) |
Note
6-Related Party Transactions:
The
Company's subsidiary, EULAV Asset Management, LLC ("EULAV") acts as investment
adviser and manager for fourteen open-end investment companies, the Value Line
Funds. EULAV earns investment management fees based upon the average daily net
asset values of the respective Value Line Funds. As discussed in Note 1, service
and distribution fees are received by ESI from the Value Line Funds in
accordance with service and distribution plans under rule 12b-1 of the
Investment Company Act of 1940. The plans are compensation plans, which means
that the distributor’s fees under the plans are payable without regard to actual
expenses incurred by the distributor, and therefore the distributor may earn a
profit under the plans. Expenses incurred by ESI include payments to securities
dealers, banks, financial institutions and other organizations which provide
distribution, marketing, and administrative services (including payments by ESI
to VLI for allocated compensation and administration expenses) with respect to
the distribution of the mutual funds’ shares. Service and distribution fees are
received on a monthly basis and calculated on the daily net assets of the
respective mutual fund in accordance with each fund's prospectus.
For the
three months ended July 31, 2009 and 2008, investment management fees and 12b-1
service and distribution fees amounted to $4,647,000 and $7,932,000,
respectively, which took into account fee waivers for certain of the Value Line
Funds. These amounts included service and distribution fees of $1,010,000 and
$1,808,000 earned by ESI during the three months ended July 31, 2009 and 2008,
respectively. The related receivables from the funds for investment management
fees and service and distribution fees included in Receivables from affiliates
were $1,559,000 and $1,475,000 at July 31 and April 30, 2009,
respectively.
For the
three months ended July 31, 2009 and 2008, total management fee waivers were
$192,000 and $53,000, respectively, and service and distribution fee waivers
were $674,000 and $873,000, respectively. The Company and its subsidiary, ESI,
have no right to recoup the previously waived amounts of management fees and
12b-1 fees, excluding waived management fees for the U.S. Government Money
Market Fund. Any recoupment is subject to the provisions of the
prospectus.
As of
July 31, 2009, the Company had $52,041,000 invested in the Value Line U.S.
Government Money Market Fund representing 23% of the fund's assets and 2% of all
Value Line Funds assets. Purchases and redemptions routinely occur in the Value
Line U.S. Government Money Market Fund as part of business
operations.
For the
three months ended July 31, 2009 and 2008, the Company was reimbursed $204,000
and $216,000, respectively, for payments it made on behalf of and services it
provided to the Parent. At July 31, 2009 and April 30, 2009, the Payable to the
Parent amounted to $163,000 and $164,000, respectively. These transactions are
in accordance with the expense sharing agreement with the parent and tax sharing
arrangement as described in Note 7.
From time
to time, Arnold Bernhard & Co., Inc. (the "Parent") has purchased additional
shares of the Company in the market when and as the Parent has determined it to
be appropriate. As stated several times in the past, the public is reminded that
the Parent may make additional purchases from time to time in the future. The
Parent owns approximately 86.5% of the issued and outstanding common stock of
the Company.
Note
7-Federal, State and Local Income Taxes:
The
Company computes its income tax provision in accordance with the provisions of
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 109, "Accounting for Income
Taxes".
The
provision for income taxes includes the following:
|
Three
months ended July 31,
|
|||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
|
(in
thousands)
|
|||||||
Current
Tax Expense:
|
||||||||
Federal
|
$ | - | $ | 2,508 | ||||
State
and local
|
- | 565 | ||||||
- | 3,073 | |||||||
Deferred
Tax Expense (Benefit):
|
||||||||
Federal
|
(8,844 | ) | (24 | ) | ||||
State
and local
|
(2,144 | ) | (14 | ) | ||||
(10,988 | ) | (38 | ) | |||||
Provision
for income taxes
|
$ | (10,988 | ) | $ | 3,035 |
12
Value
Line, Inc.
Notes
to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements
Deferred
income taxes are provided for temporary differences between the financial
reporting basis and the tax basis of the Company's assets and
liabilities. The tax effect of temporary differences giving rise to
the Company's deferred tax assets is primarily the result of the tax benefit
from its net operating loss to be utilized within the next
year.
At the
end of each interim reporting period, the Company estimates the effective income
tax rate to apply for the full year. The Company uses the effective
income tax rate determined to provide for income taxes on a year-to-date basis
and we reflect the tax effect of any tax law changes and certain other discrete
events in the period in which they occur.
The
overall effective income tax rate, as a percentage of pre-tax ordinary income,
for the three months ended July 31, 2009 and 2008 was 25.81% and 37.48%,
respectively. The fluctuation in the effective income tax rate is attributable
to the non-deductible portion of the provision for settlement and non-taxable
investment income, events that do not have tax consequences, recorded during the
three months ended July 31, 2009.
The
annual effective tax rate for FY2010 could change due to a number of
factors including but not limited to an increase or decrease in the ratio of
income to pre-tax items that do not have tax consequences, our geographic profit
mix between local tax jurisdictions, new tax laws, new interpretations of
existing tax law and rulings by and settlements with tax authorities. For the
three months ended July 31, 2009, there were no new material uncertain
positions.
The
provision for income taxes differs from the amount of income tax determined by
applying the applicable U.S. federal statutory income tax rate to pretax income
as a result of the following:
Three
months ended July 31,
|
||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
U.S.
statutory federal rate
|
35.00 | % | 35.00 | % | ||||
Increase/(decrease)
in tax rate from:
|
||||||||
Tax
effect of non-deductible portion of provision for
settlement
|
-12.90 | % | 0.00 | % | ||||
State
and local income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit
|
2.61 | % | 4.42 | % | ||||
Effect
of tax exempt income and dividend deductions
|
0.45 | % | -2.54 | % | ||||
Other,
net
|
0.65 | % | 0.60 | % | ||||
Effective
income tax rate
|
25.81 | % | 37.48 | % |
The
Company is included in the consolidated federal income tax return of the Parent.
The Company has a tax sharing arrangement which requires it to make tax payments
to the Parent equal to the Company's liability as if it filed a separate
return.
Note
8-Business Segments:
The
Company operates two reportable business segments: (1) Investment Periodicals,
Publishing & Copyright Data and (2) Investment Management. The Investment
Periodicals, Publishing & Copyright Data segment produces investment related
periodical publications (retail and institutional) in both print and electronic
form, and includes copyright data fees for Value Line proprietary ranking system
information and other proprietary information. The Investment Management segment
provides advisory services to the Value Line Funds, as well as institutional and
individual accounts. The segments are differentiated by the products and
services they offer. The accounting policies of the segments are the same as
those described in the summary of significant accounting policies. The Company
allocates all revenues and expenses, except for depreciation and income from
securities transactions related to corporate assets, between the two reportable
segments.
Disclosure of Reportable Segment
Profit and Segment Assets (in thousands)
Three
months ended July 31, 2009
|
||||||||||||
Investment
|
||||||||||||
Periodicals,
|
|
|
||||||||||
Publishing
&
|
Investment
|
|||||||||||
Copyright Data
|
Management
|
Total
|
||||||||||
Revenues
from external customers
|
$ | 10,088 | $ | 4,700 | $ | 14,788 | ||||||
Intersegment
revenues
|
5 | - | 5 | |||||||||
Income
from securities transactions
|
5 | 76 | 81 | |||||||||
Depreciation
and amortization
|
197 | 14 | 211 | |||||||||
Segment
profit (loss) from operations*
|
3,756 | (46,542 | ) | (42,786 | ) | |||||||
Segment
assets
|
13,607 | 22,227 | 35,834 | |||||||||
Expenditures
for segment assets
|
361 | - | 361 |
Three
months ended July 31, 2008
|
||||||||||||
Investment
|
||||||||||||
Periodicals,
|
|
|
||||||||||
Publishing
&
|
Investment
|
|||||||||||
Copyright Data
|
Management
|
Total
|
||||||||||
Revenues
from external customers
|
$ | 12,018 | $ | 8,195 | $ | 20,213 | ||||||
Intersegment
revenues
|
6 | - | 6 | |||||||||
Income
from securities transactions
|
5 | 149 | 154 | |||||||||
Depreciation
and amortization
|
291 | 11 | 302 | |||||||||
Segment
profit from operations
|
4,743 | 2,726 | 7,469 | |||||||||
Segment
assets
|
9,829 | 79,132 | 88,961 | |||||||||
Expenditures
for segment assets
|
23 | - | 23 |
13
Value
Line, Inc.
Notes
to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements
Reconciliation
of Reportable Segment Revenues, Operating Profit and Assets
(in
thousands)
|
||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Revenues
|
||||||||
Total
revenues for reportable segments
|
$ | 14,793 | $ | 20,219 | ||||
Elimination
of intersegment revenues
|
(5 | ) | (6 | ) | ||||
Total
consolidated revenues
|
$ | 14,788 | $ | 20,213 | ||||
Segment
profit*
|
||||||||
Total
profit (loss) for reportable segments
|
$ | (42,705 | ) | 7,623 | ||||
Add:
Income from securities transactions related to corporate
assets
|
137 | 478 | ||||||
Less:
Depreciation related to corporate assets
|
- | (4 | ) | |||||
Income
before income taxes
|
$ | (42,568 | ) | $ | 8,097 | |||
Assets
|
||||||||
Total
assets for reportable segments
|
$ | 35,834 | $ | 88,961 | ||||
Corporate
assets
|
93,064 | 47,549 | ||||||
Consolidated
total assets
|
$ | 128,898 | $ | 136,510 |
*Includes provision for settlement
of approximately $48 million.
Note 9-Contingencies:
The
Company has made an offer to settle the Securities and Exchange Commission
investigation which was previously reported in public filings from back to
2005. The settlement offer, in which the Company neither admits nor
denies the investigation’s findings, relates to commissions paid by nine Value
Line equity mutual funds to an affiliated brokerage subsidiary from1986 through
November 2004. The settlement offer will not be effective unless
approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission and no assurance can be given
that such approval will be obtained.
The
Company has restructured its investment management subsidiary and brokerage
relationships and is confident that they conform to applicable regulatory
requirements. Company management ended the mutual funds’ use of
affiliated brokerage in 2004.
The
Company has established a reserve of approximately $48 million which includes
additional costs that may arise from the settlement. Based on the settlement
offer, approximately $43.7 million of the reserve would be paid by Value Line
into a Fair Fund to reimburse shareholders who owned shares in the affected
mutual funds in the period covered by the settlement. In addition, under the
settlement offer, the CEO and former CCO would be barred from serving as an
officer or director of a public company and from association with an investment
adviser, broker-dealer or registered investment company subject, in the case of
the CEO, to a limited exception from the associational bar for a period of one
year from the entry of the settlement Order to enable steps to be taken that
will terminate her association with the Value Line mutual funds, asset
management and distribution businesses. Howard A. Brecher, Chief Legal Officer
of Value Line, Inc., would become the Acting Chairman and Acting Chief Executive
Officer after entry of the settlement Order. He has been on the Board of
Directors for 17 years and is deeply knowledgeable about all our
businesses. Mr. Brecher is a graduate of Harvard University, Harvard
Business School and Harvard Law School. He also holds a Master’s
Degree in tax law from New York University.
On
September 3, 2008, the Company was served with a derivative shareholder's suit
filed in New York County Supreme Court naming the Company's Directors and
alleging breach of fiduciary duty and related allegations, all arising from the
above SEC matter. The complaint seeks return of remuneration by the Directors
and other remedies. Plaintiff's counsel has agreed from time to time, most
recently until October 6, 2009, to extend the defendants' time to answer, move,
or otherwise respond to the complaint. Based on an evaluation of the case at
this early stage, including communications with the Company's insurance carrier,
it is not possible to estimate an amount or range of loss on the Company's
financial statements.
14
Item
2.
|
MANAGEMENT’S
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
AND
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
|
Safe
Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995
This report contains statements that
are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions
(including certain projections and business trends) accompanied by such phrases
as “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “will”, “intend” and other
similar or negative expressions, that are “forward-looking statements” as
defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a
result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the
following:
|
dependence
on key personnel;
|
|
maintaining
revenue from subscriptions for the Company’s
products;
|
|
protection
of intellectual property rights;
|
|
changes
in market and economic conditions;
|
|
fluctuations
in the Company’s assets under management due to broadly based changes in
the values of equity and debt securities, redemptions by investors and
other factors;
|
|
dependence
on Value Line Funds for investment management and related
fees;
|
|
competition
in the fields of publishing, copyright data and investment
management;
|
|
the
impact of government regulation on the Company’s business and the
uncertainties of litigation and regulatory
proceedings;
|
|
terrorist
attacks; and
|
|
other
risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the risks described
in Item 1A, “Risk Factors” of the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for
the year ended April 30, 2009, and other risks and uncertainties from time
to time.
|
Any
forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and the Company
undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Results
of Operations
The
severe downturn and volatility within the financial markets throughout the prior
fiscal year continued to negatively impact the Company’s assets under management
and the assets attributable to third party copyright data
partners. Although we have not suffered a fundamental change in our
business model, the collateral damage from the global economic decline
significantly reduced our assets under management and related investment
management and copyright data revenues. In response we continue to be
diligent about our expense control and have taken initiatives to reduce
costs. The Company continues to be debt free with liquidity
sufficient to endure the current economic crisis in terms of anticipated
liquidity needs.
For the
three months ended July 31, 2009 the Company’s net loss of $31,580,000 or $3.16
per share was $36,642,000 below net income of $5,062,000 or $0.51 per share for
the three months ended July 31, 2008. Operating loss of $42,786,000 for the
three months ended July 31, 2009 was $50,251,000 below operating income of
$7,465,000 last fiscal year. The operating and net losses of the Company were a
result of the Company recording a provision for settlement of $47,706,000 for
potential settlement and related costs associated with the Securities and
Exchange (“SEC”) investigation. Please refer to Note 9-Contingencies within
the notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements.
With this provision for settlement, shareholders’ equity of
$47,313,000 at July 31, 2009 was 46% lower than shareholders’ equity of
$87,711,000 at July 31, 2008.
15
The
following table illustrates the key earnings figures for the three months ended
July 31, 2009 and 2008.
Three Months Ended July 31,
|
||||||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
Percentage
Change
|
||||||||||
(in thousands, except earnings per
share)
|
FY 10 vs. 09*
|
|||||||||||
Earnings / (Loss) Per
Share
|
$ | (3.16 | ) | $ | 0.51 | NMF | ||||||
Net Income / (Loss)
|
$ | (31,580 | ) | $ | 5,062 | NMF | ||||||
Operating Income / (Loss)
|
$ | (42,786 | ) | $ | 7,465 | NMF | ||||||
Operating Expenses
|
$ | 57,574 | $ | 12,748 | NMF | |||||||
Income from Securities Transactions,
net
|
$ | 218 | $ | 632 | -65.5 | % |
*NMF =
not meaningful figure
Operating
revenues, which consist of investment periodicals, and related publications
revenues, copyright data fees, and investment management fees and services,
declined for the three months ended July 31, 2009.
Operating
Revenues
|
||||||||||||
Three Months Ended July 31,
|
||||||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
Percentage
Change
|
||||||||||
(in thousands)
|
FY 10 vs. 09
|
|||||||||||
Investment
periodicals and related publications
|
$ | 9,321 | $ | 10,337 | -9.8 | % | ||||||
Copyright
data fees
|
$ | 767 | $ | 1,681 | -54.4 | % | ||||||
Investment management fees and
services
|
$ | 4,700 | $ | 8,195 | -42.6 | % | ||||||
Total Operating
Revenues
|
$ | 14,788 | $ | 20,213 | -26.8 | % |
Investment
periodicals and related publications revenues
Investment
periodicals and related publications revenues were down $1,016,000 or 10% for
the three months ended July 31, 2009 as compared to the first quarter of the
prior fiscal year. While the Company continues to attract new
subscribers through various marketing channels, primarily direct mail and the
Internet, total product line circulation continues to
decline. Factors that have contributed to the decline in the
investment periodicals and related publications revenues include competition in
the form of free or low cost investment research on the Internet and research
provided by brokerage firms at no cost to their clients. As of July 31, 2009,
total company-wide circulation has dropped approximately 12% compared to the
previous fiscal year. Overall renewal rates for the flagship product,
The Value Line Investment
Survey are 70%, down slightly from 71% a year earlier. The
Company is not adding enough new subscribers to offset the subscribers that
choose not to renew. The Company has been fortunate that electronic
investment periodicals revenues from institutional sales have increased $161,000
or 10% from the previous year. Fiscal year institutional sales through July 31,
2009 were $1,999,000, up $435,000 or 28% from the previous fiscal
year.
16
Within
investment periodicals and related publications are subscription revenues
derived from print and electronic products. The following chart
illustrates the year-to-year change in the revenues associated with print and
electronic subscriptions.
Subscription
Revenues
|
||||||||||||
Three
Months Ended July 31,
|
2009
|
2008
|
Percentage
Change
|
|||||||||
(in thousands)
|
FY 10 vs. 09
|
|||||||||||
Print
publication revenues
|
$ | 6,138 | $ | 7,150 | -14.2 | % | ||||||
Electronic publication
revenues
|
$ | 3,183 | $ | 3,187 | -0.1 | % | ||||||
Total investment periodicals and related
publications revenues
|
$ | 9,321 | $ | 10,337 | -9.8 | % | ||||||
Unearned Revenues (Short and Long
Term)
|
$ | 27,492 | $ | 30,180 | -8.9 | % |
For the three months ended July 31,
2009 print publication revenues decreased $1,012,000 or 14% below last fiscal
year for the reasons described above. Print circulation, which has
always dominated our subscription base, has fallen 14% from the last fiscal
year. Electronic publications revenues were down $4,000 for the three
months ended July 31, 2009. With the exception of The Value Line Investment Survey
Online Edition, all other retail electronic services have seen declines
in circulation from the prior fiscal year.
The electronic publication revenues are
broken down into institutional accounts and retail subscribers. For
the three months ended July 31, 2009, institutional revenues increased $161,000
or 10%, while revenues from retail subscribers were down $165,000 or 11% as
compared to the three months ended July 31, 2008. The Company has
successfully expanded its institutional sales marketing efforts, and the
increase in institutional revenues is a direct result of a focused effort to
boost sales to colleges, libraries and money managers. The decrease
in electronic retail publications revenues is primarily attributable to the
decrease in circulation within the Company’s software products. As of
July 31, 2009, circulation of The Value Line
Investment Analyzer decreased 17%, which resulted in a $129,000 decline
in revenues from this product as compared to July 31, 2008. In March 2009, the
Company released its version 4.0 of this product. The Company has
received mixed results from subscribers to the product and as of July 31, 2009,
has not seen any change in the negative circulation trend for this
product.
The Value Line Timeliness Ranking
SystemTM (“the
Ranking System”) has historically been one of the key components in the
Company’s flagship product, The Value Line Investment Survey, and is also the
foundation on which much of the Company’s copyright data business is
derived. Unfortunately, in the volatile market of the past year and
fiscal quarter, the Ranking System has not performed up to historical
standards. Although it has gone through brief periods of
underperformance before, the rapid and severe price actions in the markets
appear to have favored short-term investing, as investors buy well known names
whose earnings have plunged but whose stock prices are cheap, hoping the stock
prices will rebound. Such stocks are generally not well ranked by
Value Line because the Ranking System emphasizes earnings results and price
momentum. The Ranking System is designed to be predictive over a six
to 12 month period. Over the year ended July 31, 2009, the ranking
system results were in perfect reverse order, with the rank 5 stocks (lowest
ranks) rebounding quickly after being beaten down most of last year, to
outperform the rank 1, 2, 3 and 4 stocks. If the market remains as
volatile in the coming quarters as it was last year, or if fundamental market
factors result in longer-term deterioration of the Ranking System’s predictive
performance, the Company believes the ranking system may continue to struggle.
This may negatively impact subscription revenues and copyright data
fees. The Company and its quantitative research staff continue to
work diligently to improve the Ranking System’s predictive performance although
no assurances are possible.
Copyright
Data Fees
Copyright Data fees have
decreased $914,000 or 54% for the three months ended July 31, 2009 as compared
to the three months ended July 31, 2008. As of July 31, 2009, total
third party sponsored assets are attributable to four contracts for copyright
data and represent $2.3 billion in various products as compared to three contracts
and $5.5 billion in assets last fiscal year, representing a 60% decline in
assets year over year. The combination of the underperformance by the
Ranking System and the broad and deep declines throughout the equity markets
have significantly impacted assets of the third party sponsors that are
customers of our copyright data business and have resulted in lower asset based
fees paid to the Company. The Company is in discussions with new
sponsors in an effort to increase revenues in this area. The Company
believes the growth of the business is dependent upon the desire of third
parties to use the Value Line proprietary research for their products. Today
this market is significantly more competitive as a result of product
diversification and growth of the use of indexes by portfolio managers.
Copyright Data fees have been a critical component of the Company’s plan to
replace shrinking publishing revenues. Unless the Ranking System’s
predictive performance improves, we anticipate Copyright Data revenues will
underperform the previous year’s revenues from that
source.
17
Investment
management fees and distribution services revenues
While the
rebound in assets during the quarter has boosted overall assets, the decline in
the markets from a year ago show a contraction of 32% in the net
assets of the Value Line Funds. The following tables illustrate the
total fund assets as of July 31, 2009 as compared to July 31,
2008.
Total
Net Assets
|
||||||||||||
At
July 31,
|
2009
|
2008
|
Percentage
Change
|
|||||||||
(in thousands)
|
FY 10 vs. 09
|
|||||||||||
Equity
funds
|
$ | 2,018,263 | $ | 3,180,492 | -36.5 | % | ||||||
Fixed
income funds
|
$ | 253,063 | $ | 257,356 | -1.7 | % | ||||||
U.S. Government Money Market
Fund
|
$ | 225,248 | $ | 237,336 | -5.1 | % | ||||||
Total net
assets
|
$ | 2,496,574 | $ | 3,675,184 | -32.1 | % |
As a
result of the decline in assets under management occurring over the course of
the year, investment management fees and distribution services revenues for the
three months ended July 31, 2009 were down $3,495,000 or 43% below the
prior fiscal year. Management fees for the three months ended July
31, 2009 were down $2,488,000 or 41% as compared to the prior fiscal year. There
was a net decrease of $797,000 or 44% in distribution services revenues (12b-1
fees). During the period, contractual fee waivers have existed for
most of the Value Line Funds. For the three months ended July 31, 2009 and 2008,
12b-1 fee waivers were $674,000 and $873,000, respectively. For the
three months ended July 31, 2009 and 2008, management fee waivers were $192,000
and $53,000, respectively. Twelve of the fourteen funds have all or a
portion of or the full amount of the 12b-1 fees being waived and five of the
fourteen funds have partial management fee waivers in place. With
very limited exception, the Company and its subsidiaries have no right to recoup
the previously waived management fees and 12b-1 fees. Separately
managed accounts revenues decreased $209,000 or 80% for the three months ended
July 31, 2009 as compared to the three months ended July 31, 2008 primarily due
to market decline in the portfolios and the loss of the New York State Common
Retirement Fund account last fiscal year.
Of the
fourteen funds managed by the Company, shares of Value Line Strategic Asset
Management Trust (“SAM”) and Value Line Centurion Fund are available to the
public only through the purchase of certain variable annuity and variable life
insurance contracts issued by The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company, Inc.
(“GIAC”).
18
The table
below shows the assets in the equity funds broken down into the two channels in
which the equity funds are available.
Equity
Fund Net Assets (Variable Annuity and Open End Equity
Funds)
|
||||||||||||
At
July 31,
|
2009
|
2008
|
Percentage
Change
|
|||||||||
(in thousands)
|
FY 10 vs. 09
|
|||||||||||
Variable
annuity assets (GIAC)
|
$ | 475,107 | $ | 749,148 | -36.6 | % | ||||||
All other open end equity fund
assets
|
$ | 1,543,156 | $ | 2,431,344 | -36.5 | % | ||||||
Total equity fund net
assets
|
$ | 2,018,263 | $ | 3,180,492 | -36.5 | % |
As of
July 31, 2009, only one of the six equity mutual funds, excluding SAM and
Centurion, had a four star rating by Morningstar, Inc. as compared to five
of the six equity funds, which had four or five stars a year ago. The
equity funds had net redemptions for the three months ended July 31, 2009, as
compared to net sales the previous year. Shareholder accounts for the
three months ended July 31, 2009 declined to 172,118 from 209,107 for the
previous year, representing a 17.6% decline. The largest distribution
channel for the Value Line Funds remains the fund supermarket platforms such as
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. The Company has received inquiries
from various platforms concerning the SEC investigation described in the
Contingencies Footnote 9. The Company believes the accounts that are
held at fund supermarkets may be vulnerable based on poor performance and
concerns about the SEC investigation of discontinued brokerage activities, as
investment advisors or prospects may choose to redeem existing investments or
not make further investments.
The Value
Line fixed income mutual fund assets (excluding the Value Line U.S. Government
Money Market Fund), represent 10% of total mutual fund assets at July 31, 2009
and are down 2% from the previous year. Value Line U.S. Government
Money Market Fund assets represent 9% of the total fund assets at July 31, 2009
and have decreased 5% from the previous year, primarily since the Company and
its Parent redeployed cash into other fixed income investments such as
pre-refunded municipal bonds and U.S. Treasury securities.
Shareholder
transactions for the Value Line Mutual Funds are processed each business day by
the third party transfer agent of the Funds. Shares can be redeemed without
advance notice upon request of the shareowners each day that the New York Stock
Exchange is open. During the first quarter of fiscal 2010 the financial markets
continue to be volatile, but the markets have improved.
The
Company’s separately managed accounts as of July 31, 2009 have $49 million in
assets, down from $210 million at July 31, 2008. Of the $49 million,
$24 million is affiliated with the Parent. Assets within the
separately managed accounts are held at third party custodians, are subject to
the terms of each advisory agreement and do not have any advance notice
requirement for withdrawals, although they have a 30 day advance notice
requirement for termination of the account. As of April 30, 2009, the
Company lost a $93 million account from the New York State Common Retirement
Fund as their five-year contract expired and was not renewed based on a
reallocation of investments by the state. The Company did not add any
new accounts thus far during the fiscal year 2010.
19
Expenses
Expenses
within the Company are categorized into advertising and promotion, salaries and
employee benefits, production and distribution, and office and administration.
For
fiscal 2010, expenses include a Provision for Settlement of $47,706,000,
which is described earlier in Results of Operations and in Note 9 of the
Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements. Operating expenses of $57,574,000
for the three months ended July 31, 2009 were $44,826,000 above operating
expenses of $12,748,000 last fiscal year.
Advertising
and promotion
Three Months Ended July 31,
|
||||||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
Percentage
Change
|
||||||||||
(in thousands)
|
FY 10 vs. 09
|
|||||||||||
Advertising and promotion
|
$ | 2,080 | $ | 3,241 | -35.8 | % |
Advertising
and promotion expenses for the three months ended July 31, 2009 decreased
$1,161,000 as compared to the three months ended July 31, 2008. Within the
investment management segment, supermarket and Guardian (GIAC) platform expenses
associated with the distribution of the mutual funds decreased $544,000 or 27%
below the prior year due to the decline in assets under
management. In fiscal 2010, the Company reduced print advertising
promoting the mutual funds due to the volatility in the
marketplace. For the three months ended July 31, 2009, media
advertising decreased $333,000, from the three months ended July 31,
2008. Within the publishing segment, costs associated with direct
mail decreased $130,000 or 28% below last fiscal year, due to increased
efficiency in the selection of direct mail lists and a reduction in the overall
number of pieces mailed year to year.
Salaries
and employee benefits
Three Months Ended July 31,
|
||||||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
Percentage
Change
|
||||||||||
(in thousands)
|
FY 10 vs. 09
|
|||||||||||
Salaries and employee
benefits
|
$ | 4,287 | $ | 4,857 | -11.7 | % |
Over
the past several years, the Company has saved money by combining the roles and
responsibilities of various personnel and by selective
outsourcing. Some duplication of effort has been eliminated and
certain tasks, such as some data entry, have been outsourced to third party
vendors that the Company believes can provide better controls and results at a
favorable cost. Salaries and employee benefits decreased by $570,000 from the
previous year, primarily due to the Company’s decision to not contribute to the
Value Line Profit Sharing Plan for fiscal year 2009 and overall staff
reductions.
Production
and distribution
Three Months Ended July 31,
|
||||||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
Percentage
Change
|
||||||||||
(in thousands)
|
FY 10 vs. 09
|
|||||||||||
Production and distribution
|
$ | 1,177 | $ | 1,530 | -23.1 | % |
Production
and distribution expenses for the three months ended July 31, 2009 were $353,000
below expenses for the three months ended July 31, 2008. Amortized
software costs decreased $127,000 below last fiscal year due to a reduction in
prior year expenditures for capitalized costs. In addition, the
decline in expenses was due to volume reductions in paper, printing and mailing
that resulted primarily from a decrease in circulation of the print
products.
20
Partially offsetting the savings
during the three months ended July 31, 2009 was a $45,000 increase in the costs
of data feeds, and a 6% increase in postal rates. The Company
continues to seek purchasing alternatives, more economical delivery methods for
the products, and additional ways to reduce the costs of production and
distribution.
Office
and administration
Three Months Ended July 31,
|
||||||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
Percentage
Change
|
||||||||||
(in thousands)
|
FY 10 vs. 09
|
|||||||||||
Office and administration
|
$ | 2,324 | $ | 3,120 | -25.5 | % |
Office
and administration expenses for the three months ended July 31, 2009 were
$796,000 below expenses for the three months ended July 31,
2008. Professional fees significantly decreased as compared to fiscal
year 2009. Professional fees fluctuate year to year based on the
level of operations, litigation or regulatory activity requiring the use of
outside professionals.
Segment
Operating Profit
The
Company operates in two business segments, Investment Periodicals, Publishing
& Copyright Data and Investment Management.
Investment Periodicals, Publishing
& Copyright Data
|
Investment Management
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Three Months Ended July 31,
|
Three Months Ended July 31,
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
Percentage
Change
|
2009
|
2008
|
Percentage
Change
|
|||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands)
|
FY 10 vs. 09
|
FY 10 vs. 09
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Segment revenues from external
customers
|
$ | 10,088 | $ | 12,018 | -16.1 | % | $ | 4,700 | $ | 8,195 | -42.6 | % | ||||||||||||
Segment profit from
operations
|
$ | 3,756 | $ | 4,743 | -20.8 | % | $ | (46,542 | ) | $ | 2,726 | NMF | ||||||||||||
Segment profit margin from
operations
|
37.2 | % | 39.5 | % | -5.7 | % | NMF | 33.3 | % | NMF |
Investment
Periodicals, Publishing & Copyright Data
Segment
revenues, operating profit and operating profit margins from the Company’s
Investment Periodicals, Publishing & Copyright Data segment declined
significantly from the previous fiscal year primarily due to the continued
deterioration in circulation of the total product line. As previously mentioned,
sub-par ranking system performance and competition in the form of free or low
cost investment research on the Internet and research provided by brokerage
firms at no cost to their clients contributed to the decline in revenue. The
recession and turmoil in the markets have also contributed to the decline in
subscriptions as individuals reduced many forms of discretionary spending, or
have shifted investments to fixed income, for which the Company does not provide
research. Investment Periodicals, Publishing & Copyright Data segment profit
margin from operations decreased as a direct result of the decline in
revenue.
Investment
Management
Revenues
from the Company’s Investment Management business segment declined significantly
from the previous fiscal year primarily due to the decline in investment
management fees from the Company’s family of mutual funds that was a direct
result of the deterioration in the underlying assets under management.
Segment
operating profit and operating profit margin are negative for the quarter ended
July 31, 2009 due to the provision for settlement relating to the SEC
investigation described in Note 9 – Contingencies within the notes to
consolidated condensed financial statements.
21
Income
from Securities Transactions, net
During
the three months ended July 31, 2009 the Company’s income from securities
transactions, net, of $218,000 was $414,000 below income from securities
transactions, net, of $632,000 during the three months ended July 31,
2008. Income from securities transactions, net, includes dividend and
interest income of $275,000 at July 31, 2009 that was $519,000 below income of
$794,000 for the three months ended July 31, 2008. Capital losses,
net of capital gains during the three months ended July 31, 2009 and 2008 were
$61,000 and $160,000, respectively.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
Effective
income tax rate
The
overall effective income tax rate, as a percentage of pre-tax ordinary income
for the three months ended July 31, 2009 and July 31, 2008 was 25.81% and
37.48%, respectively. The fluctuation in the income tax rate is attributable to
the non-deductible portion of the provision for settlement described in Note
9-Contingencies to the Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements as of July
31, 2009 and the change in the non-taxable investment income, events that do not
have tax consequences.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
The
Company had working capital of $45,844,000 as of July 31, 2009 and $88,173,000
as of July 31, 2008. Working capital as of July 31, 2009 has been
reduced by a settlement reserve provision of $47,706,000 relating to the SEC
investigation. Cash and short-term securities were $106,474,000 as of
July 31, 2009 and $123,853,000 as of July 31, 2008.
The
Company’s cash and cash equivalents includes $52,041,000 at July 31, 2009 which
is invested in the Value Line U.S. Government Money Market Fund. The
U.S. Government Money Market Fund operates under Rule 2a-7 of the Investment
Company Act of 1940 and has a portfolio average maturity of under 90
days. The Company’s U.S. Government Money Market Fund also
participates in the Treasury Guarantee Program for money market funds through
September 18, 2009. There have been no delays in redemption payments
from this fund. The fund’s portfolio primarily includes U.S.
government agency securities, U.S. Treasuries, certificate of deposits fully
backed by the FDIC, and repurchase agreements collateralized with U.S.
Treasuries in which the custodian physically takes possession of the
collateral.
Cash
from operating activities
The
Company’s cash flow from operations of $4,673,000 for the three months ended
July 31, 2009 was 25% below cash flow from operations of $6,201,000 for the
three months ended July 31, 2008. The primary change was the timing
of maturity of fixed income securities within the Company’s trading portfolio,
partially offset by an increase in accrued expenses due to the timing of
payments to vendors.
Cash
from investing activities
The
Company’s cash inflow from investing activities of $7,891,000 for the three
months ended July 31, 2009 was 151% higher than cash inflow from investing
activities of $3,139,000 for the three months ended July 31,
2008. The significant increase in cash inflows is a result of the
maturity of fixed income securities during the first three months ended July 31,
2009. A portion of these proceeds was redeployed into fixed income
government debt securities during the first quarter of fiscal year
2010.
Cash
from financing activities
The
Company’s net cash outflow from financing activities of $2,994,000 as of July
31, 2009 didn’t change from the prior fiscal year. It represents a
quarterly dividend of $.30 per share paid in May 2009 for the dividend declared
during the last quarter of fiscal 2009. At the July 2009 board meeting, the
board approved a reduced quarterly dividend of $.20 per share, a decrease of
$0.10 or 33% per share, paid in August 2009.
22
Management
believes that the Company’s cash and other liquid asset resources used in its
business together with the future cash flows from operations will be sufficient
to finance current and forecasted liquidity needs including
operations and the provision for the SEC
investigation. Management does not anticipate any borrowing in
fiscal 2010.
Critical
Accounting Estimates and Policies
The
Company’s Critical Accounting Estimates and Policies have not changed from those
reported in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations in the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April
30, 2009.
Item
3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET
RISK.
Market
Risk Disclosures
The
Company’s Consolidated Condensed Balance Sheet includes a substantial amount of
assets whose fair values are subject to market risks. The Company’s
significant market risks are primarily associated with interest rates and the
credit worthiness of the issuer. The following sections address the
significant market risks associated with the Company’s business
activities.
Interest
Rate Risk
The
Company’s strategy has been to acquire debt securities with low credit
risk. Despite this strategy management recognizes and accepts the
possibility that losses may occur. To limit the price fluctuation in
these securities from interest rate changes, the Company’s management invests
primarily in short-term obligations maturing in less than 3 years.
The fair
values of the Company’s fixed maturity investments will fluctuate in response to
changes in market interest rates. Increases and decreases in
prevailing interest rates generally translate into decreases and increases in
fair values of those instruments. Additionally, fair values of
interest rate sensitive instruments may be affected by prepayment options,
relative values of alternative investments, and other general market
conditions.
The
following table summarizes the estimated effects of hypothetical increases and
decreases in interest rates on assets that are subject to interest rate
risk. It is assumed that the changes occur immediately and uniformly
to each category of instrument containing interest rate risks. The
hypothetical changes in market interest rates do not reflect what could be
deemed best or worst case scenarios. Variations in market interest
rates could produce significant changes in the timing of repayments due to
prepayment options available. For these reasons, actual results might
differ from those reflected in the table. Dollars are in
thousands.
Estimated
Fair Value after
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Hypothetical Change in Interest
Rates
|
||||||||||||||||||||
(in
thousands)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
6
mo.
|
6
mo.
|
1
yr.
|
1
yr.
|
|||||||||||||||||
Fair
|
50bp
|
50bp
|
100bp
|
100bp
|
||||||||||||||||
Fixed
Income Securities
|
Value
|
increase
|
decrease
|
increase
|
decrease
|
|||||||||||||||
As
of July 31, 2009
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Investments
in securities with fixed maturities
|
$ | 53,968 | $ | 53,063 | $ | 53,360 | $ | 52,686 | $ | 52,974 | ||||||||||
As
of April 30, 2009
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Investments
in securities with fixed maturities
|
$ | 63,729 | $ | 62,573 | $ | 62,966 | $ | 61,796 | $ | 62,222 |
23
Management
regularly monitors the maturity structure of the Company’s investments in debt
securities in order to maintain an acceptable price risk associated with changes
in interest rates.
Credit
Worthiness of Issuer
The
Company’s investments consist primarily of U.S. Treasury Notes and pre-refunded
municipal securities backed by U.S. Treasury Notes.
Item
4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
(a)
|
The
Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to
ensure that information required to be disclosed in the Company’s reports
filed with the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within
the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such
information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management,
including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as
appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding
disclosure.
|
The
Company’s management has evaluated, with the participation of the Company’s
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the effectiveness of the
Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and
15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) as of the end
of the period covered by this report. Based on that evaluation, the
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that the
Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the
period covered by this report.
(b)
|
The
registrant’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer
have determined that there have been no changes in the registrant’s
internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the
registrant’s last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are
reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control
over financial reporting.
|
24
Part II -
Other Information
Item
1. Legal Proceedings
Refer to
Note 9 (Contingencies) of the consolidated condensed financial statements for
discussion of legal proceedings.
Item
1A. Risk Factors
There
have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in Item 1A – Risk
Factors in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 30,
2009.
Item
6. Exhibits
31.1
Certificate of Chief Executive Officer Required Under Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
31.2
Certificate of Chief Financial Officer Required Under Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.1
Joint Chief Executive Officer/Chief Financial Officer Certificate Required Under
Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
25
VALUE
LINE, INC.
Signatures
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto
duly authorized.
Value
Line, Inc.
|
|
(Registrant)
|
|
Date: September
11, 2009
|
By: s/Jean
Bernhard Buttner
|
Jean
Bernhard Buttner
|
|
Chairman
& Chief Executive Officer
|
|
(Principal
Executive Officer)
|
|
Date: September
11, 2009
|
By: s/Mitchell
E. Appel
|
Mitchell
E. Appel
|
|
Chief
Financial Officer
|
|
(Principal
Financial
Officer)
|
26