WESTERN CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. - Annual Report: 2008 (Form 10-K)
UNITED
STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-K
(Mark
One)
x
|
ANNUAL
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT OF 1934
|
For
the fiscal year ended December 31,
2008
|
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 000-52015
_____________________
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Minnesota
|
47-0848102
|
(State
of incorporation)
|
(I.R.S.
Employer Identification No.)
|
11550
“I” Street, Suite 150
Omaha,
Nebraska
|
68137
|
(Address
of principal executive offices)
|
(Zip
Code)
|
Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code: (402) 551-8888
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
|
||
Title
of Each Class
|
Name
of Each Exchange on which Registered
|
|
None
|
N/A
|
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: Common Stock, no par
value per share
_____________________
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in
Rule 405 of the Securities Act. o
Yes x No
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to
Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. o
Yes x No
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 the filing
requirements for the past 90 days. o
Yes x No
Indicate
by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of
Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best
of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements
incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this
Form 10-K. 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 definition of “accelerated filer,” large accelerated
filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check
one):
Large
accelerated filer o Accelerated
filer o Non-accelerated
filer o
Smaller reporting company x
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Act). o
Yes x No
The
aggregate market value of the voting stock held by persons other than officers,
directors and more than 5% shareholders of the registrant as of June 30, 2008
was approximately $9.0 million based on the closing sales price of $4.50 per
share as reported on the OTCBB. As of April 30, 2009, there were
7,971,007 shares of our common stock, no par value per share,
outstanding.
DOCUMENTS
INCORPORATED IN PART BY REFERENCE
None.
Western
Capital Resources, Inc.
Form
10-K
Table
of Contents
Page
|
||
PART
I
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||
Item
1.
|
Business
|
1
|
Item
1A.
|
Risk
Factors
|
17
|
Item
1B.
|
Unresolved
Staff Comments
|
24
|
Item
2.
|
Properties
|
25
|
Item
3.
|
Legal
Proceedings
|
26
|
Item
4.
|
Submission
of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
|
26
|
PART
II
|
||
Item
5.
|
Market
for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer
Purchases of Equity Securities
|
27
|
Item
6.
|
Selected
Financial Data
|
28
|
Item
7.
|
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
|
29
|
Item
7A.
|
Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
|
35
|
Item
8.
|
Financial
Statements and Supplementary Data
|
36
|
Item
9.
|
Changes
in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial
Disclosure
|
37
|
Item
9A.
|
Controls
and Procedures
|
37
|
Item
9B.
|
Other
Information
|
41
|
PART
III
|
||
Item
10.
|
Directors,
Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
|
43
|
Item
11.
|
Executive
and Director Compensation
|
45
|
Item
12.
|
Security
Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related
Shareholder Matters
|
47
|
Item
13.
|
Certain
Relationships and Related Transactions and Director
Independence
|
49
|
Item
14.
|
Principal
Accountant Fees and Services
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52
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PART
IV
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||
Item
15.
|
Exhibits
and Financial Statement Schedules
|
53
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Signatures
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55
|
PART
I
ITEM
1 BUSINESS
OVERVIEW
Western
Capital Resources, Inc. (the “Western Capital Resources,” or “Western
Capital,” the “Company,” or “we” or “us”), a Minnesota corporation, provides
short-term consumer loans, commonly referred to as cash advance or “payday”
loans, through its wholly owned operating subsidiary Wyoming Financial Lenders,
Inc. The Federal Trade Commission describes these loans as “small, short term
high rate loans.” Our loans are offered and made in exchange for fees that, if
treated as interest, are at a rate extraordinarily higher than prime, and are
made to individuals who do not typically qualify for prime rate loans. As a
consequence, our loans may be considered a type of subprime loan. At December
31, 2007, we operated 54 payday lending stores, with locations in Colorado,
Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin and
Wyoming. At December 31, 2008, we operated 55 payday lending stores, with
locations in the same states. During the course of fiscal 2008, we acquired a
total of 14 payday lending stores, later disposed of eight stores, and closed
five stores. Our provision of payday loans is typically heavily regulated by the
various states in which we operate, and our payday lending business is extremely
susceptible to the adverse effects of any changes in federal or state laws and
regulations that may further restrict or flatly prohibit payday
lending.
We also
provide ancillary consumer financial products and services that are
complementary to our payday lending business, such as check-cashing services,
money transfers and money orders. Our check-cashing services involve the cashing
of checks for a fee; money-transfer services involve the transfer of money by
wire for a fee; and our money-orders services involve the issuing of money
orders for a fee. We believe these services are complementary since customers
typically come to our stores for financial reasons and to procure financial
services (i.e., obtain a loan). Once the loan has been obtained, a customer may,
for instance, decide to wire a payment of money or obtain a money order to
satisfy a debt or other obligation. Our loans and other services are subject to
state regulations (which vary from state to state), and federal and local
regulations, where applicable.
In
addition, we sell Cricket cellular phones and accessories and guaranteed
phone services. Cricket phones are prepaid cellular phones that function for a
period of time, without usage limitations and without any long-term contract or
commitment required from the consumer, for a flat fee. At December 31, 2008, we
operated 11 Cricket stores, with locations in four states (Kansas,
Nebraska, Missouri and Texas). Our guaranteed phone service is a home phone
(land line) service. We ordinarily sell our guaranteed phone products at only 15
of our current payday lending stores. Revenues from our guaranteed phone
business are not significant and are expected to further decline due to the rise
in popularity of mobile phones. While there are state regulations that affect
our provision of Cricket phone products and services, our Cricket phone business
is not highly susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in federal or state
laws and regulations.
For the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2008, each of our major lines of business (i.e.,
payday lending and ancillary services, and the sale of Cricket phone
products and services), generated associated fees. In fiscal 2008, we generated
from continuing operations approximately:
|
·
|
$10.19
million in payday lending fees representing approximately 79.2% of our
total revenues,
|
|
·
|
$1.13
million in check-cashing fees representing approximately 8.8% of our total
revenues, and
|
|
·
|
$1.06
million in guaranteed phone/Cricket phone fees representing approximately
8.2% of our total revenues.
|
Other
business activities resulted in revenues of approximately $.49 million during
fiscal 2008, representing approximately 3.8% of our total revenues. We believe
that the percentage of operating expenses we incur in pursuit of our major
business lines is approximately equal to the percentage of revenues generated by
such business lines.
The table
below summarizes our financial results and condition as of December 31, 2008 and
2007:
December 31, 2008
|
December
31, 2007
|
|||||||
Revenues
|
$ | 12,874,817 | $ | 11,346,524 | ||||
Net
loss available to to common shareholders
|
$ | 1,495,315 | $ | 3,079,217 | ||||
Current
assets
|
$ | 9,252,235 | $ | 10,278,755 | ||||
Current
liabilities
|
$ | 3,418,196 | $ | 3,122,136 | ||||
Total
assets
|
$ | 21,212,639 | $ | 19,439,823 | ||||
Total
liabilities
|
$ | 5,982,196 | $ | 3,122,136 | ||||
Shareholders'
equity
|
$ | 15,230,443 | $ | 16,317,687 |
1
The above figures include an
assumed preferred stock dividend relating to our Series A Convertible Preferred
Stock in the aggregate amount of $2.1 million for fiscal 2007.
PAYDAY
LENDING BUSINESS
General
Description
The
short-term consumer loans we provide are commonly referred to as “cash advance
loans” or “payday loans.” Such loans are referred to as “payday loans” because
they are typically made to borrowers who have no available cash and promise to
repay the loan out of their next paycheck. In some cases, these same types of
loans are referred to as “deferred deposit advances” because the borrowers,
instead of funding repayment of the loan out of a paycheck, promise to repay the
loan with their next regular fixed-income payment, such as a social security
check.
When we
make cash advance or “payday” loans, we provide a customer with cash in
exchange for a promissory note with a maturity of generally up to four weeks
that is supported by that customer’s post-dated personal check for the aggregate
amount of the loan, plus a fee. During fiscal 2008, we offered payday loans
ranging from $20 to $1,200, with the average loan amount being approximately
$301, and the principal amounts of over 95% of our payday loans ranging from
$100 to $500. Approximately 65% of our loan transactions are made for a period
of up to four weeks and approximately 35% of our loan transactions involve loans
whose initial maturity extends beyond four weeks. To repay the loans, customers
may pay with cash, in which case their personal check is returned to them, or
allow their personal check to be presented to their bank for
collection.
The
Payday Loan Process
Customers
seeking to obtain a payday loan must:
|
·
|
complete
a loan application
|
|
·
|
maintain
a personal checking account
|
|
·
|
have
a suitable source of income
|
|
·
|
have
a valid driver’s license
|
|
·
|
not
otherwise be in default on a loan from us where
available
|
|
·
|
enter
into a standard loan agreement and promissory note with us,
and
|
|
·
|
deliver
their personal post-dated check.
|
Our
standard loan application with customers provides that we will not cash their
check until the due date of the associated loan. A customer’s debt to us is
satisfied by: (i) payment of the full amount owed in cash (at which point we
return the customer’s personal check); or (ii) deposit of the customer’s check
with the bank. Where permitted by state regulation, a customer may renew a loan
after full payment in cash of the fee associated with the original loan. When
applicable, a customer renewing a loan signs a new promissory note and provides
us with a new check.
We
require that a customer have and maintain a personal checking account for a
number reasons. First, we need to ascertain that the personal post-dated check
we receive from that customer is written against a valid and existing checking
account. Second, we review recent bank statements from the checking account for
proof that the customer’s statements to us, and the representations made to us
in the related loan agreement, relating to their employment and level of income
are accurate. Third, we also review the recent bank statements for evidence of
any returned checks. If an applicant has more than one returned check on
their recent bank statements, we are unlikely to extend a loan to that
person.
Ordinarily,
we deem items such as a recent pay stub, or a bank statement evidencing periodic
payroll deposits, as sufficient proof of current employment. We do not, however,
independently verify that a borrowing customer is employed at the time of a
loan. Furthermore, we do not require or request any information relating to
whether a borrowing customer’s employment is on a full-time or part-time, or
hourly or salaried, basis; nor do we otherwise make any independent verification
regarding these kinds of employment-related facts. We make loans without proof
of employment and without a recent bank statement only to repeat customers, who
have not previously defaulted on loans we have made to them, in states that do
not require those items as prerequisites for a loan. An employment income source
is determined to be “suitable” if it appears to be valid from our review of the
bank statements and any pay stubs provided to us as evidentiary
support for their employment. Nevertheless, we do not advance a customer more
than 25% of the monthly income that he or she appears to earn, based
on our review of applicable documentation the customer provides to us. We apply
this limitation to all of our customers and in all circumstances, including
attempts to roll over loans, except for repeat customers who have had repaid all
of their prior loans on time.
2
We do not
undertake any formal or informal credit check of borrowers, or any review of
their credit history in connection with a proposed loan transaction. When making
a loan to a first-time customer, we obtain reports from a third-party vendor
that summarize recent credit requests, existing bad debt, and existing
delinquencies. These reports are provided by Teletrack. If an applicant has a
poor Teletrack report showing multiple recent credit requests or existing
delinquencies, or more than one returned check on their recent bank statements,
we are unlikely to extend a loan to that person. For repeat customers, we do not
order Teletrack reports.
As part
of each lending transaction, we enter into a standardized written contract with
the borrowing customer. The standardized contracts vary slightly based on state
law differences, but all of our standard contracts plainly state in simple terms
the annual percentage rate (assuming the fees we charge are computed as
interest) in compliance with Regulation Z, and the consequences of defaulting on
the loan. We retain copies of our written contracts at the stores where the
transactions are processed and also provide copies to our customers. Our
standard documentation includes:
|
·
|
a
promise to repay the loan and associated loan
fee
|
|
·
|
an
express right to prepay without penalty (but without return of any portion
of the associated loan fee)
|
|
·
|
a
statement that the borrower will pay an additional fee in the event that
the post-dated check is returned for insufficient
funds
|
|
·
|
a
right of the borrower to rescind the transaction, without cost, at any
time prior to the close of business on the business day immediately
following the date of the loan, by returning the borrowed amount
alone
|
|
·
|
customary
representations and warranties
|
|
·
|
a
dispute-resolution clause under which the parties agree to submit any
claims or controversies to binding
arbitration
|
|
·
|
a
notice of financial privacy rights
|
|
·
|
an
affirmative check-the-box representation about whether the borrower is a
member of the U.S. military, and
|
|
·
|
an
acknowledgment that the borrower has read and understands the borrowing
agreement.
|
Upon
completion of a loan application, the provision of proof of an existing bank
account, current income sources, a valid driver’s license, and signed loan
agreement and our acceptance of such agreement, the loan approval process is
complete. At that point, the customer signs a promissory note and provides us
with a personal post-dated check for the principal loan amount plus a specified
fee. All documentation is reviewed and payday loans are approved at the store
level only, barring extraordinary circumstances. Nearly all of the loans we make
are “payday loans” where the borrower provides us with a personal post-dated
check. All checks are drawn upon the borrowers bank. We do not accept
third-party checks in connection with a payday lending transaction. We make very
few “deferred deposit advance” loans, and we estimate that fewer than one
percent of our total loans during fiscal 2008 were loans of this type. In part,
this is because we require reasonable proof of current employment as a condition
to obtaining a loan from us.
Beyond
the steps described above, we do not make any independent determination of the
ability of a potential borrower to repay the loans we make to them. Instead, we
rely on a borrower’s representations to us and proof regarding their employment
and ownership of an active bank account, our review of their recent bank
statement, and our policy that limits loans to no more than 25% of a borrower’s
monthly income.
In
general, our lending process and standards are extraordinarily different from
those used by banks. To our knowledge, banks typically order and carefully
review credit reports, engage in some level of analysis relating to the ability
of a potential borrower to repay the loan, and will typically make independent
verification of employment and earnings history through payroll deposits, phone
calls, reviews of tax returns and other processes—all in an effort to minimize
the risk of a loan default. As a result, we generally experience a higher
default rate on our personal loans than banks do on their personal loans. At
December 31, 2008, we had an aggregate of approximately:
|
·
|
$3.95
million in outstanding loan principal due to
us
|
|
·
|
$.69
million in payday fees due to us
|
|
·
|
$1.64
million of late loans (customers’ repayment checks presented as NSF within
last 180 days)
|
3
The
Fees We Charge
The fee
we charge for a payday loan varies from state to state, based on applicable
regulations, and generally ranges from $15 to $22 for each whole or partial
increment of $100 borrowed. We do not charge interest in connection with our
loans. If, however, we calculate the loan fees we charge as an annual percentage
rate of interest, such rate would range from 120% for a 60-day loan transacted
in Wyoming (on the low end) to approximately 570% for a 14-day loan in Wisconsin
(on the high end), with the average actual loan fees we charge involving an
imputed annual percentage rate of approximately 343%. The term of a loan
significantly affects the imputed APR of the fees we charge for our loans. For
instance, when a $15 fee is charged for a two-week loan of $100, the resulting
APR is 390%. When the same fee on $100 is charged for a four-week loan, the
resulting APR is 195%. When our general range of loan fees is applied to our
average fiscal 2008 loan amount of $301, the APR ranges from 388.7% to 570.1%
for a two-week loan involving a $15 and $22 fee, respectively; and from 194.4%
to 285.0% for a four-week loan involving a $15 and 22 fee, respectively.
Currently, we do not charge the maximum fee permitted in all of the states where
we operate. We do, however, charge a uniform fee for all transactions processed
in any particular state that involve the same range of payday loan amounts and
the same term. The table below sets forth the uniform fees we charge and imputed
APRs in the states where we operated during fiscal 2008:
State
|
Fees
|
APR
(%)
on
a
14-
day
$100
Loan
|
APR
(%)
on
a
28-
day
$100
Loan
|
APR
(%)
on
a
14-
day
$301
Loan
|
APR
(%)
on
a
28-
day
$301
Loan
|
|||||||||||||
Arizona
|
$17.50
per $100 advanced
|
455 | % | 228 | % | 605 | % | 302 | % | |||||||||
Colorado
|
$20
on first $300 advanced; $7.75 per $100 advanced (up to
$500)
|
520 | % | 260 | % | 238 | % | 120 | % | |||||||||
Iowa
|
$15
on first $85 advanced; 11.1% on additional amounts (up to
$445)
|
433 | % | 217 | % | 337 | % | 168 | % | |||||||||
Kansas
|
$15
per $100 advanced
|
390 | % | 195 | % | 518 | % | 259 | % | |||||||||
Montana
|
$20.54
per $100 advanced (max. fee of $61.62)
|
534 | % | 267 | % | 532 | % | 266 | % | |||||||||
Nebraska
|
$17.50
per $100 advanced
|
455 | % | 228 | % | 605 | % | 302 | % | |||||||||
North
Dakota
|
$20
per $100 advanced
|
520 | % | 260 | % | 691 | % | 346 | % | |||||||||
South
Dakota
|
$20
per $100 advanced
|
520 | % | 260 | % | 691 | % | 346 | % | |||||||||
Utah
|
$20
per $100 advanced
|
520 | % | 260 | % | 691 | % | 346 | % | |||||||||
Wisconsin
|
$22
per $100 advanced
|
572 | % | 286 | % | 760 | % | 380 | % | |||||||||
Wyoming
|
$20.54
per $100 advanced (max. fee of $192.84)
|
534 | % | 267 | % | 710 | % | 355 | % |
Of the 10
states in which we presently operate (as of December 31, 2008 we no longer
operate in Arizona), three states (South Dakota, Utah and Wisconsin) do not
limit the fees we may charge, or the term (i.e., the length) of the loans we may
offer, our customers. In addition, two of these states (Utah and
Wisconsin) do not limit the amount we may loan to customers in a payday lending
transaction. In South Dakota, we offer loans from $21 to $500, charge
$20 for each whole or partial increment of $100 that we loan, and offer loan
terms from one to 31 days. Our fiscal 2008 revenue derived from South
Dakota amounted to 6.03% of our total 2008 revenue. In Utah, we offer
loans from $20 to $1,650, charge $20 for each whole or partial increment of $100
that we loan, and offer loan terms from one to 31 days. Our fiscal
2008 revenue derived from Utah amounted to 4.48% of our total 2008
revenue. In Wisconsin, we offer loans from $20 to $500, charge $22
for each whole or partial increment of $100 that we loan, and offer loan terms
from one to 36 days. Our fiscal 2008 revenue derived from Wisconsin
amounted to 6.76% of our total 2008 revenue.
Currently,
15 states and the District of Columbia have laws limiting the amount of fees
that may be charged in connection with any lending transaction (including payday
lending transactions) when calculated as an annual percentage
rate. These states permit imputed APRs ranging from 16% to
36%. These limitations, combined with other limitations and
restrictions, effectively prohibit us from engaging in payday lending
in those jurisdictions. In addition, the federal government has passed the
“2007 Military Authorization Act” which prohibits lenders from offering or
making payday loans (or similar lending transactions) to members of the U.S.
military when the interest, or fees calculated as an annual percentage rate,
exceed 36%. Like the state limitations discussed above, this
limitation effectively prohibits us from engaging in payday lending with
members of the U.S. military. As a result of these restrictions, we
do not and do not plan to conduct business in these jurisdictions or with U.S.
military personnel.
4
The
above-described fees are the only fees we assess and collect from our customers
for our loans. Nevertheless, we also charge a flat fee that ranges
from $15 to $30 (depending on the state) for returned checks in the event that a
post-dated check we attempt to cash as repayment for our loan is
returned. In fiscal 2008, we had approximately 10,167 checks returned
that were assessed a fee, compared to approximately 8,500 such checks during
fiscal 2007. In fiscal 2008, we collected approximately 36.07% of the
returned check fees for these bad checks, for a total of approximately
$72,940. In fiscal 2007, we collected approximately 41% of these
returned check fees, for a total of approximately $67,375.
Extensions
or “Rollovers” of Payday Loans
In
addition, when a customer “rolls over” or extends the term of an outstanding
loan, we treat that rollover or extension as a brand new loan and we again
charge the applicable loan fee for that transaction. This
rollover has no effect on the imputed annual percentage rate of the loan in
those cases where the extended term is equal to the initial term of the
loan. For example, a $100 four-week loan that costs $20 to obtain is
the APR equivalent of 261%. If a customer extends the term of that
loan for an additional four-week period, the customer will have paid $40 total
in fees to obtain the $100 eight-week loan—which is again the APR equivalent of
261%. In cases where a customer (1) extends or rolls over a loan for
a length of time that is less
than the original loan or (2) repays the extended loan prior to the
expiration of the fully extended term, the imputed APR will
increase. For example, if a customer who obtained an initial $100
four-week loan for $20 in loan fees (the APR equivalent of 261%) later extends
the term of that loan for only two additional weeks and pays the additional $20
loan fee, that customer will have borrowed $100 for a six-week period at a total
cost of $40—which is the APR equivalent of 347%. We do not charge any
interest on the unpaid fee from the initial term of the loan because, as a
condition to agreeing to a loan extension, we will only accept cash payment of
the fee for extending the loan. In fiscal 2008, 16.9% of our total
loan fee revenues were derived from loan fees charged and collected upon the
extension or rollover of payday loans.
Most
states prohibit payday lenders from extending or refinancing a payday
loan. Nevertheless, five states in which we presently
operate—Colorado, South Dakota, North Dakota, Utah and Wisconsin—do permit a
loan to be extended or “rolled over” for a specified period. Of these
states, Colorado and North Dakota permit only one loan extension; South Dakota
permits up to four loan extensions; and Utah and Wisconsin have no limit on the
number of loan extensions. In the aggregate, we extended
approximately 16.5% of all our total loans made during fiscal
2008. Of the total payday loans we made during fiscal 2008 that were
eventually extended, the average number of times they were extended was
approximately 3.4 times. In fiscal 2008, the total extended terms
(i.e., lengths) of the loans that were rolled over, to the extent we
successfully collected fees for such loans, ranged from 1-45 days in Colorado,
1-60 days in North Dakota, 1-120 days in South Dakota, 1-84 days in Utah, and
1-240 days in Wisconsin. On average, we extended the terms of
approximately 56.1% of the total loans we made in these five states, including
11.9% of our loans in Colorado, 24.4% of our loans in North Dakota, 42.3% of our
loans in South Dakota, 57.3% of our loans in Utah and 68.2% of our loans in
Wisconsin during fiscal 2008.
A summary of key regulatory
limits by state is as follows:
State
|
Minimum Loan
|
Maximum
Loan
|
Maximum Fee
|
Maximum
Term
|
Extension/Rollover
Permitted
|
||||||||||
Arizona
|
$ | 50 | $ | 500 |
15%*
|
No
limit
|
Yes
|
||||||||
Colorado
|
No
minimum
|
$ | 500 |
20%
of fist $300;
7.5%
thereafter
|
40
days
|
Yes
|
|||||||||
Iowa
|
No
minimum
|
$ | 500 |
$5+10%
of first $100*;
10%
thereafter
|
31
days
|
No
|
|||||||||
Kansas
|
No
minimum
|
$ | 500 |
$15
per $100
|
30
days
|
Not
prohibited
|
|||||||||
Montana
|
$ | 50 | $ | 300 |
25%
|
31
days
|
No
|
||||||||
Nebraska
|
No
minimum
|
$ | 500 |
15%*
per $100
|
31
days
|
No
|
|||||||||
North
Dakota
|
No
minimum
|
$ | 600 |
20%
|
60
days
|
Yes
|
|||||||||
South
Dakota
|
No
minimum
|
$ | 500 |
No
limit
|
No
limit
|
Yes
|
|||||||||
Utah
|
No
minimum
|
No
limit
|
No
limit
|
No
limit
|
No
|
||||||||||
Wisconsin
|
No
minimum
|
No
limit
|
No
limit
|
No
limit
|
Yes
|
||||||||||
Wyoming
|
No
minimum
|
No
limit
|
20%
|
30
days
|
No
|
* Denotes that the applicable
percentage is calculated on the loan amount plus any finance charges.
Multiple
Loans to Single Customers
We
occasionally make multiple loans to a single customer if permitted by applicable
law and regulations. Based on our outstanding loans as of December
31, 2008, approximately 6.6% of our customers had more than one loan
outstanding. In these cases, the average number of separate loans
outstanding was two and the average aggregate principal amount loaned was
approximately $476.
5
Risks
Associated With Our Loans—Default and Collection
Ordinarily,
our customers approach us for a loan because they do not at that time have funds
sufficient to meet their present obligations, and so rarely if ever do our
customers have sufficient funds in their checking accounts to cover the personal
post-dated checks they provide us at the time of the loan transaction. The
nature of our payday loan transactions present a number of risks, including the
ultimate risk that the loan will not be paid back. In addition, we do not obtain
security for our payday loans principally because, even assuming our customers
would have potential collateral to offer as security for a payday loan, the
small size of each particular lending transaction does not justify the time,
effort and expense of identifying the collateral and properly obtaining a
security interest. As a consequence, all of our payday loans are unsecured. This
means that, absent court or other legal action compelling a customer to repay
our loans, we rely principally on the willingness and ability of our customers
to repay amounts they owe us. In this regard, in many cases the costs of merely
attempting to collect the amounts owed to us exceed the amounts we would seek to
collect—making it impractical to take formal legal action against a defaulted
borrower.
When a
customer defaults on a loan, we engage in store-level collection practices that
include attempts to contact the customer and obtain payment, and attempts to
contact the customer’s bank in order to determine whether funds are available to
satisfy their personal post-dated check. If funds are available, we present the
check to the bank for repayment and an official check from the bank is obtained
to pay off the item. The costs involved in these initial collection efforts are
minimal as they involve some employee time and possibly a flat $15-30 fee to the
bank to cover the cost of the cashier’s check. If funds are not available, we
generally attempt to collect returned checks for up to 180 days through
continued attempts to contact the customer. If our attempts remain unsuccessful
after 180 days, we assign the item to a collection agency. Assignment to a
collection agency may cost us 30-40% of the amount eventually collected (if any)
from the customer. Ordinarily, we do not recoup any costs of collection from our
customers.
Historically,
we collect approximately 50% of all returned checks, which results in
approximately 3.4% of our total payday loans being uncollectible. In fiscal
2008, we made approximately 210,682 loan transactions, of which
approximately:
|
·
|
76.3%
were paid in full at or prior to the expiration of the original loan term,
accounting for approximately 74.2% of our loan fee
revenues
|
|
·
|
16.9%
were refinanced, extended, renewed or otherwise paid after the expiration
of their original loan term, accounting for approximately 18.6% of our
loan fee revenues, and
|
|
·
|
6.8%
involved a personal post-dated check that was returned for insufficient
funds.
|
Marketing
Strategy
Our
advertising and marketing efforts are designed to introduce customers to our
services, build customer loyalty and generate repeat visits and transactions.
Our principal means of advertising consists of promotional materials and Yellow
Page directories used in our active markets.
Industry
Information
There are
an estimated 22,000 cash advance loan stores in the United States, which in the
aggregate provide approximately $40 billion in short-term credit to households
experiencing cash-flow shortfalls. Presently, there are 35 states that expressly
permit or do not expressly prohibit payday lending. Industry trends indicate
that there is likely to be a net decrease in total payday lending stores over
the next few years due to store closings resulting from a combination of
regulatory changes (e.g., a recent federal law prohibits payday lending to
members of the U.S. military), a slowdown in new store growth and general
economic conditions. During 2007, the payday lending store base declined by
approximately 600 stores, or 2.5%—the first such decline in seven
years.
According
to the Community Financial Services Association of America (CFSA), payday loan
customers typically are middle-income or lower-middle-income, middle-educated
individuals who are a part of a young family (See Community Financial
Services Association of America, citing to The Credit Research Center, McDonough
School of Business, Georgetown University, Gregory Elliehausen and Edward C.
Lawrence, “Payday Advance Credit in America: An Analysis of Customer Demand”).
The CFSA is a lobbying organization for the payday loan industry. The Credit
Research Center study cited by the CFSA was based upon telephone interviews of
427 borrowers of payday loans in 2000 and 2001, and the answers provided in
those interviews by the borrowers were not independently verified by the study’s
authors. Moreover, the authors of that study note that, of the 5,364 payday loan
consumers whom they attempted to contact and interview for the study, 1,113 were
not able to be reached because their phones had been disconnected and another
1,043 refused to be interviewed or else quit the interview prior to completion.
We do not possess independent information that corroborates the findings
of The Credit Research Center, and we do not collect demographic data about our
customers.
6
The
Consumer Federation of America (CFA), a nonprofit consumer advocacy
organization, has submitted written comments to the Federal Trade Commission
that make assertions very different from those proponed by the
CFSA. For example, the CFA asserts that “payday loan borrowers are
typically female, make around $25,000 a year, are renters, and more likely to be
minorities than the general population. Payday lenders have clustered
around military bases, in low to moderate income neighborhoods, and in
predominantly minority areas.” (See Comments To the Federal
Trade Commission Regarding the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Collecting
Consumer Debts: The Challenges of Change By the Consumer Federation of America,
June 20, 2007). The CFA presently does not make available to the
public the research data to support its claims, and as a consequence we are
unable to evaluate their accuracy.
Predatory
Lending and Regulatory Concerns
The
Federal Trade Commission has issued an FTC Consumer Alert (Federal Trade
Commission, March 2008, Consumer Alert entitled “Payday Loans Equal Very Costly
Cash: Consumers Urged to Consider the Alternatives”) that discourages consumers
from obtaining payday loans such as the loans we offer, primarily on the basis
that payday loans are very costly and consumers should consider alternatives to
accepting a payday loan. For further information, you may obtain a
copy of the alert at www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts.
In
general, the payday lending suffers from the perception and widespread belief
that payday lenders are in the nature of predatory lenders, offering loans to
low income and poorly educated consumers at costs that are too high to be good
for consumers. This perception and belief results in frequent efforts
in the U.S. Congress and various state legislatures, often proponed by consumer
advocacy groups and lobbyists for traditional financial institutions such as
banks, to further regulate and restrict or outrightly prohibit payday
lending. For example, the federal government passed the 2007 Military
Authorization Act which prohibits any persons from offering or making loans to
members of the military when the interest and loan fees, calculated as an annual
percentage rate, exceed 36%. This limitation effectively prohibits
payday lenders from making payday loans to members of the U.S.
military. Moreover, a bill was introduced before the U.S. Senate in
July 2008, entitled the “Protecting Consumers from Unreasonable Credit Rates Act
of 2008” (an amendment to the Truth in Lending Act), proposing to set a maximum
actual or imputed interest rate of 36% on all extensions of credit of any type
anywhere in the United States. The bill is intended to limit the
charges and fees payable in connection with payday lending. Presently, the bill
is in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs. The Company has no further information regarding the bill at
this time. The passage of this bill into law would essentially
prohibit the Company from conducting its payday lending business in its current
form, and would certainly have a highly material and adverse effect on the
Company, its operating results, financial condition and prospects—including its
very viability. For more information, please see “Risk Factors”
below.
We do not
believe the payday lending is predatory, nor do we believe
that our loans are too costly for consumers if they are judiciously
obtained. In fact, we believe that bank overdraft fees by themselves
are typically far more costly for consumers, and bouncing a check can often
involve other negative consequences such as independent fees levied by the
parties to whom a bad check is written, negative publicity, etc. In
this regard, the FDIC released a November 2008 report called “Study of Bank
Overdraft Programs.” The report indicates that the average amount
obtained when bank customers overdraw their accounts is $60, and the average
overdraft fee charged by the bank is $27. This equates to an APR of
1,173% and 585% for a two-week and four-week $60 bank “loan,”
respectively. In sum, we believe that many of the bad perceptions
about our industry are fueled primarily by:
|
·
|
the
effects of our loans on consumers who do not judiciously obtain payday
loans
|
|
·
|
a
lack of genuine understanding about the choices faced by low and
middle-income people facing a critical cash shortage,
and
|
|
·
|
anti-payday
lending lobbying campaigns often funded by traditional financial
institutions, such as banks and credit unions, that would economically
benefit from the elimination of payday
lending.
|
Finally,
we have become aware of fairly recent and aggressive enforcement and prosecution
by the FTC against payday lenders using unfair and abusive lending practices in
violation of the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z, including failures to
properly disclose loan terms and imputed APRs. In particular, we
believe that FTC regulators are expanding theories relating to “fair and
adequate” disclosure loan terms. This focus includes marketing and
advertising materials (specifically, the layout and presentation of such
materials), and specific practices that may detract attention from or diminish
the prominence of disclosures relating to loan terms, and the costs and risks
involved with payday loans. Moreover, it has come to our attention
that FTC regulators are more keenly scrutinizing whether payday lending business
practices match advertised claims. While we do not presently
anticipate any adverse regulatory issues or outcomes relating to our business,
it is possible that one or more of our store locations could come under FTC
scrutiny and that any such scrutiny could negatively affect store performance
and consume considerable time and attention of our management.
7
Seasonality
We have
experienced seasonality in our payday lending operations, with the first and
fourth quarters typically being our strongest periods as a result of broader
economic factors, such as holiday spending habits at the end of each year and
income tax refunds during the first quarter.
Effect
of General Economic Conditions on our Payday Lending Business
We do not
believe that consumer demand for our payday lending services is being negatively
impacted by the present crises in the credit markets and financial services
industry. We also do not believe that a typical recession will have a
significant and adverse impact on demand for our payday lending
services. If, however, a recession or other economic downturn or
event were to involve a significant rise in unemployment levels, we could then
anticipate a negative and material impact on our business
since all of our payday loan customers must have an income source in
order to obtain a loan from us. In addition, it seems likely that a
continued poor or worsening economic situation could result in greater loan
losses than we have recently experienced. Already, our business
has experienced increases in our provision for loan losses. For
instance, our provision for loan losses totaled $1.88 million for 2008, $1.48
million for 2007, and $.88 million for 2006. Our provision for loan
losses as a percentage of payday loan fee revenue was 18.5% during 2008, 16.3%
during 2007, and 12.7% during 2006. The less favorable loss ratio
year-to-year reflects in part a more challenging collections environment
as a result of an increase in bankruptcy filings, higher energy prices and
increased competition in the lending industry.
Due to
our inability to foretell the depth and duration of the present economic
downturn, we believe there are currently uncertainties in how significant any
increased loan losses for fiscal 2009 may be. In addition, we believe
that the tightening of credit in general has made it more difficult for us to
make certain we have the liquidity to fund our operations and make loan proceeds
available to consumers. Furthermore, we anticipate that the present
condition of the financial markets will make it more difficult for us to borrow
money to fund the expansion of our operations through
acquisitions. Finally, due in part to the state of the capital
markets we may also have a more difficult time in identifying sellers of
businesses who are willing to accept our stock as part of any acquisition
consideration.
CRICKET
PHONE BUSINESS
General
Description
We are an
authorized dealer of Cricket Wireless products and services and operate Cricket
retail stores in Nebraska, Missouri, Texas and Kansas. Although
Cricket Wireless owns a number of corporate stores, Cricket Wireless is
partnering with dealers in order to reach their market-penetration
goals. Authorized dealers are permitted to sell the Cricket line and
generally locate their store operations in areas with a strong potential
customer base where Cricket does not maintain a corporate
storefront. These locations are generally within the urban core or
surrounding areas of a community. We are an authorized premier
Cricket dealer, and as such, we are only permitted to sell the Cricket line of
prepaid cellular phones at our Cricket retail stores. In addition,
each store we operate must resemble a Cricket corporate store. Once
we identify an area to locate a new store, we contact Cricket Wireless to obtain
approval. Once Cricket Wireless approves our recommended
location, we establish the storefront. Cricket Wireless provides
assistance with exterior signage cost, marketing funds for the launch and
premier kits for display.
We profit
in this business through retail telephone sales used in Cricket services, sales
of phone accessories (e.g., face plates and phone chargers), fees charged when a
customer changes service providers, or whenever a customer pays his or her
Cricket invoice at one of our store locations.
We bear
no risk of non-payment because of the prepaid nature of the
service. Service automatically terminates upon
nonpayment.
8
Market
Information and Marketing
At
December 31, 2008, Cricket cellular phone service was offered in 30 states and
had approximately 3.8 million customers. Leap Wireless
Communications, Inc., a Delaware corporation and public reporting corporation
and the owner of Cricket Wireless, plans to expand its network footprint by
launching Cricket service in new markets and increasing and enhancing coverage
in our existing markets. Cricket Wireless service offers customers
unlimited wireless voice and broadband data services for a flat monthly
rate. In addition, our retail stores offer Cricket PAYGo™ services,
which is an unlimited prepaid wireless service, in select
markets. Cricket PAYGo is a daily pay-as-you-go service designed for
customers who prefer the flexibility and control offered by traditional prepaid
services but who are seeking greater value for their dollar.
Cricket
products and services are primarily targeted to market segments that are
underserved by traditional communications companies. Based on
disclosures made by Leap Wireless Communications, Cricket customers tend to be
younger, have lower incomes and include a greater percentage of ethnic
minorities. Cricket services are designed to appeal to customers who
value unlimited wireless services with predictable billing and who use the
majority of those wireless services from within Cricket service
areas. In contrast, the majority of wireless customers in the U.S.
subscribe to post-pay services that may require credit approval and a
contractual commitment from the subscriber for a period of at least one year and
may include overage charges for call volumes in excess of a specified
maximum. According to International Data Corporation, U.S. wireless
market penetration was approximately 89% at December 31, 2008. Like
Leap Wireless Communications, we believe that a significant portion of the
remaining growth potential in the U.S. wireless market consists of customers who
are price-sensitive, who have lower credit scores or who prefer not to enter
into fixed-term contracts. We believe that our authorized Cricket
store business directly caters and appeals strongly to these customer
segments.
We expect
that consumers may wish to prepay their phone service or purchase prepaid
cellular/Cricket phones:
|
·
|
to
avoid costly phone purchase and long-term and expensive service contracts
with wireless carriers
|
|
·
|
because
poor credit histories may prevent them from successfully obtaining a
service contract with a wireless carrier,
or
|
|
·
|
due
to a short-term need and circumstances in which they expect to engage in
heavy usage of phones, and so they wish to pay a flat fee for a period of
time instead of risking additional per-minute charges on their phone
usage.
|
Nevertheless,
we do not formally query our customers who purchase our phone products or
services as to their motivations in purchasing those products or services, and
we do not have customer data indicating the extent to which our phone customers
cannot obtain a service contract from a long-term contract carrier of phone
service or some other phone service provider.
Market
Strategy
We
believe that our business model is scalable and can be expanded successfully
into adjacent and new markets as we perfect our operational protocols and our
administrative office functions relating to our Cricket business. We
are looking to acquire additional Cricket dealerships in the midwest and launch
additional stores in new Cricket markets that are currently underserved by
competing service providers.
Products
and Services
Our
authorized Cricket retail stores offer the following products and
services:
|
·
|
Cricket
Wireless service plans, each designed to attract customers by offering
simple, predictable and affordable wireless voice and data services that
are a competitive alternative to traditional wireless and wireline
services by offering plans with a flat-rate and unlimited usage within
Cricket service areas, and without requiring fixed-term contracts, early
termination fees or credit checks
|
|
·
|
Cricket
Wireless plan upgrades (e.g., international calling minutes to Canada
and/or Mexico; roaming service packages, text messages) and applications
(including customized ring tones, wallpapers, photos, greeting cards,
games and news and entertainment message deliveries) on a prepaid
basis
|
|
·
|
Cricket
handsets
|
|
·
|
Cricket
broadband service affording customers unlimited wireless access to the
Internet through their computers at a flat rate with no long-term
commitments or credit checks, and
|
|
·
|
Cricket
PAYGo service, an unlimited prepaid (daily pay-as-you-go) wireless service
available in select markets.
|
9
The
payment options for Cricket customers include:
|
·
|
point
of activation, which can be either through automatic charge against a
debit or credit card on bill cycle due
date
|
|
·
|
check
payment by mail
|
|
·
|
payment
at any corporate Cricket store, dealer location or alternative payment
locations (e.g., a local grocery store),
and
|
|
·
|
payment
by telephone using a credit or debit
card.
|
Customers
also have an option on the purchase of their cellular phone. The
customer can either purchase a new phone from us or purchase a used phone from a
previous customer. All phones must be paid for in full because there
is no contract for the monthly prepaid service. Phones range in price
from $49 (with limited features) to high-end telephones at $299.
Seasonality
Our
customer activity is influenced by seasonal effects related to traditional
retail selling periods and other factors that arise from our target customer
base. We generally expect new sales activity to be highest in the first
and fourth quarters. Nevertheless, our revenues can be strongly affected
by the launch of new markets, promotional activity and competitive actions, any
of which have the ability to reduce or outweigh certain seasonal
effects.
REGULATION
We are
subject to regulation by federal, state and local governments that affect the
products and services we provide. Generally, these regulations are designed to
protect consumers who deal with us and are not designed to protect our
shareholders.
Regulation
of Payday Lending
In those
states where we currently operate, we are licensed as a payday lender where
required and are subject to various state regulations regarding the terms and
conditions of our payday loans and our lending policies, procedures and
operations. In some states, payday lending is referred to as
“deferred presentment,” “cash advance loans” or “deferred deposit loans” or
“consumer installment loans.” State regulations normally limit the
amount that we may lend to any single consumer and may limit the number of loans
that we may make to any consumer at one time, or in the course of a single
year. State regulations also limit the amount of fees that we may
assess in connection with any loan transaction and may limit a customer’s
ability to extend or “rollover” a loan with us. Often, state
regulations also specify minimum and maximum maturity dates for payday loans
and, in some cases, specify mandatory cooling-off periods between
transactions.
Our
payday lending practices must also comply with the disclosure requirements of
the Federal Truth-In-Lending Act and Regulation Z under that Act. Our
collection activities for delinquent loans are generally subject to consumer
protection laws regulating debt-collection practices. Finally, our
payday lending business subjects us to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
During
the last few years, legislation has been introduced in the U.S. Congress and in
certain state legislatures proposing various restrictions or an outright
prohibition on payday lending. Currently, state laws in Oregon and
Georgia have effectively eliminated the ability to conduct payday lending
activities in those states, and payday lending will be prohibited in Arizona in
July 2010. In addition, a recent federal law prohibits loans of any
type to U.S. military personnel and their family members with charges or
interest in excess of 36% per annum.
Financial
Reporting Regulation
Regulations
promulgated by the United States Department of the Treasury under the Bank
Secrecy Act require us to report all transactions involving currency in an
amount greater than $10,000. Generally, every financial institution
must report each deposit, withdrawal, exchange of currency or other payment or
transfer that involves an amount greater than $10,000. In addition,
multiple currency transactions must be treated as a single transaction if we
have knowledge that the transactions are by or on behalf of any one person and
result, in a single business day, in the transfer of cash in or out totaling
more than $10,000. In addition, the regulations require us to
maintain information concerning sales of monetary instruments for cash in
amounts from $3,000 to $10,000. The Bank Secrecy Act requires us,
under certain circumstances, to file a suspicious activity report.
10
The Money
Laundering Act of 1994 requires us, as a money service business, to register
with the United States Department of the Treasury. Money services
businesses include check cashers and sellers of money orders. Money
services businesses must renew their registrations every two years, maintain a
list of their agents, update the agent list annually, and make the agent list
available for examination.
Finally,
we have established various procedures designed to comply, and we continue to
monitor and evaluate our business methods and procedures to ensure compliance,
with the USA PATRIOT Act.
Privacy
Regulation
We are
subject to a variety of federal and state laws and regulations restricting the
use and seeking to protect the confidentiality of customer identity and other
personal nonpublic customer information. We have identified our systems that
capture and maintain nonpublic personal information, as that term is understood
under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and associated regulations. We disclose our
public information policies to our customers as required by that law. We also
have systems in place intended to safeguard this information as required by the
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which specifically governs certain aspects of our payday
lending business.
COMPETITION
Like most
other payday lenders, we believe that the primary competitive factors in our
business are location and customer service. We face intense competition in an
industry with relatively low barriers to entry, and we believe that the payday
lending markets are becoming more competitive as the industry matures and
consolidates. We compete with other payday lending and check cashing stores, and
with financial service entities and retail businesses that offer payday loans or
similar financial services. For example, we consider credit card companies that
offer payday features, credit unions, banks that offer small loans, and
creditors and loan services that can extend payment terms an outstanding loans,
to be our competitors. In addition, we compete in part with services offered by
traditional financial institutions, most particularly with respect to the
“overdraft protection” services those institutions may offer and the charges
they levy for checks written with insufficient funds.
Additional
areas of competition have recently arisen. Businesses now offer loans over the
internet as well as “loans by phone,” and these services have begun to compete
with the services we offer. There also has been increasing penetration of
electronic banking and related services into the check cashing and money
transfer industry, including direct deposit of payroll checks, payroll cards,
stored-value cards and electronic transfer of government benefits.
We also
believe that customer service is critical to developing loyalty. In our
industry, we believe that quality customer service means:
|
·
|
assisting
with the loan application process and understanding the loan
terms,
|
|
·
|
treating
customers respectfully, and
|
|
·
|
processing
transactions with accuracy, efficiency and
speed.
|
Our
Cricket store business competes primarily with other actual or potential
authorized sellers and distributors of Cricket products and services. The
authorization to sell Cricket products and services is granted by Cricket
Communications, a Delaware corporation (sometimes referred to as “Cricket
Wireless, Inc.”) and wholly owned subsidiary of Leap Wireless International,
Inc. Presently, we believe that our ability to compete with other would-be
sellers of Cricket products and services will materially depend on the success
with which we operate those store locations for which we presently have a
license to operate. If we successfully manage those stores and are able to
develop and maintain a strong working relationship with Cricket Communications,
we expect that we may be able to effectively compete for additional store
locations when and as they come available. Nevertheless, it is possible that
other authorized sellers may be stronger operators than us, or appear to be
stronger operators than us merely because they have better locations, either of
which may negatively affect our ability to win authorizations for new locations
and grow our Cricket business. In addition, it is possible that Cricket
Communications may itself, at some point in the future, determine to become more
involved in the direct operation of its retail stores and move away from an
authorized distributor business model. In any such event, our ability to
maintain and grow our Cricket business will be negatively impacted.
11
TECHNOLOGY
AND INFORMATION
We
maintain an integrated system of software applications and platforms for
processing the various types of financial transactions we offer. These systems
provide us with customer service, internal control mechanisms, record-keeping
and reporting information. We have one point-of-sale system used by all of our
payday store locations. On a daily basis, transaction data is collected and
integrated into our management information systems. These systems are designed
to provide summary, detailed and exception information to regional, area and
store managers as well as corporate staff. We utilize a point-of-sale system
designed to collect customer information that can be utilized for demographic
analysis, as well as the financial tracking of purchases, returns and Cricket
service payments.
SECURITY
We
believe the principal security risks to our payday lending operations are
robbery and employee theft. We have established extensive security systems,
dedicated security personnel and management information systems to address both
areas of potential loss. To protect against robbery, most store employees work
behind bullet-resistant glass and steel partitions, and the back office, safe
and computer areas are locked and closed to customers. Our security measures in
each store include safes, electronic alarm systems monitored by third parties,
control over entry to customer service representative areas, detection of entry
through perimeter openings, walls and ceilings and the tracking of all employee
movement in and out of secured areas. Employees use cellular phones to ensure
safety and security whenever they are outside the secure customer service
representative area. Additional security measures include alarm systems in all
stores, remote control over alarm systems, the arming, disarming and changing of
user codes, and mechanically and electronically controlled time-delay
safes.
Since we
have high volumes of cash and negotiable instruments at our locations, and
particularly at our payday lending stores, we believe that daily monitoring,
unannounced audits and immediate responses to irregularities are critical to
security and play an important role in our internal controls. Our regional
managers perform weekly unannounced store audits and cash counts at our stores
as well as random inventory counts of cellular phones and accessories. We
self-insure for employee theft and dishonesty at the store level.
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY
Our
business is not materially dependent upon licenses or similar rights or on any
single patent or group of related patents. While we
make efforts to protect our trade secret information, others may independently
develop or otherwise acquire substantially equivalent proprietary information or
techniques or gain access to our proprietary process or technology or
disclose such processes or technology. Any of these factors could harm
our business.
EMPLOYEES
At
December 31, 2008, we had approximately 159 employees, consisting of 148 store
personnel (120 of whom were employed at payday loan stores and 28 of which were
employed at Cricket retail stores), three field managers and eight corporate
office employees. We believe our relationship with our employees is good, and we
have not suffered any work stoppages or labor disputes. We do not have any
employees that operate under collective-bargaining agreements.
CORPORATE
INFORMATION
General
Our
principal offices are located at 11550 “I” Street, Suite 150, Omaha, Nebraska
68137, and our telephone number at that office is (402) 551-8888.
12
Western
Capital Resources, Inc. was originally incorporated and organized as a Minnesota
corporation under the name URON Inc. in November 2001. From its incorporation
until August 2006, URON was wholly owned by Multiband Corporation, a Minnesota
corporation. Multiband spun off URON to Multiband’s shareholders in August 2006.
In connection with this spin-off transaction, URON filed a Form 10-SB
registration with the SEC and Multiband distributed an information statement to
its shareholders. In the spin-off transaction, Multiband distributed to its
shareholders approximately 49% of the issued and outstanding shares of URON
common stock, and retained for itself ownership of approximately 51% of the
issued and outstanding shares of URON common stock. The spin-off dividend was
effected on August 10, 2006 for shareholders of record of Multiband common stock
as of May 1, 2006. On August 11, 2006, Multiband sold its remaining approximate
51% interest in URON Inc. to Lantern Advisers, LLC for $75,000 in
cash.
URON’s
principal business was the provision of dial-up internet service to residential
and commercial customers, principally in the midwestern United States, Texas,
South Carolina and Florida. URON’s customers paid a monthly recurring fee for
such services. In December 2007, we engaged in a merger transaction with Wyoming
Financial Lenders, Inc., a Wyoming corporation. Further information about the
reverse merger transaction is set forth below. At the time of the Merger, URON
had no full-time employees involved in the business of providing internet
service. Instead, URON utilized billing and customer service personnel from its
former parent company, Multiband Corporation pursuant to a written agreement
between URON and Multiband. In July 2008, we changed our corporate name from
URON Inc. to “Western Capital Resources, Inc.”
The
Company’s fiscal year ends December 31, 2008. Neither the Company nor any of its
predecessors have been in bankruptcy, receivership or any similar
proceeding.
Reverse
Merger Transaction
Pursuant
to an Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization dated December 13, 2007
(referred to throughout this report as the “Merger Agreement”), by and among
URON Inc. (the Company), WFL Acquisition Corp. (a Wyoming corporation and then
our wholly owned subsidiary), and Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc., a Wyoming
corporation, WFL Acquisition Corp. merged with and into Wyoming Financial
Lenders with Wyoming Financial Lenders remaining as the surviving entity and our
wholly owned operating subsidiary. This transaction is referred to throughout
this report as the “Merger.” The Merger became effective as of the close of
business on December 31, 2007.
At the
effective time of the Merger, the legal existence of WFL Acquisition Corp.
ceased and all shares of capital stock of Wyoming Financial Lenders that were
outstanding immediately prior to the Merger were cancelled, with one share of
common stock of such corporation issued to the Company. Simultaneously, WERCS,
Inc., a Wyoming corporation and the former sole holder of capital stock of
Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc., received:
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1,125,000
shares of our common stock, representing approximately 17.9% of our common
stock outstanding immediately after the Merger,
and
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10,000,000
shares of our newly created preferred stock, designated as “Series A
Convertible Preferred Stock,” which was then and presently remains
convertible into our common stock on a share-for-share basis, subject to
adjustment.
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On an
aggregate and as-if-converted basis, WERCS received and held 11,125,000 common
shares representing approximately 63.3% of our common stock immediately after
the Merger. In addition, WERCS received a cash payment of $278,845 in return of
capital as part of the Merger.
Each
share of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock has a stated value of $2.10.
Upon any event resulting in our liquidation, each holder of Series A Convertible
Preferred Stock would be entitled to receive $2.10 per preferred share, plus
accrued but unpaid dividends. Dividends on the Series A Convertible Preferred
Stock accrue at the per annum rate of 10%, and are payable in cash (subject to
the option of the holder to receive shares of common stock in lieu of
cash).
Based on
the foregoing, the shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock issued in the
Merger had, and presently still have, an aggregate liquidation value of $21
million. We believe that the liquidation value of our Series A Convertible
Preferred Stock approximated the fair value of such stock on the date of
issuance. The shares of our common stock issued in the Merger had an approximate
aggregate value of $1.35 million, based on a $1.20 per share valuation for such
shares—the same per share price at which 3,331,669 shares were sold in a private
placement that closed on the same date as the Merger. Accordingly, and after
considering the return of capital payment issued to WERCS in connection with the
Merger, the total consideration issued to WERCS in the Merger aggregated
approximately $22.6 million.
We
engaged in the Merger in order to acquire the business of Wyoming Financial
Lenders, Inc., having met with the management of that company and investigated
its business. Prior to the Merger, our business consisted of providing dial-up
internet service to residential and commercial customers, principally in the
midwestern United States, Texas, South Carolina and Florida. Because of the
proliferation of more advanced and attractive alternatives to dial-up modems for
accessing the Internet, URON’s business was rapidly dwindling for a period of
time prior to the Merger and its operations were deemed insignificant enough to
have the Company classified as a “shell company” under applicable SEC
rules.
13
The
Merger resulted in the change of control of the Company and a change in our
Board of Directors. In that change of control, and as contemplated by the Merger
Agreement, WERCS, Inc., the former owner of Wyoming Financial Lenders, became
our controlling shareholder (beneficially owning, immediately after the Merger,
approximately 63.3% of our common stock) and the sole director serving on our
Board of Directors prior to the Merger resigned immediately after approving an
increase in the number of directors comprising the Board of Directors, and
appointing five new directors at the effective time of the Merger. Nevertheless,
certain management-level appointments were made several weeks prior to the
Merger. For instance, at the time of the Merger our Chief Operating Officer (Mr.
John Quandahl) was the Chief Operating Officer of Wyoming Financial Lenders. Our
executive management was changed on November 29, 2007, in anticipation of the
Merger. At that time, it was the determination of the URON Board of Directors
that, since a letter of intent had already been entered into with Wyoming
Financial Lenders with respect to a possible merger transaction, the process of
integrating the two companies would proceed far more smoothly if day-to-day
operational decisions respecting such integration could be made by persons who
were intimately familiar with the business to be acquired. This decision was
significantly influenced by the fact that (i) the management personnel appointed
on November 29, 2007 were not involved in URON’s dwindling dial-up internet
business and (ii) our Board of Directors remained unaffected and wholly
controlled by our pre-Merger shareholders. Accordingly, if the parties had
failed to promptly reach a definitive Merger Agreement and eventually engage in
the Merger, our Board of Directors would have removed the newly appointed
executives without effect on URON’s dial-up internet business. Furthermore, our
Board of Directors was fully informed about the conflicts of interest presented
by the management appointments, and expressly retained final discretion to
approve the closing of the Merger transaction—even after the Merger Agreement
had been executed and delivered on December 13, 2007.
Prior to
the Merger, we effected a 1-for-10 share combination (i.e., reverse stock split)
of our capital stock that was effective as of December 27, 2007. The share
combination was approved by our Board of Directors pursuant to the provisions of
the Minnesota Business Corporation Act together with a corresponding reduction
in the number of shares of authorized capital stock. The reverse stock split was
deemed necessary by the parties to Merger Agreement in order to obtain a
post-Merger capitalization that would properly apportion the Company’s equity in
a manner consistent with the intent expressed in the Merger Agreement. In this
regard, the Merger Agreement made the effectuation of the reverse stock split a
condition to the consummation of the Merger. The effect of the reverse stock
split upon the shareholders of URON prior to the Merger was to reduce the
absolute number of shares of capital stock which each possessed by a factor of
ten, maintain their percentage ownership in the Company until the Merger, and
then, upon the effectiveness of the Merger, reduce their collective percentage
ownership in the Company to approximately 9.5%.
Neither
the Merger nor the Merger Agreement was approved by the shareholders of URON.
This is because Minnesota corporate law does not require any such approval from
the shareholders of a Minnesota corporation who will acquire another company in
a merger transaction structured as a triangular merger. A triangular merger is a
merger in which the legal entities engaged in the merger itself are an
acquisition target (in our case, Wyoming Financial Lenders) and an acquisition
subsidiary (in our case, a subsidiary formed and owned by URON that was named
WFL Acquisition Corp.). In a reverse triangular merger, the acquisition
subsidiary merges with and into the acquisition target; the outstanding stock of
the acquisition subsidiary and the acquisition target is cancelled; a new
ownership interest in the acquisition target is issued to the parent corporation
of the acquisition subsidiary (in our case, URON); and shares of the parent
corporation are issued to the former owners of the acquisition target. In other
words, although URON was a party to the Merger Agreement and was involved in the
transactions associated with the Merger, URON did not itself merge with any
other entity. Minnesota law requires shareholder approval of a merger only when
a Minnesota corporation is itself merging with or into another
entity.
14
RECENT
DEVELOPMENTS
Acquisition
of PQH Wireless
On
October 15, 2008, we entered into and consummated certain transactions
contemplated by a Stock Purchase Agreement with PQH Wireless, Inc., a Nebraska
corporation, and Mark Houlton, Charles Payne and John Quandahl, the three
stockholders of PQH Wireless. Under the Stock Purchase Agreement, we acquired
all of the outstanding shares of PQH Wireless for a total purchase price of
$3,035,000. The purchase price was paid by making a cash payment of $535,000 to
Charles Payne and issuing a 7% promissory note to Mr. Payne in the
principal amount of $500,000, and issuing a 10% promissory note in the
amount of $1,000,000 to each of Mark Houlton and John Quandahl. All of the
promissory notes mature on October 1, 2011.
At the
time of the acquisition, PQH Wireless operated nine Cricket Wireless stores
in Nebraska, Missouri and Texas. For further information about our acquisition
of PQH Wireless, please see Item 13 “Certain Relationships and Related
Transactions and Director Independence” below. In March 2009, PQH Wireless
launched eight new Cricket Wireless stores in Indiana.
Revolving
Credit Line with Banco Popular
On
November 13, 2008, Wyoming Financial Lenders entered into a Business Loan
Agreement and associated agreements with Banco Popular North America, located in
Rosemont, Illinois. The Business Loan Agreement provides Wyoming Financial
Lenders with a one-year revolving line of credit in an amount of up to
$2,000,000. Amounts borrowed under the Business Loan Agreement accrue interest
at the per annum rate equal to one point over the Banco Popular North America
Prime Rate (which rate is presently 4.5%). As permitted by the Business Loan
Agreement, we are making interest-only payments on a monthly basis. All accrued
and unpaid interest, together with all outstanding principal, will be due on
October 30, 2009.
Amounts
advanced under the Business Loan Agreement are guaranteed by Western Capital and
personally by Christopher Larson, formerly our Chief Executive Officer. In
connection with the Business Loan Agreement, both Wyoming Financial Lenders and
Western Capital granted security to Banco Popular. In particular, Wyoming
Financial Lenders granted Banco Popular a security interest in substantially all
of its assets, and Western Capital pledged its entire ownership interest in
Wyoming Financial Lenders. For further information regarding our line of credit
with Banco Popular, please see Items 1A, 7 and 9B of this Annual
Report.
Redemption
Agreement
On
December 31, 2008, we entered into a Redemption Agreement with Christopher
Larson, formerly our Chief Executive Officer. Under the Redemption Agreement, we
redeemed 1,291,290 shares of our common stock from Mr. Larson. As payment for
the redeemed shares, we assigned to Mr. Larson our entire
ownership interest in National Cash & Credit and WCR Acquisition Co., a
Minnesota corporation. Each of National Cash & Credit and WCR Acquisition
was our wholly owned subsidiary prior to the transaction.
In
addition, we assigned and delegated to National Cash & Credit all of our
rights and obligations under an Asset Purchase Agreement which we caused WCR
Acquisition Co. to enter into on July 31, 2008 in order to acquire
four payday lending stores in Arizona and associated assets from affiliates of
STEN Corporation. Similarly, we assigned and delegated to National Cash &
Credit all of our rights and obligations under certain promissory notes that we
had delivered to STEN Corporation in connection with the Asset Purchase
Agreement. Finally, pursuant to the Redemption Agreement we paid (in the first
quarter of 2009) National Cash & Credit the total amount of principal due in
January, together with interest accrued on those promissory notes as of December
31, 2008, which payment aggregated to $104,687.50. For further information
regarding the Redemption Agreement, please see Item 13 “Certain Relationships
and Related Transactions and Director Independence” below.
15
Changes
in Management
In the
past several months, there have been several changes in our executive management
and Board of Directors. In particular:
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On
December 31, 2008, Christopher Larson, our former director, President and
Chief Executive Officer, resigned his positions on the Board of Directors
and as our President and Chief Executive Officer. On the same date, Mr.
Steven Staehr also resigned his position as our Chief Financial
Officer.
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On
December 31, 2008, our Board of Directors appointed John Quandahl to serve
as our Chief Executive Officer and interim Chief Financial Officer. Mr.
Quandahl continues to serve as our Chief Operating Officer. On March 9,
2009, our Board of Directors appointed Mr. Quandahl to our Board of
Directors.
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On
March 18, 2009, John H. Klassen IV resigned from our Board of Directors.
Mr. Klaasen’s seat remains vacant as of the date of this
report.
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Acquisition
of VZ Wireless
On
January 14, 2009, our PQH Wireless subsidiary purchased certain assets of VZ
Wireless, LLC, a Wisconsin limited liability company. Under the related Asset
Purchase Agreement, PQH Wireless acquired 12 Cricket Wireless store locations
and related assets for a cash purchase price of $1,828,000. The acquired stores
and assets are located in Kansas City, Missouri (four stores) and St. Louis,
Missouri (eight stores).
Settlement
Agreement
On May 1,
2009, we entered into a Settlement Agreement with Christopher Larson, our former
Chief Executive Officer. We entered into the Settlement Agreement to settle
certain disputes that we had with Mr. Larson. Under the Settlement Agreement,
we, together with Wyoming Financial Lenders, WERCS and John Quandahl
(collectively, the “Western Parties”), fully released Mr. Larson and National
Cash & Credit (together, the “Larson Parties”) from any and all claims,
known and unknown, and the Larson Parties similarly fully released the Western
Parties from any and all claims, known and unknown. In addition, the Settlement
Agreement required Mr. Larson to place all 550,000 shares of his common stock in
the Company in an escrow arrangement that will result in either the complete
redemption of those shares or the release of those shares back to him under
certain circumstances. In particular:
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the
shares will be fully redeemed in the event that either Mr. Larson’s
personal guaranty of debt owed by Wyoming Financial Lenders to Banco
Popular North America is terminated or revoked, or all amounts owed by
Wyoming Financial Lenders to Banco Popular are fully paid;
or
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the
shares will be released back to Mr. Larson in the event that Mr. Larson
pays money in satisfaction of the guaranty or WERCS breaches the terms of
an agreement it has with Mr. Larson to indemnify him in the event he is
required to perform any obligations under his personal
guaranty.
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For
further information regarding the Settlement Agreement, please see Item 9B,
“Other Information,” below.
16
ITEM 1A
RISK FACTORS
You
should consider the following risk factors, in addition to the other information
presented or incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K, in
evaluating our business and your investment in us.
The payday loan
industry is highly regulated under state laws. Changes in state laws and
regulations governing lending practices, or changes in the interpretation of
such laws and regulations, could negatively affect our
business.
Our
business is regulated under numerous state laws and regulations, which are
subject to change and which may impose significant costs or limitations on the
way we conduct or expand our business. As of the date of this report,
approximately 34 states and the District of Columbia had legislation permitting
or not prohibiting payday loans. During the last few years, legislation has been
adopted in some states that prohibits or severely restricts payday loans. For
example, in 2006, Oregon passed a ballot initiative that caps interest rates and
origination fees on payday loans at 36%, among other limitations. Before that,
Georgia law effectively prohibited direct payday lending in 2004.
There are
nearly always bills pending in various states to alter the current laws
governing payday lending. Any of these bills, or future proposed legislation or
regulations prohibiting payday loans or making them less profitable, could be
passed in any state at any time, or existing payday loan laws could expire.
Recently, proposed legislation banning payday loans was introduced in Nebraska.
This bill was ultimately defeated. However, since we derive approximately 36% of
our revenues in Nebraska, the passage of any such legislation in Nebraska would
have a highly material and negative effect on our business.
Statutes
authorizing payday loans typically provide state agencies that regulate banks
and financial institutions with significant regulatory powers to administer and
enforce the laws relating to payday lending. Under statutory authority, state
regulators have broad discretionary power and may impose new licensing
requirements, interpret or enforce existing regulatory requirements in different
ways or issue new administrative rules, even if not contained in state statutes,
that affect the way we do business and may force us to terminate or modify our
operations in those jurisdictions. They may also impose rules that are generally
adverse to our industry. Finally, in many states, the attorney general has
scrutinized or continues to scrutinize the payday loan statutes and the
interpretations of those statutes.
Any
adverse change in present laws or regulations, or their interpretation, in one
or more such states (or an aggregation of states in which we conduct a
significant amount of business) would likely result in our curtailment or
cessation of operations in such jurisdictions. Any such action would have a
corresponding highly material and negative impact on our results of operations
and financial condition, primarily through a material decrease in revenues, and
could also negatively affect our general business prospects as well if we are
unable to effectively replace such revenues in a timely and efficient
manner.
Our
business is subject to complex federal laws and regulations governing lending
practices, and changes in such laws and regulations could negatively affect our
business.
Although
states provide the primary regulatory framework under which we offer payday
loans, certain federal laws also affect our business. For example, because
payday loans are viewed as extensions of credit, we must comply with the federal
Truth-in-Lending Act and Regulation Z under that Act. Additionally, we are
subject to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and
certain other federal laws. Additionally, anti-payday loan legislation has been
introduced in the U.S. Congress in the past. These efforts culminated in federal
legislation in 2006 that limits the interest rate and fees that may be charged
on any loans, including payday loans, to any person in the military to the
equivalent of 36% per annum. The military lending prohibition became effective
on October 1, 2007.
In July
2008, a bill was introduced before the U.S. Senate, entitled the “Protecting
Consumers from Unreasonable Credit Rates Act of 2008” (an amendment to the Truth
in Lending Act), proposing to set a maximum actual or imputed interest rate of
36% on all extensions of credit of any type. The bill is intended to limit the
charges and fees payable in connection with payday lending. Presently, the bill
is in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Additionally,
the Obama presidential campaign platform included support for a nationwide 36%
interest rate cap. We have no further information regarding the bill or any
legislative efforts that the Obama Administration may propone at this time. The
passage of this bill or any similar bill into law would essentially prohibit us
from conducting our payday lending business in its current form, and would
certainly have a material and adverse effect on the Company, operating results,
financial condition and prospects and even its viability.
17
Any
adverse change in present federal laws or regulations that govern or otherwise
affect payday lending could result in our curtailment or cessation of operations
in certain jurisdictions or locations. Furthermore, any failure to comply with
any applicable federal laws or regulations could result in fines, litigation,
the closure of one or more store locations or negative publicity. Any such
change or failure would have a corresponding impact on our results of operations
and financial condition, primarily through a decrease in revenues resulting from
the cessation or curtailment of operations, decrease in our operating income
through increased legal expenditures or fines, and could also negatively affect
our general business prospects as well if we are unable to effectively replace
such revenues in a timely and efficient manner or if negative publicity effects
our ability to obtain additional financing a needed.
Changes
in local regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business,
results of operations and financial condition.
In
addition to state and federal laws and regulations, our business is subject to
various local rules and regulations such as local zoning regulations and permit
licensing. We are aware of increasing efforts by local jurisdictions to restrict
payday lending through the use of local zoning and permitting laws. Any actions
taken in the future by local zoning boards or other governing bodies to require
special use permits for, or impose other restrictions on, payday lenders could
have a material adverse effect on the growth of our business and business
prospects primarily by restricting any efforts to grow our business
“organically” by opening more lending store locations.
Litigation
and regulatory actions directed toward our industry or us could adversely affect
our operating results, particularly in certain key states.
During
the last few years, our industry has been subject to regulatory proceedings,
class action lawsuits and other litigation regarding the offering of payday
loans, and we could suffer losses resulting from interpretations of state laws
in those lawsuits or regulatory proceedings, even if we are not a party to those
proceedings. For example, the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks recently
issued a ruling in which it determined that Advance America, which marketed,
originated, serviced and collected payday loans on behalf of a state-chartered
bank located in Kentucky, violated various North Carolina consumer-protection
statutes. Thus, the losses we could suffer could be directly incurred through
our involvement in litigation or regulatory proceedings, or could be indirectly
incurred through negative publicity regarding the industry in general that is
generated by litigation on regulatory proceedings involving third
parties.
In
addition, regulatory actions taken with respect to a particular non-payday
lending financial service that we offer could negatively affect our ability to
offer such other financial services. For example, if we were the subject of
regulatory action related to our check-cashing business, that regulatory action
could adversely affect our ability to maintain our licenses for payday lending.
Moreover, the suspension or revocation of our license or other authorization in
one state could adversely affect our ability to maintain licenses in other
states. Accordingly, a violation of a law or regulation with respect to
otherwise unrelated products or in other jurisdictions could affect other parts
of our business and adversely affect our business and operations as a
whole.
We
will likely need additional financing in the future and any such financing may
dilute our existing shareholders.
We
anticipate that we will continue to experience growth in our income and expenses
for the foreseeable future and that our operating expenses will be a material
use of cash resources. Presently, we believe we have cash sufficient to maintain
operations through fiscal 2009, through a combination of operating cash flow
and/or the partial payment of dividends on our Series A Convertible Preferred
Stock. Our expectation in this regard accounts for $2 million in borrowing that
will become due in October 2009. In the event that our income does not meet our
expectations, we may sooner require additional financing for working capital. In
addition, if we determine to grow our business through acquisitions, any
acquisitions we consummate will likely involve outside financing. Any additional
financing, for whatever purpose and for whatever reason, may dilute our existing
shareholders.
Additional
financing could be sought from a number of sources, including but not limited to
additional sales of equity or debt securities (including equity-linked or
convertible debt securities), loans from banks, loans from our affiliates or
other financial institutions. We may not, however, be able to sell any
securities or obtain any such additional financing when needed, or do so on
terms and conditions acceptable or favorable to us, if at all. If financing is
not available, we may be forced to consider strategic alternatives, such as (but
not limited to) curtailing certain aspects of our operations or closing certain
operating locations. If we successfully enter into a financing transaction, any
additional equity or equity-linked financing would be dilutive to shareholders,
and additional debt financing, if available, may involve restrictive
covenants.
18
Failure
to achieve and maintain effective internal controls could limit our ability to
detect and prevent fraud and thereby adversely affect our business and stock
price.
Effective
internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports.
Nevertheless, all internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have
inherent limitations. Even those systems determined to be effective can provide
only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and
presentation. Our most recent evaluation of our internal controls resulted in
our conclusion that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective
due to a variety of reasons, including the failure to maintain a tone of
control consciousness and effective
controls over the period-end financial reporting process,
expenditures, intangibles and goodwill, payroll processes, as well as the
preparation of the income tax provision and related deferred and current tax
calculations.
Our
failure to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment could
cause us to be unable to produce reliable financial reports or prevent fraud.
This may cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial
information, which could in turn have a material adverse effect on our stock
price.
The
concentration of our revenues in certain states could adversely affect
us.
We
currently provide payday lending services in 10 states. For the year ended
December 31, 2008, revenues from our locations in Nebraska represented
approximately 30% of our total revenues. For the foreseeable future, we expect
that a material and significant portion of our revenues will continue to be
generated in Nebraska. As a result, changes to prevailing economic, demographic,
regulatory or any other conditions, including the legislative, regulatory or
litigation risks mentioned above, in the markets in which we operate, and in
Nebraska in particular, could lead to a reduction in demand for our payday loans
and result in a decline in our revenues or an increase in our provision for
doubtful accounts, or even an outright legal prohibition on the conduct of our
business. Any of these outcomes could in turn result in a material and swift
deterioration of our financial condition principally by impairing our revenues
and affecting our ability to obtain financing and operating liquidity, our
operating results and our business prospects (again, principally by reducing our
revenues and impairing our ability to grow our business).
A
default under our borrowing agreements with Banco Popular could require us to
seek financing on a short-term basis that may be disadvantageous to the Company
and could result in our inability to redeem and retire 550,000 shares of our
common stock presently held in an escrow arrangement.
On
November 13, 2008, Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc. entered into a Business Loan
Agreement and associated agreements with Banco Popular North America, located in
Rosemont, Illinois. The Business Loan Agreement provides Wyoming Financial
Lenders with a one-year revolving line of credit in an amount of up to
$2,000,000. All accrued and unpaid interest, together with all outstanding
principal, will be due on October 30, 2009. We have guaranteed all amounts
advanced to Wyoming Financial Lenders under the Business Loan Agreement. In
addition, the obligations of Wyoming Financial Lenders under the Business Loan
Agreement are guaranteed personally by Christopher Larson, our former Chief
Executive Officer. As detailed elsewhere in this report, Mr. Larson resigned
from his officer and director positions on December 31, 2008 and is no longer
associated with the Company.
As we
explain under the caption “Banco Popular Line of Credit” in Items 7 and 9B
below, we notified Banco Popular about our separation with Mr. Larson and the
transactions contemplated under the Redemption Agreement that we entered into
with him. Furthermore, we notified Banco Popular in April 2009 about our
inability to deliver certain financial information in a timely manner as
required under the Business Loan Agreement. Our delay in delivering the
financial information required under the Business Loan Agreement (audited
financial statements and tax returns) resulted primarily from our need to
restate our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2007 and the
subsequent interim periods ending September 30, 2008. On April 30, 2009, Banco
Popular furnished us with their written waiver of our failure to timely deliver
such information. As a result, presently neither the departure of Christopher
Larson or any of the transactions effected in connection with the Redemption
Agreement nor restatement of our financial statements for the year ended
December 31, 2007 and the subsequent interim periods ending September 30, 2008
have had an adverse impact upon our revolving credit line with Banco Popular
under the Business Loan Agreement.
Nevertheless,
it is possible that other difficulties may arise in relation to our Business
Loan Agreement with Banco Popular. For instance, since we have separated with
Mr. Larson, it is possible that Mr. Larson may revoke or breach the terms of his
guaranty agreement, resulting in a default under the Business Loan Agreement. It
is also possible that we may, at some point in the future, be unable to meet a
material covenant under the Business Loan Agreement or may otherwise find
ourselves in default. Defaults occur under the Business Loan Agreement in the
event of:
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a
default in payment
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a
default in a representation, warranty or covenant under the Business Loan
Agreement or any of the other agreements entered into in connection
therewith
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a
default under any other material agreement to which Wyoming Financial
Lenders or any guarantor is a party
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the
insolvency of Wyoming Financial
Lenders
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an
adverse change in the financial condition of Wyoming Financial
Lenders
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the
defective collateralization or the commencement of creditor proceedings
against borrower or against any collateral securing the obligations under
the Business Loan Agreement, or
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|
a
change in control of more than 25% of the common stock of Wyoming
Financial Lenders
|
In the
event of any default, Banco Popular may accelerate all amounts due subject to a
ten-day right to cure applicable in certain circumstances. This right may
require us to take steps that would otherwise be adverse to us in order to meet
our accelerated payment obligations, including such steps as selling additional
securities or assets of the Company or obtaining financing on terms that are
disadvantageous.
In
connection with the Business Loan Agreement, both Wyoming Financial Lenders and
Western Capital granted security to Banco Popular. In particular, Wyoming
Financial Lenders granted Banco Popular a security interest in substantially all
of its assets, and we pledged our ownership (i.e., shares of common stock) in
Wyoming Financial Lenders. Because Wyoming Financial Lenders conducts our payday
lending business, this means that if we were unable to meet our accelerated
payment obligations in the event of a default, we could lose some or all of our
ownership of our payday lending business.
Finally,
as disclosed in Item 9B below, we entered into a Settlement Agreement with
Christopher Larson on May 1, 2009 to settle certain disputes that we had with
Mr. Larson. Under the Settlement Agreement, Mr. Larson has placed all 550,000
shares of his common stock in the Company in an escrow arrangement that will
result in either the complete redemption of those shares or the release of those
shares back to him under certain circumstances. In particular:
|
·
|
the
shares will be fully redeemed in the event that either Mr. Larson’s
guaranty of debt owed by Wyoming Financial Lenders to Banco Popular is
terminated or revoked, or all amounts owed by Wyoming Financial Lenders to
Banco Popular are fully paid; or
|
|
·
|
the
shares will be released back to Mr. Larson in the event that Mr. Larson
pays money in satisfaction of the guaranty or WERCS breaches the terms of
an agreement it has with Mr. Larson to indemnify him in the event he is
required to perform any obligations under his personal
guaranty.
|
Therefore,
if we were unable to meet our accelerated payment obligations in the event of a
default, we could lose our right to redeem and retire the 550,000 shares of
common stock presently held in the name of Mr. Larson.
Unpredictability
in financing markets could impair our ability to grow our business through
acquisitions.
We
anticipate that opportunities to acquire similar businesses will materially
depend on the availability of financing alternatives with acceptable terms. As a
result, poor credit and other market conditions or uncertainty in the financing
markets could materially limit our ability to grow through acquisitions since
such conditions and uncertainty make obtaining financing more
difficult.
Public
perception of payday lending as being predatory or abusive could adversely
affect our business.
Recently,
consumer advocacy groups and media reports have advocated governmental action to
prohibit or severely restrict payday loans. The consumer groups and media
reports typically focus on the cost to a consumer for this type of loan, which
is higher than the interest typically charged by credit card issuers. The
consumer groups and media reports typically characterize these transactions as
predatory or abusive toward consumers. If this negative characterization of our
business becomes widely accepted by consumers, demand for our payday loans could
significantly decrease, which could adversely affect our results of operations
primarily by decreasing our revenues. Negative perception of our business
activities could also result in our industry being subject to more restrictive
laws and regulations and greater exposure to litigation.
20
Any
disruption in the availability of our information systems could adversely affect
our operations.
We rely
upon our information systems to manage and operate our business. Each location
is part of an information network that permits us to maintain adequate cash
inventory, reconcile cash balances daily, and report revenues and loan losses in
a timely manner. Our security measures could fail to prevent a disruption in the
availability of our information systems or our back-up systems could fail to
operate properly. Any disruption in the availability of our information systems
could adversely affect our results of operations by impairing our ability to
efficiently effect transactions.
If
we lose key managers or are unable to attract and retain the talent required for
our business, our operating results could suffer.
Our
future success depends to a significant degree upon the members of our executive
management, particularly John Quandahl, who is our Chief Executive Officer and
interim Chief Financial Officer. Accordingly, the loss of the services of Mr.
Quandahl would likely materially and adversely affect our business. Importantly,
we do not currently have an employment agreement with Mr. Quandahl, and thus we
cannot be certain that Mr. Quandahl will feel obligated to continue providing
services to us for any particular period of time. Our continued growth will also
depend upon our ability to attract and retain additional skilled management
personnel. Competition for highly skilled and experienced management is intense
and likely to continue and increase. To the extent that we are unable to attract
and retain the talent required for our business, our operating results could
suffer.
We
lack product and business diversification, which creates a risk that our future
revenues and earnings will be susceptible to fluctuations.
Our
primary business activity is offering and servicing payday loans. We also
provide certain related and other services, such as check cashing, money
transfers and money orders, and guaranteed phone and Cricket phone services,
which in the aggregate accounted for approximately 20.8% of our revenues in
fiscal 2008. If we are unable to diversify our business products and services,
we may experience fluctuations in our revenues and earnings, which may be
significant, relating to our payday lending business. Such fluctuations could
result from legal or regulatory changes in one or more jurisdictions, changes in
economic conditions in the jurisdictions where we provide payday loans, or
result from other risks or adverse events befalling us. Our susceptibility to
fluctuations or the actual happening of significant fluctuations in our revenues
or earnings could cause our Company to be perceived as a less stable and
therefore less attractive investment in general, which would likely negatively
affect the market price of our common stock and our ability to obtain additional
financing an acceptable terms.
Competition
in the retail financial services industry is intense and could cause us to lose
market share and revenues.
We
believe that the primary competitive factors in the payday loan industry are
store location and customer service. We face intense competition in the payday
loan industry, and we believe that the payday lending market is becoming more
competitive as this industry matures and begins to consolidate. The payday loan
industry has low barriers to entry, and new competitors may enter the market
easily. We currently compete with services, such as overdraft protection offered
by traditional financial institutions, and with other payday loan and check
cashing stores and other financial service entities and retail businesses that
offer payday loans or other similar financial services, as well as a rapidly
growing internet-based payday loan market. Some of our competitors have larger
and more established customer bases and substantially greater financial,
marketing and other resources than we have. As a result, we could lose market
share and our revenues could decline, thereby affecting our earnings and
potential for growth.
General
economic conditions affect our loan losses, and accordingly, our results of
operations could be adversely affected by a general economic
slowdown.
Provision
for loan losses, net of recoveries, is one of our largest operating expenses,
constituting approximately 15% of total revenues for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2008, with payday loan losses comprising most of the losses. At the
end of each fiscal quarter, management considers recent collection history to
develop expected loss rates, which are used to establish the allowance for loan
losses. Any changes in economic factors that adversely affect our customers,
such as a continued economic downturn or worsening economy, could result in
higher loan loss experiences than anticipated, which could in turn adversely
affect our loan charge-offs and operating results.
21
If
estimates of our loan losses are not adequate to absorb actual losses, our
financial condition and results of operations may be adversely
affected.
We
maintain an allowance for loan losses at levels to cover the estimated incurred
losses in the collection of our loan portfolio outstanding at the end of each
applicable period. At the end of each period, management considers recent
collection history to develop expected loss rates, which are used to establish
the allowance for loan losses. Our allowance for loan losses was $1.41 million
on December 31, 2008. Our allowance for loan losses is an estimate, and if
actual loan losses are materially greater than our allowance for losses, our
financial condition and results of operations could be adversely
affected.
Because
we maintain a significant supply of cash in our locations, we may experience
losses due to employee error and theft.
Because
our business requires us to maintain a significant supply of cash in our stores,
we are subject to the risk of cash shortages resulting from employee error and
theft. We periodically experience employee error and theft in stores, which can
significantly increase the operating losses of those stores for the period in
which the employee error or theft is discovered. We self-insure for employee
error and theft at the store level. If our controls to limit our exposure to
employee error and theft at the store level and at our corporate headquarters do
not operate effectively or are structured ineffectively, our operating margins
could be adversely affected by costs associated with increased security and
preventative measures.
Regular
turnover among our location managers and employees makes it more difficult for
us to operate our locations and increases our costs of operation.
We
experience a relatively stable workforce among our location managers and
employees. Turnover interferes with implementation of operating strategies.
Increases in our workforce turnover in the future would likely increase our
operating pressures and operating costs and could restrict our ability to grow.
Additionally, high turnover would create challenges for us in maintaining high
levels of employee awareness of and compliance with our internal procedures and
external regulatory compliance requirements. In sum, high turnover would
increase our training and supervisory costs, and result in decreased earnings
with corresponding greater risks of regulatory non-compliance.
Our
directors, officers and our controlling shareholder possess controlling voting
power with respect to our common stock and voting preferred stock, which will
limit practically your influence on corporate matters.
Our
officers and directors collectively possess beneficial ownership of
approximately 11,942,137 shares of our common stock, which currently represents
approximately 66.5% of our common stock. This includes all of the 1,125,000
common shares and 10,000,000 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock
(presently convertible into our common stock on a share-for-share basis) held by
WERCS, the former sole stockholder of Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc. As a
result, our directors, officers and WERCS (our most significant shareholder),
will have the ability to outrightly control our management and affairs through
the election and removal of our directors, and all other matters requiring
shareholder approval, including the future merger, consolidation or sale of all
or substantially all of our assets. In fact, Mr. Robert Moberly, our Chairman,
beneficially owns all of the shares held by WERCS and therefore has beneficial
ownership of 11,125,000 common shares, which gives him alone beneficial
ownership of 61.9% of our common stock on a voting basis. Therefore, Mr. Moberly
has the power, alone, to control the composition of our Board of Directors and
the outcome of any matters submitted to a vote of the shareholders. In addition,
Mr. Joseph A. Geraci, II possesses beneficial ownership of 800,000 common shares
(indirectly through Mill City Ventures, LP). Mr. Geraci is also a part owner of
Lantern Advisers, LLC, which was instrumental in arranging for and structuring
important terms of the reverse merger transaction in which the Company acquired
Wyoming Financial Lenders. Mr. Geraci does not, however, have investment or
voting control over shares of our Company held by Lantern Advisers.
When the
shares held by of our officers and directors are aggregated with those
beneficially owned by Mr. Geraci, such persons beneficially own and control over
70.1% of our common stock. This concentrated control could discourage others
from initiating any potential merger, takeover or other change-of-control
transaction that may otherwise be beneficial to our shareholders. Furthermore,
this concentrated control will limit the practical effect of your participation
in Company matters, through shareholder votes and otherwise.
22
Our
articles of incorporation grant our Board of Directors the power to issue
additional shares of common and preferred stock and to designate other classes
of preferred stock, all without shareholder approval.
Our
authorized capital consists of 250 million shares of capital stock. Pursuant to
authority granted by our articles of incorporation, our Board of Directors,
without any action by our shareholders, may designate and issue shares in such
classes or series (including other classes or series of preferred stock) as it
deems appropriate and establish the rights, preferences and privileges of such
shares, including dividends, liquidation and voting rights. The rights of
holders of other classes or series of stock that may be issued could be superior
to the rights of holders of our common shares. The designation and issuance of
shares of capital stock having preferential rights could adversely affect other
rights appurtenant to shares of our common stock. Furthermore, any issuances of
additional stock (common or preferred) will dilute the percentage of ownership
interest of then-current holders of our capital stock and may dilute our book
value per share.
Because
we became public by means of a reverse merger, we may not be able to attract the
attention of major brokerage firms.
Additional
risks to our investors may exist since we became public through a “reverse
merger.” Security analysts of major brokerage firms may not provide coverage of
the Company since, because we became public through a reverse merger, there is
no incentive to brokerage firms to recommend the purchase of our common stock.
In addition, because of past abuses and fraud concerns stemming primarily from a
lack of public information about newly public businesses, there are many people
in the securities industry and business in general who view reverse
merger/public shell transactions with suspicion. Without brokerage firm and
analyst coverage, there may be fewer people aware of us and our business,
resulting in fewer potential buyers of our securities, less liquidity, and
depressed stock prices for our investors.
Wyoming
Financial Lenders, Inc. may have material liabilities of which we are not aware,
or vice versa.
Although
each of the parties to the Merger conducted a due-diligence review of the
financial condition and legal status of the other, the Company may have material
liabilities that Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc. was not aware of and has not
yet discovered; or conversely, Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc. may have material
liabilities that the Company was not aware and did not discover prior to the
consummation of the Merger. Furthermore, although the Merger Agreement contained
customary representations and warranties from both parties concerning their
assets, liabilities, financial condition and affairs, it is possible that none
of URON Inc., Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc. (as the operating entity after the
Merger) or the pre-Merger owners of either entity will have any material
recourse against another party or its former or current owners or principals in
the event such representations and warranties prove to be untrue, with resulting
damages.
We
are subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the reporting requirements of federal
securities laws, which can be expensive.
As a
public reporting company we are subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and,
accordingly, subject to the information and reporting requirements of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and other federal securities laws. The costs of
compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, of preparing and filing annual and quarterly
reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC, furnishing audited
reports to our shareholders, and other legal, audit and internal resource costs
attendant with being a public reporting company will cause our expenses to be
significantly higher than they would be if Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc. had
remained privately held. As a result, our historical financial information for
fiscal 2007 that is contained in this report may fail to capture the true costs
of operating the company as a public reporting company, and our future operating
results may fail to match our historical operating results because of such
costs.
Our
common stock trades only in an illiquid trading market.
Trading
of our common stock is conducted on the over-the-counter bulletin board. This
has an adverse effect on the liquidity of our common stock, not only in terms of
the number of shares that can be bought and sold at a given price, but also
through delays in the timing of transactions and reduction in security analysts’
and the media’s coverage of us and our common stock. This may result in lower
prices for our common stock than might otherwise be obtained and could also
result in a larger spread between the bid and asked prices for our common
stock.
In
addition, there has been very little trading activity in our common stock. Over
the three months from January 1 through March 31, 2009, the average daily
trading volume (as reported by Yahoo Finance) was fewer than 100 shares, with
only seven trading days during that period involving any trading activity and 54
trading days involving no trades. The small trading volume will likely make it
difficult for our shareholders to sell their shares as and when they choose.
Furthermore, small trading volumes generally depress market prices. As a result,
you may not always be able to resell shares of our common stock publicly at the
time and prices that you feel are fair or appropriate.
23
We
do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future.
We will, however, pay dividends on our convertible preferred stock.
We have
paid dividends to WERCS, Inc. as the holder of 10,000,000 shares of “Series A
Convertible Preferred Stock,” each share of which carries a $2.10 stated value.
Our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock entitles its holders to (i) a
cumulative 10% dividend, compounded and payable on a quarterly basis; (ii) in
the event of a liquidation or dissolution of the Company, a preference in the
amount of all accrued but unpaid dividends plus the stated value of such shares,
before any payment shall be made or any assets distributed to the holders of any
junior securities; (iii) convert their preferred shares into our common stock on
a share-for-share basis, subject to adjustment; and (iv) vote their preferred
shares on an as-if-converted basis.
We have
the right to redeem some or all such preferred shares, at any time upon 60 days’
advance notice, at a per-share price of $3.50 plus accrued but unpaid dividends.
Holders of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock have no preemptive or
cumulative-voting rights.
We do not
anticipate that we will pay any dividends for the foreseeable future on our
common stock. Accordingly, any return on an investment in us will be realized
only when you sell shares of our common stock.
ITEM 1B
UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Not
applicable.
24
ITEM 2
PROPERTIES
Our
headquarters is in Omaha, Nebraska. There, we have a 2,440-square-foot space
which is sufficient for our projected near-term future growth. The monthly lease
amount is currently $1,000 and the term runs through November 2010. The
corporate phone number is (402) 551-8888.
As of the
date of this report, we have 55 payday store locations. Our payday store
locations typically range in size from 1,000 square feet to 2,000 square feet,
and have varying lease terms (none of which, however, have remaining terms of
more than five years). As of the date of this report, we have payday lending
stores in the following cities:
·
Sterling,
Colorado
|
·
Minot, North
Dakota
|
·
Council Bluffs,
Iowa
|
·
Aberdeen, South
Dakota
|
·
Des Moines, Iowa
(four locations)
|
·
Rapid City, South
Dakota
|
·
Sioux City,
Iowa
|
·
Sioux Falls, South
Dakota
|
·
Dodge City,
Kansas
|
·
Watertown, South
Dakota
|
·
Garden City,
Kansas
|
·
Salt Lake City,
Utah
|
·
Billings, Montana
(two locations)
|
·
Sandy,
Utah
|
·
Butte,
Montana
|
·
Taylorsville,
Utah
|
·
Great Falls,
Montana
|
·
West Jordan,
Utah
|
·
Columbus,
Nebraska
|
·
Kenosha,
Wisconsin
|
·
Grand Island,
Nebraska
|
·
Pleasant Prairie,
Wisconsin
|
·
Hastings,
Nebraska
|
·
Racine, Wisconsin
(two locations)
|
·
Lincoln, Nebraska
(three locations)
|
·
Casper, Wyoming (two
locations)
|
·
North Platte,
Nebraska
|
·
Gillette,
Wyoming
|
·
Omaha, Nebraska
(seven locations)
|
·
Laramie,
Wyoming
|
·
Bismarck, North
Dakota (two locations)
|
·
Sheridan,
Wyoming
|
·
Grand Forks, North
Dakota (three locations)
|
· Rock Springs, Wyoming
|
·
Fargo, North Dakota (four locations)
|
As of the
date of this report, we have 11 Cricket store locations. Our Cricket store
locations typically range in size from 1,000 square feet to 2,500 square feet,
and have varying lease terms (none of which, however, have remaining terms of
more than five years). Our Cricket store locations are in the following
cities:
·
Kansas City, Missouri (two locations)
|
·
Kansas City, Kansas
|
·
Omaha, Nebraska (five locations)
|
·
San Antonio, Texas (three
locations)
|
25
ITEM 3
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
We are
involved in a variety of legal claims and proceedings incidental to our
business, including customer bankruptcy and employment-related matters from time
to time, and other legal matters that arise in the normal course of business. We
believe these claims and proceedings are not out of the ordinary course for a
business of the type and size in which we are engaged. While we are unable to
predict the ultimate outcome of these claims and proceedings, management
believes there is not a reasonable possibility that the costs and liabilities of
such matters, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse
effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
ITEM 4
SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS
There was
no matter submitted during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008 to a vote of
security holders.
26
PART
II
ITEM 5
|
MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON
EQUITY, RELATED SHAREHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY
SECURITIES
|
MARKET
INFORMATION
Our
common stock is listed for trading on the over-the-counter bulletin board under
the symbol “WCRS.OB.” The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is
Corporate Stock Transfer, Inc., 3200 Cherry Creek Drive South, Suite 430,
Denver, Colorado 80209. The following table sets forth the high and low bid
prices for our common stock as reported by the OTC Bulletin Board in 2008 and
2007. The Company’s common shares did not begin trading on the OTC Bulletin
Board until February 2007. These quotations reflect inter-dealer prices, without
retail mark-up, markdown, or commission, and may not represent actual
transactions. Trading in the Company’s common stock during the period
represented was sporadic, exemplified by low trading volume and many days during
which no trades occurred.
Market
Price (high/low)
|
||||||||
For
the Fiscal Year
|
2008
|
2007
|
||||||
First
Quarter
|
$
|
6.00
– 2.60
|
$
|
4.00
– 1.30
|
||||
Second
Quarter
|
$
|
5.60
– 3.30
|
$
|
4.00
– 1.10
|
||||
Third
Quarter
|
$
|
4.95
– 2.10
|
$
|
3.00
– 0.50
|
||||
Fourth
Quarter
|
$
|
4.00
– 1.00
|
$
|
3.00
– 0.50
|
HOLDERS
As of the
date of this report, we had 7,971,007 shares of common stock outstanding held by
approximately 550 holders of record.
DIVIDENDS
Holders
of our common stock are entitled to share pro rata in dividends and
distributions with respect to the common stock when, as and if declared by our
Board of Directors out of funds legally available therefor. We have not paid any
dividends on our common stock and intend to retain earnings, if any, to finance
the development and expansion of our business. In addition, we must first pay
preferred dividends on its Series A Convertible Preferred Stock as described
under the caption “Description of Equity Securities” below. The current dividend
payable to the holders of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock aggregates to
$525,000 on a quarterly basis. Other than with respect to shares of Series A
Convertible Preferred Stock, future dividend policy is subject to the sole
discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon a number of factors,
including future earnings, capital requirements and our financial
condition.
SECURITIES
AUTHORIZED FOR ISSUANCE UNDER EQUITY COMPENSATION PLANS
The table
below sets forth certain information, as of the close of business on December
31, 2008, regarding equity compensation plans (including individual compensation
arrangements) under which securities of Western Capital were then authorized for
issuance.
Number of Securities
to be Issued
Upon
Exercise of
Outstanding Options,
Warrants and Rights
|
Weighted-Average
Exercise
Price of
Outstanding
Options,
Warrants
and Rights
|
Number
of Securities
Remaining
Available
for
Issuance Under
Equity
Compensation
Plans
(excluding
securities
reflected in
column
a)
|
||||||||
(a)
|
(b)
|
(c)
|
||||||||
Equity
compensation plans approved by securityholders
|
None
|
n/a
|
None
|
|||||||
Equity
compensation plans not approved by securityholders
|
None
|
n/a
|
2,000,000 |
(1)
|
(1)
|
In
January 2008, our Board of Directors adopted the 2008 Stock Incentive Plan
which permits the issuance of various incentives, including options or
similar rights to purchase or acquire up to 2,000,000 shares of common
stock. As of the date of this report, no incentives have been issued under
such plan. We are not required by applicable state law or the listing
standards of any self-regulatory agency (e.g., the OTC Bulletin Board,
NASD, AMEX or NYSE) to obtain the approval of its securityholders prior to
issuing any such compensatory options, warrants or other rights to
purchase securities of the Company.
|
27
SALES
OF UNREGISTERED SECURITIES AND REPURCHASES
OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER
For sales
of unregistered securities made by Western Capital during the period covered by
this report, please refer to our current report on Form 8-K filed on March 3,
2008.
The table
below sets forth information respecting our redemption of shares from
Christopher Larson, our former Chief Executive Officer, on December 31, 2008.
For further information about the redemption transaction, please see Item 13
“Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence”
below.
Period
|
Total
Number of Shares
Purchased
|
Average
Price Paid
per Share
|
Total
Number of Shares
Purchased
as Part of
Publicly
Announced
Plans or Programs
|
Maximum
Number
(or Approximate
Dollar
Value)
of Shares that May
Yet
Be Purchased Under
the Plans or Programs
|
||||||||||
December
2008
|
1,291,290 |
(1)
|
$ |
1.20
|
(2)
|
0 | $ | 0 |
(1)
|
As
explained above, all shares were purchased pursuant to our December 31,
2008 Redemption Agreement with Christopher Larson.
|
(2)
|
Shares
were redeemed in exchange for our assignment of our entire ownership
interest in National Cash & Credit, LLC and WCR Acquisition Co. On the
date of redemption, the market value of our shares was
$1.20.
|
DESCRIPTION
OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Our
authorized capital stock consists of 250 million shares of capital stock, no par
value per share (unless otherwise determined by the Board of Directors). All
shares of common stock have equal voting rights and are entitled to one vote per
share on all matters to be voted upon by our shareholders. Shares of our common
stock have no preemptive, subscription, conversion or redemption rights and may
be issued only as fully-paid and non-assessable shares. Cumulative voting in the
election of directors is not permitted. In the event of our liquidation, each
holder of our common stock is entitled to receive a proportionate share of our
assets available for distribution to stockholders after the payment of
liabilities. All shares of our common stock issued and outstanding are
fully-paid and non-assessable.
Of our
250 million shares of authorized capital, we have designated 10,000,000 for
issuance as “Series A Convertible Preferred Stock.” Each share of Series A
Convertible Preferred Stock carries a $2.10 stated value and entitles its
holders to (i) a cumulative 10% dividend, compounded and payable on a quarterly
basis; (ii) in the event of a liquidation or dissolution of the Company, a
preference in the amount of all accrued but unpaid dividends plus the stated
value of such shares, before any payment shall be made or any assets distributed
to the holders of any junior securities; (iii) convert their preferred shares
into common shares of the Company on a share-for-share basis (subject to
adjustment); and (iv) vote their preferred shares on an as-if-converted basis.
The Company has the right to redeem some or all of such preferred shares, at any
time upon 60 days’ advance notice, at a price of $3.50 per share plus accrued
but unpaid dividends. Holders of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock have no
preemptive or cumulative-voting rights.
ITEM 6
SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Not
applicable.
28
ITEM
7
|
MANAGEMENT’S
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF
OPERATIONS
|
The
following discussion should be read in conjunction with the financial statements
and related notes that appear elsewhere in this report. This discussion contains
forward-looking statements that involve significant uncertainties. Our actual
results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking
statements as a result of various factors, including those discussed in “Risk
Factors” elsewhere in this report. For further information, see “Forward-Looking
Statements” below.
OVERVIEW
We
provide (through Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc.) retail financial services to
individuals primarily in the midwestern and southwestern United States. These
services include non-recourse cash advance loans, check cashing and other money
services, including title loans. At the close of business on December 31, 2008
and as of the date of this report, we owned and operated 55 stores in 10 states
(Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah,
Wisconsin and Wyoming).
We
provide short-term consumer loans—known as “payday” or “cash advance” loans—in
amounts that typically range from $100 to $500. Payday loans provide customers
with cash in exchange for a promissory note with a maturity of generally two to
four weeks and the customer’s post-dated personal check for the aggregate amount
of the cash advanced, plus a fee. The fee varies from state to state, based on
applicable regulations, and generally ranges from $15 to $22 for each whole or
partial increment of $100 borrowed. To repay a payday loan, a customer may pay
with cash, in which case their personal check is returned to them, or allow the
check to be presented to the bank for collection. All of our payday loans and
other services are subject to state regulations (which vary from state to
state), federal regulations and local regulation, where applicable.
In
October 2008, we began operating Cricket Wireless retail stores as an authorized
dealer of Cricket Wireless products and services. Authorized dealers are
permitted to sell the Cricket line and generally locate their store operations
in areas with a strong potential customer base where Cricket does not maintain a
corporate storefront. These locations are generally within the urban core or
surrounding areas of a community. We are an authorized premier Cricket dealer,
and as such, we are only permitted to sell the Cricket line of prepaid cellular
phones at our Cricket retail stores. In addition, each store we operate must
resemble a Cricket corporate store. Once we identify an area to locate a new
store, we contact Cricket Wireless to obtain approval. Once Cricket Wireless
approves our recommended location, we establish the storefront. Cricket Wireless
provides assistance with exterior signage cost, marketing funds for the launch
and premier kits for display. At the close of business on December 31, 2008 we
owned and operated 11 stores in four states (Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and
Texas). As of April 28, 2009 we owned and operated a total of 30 stores
in six states (Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, Illinois and
Texas).
Our
expenses primarily relate to the operations of our various stores. The most
significant expenses include salaries and benefits for our store employees,
provisions for payday loan losses, occupancy expense for our leased real estate,
cost of phones sold and advertising. Our other significant expenses
are general and administrative, which includes compensation of employees,
professional fees for consulting, accounting, audit and legal
services.
With
respect to our cost structure, salaries and benefits are one of our largest
costs and are driven primarily by the addition of branches throughout the year
and growth in loan volumes. Our provision for losses is also a significant
expense. If a customer’s check is returned by the bank as uncollected (NSF or
account closed), we make an immediate charge-off to the provision for losses for
the amount of the customer’s loan, which includes accrued fees and interest. Any
recoveries on amounts previously charged off are recorded as a reduction to the
provision for losses in the period recovered. We have experienced seasonality in
our operations, with the first and fourth quarters typically being our strongest
periods as a result of broader economic factors, such as holiday spending habits
at the end of each year and income tax refunds during the first
quarter.
We
evaluate our stores based on revenue growth, gross profit contributions and loss
ratio (which is losses as a percentage of revenues), with consideration given to
the length of time the branch has been open and its geographic location. We
evaluate changes in comparable branch financial and other measures on a routine
basis to assess operating efficiency. We define comparable branches as those
branches that are open during the full periods for which a comparison is being
made. For example, comparable branches for the annual analysis we undertook as
of December 31, 2008 have been open at least 24 months on that date. We monitor
newer branches for their progress toward profitability and rate of loan
growth.
29
Payday
loan revenues totaled $10.19 million in 2008 compared to $9.10 million in
2007. Income from stores decreased to $3.45 million in 2008 compared to
$3.70 in 2007. Revenues from our Cricket/guaranteed phone operations during 2008
were $1.06 million compared to $.75 million during 2007. We
incurred general and administraive salaries and benefits expense
in 2008 of $.72 million compared to $1.96 million in 2007, a decrease that
resulted mainly from the absence of significant share-based compensation expense
for 2008. Our 2008 tax rate on income before taxes (including discontinued
operations) was 35.4% compared to 130.9% of the pre-tax
loss in 2007. The higher tax rate for 2007 resulted from the
non-deductibility of certain Merger transaction and employee stock expenses in
2007. Primarily as a result of these factors, net income was $.60 million in
2008 compared to our net loss of $.98 million in 2007.
We have
10,000,000 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (10% cumulative
dividends, $0.01 par value, $2.10 stated value) authorized, issued and
outstanding. Our Board of Directors votes quarterly to approve this dividend in
the amount of $525,000, as appropriate and permitted by Minnesota law, which
represents an annual cost to us of up to $2.1 million. The dividend can be paid
either in cash or in shares of our common stock at the discretion of the
preferred shareholder. This dividend is calculated in to the net income or loss
available to common shareholders. As a result, we had a net loss available to
common shareholders in 2008 and 2007.
Our
obligation to pay dividends significantly impacts our cash flow and our ability
to grow through acquisitions, which is the most significant way in which we
expect to grow. For instance, our use of cash in satisfaction of the
dividend-payment obligations prevents us from using that cash as part of
acquisition transactions. The present condition of the credit markets also makes
it difficult for us to surmount this obstacle through borrowing. In addition,
our use of cash in satisfaction of the dividend-payment obligations makes it
more difficult for us to manage our cash in way that we will ensure the
availability of cash for lending to our payday loan customers during the fall
and winter months, which is typically the busiest time of year for payday
lending.
The
dividend obligation also significantly affects our net income available to
common shareholders. For example, absent the dividend payment, fiscal 2008 would
have resulted in net income available to common shareholders of over $.60
million. For this reason, we are exploring ways in which we may be able to
retire or redeem the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock.
The
growth of the payday loan industry has followed, and continues to be
significantly affected by, payday lending legislation and regulation in the
various states and nationally. We actively monitor and evaluate legislative and
regulatory initiatives in each of the states and nationally, and are involved
with the efforts of the various industry lobbying efforts. To the extent that
states enact legislation or regulations that negatively impacts payday lending,
whether through preclusion, fee reduction or loan caps, our business could be
adversely affected. In Nebraska, legislation was recently introduced (and
subsequently defeated) to ban all cash advance or payday loans in Nebraska.
Despite the defeat of this legislation, since we derived approximately 29% of
our 2008 total payday lending revenues in Nebraska, any subsequent attempts to
pass similar legislation in Nebraska, or other legislation that would restrict
our ability to make cash advance loans in Nebraska, would pose significant risks
to our business.
In
addition to expanding our geographic reach, our strategic expansion plans also
involve the expansion and diversification of our product and service offerings.
For this reason, we have focused a significant amount of time and attention on
the development of our Cricket Wireless retail stores. We believe that
successful expansion, both geographically and product- and service-wise, will
help to mitigate the regulatory and economic risk inherent in our business by
making us less reliant on (i) cash advance lending alone and (ii) any particular
aspect of our business that concentrated geographically.
RESULTS
OF OPERATIONS:
YEAR
ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2008 COMPARED TO YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2007
For the
year ended December 31, 2008, net income was $.60 million compared to a net loss
of $.98 million in 2007. Income from continuing operations before income taxes
was $1.11 million in fiscal 2008 compared to a loss of $.42 million in fiscal
2007. The major components of each of revenues, store expenses, general and
administrative expenses, total operating expenses and income tax expense are
discussed below.
30
Revenues
Revenues
totaled $12.87 million in 2008 compared to $11.35 million in 2007, an increase
of $1.52 million or 13.4%. The increase in revenues was primarily a result of
higher per-transaction loan amounts and increased loan transactions. We
originated approximately $75.61 million in payday loans during 2008 compared to
$62 million during the prior year. The average loan (including fee) totaled $359
in 2008 versus $332 in the prior year. Our average fee for 2008 was $51.69
compared to $47.51 for 2007. We acquired 14 store locations during 2008, later
disposing of eight of those stores and closing five additional stores. Same
store revenue increased by $.3 million in 2008 compared to 2007. Revenues from
Cricket/guaranteed phone services totaled $1.06 million in 2008 compared to $.75
million in 2007, and other revenues, including check cashing, title loans and
other sources, totaled $1.62 million and $1.49 million for 2008 and 2007,
respectively.
The
following table summarizes revenues:
Year
Ended December 31,
|
Year
Ended December 31,
|
|||||||||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||||||||
Payday loan
fees
|
$ | 10,193,324 | $ | 9,104,545 | 79.2 | % | 80.2 | % | ||||||||
Check
cashing fees
|
1,128,169 | 1,333,123 | 8.8 | % | 11.7 | % | ||||||||||
Phones
and accessories
|
1,060,002 | 749,475 | 8.2 | % | 6.7 | % | ||||||||||
Other
income, fees and rebates
|
489,962 | 159,381 | 3.8 | % | 1.4 | % | ||||||||||
Title
loan fees
|
3,360 | - | 0.0 | % | - | |||||||||||
Total
|
$ | 12,874,817 | $ | 11,346,524 | 100.0 | % | 100.0 | % |
We also
expect that our sources of revenue for fiscal 2009 may begin to diversify as we
become more involved in our Cricket retail operations.
Store
Expenses
Total
expenses associated with store operations for the year ended December 31, 2008
were $9.42 million compared to $7.64 million for the year ended December 31,
2007. The major components of these expenses are salaries and benefits for our
store employees, provision for loan losses, costs of sales for our guaranteed
phone/Cricket phone business, occupancy costs primarily relating to our store
leaseholds, advertising expenses, depreciation of store equipment, amortization
of intangible assets and other expenses associated with store
operations.
Overall,
our most significant increases in store expenses from fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2007
related to salaries and benefits for our store employees, provisions for loan
losses, and our costs of occupancy. Our most significant decrease in store
expenses over that same period relates to our costs of sales for our guaranteed
phone/Cricket phone business. A discussion and analysis of the various
components of our store expenses appears below.
Salaries and Benefits.
Payroll and related costs at the store level were $3.78 million in 2008 compared
to $2.64 million in 2007, an increase of $1.14 million as headcount increased
mostly due to an increase in the number of store locations during the year. As a
result of added store locations since the close of fiscal 2008 (most notably
with respect to added Cricket retail store locations), we expect that salaries
and benefits for fiscal 2009 will continue to increase for the foreseeable
future.
Provisions for Loan Losses.
Our provision for losses for 2008 totaled $1.88 million and $1.48 million for
2007. Our provision for loan losses as a percentage of loan fee revenue was
18.5% during 2008 versus 16.3% during 2007. The less favorable loss ratio
year-to-year reflects our accelerated rate of unit store growth during 2008, and
a more challenging collections environment as a result of an increase in
bankruptcy filings, higher energy prices and increased competition in the
lending industry. Due primarily to a continued and increased economic downturn,
we expect that fiscal 2009 may ultimately involve a greater loss ratio than
fiscal 2008. Due to our inability to foretell the depth and duration of the
present economic downturn, we believe there are currently uncertainties in how
significant any increased loan losses for fiscal 2009 may be.
Guaranteed phone/Cricket.
Guaranteed phone/Cricket costs increased to $.64 million in 2008 compared to
$.44 million in 2007. We believe the increase was due to our increased efforts
in the later part of 2008 at building our Cricket retail store business. In
contrast, our expenses (and revenues) from guaranteed phone service has steadily
decreased as land line phones gradually become disfavored. In general, we expect
this trend to continue with the result that our guaranteed phone revenue (and
associated expense) will decline while Cricket phone revenue (and associated
expense) will increase.
Occupancy Costs. Occupancy
expenses, consisting primarily of store leases were $.91 million during 2008,
compared to $.75 million in 2007, an increase of $.16 million primarily
resulting from the addition of stores during 2008. Occupancy expenses as a
percentage of revenues increased from 6.7 % in 2007 to 7.1% in 2008, primarily
due to the higher number of stores—many of which were opened recently and had
lower profitability compared to the more mature locations. Because we have added
and plan to add additional stores during fiscal 2009, we believe that our
occupancy costs for fiscal 2009 will likely rise from their fiscal 2008
levels.
31
Advertising. Advertising
and marketing related expense was $.38 million in 2008 compared to $.42 million
in 2007. Despite this decrease, we believe that our advertising expenses in
fiscal 2009 may increase slightly over those in fiscal 2008, mainly as a result
of our anticipation that we will be adding new store locations during fiscal
2009.
Depreciation. Depreciation
increased slightly by $47,068 in 2008 due to depreciation associated with
capital expenditures for stores. Depreciation was $.16 million for 2008 and $.11
million for 2007.
Amortization of Intangible
Assets. Amortization of the customer relationship intangible
assets was .42 million for 2008 and $.70 million for 2007.
Other Store Expenses. Other
store expenses increased from $1.09 million in 2007 to $1.25 million in 2008.
Other store expenses include bank fees, collection costs, repair and
maintenance, supplies, telephone, utilities and network lines, and
others.
General
and Administrative Expenses
Total
general and administrative costs for the year ended December 31, 2008 were $2.34
million compared to $4.13 million for the year ended December 31, 2007. The
major components of these costs for 2008 are salaries and benefits for our
corporate headquarters operations and executive management, depreciation of
certain headquarters-related equipment, and other general and administrative
expenses. Notably, our fiscal 2008 expenses did not include any expenses
relating to our December 31, 2007 Merger transaction, which was a significant
component of overall general, administrative and other costs for fiscal 2007.
Nevertheless, ongoing costs associated with maintaining our public reporting
status, including professional fees and expenses for tax services,
Sarbanes-Oxley consulting services, independent accounting services and legal
services incurred in 2008 mostly offset the absence of Merger-related
expenses.
Salaries and Benefits.
Salaries and benefits expenses for fiscal 2008 were $.72 million compared to
$1.96 million for fiscal 2007, with the decrease being mainly attributed to the
absence of significant share-based compensation expense during 2008. The Company
expects that during fiscal 2009 salaries and benefits expenses associated with
executive management and corporate headquarters will slightly increase from
their fiscal 2008 levels as a result of the recent changeover in management and
the hiring of new personnel.
Merger Transaction Expense.
The Company incurred $1.80 million of expenses in 2007 related to the Merger. No
such costs were incurred in 2008.
Interest Expense. The Company
had $.79 million of interest expense in 2008. In 2007 the Company had not
utilized debt financing
Other General and Administrative
Expenses. Other general and administrative expenses, such as utilities,
office supplies, collection costs and other minor costs associated with
corporate headquarters activities were $1.55 million in fiscal 2008, which is an
increase of $1.2 million over the $.35 million in such expenses incurred during
fiscal 2007. For fiscal 2009, management does not expect any significant changes
in these types of expenses from their fiscal 2008 levels.
Total
Operating Expenses
Total
operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2008 remained constant with
the year ended December 31, 2007 at $11.77 million.
Income
Tax Expense
Income
tax expense decreased on continuing operations to $.27 million in
2008 compared to $.56 million in 2007. In 2007 the Company incurred many
expenses related to the Merger which were not deductible for income tax
reporting.
Discontinued Operations. In
2008 the Company both acquired and disposed of payday loan stores acquired
through the acquisition on National Cash & Credit, LLC and assets
acquired from affiliates of STEN Corporation. These discontinued operations
resulted in a net loss to the Company of $.22 million.
32
LIQUIDITY
AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Summary
cash flow data is as follows:
Year Ended December
31,
|
||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||
Cash
flows provided (used) by :
|
||||||||
Operating
activities
|
$ | (1,207,459 | ) | $ | 1,909,595 | |||
Investing
activities
|
(1,280,670 | ) | (149,715 | ) | ||||
Financing
activities
|
4,862,051 | (2,040,715 | ) | |||||
Net
increase (decrease) in cash
|
2,372,922 | (280,835 | ) | |||||
Cash,
beginning of year
|
984,625 | 1,265,460 | ||||||
Cash,
end of year
|
$ | 3,358,547 | $ | 984,625 |
At
December 31, 2008 we had cash of $3.36 million compared to cash of $.98 million
on December 31, 2007. The increase results mainly from cash provided by
financing activities. For fiscal 2009, we believe that our available cash,
combined with expected cash flows from operations, will be sufficient to fund
our liquidity and capital expenditure requirements for the remainder 2009. Our
expected short-term uses of cash include the funding of our operating
activities, anticipated increases in payday loans, and dividend payments on our
Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (to the extent approved by the Board of
Directors).
Banco
Popular Line of Credit
On
November 13, 2008, Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc. entered into a Business Loan
Agreement and associated agreements with Banco Popular North America, located in
Rosemont, Illinois. The Business Loan Agreement provides Wyoming Financial
Lenders with a one-year revolving line of credit in an amount of up to
$2,000,000. Under a related promissory note, interest on advanced amounts
accrues at the per annum rate of one point over the Banco Popular North America
Prime Rate, which at December 31, 2008 was 3.25%, resulting in interest
accruing at the rate of 4.25%. Payments consisting solely of accrued interest
were made on a monthly basis beginning on November 29, 2008. All accrued and
unpaid interest, together with all outstanding principal, will be due on October
30, 2009. Amounts advanced under the Business Loan Agreement are guaranteed by
Western Capital and personally by our former Chief Executive Officer. These
guarantees are for payment and performance (not of collection), which means that
Banco Popular may enforce either or both of the guarantees without having
earlier exhausted its remedies against Wyoming Financial Lenders.
Defaults
occur under the Business Loan Agreement in the event of:
|
·
|
a
default in payment
|
|
·
|
a
default by Wyoming Financial Lenders under the Business Loan Agreement or
any of the other agreements entered into in connection with the Business
Loan Agreement
|
|
·
|
a
default under any other material agreement to which Wyoming Financial
Lenders or any guarantor is a party
|
|
·
|
the
insolvency of Wyoming Financial
Lenders
|
|
·
|
an
adverse change in the financial condition of Wyoming Financial
Lenders
|
|
·
|
the
defective collateralization or the commencement of creditor proceedings
against borrower or against any collateral securing the obligations under
the Business Loan Agreement, or
|
|
·
|
a
change in control of more than 25% of the common stock of Wyoming
Financial Lenders
|
In the
event of any default, Banco Popular may accelerate all amounts due subject to a
ten-day right to cure applicable in certain circumstances.
In
connection with the Business Loan Agreement, both Wyoming Financial Lenders and
Western Capital granted security to Banco Popular. In particular,
Wyoming Financial Lenders granted Banco Popular a security interest in
substantially all of its assets, and we pledged our ownership (i.e., shares of
common stock) in Wyoming Financial Lenders.
33
We
entered into a Redemption Agreement with Christopher Larson on December 31,
2008. Under the Redemption Agreement, we redeemed 1,291,290 shares of
common stock from Mr. Larson. As payment for the redeemed shares, we
assigned to Mr. Larson all of our rights, title and interest in and to (i) our
entire membership interest in National Cash & Credit, LLC, and (b) all of
our capital stock in WCR Acquisition Co., a Minnesota corporation that was
formed to acquire certain payday lending stores and related assets from STEN
Corporation on July 31, 2008. Each of National Cash & Credit and
WCR Acquisition was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company prior to the
transaction. Also under the Redemption Agreement, Mr. Larson resigned
his position on our Board of Directors and his position as our President and
Chief Executive Officer. For further information about the Redemption
Agreement, please see Item 13, “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions
and Director Independence,” below.
We
notified Banco Popular about the departure of Mr. Larson and the transactions
contemplated under the Redemption Agreement shortly after we entered into the
Redemption Agreement. Furthermore, we notified Banco Popular in April
2009 about our inability to deliver certain financial information in a timely
manner as required under the Business Loan Agreement. Our delay in
delivering the financial information required under the Business Loan Agreement
(audited financial statements and tax returns) resulted primarily from our need
to restate our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2007 and the
subsequent interim periods ending September 30, 2008. On April 30,
2009, Banco Popular furnished us with their written waiver of our failure to
timely deliver such information. As a result, presently neither the
departure of Christopher Larson or any of the transactions effected in
connection with the Redemption Agreement nor restatement of our financial
statements for the year ended December 31, 2007 and the subsequent interim
periods ending September 30, 2008 have had an adverse impact upon our revolving
credit line with Banco Popular under the Business Loan
Agreement.
CRITICAL
ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Our
consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes have been prepared in
accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America applied on a consistent basis. The preparation of these financial
statements requires us to make a number of estimates and assumptions that affect
the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent
assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported
amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. We evaluate these
estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. We base these estimates on the
information currently available to us and on various other assumptions that we
believe are reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could vary
materially from these estimates under different assumptions or
conditions.
Our
significant accounting policies are discussed in Note 1, “Nature of Business and
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” of the notes to our audited
consolidated financial statements included in this report. We believe that the
following critical accounting policies affect the more significant estimates and
assumptions used in the preparation of our consolidated financial
statements:
Loans
Receivable/Loan Loss Allowance
We
maintain a loan loss allowance for anticipated losses for our payday loans. To
estimate the appropriate level of the loan loss allowance, we consider the
amount of outstanding loans owed to us, historical loans charged off, current
and expected collection patterns and current economic trends. Our current loan
loss allowance is based on our net write offs, typically expressed as a
percentage of loan amounts originated for the last 12 months applied against the
principal balance of outstanding loans that we write off. We also periodically
performs a look-back analysis on our loan loss allowance to verify the
historical allowance established tracks with the actual subsequent loan
write-offs and recoveries. We are aware that as conditions change, we may also
need to make additional allowances in future periods.
Included
in loans receivable are payday loans that are currently due or past due and
payday loans that have not been repaid. This generally is evidenced where a
customer’s personal check has been deposited and the check has been returned due
to non-sufficient funds in the customer’s account, a closed account, or other
reasons. Payday loans are carried at cost less the allowance for doubtful
accounts. We do not specifically reserve for any individual payday loan. We
aggregate payday loans for purposes of estimating the loss allowance using a
methodology that analyzes historical portfolio statistics and management’s
judgment regarding recent trends noted in the portfolio. This methodology takes
into account several factors, including the maturity of the store location and
charge-off and recovery rates. We utilize a software program to assist with the
tracking of its historical portfolio statistics. As a
result of the Company’s collection efforts, it historically writes off
approximately 45% of the returned items. Based on days past the check
return date, write-offs of returned items historically have tracked at the
following approximate percentages: 1 to 30 days – 45%; 31 to 60 days
– 68%; 61 to 90 days – 85%; 91 to 120 days – 90%; and 121 to 180 days – 93%.
All returned items are charged-off after 180 days, as collections after
that date have not been significant. The loan loss allowance is reviewed monthly
and any adjustment to the loan loss allowance as a result of historical loan
performance, current and expected collection patterns and current economic
trends is recorded.
34
At December 31, 2008 and 2007 our
outstanding loans receivable aging was as follows:
December
31,
|
||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||
Current
|
$ | 4,988,000 | $ | 4,017,000 | ||||
31
to 60
|
253,000 | 208,000 | ||||||
61
to 90
|
310,000 | 210,000 | ||||||
91
to 120
|
252,000 | 221,000 | ||||||
121
to 150
|
259,000 | 211,000 | ||||||
151
to 180
|
241,000 | 226,000 | ||||||
6,303,000 | 5,093,000 | |||||||
Allowance for losses | (1,413,000 | ) | (976,000 | ) | ||||
$ | 4,890,000 | $ | 4,117,000 |
A
rollforward of our loans receivable allowance for the years ended December 31,
2008 and 2007 is as follows:
Year
Ended December 31
|
||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||
Loans
receivable allowance, beginning of year
|
$ | 976,000 | $ | 762,000 | ||||
Provision
for loan losses charged to expense:
|
||||||||
Continuing
operations
|
1,884,000 | 1,485,000 | ||||||
Discontinued
operations
|
266,000 | — | ||||||
Charge-offs,
net
|
(1,713,000 | ) | (1,271,000 | ) | ||||
Loans
receivable allowance, end of year
|
$ | 1,413,000 | $ | 976,000 |
Valuation of Long-lived and
Intangible Assets
The
Company assesses the impairment of long-lived and intangible assets whenever
events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be
recoverable; goodwill is tested on an annual basis. Factors that could trigger
an impairment review include significant underperformance relative to expected
historical or projected future cash flows, significant changes in the manner of
use of acquired assets or the strategy for the overall business, and significant
negative industry trends. When management determines that the carrying value of
long-lived and intangible assets may not be recoverable, impairment is measured
based on the excess of the assets' carrying value over the estimated fair
value.
Share-Based
Compensation
Under the
fair value recognition provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board
Statement No. 123R (SFAS 123R), “Share-Based Payment,” our share-based
compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the value of the award
and is recognized as expense based on the applicable vesting
schedule. Determining the fair value of share-based awards at grant
date requires judgment, which includes estimating the amount of share-based
awards expected to be forfeited. The Black-Scholes option pricing
model (using estimated value of the Company) is used to measure fair value for
stock option grants.
During
2007, we granted 1,600,000 shares of restricted stock options and warrants to
certain of our employees and non-employees. There were 11 recipients of
these grants. These options and warrants vested upon the successful completion
of the Merger on December 31, 2007. We estimated that the grant date
fair market value of these restricted options and warrants totaled $864,000
($0.54 per share) at the time of issuance. The market price of our
common stock on November 29, 2007 (the date of issuance) was $1.80, and the
exercise price for all of those options and warrants was $0.01 per
share. During 2007, we also granted warrants to a Company adviser for
the purchase of up to 400,000 common shares at $0.01 per share. These
warrants vested upon the successful completion of the merger on December 31,
2007. We estimated that the grant date fair market value of these
restricted warrants totaled $216,000 at the time of issuance ($0.54 per
share). In January 2009, 397,325 of outstanding warrants
were exercised.
The table
below summarizes information about the above-referenced grants of options and
warrants:
Recipient (security type)
|
Date
|
Share-Based Compensation Expense
|
||||
Steven
Staehr (option)
|
11/29/2007
|
$297,000 | ||||
David
Stueve (option)
|
11/29/2007
|
$135,000 | ||||
Rich
Horner (option)
|
11/29/2007
|
$54,000 | ||||
Ted
Dunham (option)
|
11/29/2007
|
$54,000 | ||||
Rose
Piel (option)
|
11/29/2007
|
$13,500 | ||||
Brian
Chaney (option)
|
11/29/2007
|
$13,500 | ||||
John
Quandahl (option)
|
11/29/2007
|
$216,000 | ||||
John
Richards (option) *
|
11/29/2007
|
$54,000 | ||||
Tom
Griffith (option) *
|
11/29/2007
|
$13,500 | ||||
Lantern
Advisors, LLC (warrant)
|
11/29/2007
|
$216,000 | ||||
Donna
Mendez (warrant)
|
11/29/2007
|
$8,100 | ||||
Robert
Jorgenson (warrant)
|
11/29/2007
|
$5,400 |
* option was
later cancelled.
OFF
BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS
We have
no off balance sheet arrangements.
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
Some of
the statements made in this report are “forward-looking statements,” as that
term is defined under Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based upon
our current expectations and projections about future events. Whenever used in
this report, the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “expect”
and similar expressions, or the negative of such words and expressions, are
intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all
forward-looking statements contain such words or expressions. The
forward-looking statements in this report are primarily located in the material
set forth under the headings “Description of Business,” “Risk Factors,”
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations,” but are found in other parts of this report as well. These
forward-looking statements generally relate to our plans, objectives and
expectations for future operations and are based upon management’s current
estimates and projections of future results or trends. Although we believe that
our plans and objectives reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking
statements are reasonable, we may not achieve these plans or objectives. You
should read this report completely and with the understanding that actual future
results may be materially different from what we expect. We will not update
forward-looking statements even though our situation may change in the
future.
Specific
factors that might cause actual results to differ from our expectations or may
affect the value of the common stock, include, but are not limited
to:
|
·
|
Changes
in local, state or federal laws and regulations governing lending
practices, or changes in the interpretation of such laws and
regulations
|
|
·
|
Litigation
and regulatory actions directed toward our industry or us, particularly in
certain key states
|
|
·
|
Our
need for additional financing, and
|
|
·
|
Unpredictability
or uncertainty in financing markets which could impair our ability to grow
our business through acquisitions.
|
Other
factors that could cause actual results to differ from those implied by the
forward-looking statements in this report are more fully described in the “Risk
Factors” section and of this report.
Industry
data and other statistical information used in this report are based on
independent publications, government publications, reports by market research
firms or other published independent sources. Some data are also
based on our good faith estimates, derived from our review of internal surveys
and the independent sources listed above. Although we believe these
sources are reliable, we have not independently verified the
information.
ITEM
7A QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET
RISK
Not
applicable.
35
ITEM
8 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY
DATA
INDEX
OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION
CONTENTS
Page(s)
|
||
REPORT
OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
|
F-1
|
|
CONSOLIDATED
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
|
||
Consolidated
Balance Sheets
|
F-2
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Operations
|
F-3
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Shareholders’ Equity
|
F-4
|
|
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows
|
F-5
|
|
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
|
F-6
|
36
REPORT
OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
Board
Directors
Western
Capital Resources, Inc.
Omaha,
Nebraska
We have
audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Western Capital
Resources, Inc. and Subsidiaries as of December 31, 2008 and 2007, and the
related consolidated statements of operations, shareholders’ equity, and cash
flows for the years then ended. These consolidated financial statements are the
responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an
opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our
audits.
We
conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan
and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the
consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement. The Company
is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its
internal control over financial reporting. Our audit included consideration of
internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit
procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of
expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control
over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also
includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and
disclosures in the consolidated financial statements, assessing the accounting
principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as
evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our
audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our
opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly,
in all material respects, the financial position of Western Capital Resources,
Inc. and Subsidiaries as of December 31, 2008 and 2007 and the results of their
operations and their cash flows for the years then ended in conformity with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America.
/s/Lurie
Besikof Lapidus & Company, LLP
Minneapolis,
Minnesota
May 4,
2009
F-1
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. and Subsidiaries
CONSOLIDATED
BALANCE SHEETS
December
31,
|
||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||
|
||||||||
ASSETS
|
||||||||
CURRENT
ASSETS
|
||||||||
Cash
|
$ | 3,358,547 | $ | 984,625 | ||||
Loans
receivable (less allowance for losses of $1,413,000 and
$976,000)
|
4,889,940 | 4,117,497 | ||||||
Stock
subscriptions receivable
|
- | 4,422,300 | ||||||
Inventory
|
198,430 | - | ||||||
Prepaid
expenses and other
|
247,318 | 92,333 | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
558,000 | 662,000 | ||||||
TOTAL
CURRENT ASSETS
|
9,252,235 | 10,278,755 | ||||||
PROPERTY
AND EQUIPMENT
|
815,980 | 631,736 | ||||||
GOODWILL
|
10,253,744 | 7,905,746 | ||||||
INTANGIBLE
ASSETS
|
756,849 | 347,586 | ||||||
DEFERRED
INCOME TAX
|
- | 109,000 | ||||||
OTHER
|
133,831 | 167,000 | ||||||
TOTAL
ASSETS
|
$ | 21,212,639 | $ | 19,439,823 | ||||
LIABILITIES
AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
||||||||
CURRENT
LIABILITIES
|
||||||||
Accounts
payable and accrued liabilities
|
$ | 998,653 | $ | 1,733,844 | ||||
Note
payable - short-term
|
2,100,000 | - | ||||||
Accounts
payable - related parties
|
- | 1,125,935 | ||||||
Deferred
revenue
|
319,543 | 262,357 | ||||||
TOTAL
CURRENT LIABILITIES
|
3,418,196 | 3,122,136 | ||||||
LONG-TERM
LIABILITIES
|
||||||||
Notes
payable - long-term
|
2,500,000 | - | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
64,000 | - | ||||||
TOTAL
LONG-TERM LIABILITIES
|
2,564,000 | - | ||||||
TOTAL
LIABILITIES
|
5,982,196 | 3,122,136 | ||||||
SHAREHOLDERS’
EQUITY
|
||||||||
Series
A convertible preferred stock, 10% cumulative dividends, $0.01 par value,
$2.10 stated value, 10,000,000 shares authorized, issued and
outstanding
|
100,000 | 100,000 | ||||||
Common
stock, no par value, 240,000,000 shares authorized, 7,598,354 and
6,299,753 shares issued and outstanding
|
- | - | ||||||
Additional
paid-in capital
|
18,478,337 | 18,434,318 | ||||||
Retained
earnings (deficit)
|
(3,347,894 | ) | (2,216,631 | ) | ||||
TOTAL
SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
|
15,230,443 | 16,317,687 | ||||||
TOTAL
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
$ | 21,212,639 | $ | 19,439,823 |
See
notes to consolidated financial statements.
F-2
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. and Subsidiaries
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Year ended
December
31,
|
||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||
REVENUES
|
||||||||
Payday loan fees
|
$ | 10,193,324 | $ | 9,104,545 | ||||
Phones
and accessories
|
1,060,002 | 749,475 | ||||||
Check
cashing fees
|
1,128,169 | 1,333,123 | ||||||
Other
income, fees and rebates
|
493,322 | 159,381 | ||||||
12,874,817 | 11,346,524 | |||||||
STORE
EXPENSES
|
||||||||
Salaries
and benefits
|
3,777,970 | 2,639,225 | ||||||
Provisions
for loan losses
|
1,884,166 | 1,484,754 | ||||||
Phone
and accessories cost of sales
|
639,606 | 442,845 | ||||||
Occupancy
|
912,007 | 754,648 | ||||||
Advertising
|
379,322 | 419,732 | ||||||
Depreciation
|
160,232 | 113,164 | ||||||
Amortization
of intangible assets
|
420,769 | 696,868 | ||||||
Other
|
1,250,649 | 1,090,737 | ||||||
9,424,721 | 7,641,973 | |||||||
INCOME
FROM STORES
|
$ | 3,450,096 | 3,704,551 | |||||
GENERAL
& ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES
|
||||||||
Salaries
and benefits
|
715,357 | 1,958,622 | ||||||
Depreciation
|
4,634 | 27,474 | ||||||
Merger
transaction expense
|
- | 1,795,524 | ||||||
Interest
expense
|
79,425 | - | ||||||
Other
|
1,545,322 | 347,148 | ||||||
2,344,738 | 4,128,768 | |||||||
INCOME
(LOSS) FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS
|
1,105,358 | (424,217 | ) | |||||
INCOME
TAX EXPENSE
|
272,000 | 555,000 | ||||||
NET
INCOME (LOSS) BEFORE DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS
|
833,358 | (979,217 | ) | |||||
DISCONTINUED
OPERATIONS
|
||||||||
Loss
from discontinued operations, net of $12,000 income tax
expense
|
(349,546 | ) | - | |||||
Gain
on disposal, net of $47,000 income tax expense
|
120,873 | - | ||||||
(228,673 | ) | - | ||||||
NET
INCOME (LOSS)
|
604,685 | (979,217 | ) | |||||
SERIES
A CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDENDS (assumes all paid including
2007)
|
(2,100,000 | ) | (2,100,000 | ) | ||||
NET
LOSS AVAILABLE TO COMMON SHAREHOLDERS
|
$ | (1,495,315 | ) | $ | (3,079,217 | ) | ||
NET
LOSS PER COMMON SHARE-BASIC AND DILUTED
|
||||||||
Continuing
operations
|
$ | (0.15 | ) | $ | (2.70 | ) | ||
Discontinued
operations
|
(0.02 | ) | - | |||||
Net loss
per common share
|
$ | (0.17 | ) | $ | (2.70 | ) | ||
WEIGHTED
AVERAGE COMMON SHARE OUTSTANDING -
|
||||||||
Basic
and diluted
|
8,705,795 | 1,139,177 |
See
notes to consolidated financial statements.
F-3
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Series
A
Convertible
Preferred
Stock
|
Common
Stock
|
Additional
Paid-In
|
Retained
Earnings
|
Shareholders’
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares
|
Amount
|
Shares
|
Amount
|
Capital
|
(Deficit)
|
Equity
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
BALANCE
- December 31, 2006
|
10,000,000 | $ | 100,000 | 1,125,000 | $ | - | $ | 13,358,158 | $ | 349,001 | $ | 13,807,159 | ||||||||||||||||
Common
stock issued, net of $172,995 costs
|
- | - | 4,403,544 | $ | - | 4,325,005 | - | 4,325,005 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Share-based
compensation
|
- | - | - | - | 1,080,000 | - | 1,080,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Reverse
Merger Transaction:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Previously
issued WCR, Inc. stock
|
- | - | 771,209 | - | 369,919 | (419,919 | ) | (50,000 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Elimination
of accumulated deficit
|
- | - | - | - | (419,919 | ) | 419,919 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||
Return
of capital to WERCS
|
- | - | - | - | (278,845 | ) | - | (278,845 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Dividends
|
- | - | - | - | - | (1,586,415 | ) | (1,586,415 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Net
loss
|
- | - | - | - | - | (979,217 | ) | (979,217 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
BALANCE
- December 31, 2007
|
10,000,000 | 100,000 | 6,299,753 | - | 18,434,318 | (2,216,631 | ) | 16,317,687 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stock
option exercise January 2008 at a per share strike price of
$0.01
|
- | - | 1,475,000 | - | 14,750 | - | 14,750 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance
of common stock for purchase of National Cash and Credit, LLC valued at
$1.20 per share on February 26, 2008
|
- | - | 1,114,891 | - | 1,337,869 | - | 1,337,869 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Credits
received in 2008 for common stock issuance costs incurred in
2007
|
- | - | - | - | 80,000 | - | 80,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Redemption
of common stock in exchange for National Cash and Credit, LLC and WCR
Acquisition Corp (STEN acquisition) December 31, 2008 (valued at $1.20 per
share on December 31, 2008)
|
- | - | (1,291,290 | ) | - | (1,388,600 | ) | (160,948 | ) | (1,549,548 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
Dividends
|
- | - | - | - | - | (1,575,000 | ) | (1,575,000 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Net
income
|
- | - | - | - | - | 604,685 | 604,685 | |||||||||||||||||||||
10,000,000 | $ | 100,000 | 7,598,354 | $ | - | $ | 18,478,337 | $ | (3,347,894 | ) | $ | 15,230,443 |
See
notes to consolidated financial statements.
F-4
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC.
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
Year Ended December 31,
|
||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||
|
||||||||
OPERATING
ACTIVITIES
|
||||||||
Net
Income
|
$ | 604,685 | $ | (979,217 | ) | |||
Adjustments
to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided (used) by
operating activities:
|
||||||||
Share-based
compensation
|
- | 1,080,000 | ||||||
Depreciation
|
224,620 | 140,638 | ||||||
Amortization
|
571,304 | 696,868 | ||||||
Impairment
of NCC intangibles
|
326,193 | - | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
277,000 | (611,000 | ) | |||||
Loss
on disposal of property and equipment
|
13,169 | 25,979 | ||||||
Gain
on disposal of discontinued operations
|
(167,873 | ) | - | |||||
Changes
in operating assets and liabilities
|
||||||||
Loans
receivable
|
(955,468 | ) | (224,722 | ) | ||||
Inventory
|
(171,952 | ) | - | |||||
Prepaid
expenses and other assets
|
4,161 | 74,655 | ||||||
Accounts
payable and accrued liabilities
|
(2,016,610 | ) | 1,694,170 | |||||
Deferred
revenue
|
83,312 | 12,224 | ||||||
Net
cash provided (used) by operating activities
|
(1,207,459 | ) | 1,909,595 | |||||
INVESTING
ACTIVITIES
|
||||||||
Purchases
of property and equipment
|
(291,404 | ) | (140,747 | ) | ||||
Acquisition
of stores, net of $236,342 cash acquired in 2008
|
(789,576 | ) | (8,968 | ) | ||||
Store
cash transferred with NCC stock redemptionh
|
(199,690 | ) | - | |||||
Net
cash used by investing activities
|
(1,280,670 | ) | (149,715 | ) | ||||
FINANCING
ACTIVITIES
|
||||||||
Proceeds
from short-term debt
|
2,000,000 | - | ||||||
Payments
on notes payable
|
- | (530,000 | ) | |||||
Stock
sales and Proceeds from stock option exercises
|
14,751 | 75,700 | ||||||
Subscriptions
receivable
|
4,422,300 | - | ||||||
Dividends
|
(1,575,000 | ) | (1,586,415 | ) | ||||
Net
cash provided (used) by financing activities
|
4,862,051 | (2,040,715 | ) | |||||
NET
INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH
|
2,373,922 | (280,835 | ) | |||||
CASH
|
||||||||
Beginning
of year
|
984,625 | 1,265,460 | ||||||
End
of year
|
$ | 3,358,547 | $ | 984,625 | ||||
SUPPLEMENTAL
DISCLOSURE OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION
|
||||||||
Income
taxes paid (2007 primarily to WERCS)
|
$ | 92,500 | $ | 1,176,044 | ||||
Interest
paid
|
$ | 42,926 | $ | - | ||||
Noncash
investing and financing activities:
|
||||||||
Stock
issued for NCC acquisition
|
$ | 1,337,869 | $ | - | ||||
Stock
retired in NCC disposal ($1,388,600 paid in capital, $160,948 retained
deficit)
|
1,549,548 | - | ||||||
Notes
issued/relieved in Sten Acquisition/NCC disposal
|
287,500 | - | ||||||
Notes
issued for PQH acquisition
|
2,500,000 | |||||||
Credits
received for cast of capital in accrued expenses
|
80,000 | |||||||
Stock
sold on subscriptions
|
- | 4,422,300 | ||||||
Cost
of raised capital in accounts payable
|
- | 172,995 | ||||||
Return
of capital to WERCS in accounts payable
|
- | 278,845 | ||||||
Other
assets in accounts payable
|
- | 167,000 | ||||||
Reverse
merger of URON, Inc.
|
- | 50,000 |
See notes to consolidated financial
statements.
F-5
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1.
|
Nature
of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
–
|
Nature of Business/ Basis of
Presentation
Western
Capital Resources, Inc. (WCR) formerly URON Inc. (URON) through its wholly owned
operating subsidiaries, Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc. (WFL), National Cash
& Credit, LLC (NCC) and PQH, Inc. (PQH), collectively referred to as the
Company, provides retail financial services and retail cellular phone sales to
individuals primarily in the Midwestern United States As of December
31, 2008, the Company operated 66 stores in 12 states (Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah,
Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Wisconsin, Montana, Colorado, Texas
and Missouri). As of December 31, 2007, the Company operated 52
stores in 10 states (Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Kansas, Wisconsin, Montana and Colorado). The consolidated financial statements
include the accounts of WCR, WFL, NCC and PQH. All significant intercompany
balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
The
Company, through its “payday” division, provides non-recourse cash advance
loans, check cashing and other money services. As of December 31,
2008, 55 of the retail locations are payday stores. Our loans and
other services are subject to federal, state and local
regulations. The short-term consumer loans, known as cash advance
loans or “payday” loans, are in amounts that typically range from $20 to $1,200.
Cash advance loans provide customers with cash in exchange for a promissory note
with a maturity of generally two to four weeks and the customer’s personal check
for the aggregate amount of the cash advanced plus a fee. The fee varies from
state to state, based on applicable regulations and generally ranges from $15 to
$22 per each $100 borrowed. To repay the cash advance loans, customers may pay
with cash, in which their personal check is returned to them, or allowing their
check to be presented to the bank for collection.
The
Company also provides title loans and other ancillary consumer financial
products and services that are complementary to its cash advance-lending
business, such as check-cashing services, money transfers and money
orders. In our check cashing business, we primarily cash payroll
checks, but we also cash government assistance, tax refund and insurance checks
or drafts. Our fees for cashing payroll checks average approximately 2.5% of the
face amount of the check, subject to local market conditions, and this fee is
deducted from the cash given to the customer for the check. We display our check
cashing fees in full view of our customers on a menu board in each store and
provide a detailed receipt for each transaction. Although we have established
guidelines for approving check-cashing transactions, we have no preset limit on
the size of the checks we will cash.
Our loans
and other related services are subject to state regulations (which vary from
state to state), federal regulations and local regulations, where
applicable.
The
Company also operates a Cricket Wireless Retail division that is a non-recourse
reseller of guaranteed phone service and is an dealer for Cricket Wireless, Inc.
reselling cellular phones and accessories and accepting service payments from
Cricket customer. Of the 66 locations at December 31, 2008, 11 are Cricket
cellular phone resellers.
Pursuant
to an Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization dated December 13, 2007
(Merger Agreement), by and among WCR, WFL Acquisition Corp., a Wyoming
corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of the WCR, and WFL, WFL Acquisition
Corp. merged with and into WFL, with WFL remaining as the surviving entity and a
wholly owned operating subsidiary of the WCR. This transaction is referred to
throughout this report as the “Merger” (Note 2).
As a
result of the Merger, WERCS, a Wyoming corporation and the former sole
stockholder of WFL, received: (i) 1,125,000 shares of the WCR’s common stock,
and (ii) 10,000,000 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock. On an
aggregate and as-if-converted basis, WERCS received 11,125,000 common shares
representing approximately 68% of the Company’s outstanding common stock after
the Merger. In addition, WERCS received a $278,845 return of capital for excess
assets at the Merger date as defined in the Merger Agreement.
The
consolidated financial statements account for the Merger as a capital
transaction in substance (and not a business combination of two operating
entities) that would be equivalent to WFL issuing securities to WCR in exchange
for the net monetary liabilities of WCR, accompanied by a recapitalization and,
as a result, no goodwill relating to the Merger has been
recorded.
F-6
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Use of
Estimates
The
preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires
management to make estimates and assumptions that may affect certain reported
amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements and
accompanying notes. Management bases its estimates on historical experience and
on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the
circumstances. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Significant
management estimates relate to the allowance for loans receivable, allocation of
and carrying value of goodwill and intangible assets, value associated with
stock-based compensation, and deferred taxes and tax uncertainties.
Revenue
Recognition
The
Company recognizes fees on cash advance loans on a constant-yield basis ratably
over the loans’ terms. Title loan fees are recognized using the interest
method. The Company records revenue from check cashing fees,
guaranteed phone/Cricket fees, phones and accessories and all other services in
the period in which the sale or service is completed. The Company
records cellular phone and accessory sales revenue in the period the sale is
completed.
Loans Receivable/Loan Loss
Allowance
We
maintain a loan loss allowance for anticipated losses for our payday loans.
To estimate the appropriate level of the loan loss allowance, we consider the
amount of outstanding loans owed to us, historical loans charged off, current
and expected collection patterns and current economic trends. Our current loan
loss allowance is based on our net write offs, typically expressed as a
percentage of loan amounts originated for the last 12 months applied against the
principal balance of outstanding loans that we write off. The Company also
periodically performs a look-back analysis on its loan loss allowance to verify
the historical allowance established tracks with the actual subsequent loan
write-offs and recoveries. The Company is aware that as conditions change, it
may also need to make additional allowances in future periods.
Included
in loans receivable are payday loans that are currently due or past due and
cash advance loans that have not been repaid. This generally is evidenced
where a customer’s personal check has been deposited and the check has been
returned due to non-sufficient funds in the customer’s account, a closed
account, or other reasons. Payday loans are carried at cost less the allowance
for doubtful accounts. The Company does not specifically reserve for any
individual payday loans. The Company aggregates payday loans for purposes of
estimating the loss allowance using a methodology that analyzes historical
portfolio statistics and management’s judgment regarding recent trends noted in
the portfolio. This methodology takes into account several factors, including
the maturity of the store location and charge-off and recovery rates. The
Company utilizes a software program to assist with the tracking of its
historical portfolio statistics. As a result of the Company’s collections
efforts, it historically writes off approximately 45% of the returned items.
Based on days past the check return date, write-offs of returned items
historically have tracked at the following approximate percentages: 1 to 30 days
- 45%; 31 to 60 days - 68%; 61 to 90 days - 85%; 91 to 120 days - 90%; and 121
to 180 days - 93%. All returned items are charged-off after 180 days, as
collections after that date have not been significant. The loan loss allowance
is reviewed monthly and any adjustment to the loan loss allowance as a result of
historical loan performance, current and expected collection patterns and
current economic trends is recorded.
F-7
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
A
rollforward of the Company’s loans receivable allowance for the years ended
December 31, 2008 and 2007 is as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
|
||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||
Loans
receivable allowance, beginning of year
|
$ | 976,000 | $ | 762,000 | ||||
Provision
for loan losses charged to expense:
|
||||||||
Continuing
operations
|
1,884,000 | 1,484,000 | ||||||
Discontinued
operations
|
266,000 | - | ||||||
Charge-offs,
net
|
(1,713,000 | ) | (1,270,000 | ) | ||||
Loans
receivable allowance, end of year
|
$ | 1,413,000 | $ | 976,000 |
Inventory
Inventory,
consisting of phones and accessories, is stated at the lower of cost, determined
on a first-in, first-out basis, or market.
Property and
Equipment
Property
and equipment are recorded at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation
is provided on the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the
related assets. Useful lives generally range from five to seven years for
furniture, equipment, and vehicles. Leasehold improvements are amortized using
the straight-line method over the lesser of the estimated useful lives of the
related assets or the leases term, and this amortization is included with
depreciation.
Goodwill
Goodwill
represents the excess of cost over the fair value of net assets acquired using
purchase accounting and is not amortized.
Intangible
Assets
Customer
relationships represent the fair values management assigned to relationships
with customers acquired through business acquisitions and is amortized over
three years on an accelerated basis based on management’s estimates of attrition
of the acquired customers.
Long- Lived
Assets
Goodwill
is reviewed, at least annually, for impairment. Property and equipment and
customer relationships are reviewed for impairment when events or changes in
circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts may not be recoverable. An
impairment loss is recognized when the fair value of the asset is less than the
carrying value of the asset.
Concentrations of Credit
Risk
Financial
instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of
credit risk consist of cash and loans receivable. The Company’s cash is placed
with high quality financial institutions. From time to time, cash balances
exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any significant
losses with respect to its cash. Loans receivable, while concentrated in
geographical areas, are dispersed among numerous customers.
Income
Taxes
Deferred
income taxes reflect the tax consequences in future years of differences between
the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their financial reporting amounts,
based on enacted tax laws and statutory tax rates applicable in the periods in
which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation
allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the
amounts expected to be realized. The provision for income taxes represents taxes
paid or payable for the current year and changes during the year in deferred tax
assets and liabilities.
F-8
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Net Loss Per Common
Share
Basic net
loss per common share is computed by dividing the loss available to common
shareholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the
year. Diluted net loss per common share is computed by dividing the net loss
available to common shareholders’ by the sum of the weighted average number of
common shares outstanding plus potentially dilutive common share equivalents
(stock options, stock warrants, convertible preferred shares) when dilutive. The
following potentially dilutive securities were anti-dilutive and therefore
excluded from the dilutive net loss per share computation:
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||
Series
A Convertible Preferred Stock
|
10,000,000 | 10,000,000 | ||||||
Stock
options
|
- | 1,575,000 | ||||||
Stock
warrants
|
400,000 | 425,000 | ||||||
10,400,000 | 12,000,000 |
Fair Value of Financial
Instruments
The
amounts reported in the balance sheets for cash, loans receivable, stock
subscriptions receivable notes payable, and accounts payable are short-term in
nature and their carrying values approximate fair values.
Recent Accounting
Pronouncements
In June
2008, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued FASB Staff Position
(FSP) Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) 03-6-1, Determining Whether Instruments Granted in Share-Based Payment Transactions
Are Participating Securities (FSP EITF 03-6-1).
FSP EITF 03-6-1 clarified that all outstanding unvested share-based payment
awards that contain rights to nonforfeitable dividends participate in
undistributed earnings with common shareholders. Awards of this nature are
considered participating securities and the two-class method of computing basic
and diluted earnings per share must be applied. FSP EITF 03-6-1 is effective for
fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008. The Company does not
expect there to be any impact on basic earnings per share as a result of FSP
EITF 03-6-1.
In May
2008, the FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No.
162, The Hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (SFAS 162). SFAS
162 identifies the sources of accounting principles and the framework for
selecting the principles to be used in the preparation of financial statements
that are presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles
in the United States. SFAS 162 is effective 60 days following the SEC's approval
of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board amendments to AU Section 411,
The Meaning of Present Fairly in Conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles. The Company does not expect the adoption of SFAS 162 to have
a material effect on its consolidated financial statements.
In March
2008, the FASB issued SFAS No. 161, Disclosures About Derivative Instruments
and Hedging Activities, an amendment of FASB Statement No. 133 (SFAS 161), which
requires enhanced disclosures about an entity's derivative and hedging
activities. The effective date of SFAS 161 is the Company's fiscal year
beginning January 1, 2009. The Company does not expect the adoption of SFAS 161
to have an impact on its consolidated financial statement
disclosures.
In
December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 141 (revised 2007), Business Combinations (SFAS 141R).
SFAS 141R broadens the guidance of SFAS 141, extending its applicability to all
transactions and other events in which one entity obtains control over one or
more other businesses. It broadens the
fair value measurement and recognition of assets acquired, liabilities assumed,
and interests transferred as a result of business combinations. SFAS
141R expands on required disclosures to improve the statement users' abilities
to evaluate the nature and financial effects of business
combinations. SFAS 141R is effective for fiscal years beginning on or
after December 15, 2008. The Company does not expect the adoption of SFAS 141R
to have a material effect on the Company's consolidated financial
statements.
F-9
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In
December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, “Noncontrolling Interests in
Consolidated Financial Statements, an amendment of ARB No. 51.” SFAS No. 160
changes the accounting and reporting for minority interests, which will be
recharacterized as noncontrolling interest and classified as a component of
equity. This new consolidation method significantly changes the accounting for
transactions with minority interests holders. SFAS No. 160 is effective for
fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008. The Company expects the adoption
of SFAS No. 160 to have no impact on our Consolidated Financial
Statements.
In
September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, Fair Value Measurement. SFAS 157 establishes a
common definition for fair value to be applied to generally accepted accounting
principles guidance requiring use of fair value, establishes a framework for
measuring fair value, and expands disclosure about such fair value measurements.
SFAS 157 is effective for fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007. The
Company adopted SFAS 157 on January 1, 2008 with no impact on its consolidated
financial statements.
The FASB
delayed the effective date to first quarter 2009 for nonfinancial assets and
liabilities recognized
or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a nonrecurring basis,
in accordance with FASB Staff Position 157-2, Effective Date of FASB 157, (FSP 157-2).
Non-financial assets include fair value measurements associated with business
acquisitions and impairment testing of tangible and intangible assets. The
Company expects that the provisions of FSP 157-2 will not have a material effect
on its consolidated financial statements.
In June 2008, the FASB's Emerging
Issues Task Force updated EITF No 07-5, Determining Whether an
Instrument (or Embedded Feature) Is Indexed to an Entity's Own Stock. This abstract provided guidance for determining
whether an equity-linked financial instrument (or embedded feature) is indexed
to an entity's own stock. The Company has not yet determined whether this update
will have a material impact on its financial statements.
2.
|
Merger
–
|
The
following is a summary of the significant Merger-related
transactions:
In
contemplation of the Merger, WCR entered into a subscription agreement with the
Company’s former Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Under the agreement, the CEO
purchased 1,071,875 shares of WCR common stock for an aggregate purchase price
of $500,000. At December 31, 2007, the purchase price was included in
subscriptions receivable and has since been collected.
In
contemplation of the Merger, WCR entered into various stock option agreements
with executive and non-executive management personnel. In addition, WCR granted
stock warrants to certain other parties. In total, WCR granted stock options and
warrants to eleven parties, to purchase an aggregate of 1,600,000 shares of
common stock at the per-share price of $0.01. These options and warrants include
550,000 issued to the Company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and 400,000 issued
to the Company’s former Chief Operating Officer (COO).
WCR
issued a warrant to Lantern Advisers, LLC for the purchase of up to
400,000 shares of common stock at the per-share price of $0.01 for professional
services.
The
Company assumed $50,000 of liabilities of WCR.
The
Company was responsible for certain fees to various brokers, advisors and others
for expenses related to the Merger.
In
contemplation of the Merger, WCR entered into subscription agreements to sell
3,331,669 shares of its common stock for an aggregate purchase price of
$3,998,000. As of December 31, 2007, $75,700 of the subscriptions receivable was
collected and the remaining amount was collected in 2008. Costs incurred in 2007
related to the issuance of these shares were $172,995. In 2008, the Company
received $80,000 in credits against these costs.
WERCS,
the former sole owner of WFL common stock, received an aggregate of 1,125,000
shares of WCR’s common stock and 10,000,000 shares of WCR Series A Convertible
Preferred Stock.
3.
|
Acquisitions/Dispositions
–
|
In 2008
and 2007, the Company purchased the assets of various stores in separate
transactions. The aggregate purchase price totaled $5,151,287 in 2008 and
$10,849 in 2007. Two of the 2008 acquisitions, NCC and STEN, were
subsequently disposed of in the same year.
F-10
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Acquisition of National
Cash & Credit
On
February 26, 2008, the Company entered into an Exchange Agreement with National
Cash & Credit, LLC, a Minnesota limited liability company (NCC), and the
members of NCC. Under the Exchange Agreement, the members of NCC assigned all of
the outstanding membership interests in NCC to the Company in exchange 1,114,891
shares (valued at $1.20 per share) of the Company’s common stock and a cash
payment of $100,000.
The
Company’s former CEO had a material financial interest in NCC. The former CEO’s
ownership and conditions of the Exchange Agreement were disclosed to the
Company's Board of Directors, which approved the Exchange
Agreement.
NCC was
formed approximately two years ago and owned and operated five stores located in
suburban Phoenix, Arizona. NCC principally offered cash advance loans ranging
from $100 to $2,500 and title loans ranging from $500 to $2,000.
These
stores, together with the STEN stores identified below, were exchanged for
1,291,290 shares of outstanding WCR stock on December 31, 2008. The
activity related to these stores is presented as loss from discontinued
operations on the Consolidated Statement of Income (Note 16).
Acquisition of North Dakota
Stores
On March
1, 2008 the Company acquired, for $390,917 in cash five stores offering cash
advance loans in Fargo, Grand Forks, Bismarck, and Minot, North Dakota. These
stores currently operate under the Ameri-Cash name.
Acquisition of STEN
Stores
On July
31, 2008, the Company purchased four payday loan and check cashing stores and an
on-line lending website, which included all related assets including store level
working capital, from Sten Corporation, a Minnesota corporation. Three of the
stores are located in Salt Lake City, Utah and one store is located in Tempe,
Arizona. The purchase price of the acquisition was $287,500, financed through
the issuance of seller notes and contingent consideration in the amount of 50%
of net cash flows as defined in the agreement. The contingent consideration is
limited to the greater of 50% of net cash flows as described in the agreement
(calculated and due annually) through July 31, 2012 or an aggregate of
$800,000.
As
previously noted, these stores were exchanged for outstanding WCR stock on
December 31, 2008.
Acquisition of PQH Stores
(Cricket)
On
October 15, 2008, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement with
PQH Wireless, Inc., a Nebraska corporation, and the stockholders of PQH
Wireless. Under the Stock Purchase Agreement, the stockholders sold all of the
outstanding capital stock in PQH Wireless to the Company for a total purchase
price of $3,035,000. The transaction was financed by a combination of cash of
$535,000 and notes payable to the sellers totaling $2,500,000.
A director
of the Company and the Company’s current CEO and interim Chief Financial
Officer are stockholders of the Company, each had a direct material financial
interest in PQH Wireless. The ownership of PQH Wireless and the material terms
and conditions of the Stock Purchase Agreement were disclosed to the
disinterested members of the Company’s audit committee, which approved the Stock
Purchase Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby.
PQH
Wireless was formed approximately two years ago and owns and operates nine
stores at locations in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas as an authorized
seller of Cricket cellular phones.
Under the
purchase method of accounting the assets and liabilities of the aforementioned
acquisitions were recorded at their respective fair values as of the purchase
date as follows:
F-11
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Year Ended December 31,
|
||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||
Cash
|
$ | 236,342 | $ | 1,881 | ||||
Loans
receivable
|
1,030,781 | 7,968 | ||||||
Other
current assets
|
164,727 | - | ||||||
Property
and equipment
|
314,157 | 1,000 | ||||||
Intangible
assets
|
1,161,580 | - | ||||||
Goodwill
|
2,493,164 | - | ||||||
Current
liabilities
|
(249,464 | ) | - | |||||
$ | 5,151,287 | $ | 10,849 |
The
results of the operations for the acquired locations have been included in the
condensed consolidated financial statements since the date of the acquisitions.
The following table presents the unaudited pro forma results of continuing
operations for the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007 (sold December 31,
2008), as if the retained acquisitions had been consummated at the beginning of
each period presented and excluding the operating results of NCC and STEN (sold
December 31, 2008). The pro forma results of continuing operations are prepared
for comparative purposes only and do not necessarily reflect the results that
would have occurred had the acquisition occurred at the beginning of the year
presented or the results which may occur in the future.
Year Ended December
31,
|
||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||
Pro
forma revenue
|
$ | 15,625,000 | $ | 15,520,000 | ||
Pro
forma net income
|
1,166,000 | (393,000 | ) | |||
Pro
forma net loss per common share - basic and diluted
|
(. 05 | ) | (2.19 | ) |
4.
|
Segment
Information –
|
The
Company has grouped its operations into two segments – Payday Operations and
Cricket Wireless Retail Operations. The Payday Operations segment
provides financial and ancillary services (Note 1). The Cricket
Wireless Retail Operations segment originated in October 2008 and is a dealer
for Cricket Wireless, Inc., reselling cellular phones and accessories and
serving as a payment center for Cricket customers.
Segment
information related to the year ended December 31, 2008 follows:
Payday
|
Cricket
Wireless
Retail
|
Total
|
||||||||||
Revenues
from continuing operations
|
$ | 11,506,178 | $ | 1,368,639 | $ | 12,874,817 | ||||||
Interest
expense
|
— | 79,425 | 79,425 | |||||||||
Depreciation
and amortization from continuing operations
|
513,237 | 72,398 | 585,635 | |||||||||
Income
tax expense
|
244,000 | 28,000 | 272,000 | |||||||||
Income
from continuing operations
|
605,452 | 227,906 | 833,358 | |||||||||
Loss
from discontinued operations
|
(349,546 | ) | — | (349,546 | ) | |||||||
Gain on
disposal of discontinued operations
|
120,873 | — | 120,873 | |||||||||
Total
segmented assets
|
17,760,154 | 3,452,485 | 21,212,640 | |||||||||
Expenditures
for segmented assets
|
2,116,287 | 3,035,000 | 5,151,287 |
F-12
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
5.
|
Property
and Equipment
|
Property
and equipment consisted of the following:
December 31,
|
||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||
Furniture
and equipment
|
$ | 839,112 | $ | 553,714 | ||||
Leasehold
improvements
|
421,669 | 400,931 | ||||||
Other
|
69,702 | 62,160 | ||||||
1,330,483 | 1,016,805 | |||||||
Less
accumulated depreciation
|
514,503 | 385,069 | ||||||
$ | 815,980 | $ | 631,736 |
Depreciation
expense on all operations for the year ended December 31, 2008 and 2007 was
$224,610 and $140,638, respectively.
F-13
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
6.
|
Intangible
Assets –
|
Intangible
assets consisted of the follows:
December 31,
|
||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||
Customer
relationships
|
$ | 3,259,912 | $ | 2,429,887 | ||||
Less
accumulated amortization
|
2,503,063 | 2,082,301 | ||||||
$ | 756,849 | $ | 347,586 |
As of
December 31, 2008, estimated future amortization expense for the customer
relationships is as follows:
2009
|
$ | 362,000 | ||
2010
|
241,000 | |||
2011
|
154,000 | |||
$ | 757,000 |
7.
|
Note
Payable – Short Term
|
The
Company’s short-term debt is as follows:
December 31,
|
||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||
Note
payable to bank with interest at a variable rate adjusted
daily. The rate is the bank’s prime rate (3.25% at December 31,
2008) plus 1%. The note is due October 30, 2009, is
collateralized by substantially all assets of the Company and shares of
stock of WFL, and contains certain financial and compliance covenants, as
defined.
|
$ | 2,000,000 | $ | - | ||||
Unsecured
note payable due January 31, 2009 without interest.
|
100,000 | - | ||||||
$ | 2,100,000 | $ | - |
The Company
obtained waivers from the bank in 2009 for violations related to the
delivery of financial statements and tax returns and on dividend approval
requirements to bank.
8.
|
Notes
Payable – Long Term
|
The
Company’s long-term debt is as follows:
December 31,
|
||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||
Note
payable to a related party with interest payable monthly at 10%, due
October 1, 2011 and collateralized by substantially all assets of
PQH.
|
$ | 1,000,000 | $ | - | ||||
Note
payable to a related party with interest payable monthly at 10%, due
October 1, 2011 and collateralized by substantially all assets of
PQH.
|
1,000,000 | - | ||||||
Note
payable with interest payable monthly at 7%, due October 1, 2011 and
collateralized by substantially all assets of PQH.
|
500,000 | |||||||
$ | 2,500,000 | $ | - |
F-14
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
9.
|
Income
Taxes
|
Prior to
the Merger, the Company operated under an informal tax allocation agreement with
WERCS, which required the Company to pay its fair share of its income taxes as
if the Company were a stand-alone entity.
The
Company’s provision for income taxes is as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
|
||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||
Current:
|
|
|
||||||
Federal
|
$ | 45,000 | $ | 996,000 | ||||
State
|
9,000 | 170,000 | ||||||
54,000 | 1,166,000 | |||||||
Deferred:
|
||||||||
Federal
|
233,000 | (494,000 | ) | |||||
State
|
44,000 | (117,000 | ) | |||||
277,000 | (611,000 | ) | ||||||
$ | 331,000 | $ | 555,000 | |||||
Allocated to: | ||||||||
Continuing Operations | $ | 272,000 | $ | 555,000 | ||||
Discontinued Operations | 59,000 | - | ||||||
$ | 331,000 | $ | 555,000 |
Deferred
income tax assets (liabilities) are summarized as follows:
December 31,
|
||||||||||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||||||||||
Current
|
Noncurrent
|
Current
|
Noncurrent
|
|||||||||||||
Deferred
income tax assets
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
Allowance
for loans receivable
|
$ | 536,000 | $ | - | $ | 367,000 | $ | - | ||||||||
Stock-based
compensation
|
- | - | 207,000 | - | ||||||||||||
Goodwill
and intangible assets
|
- | - | - | 134,000 | ||||||||||||
Net
operating loss
|
13,000 | 66,000 | ||||||||||||||
Other
|
22,000 | - | 22,000 | - | ||||||||||||
558,000 | 13,000 | 662,000 | 134,000 | |||||||||||||
Deferred
income tax liabilities
|
||||||||||||||||
Property
and equipment
|
- | (77,000 | ) | - | (25,000 | ) | ||||||||||
Goodwill
and intangible assets
|
- | - | - | - | ||||||||||||
|
- | (77,000 | ) | - | (25,000 | ) | ||||||||||
Net
|
$ | 558,000 | $ | (64,000 | ) | $ | 662,000 | $ | 109,000 |
In 2007,
the Company changed its income tax reporting method of accounting for late loans
receivable and deferred revenue, to more closely match its financial reporting
and elimating any deferred tax consequences related to
them.
F-15
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Reconciliations
from the statutory federal income tax rate to the effective income tax rate are
as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
|
||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||
Income
tax expense using the statutory federal rate
|
$ | 318,000 | $ | (144,000 | ) | |||
State
income taxes, net of federal benefit
|
4,000 | (15,000 | ) | |||||
Permanent
differences, primarily merger transaction expenses
|
9,000 | 714,000 | ||||||
Income
tax expense
|
$ | 331,000 | $ | 555,000 |
The
Company adopted the provisions of FASB Interpretation No. 48 (FIN No. 48),
“Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes - an Interpretation No. 109,” on
January 1, 2007. Previously, the Company had accounted for tax contingencies in
accordance with SFAS No. 5, “Accounting for Contingencies.” As required by FIN
No. 48, the Company recognizes the financial statement benefit of a tax position
only after determining that the relevant tax authority would more likely than
not sustain the position. For tax positions meeting the more likely than not
threshold, the amount recognized in the consolidated financial statements is the
largest benefit that has a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being realized
upon ultimate settlement with the relevant tax authority. At the adoption date,
the Company applied FIN No. 48 to all tax positions for which the statute of
limitations remained open. The adoption of FIN No. 48 did not have a material
impact on the consolidated financial statements.
It is the
Company’s practice to recognize penalties and/or interest related to income tax
matters in interest and penalties expense. As of December 31, 2008, the Company
had an immaterial amount of accrued interest and penalties.
The
Company is subject to income taxes in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various
states and local jurisdictions. Tax regulations within each jurisdiction are
subject to the interpretation of the related tax laws and regulations and
require significant judgment to apply. With few exceptions, the Company is no
longer subject to U.S. federal, state, or local income tax examinations by tax
authorities for the years before 2005. The Company is not currently under
examination by any taxing jurisdiction.
10.
|
Shareholders’
Equity –
|
Capitalization
At
December 31, 2007, the Company’s authorized capital stock consists of 20,000,000
shares of no par value capital stock. All shares have equal voting rights and
are entitled to one vote per share.
Of the
240,000,000 shares of authorized capital, 230,000,000 have been designated as
common stock and 10,000,000 as Series A Convertible Preferred Stock. The Series
A Convertible Preferred Stock has a 10% cumulative dividend and can be converted
on a share-for-share basis into common stock. The Company has the right to
redeem some or all of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock at any time, upon
60 days notice, at $3.00 per share prior to April 1, 2009, or $3.50 per share
afterwards, plus any cumulative unpaid dividends.
Stock Options and
Warrants
The
Company prior to 2007 granted no stock options or stock warrants. In 2007, stock
option (2007 stock options) and stock warrants were granted in connection with
the Merger, became immediately vested and exercisable with the Merger, and had a
grant date fair value of $0.54. The Company intends or has to issue new
shares upon exercise of stock option and warrants.
2008 Stock Incentive
Plan
On
February 2, 2008, the Board of Directors of the Company approved and adopted the
Company’s 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (2008 stock options), pursuant to which an
aggregated of 2,000,000 shares of common stock have been reserved for
issuance. No options under this plan have been granted as of December
31, 2008
F-16
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Stock
options and stock warrants outstanding at December 31, 2008, consisted of the
following:
2007 Stock
Options
|
Stock Warrants
|
|||||||
Exercise
price
|
$ | 0.01 | $ | 0.01 | ||||
Units
outstanding
|
- | 400,000 | ||||||
Remaining
contractual life
|
- |
1
year
|
||||||
The
aggregate intrinsic value of all outstanding vested options and warrants at
December 31, 2008 is approximately $480,000.
Stock
options and stock warrants activity for 2008 and 2007 consisted of the
following:
2007 Stock
Options
|
Stock Warrants
|
|||||||
Outstanding,
December 31, 2006
|
- | - | ||||||
Granted
|
1,575,000 | 425,000 | ||||||
Exercised
|
- | - | ||||||
Outstanding,
December 31, 2007
|
1,575,000 | 425,000 | ||||||
Granted
|
- | - | ||||||
Exercised
|
(1,475,000 | ) | - | |||||
Forfeited
|
(100,000 | ) | (25,000 | ) | ||||
Outstanding,
December 31, 2008
|
- | 400,000 |
The 2007
fair value of stock options and stock warrants granted is estimated using the
Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model (using estimated value of WCR) with
the following weighted average assumptions:
Description
|
Assumption
|
|||
Risk-free
interest rate
|
3.14 | % | ||
Expected
life
|
0.50
years
|
|||
Expected
volatility
|
247.00 | % | ||
Expected
dividend rate
|
0.00 | % |
11.
|
Operating
Lease Commitments –
|
The
Company leases its facilities under operating leases with terms ranging from two
to six years, with rights to extend for additional periods. Rent expense on
all operations was approximately $1,198,000 and $757,000 in 2008 and 2007
respectively. Future minimum lease payments are approximately as
follows:
Year Ending December 31,
|
Amount
|
|||
2009
|
$ | 831,000 | ||
2010
|
512,000 | |||
2011
|
342,000 | |||
2012
|
178,000 | |||
2013
|
92,000 | |||
$ | 1,955,000 |
F-17
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
12.
|
Related
Party Transactions –
|
At
December 31, 2007, accounts payable included approximately $576,000 payable to
the Company’s CEO for reimbursement of Merger and equity transaction related
costs and $550,000 payable to WERCS for merger transaction related costs and
return of capital.
The
Company leases two properties from an officer of the Company and another related
party under operating leases that extend through 2011 requiring monthly lease
payments of $2,400.
Interest
expense for 2008 on two related party notes payable was approximately
$50,000.
13.
|
Employee
Savings Plan –
|
The
Company began a defined contribution retirement plan in 2007 intended to be
qualified under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. All employees are
eligible to participate in the Plan after approximately one year of employment.
The Plan allows each participant to make elective contributions subject to
statutory limits. The Company matches employee contributions up to 100 % of the
first 5% of the participating employees’ annual compensation. Company matching
contributions to the Plan were approximately $0 and $32,000 in 2008
and 2007. The Plan was terminated during 2008 and all account
balances were distributed.
14.
|
Risks
Inherent in the Operating Environment
–
|
The
Company’s payday or short-term consumer loan activities are regulated under
numerous local, state, and federal laws and regulations, which are subject to
change. New laws or regulations could be enacted that could have a negative
impact on the Company’s lending activities. Over the past few years, consumer
advocacy groups and certain media reports have advocated governmental and
regulatory action to prohibit or severely restrict deferred presentment cash
advances.
The
Federal Trade Commission has issued an FTC Consumer Alert (Federal Trade
Commission, March 2008, Consumer Alert entitled “Payday Loans Equal Very Costly
Cash: Consumers Urged to Consider the Alternatives”) that discourages consumers
from obtaining payday loans such as the loans we offer, primarily on the basis
that the types of loans we offer are very costly and consumers should consider
alternatives to accepting a payday loan. For further information, you may obtain
a copy of the alert at www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts. As noted above,
the federal government has recently passed legislation, the 2007 Military
Authorization Act, prohibiting us from offering or making our loans to members
of the military when the interest and fees calculated as an annual percentage
rate exceed 36%. This limitation effectively prohibits us from utilizing our
present business model for cash advance or “payday” lending when dealing with
members of the U.S. military, and as a result we do not and do not plan to
conduct payday lending business with U.S. military personnel. These facts
evidence the widespread belief that our charges relating to our loans are too
expensive to be good for consumers. Some consumer advocates and others have
characterized payday lending as “predatory.” As a result, there are frequently
attempts in the various state legislatures, and occasionally in the U.S.
Congress, to limit, restrict or prohibit payday lending.
In July
2008, a bill was introduced before the U.S. Senate, entitled the “Protecting
Consumers from Unreasonable Credit Rates Act of 2008” (an amendment to the Truth
in Lending Act), proposing to set a maximum actual or imputed interest rate of
36% on all extensions of credit of any type. The bill is intended to limit the
charges and fees payable in connection with payday lending. Presently, the bill
is in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. The Company
has no further information regarding the bill at this time. Similar bills have
been proposed in various states as well.
The
passage of this bill into law, or similar bills at state levels, would
essentially prohibit the Company from conducting its payday lending business in
its current form, and would certainly have a material and adverse effect on the
Company, operating results, financial condition and prospects and even its
viability.
Negative
perception of deferred presentment cash advances could also result in increased
regulatory scrutiny and increased litigation and encourage restrictive local
zoning rules, making it more difficult to obtain the government approvals
necessary to continue operating existing stores or open new short-term consumer
loan stores.
F-18
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the
year ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, the Company’s continuing operations
revenues by state in excess of 10% were approximately as
follows:
|
%
of
Revenues
|
|||||||
State |
2008
|
2007
|
||||||
North
Dakota
|
14 | % | 13 | % | ||||
Nebraska
|
30 | % | 36 | % | ||||
Wyoming
|
11 | % | * | |||||
IOWA | * | 12 | % | |||||
UTAH | 10 | % | * | |||||
Wisconsin | 10 | % | * | |||||
UNOEL | 10 | % |
The
Cricket Agency division revenue is concentrated in the states of Nebraska,
Missouri and Texas which provide 47%, 31% and 13% of the division revenue,
respectively.
15.
|
Other
Expenses –
|
A
breakout of other expense is as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
|
||||||||
2008
|
2007
|
|||||||
Store expenses
|
||||||||
Bank
fees
|
$ | 108,552 | $ | 83,762 | ||||
Collection
costs
|
263,825 | 227,871 | ||||||
Repair
and Maintenance
|
159,036 | 28,707 | ||||||
Supplies
|
121,125 | 133,614 | ||||||
Telephone
|
123,235 | 114,806 | ||||||
Utilities
and network lines
|
215,804 | 184,290 | ||||||
Other
|
259,072 | 317,687 | ||||||
$ | 1,250,649 | $ | 1,090,737 |
Other general & administrative expenses for 2008 included
approximately $900,000 of professional fees.
16.
|
Discontinued
Operations –
|
On
December 31, 2008, the Company exchanged the NCC and STEN
assets, liabilities, obligations, and operations for 1,291,290 shares
(valued at $1,549,548) of the Company’s outstanding common stock that were owned
by the Company’s former President, Chief Executive Officer and
director. The redeemed shares were subsequently
retired. WCR retained a liability related to the STEN
purchase for $100,000 of principal and $4,688 of accrued
interest.
Summarized results for the
discontinued operations for 2008 are as follows:
2008
|
||||
Revenue
|
$
|
1,586,220
|
||
Costs
and expenses
|
1,935,766
|
|||
Loss
from discontinued operations
|
(349,546
|
) |
17.
|
Subsequent
Events –
|
Exercise of
Warrants
In
January 2009, outstanding warrants of 397,325 were exercised for a total
proceeds of $3,973
F-19
WESTERN
CAPITAL RESOURCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Acquisition of 12 Cricket
Wireless Stores in Missouri
On
January 14, 2009 PQH acquired for $1,828,000 in cash 12 existing Cricket
Wireless Stores in an asset purchase from VZ Wireless, LLC. The
stores are located in Kansas City, Missouri (4 stores) and St. Louis, Missouri
(8 stores).
In
February 2009, PQH acquired the authorization for seven locations in Northern
Indiana for $300,000 plus sellers’ expenses, not to exceed $50,000, and in March
2009, PQH launched eight new Cricket Wireless stores in
Indiana.
Dividend Declaration and
Payment
In 2009,
the Board of Directors of the Company declared $525,000 of the fourth quarter
2008 dividends on the Company’s Series A Convertible Preferred Stock. These
amounts have been subsequently paid.
Withdrawal of SEC
Registration Statement
On
January 26, 2009, the Company withdrew it Registration Statement filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on Form S-1/A.
Settlement Agreement with
former Chief Executive Officer
On May 1,
2009, the Company entered into a Settlement Agreement with its former Chief
Executive Officer to settle certain disputes regarding disbursement made to him
through December 31, 2008. In addition, the settlement agreement required the
former Chief Executive Officer to place all 550,000 shares of his common stock
of the Company in to an Escrow Arrangement that will result in either
complete redemption of those shares or the release or those shares back to him
under certain circumstances.
F-20
ITEM
9
|
CHANGES
IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL
DISCLOSURE
|
None.
ITEM
9A(T). CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
DISCLOSURE
CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
This
report includes the certifications of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief
Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(the “Exchange Act”). See Exhibits 31.1 and 31.2 to this report. This Item 9A(T)
includes information concerning the controls and control evaluations referred to
in those certifications.
Background
On December 19, 2008, we
filed a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC in which we announced that, due
to the allocation of purchase price to customer relationships as opposed
to goodwill for historical acquisitions, it may be necessary for
us to restate the audited financial statements contained in our Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, and the interim
financial statements contained in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the
periods ended March 31, June 30, and September 30, 2008.
On March
31, 2009, we filed a second Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC in which we
announced that, due to an understated calculation of our share-based
compensation expense for fiscal year 2007, we would need to restate the audited
financial statements contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal
year ended December 31, 2007. In that report we also disclosed that the
Company’s Board of Directors was conducting an internal review of the propriety
and categorization of certain expense reimbursements during 2008 and other
transactions, and that any impact to the Company’s annual and interim period
financial statements was then undetermined.
We have
now quantified the impact of the items described above. As a result, management
has identified several deficiencies in our internal control over financial
reporting which are discussed in more detail below in Management’s Report on
Internal Control over Financial Reporting. The control deficiencies failed to
prevent or detect a number of accounting errors and irregularities within
Western Capital Resources, Inc. and our former subsidiary National Cash &
Credit, and represent material weaknesses in our internal control over financial
reporting that require corrective and remedial action. A material weakness is a
deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial
reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material
misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented
or detected on a timely basis. In addition to the control deficiencies related
to the restatement referenced above, several additional control deficiencies
were identified during management’s assessment of internal control for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2008, each of which also require corrective and
remedial action as outlined below under the caption “Management’s Remediation
Plan.”
EVALUATION
OF DISCLOSURE CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
As
required by Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act, our management carried out an
evaluation, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief
Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our
disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) of the
Exchange Act), as of the period covered by this report. Disclosure controls and
procedures are defined by as controls and other procedures that are designed to
ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports filed with the
SEC under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported
within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure
controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures
designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports
filed under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management,
including our principal executive and principal financial officers, or person
performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding
required disclosure. Based upon their evaluation, the restatement of previously
issued financial statements described above, and the identification of certain
material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting described
below, our management (including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial
Officer) concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were ineffective
as of December 31, 2008.
37
Nevertheless,
as a result of a review of the restatement items referenced above (i.e., our
allocation of purchase price to customer relationships as opposed to goodwill,
and the share-based compensation expense we recorded for fiscal 2007), the
completion of our independent review of certain transactions, and remedial
actions taken by management, we believe that the consolidated financial
statements contained in this report present fairly, in all material respects,
our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows as of the dates,
and for the periods, presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting
principles in the Unites States of America (“GAAP”). In addition, we have
created and are implementing a wide-ranging plan to remediate the material
deficiencies described below.
MANAGEMENT’S
REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
Our
management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal
control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is a
set of processes designed by, or under the supervision of, a company’s principal
executive and principal financial officers, to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of
financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP and includes
those policies and procedures that:
|
·
|
pertain
to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and
fairly reflect our transactions and dispositions of our
assets
|
|
·
|
provide
reasonable assurance our transactions are recorded as necessary to permit
preparation of our financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that
receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with
authorizations of our management and directors,
and
|
|
·
|
provide
reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of
unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have
a material effect on the financial
statement.
|
Because
of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not
prevent or detect misstatements. It should be noted that any system of internal
control, however well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, and
not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the system will be met. Also,
projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to
the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions,
or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may
deteriorate.
Under the
supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief
Executive and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an assessment of the
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on criteria
established in “Internal Control-Integrated Framework” issued by the Committee
of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), as of December
31, 2008. Under those criteria, a material weakness is a control deficiency, or
combination of control deficiencies, that results in more than a remote
likelihood that a material misstatement of annual or interim financial
statements will not be prevented or detected.
In
connection with the assessment described above, management identified the
following control deficiencies that represent material weaknesses at December
31, 2008:
|
·
|
The
Company did not maintain an effective control environment including a tone
of control consciousness that consistently emphasized strict adherence to
GAAP accounting principles at Western Capital Resources, Inc. and its
former subsidiary National Cash & Credit, LLC. This control deficiency
included inadequate operation of entity-level controls, including
monitoring controls, which were not sufficiently sensitive in scope and
therefore failed to detect and prevent on a timely basis management
override of controls at both entities. In certain instances, information
critical to an effective review of transactions and accounting entries was
not disclosed to management’s
internal and external auditors.
|
|
·
|
Western
Capital Resources, Wyoming Financial Lenders and National Cash &
Credit failed to maintain effective controls over the period-end financial
reporting process, including controls with respect to journal entries,
account reconciliations and proper segregation of duties. Journal entries,
both recurring and nonrecurring, were not always accompanied by sufficient
supporting documentation and were not adequately reviewed and approved for
validity, completeness and accuracy. Account reconciliations over balance
sheet accounts were not always properly performed and approved for
validity and accuracy of supporting documentation. Furthermore, the
entities frequently failed to uphold proper segregation of duties within
their accounting departments with respect to financial reporting. In
certain instances, persons responsible to review the transactions for
validity, completeness and accuracy did not perform these
responsibilities. Finally, in certain instances, accurate and complete
information critical to an effective review of transactions and accounting
entries was not disclosed to management’s internal and external
auditors.
|
38
|
·
|
Western
Capital Resources, Wyoming Financial Lenders and National Cash &
Credit failed to maintain effective controls over expenditure processes,
including controls with respect to contracts for services, executive
expense reports, invoice approval, disbursement issuance,
budget-to-actual-expenditure review, and the segregation of
duties.
|
|
·
|
Western
Capital Resources did not maintain effective controls over the intangibles
and goodwill process, including controls with respect to the proper
accounting treatment of customer relationships (customer lists) in
accordance with GAAP.
|
|
·
|
Our
Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc. subsidiary did not maintain effective
controls over the payroll process, including controls relating to the
proper approval of timesheets, verification of accuracy, and proper
segregation of duties. In addition, Wyoming Financial Lenders used a
payroll service provider that failed to meet minimum internal control
standards.
|
|
·
|
Western
Capital Resources did not maintain effective controls over the preparation
of the income tax provision and related deferred and current tax
calculations. Specifically, account analyses and reconciliations were not
prepared for various tax accounts, nor was any review conducted to ensure
accuracy and proper income-tax calculations with respect to the recording
of intangible assets or the valuation of the stock options and warrants
granted to certain employees or nonemployee members. As a result,
inaccurate entries were posted to the tax accounts which were neither
detected nor corrected in a timely
manner.
|
Management’s
assessment of and conclusion on the effectiveness of our internal control over
financial reporting as of December 31, 2008 excluded the internal controls
present in several subsidiary operations, including WCR Acquisition Co., which
acquired four store locations and related assets from STEN Corporation in August
2008, and PQH Wireless, Inc., which we acquired in October 2008 and whose
financial results and positions are included in our 2008 consolidated financial
statements and accounted for $252,000 (1%) and $880,000 (6%) of our consolidated
revenue for fiscal 2008 and total assets at December 31, 2008, respectively. The
timing of these acquisitions provided an insufficient period of time to design
and implement internal controls that would have been subject to management’s
evaluation during fiscal 2008.
As a
result of these material weaknesses described above, management has concluded
that, as of December 31, 2008, our internal control over financial reporting was
not effective based on the criteria in “Internal Control-Integrated Framework”
issued by COSO. Our remediation plan, which we have created to specifically
address each of the material weaknesses, is discussed in detail below. This
report does not include an attestation report of our independent registered
public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting.
Management’s report was not subject to attestation by our independent registered
public accounting firm pursuant to temporary SEC rules permitting us to provide
only management’s report in this SEC filing.
CHANGES
IN INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
We have
initiated a wide range of remediation activities which are summarized below
under the caption “Management’s Remediation Plan,” incorporated herein by this
reference.
39
MANAGEMENT’S
REMEDIATION PLAN
Based on
the control deficiencies identified in section “Management’s Report on Internal
Control Over Financial Reporting” above, we have designed and plan to implement,
or in some cases have already implemented, the specific remediation initiatives
described below:
|
·
|
Our
senior management and our controller at Western Capital Resources were
removed or resigned their positions as of the end of fiscal 2008. Our
Board of Directors immediately appointed John Quandahl as our new Chief
Executive Officer and interim Chief Financial Officer effective December
31, 2008. Mr. Quandahl was previously serving as our Chief Operating
Officer and continues to hold that position. We also immediately created a
new position—“Senior Director of Accounting”—and on January 1, 2009 hired
an individual with significant prior tax experience in a mid-sized public
accounting firm to fill that position. In addition, we have relied and
will continue to rely upon outside experienced consultants as necessary to
develop and assist us with the implementation of remediation efforts and
our external reporting
requirements.
|
|
·
|
The
Board of Directors is reviewing the size and makeup of the board and
assessing the feasibility of adding additional independent members. The
Board of Directors has also committed to, and is more actively involved
in, providing additional oversight of the Company’s internal controls,
more formal review of our financial statements, conducting an analysis of
our budget to actual expenditures, requiring expense reports and
supporting documentation for reimbursements to our management personnel,
reviewing the interim management reports on the effectiveness of our
internal controls, reviewing complex or unusual accounting transactions,
and closely reviewing the draft periodic reports we anticipate filing with
the SEC.
|
|
·
|
We
will realign our anonymous reporting process to direct these reports to
the audit committee chair for discussion with the Company’s legal counsel,
as necessary, and establish a reporting mechanism between our internal
audit consultant and the audit committee chair or the Company’s legal
counsel. Upon learning the status of the internal control assessment, our
new Chief Executive Officer communicated the importance of compliance and
reporting of noncompliance throughout the entire organization, and has
ordered additional training on internal controls and the importance of
their effectiveness for all Company employees involved in the performance
of these controls to occur at the earliest possible
date.
|
|
·
|
We
have initiated efforts to ensure our employees understand the importance
of internal controls and compliance with corporate policies and
procedures. We will implement a reporting and certification process for
management involved in the performance of internal controls and the
preparation of the Company’s financial statements. This certification
process will be conducted quarterly and managed by our internal audit
consultant.
|
|
·
|
We
will implement a formal financial reporting process that includes review
by our Chief Executive Officer and the full Board of Directors of
financial statements prior to filing with the
SEC.
|
|
·
|
Internal
audit activities are being expanded and will include documenting and
testing of controls at locations or subsidiaries deemed out of scope, and
an expansion of assessment procedures beyond internal control testing and
Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.
|
|
·
|
We
are in the process of completing a review and revision of the
documentation of the Company’s internal control procedures and policies
and will provide additional training to all employees involved with the
performance of or compliance with those procedures and
policies.
|
|
·
|
We
have completed an upgrade to our financial software application and are in
the process of thoroughly reviewing the roles and responsibilities of our
staff involved in the performance of internal controls to ensure that
duties are properly segregated and that access rights within our financial
software application comply with designated roles and responsibilities and
support proper segregation of duties. In addition, we have designed our
upgraded financial software application to provide subsidiary and
consolidated financial statements and eliminated the previous manual
process that enabled management to override internal
controls.
|
|
·
|
We
are currently in the process of reviewing our corporate human resources
policy to ensure that appropriate disciplinary actions may be taken in the
event an employee fails to properly perform their responsible internal
controls or intentionally overrides any internal control within our
financial reporting process.
|
40
|
·
|
We
are currently in the process of reviewing payroll service providers that
are Type 2 SAS 70 certified as well as in discussions with our current
payroll service provider to implement a stronger internal control
environment.
|
Although
the control deficiencies identified in section “Evaluation of Disclosure
Controls and Procedures” included National Cash & Credit, LLC, we divested
ourselves of that subsidiary, as well as the four stores we acquired in the
asset purchase from STEN Corporation, as of December 31, 2008. Therefore, a
specific remediation plan to address those deficiencies is not required or
identified above.
ITEM
9B
|
OTHER
INFORMATION
|
Settlement
Agreement
On May 1,
2009, we entered into a Settlement Agreement with Christopher Larson, our former
Chief Executive Officer. Also parties to the Settlement Agreement were Wyoming
Financial Lenders, Inc. (our payday lending subsidiary), WERCS, Inc. (our
controlling shareholder), John Quandahl (our current Chief Executive Officer),
and National Cash & Credit, LLC (formerly a subsidiary of ours, but now
wholly owned by Christopher Larson). We entered into the Settlement Agreement to
settle certain disputes that we had with Mr. Larson which related primarily to
(i) disbursements made to him during 2008, either by him or at his direction,
that were supposed to have been reimbursements for expenses he incurred in 2007
and 2008 in connection with the Merger transaction or otherwise, (ii) increases
in salary payments to him and other members of management during 2008, (iii)
certain payments made to third parties at his direction during 2008, and (iv)
certain other transactions effected at our National Cash & Credit subsidiary
during 2008, together with the manner in which those transactions were reflected
on the books of National Cash & Credit.
The
disputes that we settled pursuant to the Settlement Agreement arose in
connection with our internal review, begun by our current management and
eventually conducted under the supervision of our Board of Directors, of the
above-described matters together with certain other transactions. We filed a
Current Report on Form 8-K on March 31, 2009 that disclosed and briefly
described the subject matter of our review.
Under the
Settlement Agreement, Western Capital, together with Wyoming Financial Lenders,
WERCS and John Quandahl (collectively, the “Western Parties”), fully released
Mr. Larson and National Cash & Credit (together, the “Larson Parties”) from
any and all claims, known and unknown, and the Larson Parties similarly fully
released the Western Parties from any and all claims, known and unknown. In
addition, the Settlement Agreement required Mr. Larson to place all 550,000
shares of his common stock in the Company in an escrow arrangement that will
result in either the complete redemption of those shares or the release of those
shares back to him under certain circumstances. In particular:
|
·
|
the
shares will be fully redeemed in the event that either Mr. Larson’s
personal guaranty of debt owed by Wyoming Financial Lenders to Banco
Popular North America is terminated or revoked, or all amounts owed by
Wyoming Financial Lenders to Banco Popular are fully paid;
or
|
|
·
|
the
shares will be released back to Mr. Larson in the event that Mr. Larson
pays money in satisfaction of the guaranty or WERCS breaches the terms of
an agreement it has with Mr. Larson to indemnify him in the event he is
required to perform any obligations under his personal
guaranty.
|
The
Settlement Agreement also contained certain other terms, including our transfer
to Mr. Larson of certain bad debt receivables formerly associated with WCR
Acquisition Co., a Minnesota corporation through which we had purchased, on July
31, 2008, certain payday lending assets owned indirectly by STEN Corporation. We
had obtained the receivables prior to transferring to Mr. Larson our entire
ownership interest in WCR Acquisition Co. in connection with our December 31,
2008 Redemption Agreement with him. In addition, the Settlement Agreement
contained our agreement not to alter our articles of incorporation or corporate
bylaws in such a manner as to compromise Mr. Larson’s right to claim
indemnification from the Company.
Our
discussion of the Settlement Agreement is qualified in its entirety by the full
text of the Settlement Agreement, which is being filed together with this report
as Exhibit 10.10.
41
Banco
Popular Line of Credit
On
November 13, 2008, Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc. entered into a Business Loan
Agreement and associated agreements with Banco Popular North America, located in
Rosemont, Illinois. The Business Loan Agreement provides Wyoming Financial
Lenders with a one-year revolving line of credit in an amount of up to
$2,000,000. Among other things, a default occurs under the Business Loan
Agreement in the event of any breach thereunder by Wyoming Financial Lenders. In
the event of any default, Banco Popular may accelerate all amounts due subject
to a ten-day right to cure applicable in certain circumstances.
We notified Banco Popular in April 2009
about our inability to deliver certain financial information in a timely manner
as required under the Business Loan Agreement. Our delay in delivering the
financial information required under the Business Loan Agreement (audited
financial statements and tax returns) resulted primarily from our need to
restate our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2007 and the
subsequent interim periods ending September 30, 2008. On April 30, 2009, Banco
Popular furnished us with their written waiver of our failure to timely deliver
such information. As a result, the restatement of our financial statements for
the year ended December 31, 2007 and the subsequent interim periods ending
September 30, 2008, and our delay in furnishing Banco Popular with the required
information, have not had an adverse impact upon our revolving credit line with
Banco Popular under the Business Loan Agreement.
42
PART
III
ITEM
10
|
DIRECTORS,
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE
|
MANAGEMENT
Our Board
of Directors consists of Robert W. Moberly (Chairman), James Mandel, Mark
Houlton and John Quandahl. The following table sets forth the name and position
of each of our current directors and executive officers.
Name
|
Age
|
Positions
|
||
John
Quandahl
|
42
|
Chief
Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Interim Chief Financial
Officer and Director
|
||
Robert
W. Moberly
|
56
|
Director
(Chairman)
|
||
Mark
Houlton
|
44
|
Director
|
||
James
Mandel
|
52
|
Director
|
The
biographies of the above-identified individuals are set forth
below:
Robert W. Moberly has been
employed with WERCS since 1987 as its Chief Operating Officer. WERCS owned all
of the outstanding capital stock of Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc., which the
Company acquired on December 31, 2007. WERCS is presently an affiliate of the
Company. Mr. Moberly is responsible for locating and evaluating business
acquisitions for WERCS and its affiliates. Mr. Moberly also develops WERCS,
business strategies. Mr. Moberly holds many licenses in insurance and
securities, including: Property and Casualty, Life and Health, Surplus Lines in
insurance and Registered Representative Series 7, Financial Operations Principal
Series 27, General Principal Series 24, Municipal Securities Registered
Representative Series 53 and Options Principal Series 4 in securities. Prior to
joining WERCS, Mr. Moberly worked for two years as a securities broker for Dain
Bosworth and 15 years as the owner of a contracting business. Mr. Moberly, a
native of Greybull, Wyoming, graduated from Worland High School and attended the
University of Wyoming. Mr. Moberly become a director of the Company on December
31, 2007 in connection with the Merger.
James Mandel has been the
Chief Executive Officer and a director of Multiband Corporation (NasdaqCM: MBND)
since October 1, 1998. Prior to August 2006, Multiband was an affiliate of the
Company, owning approximately 51%, of the Company after the remaining 49%, of
the Company’s shares had been spun-off to Multiband shareholders of record as of
August 10, 2006. Multiband is a Minnesota corporation based in New Hope,
Minnesota, and is principally engaged in the business of offering voice, data
and video series to residents of multi-dwelling units, and also serves as the
master service operator and marketer of DirecTV services to residents of
multi-dwelling units. Mr. Mandel was co-founder of Call 4 Wireless, LLC, a
telecommunications company specializing in wireless communications, and served
as its Chairman and a member of its Board of Directors from December 1996 until
October 1998, and as its interim Chief Executive Officer from December 1996
until December 1997. From October 1991 to October 1996, he was Vice President of
Systems for Grand Casinos, Inc., where his duties included managing the design,
development, installation and on-going maintenance for the 2,000 room, $507
million Stratosphere Hotel, Casino and Tower in Las Vegas. Mr. Mandel also
managed the systems development of Grand Casino Mille Lacs, in Onamia,
Minnesota, Grand Casino Hinckley in Hinckley, Minnesota and six other casinos
nationwide. He formerly served as Chairman of the Board of Directors for CorVu
Corporation, an international software development company which was sold in
June of 2007, and currently serves as a director for NewMarket Technologies, an
international technology company based in Dallas, Texas. Mr. Mandel has served
as a director of the Company since December 31, 2007.
Mark Houlton founded Houlton
Enterprises, Inc. and opened his first check-cashing / payday advance store in
Omaha, Nebraska in 1997. Over the course of his ownership, this single store
company grew to a total of 24 stores in Nebraska, Iowa, North Dakota and
Wisconsin. In 2005, Mr. Houlton sold his stock to WERCS, Inc. and Houlton
Enterprises was merged into Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc. Since the merger of
Houlton Enterprises into WERCS, Mr. Houlton has been involved as a partner in
PQH Wireless, a Nebraska based business that serves as a dealer for Cricket
Communications. Mr. Houlton is a 1988 graduate of the University of Nebraska,
Lincoln, having received a B.S. in management. Mr. Houlton became a director of
our Company on December 31, 2007 in connection with the Merger.
43
John Quandahl, the Company’s
Chief Executive and Operating Officer and interim Chief Financial Officer,
currently also serves as the President of Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc., a
position he has held since 2007. From 2005 until joining Wyoming Financial
Lenders, Mr. Quandahl was the President of Houlton Enterprises, Inc., and prior
to that served as that corporation’s Chief Operating Officer from 1999 until
2004. During his tenure at Wyoming Financial Lenders and Houlton Enterprises,
Mr. Quandahl and the respective employers were based in Omaha, Nebraska. Mr.
Quandahl was the controller as Silverstone Group, Inc., from 1993 until 1998,
and before that began his career at the Nebraska Department of Revenue as a tax
auditor in 1989. Mr. Quandahl is a certified public accountant (inactive) and
earned a degree in accounting from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Mr.
Quandahl became our Chief Operating Officer prior to the consummation of the
Merger in November 2007 primarily to prepare for the integration of the Company
and Wyoming Financial Lenders. He has continued to serve as our Chief Operating
Officer since the Merger on December 31, 2007, and effective January 1, 2008 was
appointed as our Chief Executive Officer and interim Chief Financial Officer.
Mr. Quandahl was appointed to the Board of Directors on March 9,
2009.
Under our
corporate bylaws, all of our directors serve for indefinite terms expiring upon
the next annual meeting of our shareholders.
FAMILY
RELATIONSHIPS
The Board
of Directors has affirmatively determined that there are no familial
relationships among any of our officers or directors.
INVOLVEMENT
IN CERTAIN LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
During
the past five years, no officer, director, control person or promoter of the
Company has been involved in any legal proceedings respecting: (i) any
bankruptcy petition filed by or against any business of which such person was a
general partner or executive officer either at the time of the bankruptcy or
within two years prior to that time; (ii) any conviction in a criminal
proceeding or being subject to a pending criminal proceeding (excluding traffic
violations and other minor offenses); (iii) being subject to any order,
judgment, or decree, not subsequently reversed, suspended or vacated, of any
court of competent jurisdiction, permanently or temporarily enjoining, barring,
suspending or otherwise limiting his involvement in any type of business,
securities or banking activities; or (iv) being found by a court of competent
jurisdiction (in a civil action), the commission or the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission to have violated a federal or state securities or commodities
law, and the judgment has not been reversed, suspended, or vacated.
AUDIT
COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT
The Board
of Directors has determined that at least one member of the audit committee, Mr.
Mandel, is an “audit committee financial expert” as that term is defined in
Regulation S-K promulgated under the Exchange Act. Mr. Mandel’s relevant
experience is detailed in ITEM 10 above. Mr. Mandel qualifies as an
“independent director,” as such term is defined in Section 5605(a)(2) and
5605(c)(2)(A) of National Association of Securities Dealers’ listing
standards. The Board of Directors has determined that each of the audit
committee members is able to read and understand fundamental financial
statements and that at least one member of the audit committee has past
employment experience in finance or accounting.
CODE
OF ETHICS
We have
adopted a Code of Ethics which governs the conduct of our officers, directors
and employees in order to promote honesty, integrity, loyalty and the accuracy
of our financial statements. You may obtain a copy of the Code of Ethics without
charge by writing us and requesting a copy, attention: John Quandahl, 11550 “I”
Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68137. You may also request a copy by calling us at
(402) 551-8888.
COMPLIANCE
WITH SECTION 16(A) OF THE EXCHANGE ACT
Section
16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires the Company’s officers,
directors and persons considered to be beneficial owners of more than ten
percent of a registered class of the Company’s equity securities to file reports
of ownership and changes in ownership with the Securities and Exchange
Commission and Nasdaq. Officers, directors and greater-than-ten-percent
shareholders are required by SEC regulations to furnish the Company with copies
of all Section 16(a) forms they file. Based solely on a review of the copies of
such forms furnished to the Company, or written representations that no
applicable filings were required, the Company believes that all such filings
were filed on a timely basis for the fiscal year 2008 except that a Form 4 for
Christopher Larson, relating to the Company’s redemption of 1,291,290 shares of
common stock on December 31, 2008, was filed late on January 20,
2009.
44
ITEM
11
|
EXECUTIVE
COMPENSATION
|
SUMMARY
COMPENSATION TABLE
The
following table sets forth the cash and non-cash compensation for awarded to or
earned by: (i) each individual who served as the principal executive officer of
Western Capital during the year ended December 31, 2008; and (ii) each other
individual that served as an executive officer of either Western Capital or
Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc. at the conclusion of the year ended December 31,
2007 and who received more than $100,000 in the form of salary and bonus during
such fiscal year. For purposes of this report, these individuals are
collectively the “named executives” of the Company.
Name and Principal Position
|
Salary
|
Other Annual
Compensation
|
Stock Option
Awards (1)
|
Total
|
||||||||||||||
John
Quandahl (2)
|
2008
|
$ | 246,000 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 246,000 | |||||||||
Pres.
and Chief Operating Officer
|
2007
|
$ | 229,000 | $ | 0 | $ | 216,000 | $ | 445,000 | |||||||||
Christopher
Larson (3)
|
2008
|
$ | 173,000 | $ | 37,120 | (4) | $ | 0 | $ | 210,120 | ||||||||
Pres.
and Chief Executive Officer
|
2007
|
$ | 0 | $ | 175,000 | (5) | $ | 0 | $ | 175,000 | ||||||||
Steven
Staehr (6)
|
2008
|
$ | 127,500 | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 127,500 | |||||||||
Chief
Financial Officer
|
2007
|
$ | 0 | $ | 0 | $ | 297,000 | $ | 297,000 |
(1)
|
Amounts
listed reflect the dollar amounts related to option awards recognized for
financial statement reporting purposes with respect to the fiscal years
indicated, in accordance with FAS 123(R) (disregarding the estimate of
forfeitures related to service-based vesting conditions). In
each case, the exercise price of the option was $0.01 per share; the
market price of our common stock on the date the options were granted was
$1.80; and the value ascribed to the stock option awards for financial
statement reporting purposes was calculated at $.54 per
share. Assumptions used in the calculation of these amounts are
included in Note 7, “Shareholders’ Equity,” to our audited consolidated
financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2008, which are
contained in this report.
|
(2)
|
Mr.
Quandahl is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Wyoming Financial
Lenders, Inc., the wholly owned and principal operating subsidiary of
Western Capital that offers payday lending services. Mr.
Quandahl also began serving as the Chief Operating Officer of Western
Capital effective November 29, 2007, and continues to serve in that
capacity. Effective January 1, 2009, Mr. Quandahl was also
appointed to serve as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and interim
Chief Financial Officer. 2007 compensation in the form of
salary was paid by Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc., and 2007 compensation
in the form of stock options was awarded by the
Company.
|
(3)
|
Mr.
Larson became the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company on
November 29, 2007 and resigned those positions effective December 31,
2008.
|
(4)
|
Figure
represents $29,120 in disbursements made during 2008 to third parties
for the personal benefit of Mr. Larson, and $8,000 disbursed to Mr.
Larson in December 2008.
|
(5)
|
Figure
represents a disbursement made on January 14, 2008, which Mr.
Larson originally obtained as a reimbursement for expenses incurred in
connection with the equity transaction associated with the
Merger and which the Company recorded as a reduction of proceeds from
common stock issued. In connection with the Company’s internal
review of certain expense reimbursements and certain other transactions
(which review was concluded by the Board of Directors on or about April 9,
2009), the Company has recharacterized this amount as compensation to Mr.
Larson.
|
(6)
|
Mr.
Staehr became the Chief Financial Officer of the Company on November 29,
2007 and resigned that position effective December 31,
2008.
|
Since the
Merger, the Company (on a combined basis) has not entered into and does not have
any employment agreements with any named executives or any other members of its
executive management. The Company’s current arrangements with John
Quandahl, the sole named executive still employed by the Company, is to pay him
an annual salary of $246,000.
45
WYOMING
FINANCIAL LENDERS, INC. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION PRIOR TO THE MERGER
Prior to
the Merger, Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc. paid cash compensation, but did not
issue any options, warrants, restricted stock or other stock-based compensation
to John Quandahl, its principal executive officer during the years ended
December 31, 2006 and 2007. Furthermore, Wyoming Financial Lenders did not have
an employment agreement with Mr. Quandahl during that time. Nevertheless,
Wyoming Financial Lenders did have an arrangement with Mr. Quandahl at the time
of the Merger to pay him an annual salary of $246,000.
URON
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION PRIOR TO THE MERGER
Prior to
the Merger, URON did not pay any cash or cash-equivalent remuneration to any
executive officer or any director during its last most recently completed years
ended December 31, 2006 and 2007. URON issued no options, warrants, restricted
stock or other stock-based compensation to any officer or director during the
year ended December 31, 2006. In February 2007, URON entered into an employment
agreement with Donald Miller, thereby employing him as its Chief Executive
Officer. Under that agreement, Mr. Miller’s sole compensation was the issuance
of 50,000 shares of common stock (after giving effect to the December 27, 2007
reverse stock split) with restricted transferability. On November 29, 2007, in
connection with the appointment of Mr. Christopher Larson as URON’s President
and Chief Executive Officer and the resignation of Mr. Miller from such
position, URON and Mr. Miller terminated the aforementioned employment
agreement.
Also on
November 29, 2007, in connection with their appointments as Chief Operating
Officer and Chief Financial Officer of URON, respectively, John Quandahl and
Steven Staehr received non-vested contingent options to purchase shares of
common stock at the per-share price of $0.01. Under their respective option
agreements, Mr. Staehr had the right to purchase up to 550,000 common shares and
Mr. Quandahl had the right to purchase up to 400,000 common shares. By their
terms, the options did not vest or become exercisable until URON engaged in a
change in control, as defined in the option agreements. The closing of the
Merger constituted a change in control, as defined in such agreements. The
option agreements provided that the shares purchasable thereunder were not to be
affected by any stock combination (i.e., reverse stock split) effected in
connection with the Merger. The value ascribed to the component of executive
compensation represented by the stock options, in accordance with FAS 123(R), is
set forth in the Summary Compensation Table (see above) in column captioned
“Long-Term Compensation Awards—Securities Underlying Options.”
OUTSTANDING
EQUITY AWARDS AT FISCAL YEAR END
We had no
outstanding equity awards as of December 31, 2008 for any named
executives.
EMPLOYMENT
AND CHANGE-IN-CONTROL AGREEMENTS
We do not
currently have any employment or change-in-control agreements with any named
executives or any other current members of our executive management.
Nevertheless, we may consider entering into employment agreements and
change-in-control agreements with members of our senior management. As indicated
above, we do have an arrangement with Mr. Quandahl, our Chief Executive and
Operating Officer and interim Chief Financial Officer, to pay him an annual
salary of $246,000.
COMPENSATION
OF DIRECTORS
Currently,
our directors receive no compensation pursuant to any standard arrangement for
their services as directors. Nevertheless, we may in the future determine to
provide our directors with some form of compensation, either cash or options or
contractually restricted securities.
46
ITEM
12
|
SECURITY
OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED
SHAREHOLDER MATTERS
|
As of the
close of business on April 30, 2009, we had outstanding two classes of voting
securities—common stock, of which there were 7,971,007 shares issued and
outstanding; and Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, of which there were
10,000,000 shares issued and outstanding. Each share of capital stock is
currently entitled to one vote on all matters put to a vote of our shareholders.
The following table sets forth the number of common shares, and percentage of
outstanding common shares, beneficially owned as of April 30, 2009,
by:
|
·
|
each
person known by the Company to be the beneficial owner of more than five
percent of the Company’s outstanding common
stock
|
|
·
|
each
current director
|
|
·
|
each
executive officer of the Company and other persons identified as a named
executive officer in ITEM 11 above,
and
|
|
·
|
all
current executive officers and directors as a
group.
|
Unless
otherwise indicated, the address of each of the following persons is 11550 “I”
Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68137, and each such person has sole voting and
investment power with respect to the shares set forth opposite his, her or its
name.
Name and Address
|
Common Shares
Beneficially Owned (1)
|
Percentage of
Common Shares (1)
|
||||||
John
Quandahl (2)
|
400,000 | 5.0 | % | |||||
James
Mandel (3)
|
470 | * | ||||||
Robert
W. Moberly (4)
|
11,125,000 | 61.9 | % | |||||
Mark
Houlton (5)
|
416,667 | 5.2 | % | |||||
Steven
Staehr (6)
7778
Barbican, Ct.
Las
Vegas, NV 89147
|
966,667 | 12.1 | % | |||||
Christopher
Larson (7)
8912
East Pinnacle Peak Road
Scottsdale,
AZ 85255
|
550,000 | 6.9 | % | |||||
All
current executive officers and directors as a group (8)
|
11,942,137 | 66.5 | % | |||||
WERCS,
Inc. (9)
400
East First Street
PO
Box 130
Casper,
WY 82602
|
11,125,000 | 61.9 | % | |||||
Lantern
Advisers, LLC (10)
80
South Eighth Street, Suite 900
Minneapolis,
MN 55402
|
710,963 | 8.9 | % | |||||
Mill
City Ventures, LP (11)
80
South Eighth Street, Suite 900
Minneapolis,
MN 55402
|
800,000 | 10.0 | % | |||||
Joseph
A. Geraci, II (12)
80
South Eighth Street, Suite 900
Minneapolis,
MN 55402
|
800,000 | 10.0 | % |
* less
than 1%
47
(1)
|
Beneficial
ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC, and
includes general voting power and/or investment power with respect to
securities. Shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of options or
warrants that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of
the record rate, and shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of
other securities currently convertible or convertible within 60 days, are
deemed outstanding for computing the beneficial ownership percentage of
the person holding such securities but are not deemed outstanding for
computing the beneficial ownership percentage of any other person. Under
the applicable SEC rules, each person’s beneficial ownership is calculated
by dividing the total number of shares with respect to which they possess
beneficial ownership by the total number of outstanding shares of the
Company. In any case where an individual has beneficial ownership over
securities that are not outstanding, but are issuable upon the exercise of
options or warrants or similar rights within the next 60 days, that same
number of shares is added to the denominator in the calculation described
above. Because the calculation of each person’s beneficial ownership set
forth in the “Percentage of Common Shares” column of the table may include
shares that are not presently outstanding, the total of the percentages
set forth in such column exceed
100%.
|
(2)
|
Mr.
Quandahl became the Company’s Chief Operating Officer on November 29, 2007
and became our Chief Executive Officer and interim Chief Financial Officer
effective January 1, 2009. All shares reflected in the table are
outstanding common shares.
|
(3)
|
Mr.
Mandel became a director of the Company on December 31,
2007.
|
(4)
|
Mr.
Moberly became a director of the Company on December 31, 2007. Mr. Moberly
is the Chief Operating Officer of WERCS, a Wyoming corporation, which was
the sole stockholder of Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc. prior to the
Merger on December 31, 2007. All shares reflected in the table as
beneficially owned by Mr. Moberly are issuable upon conversion of an equal
number of shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock held of record by
WERCS.
|
(5)
|
Mr.
Houlton became a director of the Company on December 31, 2007. All shares
reflected in the table are outstanding common
shares.
|
(6)
|
Mr.
Staehr became the Company’s Chief Financial Officer on November 29, 2007
and resigned that position effective December 31, 2008. All shares
reflected in the table are outstanding common
shares.
|
(7)
|
Mr.
Larson became the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer on
November 29, 2007 and resigned those positions effective December 31,
2008. All of Mr. Larson’s shares are subject to our redemption upon
certain events specified in our Settlement Agreement with him. For further
information, please see Item 9B
above.
|
(8)
|
Includes
Messrs. Quandahl, Mandel, Houlton and
Moberly.
|
(9)
|
WERCS
is a Wyoming corporation that was the sole stockholder of Wyoming
Financial Lenders, Inc. prior to the Merger on December 31, 2007.
10,000,000 shares beneficially owned by WERCS are common shares issuable
upon conversion of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock. Investment and
voting control over the shares beneficially owned by WERCS is exercised by
Robert W. Moberly, its Chief Operating Officer. The significant
shareholders of WERCS (those shareholders holding ten percent or more of
the outstanding capital stock of WERCS) are Robert W. Moberly (our
Chairman) who owns 203,685 shares of WERCS, Mark Houlton (a director) who
owns 154,140 shares of WERCS, and Gail Zimmerman who owns 395,976 shares
of WERCS. Other than Messrs. Moberly and Houlton, no other officers or
directors of the Company own any interest in
WERCS.
|
(10)
|
Lantern
Advisers, LLC is a Minnesota limited liability company owned equally by
Messrs. Douglas Polinsky and Joseph A. Geraci, II. As to shares of Western
Capital, only Mr. Polinsky possesses investment and voting control. All
shares reflected in the table are outstanding common
shares.
|
(11)
|
Mill
City Ventures, LP is a Minnesota limited partnership the securities of
which are beneficially held by Mill City Advisers LLC, a Minnesota limited
liability company that serves as the general partner to Mill City
Ventures, LP. Investment and voting control over the shares beneficially
owned by Mill City Advisors LLC is exercised by Joseph A. Geraci, II, the
sole member and manager of such
company.
|
(12)
|
Joseph
A. Geraci, II, possesses beneficial ownership of securities held by Mill
City Ventures, LP. Mr. Geraci disclaims beneficial ownership of any
beneficial ownership of shares of Western Capital held by Lantern
Advisers, LLC. See footnotes 10 and 11
above.
|
48
ITEM
13
|
CERTAIN
RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS AND DIRECTOR
INDEPENDENCE
|
CERTAIN
RELATIONSHIPS AND TRANSACTIONS
Acquisition
of National Cash & Credit
On
February 26, 2008, we entered into and consummated certain transactions
contemplated by an Exchange Agreement with National Cash & Credit, LLC, a
Minnesota limited liability company, and its members. Our then Chief Executive
Officer and President, Christopher Larson, indirectly held 69% of the ownership
interests in National Cash & Credit and was an affiliate of that company.
Under the Exchange Agreement, the members of National Cash & Credit assigned
to us all of the outstanding membership interests in National Cash & Credit
in exchange for our issuance to them of an aggregate of 1,114,891 shares of
common stock and a cash payment of $100,000. The shares of the Company issued in
the transaction were valued at $1.20 per share and Mr. Larson received 769,415
common shares out of the 1,114,891 total shares issued in the transaction. Using
the $1.20 per share valuation, the aggregate transaction value was $1,437,870.
We valued the stock we issued in the transaction at $1.20 per share despite the
fact that our common stock had been trading for a period of weeks prior to the
closing at or around $3.00 per share—and the closing price of common stock on
February 26, 2008, the date on which the acquisition was consummated, was
$2.95—principally because of the following factors:
|
·
|
The
then-current market price for our common stock was substantially affected,
and unnaturally increased, by the very few number of shares eligible for
trading.
|
|
·
|
Given
the illiquid market on which the common stock was trading, the best
determinant of value was believed to be the most recent price at which
shares were sold in a private transaction. This price was the $1.20 per
share involved in the private placement offering undertaken in connection
with the Merger fewer than 60 days prior to the acquisition of National
Cash. In that transaction, nearly three million shares (representing over
one-third of the Company’s common stock outstanding immediately after
issuance) were sold for cash at $1.20 per share. A majority of the shares
sold in that private placement were also sold to Company
insiders.
|
|
·
|
The
shares issued in the National Cash & Credit transaction were offered
and sold in a private placement transaction exempt from the registration
and prospectus-delivery requirements of the federal Securities Act of 1933
and certain state securities laws, and were restricted securities the
subsequent resale or transfer of which is prohibited except in cases where
a registration under applicable federal and securities laws has been
effected or an exemption is available. In this regard, neither the
Exchange Agreement no any other contracts relating to the acquisition
contained any covenants or obligations of the Company to seek or effect a
registration of all or any part of the
shares.
|
|
·
|
A
significant majority of the shares (769,415 out of 1,114,891 total shares)
were issued to Christopher Larson, a director and the Chief Executive
Officer and President of the Company, and therefore a Company “affiliate”
as such term is defined under federal securities laws. Unless securities
of an affiliate are registered with respect to a particular transaction
(e.g., a resale), such securities will be considered “control securities”
under the principles of Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933 for at
least as long as the holder remains an affiliate, and therefore will
indefinitely remain “restricted securities” subject to significant
limitations on the resale of such shares. Holders of control securities
issued by public reporting companies may generally sell their restricted
securities (i) after an initial holding period of six months, (ii) subject
to volume limitations prescribed by Rule 144, (iii) subject to
manner-of-sale limitations prescribed by Rule 144, and (iv) subject to
further paperwork and filing requirements prescribed by Rule 144. In the
case of the Company, however, a special rule applicable to any companies
that are or ever have been “shell companies” applied, which effectively
prohibited any resales under the safe harbor provisions of Rule 144 until
January 7, 2009. Applicable volume limitations under Rule 144 are the
greater of (A) one percent of the shares outstanding, based upon the
issuer’s most recently filed periodic report on Form 10-K or 10-Q, or (B)
the average weekly reported volume of trading in such securities during
the prior four weeks. As noted above, the trading volume of the Company’s
common stock was and remains exceedingly light. Thus, in cases where
resales of restricted securities would be attempted that were subject to
the volume limitations under Rule 144, the light trading volume would
effectively delay the resale of the overwhelming majority of shares held
by any control person for an indefinite period of
time.
|
49
|
·
|
In
the absence of registration of restricted securities, whether held by
affiliates or non-affiliates, a holder of such restricted securities may
engage in a private sale of such securities. In any such case, the buyer
of such securities and the facts and circumstances surrounding such
private resale generally must be such that they would permit the Company,
if it were the seller of such securities, to privately place the
securities to the buyer. Thus, buyers of restricted securities purchased
in a private sale must (i) be accredited investors, (ii) not be generally
solicited with respect to the sale, (iii) take the purchased securities
with a restrictive securities legend on them, and (iv) hold the securities
for a minimum of at least six months (but in no event sell them prior to
January 7, 2009). Restricted securities that are purchased in a private
resale transaction are typically purchased at a steep discount to the
current market prices of unrestricted and freely trading securities of the
same class.
|
|
·
|
Under
the Exchange Act, shareholders who are affiliates of a public reporting
issuer must not sell any securities, whether restricted or otherwise and
whether publicly or privately, while they are in possession or have
knowledge of material and non-public information relating to the issuer.
In general, issuers typically permit their affiliates (officers and
directors, certain other key management employees) to sell their shares
during short windows beginning with only four points during a calendar
year which begin with the filing of required periodic reports on Forms
10-K and 10-Q. These restrictions were considered important since a
substantial majority of the shares were to be issued to Mr. Larson and,
given Mr. Larson’s role as Chief Executive Officer and President of the
Company, it would be infrequent that Mr. Larson could safely conclude that
he was not in possession of material non-public information relating to
the Company.
|
|
·
|
Shareholders
who are affiliates of a public reporting issuer must also be wary of
short-swing profit liability under Section 16 of the Exchange Act. Section
16 will effectively prohibit (i) the selling of shares within six months
of any purchase with a resulting profit and (ii) the purchasing of shares
within six months of any sale where the purchase is at a per-share price
lower than the per-share sale price. If an affiliate nonetheless engages
in a prohibited transaction, he or she is liable to disgorge all profits
to the issuer, plus reasonable attorney’s
fees.
|
The
transaction terms, including the consideration to be provided to the members of
National Cash & Credit, was negotiated principally by Messrs. Larson and
Moberly (our Chairman). Negotiations over the transaction terms had initially
begun in connection with the Merger transaction. During that time, the parties
agreed in principle that the number of shares of common stock constituting
consideration for the acquisition price would be 1,114,891, while the other
transaction terms were not finalized until the definitive agreement was entered
into in February 2008. This figure was agreed to based on the prior six-month
financial performance of National Cash & Credit (through December 31, 2007),
and valuation of the National Cash & Credit business at approximately $1.4
million. This valuation was not substantiated by any independent appraisal or
other valuation, which the Company and its Board of Directors deemed unnecessary
in light of the fact that such valuation was equivalent to an imputed earnings
multiple of approximately 2.7x of annualized EBITDA (which annualized EBITDA was
approximately $500,000). The transaction was also discussed among the Company’s
Board of Directors and the proposed final Exchange Agreement was presented to
the Board of Directors for approval (with Mr. Larson’s vote not being counted)
after the disclosure of all of the material terms of the transaction and
presentation of the proposed final agreement in writing—all as permitted under
the Minnesota Business Corporation Act for approving transactions involving a
conflict of interest. The $100,000 cash distribution represented cash held by
National Cash & Credit at the closing that was in excess of an agreed upon
closing requirement relating to working capital.
At
December 31, 2007, National Cash & Credit had total assets of $1.7 million
and total liabilities of $2.9 million. For the six-month period ended December
31, 2007, National Cash & Credit had revenues of approximately $710,000 and
net income of approximately $125,000. National Cash & Credit offers payday
loans and title loans, which are short-term consumer loans somewhat similar to
payday loans. In its title lending business, National Cash & Credit advances
a loan of up to 50% of the estimated value of a vehicle, owned by the borrowing
customer, for a term of 30 days and secured by the title to the customer’s
vehicle. Generally, if a customer has not repaid a loan after 30 days, the
receivable is charged to expense and collection efforts are initiated. On
occasion, agents are hired to initiate repossession. Approximately three percent
of title lending transactions result in an attempt to repossess a vehicle.
National Cash & Credit operates five locations in Phoenix, Arizona
metropolitan area.
Redemption
Agreement and Disposition of National Cash & Credit
On
December 31, 2008, we entered into and consummated certain transactions
contemplated by a Redemption Agreement with Christopher Larson and National Cash
& Credit, LLC, a Minnesota limited liability company. Under the Redemption
Agreement, we redeemed 1,291,290 shares of our common stock from Mr. Larson. As
payment for the redeemed shares, we assigned to Mr. Larson all of our rights,
title and interest in and to (i) our entire ownership interest in National Cash
& Credit, and (ii) our entire ownership interest in WCR Acquisition Co., a
Minnesota corporation. Each of National Cash & Credit and WCR Acquisition
was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company prior to the transaction. We
redeemed 1,291,290 shares under the Redemption Agreement to essentially unwind
our February 2008 acquisition of National Cash & Credit, which we describe
immediately above under the caption “Acquisition of National Cash &
Credit.”
50
Under the
Redemption Agreement, we assigned and delegated to National Cash & Credit
all of our rights, title and interest, and all our obligations, under (i) an
Asset Purchase Agreement by and among the Company, WCR Acquisition Co., STEN
Corporation and STEN Credit Corporation, dated as of July 31, 2008, pursuant to
which our subsidiary, WCR Acquisition Co., acquired four payday lending stores
(three in Utah and one in Arizona) and associated assets of STEN Credit
Corporation, (ii) certain promissory notes of the Company delivered to STEN
Corporation in connection with the foregoing Asset Purchase Agreement, and (iii)
certain title loan software used in the acquired stores. As part of these
transactions, we agreed to pay to National Cash & Credit the total amount of
principal due in January 2008 under the promissory notes , and interest accrued
on those promissory notes as of December 31, 2008, which aggregated to
$104,688.
Under the
Redemption Agreement, Mr. Larson resigned his position on the Board of Directors
of the Company and his position as the Company’s President and Chief Executive
Officer. In addition, the Redemption Agreement contained customary
representations, warranties, and covenants of the parties, including
indemnification obligations relating to those representations, warranties and
covenants.
Mr.
Larson was a director of the Company and served as our President and Chief
Executive Officer prior to the Redemption Agreement. These relationships were
fully known by the Board of Directors, which approved the Redemption Agreement
and the transactions contemplated thereby in a manner compliant with the
requirements of the Minnesota Business Corporation Act for approving
transactions involving a conflict of interest.
Acquisition
of PQH Wireless
On
October 15, 2008, we entered into and consummated certain transactions
contemplated by a Stock Purchase Agreement with PQH Wireless, Inc., a Nebraska
corporation, and Mark Houlton, Charles Payne and John Quandahl, the three
stockholders of PQH Wireless. Under the Stock Purchase Agreement we acquired all
of the outstanding shares of PQH Wireless for a total purchase price of
$3,035,000. The purchase price was paid by (i) making a cash payment of $535,000
to Charles Payne and issuing a promissory note to Mr. Payne in the principal
amount of $500,000, and (ii) issuing a promissory note in the amount of
$1,000,000 to each of Mark Houlton and John Quandahl.
Our
obligations under the promissory notes delivered to Messrs. Houlton and Quandahl
are secured by the assets of PQH Wireless that existed on the date of closing.
The promissory note issued to Charles Payne accrues interest at the annual rate
of 7%, and the promissory notes issued to each of Mark Houlton and John Quandahl
accrue interest at the annual rate of 10%. We are required to make monthly
interest-only payments on the outstanding balances of the notes for the
first 2 years, and thereafter to make monthly principal and interest
payments in an amount sufficient to fully amortize the remaining balances over
the remaining term of the notes. The notes mature and, together with all accrued
but unpaid interest thereon, become fully due and payable on October 1, 2011.
Nevertheless, we have an unwritten agreement with Messrs. Houlton and Quandahl
to pay interest only on their promissory notes until their notes
mature.
The Stock
Purchase Agreement contained customary representations, warranties and
covenants, including indemnification obligations relating to those
representations, warranties and covenants that survive until October 15,
2010.
Mark
Houlton was then and remains a director of the Company and John Quandahl was
then and remains the Company’s Chief Operating Officer. Because each of these
individuals were stockholders of PQH Wireless, each had a direct material
financial interest in PQH Wireless. The ownership of Messrs. Houlton and
Quandahl in PQH Wireless and the material terms and conditions of the Stock
Purchase Agreement were disclosed to the full Board of Directors and the
disinterested members of the audit committee of our Board of Directors, which
approved the Stock Purchase Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby
consistent with the Company’s policy pertaining to related-party transactions
and as permitted under the Minnesota Business Corporation Act for approving
transactions involving a conflict of interest.
PQH
Wireless was formed approximately two years ago and at the acquisition date
owned and operated 11 Cricket stores at locations in Missouri, Nebraska and
Texas, as an authorized seller of Cricket cellular phones.
DIRECTOR
INDEPENDENCE
The
Company does not have a standing nominating committee. Instead, the entire Board
of Directors shares the responsibility of identifying potential
director-nominees to serve on the Board of Directors.
51
The Board
of Directors does have a standing compensation committee and audit committee.
The compensation committee is composed of Messrs. Mandel and Houlton, with Mr.
Houlton serving as the chairperson. The audit committee is composed of Messrs.
Mandel and Houlton, with Mr. Mandel serving as the chairperson. Each committee
formerly had a third director serving on it, but that director (John H. Klaasen
IV) resigned in March 2009. The Board of Directors has determined that Mr.
Mandel is “independent,” as such term is defined in Section 5606(a)(2) and
5605(c)(2)(A) of National Association of Securities Dealers’ listing
standards.
ITEM
14
|
PRINCIPAL
ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
|
Below are
the aggregate fees billed by our principal independent registered public
accounting firm for the fiscal years indicated:
2008
|
2007
|
||||||
Audit
Fees
|
$ |
338,993
|
$ | 312,825 | |||
Audit-Related
Fees
|
0
|
0 | |||||
Tax
Fees
|
0
|
0 | |||||
All
Other Fees
|
0
|
0 | |||||
|
|||||||
Total
|
$ |
338,993
|
$ | 312,825 |
Audit Fees. The fees
identified under this caption were for professional services rendered by Lurie
Besikof Lapidus & Company, LLP for years ended 2008 and 2007 in connection
with the audit of our annual financial statements and review of the financial
statements included in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The amounts also
include fees for services that are normally provided by the independent public
registered accounting firm in connection with statutory and regulatory filings
and engagements for the years identified. The 2008 fees include services related
to finalizing the 2007 audit and filing of the Form 10-K.
Audit-Related Fees. The fees
identified under this caption were for assurance and related services that were
related to the performance of the audit or review of our financial statements
and were not reported under the caption “Audit Fees.” This category may include
fees related to the performance of audits and attestation services not required
by statute or regulations, and accounting consultations about the application of
generally accepted accounting principles to proposed transactions.
Tax Fees. The fees identified
under this caption were for tax compliance, tax planning, tax advice and
corporate tax services. Corporate tax services encompass a variety of
permissible services, including technical tax advice related to tax matters;
assistance with withholding-tax matters; assistance with state and local taxes;
preparation of reports to comply with local tax authority transfer pricing
documentation requirements; and assistance with tax audits.
Approval Policy. Our entire
Board of Directors approves in advance all services provided by our independent
registered public accounting firm. All engagements of our independent registered
public accounting firm in years ended 2007 and 2008 were pre-approved by the
Board of Directors.
52
PART
IV
ITEM
15
|
EXHIBITS
AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
|
FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS
Item
|
Page
|
|
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Financial
Statements
|
F-1
|
|
Consolidated Balance
Sheets – December 31, 2008 and December 31, 2007
(restated)
|
F-2
|
|
Consolidated Statements
of Operations – Years ended December 31, 2008 and December 31, 2007
(restated)
|
F-3
|
|
Consolidated Statements
of Shareholders’ Equity – Years ended December 31, 2008 and December 31,
2007 (restated)
|
F-3
|
|
Consolidated Statements
of Cash Flows – Years ended December 31, 2008 and December 31, 2007
(restated)
|
F-4
|
|
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
|
F-6
|
EXHIBITS
Exhibit No.
|
Description
|
|
2.1
|
Agreement
and Plan of Merger and Reorganization dated December 13, 2007, by and
among URON Inc. (the registrant), WFL Acquisition Corp., a Wyoming
corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of the registrant, and Wyoming
Financial Lenders, Inc., a Wyoming corporation (incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 2.1 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on
December 14, 2007).
|
|
2.2
|
Exchange
Agreement with National Cash & Credit, LLC and certain members of
National Cash & Credit, LLC, dated February 26, 2008 (incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 2.2 to the registrant’s annual report on Form 10-K
filed on April 7, 2008).
|
|
2.3
|
Stock
Purchase Agreement with PQH Wireless, Inc., John Quandahl, Mark
Houlton and Charles Payne, dated October 15, 2008 (incorporated
by reference to Exhibit 2.3 to the registrant’s registration statement on
Form S-1/A filed with the SEC on November 24, 2008).
|
|
2.4
|
Asset
Purchase Agreement with Dean Salem and VZ Wireless, LLC dated January 14,
2009 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the registrant’s current
report on Form 8-K filed on January 21, 2009).
|
|
3.1
|
Amended
and Restated Articles of Incorporation, filed with the Minnesota Secretary
of State on May 25, 2007 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the
registrant’s annual report on Form 10-K filed on April 7, 2008) (see also
Exhibits 3.2 and 3.4 below).
|
|
3.2
|
Amendment
to Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation, filed with the
Minnesota Secretary of State on December 27, 2007 (incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the registrant’s annual report on Form 10-K
filed on April 7, 2008).
|
|
3.3
|
Articles
of Merger relating to the merger of WFL Acquisition Corp. with and into
Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1
to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on January 7, 2008)
(see also Exhibit 2.1 above).
|
|
3.4
|
Certificate
of Designation for Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the registrant’s current report on Form 8-K
filed on January 7, 2008).
|
|
3.5
|
Amendment
to Articles of Incorporation, filed with the Minnesota Secretary of State
on March 18, 2008 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.5 to the
registrant’s annual report on Form 10-K filed on April 7,
2008).
|
|
3.6
|
Amended
and Restated Bylaws (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the
registrant’s current report on Form 8-K filed on June 23,
2008).
|
|
3.7
|
Amendment
to Articles of Incorporation, filed with the Minnesota Secretary of State
on July 29, 2008 (incorporated by reference to the registrant’s current
report on Form 8-K filed on July 29, 2008).
|
|
10.1
|
Common
Stock Purchase Warrant issued to Lantern Advisers, LLC, on November 29,
2007 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the registrant’s annual
report on Form 10-K filed on April 7,
2008).
|
53
10.2
|
2008
Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the
registrant’s annual report on Form 10-K filed on April 7,
2008).
|
|
10.3
|
Form
of Subscription Agreement entered into with purchasers of common stock on
or about December 31, 2007 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to
the registrant’s annual report on Form 10-K filed on April 7,
2008).
|
|
10.4
|
Term
Promissory Note in principal amount of $500,000 in favor of Charles Payne
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the registrant’s
registration statement on Form S-1/A filed with the SEC on November 24,
2008).
|
|
10.5
|
Term
Promissory Note in principal amount of $1,000,000 in favor of John
Quandahl (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the registrant’s
registration statement on Form S-1/A filed with the SEC on November 24,
2008).
|
|
10.6
|
Term
Promissory Note in principal amount of $1,000,000 in favor of Mark Houlton
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the registrant’s
registration statement on Form S-1/A filed with the SEC on November 24,
2008).
|
|
10.7
|
Form
of Security Agreement with Charles Payne, John Quandahl and Mark Houlton
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.9 to the registrant’s
registration statement on Form S-1/A filed with the SEC on November 24,
2008).
|
|
10.8
|
Business
Loan Agreement with Banco Popular, NA, dated as of (filed
herewith).
|
|
10.9
|
Redemption
Agreement with Christopher Larson and National Cash & Credit, LLC,
dated December 31, 2008 (filed
herewith).
|
|
10.10
|
Settlement
Agreement with Christopher D. Larson, National Cash & Credit, LLC,
Wyoming Financial Lenders, Inc., WERCS, Inc. and John Quandahl dated as of
May 1, 2009 (filed
herewith).
|
|
21
|
List
of Subsidiaries (filed
herewith).
|
|
31.1
|
Certification
pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (filed
herewith).
|
|
31.2
|
Certification
pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (filed
herewith).
|
|
32
|
Certification
pursuant to Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed
herewith).
|
54
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) 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.
Western
Capital Resources, Inc.
|
|
/s/ John Quandahl
|
5/4/09
|
John
Quandahl
|
|
Chief
Executive Officer and
|
|
Interim
Chief Financial Officer
|
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been
signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the
capacities and on the dates indicated.
/s/ John Quandahl
|
5/4/09
|
/s/ Robert W. Moberly
|
5/4/09
|
|
John
Quandahl, Director,
|
Robert
W. Moberly, Director
|
|||
Chief
Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and
|
(Chairman)
|
|||
Interim
Chief Financial Officer
|
||||
(principal
executive officer and principal financial
|
/s/ Mark Houlton
|
5/4/09
|
||
officer) |
Mark
Houlton, Director
|
|||
/s/ James Mandel
|
5/4/09
|
|||
James
Mandel, Director
|
55