YUNHONG GREEN CTI LTD. - Annual Report: 2005 (Form 10-K)
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-K
ANNUAL
REPORT PURSUANT TO
SECTION
13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE
ACT OF 1934
For
the
Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2005
Commission
File Number
000-23115
CTI
INDUSTRIES CORPORATION
(Exact
name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Illinois
(State
or other jurisdiction of
incorporation
or organization)
|
36-2848943
(I.R.S.
Employer Identification Number)
|
22160
North Pepper Road Barrington, Illinois
(Address
of principal executive offices)
|
60010
(Zip
Code)
|
(847)
382-1000
Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code
Securities
registered pursuant to Sections 12(b) and 12(g) of the Act:
Title
of Class
|
Name
of each exchange
on
which registered:
|
|
Common
Stock, no par value
|
NASDAQ
Capital Market
|
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined
in
Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes þ No o
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to
Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the
Act. Yes o No þ
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to
be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the
Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to
such filing requirements for the past
90 days. Yes þ No o
Indicate
by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of
Regulation S-K (§229,405 of this chapter) 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. þ
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated
filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
(Check one):
Large
accelerated filer o Accelerated
filer o Non-accelerated
filer þ
Indicate
by check mark whether registrant is a shell company (as defined in
Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o No þ
Based
upon the closing price of $1.85 per share of the Registrant’s Common Stock as
reported on NASDAQ Capital Market tier of The NASDAQ Stock Market on June 30,
2005, the aggregate market value of the voting common stock held by
non-affiliates of the Registrant was then approximately $1,918,931. (The
determination of stock ownership by non-affiliates was made solely for the
purpose of responding to the requirements of the Form and the Registrant is
not
bound by this determination for any other purpose.)
The
number of shares outstanding of the Registrant’s Common Stock as of March 31,
2006 was 2,036,474 (excluding treasury shares).
Documents
Incorporated by Reference: None
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
INDEX
Part
I
|
||
Item
No. 1
|
Business
|
1
|
Item
No. 1A
|
Risk
Factors
|
13
|
Item
No. 2
|
Properties
|
19
|
Item
No. 3
|
Legal
Proceedings
|
20
|
Item
No. 4
|
Submission
of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
|
20
|
Part
II
|
||
Item
No. 5
|
Market
for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer
Purchases of Equity Securities
|
21
|
Item
No. 6
|
Selected
Financial Data
|
24
|
Item
No. 7
|
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
|
26
|
Item
No. 7A
|
Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures Regarding Market Risk
|
39
|
Item
No. 8
|
Financial
Statements and Supplementary Data
|
40
|
Item
No. 9
|
Changes
in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial
Disclosure
|
40
|
Item
No. 9A
|
Controls
and Procedures
|
40
|
Part
III
|
||
Item
No. 10
|
Directors
and Executive Officers of the Registrant
|
42
|
Item
No. 11
|
Executive
Compensation
|
46
|
Item
No. 12
|
Security
Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related
Stockholder Matters
|
49
|
Item
No. 13
|
Certain
Relationships and Related Transactions
|
52
|
Item
No. 14
|
Principal
Accounting Fees and Services
|
53
|
Part
IV
|
||
Item
No. 15
|
Exhibits
and Financial Statement Schedules
|
55
|
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
This
annual report includes both historical and “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations
and
projections about future results. Words such as “may,” “should,” “could,”
“would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,”
“potential,” “continue,” or similar words are intended to identify
forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain
these words. Although we believe that our opinions and expectations reflected
in
the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future
results, levels of activity, performance or achievements, and our actual results
may differ substantially from the views and expectations set forth in this
annual report. We disclaim any intent or obligation to update any
forward-looking statements after the date of this annual report to conform
such
statements to actual results or to changes in our opinions or expectations.
These forward-looking statements are affected by risks, uncertainties and
assumptions that we make, including, among other things, the factors that are
described in “Item No. 1A - Risk Factors.”
Business
Overview
We
develop, produce, market and sell two principal lines of products:
·
|
Novelty
products,
principally balloons, including metalized balloons, latex balloons,
punch
balls and other inflatable toy items, and
|
·
|
Specialty
and printed films and flexible containers,
for food packaging, specialized consumer uses and various commercial
applications.
|
We
focus
our business and efforts on the printing, processing and converting of plastic
film, and of latex, into finished products. We:
·
|
Coat
and laminate plastic film. Generally, we adhere polyethylene film
to
another film such as nylon or
polyester
|
·
|
Print
plastic film and latex balloons. We print films, both plastic and
latex
with a variety of graphics for use as packaging film or for
balloons.
|
·
|
Convert
printed plastic film to balloons.
|
·
|
Convert
plastic film to flexible containers. These finished products are
used to
store and package food and for storage of a variety of personal
items.
|
·
|
Convert
latex to balloons and other novelty
items.
|
We
market
and sell metalized and latex balloons in the United States and in several other
countries. We supply coated, laminated and printed films to a number of
companies who generally convert these films into containers for the packaging
of
food and other items. We supply flexible containers to companies who (i) use
them for packaging of food or other items or (ii) market them to consumers
who
use them for the storage of personal items. We also market containers to and
through retail outlets for use by consumers with sealing devices to store food
items in their homes. In March 2006, we announced that we are completing the
development of, and will produce, market and sell a line of pouches for use
by
consumers to store food items. The pouches include a resealable closure system
and a valve permitting the evacuation of air from the pouch by a small pump
device which we will also supply.
We
were
organized in 1976 and, initially, engaged in the business of manufacturing
“bag-in-box” plastic packaging systems. We sold our assets related to bag-in-box
packaging systems in 1985. In 1978, we began manufacturing metalized balloons
(sometimes referred to as "foil" balloons), which are balloons made of a base
material (usually nylon or polyester) having vacuum deposited aluminum and
polyethylene coatings. These balloons remain buoyant when filled with helium
for
much longer periods than latex balloons and permit the printing of graphic
designs on the surface.
In
1985,
we began marketing latex balloons and, in 1988 we began manufacturing latex
balloons. In 1994, we sold our latex balloon manufacturing equipment to a
company in Mexico and entered into an arrangement for that company to
manufacture latex balloons for us. Since 1997, we have manufactured latex
balloons in Mexico through a majority-owned subsidiary.
We
market
and sell our metalized and latex balloons and related novelty items directly
to
retail stores and chains and through distributors, who in turn sell to retail
stores and chains. Our balloon and novelty products are sold to consumers
through a wide variety of retail outlets including general merchandise and
drugstore chains, grocery chains, card and gift shops, and party goods stores,
as well as through florists and balloon decorators.
Most
of
our metalized balloons contain printed characters, designs and social expression
messages, such as “Happy Birthday”, “Get Well Soon” and similar items. In a
number of cases, we obtain licenses for well-known characters and print those
characters and messages on our balloons. Currently, we maintain licenses for
Garfield®,
Face
Offs-Tudes®,
Miss
Spider and Sunny Patch Friends® and Andrea Mistretta. In the United Kingdom, we
maintain licenses on Postman Pat®,
The
Crazy Frog® and Dream Fairies®.
Balloons
and novelty items accounted for 57% of our revenues in 2005. The remainder
of
our revenues is generated from the sale of laminated film products, generally
intended for use in the packaging of foods, liquids and other materials. We
provide laminated films, often printed film, to a number of customers who
utilize the film to produce bags or pouches for the packaging of food, liquids
and other items. We also produce finished products - pouches and bags - which
are used for a variety of applications, including (i) as vacuumable consumer
storage devices for clothing and other household items, (ii) as vacuumable
pouches for household use in storage of food items, and (iii) as “dunnage” items
which, when inflated, cushion products in a package or container. In 2005,
our
revenues from these products represented approximately 40% of our net
revenues.
2
We
are an
Illinois corporation with our principal offices and plant at 22160 N. Pepper
Road, Barrington, Illinois.
Business
Strategies
Our
essential business strategies are as follows:
·
|
Focus
on our Core Assets and Expertise.
We have been engaged in the development, production and sale of film
products for 30 years and have developed assets, technology and expertise
which, we believe, enable us to develop, manufacture, market and
sell
innovative products of high quality within our area of knowledge
and
expertise. We plan to focus our efforts in these areas which are
our core
assets and expertise - laminated films, printed films, pouches and
film
novelty products - to develop new products, to market and sell our
products and to build our revenues.
|
·
|
Develop
Operating Efficiencies to Enhance our Profitability.
Over the past two years, we have engaged in a program to reduce and
control production expenses, as well as selling, general and
administrative expenses, in order to increase the efficiencies of
our
operations and to become profitable at current levels of revenue.
During
2005, we reduced our domestic production overhead expenses by more
than
$1,460,000 compared to 2004 and we reduced our consolidated SG&A
expenses by approximately $1,200,000 from 2004 levels. We intend
to
continue our efforts to control expenses, increase efficiencies and
to
become profitable.
|
·
|
Develop
New Products, Product Improvements and Technologies.
We work constantly to develop new products, to improve existing products
and to develop new technologies within our core product areas, in
order to
enhance our competitive position and our sales. In the novelty line,
our
development work includes new designs, new character licenses and
new
product developments. During 2005, we introduced more than 85 new
balloon
designs and obtained three new licensed character designs. We also
developed and introduced a device to amplify sound through a balloon
so
that voice and music can be played and amplified using our Balloon
Jamz™
balloon. In our commercial line, over the past several years we have
developed new pouch closure systems and valves and new film methods
for
liquid packaging applications. We have received 13 patents for these
developments and have 2 patent applications
pending.
|
3
·
|
Develop
New Channels of Distribution and New Sales Relationships.
In order to increase sales, we endeavor to develop new channels of
distribution and new sales relationships, both for existing and new
products. During the past year, we entered into a sales and marketing
relationship for the marketing and sale of our newly developed and
introduced universal vacuumable sealing bags. Recently, we announced
the
development of a resealable bag with a valve and pump system for
household
storage and vacuum sealing of food items which will be marketed and
sold
in that same relationship. In March 2006, we entered into a four
year
agreement with ITW Space Bag to manufacture certain pouches for them
and
to provide film to them for their pouch
production.
|
Products
Metalized
Balloons.
We have
designed, produced and sold metalized balloons since 1979 and, we believe,
are
the second largest manufacturer of metalized balloons in the United States.
Currently, we produce over 650 balloon designs, in different shapes and sizes,
including the following:
·
|
Superloons®
-
18" balloons in round or heart shape, generally made to be filled
with
helium and remain buoyant for long periods. This is the predominant
metalized balloon size.
|
·
|
Ultraloons®
-
34" balloons made to be filled with helium and remain buoyant.
|
·
|
Miniloons®-
9" balloons made to be air-filled and sold on holder-sticks or for
use in
decorations.
|
·
|
Card-B-Loons®(4
1/2") - air-filled balloons, often sold on a stick, used in floral
arrangements or with a container of candy.
|
·
|
Shape-A-Loons®
-
shaped balloons made to be filled with helium.
|
·
|
Minishapes
- small shaped balloons designed to be air filled and sold on sticks
as
toys or inflated characters.
|
·
|
Balloon
JamzTM
-
20” to 40” round and shaped balloons which emit and amplify sound through
a speaker attached to the balloon.
|
In
addition to size and shape, a principal element of the Company's metalized
balloon products is the printed design or message contained on the balloon.
These designs include figures and licensed characters many of which are
well-known. We maintain licenses for several characters, including
Garfield®,
Face
Offs-Tudes, Miss Spider and Sunny Patch Friends® and Andrea Mistretta, and in
the United Kingdom, Postman Pat®
,
The
Crazy Frog® and Dream Fairies®.
For a
period of 3 years, we also manufactured and distributed certain licensed designs
under an arrangement with Hallmark Cards. This arrangement terminated on March
31, 2005.
4
Latex
Balloons.
Through
our majority-owned subsidiary in Guadalajara, Mexico, Flexo Universal, S.A.
de
C.V. (“Flexo Universal”), we manufacture latex balloons in 6 shapes and sizes
and 40 colors. These balloons are marketed under the name Partyloons®. We also
manufacture toy balloon products including punch balls, water bombs and "Animal
Twisties."
Packaging
Films.
We
produce and sell films that are utilized for the packaging of various products,
principally food products. We laminate, extrusion coat and print films and
sell
them to customers who utilize the films for packaging applications. Our
customers generally use these film products to convert them to bags or pouches
for the packaging of food and other products.
Pouches,
Bags and Other Custom Film Products.
We
produce a variety of completed film products, generally in the form of a bag
or
pouch. These products include (i) valved, resealable pouches for storage of
household items, (ii) vacuum sealable bags for food storage, (iii) resealable,
valved bags for storage and vacuum sealing of food items in the household,
(v)
“dunnage” bags (inflatable pouches used to cushion products in packages. We
market our food storage bags under the name Simply Smart™. In March 2006, we
announced that we will be offering a line of resealable, valved bags for storage
and vacuum sealing of food items in the household. These storage bags will
function with a small hand or powered pump to evacuate air when the bag is
sealed.
Markets
Metalized
Balloons
The
metalized balloon came into existence in the late 1970s. During the 1980s,
the
market for metalized balloons grew rapidly. Initially, the product was sold
principally to individual vendors, small retail outlets and at fairs, amusement
parks, shopping centers and other outdoor facilities and functions. Metalized
balloons remain buoyant when filled with helium for extended periods of time
and
they permit the printing and display of graphics and messages. As a result,
the
product has significant appeal as a novelty and message item. Metalized balloons
became part of the "social expression" industry, carrying graphics designs,
characters and messages like greeting cards. In the mid-1980s, we and other
participants in the market began licensing character and cartoon images for
printing on the balloons and directed marketing of the balloons to retail
outlets including grocery, general merchandise, discount and drug store chains,
card and gift shops, party goods stores as well as florists and balloon
decorators. These outlets now represent the principal means for the sale of
metalized balloons throughout the United States and in a number of other
countries.
Metalized
balloons are sold in the United States and in Europe, several countries in
the
Far East, Canada and to an increasing extent in Latin America. The United
States, however, is by far the largest market for these products.
5
Metalized
balloons are sold in the United States and foreign countries directly by
producers to retail outlets and through distributors and wholesalers. Often
the
sale of metalized balloons by the wholesalers/distributors is accompanied by
related products including latex balloons, floral supplies, candy containers,
mugs, plush toys, baskets and a variety of party goods.
Latex
Balloons
For
a
number of years, latex balloons and related novelty/toy latex items have been
marketed and sold throughout the United States and in most other countries.
Latex balloons are sold as novelty/toy items, for decorative purposes, as part
of floral designs and as party goods and favors. In addition to standard size
and shape balloons, inflatable latex items include punch balls, water bombs,
balloons to be twisted into shapes, and other specialty designs. Often, latex
balloons included printed messages or designs.
Latex
balloons are sold principally in retail outlets, including party goods stores,
general merchandise stores, discount chains, gift stores and drugstore chains.
Balloons are also purchased by balloon decorators and floral outlets for use
in
decorative or floral designs.
Printed
latex balloons are sold both in retail outlets and for balloon decoration
purposes including floral designs. "Toy" balloons include novelty balloons
sold
in toy departments or stores, punch balls, water bombs and other specialty
designs.
Latex
balloons are sold both through distributors and directly to retail outlets
by
the producers.
Printed
and Specialty Films
The
industry and market for printed and specialty films is fragmented and includes
many participants. There are hundreds of manufacturers of printed and specialty
film products in the United States and in other markets. In many cases,
companies who provide food and other products in film packages also produce
or
process the films used for their packages. The market for the Company's film
products consists principally of companies who utilize the films for the
packaging of their products, including food products and other items. In
addition to the packaging of food products, flexible containers are used for
medical purposes (such as colostomy bags, containers for saline solution and
other items), "dunnage" (to cushion products being packaged), storage of
personal and household items and other purposes.
Flexible
Containers/Pouches
The
market for flexible containers and pouches is large and diverse. Many companies
engaged in the production of food items package their products in flexible
containers or pouches, and, therefore, represent a market for these containers.
Many of these companies purchase film - often printed film - and convert the
film to pouches or packages at their own facilities while others purchase
completed containers from suppliers.
6
Flexible
containers and pouches are sold and utilized in the consumer market in numerous
forms. They include simple open-top plastic bags, resealable bags and zippered
bags. The market also includes containers and pouches of special design or
purpose, including vacuumable bags for storage of food or household items,
medical bags, or commercial uses.
Marketing,
Sales and Distribution
Balloon
Products
We
market
and sell our metalized balloon, latex balloon and related novelty products
throughout the United States and in a number of other countries. We maintain
a
marketing, sales staff and support staff of 10 individuals and a customer
service department of 4 individuals. European sales are conducted by CTI
Balloons, the Company's subsidiary located in Rugby, England. Flexo Universal
conducts sales and marketing activities for the sale of balloon products in
Mexico, Latin America, and certain other markets. Sales in other foreign
countries are made generally to distributors in those countries and are managed
at the Company's principal offices.
We
sell
and distribute our balloon products (i) by our employed staffs of sales and
customer service personnel in the United States, Mexico and the UK, (ii) through
a network of distributors and wholesalers in the United States, Mexico and
the
UK, (iii) through several groups of independent sales representatives and (iv)
to selected retail chains. The distributors and wholesalers are generally
engaged principally in the sale of balloons and related products (including
such
items as plush toys, mugs, containers, floral supplies and other items) and
sell
balloons and related products to retail outlets including grocery, general
merchandise and drug store chains, card and gift shops, party goods stores
as
well as florists and balloon decorators.
Our
largest customer for balloons during 2005 was Dollar Tree Stores. Sales to
this
chain in 2005 represented $3,987,000 or approximately 14% of our net
sales.
For
a
period of three years, we maintained a relationship with Hallmark Cards under
which we (i) produced balloons of Hallmark designs, and of designs licensed
by
Hallmark, under authority from Hallmark, (ii) sold such balloons, as well as
latex balloons, to Hallmark for resale by Hallmark, and (iii) sold and
distributed these balloon designs to customers in the United States. This
arrangement and the agreements related to it expired and were terminated on
March 31, 2005. We continue to sell balloons bearing these designs from our
inventory during an 18 month sell-off period. Our domestic sales of balloon
products to Hallmark during 2004 were $3,421,000 and during 2005 were $306,000.
7
We
engage
in a variety of advertising and promotional activities to promote the sale
of
our balloon products. Each year, we produce a complete catalog of our balloon
products, and also prepare various flyers and brochures for special or seasonal
products, which we disseminate to thousands of customers, potential customers
and others. We participate in several trade shows for the gift, novelty, balloon
and other industries and advertise in several trade and other
publications.
Printed
and Specialty Films
We
market
and sell printed and laminated films directly and through independent sales
representatives throughout the United States. We sell laminated and printed
films to companies that utilize these films to produce packaging for a variety
of products, including food products, in both liquid and solid form, such as
cola syrup, coffee, juices and other items. We seek to identify and maintain
customer relationships in which we provide value-added in the form of technology
or systems. Our largest customer for film products is Rapak, L.L.C. (“Rapak”) to
whom we provide a patented embossed film, as well as other film products. During
2005, our sales to Rapak totaled $6,860,000, representing 24% of our net
sales.
Under
our
continuing agreement with Rapak, through October 31, 2006, Rapak is committed
to
purchase at least 65% of its requirements for embossed film from us. We
anticipate that Rapak will continue to purchase film from us after this date
but
we have no contractual commitment from Rapak for such purchases.
Flexible
Containers/Pouches.
We
market
flexible containers and pouches to various companies for commercial packaging
purposes and we market lines of consumer storage packages both to a principal
customer and through a sales and marketing agent to retail chains and
outlets.
We
produce consumer storage bags for ITW Space Bag, a division of Illinois Tool
Works, Inc. (“ITW”) During 2005, ITW was our largest customer for pouches. Our
sales of pouches to them in 2005 were $3,889,000, representing 13% of our net
sales. In March 2006, we entered into a four-year agreement with ITW under
which
we will supply all of their requirements in North America for certain of their
pouches which they market under the name Space Bag® and also are to supply their
requirements of film for certain of the pouches which they produce.
During
2005, we introduced a line of universal vacuumable bags for household storage
of
food products. We market these products through Heil & Lambert L.L.C, a
marketing and sales firm, to retail stores and chains. These bags are designed
to be used with existing vacuum and sealing devices. In March 2006, we announced
the planned introduction of additional household food storage systems including
(i) a re-sealable bag incorporating a valve and a hand pump to evacuate air
from
the bag when the bag is sealed and (ii) a produce protection bag designed to
retard the spoiling of fresh foods. We anticipate that these new products will
be available for sale by late spring to summer of 2006.
8
We
also
produce "dunnage" bags (inflatable packaging pouches) which we sell to a
commercial customer.
Production
and Operations.
We
conduct our operations at four facilities: (i) our headquarters, offices and
plant at Barrington, Illinois, consisting of a total of approximately 75,000
square feet of office, production and warehouse space, (ii) a warehouse in
Cary,
Illinois, consisting of approximately 16,000 square feet of space, (iii) a
plant, offices and warehouse in Guadalajara, Mexico, consisting of approximately
43,000 square feet of office, warehouse and production space and (iv) an office
and warehouse facility at Rugby, England, consisting of approximately 16,000
square feet of space.
We
conduct production operations at our plants in Barrington, Illinois and
Guadalajara, Mexico. At our plants, our production operations include (i)
lamination and extrusion coating of films, (ii) slitting of film rolls, (iii)
printing on film and on latex balloons, (iv) converting of film to completed
products including balloons, flexible containers and pouches and (v) production
of latex balloon products. We perform all of the lamination, extrusion coating
and slitting activities in our Barrington, Illinois plant and produce all of
our
latex balloon products at our Guadalajara, Mexico plant. We print films in
Barrington, Illinois and we print latex balloons in Guadalajara,
Mexico.
We
warehouse raw materials at our plants in Barrington, Illinois and Guadalajara,
Mexico and we warehouse finished goods at our facilities in Barrington,
Illinois, Cary, Illinois, Guadalajara, Mexico and Rugby, England. We maintain
customer service and fulfillment operations at each of our warehouse locations.
We conduct sales operations for the United States and for all other markets,
except those handled by our Mexico and England facilities, in the Barrington,
Illinois facility. Sales for Mexico and Latin America are handled in our
Guadalajara, Mexico facility and sales for the United Kingdom and Europe are
handled at our Rugby, United Kingdom facility.
We
maintain a graphic arts and development department at our Barrington, Illinois
facility which designs our balloon products and graphics. Our creative
department operates a networked, computerized graphic arts system for the
production of these designs and of printed materials including catalogues,
advertisements and other promotional materials.
We
conduct administrative and accounting functions at our headquarters in
Barrington, Illinois and at our facilities in Guadalajara, Mexico and Rugby,
England.
Raw
Materials
The
principal raw materials we use in manufacturing our products are (i) petroleum
or natural gas-based films, (ii) petroleum or natural gas-based resin, (iii)
latex and (iv) printing inks. The cost of these raw materials represented 41%
of
our net revenues in 2005. Because much of the raw materials we utilize are
based
on petroleum or natural gas, we have experienced fluctuation in pricing, in
relation to the fluctuation of availability and pricing of these source
commodities. To some degree, we have been able to increase the pricing of our
products in relation to changes in our costs of raw materials. However, during
the past year, we have not been able to recover all raw materials price
increases by increasing the price of our products and we are subject to the
risk
that our margins may be negatively affected by changes in the price of petroleum
or natural gas-based raw materials. While we currently purchase our raw
materials from a relatively limited number of sources, films, resin and inks
are
available from numerous sources and, in the past, we have generally been able
to
obtain a sufficient supply of raw materials. However, during August and
September 2005, the petrochemical industry suffered facility damage, production
disruptions and transportation shortages due to the impact of two Gulf Coast
hurricanes. As a result, both the price and availability of petroleum and
natural gas-based products were affected. While we were generally able to obtain
a sufficient supply of raw materials to meet our needs during this time, prices
of raw materials escalated rapidly and substantially; hence, the risk of
shortages of raw materials supply existed. There can be no assurance that the
price of such raw materials, and their availability, will not be affected
similarly in the future and such events could have a material adverse effect
on
the business of the Company.
9
Information
Technology Systems
Our
corporate headquarters in Barrington, Illinois and our warehouse facility in
Cary, Illinois are serviced by a PC-based local area network. We connect the
facilities via a high speed T1 line that carries both voice and data. The
PC-based network incorporates both Novell and Microsoft servers. Access to
the
network is available to all employees but is secured using password
authentication. The network allows us to leverage printing resources, create
shared file areas for cross-departmental functions and allows for a single
source backup of critical business files. On the network we run Macola financial
system software. Macola is a modular software system, of which we use the
general ledger, order entry, inventory management, purchase order, electronic
data exchange and custom report writing modules. Internal and external employee
communications are handled by industry standard Microsoft Exchange email,
allowing us to communicate with customers and vendors all over the world. We
also provide a secure, firewall protected T1 connection to the Internet so
that
employees can research issues, support customers and securely move
data.
At
each
of our Mexico and England facilities, we operate server computers and local
area
networks, accessible to employees at those facilities. At each of those
facilities, we operate separate integrated financial, order entry and inventory
management systems.
Competition
The
balloon and novelty industry is highly competitive, with numerous competitors.
We believe there are presently six principal manufacturers of metalized balloons
whose products are sold in the United States including Anagram International,
Inc., Pioneer Balloon, Convertidora International, Barton Enterprises and
Betallic. Several companies market and sell metalized balloons designed by
them
and manufactured by others for them.
10
We
believe there are approximately five manufacturers of latex balloons whose
products are sold in the United States and numerous others whose products are
sold in other countries.
The
market for films, packaging and custom products is fragmented, and competition
in this area is difficult to gauge. However, there are numerous participants
in
this market and the Company can expect to experience intense quality and price
competition.
Many
of
these companies offer products and services that are the same or similar to
those offered by us and our ability to compete depends on many factors within
and outside our control. There are a number of well-established competitors
in
each of our product lines, several of which possess substantially greater
financial, marketing and technical resources and have established, extensive,
direct and indirect channels of distribution for their products and services.
As
a result, such competitors may be able to respond more quickly to new
developments and changes in customer requirements, or devote greater resources
to the development, promotion and sale of their products and services than
we
can. Competitive pressures include, among other things, price competition,
new
designs and product development and copyright licensing.
Patents,
Trademarks and Copyrights
We
have
developed or acquired a number of intellectual property rights which we believe
are significant to our business.
Copyright
Licenses.
We
maintain licenses on certain popular characters and designs for our balloon
products. We presently maintain seven licenses and produce balloon designs
utilizing the characters or designs covered by the licenses. Licenses are
generally maintained for a one or two year term, although the Company has
maintained long term relationships with several of its licensors and has been
able to obtain renewal of its license agreements with them.
Trademarks.
We own
12 registered
trademarks in the United States relating to our balloon products. Many of these
trademarks are registered in foreign countries, principally in the European
Union. We have a license on the Simply Smart™ trademark for our household
storage line of products.
Patent
Rights.
We own,
or have license rights under, or have applied for, patents related to our
balloon products, certain film products and certain flexible container products.
These include (i) ownership of two patents, and a license under a third,
relating to self-sealing valves for metalized balloons and methods of making
balloons with such valves, (ii) several metalized balloon design patents, (iii)
patents and applications related to the design and structure of, and method
of
inserting and affixing, zipper-closure systems in a bag, (iv) patents related
to
one-way valves for pouches, (v) a patent related to methods of embossing film
and utilizing such film to produce pouches with fitments, and (vi) patent
applications related to vacuumable storage bags with fitments.
11
Research
and Development
We
maintain a product development and research department of five individuals
for
the development or identification of new products, product components and
sources of supply. Research and development includes (i) creative product
development, (ii) creative marketing, and (iii) engineering development. During
each of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2005, 2004, 2003, respectively,
we
estimate that the total amount spent on research and development activities
was
approximately $224,000, $246,000 and $335,000, respectively.
Employees
As
of
December 31, 2005, the Company had 85 full-time employees in the United States,
of whom 15 are executive or supervisory, 4 are in sales, 54 are in manufacturing
or warehouse functions and 12 are clerical. As of that same date, we had 10
full-time employees in England, of whom 2 are executive or supervisory, 2 are
in
sales, 4 are in warehousing and 2 are clerical. At Flexo Universal, our Mexico
subsidiary, as of December 31, 2005, we had 185 full-time employees, of whom
19
are executive or supervisory, 2 are in sales, 156 are in manufacturing and
8 are
clerical. The Company is not a party to any collective bargaining agreement
in
the United States, has not experienced any work stoppages and believes that
its
relationship with its employees is satisfactory.
Regulatory
Matters
Our
manufacturing operations in the United States are subject to the U.S.
Occupational Safety and Health Act ("OSHA"). We believe we are in material
compliance with OSHA. The Environmental Protection Agency regulates the handling
and disposal of hazardous materials. Since our printing operations have utilized
only water-based ink, the waste generated by the Company's production process
has not been deemed hazardous waste. We believe we are in material compliance
with applicable environmental rules and regulations. Several states have enacted
laws limiting or restricting the release of helium filled metalized balloons.
We
do not believe such legislation will have any material effect on our operations.
International
Operations.
We
sell
balloon products in a number of countries outside the United States. Sales
of
these products for the United Kingdom and Europe are handled by our facility
and
personnel in Rugby, England, and for Mexico and Latin America are handled by
our
facility and personnel in Guadalajara, Mexico. In other countries, we sell
balloon products through distributors located in those countries. We conduct
production, packaging, warehousing and sales operations in Mexico and
warehousing and sales operations in the United Kingdom. We rely and are
dependent on our operations in Mexico for the supply of latex balloons in the
United States, Mexico, Europe and other markets. Interruption of that supply
would have a material adverse effect on the business of the Company.
12
Our
domestic and international sales and assets by area over the period 2003 -
2005
have been as follows:
United
States
|
United
Kingdom
|
Mexico
|
Eliminations
|
Consolidated
|
||||||||||||
Year
ended 12/31/05
|
||||||||||||||||
Revenues
|
$
|
23,564,000
|
$
|
2,573,000
|
$
|
4,536,000
|
($1,483,000
|
)
|
$
|
29,190,000
|
||||||
Operating
income (loss)
|
$
|
602,000
|
$
|
290,000
|
($240,000
|
)
|
$
|
652,000
|
||||||||
Net
(loss) income
|
($342,000
|
)
|
$
|
220,000
|
($211,000
|
)
|
($333,000
|
)
|
||||||||
Total
Assets
|
$
|
21,343,000
|
$
|
2,122,000
|
$
|
4,818,000
|
($4,747,000
|
)
|
$
|
23,536,000
|
||||||
Year
ended 12/31/04
|
||||||||||||||||
Revenues
|
$
|
32,855,000
|
$
|
2,664,000
|
$
|
4,890,000
|
($3,216,000
|
)
|
$
|
37,193,000
|
||||||
Operating
income
|
($214,000
|
)
|
$
|
121,000
|
($427,000
|
)
|
($48,000
|
)
|
($568,000
|
)
|
||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
($2,595,000
|
)
|
$
|
223,000
|
($59,000
|
)
|
($48,000
|
)
|
($2,479,000
|
)
|
||||||
Total
Assets
|
$
|
24,072,000
|
$
|
1,989,000
|
$
|
5,319,000
|
($3,492,000
|
)
|
$
|
27,888,000
|
||||||
Year
ended 12/31/03
|
||||||||||||||||
Revenues
|
$
|
32,687,000
|
$
|
2,415,000
|
$
|
4,003,000
|
($2,845,000
|
)
|
$
|
36,260,000
|
||||||
Operating
income
|
($246,000
|
)
|
$
|
191,000
|
($528,000
|
)
|
($96,000
|
)
|
($679,000
|
)
|
||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
($883,000
|
)
|
$
|
163,000
|
$
|
249,000
|
($95,000
|
)
|
($566,000
|
)
|
||||||
Total
Assets
|
$
|
27,603,000
|
$
|
1,412,000
|
$
|
5,476,000
|
($4,221,000
|
)
|
$
|
30,270,000
|
Item
No. 1A - Risk Factors
The
following factors, as well as factors described elsewhere in this Annual Report,
or in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could
adversely affect our consolidated financial position, results of operation
or
cash flows. Other factors not presently known to us, that we do not presently
consider material, or that we have not predicted, may also harm our business
operations or adversely affect us.
Industry
Risks
We
engage in businesses which are intensely competitive, involve strong price
competition and relatively low margins.
13
The
businesses in which we engage - supply of films for flexible packaging, supply
of pouches for flexible packaging and supply of novelty balloon items - are
highly competitive. We face intense competition from a number of competitors
in
each of these product categories, several of which have extensive production
facilities, well-developed sales and marketing staffs and greater financial
resources than we do. Some of these competitors maintain international
production facilities enabling them to produce at low costs and to offer
products at highly competitive prices. We compete on the basis of price,
quality, service, delivery and differentiation of products. Most of our
competitors seek to engage in product development and may develop products
that
have superior performance characteristics to our products. This intense
competition can limit or reduce our sales or market share for the sale of our
products as well as our margins. There can be no assurance that we will be
able
to compete successfully in the markets for our products or that we will be
able
to generate sufficient margins from the sale of our products to become or remain
profitable.
Our
business is dependent on the price and availability of raw
materials.
The
cost
of the raw materials we purchase represents about 41% of our revenues. The
principal raw materials we purchase are: nylon sheeting, polyester sheeting,
polyethylene sheeting, polyethylene resin and latex. Much of these materials
are
derived from petroleum and natural gas. Prices for these materials fluctuate
substantially as a result of the change in petroleum and natural gas prices,
demand and the capacity of companies who produce these products to meet market
needs. Instability in the world markets for petroleum and natural gas has,
and
may, adversely affect the prices of these raw materials and their general
availability. The price of latex has also fluctuated significantly over the
past
year. Our ability to achieve and maintain profitability is partially dependent
upon our ability to pass through to our customers the amount of increases in
raw
materials cost. If prices of these materials increase and we are not able to
fully pass on the increases to our customers, our results of operations and
our
financial condition will be adversely affected.
The
loss of a key supplier or suppliers could lead to increased costs and lower
margins as well as other adverse results.
We
rely
on six principal suppliers for our petroleum, natural gas and latex-based raw
materials supplies. We do not maintain supply agreements with any of our
suppliers for these materials. The loss of any of these suppliers would force
us
to purchase these materials from other suppliers or on the open market, which
may require us to pay higher prices for raw materials than we do now, with
the
result that our margins on the sale of our products would be adversely affected.
In addition, the loss of the supply of an important raw material from one of
our
present suppliers may not be replaceable through open market purchases or
through a supply arrangement with another supplier. If we were unable to obtain
a raw material from another supplier in such event, we would be unable to
continue to manufacture certain of our products.
14
Company
Risks
We
have a history of losses and have experienced fluctuations of operating income,
which may cause our stock to fluctuate.
We
have
had a history of losses and of fluctuating income from operations over the
past
five years. We have reported net income in only one of the past five years.
Our
income (loss) from operations during that time has ranged from a profit of
$1,445,000 to a loss of $679,000 and has been subject to significant quarterly
and annual fluctuations. These fluctuations can be caused by:
·
|
Economic
conditions
|
·
|
Competition
|
·
|
Production
efficiencies
|
·
|
Variability
in raw materials prices
|
·
|
Seasonality
|
These
fluctuations make it more difficult for investors to compare our operating
results to corresponding prior year periods. These fluctuations also cause
our
stock price to fluctuate. You should not rely on our results of operations
for
any particular quarter or year as being indicative of our results for a full
year or any other period.
We
have limited financial resources that may adversely affect our ability to invest
in productive assets, marketing, new products and new
developments.
Our
working capital is limited. As of December 31, 2005, our current liabilities
exceeded our current assets by more than $2,426,000. While we did obtain some
additional working capital as a result of the re-financing of our bank debt
on
February 1, 2006 with Charter One Bank and the investment in our Company, as
subordinated debt, of $1,000,000 by two of our principal officers, our working
capital remains limited. As a result, we may be unable to fund capital
investments, working capital needs, marketing and sales programs, research
and
development, patent or copyright licenses or other items which we would like
to
acquire or pursue in accordance with our business strategies. The inability
to
pursue any of these items may adversely affect our competitive position, our
business, financial condition or prospects.
A
high percentage of our sales are to a limited number of customers and the loss
of any one or more of those customers could adversely affect our results of
operation, cash flow and financial condition.
For
the
year ended December 31, 2005, our sales to our top 10 customers represented
62.9% of our net sales and our sales to our top three customers represented
50%
of our net sales. Generally, we do not have long term contracts with our
customers. The loss of any of our principal customers, or a significant
reduction in the amount of our sales to any of them, would have a material
adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
15
In
March
2006, we entered into a four-year agreement with ITW to provide (i) all of
their
requirements for a certain kind of pouch and (ii) all of their requirements,
subject to competitive pricing, for film for their use in the production of
certain pouches.
We
rely on intellectual property in our business and the failure to develop,
acquire or protect our intellectual property could adversely affect our
business.
We
consider patents, copyright licenses and to some degree trademarks, as being
significant to our competitive position, our ability to obtain and retain
customers and to achieve acceptable margin levels on the sale of our products.
With respect to our film and flexible packaging/pouch business, we believe
that
developing, acquiring and maintaining patent rights are of significance to
us
for those reasons. Over the past five years, we have obtained 12 patents related
to films, pouches, zippers for pouches, the method of inserting zippers in
pouches and certain valves for pouches. We have 7 patents pending with regard
to
such products. With respect to our novelty balloon products, we believe that
patent rights and trade secrets for product developments and copyright licenses
for characters and designs are of significance to our ability to compete in
the
market and to obtain acceptable margins on the sale of our products. Our limited
financial resources have made it more difficult for us to invest in product
and
patent developments and to obtain copyright licenses. If we are unable to
develop, acquire, maintain or enforce some or all of our intellectual property
rights, our business, financial conditions and prospects will be adversely
affected.
We
produce all of our products at two plants and damage to or destruction of one
or
both of the plants would have a serious adverse affect on our
business.
We
produce all of our film products and pouches at our plant in Barrington,
Illinois and all of our latex balloon products at our plant in Guadalajara,
Mexico. In the event of a fire, flood, or other natural disaster, or the
termination of our lease in Mexico, we could lose access to one or both of
our
plants. Loss of, significant damage to, or destruction of, one or both of these
plants would render us unable to produce our products presently produced in
such
plants, possibly for an extended period of time and our business, financial
condition and prospects would be materially adversely affected. While we
maintain business interruption insurance, the proceeds of such insurance may
not
be adequate to compensate us for all of our losses in such an
event.
We
are dependent on the management experience of our key
personnel.
We
are
dependent on the management experience and continued services of our executive
officers, including Howard W. Schwan, our President, John H. Schwan, our
Chairman and Stephen M. Merrick, our Chief Financial Officer, as well as each
of
these other executive officers of the Company: Brent Anderson, Sam Komar, Steve
Frank and Timothy Patterson. We have an existing employment agreement with
Howard Schwan, dated January 1, 1997, which is automatically renewed each July
1
for another year unless terminated by either party. The agreement includes
confidentiality, inventions, non-compete and other customary provisions. The
loss of any of these executive officers would have an adverse effect on our
business.
16
In
addition, our continued growth depends on our ability to attract and retain
experienced key employees. Competition for qualified employees is intense,
and
the loss of such persons, or an inability to attract, retain and motivate such
skilled employees, could have a material adverse effect on our results of
operations, financial condition and prospects. There can be no assurance that
we
will be able to retain our existing personnel or attract and retain additional
qualified employees.
Our
principal executive officers own a majority of our outstanding common stock,
have warrants to purchase additional shares, and have significant influence
and
control over our business.
Howard
W.
Schwan (our President), John H. Schwan (our Chairman) and Stephen M. Merrick
(our Chief Financial Officer), in combination, own approximately 43.6% of the
outstanding shares of common stock of the Company and have options and warrants
to purchase additional shares which, if exercised, would aggregate 57.9% of
the
shares then outstanding. As a result of such ownership, these executives have
the ability to exert significant influence and control on the outcome of
corporate transactions and other matters submitted to the Board of Directors
or
stockholders for approval, including mergers, consolidations and the sale of
all
or substantially all of our assets, and also the power to prevent or cause
a
change in control of the Company.
Financial
Risks
We
have a high level of debt relative to our equity and negative working capital,
which reduces cash available for our business and which may adversely affect
our
ability to obtain additional funds, and increases our vulnerability to economic
or business turndowns.
We
have a
substantial amount of debt in relation to our shareholders’ equity. As of
December 31, 2005, we had $20,799,000 of debt outstanding and $2,726,000 in
shareholders equity. Also, our current debt exceeded our current assets by
$2,426,000. These circumstances could have important adverse consequences for
our Company. For example they could:
·
|
Increase
our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry
conditions
|
·
|
Require
us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations
to
payments on our debt, thereby limiting our ability to fund working
capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate
purposes;
|
·
|
Limit
our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business
and the industry in which we
operate;
|
·
|
Place
us at a competitive disadvantage compared to our competitors who
may have
less debt and greater financial resources;
and
|
·
|
Limit,
among other things, our ability to borrow additional
funds.
|
17
On
February 1, 2006, we entered into a new loan agreement with Charter One Bank
in
which Charter One Bank provided to us a line of credit totaling $12,800,000,
including a five year mortgage loan on our principal plant and offices in
Barrington, Illinois for $2,800,000, a five year term loan secured by our
physical assets in Barrington, Illinois for $3,500,000 and a three year
revolving line of credit secured by inventory and receivables in the maximum
amount of $6,500,000. The proceeds of the loan were utilized to pay off
outstanding loans from Cole Taylor Bank in the aggregate amount of $7,409,000
and from Banco Popular in the amount of $2,944,000. Also, on the same day,
Messrs. John Schwan and Stephen Merrick, each loaned to the Company the sum
of
$500,000 in exchange for five year subordinated notes and warrants to purchase
up to 151,515 shares of common stock of the Company, each. As a result of this
re-financing, our total debt has increased from $20,799,000 (as of December
31,
2005) to approximately $23,680,000 (as of February 1, 2006). However, as a
result of these transactions, (i) there was available to the Company cash and
loan availability (after payment of the Cole Taylor Bank loan) of about
$1,117,000 and (ii) the Company had positive working capital at that time of
approximately $988,000.
A
significant amount of cash will be required to service our debt and our ability
to generate cash depends on many factors beyond our control.
Our
ability to service our debt and to fund our operations and planned capital
expenditures will depend on our financial and operating performance. This,
in
part, is subject to prevailing economic conditions and to financial, business
and other factors beyond our control. If our cash flow from operations is
insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we may be forced to reduce
or
delay funding capital or working capital, marketing or other commitments or
to
sell assets, obtain additional equity capital or indebtedness or refinance
or
restructure our debt. These alternative measures may not be successful and
may
not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. In the absence
of
cash flow from operations sufficient to meet our debt service obligations,
we
could face substantial cash problems.
We
are subject to a number of restrictive debt covenants that may restrict our
business and financing activities.
Our
credit facility contains restrictive debt covenants that, among other things,
restrict our ability to:
·
|
Borrow
money;
|
·
|
Pay
dividends and make distributions;
|
·
|
Issue
stock
|
·
|
Make
certain investments;
|
·
|
Use
assets as security in other
transactions;
|
·
|
Create
liens;
|
18
·
|
Enter
into affiliate transactions;
|
·
|
Merge
or consolidate; or
|
·
|
Transfer
and sell assets.
|
In
addition, our credit facility also requires us to meet certain financial tests,
including (i) achieving earnings before interest taxes and depreciation (EBITDA)
of specified amounts for each of the months ended January 31, 2006 through
June
30, 2006, (ii) maintaining tangible net worth in excess of $3,500,000, (iii)
maintaining specified ratios of senior debt to EBITDA and (v) maintaining a
ratio of EBITDA to fixed charges. These restrictive covenants may limit our
ability to expand or pursue our business strategies.
Our
ability to comply with the restrictions contained in our credit facility may
be
affected by changes in our business condition or results of operation, adverse
regulatory developments, or other events beyond our control. A failure to comply
with these restrictions could result in a default under our credit facility
which, in turn, could cause our debt to become immediately due and payable.
If
our debt were to be accelerated, we cannot assure that we would be able to
repay
it. In addition, a default would give our lender the right to terminate any
commitment to provide us with additional funds.
We
own
our principal plant and offices located in Barrington, Illinois, approximately
45 miles northwest of Chicago, Illinois. The facility includes approximately
75,000 square feet of office, manufacturing and warehouse space. This facility
is subject to a mortgage loan in the principal amount of $2,800,000, having
a
term of 5 years, with payments amortized over 25 years.
We
lease
a warehouse facility in Cary, Illinois under a two-year lease at the base rate
of $6,000 per month and at a total monthly cost of approximately $8,000. The
lease expires on September 30, 2007. The facility includes 16,306 square feet
of
warehouse and office space which is utilized principally for the warehousing
of
balloon inventory.
The
Company also leases approximately 15,000 square feet of office and warehouse
space in Rugby, England at an annual lease cost of $51,700, expiring in 2019.
This facility is utilized to warehouse balloon products and to manage and
service the Company's operations in England and Europe.
In
January 2003, Flexo Universal entered into a 5-year lease agreement for the
lease of approximately 43,000 square feet of manufacturing, warehouse and office
space in Guadalajara, Mexico at the cost of $17,000 per month.
We
believe that our properties have been adequately maintained, are in generally
good condition and are suitable for our business as presently conducted. We
believe our existing facilities provide sufficient production capacity for
our
present needs and for our presently anticipated needs in the foreseeable future.
We also believe that, with respect to leased properties, upon the expiration
of
our current leases, we will be able to either secure renewal terms or to enter
into leases for alternative locations at market terms.
19
Item
No. 3 Legal Proceedings
On
September 5, 2003, Airgas, Inc., Airgas-Southwest, Inc., Airgas-South, Inc.
and
Airgas-East, Inc. filed a joint action against CTI Industries Corporation for
claimed breach of contract in the Circuit Court of Lake County, Illinois
claiming as damages the aggregate amount of $162,242. The Company filed an
answer denying the material claims of the complaint, affirmative defenses and
a
counterclaim. In the action, the plaintiffs claimed that CTI Industries
Corporation owed them certain sums for (i) helium sold and delivered, (ii)
rental charges with respect to helium tanks and (iii) replacement charges for
tanks claimed to have been lost. On November 2, 2004, this matter was settled.
The amount agreed to be paid by the Company in settlement totaled $100,000.
The
entire amount of the settlement payment has been made.
On
June
4, 2004, Spar Group, Inc. initiated an arbitration proceeding in New York City
against the Company. In the proceeding, Spar Group claimed that there was due
from the Company to Spar Group a sum for services rendered in the amount of
$180,043, plus interest. Spar Group claimed to have rendered services to the
Company in various Eckerd stores with respect to the display and ordering of
metalized and latex balloons for sale in those stores. The Company filed an
answer denying liability with respect to the claim and asserted a counterclaim
for damages against Spar Group for breach of its agreement to provide such
services. On January 13, 2005, this matter was settled. The amount agreed to
be
paid by the Company in settlement totaled $100,000 and such amount has been
paid
in full.
In
addition, the Company is also party to certain lawsuits or claims arising in
the
normal course of business. The ultimate outcome of these matters is unknown,
but
in the opinion of management, we do not believe any of these proceedings will
have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect upon our
financial condition or future results of operation.
Item
No. 4 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
At
the
Company’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders on December 2, 2005, the following
actions were submitted and approved by vote of its shareholders:
1. The
election of seven directors; and
2. The
ratification of the Board’s selection of Weiser LLP as the Company’s independent
certified public accountants.
A
total
of 1,750,704 shares (approximately 90%) of the issued and outstanding voting
stock of the Company were represented by proxy or in person at the meeting.
These shares were voted on the matters described above as
follows:
20
1. For
the directors as follows:
Name
|
Total
Votes For
|
Total
Votes Against
|
John
H. Schwan
|
1,748,646
|
2,048
|
Stephen
M. Merrick
|
1,748,646
|
2,048
|
Howard
W. Schwan
|
1,748,646
|
2,048
|
Stanley
M. Brown
|
1,748,646
|
2,048
|
Michael
Avramovich
|
1,748,646
|
2,048
|
Bret
Tayne
|
1,748,646
|
2,048
|
John
I. Collins
|
1,748,646
|
2,048
|
2. For
the Ratification of Weiser LLP as the Company’s independent certified public
accountants as follows:
Total
Votes For
|
Total
Votes Against
|
Total
Broker Non-Votes
and
Total
Votes Abstaining
|
1,748,104
|
2000
|
600
|
There
were no other matters voted on at the Company’s 2005 Annual Meeting of
Shareholders, nor was there a submission of any other matter to a vote of
securities holders at any time during the Company’s fourth fiscal
quarter.
Market
Information. The Company's Common Stock was admitted to trading on the NASDAQ
SmallCap Market (now the NASDAQ Capital Market) under the symbol CTIB on
November 5, 1997. Prior to that time, there was no established public trading
market for the Company's Common Stock.
The
high
and low sales prices for the last eight fiscal quarters (retroactively adjusted
to reflect post-reverse split share and stock dividend values), according to
the
NASDAQ Stock Market's Stock Price History Report, were:
21
High
|
Low
|
|
January
1, 2004 to March 31, 2004
|
4.10
|
2.01
|
April
1, 2004 to June 30, 2004
|
4.38
|
1.62
|
July
1, 2004 to September 30, 2004
|
3.15
|
1.32
|
October
1, 2004 to December 31, 2004
|
2.40
|
1.25
|
January
1, 2005 to March 31, 2005
|
3.15
|
1.50
|
April
1, 2005 to June 30, 2005
|
4.74
|
0.50
|
July
1, 2005 to September 30, 2005
|
7.67
|
1.48
|
October
1, 2005 to December 31, 2005
|
5.50
|
2.72
|
January
1, 2006 to March 31, 2006
|
3.56
|
2.77
|
As
of
March 21, 2006, there were approximately 52 holders of record of the Company’s
Common Stock. The Company believes that its total number of actual shareholders
is substantially greater than the number of record shareholders.
The
Company has never paid any cash dividends on its Common Stock and does not
currently intend to pay cash dividends on its Common Stock in the foreseeable
future. The Company currently intends to retain all its earnings to finance
the
development and expansion of its business. Under the terms of its current loan
agreement, the Company is restricted from declaring any cash dividends or other
distributions on its shares.
Recent
Sales of Unregistered Securities
During
February 2003, John H. Schwan loaned $930,000 to the Company and Stephen M.
Merrick loaned $700,000 to the Company, each in exchange for (i) two year
promissory notes bearing interest at 9% per annum and (ii) five year warrants
to
purchase up to 163,000 shares of Common Stock of the Company at $4.87 per share,
the market price of the Common Stock on the date of the Warrants. The proceeds
of these loans were to (i) re-finance the bank loan of CTI Mexico in the amount
of $880,000 and (ii) to provide financing for CTI Mexico and Flexo Universal.
Payment of the principal of the notes has been extended by agreement of Mr.
Merrick and Mr. Schwan and is scheduled to mature on October 1, 2006.
On
July
1, 2004, the Company entered into a Standby Equity Distribution Agreement
(”SEDA”) with Cornell Capital under which Cornell agreed to provide up to $5
million to the Company in connection with the purchase of common stock of the
Company over a two year term. Under the terms of the agreement, the Company
has
the option to sell shares of its common stock to Cornell at the market price
for
the stock at the time of the sale. The Company may request advances,
representing purchases of its stock, of up to $100,000 in any week, up to a
maximum amount of $400,000 in any month, subject to registration of the stock
prior to sale. The Company has not, as yet taken action to register shares
to be
sold under the SEDA and the Board of Directors of the Company is reviewing
the
arrangement to make a determination as to whether and when to proceed under
it.
On August 5, 2004, the Company issued 14,162 shares of its common stock to
Cornell and 3,500 shares of its common stock to Newbridge Securities, Cornell’s
stock placement agent for underwriting services as partial consideration under
the terms of SEDA.
On
September 13, 2004, the Company issued 18,018 shares of its common stock to
Thornhill Capital, LLC, in return for consulting services.
22
On
September 23, 2005, the Company issued 50,229 shares of its common stock to
three service providers as payment for services.
On
February 1, 2006, John H. Schwan and Stephen M. Merrick each loaned the sum
of
$500,000 to the Company, each in exchange for (i) five year promissory notes
bearing interest at 2% in excess of the prime rate and (ii) five year warrants
to purchase up to 151,515 shares each of common stock of the Company at the
price of $3.30 per share, an amount equal to 110% of the market price of the
common stock on the day immediately preceding the date of the
transaction.
23
The
following selected financial data are derived from the consolidated financial
statements of the Company. The data should be read in conjunction with the
consolidated financial statements, related notes, and other financial
information included herein.
Year
ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
2002
|
2001
|
||||||||||||
Statement
of Operations Data:
|
||||||||||||||||
Net
Sales
|
$
|
29,190
|
$
|
37,193
|
$
|
36,260
|
$
|
41,236
|
$
|
27,446
|
||||||
Costs
of Sales
|
$
|
22,726
|
$
|
30,841
|
$
|
29,627
|
$
|
32,344
|
$
|
19,835
|
||||||
Gross
Profit
|
$
|
6,464
|
$
|
6,352
|
$
|
6,633
|
$
|
8,892
|
$
|
7,611
|
||||||
Operating
expenses
|
$
|
5,812
|
$
|
6,920
|
$
|
7,312
|
$
|
7,447
|
$
|
6,595
|
||||||
(Loss)
income from operations
|
$
|
652
|
$
|
(568
|
)
|
$
|
(679
|
)
|
$
|
1,445
|
$
|
1,016
|
||||
Interest
expense
|
$
|
1,231
|
$
|
1,350
|
$
|
1,103
|
$
|
832
|
$
|
1,030
|
||||||
Other
(income) expense
|
$
|
(45
|
)
|
$
|
(726
|
)
|
$
|
(433
|
)
|
$
|
278
|
$
|
0
|
|||
(Loss)
income before taxes and minority interest
|
$
|
(534
|
)
|
$
|
(1,192
|
)
|
$
|
(1,349
|
)
|
$
|
335
|
$
|
(14
|
)
|
||
Income
tax expense (benefit)
|
$
|
(200
|
)
|
$
|
1,286
|
$
|
(782
|
)
|
$
|
39
|
$
|
276
|
||||
Minority
interest
|
$
|
0
|
$
|
1
|
$
|
0
|
$
|
6
|
$
|
58
|
||||||
Net
(loss) income
|
$
|
(333
|
)
|
$
|
(2,479
|
)
|
$
|
(566
|
)
|
$
|
302
|
$
|
(232
|
)
|
||
(Loss)
earnings per common share
|
||||||||||||||||
Basic
|
$
|
(.17
|
)
|
$
|
(1.28
|
)
|
$
|
(0.30
|
)
|
$
|
0.18
|
$
|
(0.15
|
)
|
||
Diluted
|
$
|
(.17
|
)
|
$
|
(1.28
|
)
|
$
|
(0.30
|
)
|
$
|
0.16
|
$
|
(0.15
|
)
|
||
Other
Financial Data:
|
||||||||||||||||
Gross
margin percentage
|
22.14
|
%
|
17.08
|
%
|
18.29
|
%
|
21.56
|
%
|
27.73
|
%
|
||||||
Capital
Expenses
|
$
|
550
|
$
|
306
|
$
|
2,007
|
$
|
2,478
|
$
|
1,002
|
||||||
Depreciation
& Amortization
|
$
|
1,463
|
$
|
1,651
|
$
|
1,619
|
$
|
1,588
|
$
|
1,666
|
||||||
Balance
Sheet Data:
|
||||||||||||||||
Working
capital (Deficit)
|
$
|
(2,426
|
)
|
$
|
(2,790
|
)
|
$
|
(706
|
)
|
$
|
(2,907
|
)
|
$
|
(278
|
)
|
|
Total
assets
|
$
|
23,536
|
$
|
27,888
|
$
|
30,270
|
$
|
30,272
|
$
|
24,664
|
||||||
Short-term
obligations (1)
|
$
|
8,618
|
$
|
9,962
|
$
|
6,692
|
$
|
7,385
|
$
|
7,074
|
||||||
Long-term
obligations
|
$
|
6,039
|
$
|
6,491
|
$
|
8,909
|
$
|
5,726
|
$
|
5,737
|
||||||
Stockholders’
Equity
|
$
|
2,726
|
$
|
2,951
|
$
|
5,212
|
$
|
5,474
|
$
|
4,325
|
(1)
Short
term obligations consist of primarily of borrowings under bank line of credit
and current portion of long-term debt.
24
The
following table sets forth selected unaudited statements of income for each
quarter of fiscal 2005 and 2004:
For
the Year Ended December 31, 2005 (1)
|
|||||||||||||
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
||||||||||
|
Quarter
|
Quarter
|
Quarter
|
Quarter
|
|||||||||
Net
sales
|
$
|
9,103,327
|
$
|
7,572,626
|
$
|
6,033,831
|
$
|
6,480,019
|
|||||
Gross
profit
|
$
|
1,873,993
|
$
|
1,582,954
|
$
|
1,242,186
|
$
|
1,765,016
|
|||||
Net
income (loss)
|
$
|
84,488
|
($53,616
|
)
|
($416,267
|
)
|
$
|
52,186
|
|||||
Earnings
(loss) per common share
|
|||||||||||||
Basic
|
$
|
0.04
|
($0.03
|
)
|
($0.21
|
)
|
$
|
0.03
|
|||||
Diluted
|
$
|
0.04
|
($0.03
|
)
|
($0.21
|
)
|
$
|
0.02
|
|||||
|
|||||||||||||
(1)
Earnings per common share are computed independently for each of
the
quarters presented. Therefore, the sum of the quarterly per common
share
information may not equal the annual earnings per common
share.
|
For
the Year Ended December 31, 2004 (1)
|
|||||||||||||
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
||||||||||
|
Quarter
|
Quarter
|
Quarter
|
Quarter
|
|||||||||
Net
sales
|
$
|
10,893,984
|
$
|
9,591,785
|
$
|
8,125,521
|
$
|
8,581,819
|
|||||
Gross
profit
|
$
|
2,147,370
|
$
|
2,032,028
|
$
|
1,669,778
|
$
|
502,944
|
|||||
Net
income (loss)
|
$
|
371,901
|
($135,681
|
)
|
($150,370
|
)
|
($2,565,223
|
)
|
|||||
Earnings
(loss) per common share
|
|||||||||||||
Basic
|
$
|
0.19
|
($0.07
|
)
|
($0.08
|
)
|
($1.31
|
)
|
|||||
Diluted
|
$
|
0.18
|
($0.07
|
)
|
($0.08
|
)
|
($1.31
|
)
|
|||||
|
|||||||||||||
(1)
Earnings per common share are computed independently for each of
the
quarters presented. Therefore, the sum of the quarterly per common
share
information may not equal the annual earnings per common
share.
|
25
Item
No. 7 Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results
of
Operations
Overview
The
Company produces film products for novelty, packaging and container
applications. These products include metalized balloons, latex balloons and
related latex toy products, films for packaging applications, and flexible
containers for packaging and storage applications. We produce all of our film
products for packaging and container applications at the facilities in
Barrington, Illinois. We produce all of our latex balloons and latex products
at
our facility in Guadalajara, Mexico. Substantially all of our film products
for
packaging applications and flexible containers for packaging and storage are
sold to customers in the United States. We market and sell our novelty items
-
principally metalized balloons and latex balloons - in the United States,
Mexico, the United Kingdom and a number of additional countries.
Our
revenues from each of our product categories in each of the past three years
have been as follows:
(000
Omitted)
|
||||||
$
|
%
of
|
$
|
%
of
|
$
|
%
of
|
|
Product
Category
|
2005
|
Net
Sales
|
2004
|
Net
Sales
|
2003
|
Net
Sales
|
Metalized
Balloons
|
11,737
|
40.2
|
16,238
|
43.9
|
12,401
|
34.2
|
Latex
Balloons
|
4,855
|
16.6
|
5,244
|
14.1
|
4,134
|
11.4
|
Films
|
7,616
|
26.1
|
8,808
|
23.7
|
6,722
|
18.5
|
Pouches
|
4,079
|
14
|
5,028
|
13.5
|
10,718
|
29.6
|
Helium/Other
|
903
|
3.1
|
1,875
|
4.8
|
2,284
|
6.3
|
29,190
|
37,193
|
36,259
|
Our
primary expenses include the cost of products sold and selling, general and
administrative expenses.
Cost
of
products sold primarily consists of expenses related to raw materials, labor,
quality control and overhead directly associated with production of our
products, as well as shipping costs relating to the shipment of products to
customers. Cost of products sold is impacted by the cost of the raw materials
used in our products, the cost of shipping, along with our efficiency in
managing the production of our products.
Selling,
general and administrative expenses include the compensation and benefits paid
to our employees, all other selling expenses, marketing, promotional expenses,
travel and other corporate administrative expenses. These other corporate
administrative expenses include professional fees, depreciation and
amortization, occupancy costs, communication costs and other similar operating
expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses can be affected by a
number of factors, including staffing levels and the cost of providing
competitive salaries and benefits, the cost of regulatory compliance and other
administrative costs.
26
Purchases
by a limited number of customers represent a significant portion of our total
revenues. In 2005, sales to our top 10 customers represented 62.9% of net
revenues. During 2005, there were three customers to whom our sales represented
more than 10% of net revenues:
Customer
|
Product
|
2005
Sales
|
%
of 2005
Revenues
|
Dollar
Tree Stores
|
Balloons
|
$3,987,000
|
13.6
|
Rapak
L.L.C
|
Pouches
|
$6,860,000
|
23.5
|
ITW
Space Bag
|
Film
|
$3,889,000
|
13.3
|
The
loss
of one or more of these principal customers, or a significant reduction in
purchases by one or more of them, could have a material adverse effect on our
business.
Over
the
past three years, we have endeavored to reduce our operating costs and to become
more efficient in our production activities. Our total SG&A and factory
overhead expenses for each of the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004 and 2003
have been as follows:
For
the Year Ending 12/31
|
||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
Overhead (US
Operation Only)
|
$
|
4,575,000
|
$
|
6,042,000
|
$
|
7,124,000
|
||||
SG&A (Consolidated)
|
$
|
5,688,000
|
$
|
6,920,000
|
$
|
7,312,000
|
Results
of Operations
The
following table sets forth selected results of our operations expressed as
a
percentage of net sales for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004 and 2003.
Our results of operations for the periods described below are not necessarily
indicative of results of operations for future periods.
Year
ended December 31,
|
|||||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
|||||||||||
Net
sales
|
100.0
|
%
|
100.0
|
%
|
100.0
|
%
|
|||||||
Costs
and expenses:
|
|||||||||||||
Cost
of products sold
|
77.9
|
82.9
|
81.7
|
||||||||||
Selling,
general and administrative
|
19.6
|
18.6
|
20.1
|
||||||||||
Income
from operations
|
2.5
|
(1.5
|
)
|
1.9
|
|||||||||
Interest
expense
|
(4.2
|
)
|
(3.6
|
)
|
(3.0
|
)
|
|||||||
Other
income
|
0.3
|
1.9
|
1.2
|
||||||||||
Loss
before income taxes
|
(1.8
|
)
|
(3.2
|
)
|
(3.7
|
)
|
|||||||
Provision
for income taxes
|
(0.6
|
)
|
3.4
|
(2.1
|
)
|
||||||||
Net
loss
|
(1.1
|
)%
|
(6.6
|
)%
|
(1.6
|
)%
|
27
Year
Ended December 31, 2005 Compared to Year Ended December 31,
2004
Net
Sales.
For
the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, consolidated net sales from the sale of
all
products were $29,190,000 compared to consolidated net sales of $37,193,000
for
the year ended December 31, 2004, a decline of 21.5%. The decline in sales
is
attributable principally to a decline in metalized balloon sales of $4,501,000,
a decline in pouch sales of $949,000 and a decline in film sales of $1,192,000.
With respect to metalized balloons, the decline in sales reflects (i) a decline
in sales to Hallmark Cards from $3,421,000 in 2004 to $306,000 in 2005 and
(ii)
a decline in sales totaling $1,624,000 to five other of our larger balloon
customers, which was offset by an increase in sales of $428,000 to a new
customer. The decline in sales to Hallmark Cards resulted from the expiration
and termination of our agreements and relationship with Hallmark Cards in March
2005. Sales of metalized balloons to a drug chain declined as the result of
the
sale of the chain and the termination of the balloon program in certain of
the
stores that were sold. The decline in pouch sales is attributable to a decline
in sales of pouches to ITW from $4,838,000 in fiscal 2004 to $3,889,000 in
fiscal 2005. This decline is the result of increased internal production of
pouches by ITW at their production facility and also the fact that ITW has
purchased and supplied to the Company certain components of the pouches produced
by the Company. The decline in film sales is attributable principally to a
decline in the sales of laminated film to Rapak from $7,466,000 in fiscal 2004
to $6,860,000 in fiscal 2005. The Company continues to produce film for Rapak
and fluctuations in the volume of film supplied are a reflection of variances
in
Rapak’s requirements from time to time.
Cost
of Sales.
Cost
of
sales declined in fiscal 2005 to 77.9% of net sales from a level of 82.9% in
fiscal 2004. This decline is attributable principally to the fact that we
reduced our factory overhead in the United States from $6,042,000 in fiscal
2004
to $4,575,000 in fiscal 2005, a reduction of $1,467,000 or 24%. This decrease
in
the factory overhead element of cost of sales was offset to some degree by
increases we experienced in raw materials costs, particularly the cost of
polyester and polyethylene sheeting and resin and of latex.
We
believe that we will experience further declines in the cost of sales as a
percentage of net sales in 2006 because (i) we expect raw materials costs to
stabilize or decline, (ii) we expect to allocate factory overhead costs over
a
greater number of units in 2006 compared to 2005 and (iii) we expect to
experience some continuing reduction in direct production costs during
2006.
28
General
and Administrative
For
fiscal 2005, administrative expenses were $3,847,000, or 13% of net sales,
compared to administrative costs in fiscal 2004 of $4,411,000, or 11.8% of
net
sales, a reduction of $564,000 or almost 13%. The decrease in administrative
costs during 2005 is attributable to the following items: (i) a reduction of
$167,000 in consulting fees, (ii) a decrease of $146,000 in legal expense,
and
(iii) a reduction of $102,000 in bad debt expense.
We
do not
anticipate further decreases in administrative expenses during fiscal 2006.
Selling
Selling
expenses declined from $1,495,000 in fiscal 2004, or 4% of net sales, to
$1,065,000 in fiscal 2005, or 4% of net sales. Components of the decline in
selling expenses for 2005 were: (i) a reduction in royalties of $190,000, (ii)
a
reduction in salary expense of $188,000 and (iii) a reduction in commissions
of
$65,000.
Marketing
and Advertising
Marketing
expenses declined from $1,014,000 in fiscal 2004, or 3% of net sales, to
$777,000 in fiscal 2005, or 3% of net sales. The components of the decline
in
expense for 2005 included: (i) reduced salary expense of $73,000 and (ii) a
reduction in service fees of $160,000.
Other
Expense
During
2005, the Company incurred $1,231,000 in interest expense compared to $1,350,000
in interest expense in fiscal 2004. The decline in interest expense is
attributable to lower level of borrowings during 2005 compared to 2004. We
anticipate that interest expense in 2006 will increase over 2005 due to (i)
increased levels of borrowing and (ii) increased interest rates.
Foreign
currency gains realized in 2005 were $45,128 compared to foreign currency gains
in 2004 of $208,000. The decline in foreign currency gains was the result of
reduced rates of change in currency values from 2004 to 2005.
Net
Income or Loss
The
Company incurred a net loss before income taxes and minority interest of
$534,000 in 2005 compared to a net loss before income taxes and minority
interest of $1,192,000 in 2004.
29
Income
Taxes
In
2005,
the Company recognized an income tax benefit of $200,000 arising from the
deferred tax benefit of the loss incurred for the year. Management has
determined based upon the evaluation of certain transactions involving the
repatriation of profits from its U.K. subsidiary that it is more likely than
not
that deferred tax assets will be realized in 2005. In 2004, the Company
incurred an income tax expense of $1,286,000, which represented the amount
of
the reserve the Company took against the then outstanding deferred tax benefit
recorded by the Company.
Year
Ended December 31, 2004 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2003
Net
Sales.
For
the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2004, consolidated revenues from the sale of
all
products were $37,193,000, compared to consolidated revenues of $36,260,000
for
the year ended December 31, 2003, an increase of 2.6%. Revenue changes in our
principal product categories included: (i) a 20.7% decrease in sales of printed
and laminated films from $17,439,000 in 2003 to $13,823,000 in 2004, (ii) a
31.6% increase in sales of metalized balloons from $12,405,000 in 2003 to
$16,320,000 in 2004 and (iii) a 27.4% increase in the sales of latex balloons
from $4,125,000 in 2003 to $5,255,000 in 2004. These changes in revenues
included a decrease in sales to two principal customers. Sales in 2003 to these
two customers were as follows: (i) $10,298,000 to ITW Spacebag for film and
consumer storage bags and (ii) $4,006,000 to Hallmark Cards, principally for
metalized balloons. During 2004, sales to each of those customers, respectively,
were: (i) $6,266,000 and (ii) $3,421,000. These decreases were offset by an
increase in sales to Rapak, LLC, a principal customer of packaging film and
to a
new customer of foil balloons. During 2003, sales to Rapak were $5,360,000.
During 2004, sales to each of those customers, respectively, were $7,466,000
and $4,352,000.
For
the
fiscal year 2004, on a consolidated basis, metalized balloons represented 43.9%
of sales, laminated and printed films 37.2% of sales and latex balloons 14.1%
of
sales. During fiscal 2003, metalized balloons represented 34.2% of sales,
laminated and printed films 48.1% of sales and latex balloons 11.4% of sales.
The Company anticipates that in 2005, the mix of products will change in so
far
as the percentage of metalized ballons will decrease, laminated and printed
films will be consistent and latex balloon sales should increase.
Cost
of Sales.
For
fiscal 2004, cost of sales increased to 82.9% of net sales compared to 81.7%
of
net sales for fiscal 2003. In 2004, the product mix changed from selling a
majority of laminate and printed film to a majority of metalized balloons which
historically have lower margins. In fiscal 2004, profit margins on metalized
balloons, latex balloons and laminated and printed film were 13.0%, 10.1% and
25.3%, respectively, compared to margins on the same product lines for 2003
of
10.4%, 9.1% and 34.9%. The decrease in the margins of the laminated and printed
film was a result of the difference in the product mix and a reduction of
the prices charged for consumer storage bags. Cost of sales were higher, as
a
percentage of net sales in the fourth quarter of 2004 than in prior quarters
of
2004 and the fourth quarter of 2003, resulting in lower gross profit than in
those prior quarters by reason of the facts that: (i) sales of storage bags
continued to decline resulting in a shift in product mix to lower margin
products, (ii) higher costs of production in prior quarters resulted in higher
unit costs for metalized balloons sold during the fourth quarter and (iii)
there
were discounted and low margin sales of balloon products in the fourth quarter.
Management anticipates improvement in margins for balloon products during 2005
as reduced production overhead expenses are reflected in lower unit costs.
30
General
and Administrative.
For
fiscal 2004, administrative expenses were $4,411,000 or 11.9% of net sales,
as
compared to $4,055,000 or 11.2% of net sales for fiscal 2003. The increase
in
general and administrative expenses is attributable to an increase in bad debt
reserves and personnel costs. The Company expects that in 2005, there will
be an
increase in these expenses involving personnel costs.
Selling.
For
fiscal 2004, selling expenses were $1,495,000 or 4.0% of net sales compared
to
$1,442,000, or 4.0% of net sales for fiscal 2003. There was no significant
change in selling expenses from 2003 to 2004. The Company expects an increase
in
selling expenses in 2005.
Marketing
and Advertising.
For
fiscal 2004, advertising and marketing expenses were $1,014,000 or 2.7% of
net
sales, compared to $1,816,000 or 5% of net sales for fiscal 2003. The decrease
is attributable principally to a reduction in personnel cost, a reduction in
catalog expense, and decrease in artwork and films expenses. The Company
expects a small decrease in these expenses in 2005.
Other
Income (Expense).
For
fiscal 2004, interest expense and loan fees totaled $1,350,000 or 3.6% of sales.
For fiscal 2003, interest expense and loan fees totaled $1,103,000 or 3.0%
of
sales. The increase in interest expense is attributable principally to increased
levels of borrowing and an increased average rate of interest on outstanding
indebtedness. The Company had currency exchange gains during 2004 of $208,000
compared to currency exchange losses during fiscal 2003 of $36,000. The Company
had other income during 2004 of $395,000. Items of other income included (i)
gains related to a review and determination that various accrued items on the
books of the Mexican subsidiaries of the Company (CTI Mexico and Flexo) are
not
due or payable; these items included: (a) accrued amounts for profit sharing
or
seniority benefits determined on the basis of legal review not to be due,
totaling $98,000, (b) accrued amounts related to an asset tax determined not
to
be due or beyond the statute of limitations, in the amount approximately of
$49,000, (c) accrued amounts with respect to various accounts settled or
determined not to be due or payable, in the aggregate amount of $190,000 and
(ii) gains totaling $70,000 based on the settlement of various accounts in
consideration of the payment of an amount less than the amount accrued. These
items were offset by $12,000 in other expenses. Most of these gains are
attributable to the first quarter of 2004 and relate to the restructuring of
CTI
Mexico which commenced in February 2003 when CTI Mexico effected a spin-off
under Mexican law in which a portion of the assets, liabilities and capital
of
that company were transferred to Flexo Universal and Flexo Universal became
the
primary subsidiary of the Company in Mexico. These other gains are not
recurring.
31
The
Company had other income during 2003 of $428,000 arising principally from the
forgiveness of certain indebtedness.
Net
Income or Loss.
For
the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2004, the Company had a loss before taxes and
minority interest of $1,192,000 compared to a loss before taxes and minority
interest for fiscal 2003 of $1,349,000. The net loss for fiscal 2004 was
$2,479,000 compared to net loss for fiscal 2003 of $566,000.
Income
Taxes.
For
the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2004, the Company had an income tax expense
of
$1,286,000 compared to an income tax benefit of $782,000 for fiscal 2003. The
amount of the income tax expense or benefit recognized by the Company for both
2004 and 2003 reflects adjustments in deferred tax assets and other items
arising from the operating results of the Company for each year. This increase,
which was recorded during the fourth quarter, was made after management
determined, based on fourth quarter activity, that the realization of the
deferred tax asset was not likely in the foreseeable future. Fourth quarter
activity affecting this determination included lower than anticipated sales
in
the storage bag product line and lower margin sales of novelty products.
Financial
Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources
Cash
Flow From Operations.
Cash
flow from operations for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 was $2,739,000,
compared to cash flow used in operations for the fiscal year ended December
31,
2004 of $571,000. Significant changes in working capital items contributing
to
cash flow from operations during 2005 were:
·
|
Depreciation
and amortization of $1,463,000
|
·
|
Other
non-cash changes for reserves and allowances of
$474,000
|
·
|
A
decrease in accounts receivable of
$1,634,000
|
·
|
A
decrease in inventory of $1,121,000
|
·
|
A
decrease in other assets in the amount of
$206,000
|
·
|
A
decrease in accounts payable in the amount of
$1,863,000
|
32
Depreciation
declined by $188,000 in 2005 compared to 2004. We anticipate the level of
depreciation to continue for 2006 at approximately the same level as 2005.
The
decrease in inventory during 2005 resulted from an effort to reduce our
inventory of novelty balloon items through discounted and special sales and
from
reduced levels of production arising from reduced sales levels. We do not expect
inventory to reduce during 2006.
Cash
Used in Investing Activities. During
2005, we used net $398,000 in investing activities, consisting of purchases
of
equipment in the amount of $550,000 and sales of assets in the amount of
$151,000.
Cash
Used in Financing Activities.
During
fiscal 2005, cash used in financing activities amounted to $2,365,000, compared
to cash provided by financing activities of $883,000 during fiscal 2004. We
used
a total of $2,564,000 to reduce our short and long term bank debt, and received
$300,000 from the issuance of new long term debt.
As
of
December 31, 2005, we had total loans outstanding from financial institutions
of
$10,074,000 consisting principally of a term loan and revolving line of credit
from Cole Taylor Bank, Chicago, Illinois in the total amount of $7,209,000
and a
mortgage loan from Banco Popular having a balance of $2,781,000. Under the
terms
of our loan agreement with Cole Taylor Bank, the credit facility with that
bank
expired on December 31, 2005. In December, 2005, we entered into an agreement
with Cole Taylor Bank under which this credit facility was extended to January
31, 2006.
On
February 1, 2006, we entered into a Loan Agreement with Charter One Bank,
Chicago, Illinois, under which the Bank agreed to provide a credit facility
to
our Company in the total amount of $12,800,000, which includes (i) a five year
mortgage loan secured by our Barrington, Illinois property in the principal
amount of $2,800,000, amortized over a 20 year period, (ii) a five year
term-loan secured by our equipment at the Barrington, Illinois plant in the
amount of $3,500,000 and (iii) a three-year revolving line of credit up to
a
maximum amount of $6,500,000, secured by inventory and receivables. The amount
we can borrow on the revolving line of credit includes 85% of eligible accounts
receivable and 60% of eligible inventory.
Certain
terms of the loan agreement include:
·
|
Excess
Availability.
The agreement requires us to maintain excess availability in the
amount of
$500,000 plus an amount equal to 36% of all payables over 90 days
past
due.
|
33
·
|
Restrictive
Covenants:
The Loan Agreement includes several restrictive covenants under which
we
are prohibited from, or restricted in our ability
to:
|
o
|
Borrow
money;
|
o
|
Pay
dividends and make distributions;
|
o
|
Issue
stock
|
o
|
Make
certain investments;
|
o
|
Use
assets as security in other
transactions;
|
o
|
Create
liens;
|
o
|
Enter
into affiliate transactions;
|
o
|
Merge
or consolidate; or
|
o
|
Transfer
and sell assets.
|
·
|
Financial
Covenants:
The loan agreement includes a series of financial covenants we are
required to meet including:
|
o
|
We
are required to meet certain levels of earnings before interest taxes
and
depreciation (EBITDA) measured on a monthly cumulative basis during
the
first six months of the loan term;
|
o
|
We
are required to maintain a tangible net worth in excess of
$3,500,000;
|
o
|
We
are required to maintain specified ratios of senior debt to EBITDA
on an
annual basis and determined quarterly commencing as of June 30, 2006;
and,
|
o
|
We
are required to maintain a specified level of EBITDA to fixed charges
for
the six months ending June 30, 2006, the nine months ending September
30,
2006 and twelve months thereafter.
|
The
loan
agreement provides for interest at varying rates in excess of the Bank’s prime
rate, depending on the level of senior debt to EBITDA over time. The initial
interest rate under the loan is prime plus 1.5% per annum. On a quarterly basis,
this ratio will be measured and the interest rate changed in accordance to
the
table below.
When
Senior Debt to Equity is:
|
|
The
Premium
to
the Prime
Rate
is:
|
Greater
or equal to 4.5 to 1.0
|
1.50%
|
|
Between
4.5 to 1 and 4.0 to 1
|
1.25%
|
|
Between
4.0 to 1 and 3.5 to 1
|
1.00%
|
|
Between
3.5 to 1 and 2.75 to 1
|
0.75%
|
|
Between
2.75 to 1 and 2.0 to 1
|
0.50%
|
|
Less
than 2.0 to 1
|
0.25%
|
Also,
under the loan agreement, we are required to purchase a swap agreement with
respect to at least 60% of the mortgage and term loan portions of our
loan.
This
loan
closed on February 1, 2006. At that time, we used $10,353,000 of proceeds of
the
loan to pay off the loan balances of our Company for the credit facility at
Cole
Taylor Bank, Chicago, Illinois and the mortgage loan at Banco
Popular.
34
Also,
on
February 1, 2006, two principal officers and shareholders of our Company each
loaned to our Company the sum of $500,000 in exchange for (i) Promissory Notes
due January 31, 2011 and bearing interest at the rate of 2% per annum in excess
of the prime rate determined quarterly and (ii) five year Warrants to purchase
up to 151,515 shares of common stock of the Company at the price of $3.30 per
share (110% of the closing market price on the day preceding the date of the
loans).
Current
Assets.
As of
December 31, 2005, the total current assets of the Company were $12,335,000,
compared to total current assets of $15,645,000 as of December 31, 2004. The
change in current assets reflects, principally, (i) a reduction in receivables
of $1,779,000, (ii) a reduction in inventories of $1,325,000, (iii) a reduction
in cash of $264,000 and (iv) an increase in prepaid expenses of $60,000. The
reduction in receivables is a reflection of the reduced level of sales of the
Company during the second half of 2005. The net inventories of the Company
decreased from $8,348,000 as of December 31, 2004 to $7,023,000 as of December
31, 2005, a reduction of $1,325,000 or about 15.9%. The reduction reflects
principally a decline in the Company’s finished goods inventory of metalized
balloons, as the result of management’s efforts to reduce inventory levels of
that product line and also reduced production levels during the second half
of
2005.
Property,
Plant and Equipment.
During
fiscal 2005, the Company invested $550,000 in capital items. During 2004, the
Company invested $306,000 in capital items.
Current
Liabilities.
Total
current liabilities decreased from $18,435,000 as of December 31, 2004 to
$14,761,000 as of December 31, 2005, a decrease of $3,674,000 or 20%. This
reduction reflects: (i) a decrease of $1,430,000 in accounts payable, (ii)
a
decrease of $1,350,000 in the amount outstanding on our revolving line of
credit, (iii) an increase in the amount of $6,000 in the current portion of
long
term debts and (v) a decrease of $886,000 in accrued liabilities.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources.
As of
December 31, 2005, our current liabilities exceeded our current assets by
$2,426,000. However, as the result of the Loan Agreement with Charter One Bank
and the long-term subordinated debt investment of two of our principal
shareholders on February 1, 2006, we received long-term debt funding totaling
$7,300,000 and then had positive working capital of approximately $990,000.
We
believe that we have sufficient cash and financial resources to meet our
operating requirements through December 31, 2006.
Shareholders’
Equity. Shareholders’
equity was $2,726,000 as of December 31, 2005 compared to $2,951,000 as of
December 31, 2004.
The
contractual commitments of the Company, determined as of December 31, 2005,
over
the next five years are as follows:
35
Future
Minimum
Principal
Payments
|
Operating
Leases
|
Other
Liabilities
|
Licenses
|
Total
|
||||||||||||
2006
|
$
|
3,567,144
|
$
|
414,876
|
$
|
0
|
$
|
76,664
|
$
|
4,058,684
|
||||||
2007
|
$
|
811,992
|
$
|
345,643
|
$ |
850,000
|
$
|
76,664
|
$
|
2,084,299
|
||||||
2008
|
$
|
811,992
|
$
|
51,700
|
$ |
794,339
|
$
|
76,664
|
$
|
1,734,695
|
||||||
2009
|
$
|
896,454
|
$
|
51,700
|
$ |
0
|
$
|
948,154
|
||||||||
2010
|
$
|
811,992
|
$
|
51,700
|
$ |
0
|
$
|
863,692
|
||||||||
Thereafter
|
$
|
2,375,366
|
$
|
465,300
|
$
|
2,840,666
|
||||||||||
Total
|
$
|
9,274,940
|
$
|
1,380,919
|
$ |
1,644,339
|
$
|
229,992
|
$
|
12,530,190
|
The
Company does not have any current material commitments for capital expenditures.
Seasonality
In
the
metalized product line, sales have historically been seasonal with approximately
45% occurring in the period from December through March of the succeeding year
and 21% being generated in the period July through October in recent years.
The
sale of latex balloons, pouches and laminated film products have not
historically been seasonal, and as sales in these products lines have increased
as a percentage of total sales, the seasonality of the Company's total net
sales
has decreased.
Critical
Accounting Policies
The
financial statements of the Company are based on the selection and application
of significant accounting policies which require management to make various
estimates and assumptions. The following are some of the more critical judgment
areas in the application of our accounting policies that currently affect our
financial condition and results of operation.
Revenue
Recognition.
Substantially all of the Company's revenues are derived from the sale of
products. With respect to the sale of products, revenue from a transaction
is
recognized when (i) a definitive arrangement exists for the sale of the product,
(ii) delivery of the product has occurred, (iii) the price to the buyer has
been
fixed or is determinable and (iv) collectibility is reasonably assured. The
Company generally recognizes revenue for the sale of products when the products
have been shipped and invoiced. In some cases, product is provided on
consignment to customers. In those cases, revenue is recognized when the
customer reports a sale of the product.
Allowance
for Doubtful Accounts.
We
estimate our allowance for doubtful accounts based on an analysis of specific
accounts, an analysis of historical trends, payment and write-off histories.
Our
credit risks are continually reviewed and management believes that adequate
provisions have been made for doubtful accounts. However, unexpected changes
in
the financial condition of customers or changes in the state of the economy
could result in write-offs, which exceed estimates and negatively impact our
financial results.
36
Inventory
Valuation.
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined using
standard costs which approximate costing determined on a first-in, first out
basis. Standard costs are reviewed and adjusted periodically and at year end
based on actual direct and indirect production costs. Labor, overhead and
purchase price variances from standard costs are determined on a monthly basis
and inventory is adjusted monthly reflecting these variances. On a periodic
basis, the Company reviews its inventory levels for estimated obsolescence
or
unmarketable items, in reference to future demand requirements and shelf life
of
the products. As of December 31, 2005, the Company had established a reserve
for
obsolescence, marketability or excess quantities with respect to inventory
in
the aggregate amount of $255,000. As of December 31, 2004, the amount of the
reserve was $187,000. In addition, on a periodic basis, the Company disposes
of
inventory deemed to be obsolete or unsaleable and, at such time, records an
expense for the value of such inventory.
Valuation
of Long-Lived Assets.
We
evaluate whether events or circumstances have occurred which indicate that
the
carrying amounts of long-lived assets (principally property and equipment and
goodwill) may be impaired or not recoverable. Significant factors which may
trigger an impairment review include: changes in business strategy, market
conditions, the manner of use of an asset, underperformance relative to
historical or expected future operating results, and negative industry or
economic trends. In 2001, the FASB issued Statement No. 142, "Goodwill and
Other
Intangible Assets," which among other things, eliminates the amortization of
goodwill and certain other intangible assets and requires that goodwill be
evaluated annually for impairment by applying a fair-value based test. We
retained valuation consulting firms to conduct an evaluation of our goodwill
in
our Mexico subsidiary December 2004 and 2005. As of December 31, 2005, the
valuation consulting firm determined that the fair value of the Company’s
interest in Flexo Universal was $988,000, and the carrying value of $1,113,000
was impaired by $124,000. Accordingly, we have recorded the amount of this
impairment as an expense and have reduced the carrying value of the Company’s
interest in Flexo Universal to $989,000.
Income
Taxes and Deferred Tax Assets.
Income
taxes are accounted for as prescribed in SFAS No. 109-Accounting for Income
Taxes. Under the asset and liability method of Statement 109, the Company
recognizes the amount of income taxes currently payable. Deferred tax assets
and
liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to
differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets
and liabilities, and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and
liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable
income in the years these temporary differences are expected to be recovered
or
settled.
As
of
December 31, 2005, the Company had a net deferred tax asset of $2,807,000,
representing the amount the Company may recover in future years from future
taxable income. As of December 31, 2004, the amount of the deferred tax asset
was $2,606,299. Each quarter and year-end management must make a judgment to
determine the extent to which the deferred tax asset will be recovered from
future taxable income. Management of the Company has determined that an
appropriate allowance against the deferred tax asset, as of December 31, 2005,
is $2,454,000. The Company recorded a deferred tax benefit of $200,000
during 2005 as management has determined that this deferred tax asset
is more likely than not to be realized.
37
Recently
Issued Accounting Standards
In
December 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123(R), “Share-Based Payment”
(“SFAS Statement 123R”), which replaces SFAS No. 123, “Accounting for
Stock-Based Compensation,” and supercedes APB Opinion No. 25, “Accounting for
Stock Issued to Employees.” This statement requires that all share-based
payments to employees be recognized in the financial statements based on their
fair values on the date of grant. The Company currently uses the intrinsic
value
method to measure compensation expense for stock-based awards. The Stock Based
Compensation caption within Note 3 provides a pro forma net income (loss) and
earnings per share as if the Company had used a fair-value based method provided
by SFAS l23R to measure stock-based compensation for 2004, 2003 and 2002. SFAS
No. 123R is effective as of the beginning of the first interim or annual
reporting period that begins after December 31, 2005 and applies to all awards
granted, modified, repurchased or cancelled after the effective date. The
Company is evaluating the requirements of SFAS 123R and expects that its
adoption will not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated results
of operations and earnings per share.
In
November of 2004, the FASB issued SFAS No. 151, “Inventory Costs,” which amends
the guidance in APB No. 43, Chapter 4, “Inventory Pricing,” to clarify the
accounting for abnormal amounts of idle facility expense, freight, handling
costs and wasted material (spoilage). This statement requires that those items
be recognized as current-period charges regardless of whether they meet the
criterion of “so abnormal” as stated in ARB No. 43. Additionally, SFAS 151
requires that allocation of fixed production overheads to the costs of
conversion be based on the normal capacity of the production facilities. The
Company is required to adopt the provisions of SFAS No. 151 in the first quarter
of 2006. The Company does not expect SFAS 151 to have a material impact on
its
consolidated results of operations or financial condition.
In
December of 2004, the FASB issued SFAS No. 153, “Exchanges of Nonmonetary Assets
- An Amendment of APB Opinion No. 29” (SFAS 153). SFAS 153 eliminates the
exception for nonmonetary exchanges of similar productive assets and replaces
it
with a general exception for exchanges of nonmonetary assets that do not have
commercial substance. SFAS 153 is effective for fiscal years beginning after
June 15, 2005 and is required to be adopted by the Company in the first quarter
of 2006. The Company does not believe that the adoption of SFAS 153 will have
a
material impact on the Company’s consolidated results of operations or financial
condition.
38
In
May
2005, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards No. 154, “Accounting Changes and Error Corrections - a
replacement of APB No. 20 and FASB Statement No. 3” (“SFAS 154”). SFAS 154
replaces APB No. 20, “Accounting Changes” and FASB Statement No. 3, “Reporting
Accounting Changes in Interim Financial Statements” and changes the requirement
for accounting for and reporting of a change in accounting principles. SFAS
154
is effective for accounting changes and corrections of errors made in fiscal
years beginning after December 15, 2005. The Company does not anticipate that
adoption of SFAS 154 will have a material impact on the financial position,
results of operations or its cash flows.
The
Company is exposed to various market risks, primarily foreign currency risks
and
interest rate risks.
The
Company's earnings are affected by changes in interest rates as a result of
variable rate indebtedness. If market interest rates for our variable rate
indebtedness averaged 1% more than the interest rate actually paid for the
years
ending December 31, 2005, 2004 and 2003, our interest rate expense would have
increased, and income before income taxes would have decreased by $72,000,
$92,000 and $64,000, for these years, respectively. These amounts are determined
by considering the impact of the hypothetical interest rates on our borrowings.
This analysis does not consider the effects of the reduced level of overall
economic activity that could exist in such an environment. Further, in the
event
of a change of such magnitude, management would likely take actions to reduce
our exposure to such change. However, due to the uncertainty of the specific
actions we would take and their possible effects, the sensitivity analysis
assumes no change in our financial structure.
The
Company's earnings and cash flows are subject to fluctuations due to changes
in
foreign currency rates, particularly the Mexican peso and the British pound,
as
the Company produces and sells products in Mexico for sale in the United States
and other countries and the Company's U.K. subsidiary purchases balloon products
from the Company in U.S. Dollars. Also, the Mexican subsidiary purchases goods
from external sources in U.S. Dollars and is affected by currency fluctuations
in those transactions. Substantially all of the Company's purchases and sales
of
goods for its operations in the United States are done in U.S. Dollars. However,
the Company's level of sales in other countries may be affected by currency
fluctuations. As a result, exchange rate fluctuations may have an effect on
sales and gross margins. Accounting practices require that the Company's results
from operations be converted to U.S. dollars for reporting purposes.
Consequently, the reported earnings of the Company in future periods may be
affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates, generally increasing with
a
weaker U.S. dollar and decreasing with a strengthening U.S. dollar. To date,
we
have not entered into any transactions to hedge against currency fluctuation
effects.
We
have
performed a sensitivity analysis as of December 31, 2005 that measures the
change in the results of our foreign operations arising from a hypothetical
10%
adverse movement in the exchange rate of all of the currencies the Company
presently has operations in. Using the results of operations for 2005, 2004
and
2003 for the Company's foreign operations as a basis for comparison, an adverse
movement of 10% would create a potential reduction in the Company's net income,
or increase its net loss, before taxes, in the amount of, for each of those
years, $140,000, $290,000 and $283,000, respectively.
39
The
Company is also exposed to market risk in changes in commodity prices in some
of
the raw materials it purchases for its manufacturing needs. However, in the
past, we have been able to adjust the sales price of our products so as to
minimize the effect of changes in raw materials pricing and, as a result, we
do
not believe this market risk presents a risk that would have a material effect
on the Company’s results of operations or financial condition.
Reference
is made to the Consolidated Financial Statements attached hereto.
Effective
February 10, 2005, the Company engaged Weiser, LLP as the Company’s principal
accountants to audit the Company's financial statements for the year ending
December 31, 2004. Weiser, LLP replaced Eisner, LLP, which had previously been
engaged for the same purpose, and whose dismissal was effective February 10,
2005. The decision to change the Company's principal accountants was approved
by
the Company's Audit Committee on February 10, 2005.
The
reports of Eisner, LLP, on the Company's financial statements for the fiscal
year ended December 31, 2003, as amended, did not contain an adverse opinion
or
disclaimer of opinion, nor were they qualified or modified as to uncertainty,
audit scope, or accounting principles.
Disclosure
Controls and Procedures
(a)
Evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures. Our principal executive
officer and principal financial officer, after evaluating the effectiveness
of
our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) as of the end of the period covered by this report,
have concluded that, as of such date our disclosure controls and procedures
were
adequate and effective to ensure that material information relating to the
Company would be made known to them by others within the Company.
40
(b)
Changes in internal controls. There were no significant changes in our internal
controls or in other factors that could significantly affect the Company's
disclosure controls and procedures subsequent to the date of their evaluation,
nor were there any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in the
Company's internal controls. As a result, no corrective actions were required
or
undertaken.
41
The
Company's current directors and executive officers and their ages, as of March
31, 2006, are as follows:
Name
|
Age
|
Position
With The Company
|
||
John
H. Schwan
|
61
|
Chairman
and Director
|
||
Howard
W. Schwan
|
51
|
President
and Director
|
||
Stephen
M. Merrick
|
64
|
Executive
Vice President, Secretary and Director
|
||
Brent
Anderson
|
39
|
Vice
President of Manufacturing
|
||
Samuel
Komar
|
49
|
Vice
President of Marketing
|
||
Steven
Frank
|
45
|
Vice
President of Sales
|
||
Timothy
Patterson
|
45
|
Vice
President-Finance and Administration
|
||
Stanley
M. Brown
|
59
|
Director
|
||
Bret
Tayne
|
47
|
Director
|
||
Michael
Avramovich
|
54
|
Director
|
||
John
I. Collins
|
46
|
Director
|
All
directors hold office until the annual meeting next following their election
and/or until their successors are elected and qualified. Officers are elected
annually by the Board of Directors and serve at the discretion of the Board.
Information with respect to the business expenses and affiliation of the
directors and the executive officers of the Company is set forth below:
John
H.
Schwan, Chairman. Mr. Schwan has been an officer and director of the Company
since January 1996. Mr. Schwan has been an executive officer of Rapak L.L.C.
or
affiliated companies (a related party) for over the last 15 years. Mr. Schwan
has over 20 years of general management experience, including manufacturing,
marketing and sales. Mr. Schwan served in the U.S. Army Infantry in Vietnam
from
1966 to 1969, where he attained the rank of First Lieutenant.
Howard
W.
Schwan, President. Mr. Schwan has been associated with the Company for 21 years,
principally in the management of the production and engineering operations
of
the Company. Mr. Schwan was appointed as Vice President of Manufacturing in
November 1990, was appointed as a director in January 1996, and was appointed
as
President in June 1997.
Stephen
M. Merrick, Executive Vice President and Secretary. Mr. Merrick has been a
director of the Company for more than 20 years and has been an officer of the
Company since 1996. Mr. Merrick is Of Counsel to the law firm of Vanasco Genelly
& Miller, Chicago, Illinois, who have provided legal services to the
Company, and has been engaged in the practice of law for more than 40 years.
Mr.
Merrick is also Senior Vice President, Director and a member of the Management
Committee of Reliv International, Inc. (NASDAQ), a manufacturer and direct
marketer of nutritional supplements and food products.
42
Brent
Anderson, Vice President of Manufacturing. Mr. Anderson has been employed by
the
Company since January 1989, and has held a number of engineering positions
with
the Company including Plant Engineer and Plant Manager. In such capacities
Mr.
Anderson was responsible for the design and manufacture of much of the Company's
manufacturing equipment. Mr. Anderson was appointed Vice President of
Manufacturing in June 1997.
Samuel
Komar, Vice President of Marketing. Mr. Komar has been employed by the Company
since March of 1998, and was named Vice-President of Sales in September of
2001.
Mr. Komar has worked in sales for 16 years, and prior to his employment with
the
Company, Mr. Komar was with Bob Gable & Associates, a manufacturer of
sporting goods. Mr. Komar received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sales and
Marketing from Indiana University.
Steven
Frank, Vice President of Sales. Mr. Frank has been employed by the company
since
July 1996. Mr. Frank was hired as Sales Manager Wholesale Division and in March
1998 was promoted to National Sales Manager and most recently to Vice President
of Sales in May 2005. Mr. Frank is responsible for all sales functions of the
Novelty Division.
Timothy
Patterson, Vice President of Finance and Administration. Mr. Patterson has
been
employed by the Company as Vice President of Finance and Administration since
September, 2003. Prior to his employment with the Company, Mr. Patterson was
Manager of Controllers for the Thermoforming group at Solo Cup Company for
two
years. Prior to that, Mr. Patterson was Manager of Corporate Accounting for
Transilwrap Company for three years. Mr. Patterson received a Bachelor of
Science degree in finance from Northern Illinois University and an MBA from
the
University of Illinois at Chicago.
Stanley
M. Brown, Director. Mr. Brown was appointed as a director of the Company in
January 1996. Since March 1996, Mr. Brown has been President of Inn-Room
Systems, Inc., a manufacturer and lessor of in-room vending systems for hotels.
From 1968 to 1989, Mr. Brown was with the United States Navy as a naval aviator,
achieving the rank of Captain.
Bret
Tayne, Director. Mr. Tayne was appointed as a director of the Company in
December 1997. Mr. Tayne has been the President of Everede Tool Company, a
manufacturer of industrial cutting tools, since January 1992. Prior to that,
Mr.
Tayne was Executive Vice President of Unifin, a commercial finance company,
since 1986. Mr. Tayne received a Bachelor of Science degree from Tufts
University and an MBA from Northwestern University.
43
Michael
Avramovich, Director. Mr. Avramovich is a principal of the law firm of
Avramovich & Associates, P.C. of Chicago, Illinois, and has been engaged in
the practice of law for over 7 years. Prior to the practice of law, Mr.
Avramovich was an Associate Professor of Accounting and Finance at
National-Louis University in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Avramovich has also worked
in various financial accounting positions at Molex International, Inc. of Lisle,
Illinois. Mr. Avramovich received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and
International Relations from North Park University, a Master of Management,
Accounting and Information Systems, and Finance from Northwestern University,
a
Juris Doctor from the John Marshall Law School and an LLM in International
and
Corporate Law from Georgetown University Law Center.
John
I.
Collins, Director. Mr. Collins is the Chief Administrative Officer and the
former Chief Financial Officer of Mid-States Corporate Federal Credit Union
(“MSCFCU”). Prior to his affiliation with MSCFCU in 2001, Mr. Collins was
employed as both a Controller and Chief Financial Officer by Great Lakes Credit
Union (“GLCU”), a $350 million financial institution located in North Chicago,
Illinois. Mr. Collins is currently the Treasurer of the Illinois Credit Union
Executives Society, and is a former member of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank
Advisory Group. Mr. Collins received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics,
History and English from Ripon College, and a Masters in Business Administration
from Emory University. Mr. Collins has also participated in the Kellogg
Management Institute and the Consumer Marketing Strategy programs at
Northwestern University on a post-graduate basis.
John
H.
Schwan and Howard W. Schwan are brothers.
Audit
Committee
Since
2000, the Company has had a standing Audit Committee, which is presently
composed of Mr. Tayne, Mr. Brown and Mr. Avramovich. Mr. Avramovich has been
designated and is the Company's "Audit Committee Financial Expert" pursuant
to
paragraph (h)(1)(i)(A) of Item 401 of Regulation S-K of the Exchange Act. The
Audit Committee held four meetings during fiscal year 2005, including quarterly
meetings with management and independent auditors to discuss the Company's
financial statements. Mr. Avramovich and each appointed member of the Audit
Committee satisfies the definition of "independent" as that term is used in
Item
7(d)(3)(iv) of Schedule 14A under the Exchange Act. The Audit Committee reviews
and makes recommendations to the Company about its financial reporting
requirements.
Section
16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section
16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires the Company's officers
and
directors, and persons who own 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 with the NASDAQ Stock
Market. Officers, directors and greater than ten-percent shareholders are
required by SEC regulation to furnish the Company with copies of all Section
16(a) forms they file.
44
Based
solely on a review of such forms furnished to the Company, or written
representations that no Form 5's were required, the Company believes that during
calendar year 2005, it was in compliance with all Section 16(a) filing
requirements applicable to the officers, directors and ten-percent beneficial
shareholders.
Code
of Ethics
The
Company has adopted a code of ethics that applies to its senior executive and
financial officers. The Company's Code of Ethics seeks to promote (1) honest
and
ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts
of interest between personal and professional relationships, (2) full, fair,
accurate, timely and understandable disclosure of information to the Commission,
(3) compliance with applicable governmental laws, rules and regulations, (4)
prompt internal reporting of violations of the Code to predesignated persons,
and (5) accountability for adherence to the Code.
45
Item
No. 11 Executive Compensation
The
following table sets forth certain information with respect to the compensation
paid or accrued by the Company to its President, Chief Executive Officer and
any
other officer who received compensation in excess of $100,000 ("Named Executive
Officers").
Summary
Compensation Table
|
Annual
Compensation
|
Long
Term
Compensation
|
||||
Name
and Principal Position
|
Year
|
Salary
$
|
Underlying
Options
# of
Shares
|
All
Other
Compensation
($)
|
|
Howard
W. Schwan
|
2005
|
$138,000
|
|
$20,280(1)
|
|
President
|
2004
|
$153,000
|
$12,705(2)
|
||
2003
|
$162,500
|
$17,445(3)
|
|||
|
|||||
Steven
Frank
|
2005
|
$97,000
|
10,000
|
||
Vice
President - Sales
|
2004
|
$85,000
|
|||
2003
|
$85,000
|
||||
Brent
Anderson
|
2005
|
$105,000
|
10,000
|
||
Vice
President - Manufacturing
|
2004
|
$99,000
|
|||
2003
|
$95,000
|
||||
Samuel
Komar
|
2005
|
$104,200
|
7,500
|
||
Vice
President - Marketing
|
2004
|
$108,000
|
|||
2003
|
$104,200
|
||||
|
|||||
Timothy
Patterson
|
2005
|
$92,500
|
10,000
|
||
Vice
President - Finance
|
2004
|
$92,500
|
|||
2003
|
$85,000
|
5,000
|
(1)
Includes payment of country club dues of $5,520, employer matching contributions
to the Company's 401(k) plan, a defined contribution plan, of $2,760 and
directors fees paid to the directors of our UK subsidiary CTI Balloons Ltd
of
$12,000.
(2)
Includes Payment of country club dues of $5,520, employer matching contributions
to the Company's 401(k) plan, a defined contribution
plan, of $4,685 and premiums of $2,500 on a life Insurance policy on which
Mr.
Schwan's estate is entitled to death benefits.
(3)
Includes payment of country club dues of $5,520, employer matching contributions
to the Company's 401(k) plan, a defined contribution
plan of $1,925 and premiums of $10,000 on a life Insurance policy on which
Mr.
Schwan's estate is entitled to death benefits.
Certain
Named Executive Officers have received warrants to purchase Common Stock of
the
Company in connection with their guarantee of certain bank loans secured by
the
Company and in connection with their participation in a private offering of
notes and warrants conducted by the Company. See "Board of Director Affiliations
and Related Transactions" below.
46
Option
Grants in Last Fiscal Year
Potential
Realizable Value at
Assumed
Annual Rates of Stock
Price
Appreciation for Option Term
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Grantee
|
#
of
Options
|
%
of
Total
Options
Granted
to
Employees
|
Exercise
Price
|
Expiration
Date
|
5%
($)
|
10%
(%)
|
|||||||||||||
Schwan,
Howard
|
0
|
||||||||||||||||||
Komar,
Sam
|
7,500
|
9.5%
|
2.88
|
12/30/15
|
$
|
13,584.12
|
159.4%
|
||||||||||||
Anderson,
Brent
|
10,000
|
12.7%
|
2.88
|
12/30/15
|
$
|
18,112.17
|
159.4%
|
||||||||||||
Patterson,
Tim
|
10,000
|
12.7%
|
2.88
|
12/30/15
|
$
|
18,112.17
|
159.4%
|
||||||||||||
Frank,
Steve
|
10,000
|
12.7%
|
2.88
|
12/30/15
|
$
|
18,112.17
|
159.4%
|
||||||||||||
Collins,
John
|
1,000
|
1.3%
|
2.88
|
12/30/15
|
$
|
1,811.21
|
159.4%
|
||||||||||||
Brown,
Stanley
|
1,000
|
1.3%
|
2.88
|
12/30/15
|
$
|
1,811.21
|
159.4%
|
||||||||||||
Tayne,
Bret
|
1,000
|
1.3%
|
2.88
|
12/30/15
|
$
|
1,811.21
|
159.4%
|
||||||||||||
Avromovich,
Michael
|
1,000
|
1.3%
|
2.88
|
12/30/15
|
$
|
1,811.21
|
159.4%
|
Aggregated
Option Exercises in Last Fiscal Year and FY-End Option
Values
Name
|
Shares
Acquired
on
Exercise
(#)
|
Value
Realized
($)
|
Number
of Securities Underlying
Unexercised
Options at Year End
(#)
Exercisable/Unexercisable
|
Value
of Unexercised In- the-
Money
Options at Fiscal Year End ($)
Exercisable/Unexercisable(1)
|
John
H. Schwan
|
0
|
0
|
21,826/0
|
$2,143/0
|
Howard
W. Schwan
|
0
|
0
|
53,968/0
|
$32,859/0
|
Stephen
M. Merrick
|
0
|
0
|
21,826/0
|
$2,143/0
|
Brent
Anderson
|
0
|
0
|
41,549/0
|
$25,715/0
|
Samuel
Komar
|
0
|
0
|
32,501/0
|
$25,869/0
|
Timothy
Patterson
|
0
|
0
|
15,000/0
|
$3,400/0
|
Stanley
M. Brown
|
0
|
0
|
9,532/0
|
$1,816/0
|
Bret
Tayne
|
0
|
0
|
9,532/0
|
$5,459/0
|
Michael
Avramovich
|
0
|
0
|
1,000/0
|
$30/0
|
John
Collins
|
0
|
0
|
1,000/0
|
$30/0
|
_________________
(1)
|
The
value of unexercised in-the-money options is based on the difference
between the exercise price and the fair market value of the Company's
Common Stock on December 31, 2005.
|
47
Compensation
Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
During
2005, the Compensation Committee was composed of Stanley M. Brown, John I.
Collins and Bret Tayne. None of the members of the Compensation Committee of
our
Board of Directors is an officer or employee of the Company. No executive
officer of our Company serves as a member of the board of directors or
compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers
serving on our Compensation Committee.
Employment
Agreements
In
June
1997, the Company entered into an Employment Agreement with Howard W. Schwan
as
President, which provides for an annual salary of not less than $135,000. The
term of the Agreement was through June 30, 2002 and is automatically renewed
thereafter for successive one-year terms. The Agreement contains covenants
of
Mr. Schwan with respect to the use of the Company's confidential information,
establishes the Company's right to inventions created by Mr. Schwan during
the
term of his employment, and includes a covenant of Mr. Schwan not to compete
with the Company for a period of three years after the date of termination
of
the Agreement.
Director
Compensation
John
H.
Schwan was compensated in the amount of $24,000 in fiscal year 2005 for his
services as Chairman of the Board of Directors. John H. Schwan, Howard W. Schwan
and Stephen M. Merrick each received $12,000 in directors fees as directors
of
CTI Balloons Ltd. during 2005. Directors other than members of management
received a fee of $1,000 for each Board meeting attended.
48
Principal
Stockholders
The
following table sets forth certain information with respect to the beneficial
ownership of the Company's capital stock, as of March 31, 2006, by (i) each
stockholder who is known by the Company to be the beneficial owner of more
than
5% of the Company's Common Stock, (ii) each director and executive officer
of
the Company who owns any shares of Common Stock and (iii) all executive officers
and directors as a group. Except as otherwise indicated, the Company believes
that the beneficial owners of the shares listed below have sole investment
and
voting power with respect to such shares.
Name
and Address (1)
|
Shares
of Common Stock
Beneficially
Owned (2)
|
Percent
of
Common
Stock(4)
|
John
H. Schwan
|
778,142(3)
|
32.6%
|
Stephen
M. Merrick
|
678,663(5)
|
29.2%
|
Howard
W. Schwan
|
178,904
(6)
|
8.6%
|
Brent
Anderson
|
52,795(7)
|
2.5%
|
Samuel
Komar
|
32,501(8)
|
1.6%
|
Steve
Frank
|
29,049(9)
|
1.4%
|
Timothy
Patterson
|
15,000(10)
|
*
|
John
I. Collins
262
Pine Street
Deerfield
Il 60015
|
1,000(11)
|
*
|
Stanley
M. Brown
1140
Larkin
Wheeling,
IL 60090
|
12,250(12)
|
*
|
Bret
Tayne
6834
N. Kostner Avenue
Lincolnwood,
IL 60712
|
10,023(12)
|
*
|
Michael
Avramovich
70
W. Madison Street, Suite 1400
Chicago,
IL 60602
|
1,000(11)
|
*
|
All
Directors and Executive Officers
as
a group (11 persons)
|
1,789,327
|
79.5%
|
*
Less
than one percent
(1)
|
Except
as otherwise indicated, the address of each stockholder listed above
is
c/o CTI Industries Corporation, 22160 North Pepper Road, Barrington,
Illinois 60010.
|
49
(2)
|
A
person is deemed to be the beneficial owner of securities that can
be
acquired within 60 days from the date set forth above through the
exercise
of any option, warrant or right. Shares of Common Stock subject to
options, warrants or rights that are currently exercisable or exercisable
within 60 days are deemed outstanding for purposes of computing the
percentage ownership of the person holding such options, warrants
or
rights, but are not deemed outstanding for purposes of computing
the
percentage ownership of any other person.
|
(3)
|
Includes
warrants to purchase up to 79,367 shares of Common Stock at $1.50
per
share, warrants to purchase up to 93,000 shares of Common Stock at
$4.87
per share, warrants to purchase up to 151,515 shares of Common Stock
at
$3.30 per share and options to purchase up to 5,952 shares of Common
Stock
at $2.55 per share granted under the Company's 2002 Stock Option
Plan.
Also includes indirect beneficial ownership of 130,821 shares of
Common
Stock through shares owned through CTI Investors, L.L.C. See "Board
of
Directors Affiliations and Related Transactions."
|
(4)
|
Assumes
the exercise of all warrants and options owned by the named person
into
shares of Common Stock and any shares of Common Stock beneficially
owned
by the named person through CTI Investors, L.L.C.
|
(5)
|
Includes
warrants to purchase up to 39,683 shares of Common Stock at $1.50
per
share, warrants to purchase up to 70,000 shares of Common Stock at
$4.87
per share, warrants to purchase up to 151,515 shares of Common Stock
at
$3.30 per share and options to purchase up to 5,952 shares of Common
Stock
at $2.55 per share granted under the Company's 2002 Stock Option
Plan.
Also includes indirect beneficial ownership of 87,214 shares of Common
Stock through shares owned through CTI Investors, L.L.C. See "Board
of
Directors Affiliations and Related Transactions."
|
(6)
|
Includes
options to purchase up to 15,873 shares of Common Stock at $6.30
per share
granted under the Company's 1997 Stock Option Plan, options to purchase
up
to 23,810 shares of Common Stock at $1.89 per share granted under
the
Company's 1999 Stock Option Plan and options to purchase up to 14,285
shares of Common Stock at $2.31 per share granted under the Company's
2002
Stock Option Plan. Also includes indirect beneficial ownership of
65,410
shares of Common Stock through shares owned through CTI Investors,
L.L.C.
See "Board of Directors Affiliations and Related Transactions."
|
(7)
|
Includes
options to purchase up to 4,762 shares of Common Stock at $6.30 per
share
granted under the Company's 1997 Stock Option Plan, options to purchase
up
to 17,858 shares of Common Stock at $1.47 per share, granted under
the
Company's 2001 Stock Option Plan, options to purchase up to 8,928
shares
of Common Stock at $2.31 per share and 10,000 shares at 2.88 granted
under
the Company's 2002 Stock Option Plan.
|
50
(8)
|
Includes
options to purchase up to 4,762 shares of Common Stock at $6.30 per
share
granted under the Company's 1997 Stock Option Plan, options to purchase
up
to 8,334 shares of Common Stock at $1.89 per share granted under
the
Company's 1999 Stock Option Plan, options to purchase up to 11,905
shares
of Common Stock at $1.47 per share granted under the Company's 2001
Stock
Option Plan, and options to purchase up to 7,500 shares of Common
Stock at
$2.88 per share granted under the Company's 2001 Stock Option
Plan.
|
(9)
|
Includes
options to purchase up to 4,762 shares of Common Stock at $6.30 per
share
granted under the Company's 1997 Stock Option Plan, options to purchase
up
to 8,334 shares of Common Stock at $1.89 per share granted under
the
Company's 1999 Stock Option Plan, options to purchase up to 5,953
shares
of Common Stock at $1.47 per share granted under the Company's 2001
Stock
Option Plan, and options to purchase up to 10,000 shares of Common
Stock
at $2.88 per share granted under the Company's 2002 Stock Option
Plan.
|
(10)
|
Includes
options to purchase up to 5,000 shares of Common Stock at $2.26 per
share
and 10,000 shares of Common Stock at $2.88 both granted under the
Company's 2002 Stock Option Plan.
|
(11)
|
Includes
options to purchase up to 1,000 shares of Common Stock at $2.88 per
share
granted under the Company's 2002 Stock
Option.
|
(12)
|
Includes
options to purchase up to 1,985 shares of Common Stock at $6.30 per
share
granted under the Company's 1997 Stock Option Plan, options to purchase
up
to 3,572 shares of Common Stock at $1.89 per share granted under
the
Company's 1999 Stock Option Plan options to purchase up to 2,976
shares of
Common Stock at $2.31 per share and options to purchase up to 1,000
shares
of Common Stock at $2.88 per share both granted under the Company's
2002
Stock Option Plan.
|
51
Equity
Compensation Plan Information
Plan
Category
|
Number
of securities
to
be issued upon
exercise
of
outstanding
options.
(a)
|
Weighted-average
exercise
price of
outstanding
options.
(b)
|
Number
of securities
remaining
available
for
future issuance
under
equity
compensation
plans
(excluding
securities
reflected
in column (a))
(c)
|
|||||||
Equity
compensation plans approved by security holders
|
349,500
|
$
|
3.50
|
907
|
||||||
Equity
compensation plans not approved by security holders
|
0
|
$
|
0
|
0
|
||||||
Total
|
349,500
|
$
|
3.50
|
907
|
Item
No. 13 Certain Relationships and Related Transactions
Stephen
M. Merrick, Executive Vice President and Secretary of the Company, is a
principal of the law firm of Merrick & Associates, P.C., which served as
general counsel of the Company during portions of 2005 and is also Of Counsel
to
Vanasco, Genelly and Miller, a law firm who provided services to the Company
in
2005. In addition, Mr. Merrick is a principal stockholder of the Company. During
2005, Mr. Merrick and such firms were paid total fees and compensation in the
amount of $165,000.
During
2005, John H. Schwan was an officer of an affiliate of Rapak L.L.C. For the
year
ended December 31, 2005, the Company had total sales to Rapak of $6,860,000.
John
H.
Schwan is a principal in Shamrock Packaging. The Company made purchases of
packaging materials from this company in the amount of $165,000 during the
year
ended December 31, 2005.
Messrs.
Schwan and Merrick made advances to the Company’s Mexican affiliate, Flexo
Universal in the amount of $112,500 and $141,900 respectively, in 2005.
Additionally, in 2005, Messrs. Schwan and Merrick advanced $130,000 and
$155,000, respectively, to the Company’s UK affiliate, CTI Balloons Ltd. These
advances are reflected in demand notes bearing interest at the rate of 7% per
annum. Mr. Merrick also advanced $19,209 to the Company in December
2005.
52
On
January 10, 2006, an officer of Flexo Universal, Pablo Gortazar, acquired all
rights in a loan of a credit union to Flexo Universal and CTF International
both
Mexican subsidiaries of the Company for the book value. The principal amount
of
the obligation of Flexo Universal and CTF International acquired was
$191,000, and such amount bears interest at the rate of 9.5% per
annum.
On
February 1, 2006, the Company entered into a new loan agreement with Charter
One
Bank in which Charter One Bank provided to the Company a line of credit totaling
$12,800,000. Also, on the same day, Messrs. John Schwan and Stephen Merrick,
each loaned to the Company the sum of $500,000 in exchange for five year
subordinated notes and warrants to purchase up to 151,515 shares of common
stock
of the Company, each.
The
Company believes that each of the transactions set forth above were entered
into, and any future related party transactions will be entered into, on terms
as fair as those obtainable from independent third parties. All related party
transactions must be approved by a majority of disinterested directors and
subject to review in the context of the Company's Code of Ethics.
The
following table sets forth the aggregate amount of audit fees and all other
fees
billed or expected to be billed by the Company's principal auditor, for the
years ended December 31, 2004 and December 31, 2005:
2005
Amount
|
2004
Amount
|
||||||
Audit
fees (1)
|
$
|
310,500
|
$
|
238,000
|
|||
Tax
Fees(2)
|
$
|
23,000
|
$
|
15,000
|
|||
Total
fees
|
$
|
333,500
|
$
|
253,000
|
__________________
(1) Includes
the annual financial statement audit and quarterly reviews and expenses.
(2) Primarily
represents tax services
53
The
audit
committee of our board of directors reviews all relationships with Weiser LLP,
including the provision of non-audit services, which may relate to the
independent registered accounting firm’s independence. The audit committee of
our board of directors considered the effect of Weiser LLP’s non-audit services
in assessing the independence of the independent registered public accounting
firm and concluded that the provision of such services by Weiser LLP was
compatible with the maintenance of that firm’s independence in the conduct of
its auditing functions.
54
PART
IV
Item
No. 15 Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
1.
|
The
Consolidated Financial Statements filed as part of this report on
Form
10-K are listed on the accompanying Index to Consolidated Financial
Statements and Consolidated Financial Statement
Schedules.
|
2.
|
Financial
schedules required to be filed by Item 8 of this form, and by Item
15(d)
below:
|
Schedule
II Valuation
and qualifying accounts
All
other
financial schedules are not required under the related instructions or are
inapplicable and therefore have been omitted.
3.
|
Exhibits:
|
Exhibit
Number
|
Document
|
3.1
|
Third
Restated Certificate of Incorporation of CTI Industries Corporation
(Incorporated by reference to Exhibit A contained in Registrant’s Schedule
14A Definitive Proxy Statement for solicitation of written consent
of
shareholders, as filed with the Commission on October 25,
1999)
|
3.2
|
By-Laws
of CTI Industries Corporation (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits,
contained in Registrant’s Form SB-2 Registration Statement (File No.
333-31969) effective November 5,
1997)
|
4.1
|
Form
of CTI Industries Corporation’s common stock certificate (Incorporated by
reference to Exhibits, contained in Registrant’s Form SB-2 Registration
Statement (File No. 333-31969) effective November 5,
1997)
|
10.1
|
CTI
Industries Corporation 1999 Stock Option Plan (Incorporated by reference
to Exhibit contained in Registrant’s Schedule 14A Definitive Proxy
Statement, as filed with the Commission on March 26, 1999)
|
10.2
|
CTI
Industries Corporation 2001 Stock Option Plan (Incorporated by reference
to Exhibit contained in Registrant’s Schedule 14A Definitive Proxy
Statement, as filed with the Commission on May 21,
2001)
|
10.3
|
CTI
Industries Corporation 2002 Stock Option Plan (Incorporated by reference
to Exhibit contained in Registrant’s Schedule 14A Definitive Proxy
Statement, as filed with the Commission on May 15,
2002)
|
55
10.4
|
Employment
Agreement dated June 30, 1997, between CTI Industries Corporation
and
Howard W. Schwan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits, contained
in
Registrant’s Form SB-2 Registration Statement (File No. 333-31969)
effective November 5, 1997.)
|
10.5
|
Warrant
dated July 17, 2001 to purchase 79,364 shares of Common Stock John
H.
Schwan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained in the
Registrant’s 2002 10-KSB, as filed with the Commission on May 1,
2003)
|
10.6
|
Warrant
dated July 17, 2001 to purchase 39,683 shares of Common Stock Stephen
M.
Merrick (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained in the
Registrant’s 2002 10-KSB, as filed with the Commission on May 1,
2003)
|
10.7
|
Note
dated January 28, 2003, CTI Industries Corporation to Stephen M.
Merrick
in the sum of $500,000 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained
in
the Registrant’s 2002 10-KSB, as filed with the Commission on May 1,
2003)
|
10.8
|
Note
dated February 28, 2003, CTI Industries Corporation to Stephen M.
Merrick
in the sum of $200,000 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained
in
the Registrant’s 2002 10-KSB, as filed with the Commission on May 1,
2003)
|
10.9
|
Note
dated February 10, 2003, CTI Industries Corporation to John H. Schwan
in
the sum of $150,000 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained
in
the Registrant’s 2002 10-KSB, as filed with the Commission on May 1,
2003)
|
10.10
|
Note
dated February 15, 2003, CTI Industries Corporation to John Schwan
in the
sum of $680,000 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained
in the
Registrant’s 2002 10-KSB, as filed with the Commission on May 1,
2003)
|
10.11
|
Note
dated March 3, 2003, CTI Industries Corporation to John H. Schwan
in the
sum of $100,000 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained
in the
Registrant’s 2002 10-KSB, as filed with the Commission on May 1,
2003)
|
10.12
|
Warrant
dated March 20, 2003, to purchase 70,000 shares of Common Stock -
Stephen
M. Merrick (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained in the
Registrant’s 2002 10-KSB, as filed with the Commission on May 1,
2003)
|
10.13
|
Warrant
dated March 20, 2003, to purchase 93,000 shares of Common Stock -
John H.
Schwan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained in the
Registrant’s 2002 10-KSB, as filed with the Commission on May 1,
2003)
|
10.14
|
Loan
and Security Agreement dated December 30, 2003, between the Company
and
Cole Taylor Bank
|
10.15
|
Term
Note in the sum of $3,500,000 dated December 30, 2003 made by CTI
Industries Corporation to Cole Taylor
Bank
|
56
10.16
|
Revolving
Note in the sum of $7,500,000 dated December 30, 2003, made by CTI
Industries Corporation to Cole Taylor
Bank
|
10.17
|
Mortgage
dated January 12, 2001 for the benefit of Banco Popular, N.A.
(Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained in the Registrant’s
Restated 2001 10-KSB, as filed with the Commission on May 1,
2003)
|
10.18
|
Secured
Promissory Note in the sum of $2,700,000 dated December 15, 2000
made by
CTI Industries Corporation to Banco Popular, N.A. (Incorporated by
reference to Exhibits contained in the Registrant’s Restated 2001 10-KSB,
as filed with the Commission on May 1,
2003)
|
10.19
|
Secured
Promissory Note in the sum of $173,000 dated December 15, 2000 made
by CTI
Industries Corporation to Banco Popular, N.A. (Incorporated by reference
to Exhibits contained in the Registrant’s Restated 2001 10-KSB, as filed
with the Commission on May 1, 2003)
|
10.20
|
Amendment
No. 7 to Loan and Security Agreement between Company and Cole Taylor
Bank
dated September 29, 2005 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained
in Registrant’s Report on Form 8-K dated September 30,
2005)
|
10.21
|
Amendment
No. 8 to Loan and Security Agreement between Company and Cole Taylor
Bank
dated December 28, 2005 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained
in Registrant’s Report on Form 8-K dated December 30,
2005)
|
10.22
|
Loan
and Security Agreement between Charter One Bank and the Company dated
February 1, 2006 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained
in
Registrant’s Report on Form 8-K dated February 3,
2006)
|
10.23
|
Warrant
dated February 1, 2006, to purchase 151,515 shares of Common Stock
- John
H. Schwan (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained in Registrant’s
Report on Form 8-K dated February 3,
2006)
|
10.24
|
Warrant
dated February 1, 2006, to purchase 151,515 shares of Common Stock
-
Stephen M. Merrick (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained
in
Registrant’s Report on Form 8-K dated February 3,
2006)
|
10.25
|
Note
dated February 1, 2006, CTI Industries Corporation to John Schwan
in the
sum of $500,000 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained
in
Registrant’s Report on Form 8-K dated February 3,
2006)
|
10.26
|
Note
dated February 1, 2006, CTI Industries Corporation to Stephen M.
Merrick
in the sum of $500,000 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained
in
Registrant’s Report on Form 8-K dated February 3,
2006)
|
57
10.27
|
Production
and Supply Agreement between ITW Spacebag and the Company dated March
17,
2006 (Incorporated by reference to Exhibits contained in Registrant’s
Report on Form 8-K dated March 17, 2006)
|
11
|
Computation
of Earnings Per Share (Incorporated by reference to Note 17 of the
Consolidated Financial Statements contained in Part
IV)
|
14
|
Code
of Ethics (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit contained in the
Registrant’s Form 10-K/A Amendment No. 2, as filed with the Commission on
October 8, 2004)
|
21
|
Subsidiaries
(description incorporated in Form 10-K under Item No.
1)
|
23.1
|
Consent
of Independent Auditors, Weiser LLP
|
23.2
|
Consent
of Independent Auditors, Eisner,
LLP
|
31.1
|
Certification
of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and rule 15d-14(a)
of the Securities Exchange Act, as amended (filed
herewith)
|
31.2
|
Certification
of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and rule 15d-14(a)
of the Securities Exchange Act, as amended (filed
herewith)
|
32
|
Certification
of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to
18
U.S.C. 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act
of 2002 (filed herewith)
|
(a)
|
The
Exhibits listed in subparagraph (a)(3) of this Item 15 are attached
hereto
unless incorporated by reference to a previous
filing.
|
(b)
|
The
Schedule listed in subparagraph (a)(2) of this Item 15 is attached
hereto.
|
58
SIGNATURES
In
accordance with Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act the Registrant caused
this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly
authorized on April 13, 2006.
CTI INDUSTRIES CORPORATION | ||
|
|
|
By: | /s/ Howard W. Schwan | |
Howard W. Schwan, President |
||
In
accordance with the Exchange Act, this report has been signed below by the
following persons on behalf of the Registrant in the capacities and on the
dates
indicated.
Signatures
|
Title
|
Date
|
|
/s/
Howard W. Schwan
|
President
and Director
|
April
14, 2006
|
|
Howard
W. Schwan
|
|||
/s/
John H. Schwan
|
Chairman
and Director
|
April
14, 2006
|
|
John
H. Schwan
|
|||
/s/
Stephen M. Merrick
|
Executive
Vice President,
|
April
14, 2006
|
|
Stephen
M. Merrick
|
Secretary,
Chief Financial
Officer
and Director
|
||
/s/
Stanley M. Brown
|
Director
|
April
14, 2006
|
|
Stanley
M. Brown
|
|||
/s/
Bret Tayne
|
Director
|
April
14, 2006
|
|
Bret
Tayne
|
|||
/s/
Michael Avramovich
|
Director
|
April
14, 2006
|
|
Michael
Avramovich
|
|||
/s/
John I. Collins
|
Director
|
April
14, 2006
|
|
John
I. Collins
|
59
REPORT
OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To
the
Board of Directors and
Stockholders
of CTI Industries Corporation
We
have
audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of CTI Industries
Corporation and Subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2005 and 2004,
and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and
comprehensive loss, and cash flows for 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 financial
statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining,
on a
test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements. An audit also includes 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 consolidated financial position of CTI Industries
Corporation and Subsidiaries as of December 31, 2005 and 2004, and the results
of their consolidated operations and their consolidated cash flows for the
years
then ended in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
We
have
also audited the consolidated financial statement Schedule II for the years
ended December 31, 2005 and 2004. In our opinion, this schedule presents fairly,
in all material respects, the information required to be set forth therein.
/s/
Weiser LLP
New
York,
New York
March 13,
2006
F-1
REPORT
OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The
Board of Directors and Stockholders
CTI
Industries Corporation
We
have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of CTI Industries
Corporation and subsidiaries (the “Company” as of December 31, 2003 and the
related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash
flows for the year then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility
of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on
these financial statements based on our audit.
We
conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that
we plan
and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial
statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining,
on a
test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used
and
significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a
reasonable basis for our opinion.
In
our opinion the consolidated financial statements enumerated above present
fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of
CTI
Industries Corporation and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2003, and the
consolidated results of their operations and their cash flows for the year
then
ended, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the
United
States of America.
/s/
Eisner LLP
New
York, New York
February
18, 2004
With
respect to the first paragraph of Note
6
April
14, 2004
With
respect to the third paragraph of Note
3
October
1, 2004 (not presented
herein)
F-2
CTI
Industries Corporation and Subsidiaries
|
|||
Consolidated
Balance Sheets
|
December
31, 2005
|
December
31, 2004
|
||||||
ASSETS
|
|||||||
Current
assets:
|
|||||||
Cash
|
$
|
261,982
|
$
|
526,470
|
|||
Accounts
receivable, (less allowance for doubtful accounts of $ 80,000 and
$404,000
respectively)
|
4,343,671
|
6,123,137
|
|||||
Inventories,
net
|
7,022,569
|
8,348,494
|
|||||
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
707,082
|
646,805
|
|||||
Total
current assets
|
12,335,304
|
15,644,906
|
|||||
Property,
plant and equipment:
|
|||||||
Machinery
and equipment
|
18,869,276
|
18,451,428
|
|||||
Building
|
2,602,922
|
2,614,271
|
|||||
Office
furniture and equipment
|
2,010,557
|
1,926,371
|
|||||
Land
|
250,000
|
250,000
|
|||||
Leasehold
improvements
|
510,134
|
640,428
|
|||||
Fixtures
and equipment at customer locations
|
2,330,483
|
2,286,814
|
|||||
Projects
under construction
|
130,994
|
55,650
|
|||||
26,704,366
|
26,224,962
|
||||||
Less
: accumulated depreciation and amortization
|
(17,087,622
|
)
|
(15,636,451
|
)
|
|||
Total
property, plant and equipment, net
|
9,616,744
|
10,588,511
|
|||||
Other
assets:
|
|||||||
Net
deferred financing costs, net
|
74,396
|
120,375
|
|||||
Goodwill
|
989,108
|
1,113,108
|
|||||
Net
deferred income tax asset
|
352,689
|
175,288
|
|||||
Other
assets
|
167,809
|
245,376
|
|||||
Total
other assets
|
1,584,002
|
1,654,147
|
|||||
TOTAL
ASSETS
|
$
|
23,536,050
|
$
|
27,887,564
|
|||
LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
|||||||
Current
liabilities
|
|||||||
Checks
written in excess of bank balance
|
$
|
500,039
|
$
|
513,417
|
|||
Trades
payable
|
4,717,733
|
6,147,969
|
|||||
Line
of credit
|
5,050,753
|
6,401,225
|
|||||
Notes
payable - current portion
|
1,329,852
|
3,500,669
|
|||||
Notes
payable - officers current portion
|
2,237,292
|
60,000
|
|||||
Accrued
liabilities
|
925,719
|
1,811,775
|
|||||
Total
current liabilities
|
14,761,388
|
18,435,055
|
|||||
Long-term
liabilities:
|
|||||||
Other
liabilities (related parties of $1,056,000 and $517,000)
|
1,644,339
|
1,371,364
|
|||||
Notes
payable
|
4,394,390
|
2,864,129
|
|||||
Notes
payable - officers
|
0
|
2,255,616
|
|||||
Total
long-term liabilities
|
6,038,729
|
6,491,109
|
|||||
Minority
interest
|
10,091
|
10,230
|
|||||
Stockholders'
equity:
|
|||||||
Preferred
stock - no par value 2,000,000 shares authorizes, 0 shares issued
and
outstanding
|
0
|
0
|
|||||
Common
stock - no par value, 5,000,000 shares authorized, 2,268,269 and
2,185,896
shares issued, 2,036,474 and 1,954,100 shares outstanding,
respectively
|
3,764,020
|
3,764,020
|
|||||
Class
B Common stock - no par value, 500,000 shares authorized, 0 shares
issued
and outstanding
|
0
|
0
|
|||||
Paid-in-capital
|
5,869,828
|
5,615,411
|
|||||
Warrants
issued in connection with subordinated debt and bank debt
|
595,174
|
595,174
|
|||||
Accumulated
deficit
|
(6,340,646
|
)
|
(6,007,437
|
)
|
|||
Accumulated
other comprehensive loss
|
(223,420
|
)
|
(76,884
|
)
|
|||
Less:
|
|||||||
Treasury
stock - 231,796 shares
|
(939,114
|
)
|
(939,114
|
)
|
|||
Total
stockholders' equity
|
2,725,842
|
2,951,170
|
|||||
TOTAL
LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
$
|
23,536,050
|
$
|
27,887,564
|
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements
F-3
CTI
Industries Corporation and Subsidiaries
Consolidated
Statements of Operations
Year
Ended December 31,
|
||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
Net
sales
|
$
|
29,189,974
|
$
|
37,193,109
|
$
|
36,259,638
|
||||
Cost
of sales
|
22,725,825
|
30,840,989
|
29,626,450
|
|||||||
Gross
profit
|
6,464,149
|
6,352,120
|
6,633,188
|
|||||||
Operating
expenses:
|
||||||||||
General
and administrative
|
3,846,538
|
4,410,595
|
4,054,607
|
|||||||
Selling
|
1,064,944
|
1,495,257
|
1,441,501
|
|||||||
Advertising
and marketing
|
776,571
|
1,014,463
|
1,816,301
|
|||||||
Asset
impairment loss
|
124,000
|
|||||||||
Total
operating expenses
|
5,812,053
|
6,920,315
|
7,312,409
|
|||||||
Income
(loss) from operations
|
652,096
|
(568,195
|
)
|
(679,221
|
)
|
|||||
Other
income (expense):
|
||||||||||
Interest
expense
|
(1,230,964
|
)
|
(1,350,085
|
)
|
(1,103,395
|
)
|
||||
Interest
income
|
-
|
-
|
13,618
|
|||||||
Gain
(loss) on sale of assets
|
-
|
122,499
|
28,007
|
|||||||
Foreign
currency (loss) gain
|
45,128
|
208,213
|
(36,132
|
)
|
||||||
Other
|
395,489
|
428,125
|
||||||||
|
||||||||||
Total
other (expense) income
|
(1,185,836
|
)
|
(623,884
|
)
|
(669,777
|
)
|
||||
Loss
before income taxes and minority interest
|
(533,740
|
)
|
(1,192,079
|
)
|
(1,348,998
|
)
|
||||
Income
tax (benefit) expense
|
(200,392
|
)
|
1,286,232
|
(782,468
|
)
|
|||||
Loss
before minority interest
|
(333,348
|
)
|
(2,478,311
|
)
|
(566,530
|
)
|
||||
Minority
interest in (loss) income of subsidiary
|
(139
|
)
|
1,063
|
(483
|
)
|
|||||
Net
loss
|
$
|
(333,209
|
)
|
$
|
(2,479,374
|
)
|
$
|
(566,047
|
)
|
|
Loss
applicable to common shares
|
$
|
(333,209
|
)
|
$
|
(2,479,374
|
)
|
$
|
(566,047
|
)
|
|
Basic
loss per common share
|
$
|
(0.17
|
)
|
$
|
(1.28
|
)
|
$
|
(0.30
|
)
|
|
Diluted
loss per common share
|
$
|
(0.17
|
)
|
$
|
(1.28
|
)
|
$
|
(0.30
|
)
|
|
Weighted
average number of shares and equivalent shares of common stock
outstanding:
|
||||||||||
Basic
|
1,977,235
|
1,930,976
|
1,918,260
|
|||||||
Diluted
|
1,977,235
|
1,930,976
|
1,918,260
|
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements
F-4
CTI
Industries Corporation and Subsidiaries
Consolidated
Statements of Stockholders' Equity and
Comprehensive Loss
Warrants
|
Accumulated
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class
B
|
issued
in
|
Other
|
Less
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Common
Stock
|
Common
Stock
|
Paid-in
|
connection
with
|
Accumulated
|
Comprehensive
|
Treasury
Stock
|
Notes
Recvble
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares
|
Amount
|
Shares
|
Amount
|
Capital
|
|
subordinated
debt
|
Deficit
|
Loss
|
Shares
|
Amount
|
Shareholders
|
TOTAL
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
December 31, 2002
|
2,141,882
|
$
|
3,748,270
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
5,554,332
|
-
|
$
|
135,462
|
$
|
(2,962,016
|
)
|
$
|
(6,002
|
)
|
231,796
|
$
|
(939,114
|
)
|
$
|
(56,456
|
)
|
$
|
5,474,476
|
||||||||||||||
Options
Exercised
|
8,334
|
$
|
15,750
|
$
|
15,750
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Subordinated
debt contributed to exercise warrants
|
$
|
459,712
|
$
|
459,712
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Collection
of Notes Receivable
|
$
|
56,456
|
$
|
56,456
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net
Loss
|
($566,047
|
)
|
$
|
(566,047
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other
comprehensive income
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign
currency translation
|
($228,766
|
)
|
$
|
(228,766
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total
comprehensive loss
|
$
|
(794,813
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
December 31, 2003
|
2,150,216
|
$
|
3,764,020
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
5,554,332
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
595,174
|
$
|
(3,528,063
|
)
|
$
|
(234,768
|
)
|
231,796
|
$
|
(939,114
|
)
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
5,211,581
|
||||||||||||||
Stock
issued for Services
|
35,680
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
61,079
|
$
|
61,079
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net
Loss
|
($2,479,374
|
)
|
$
|
(2,479,374
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other
comprehensive income
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign
currency translation
|
$
|
157,884
|
$
|
157,884
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total
comprehensive loss
|
$
|
(2,321,490
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
December 31, 2004
|
2,185,896
|
$
|
3,764,020
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
5,615,411
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
595,174
|
$
|
(6,007,437
|
)
|
$
|
(76,884
|
)
|
231,796
|
$
|
(939,114
|
)
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
2,951,170
|
||||||||||||||
Options
Exercised
|
32,144
|
$
|
53,501
|
$
|
53,501
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stock
issued for Services
|
50,229
|
$
|
200,916
|
$
|
200,916
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net
Loss
|
($333,209
|
)
|
$
|
(333,209
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other
comprehensive income
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign
currency translation
|
($146,536
|
)
|
$
|
(146,536
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total
comprehensive loss
|
$
|
(479,745
|
)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
December 31, 2005
|
2,268,269
|
$
|
3,764,020
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
5,869,828
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
595,174
|
$
|
(6,340,646
|
)
|
$
|
(223,420
|
)
|
231,796
|
$
|
(939,114
|
)
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
2,725,842
|
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements
F-5
CTI
Industries Corporation and Subsidiaries
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows
Year
Ended December 31,
|
||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
Cash
flows from operating activities:
|
||||||||||
Net
loss
|
$
|
(333,209
|
)
|
$
|
(2,479,374
|
)
|
$
|
(566,047
|
)
|
|
Adjustment
to reconcile net loss to cash provided by (used in) operating
activities:
|
||||||||||
Depreciation
and amortization
|
1,463,369
|
1,651,322
|
1,618,563
|
|||||||
Deferred
gain on sale/leaseback
|
0
|
(175,271
|
)
|
(30,047
|
)
|
|||||
Amortization
of debt discount
|
35,967
|
251,490
|
238,199
|
|||||||
Minority
interest in loss of subsidiary
|
65
|
1,063
|
(483
|
)
|
||||||
Loss
on asset impairment
|
124,000
|
|||||||||
Provision
for losses on accounts receivable
|
145,000
|
288,562
|
220,000
|
|||||||
Provision
for losses on inventories
|
205,000
|
60,000
|
135,000
|
|||||||
Shares
issued for services
|
200,916
|
0
|
0
|
|||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
(200,392
|
)
|
1,189,135
|
(782,468
|
)
|
|||||
Change
in operating assets and liabilities:
|
||||||||||
Accounts
receivable
|
1,634,466
|
(1,791,423
|
)
|
619,113
|
||||||
Inventories
|
1,120,925
|
854,666
|
560,433
|
|||||||
Other
assets
|
205,731
|
426,662
|
66,313
|
|||||||
Trade
payables, accrued and other liabilities
|
(1,862,861
|
)
|
(847,411
|
)
|
1,129,596
|
|||||
Net
cash provided by (used in) operating activities
|
2,738,977
|
(570,579
|
)
|
3,208,172
|
||||||
Cash
flows from investing activities:
|
||||||||||
Purchases
of property, plant and equipment
|
(549,547
|
)
|
(305,546
|
)
|
(2,007,104
|
)
|
||||
Proceeds
from sale of property, plant and equipment
|
151,206
|
32,094
|
0
|
|||||||
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
(398,341
|
)
|
(273,452
|
)
|
(2,007,104
|
)
|
||||
Cash
flows from financing activities:
|
||||||||||
Checks
written in excess of bank balance
|
(13,378
|
)
|
172,309
|
227,648
|
||||||
Net
change in revolving line of credit
|
(1,350,472
|
)
|
2,706,984
|
(1,948,408
|
)
|
|||||
Proceeds
from issuance of long-term debt (Received from related parties
559,000,
267,000 and 250,000)
|
300,439
|
558,077
|
6,768,759
|
|||||||
Repayment
of long-term debt
|
(811,776
|
)
|
(2,513,261
|
)
|
(5,649,014
|
)
|
||||
Repayment
of short-term debt (Related parties 60,000 in 2005)
|
(402,324
|
)
|
||||||||
Proceeds
from exercise of stock options
|
53,501
|
0
|
15,750
|
|||||||
Collection
of stockholder note
|
0
|
0
|
56,456
|
|||||||
Cash
paid for deferred financing fees
|
(141,316
|
)
|
(41,234
|
)
|
(275,044
|
)
|
||||
Net
cash (used in) provided by financing activities
|
(2,365,326
|
)
|
882,875
|
(803,853
|
)
|
|||||
Effect
of exchange rate changes on cash
|
(239,797
|
)
|
157,884
|
(227,966
|
)
|
|||||
Net
(decrease) increase in cash
|
(264,487
|
)
|
196,728
|
169,249
|
||||||
Cash
at beginning of period
|
526,469
|
329,742
|
160,493
|
|||||||
Cash
at end of period
|
$
|
261,982
|
$
|
526,470
|
$
|
329,742
|
||||
Supplemental
disclosure of cash flow information:
|
950,280
|
952,682
|
865,196
|
|||||||
Cash
payments for interest
|
88,151
|
47,186
|
42,295
|
|||||||
Cash
payments for taxes
|
||||||||||
Supplemental
disclosure of non-cash activity:
|
||||||||||
Settlement
of liability with third party
via
ownership transfer of long-term asset
|
241,268
|
|||||||||
Stock
issued to reduce vendor obligations at fair value
|
61,079
|
|||||||||
Accounts
payable converted to notes payable
|
453,503
|
3,534,326
|
||||||||
Refinance
mortage
|
2,671,243
|
|||||||||
See
accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements
F-6
CTI
Industries Corporation and Subsidiaries
Notes
to the Consolidated Financial Statements
1.
|
Nature
of Operations
|
CTI
Industries Corporation, its United Kingdom subsidiary (CTI Balloons
Limited),
and Mexican subsidiaries (Flexo Universal, S.A. de C.V., CTI Mexico
Corporation,
S.A. de C.V. and CTF International S.A. de C.V.), and CTI Helium,
Inc. (the
“Company”) (i) design, manufacture and distribute metallized and latex balloon
products throughout the world and (ii) operate systems for the production,
lamination, coating and printing of films used for food packaging
and other
commercial uses and for conversion of films to flexible packaging
containers and
other products.
2.
|
Summary
of Significant Accounting
Policies
|
Basis
of Presentation
The accompanying
consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the
Company will continue as a going concern. The Company has incurred
recurring
operating losses, has a working capital deficit of $2,426,000 and
an accumulated
deficit of $6,341,000 as of December 31, 2005. The Company refinanced
its credit
facilities and two shareholders of the Company loaned the Company
$1,000,000 as
more fully described in Note 21. Management believes that as a
result of these
events that it will have sufficient liquidity to meet its obligations
as they
come due. The financial statements do not include any adjustments
that might
result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Principles
of Consolidation
The
consolidated financial statements include the accounts of CTI Industries
Corporation, its wholly owned subsidiaries CTI Balloons Limited,
CTF
International S.A. de C.V., and CTI Helium, Inc. and its majority
owned
subsidiaries, Flexo Universal and CTI Mexico Corporation. All significant
intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated upon
consolidation.
Foreign
Currency Translation
The
financial statements of foreign subsidiaries are translated into
U.S. dollars
using the exchange rate at each balance sheet date for assets and
liabilities,
the historical exchange rate for stockholders’ equity, and a weighted average
exchange rate for each period for revenues and expenses. Translation
adjustments
are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as
the local
currencies of the subsidiaries are the functional currencies. Foreign
currency
transaction gains and losses are recognized in the period incurred
and are
included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Use
of Estimates
In
preparing financial statements in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of America, management makes
estimates
and assumptions that affect the amounts reported of assets and liabilities,
disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the
financial
statements and the reported amount of revenues and expenses during
the reporting
period in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual
results may
differ from those estimates. The Company’s significant estimates include
reserves for doubtful accounts, reserves for lower of cost to market
of
inventory and recovery value of goodwill.
Cash
and Cash Equivalents
Cash
and
cash equivalents include cash on hand, demand deposits and short
term
investments with original maturities of three months or less.
Accounts
Receivable
Trade
receivables are carried at original invoice amount less an estimate
for doubtful
receivables based on a review of all outstanding amounts on a monthly
basis.
Management determines the allowance for doubtful accounts by identifying
troubled accounts, evaluating the individual customer receivables
then
considering the customer’s financial condition, credit history and current
economic conditions and by using historical experience applied to
an aging of
accounts. A trade receivable is considered to be past due if any
portion of the
receivable balance is outstanding for a period over the customers’ normal terms.
Trade receivables are written off when deemed uncollectible. Recoveries
of trade
receivables previously written off are recorded when received.
F-7
Inventories
Inventories
are stated at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined using
standard
costs which approximates costing determined on a first-in, first-out
basis, to
reflect the actual cost of production of inventories.
Production
costs of work in process and finished goods include material labor
and overhead,
including general and administrative expenses where applicable. Work
in process
and finished goods are not recorded in excess of net realizable
value.
Property,
Plant and Equipment
Property
and equipment are stated at cost. Expenditures for maintenance and
repairs are
charged to operations as incurred. Depreciation is computed using
the
straight-line and declining-balance methods over estimated useful
lives of the
related assets. Leasehold improvements are amortized on a straight-line
method
over the lesser of the estimated useful life or the lease term. The
estimated
useful lives range as follows:
Building
|
25
- 30 years
|
Machinery
and equipment
|
3
-
15 years
|
Office
furniture and equipment
|
5
-
8 years
|
Leasehold
improvements
|
5
-
8 years
|
Furniture
& equipment at customer locations
|
2
-
3 years
|
Projects
in process represent those costs capitalized in connection with construction
of
new assets and/or improvements to existing assets. Upon completion,
these costs
are reclassified to the appropriate asset class.
Goodwill
The
Company applies the provisions of SFAS 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible
Assets”, under which goodwill is not amortized but is tested at least annually
for impairment. Goodwill on the accompanying balance sheets relates
to Flexo
Universal. It is the Company’s policy to perform impairment testing for Flexo
Universal annually as of December 31, or as circumstances change.
Valuation
of Long Lived Assets
The
Company evaluates whether events or circumstances have occurred which
indicate
that the carrying amounts of long-lived assets (principally property,
plant and
equipment) may be impaired or not recoverable. The significant factors
that are
considered that could trigger an impairment review include: changes
in business
strategy, market conditions, or the manner of use of an asset; underperformance
relative to historical or expected future operating results; and
negative
industry or economic trends. In evaluating an asset for possible
impairment,
management estimates that asset’s future undiscounted cash flows and appraised
values to measure whether the asset is recoverable, the Company measures
the
impairment based on the projected discounted cash flows of the asset
over its
remaining life. While the Company believes that our estimates of
future cash
flows are reasonable, different assumptions regarding such cash flows
could
materially affect these evaluations.
Deferred
Financing Costs
Deferred
financing costs are amortized on a straight line basis over the term
of the
loan.
F-8
Income
Taxes
The
Company accounts for income taxes using the liability method. As
such, deferred
income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences
between
carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting
purposes and
the amount used for income tax purposes. Deferred tax assets and
liabilities are
measured using enacted tax rates expected to be in effect when the
anticipated
reversal of these differences is scheduled to occur. Deferred tax
assets are
reduced by a valuation allowance when, in the opinion of management,
it is more
likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets
will not be
realized. The Company is subject to U.S. Federal, state and local
taxes as well
as foreign taxes in the United Kingdom and Mexico. The Company’s investments in
non-U.S. subsidiaries are deemed to be invested for an indefinite
period of
time.
Fair
Value of Financial Instruments
The
fair
value of the Company’s financial instruments relating to accounts receivable,
trades payable and accrued expenses approximates fair value due to
their
short-term nature. The fair value of debt approximates its carrying
value as the
interest rates applicable to these debt instruments are comparable
to current
market rates for similar maturities.
Other
Comprehensive Income (Loss)
For
years
ended December 31, 2005,2004 and 2003 other comprehensive income
(loss)
consisted of foreign currency translation adjustments, which is a
component of
accumulated other comprehensive loss within stockholder’s equity.
Revenue
Recognition
The
Company recognizes revenue when title transfers upon shipment. Revenue
from a
transaction is not recognized until (i) a definitive arrangement
exists, (ii)
delivery of the product has occurred or the services have been performed
and
legal title and risk are transferred to the customer, (iii) the price
to the
buyer has been fixed or is determinable and (iv) collectibility is
reasonably
assured. In some cases, product is provided on consignment to customers.
For
these cases, revenue is recognized when the customer reports a sale
of the
product.
Stock-Based
Compensation
At
December 31, 2005, the Company has four stock-based compensation
plans, which
are described more fully in Note 16. The Company accounts for those
plans under
the recognition and measurement principles of APB Opinion No. 25,
“Accounting
for Stock Issued to Employees” and related interpretations. The Company
recognizes compensation cost for stock-based compensation awards
equal to the
difference between the quoted market price of the stock at the date
of grant or
award and the price to be paid by the employee upon exercise in accordance
with
the provisions of APB No. 25. Based upon the terms of Company’s current stock
option plans, the stock price on the date of grant and price paid
upon exercise
are the same. Accordingly, no stock-based employee compensation cost
has been
recognized, as all options granted under those plans had an exercise
price equal
to the market value of the underlying common stock on the date of
grant. The
Company has adopted the disclosure provision of Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 148 “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation -
Transition Disclosure,” an amendment of SFAS Statement No. 123 (“SFAS No. 148”)
The following table illustrates the effect on net loss and earnings
per share
had compensation cost for all of the stock-based compensation plans
been
determined based on the grant date fair values of awards:
F-9
Years
Ended December 31,
|
||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
Net
loss:
|
||||||||||
Reported
|
(333,000
|
)
|
(2,479,000
|
)
|
(566,000
|
)
|
||||
Deduct
total stock-based employee compensation expense
|
||||||||||
determined
under fair value based method for all awards, net of
|
||||||||||
related
tax effects
|
(124,000
|
)
|
-
|
(9,000
|
)
|
|||||
Pro
forma net loss
|
(457,000
|
)
|
(2,479,000
|
)
|
(575,000
|
)
|
||||
Net
loss per share:
|
||||||||||
Basic
- As reported
|
(0.17
|
)
|
(1.28
|
)
|
(0.30
|
)
|
||||
Basic
- Proforma
|
(0.23
|
)
|
(1.28
|
)
|
(0.30
|
)
|
||||
Diluted
- As reported
|
(0.17
|
)
|
(1.28
|
)
|
(0.30
|
)
|
||||
Diluted
- Proforma
|
(0.23
|
)
|
(1.28
|
)
|
(0.30
|
)
|
The
fair
value of each option was estimated as of the date of the grant using
the
Black-Scholes option pricing model based on the following
assumptions:
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
Expected
life (years)
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
5.0
|
|||||||
Volatility
|
138.86%
|
128.49%
|
136.6%
|
|||||||
Risk-free
interest rate
|
3.89%
|
1.9%
|
4.4%
|
|||||||
Dividend
yield
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Research
and Development
The
Company conducts product development and research activities which
includes (i)
creative product development, (ii) creative marketing, and (iii)
engineering.
During the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004 and 2003, research
and
development activities totaled $224,000, $246,000 and $335,000,
respectively.
Advertising
Costs
The
Company expenses advertising costs as incurred. Advertising expenses
amounted to
$50,000, $152,000 and $252,000 for the years ended December 31, 2005,
2004, and
2003, respectively.
Reclassifications
Reclassifications
were made to the year end 2004 balance sheet to conform to the year
end 2005
presentation.
3.
|
Recently
Issued Accounting
Standards
|
In
December 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123, “Share-Based Payment”
(“SFAS Statement 123R”), which replaces SFAS No. 123, “Accounting for
Stock-Based Compensation,” and supersedes APB Opinion No. 25, “Accounting for
Stock Issued to Employees.” This statement requires that all share-based
payments to employees be recognized in the financial statements based
on their
fair values on the date of grant. The Company currently uses the
intrinsic value
method to measure compensation expense for stock-based awards. The
Stock Based
Compensation caption within Note 3 provides a pro forma net income
(loss) and
earnings per share as if the Company had used a fair-value based
method provided
by SFAS l23R to measure stock-based compensation for 2004, 2003 and
2002. SFAS
No. 123R is effective as of the beginning of the first interim or
annual
reporting period that begins after December 31, 2005 and applies
to all awards
granted, modified, repurchased or cancelled after the effective date.
The
Company is evaluating the requirements of SFAS 123R and expects that
its
adoption will not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated results
of operations and earnings per share.
F-10
In
November of 2004, the FASB issued SFAS No. 151, “Inventory Costs,” which amends
the guidance in APB No. 43, Chapter 4, “Inventory Pricing,” to clarify the
accounting for abnormal amounts of idle facility expense, freight,
handling
costs and wasted material (spoilage). This statement requires that
those items
be recognized as current-period charges regardless of whether they
meet the
criterion of “so abnormal” as stated in ARB No. 43. Additionally, SFAS 151
requires that allocation of fixed production overheads to the costs
of
conversion be based on the normal capacity of the production facilities.
The
Company is required to adopt the provisions of SFAS No. 151 in the
first quarter
of 2006. The Company does not expect SFAS 151 to have a material
impact on its
consolidated results of operations or financial condition.
In
December of 2004, the FASB issued SFAS No. 153, “Exchanges of Nonmonetary Assets
- An Amendment of APB Opinion No. 29” (SFAS 153). SFAS 153 eliminates the
exception for nonmonetary exchanges of similar productive assets
and replaces it
with a general exception for exchanges of nonmonetary assets that
do not have
commercial substance. SFAS 153 is effective for fiscal years beginning
after
June 15, 2005 and is required to be adopted by the Company in the
first quarter
of 2006. The Company does not believe that the adoption of SFAS 153
will have a
material impact on the Company’s consolidated results of operations or financial
condition.
In
May
2005, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Statement of
Financial
Accounting Standards No. 154, “Accounting Changes and Error Corrections - a
replacement of APB No. 20 and FASB Statement No. 3” (“SFAS 154”). SFAS 154
replaces APB No. 20, “Accounting Changes” and FASB Statement No. 3, “Reporting
Accounting Changes in Interim Financial Statements” and changes the requirement
for accounting for and reporting of a change in accounting principles.
SFAS 154
is effective for accounting changes and corrections of errors made
in fiscal
years beginning after December 15, 2005. The Company does not anticipate
that
adoption of SFAS 154 will have a material impact on the financial
position,
results of operations or its cash flows.
4.
|
Major
Customers
|
For
the
year ended December 31, 2005, the Company had three customers that
accounted for
approximately 23.5%, 13.6%, and 13.3%, respectively, of consolidated
net sales.
Corresponding percentages of consolidated net sales generated by
these customers
for the year ended December 31, 2004, were approximately 20.1%, 11.7%,
and 16.8%
respectively. Corresponding percentages of consolidated net sales
generated by
these customers for the year ended December 31, 2003, were approximately
14.7%,
28.4% and 0.5%, respectively and one other customer represented 11.0%
of net
sales. At December 31, 2005, the outstanding accounts receivable
balances due
from these three customers were $910,250 (related party), $1,403,861
and
$110,908, respectively. At December 31, 2004, the outstanding accounts
receivable balances due from these three customers were $956,739
(related
party), $1,438,153 and $301,724, respectively.
5.
|
Inventories
|
Inventories
are stated at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined using
standard
costs which approximate costing determined on a first-in, first out
basis.
Standard costs are reviewed and adjusted periodically and at year
end based on
actual direct and indirect production costs. On a periodic basis,
the Company
reviews its inventory levels for estimated obsolescence or unmarketable
items,
in reference to future demand requirements and shelf life of the
product.
Inventories
are comprised of the following:
December
31,
2005
|
December
31,
2004
|
||||||
Raw
materials
|
$
|
1,316,885
|
$
|
888,643
|
|||
Work
in process
|
730,752
|
806,495
|
|||||
Finished
goods
|
5,229,677
|
6,840,068
|
|||||
Allowance
for excess quantities
|
(254,745
|
)
|
(186,713
|
)
|
|||
Total
inventories
|
$
|
7,022,569
|
$
|
8,348,494
|
F-11
6.
|
Notes
Payable
|
Long-term
debt consists of:
|
|||||||
Dec
31, 2005
|
Dec
31, 2004
|
||||||
Term
Loan with bank, payable in monthly installments of $58,333
|
$
|
2,158,341
|
$
|
2,858,337
|
|||
including
interest at prime (7.25% at December 31, 2005) plus 1.5%
|
|||||||
(8.75%)
(amortized over 60 months) balance due January 31, 2006
|
|||||||
Mortgage
Loan with bank, payable in monthly installments of $19,209
|
$
|
2,780,553
|
$
|
2,832,302
|
|||
including
interest at 6.25% due May 5, 2008
|
|||||||
Vendor
Notes, at various rates of interest (weighted average of
|
$
|
700,886
|
$
|
649,697
|
|||
6%)
maturing through December 2007
|
|||||||
Subordinated
Notes (Officers) due 2006, interest at 9%
|
$
|
1,423,059
|
$
|
1,460,592
|
|||
net
of debt discount of $23,441 and $59,408 at December 31,
|
|||||||
2005
and 2004, respectively (See Notes 7, 10)
|
|||||||
Subordinated
Notes (Officers) due 2006, interest at 9%
|
$
|
814,233
|
$
|
795,024
|
|||
(See
Notes 7,10)
|
|||||||
Loan
payable to a Mexican finance institution denominated in
|
$
|
84,462
|
$
|
84,462
|
|||
Mexican
Pesos bearing interest at 9.81% due 2009
|
|||||||
Total
long-term debt
|
$
|
7,961,534
|
$
|
8,680,414
|
|||
Less
current portion
|
$
|
(3,567,144
|
)
|
$
|
(3,560,669
|
)
|
|
Total
Long-term debt, net of current portion
|
$
|
4,394,390
|
$
|
5,119,745
|
On
December 31, 2003, the Company entered into a Loan and Security Agreement
(“Loan
Agreement”) with Cole Taylor Bank under which the Bank provided to the Company
a
credit facility in the aggregate amount of $11,000,000, collateralized
by
substantially all assets of the Company. The credit facility expired
on December
31, 2005 and was renewed to January 31, 2006. The credit facility
included a
term loan of $3,500,000, at an interest rate of prime plus 1.5% per
annum (8.75%
at December 31, 2005), which is based upon the appraised (liquidation
basis)
value of the machinery and equipment of the Company and a revolving
line of
credit at an interest rate of prime plus 1.5% per annum (8.75% at
December 31,
2005), the amount of which was based on advances of up to 85% of
eligible trade
receivables and up to 50% of the value of the Company’s eligible inventory. In
connection with the Loan Agreement, two principals of the Company
executed
agreements pursuant to which they agreed, in the event appraisals
of the
Company’s machinery and equipment to be performed during 2004 indicated values
less than those specified in the Loan Agreement (liquidation value),
to provide
guarantees of a portion of the term loan or subordinated loan funds
to the
Company. During 2004, these two principals pledged certain of their
individual
assets as security for the amount by which the principal balance
of the term
loan exceeded the most recent appraised value of the Company’s machinery and
equipment. The Loan Agreement also provided that, upon the receipt
of any
proceeds of sale or other disposition of equipment, or any proceeds
from damage,
destruction or condemnation, such proceeds were to be paid as a mandatory
prepayment of the term loan. In addition, 50% of excess cash flow
was required
to be paid as a prepayment of the term loan. The Loan Agreement also
included
financial covenants requiring a minimal level of tangible net worth
and ratio of
EBITDA to fixed charges. The Bank had issued a waiver of this covenant
for
December 31, 2004 and had agreed to an amendment modifying the covenants.
The
entire balance outstanding under the Loan Agreement was paid in full
on February
1, 2006.
F-12
As
of
December 31, 2005, the balance outstanding on the revolving line
of credit was
$5,050,753.
In
January 2001, Banco Popular loaned to the Company the sum of $2,873,000
in a
refinance of the Company’s principal office building and property situated in
Barrington, Illinois. The mortgage loan is collateralized by this
building and
property, with a net carrying value of $2,886,595, and was made in
the form of
two notes. The first note was in the principal amount of $2,700,000,
bearing
interest at the rate of 9.75%, and had a term of five years with
an amortization
period of 25 years. In May of 2003, the terms of this note were renegotiated
to
a note in the principal amount of $2,912,000 bearing 6.25% with a
term of 5
years amortized over 30 years.
The
second note was in the principal amount of $173,000 with an interest
rate of
10%, and has a term of three years. This obligation was paid in full
January
2004.
Future
minimum principal payments, exclusive of debt discount, for amounts
outstanding
under these long-term debt agreements for each of the years ended
December
31:
2006
|
$
|
3,567,144
|
||
2007
|
922,215
|
|||
2008
|
811,992
|
|||
2009
|
896,454
|
|||
2010
|
|
811,992
|
||
Thereafter |
951,737
|
|||
$ |
7,961,534
|
On
February 1, 2006, the Company entered into a Loan Agreement with
Charter One
Bank, Chicago, Illinois. Proceeds of this loan were utilized in part
to pay the
entire outstanding balance of the Cole Taylor Bank loan and the Banco
Popular
mortgage loan. (See Note 21)
7.
|
Subordinated
Debt
|
In
February 2003, the Company received $1,630,000 from certain shareholders
in
exchange for (a) two year 9% subordinated notes, and (b) five year
warrants to
purchase 163,000 common shares at $4.87 per share. The proceeds were
to (i)
re-finance the bank loan of CTI Mexico in the amount of $880,000
and (ii) to
provide financing for CTI Mexico and Flexo Universal. The value of
the warrants
was $640,427 calculated using Black-Scholes option pricing formula.
The Company
applied the debt discount of $459,780 against the subordinated debt.
The debt
discount was amortized using the effective interest method over the
term of the
debt. These loans are subordinated to the Bank debt of the Company.
In
February 2006, the Company received $1,000,000 from two shareholders
in exchange
for (a) five year subordinated notes bearing interest at 2% over
the prime rate
determined on a quarterly basis and (b) five year warrants to purchase
an
aggregate of 303,030 shares of common stock of the Company at the
price of $3.30
per share.
At
various times during 2003, John H. Schwan loaned an aggregate of
$795,204 to the
Company in exchange for notes bearing interest at various annual
rates (5%-8%).
These notes are subordinated to the bank loan of the Company. Mr.
Merrick also
advanced $19,209 to the Company in December 2005.
8.
|
Income
Taxes
|
The
income tax provisions are comprised of the following:
F-13
Dec.
31
|
Dec.
31
|
Dec.
31
|
||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
Current:
|
||||||||||
Federal
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
||||
State
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
-
|
||||
Foreign
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
97,097
|
$
|
-
|
||||
|
$
|
-
|
$
|
97,097
|
$
|
-
|
||||
Deferred
|
||||||||||
Federal
|
(180,134
|
)
|
1,223,030
|
(361,881
|
)
|
|||||
State
|
(24,797
|
)
|
(63,753
|
)
|
(61,281
|
)
|
||||
Foreign
|
$
|
4,539
|
29,858
|
(359,306
|
)
|
|||||
(200,392
|
)
|
1,189,135
|
(782,468
|
)
|
||||||
Total
Income Tax (Benefit) Provision
|
$
|
(200,392
|
)
|
$
|
1,286,232
|
$
|
(782,468
|
)
|
The
components of the net deferred tax asset at December 31 are as
follows:
2005
|
2004
|
||||||
Deferred
tax assets:
|
|||||||
Allowance
for doubtful accounts
|
$
|
32,752
|
$
|
127,150
|
|||
Inventory
allowances
|
195,095
|
168,006
|
|||||
Accrued
liabilities
|
132,776
|
126,372
|
|||||
Unicap
263A adjustment
|
52,380
|
52,380
|
|||||
Net
operating loss carryforwards
|
3,302,982
|
2,988,093
|
|||||
Alternative
minimum tax credit carryforwards
|
338,612
|
338,612
|
|||||
State
investment tax credit carryforward
|
18,041
|
18,041
|
|||||
Other
foreign tax items
|
(3,179
|
)
|
109,833
|
||||
Foreign
asset tax credit carryforward
|
160,784
|
160,784
|
|||||
Total
deferred tax assets
|
4,230,243
|
4,089,271
|
|||||
Deferred
tax liabilities:
|
|||||||
Book
over tax basis of capital assets
|
(1,074,863
|
)
|
(1,134,282
|
)
|
|||
Cash
basis of foreign inventory purchases
|
(348,690
|
)
|
(348,690
|
)
|
|||
2,806,690
|
2,606,299
|
||||||
Less:
Valuation allowance
|
(2,454,001
|
)
|
(2,454,001
|
)
|
|||
Net
deferred tax asset
|
$
|
352,689
|
$
|
152,298
|
F-14
The
Company maintains a valuation allowance with respect to deferred
tax assets as a
result of the uncertainty of ultimate realization. At December 31,
2005, the
Company has net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $5,392,538
expiring in various years through 2025. In addition, the Company
has
approximately $338,600 of alternative minimum tax credits as of December
31,
2005, which have no expiration date. Management has determined based
upon the
evaluation of certain transactions involving the repatriation of
profits from
its U.K. subsidiary that it is more likely than not that deferred
tax assets
will be realized in 2005. The increase in the valuation allowance,
which was
recorded in the fourth quarter of 2004, was made after management
determined
that the realization of the deferred tax asset was not likely to
be realized in
the foreseeable future. Income tax provisions differed from the taxes
calculated
at the statutory federal tax rate as follows:
Years
Ended December 31,
|
||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
Taxes
at statutory rate
|
(186,809
|
)
|
(417,228
|
)
|
(393,154
|
)
|
||||
State
income taxes
|
(25,716
|
)
|
(57,434
|
)
|
(55,504
|
)
|
||||
Nondeductible
expenses
|
12,757
|
15,355
|
20,564
|
|||||||
Increase
in deferred tax
|
||||||||||
Valuation
allowance
|
-
|
1,715,401
|
-
|
|||||||
Foreign
taxes and other
|
(624
|
)
|
30,138
|
(354,374
|
)
|
|||||
Income
tax provision
|
(200,392
|
)
|
1,286,232
|
(782,468
|
)
|
9.
|
Other
Income/Expense
|
Other
income/expense set forth on the Company’s Consolidated Statement of Operations
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 included gains of $45,000
related to
currency translation items. Other income of $395,489 set forth on
the Company’s
Consolidated Statement of Operations for the year ended December
31, 2004
includes (i) gains related to a review and determination that various
accrued
items on the books of the Mexican subsidiaries of the Company (CTI
Mexico and
Flexo) are not due or payable and (ii) gains based on the settlement
of various
accounts in consideration of the payment of an amount less than the
amount
accrued. These settlements primarily relate to CTI Mexico an inactive
subsidiary. For the year ending December 31, 2003, the Company had
other income
of $428,126. This amount includes income derived from the settlement
of certain
outstanding liabilities due to vendors for less than the amount recorded
on the
books of the Company.
10.
|
Other
Liabilities
|
Items
idenfitied as Other Liabilities in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet as
of December 31, 2005 include (i) loans by officers/shareholders to
Flexo
Universal totaling $1,056,000, and (ii) obligations of CTI Mexico,
Flexo, and
CTF International totaling $587,000. Items identified as Other Liabilities
in
the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2004 include (i)
loans by officers/shareholders to Flexo Universal totaling $517,000
due in 2007
and 2008, (ii) capital lease for equipment for $5,000, (iii) obligations
of CTI
Mexico, Flexo, and CTF International totaling $779,000 to vendors
on deferred
payment terms, and (iv) $70,000 of others.
11.
|
Employee
Benefit Plan
|
The
company has a defined contribution plan for substantially all employees.
Profit
sharing contributions may be made at the discretion of the Board
of Directors.
Effective January 1, 2004, the Company amended its defined contribution
plan.
Under the amended plan, the maximum contribution for the Company
is 2% of gross
wages. Employer contributions to the plan totaled $52,147, $57,172,
and $54,836
for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004 and 2003, respectively.
F-15
12.
|
Related
Party Transactions, See Note
15.
|
Stephen
M. Merrick is a shareholder of a law firm which we received legal
services
during the year. Mr. Merrick is both a director and a shareholder
of the
Company. Legal fees incurred with this firm were $117,000 for the
year ended
December 31, 2005, $97,000 for the year ended December 31, 2004 and
$107,000 for
the year ended December 31, 2003. In 2005, Mr. Merrick received $48,000
for
services performed from CTI Industries and an additional $12,000
in directors
fees from CTI Balloons Limited located in the United Kingdom.
In
February 2003, the Company received $1,630,000 from certain shareholders
in
exchange for (a) two year 9% subordinated notes, and (b) five year
warrants to
purchase 163,000 common shares at $4.87 per share. The proceeds were
to (i)
re-finance the bank loan of CTI Mexico in the amount of $880,000
and (ii) to
provide financing for CTI Mexico and Flexo Universal. The value of
the warrants
was $640,427 calculated using Black-Scholes option pricing formula.
The Company
applied the debt discount of $459,780 against the subordinated debt.
The debt
discount was amortized using the effective interest method over the
term of the
debt.
John
H.
Schwan is principal of Shamrock Packaging and affiliated companies.
The Company
made purchases of packaging materials from them of approximately
$165,000,
$172,000 and $274,000 during the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004
and 2003,
respectively.
John
H.
Schwan is an officer of an affiliate of Rapak L.L.C. Rapak purchased
an
aggregate of $6,860,000, $7,837,000 and $5,360,000 of film from the
Company
during the fiscal years 2005, 2004 and 2003, respectively.
For
each
of the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004 and 2003, respectively,
Mr. Schwan
received $24,000 for services performed from CTI Industries. Further,
he
received an additional $12,000 in directors fees in 2005 from CTI
Balloons
Limited located in the United Kingdom.
In
July
2001 certain members of Company management were issued warrants to
purchase
119,050 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at an exercise price of $1.50 per
share in consideration of their facilitating and guaranteeing and
securing bank
loans to the Company in the amount of $1.4 million and for advancing
additional
monies to the Company that were repaid in 2001. The warrants have
a term of five
years.
At
various times during 2003, John H. Schwan loaned an aggregate of
$795,204 to the
Company in exchange for notes bearing interest at various annual
rates (5%-8%).
These notes are subordinated to the bank loan of the Company. Mr.
Merrick also
advanced $19,209 to the Company in December 2005.
Messrs.
Schwan and Merrick made advances to the Company’s Mexican affiliate, Flexo
Universal in the amount of $112,500 and $141,900, respectively in
2005, $86,000
and $181,000, respectively in 2004, and $225,000 and $25,000 in 2003,
respectively. Additionally, Messrs. Schwan and Merrick advanced $130,000
and
$155,000, in 2005 respectively to the Company’s UK affiliate, CTI Balloons Ltd.
These advances are reflected in demand notes bearing interest at
the rate of 8%
per annum in 2004 and 2003, and 7% in 2005.
On
February 1, 2006, Mr. Schwan and Mr. Merrick advanced $500,000 each
to the
Company in exchange for (a) five year promissory notes bearing interest
at 2%
over the prime rate determined quarterly and (b) five year warrants
to purchase
an aggregate of 303,030 shares of common stock of the Company at
the price of
$3.30 per share.
Interest
paid to related parties during 2005, 2004
and 2003 was $146,898, $119,230 and $150,674, respectively.
13.
|
Goodwill
and Intangible Assets
|
Under
the
provisions of SFAS 142, goodwill is subject to at least annual assessments
for
impairment by applying a fair-value based test. SFAS 142 also requires
that an
acquired intangible asset should be separately recognized if the
benefit of the
intangible asset is obtained through contractual or other legal rights,
or if
the asset can be sold, licensed, rented or exchanged, regardless
of the
acquirer’s intent to do so. The Company has no acquired intangible assets
other
than goodwill.
F-16
The
Company retained a valuation consulting firm to conduct an evaluation
of our
goodwill in our Mexico subsidiary December 2004 and December 2005.
As of
December 31, 2005, the valuation consulting firm determined that
the fair value
of the Company’s interest in Flexo Universal was $988,000, and the carrying
value of $1,113,000 was impaired by $124,000. Accordingly, we have
recorded the
amount of this impairment as an expense and have reduced the carrying
value of
the Company’s interest in Flexo Universal to $989,108.
The
carrying amount of goodwill as of December 31, 2005 was $989,108
and as of
December 31, 2004 was $1,113,108. When acquired prior to 2003, goodwill
was
recorded at $1,299,954. When goodwill ceased to be amortized with
the adoption
of SFAS 142, amortization was $186,846, resulting in the $1,113,108
carrying
value through December 31, 2004. The primary indicator attributable
to the
impairment loss was the inability of the subsidiary to meet its financial
projections.
14.
|
Commitments
and Contingencies
|
Operating
Leases
In
July
of 2004, the Company signed a month to month lease with HP Properties
LLC for
approximately 35,000 square feet of space in Cary, Illinois. In September
of
2005, the Company signed a lease to rent 16,306 square feet of space
from
Trinity Assets replacing the previous lease with HP Properties. This
lease has a
2 year term. The Company’s United Kingdom subsidiary also maintains a lease for
office and warehouse space which expires in 2019. The Company’s Mexico
subsidiary signed a five year lease in January of 2003 to rent 43,000
square
feet of space at a cost of approximately $17,000 per month. The Company
leases
office equipment under operating leases which expire on various dates
through
December 2006. See Note 15 relating to cancellation of Pepper Road
lease.
The
net
lease expense was $598,440, $401,848 and $555,197 for the years ended
December
31, 2005, 2004, and 2003, respectively, which includes $76,500 and
$193,615 paid
to Pepper Road (a related party) in 2004 and 2003, respectively.
The
future aggregate minimum net lease payments under existing agreements
as of
December 31, as follows:
Trinity
Assets
|
Other
|
Total
Lease
Payments
|
||||||||
2006
|
$
|
77,117
|
337,759
|
$
|
414,876
|
|||||
2007
|
58,916
|
286,727
|
345,643
|
|||||||
2008
|
51,700
|
51,700
|
||||||||
2009
|
51,700
|
51,700
|
||||||||
2010
|
51,700
|
51,700
|
||||||||
Thereafter
|
465,300
|
465,300
|
||||||||
Total
|
$
|
136,033
|
$
|
1,244,886
|
$
|
1,380,919
|
Licenses
The
Company has certain merchandising license agreements which are of
a one to two
year duration that require royalty payments based upon the Company’s net sales
of the respective products. The agreements call for guaranteed minimum
commitments that are determined on a calendar year basis. Future
guaranteed
commitments due, as computed on a pro rata basis, as of December
31, are as
follows:
2006
|
$
|
76,664
|
||
2007
|
$
|
76,664
|
||
2008
|
$
|
76,664
|
F-17
15.
|
Sale/Leaseback
of Building - Related
Party
|
In
November 1999, the Company sold its building located next to its
headquarters in
Barrington, Illinois for a gain of $300,467, and entered into an
agreement to
lease back the facility. The building was owned by an entity in which
officers/shareholders of the Company have a controlling interest.
The gain
realized on the sale was deferred and was being recognized into income
over the
10 year lease term. In July of 2004, this building was sold and the
remaining
deferred gain of $160,000 was fully recognized.
16.
|
Stock
Options and Warrants
|
Under
the
Company’s 1997 Stock Option Plan (effective July 1, 1997), a total of 119,050
shares of Common Stock are reserved for issuance under the Stock
Option Plan.
Options to purchase 98,416 shares of Common Stock have been granted
as of
October 31, 1998, and remain outstanding at December 31, 2005. The
options are
exercisable immediately upon grant and have a term of ten years.
The Plan
provides for the award of options, which may either be incentive
stock options
(“ISOs”) within the meaning of Section 422A of the Internal Revenue Code
of
1986, as amended (the “Code”) or non-qualified options (“NQOs”) which are not
subject to special tax treatment under the Code. The Plan is administered
by the
Board or a committee appointed by the Board (the “Administrator”). Officers,
directors, and employees of, and consultants to, the Company or any
parent or
subsidiary corporation selected by the Administrator are eligible
to receive
options under the Plan. Subject to certain restrictions, the Administrator
is
authorized to designate the number of shares to be covered by each
award, the
terms of the award, the date on which and the rates at which options
or other
awards may be exercised, the method of payment and other terms.
On
March
19, 1999, the Board of Directors approved for adoption, effective
May 6, 1999,
the 1999 Stock Option Plan (“Plan”). The Plan authorizes the grant of options to
purchase up to an aggregate of 158,733 shares of the Company’s Common Stock. As
of December 31, 2005, 148,219 options had been granted under the
1999 Stock
Option Plan. The options are exercisable immediately upon grant,
and have a term
of ten years.
On
April
12, 2001, the Board of Directors approved for adoption, effective
December 27,
2001, the 2001 Stock Option Plan (“Plan”). The Plan authorizes the grant of
options to purchase up to an aggregate of 158,733 shares of the Company’s Common
Stock. As of December 31, 2005, 112,503 options had been granted
under the 2001
Stock Option Plan. The options are exercisable immediately upon grant
and have a
term of ten years.
On
April
24, 2002, the Board of Directors approved for adoption, effective
October 12,
2002, the 2002 Stock Option Plan (“Plan”). The Plan authorizes the grant of
options to purchase up to an aggregate of 142,860 shares of the Company’s Common
Stock.
As
of
December 31, 2005, 141,954 options had been granted under the 2002
Stock Option
Plan. The options are exercisable immediately upon grant and have
a term of ten
years.
The
exercise price for ISOs cannot be less than the fair market value
of the stock
subject to the option on the grant date (110% of such fair market
value in the
case of ISOs granted to a stockholder who owns more than 10% of the
Company’s
Common Stock). The exercise price of a NQO shall be fixed by the
Administrator
(Board of Directors or other designated person) at whatever price
the
Administrator may determine in good faith. Unless the Administrator
determines
otherwise, options generally have a 10-year term (or five years in
the case of
ISOs granted to a participant owning more than 10% of the total voting
power of
the Company’s capital stock). Unless the Administrator provides otherwise,
options terminate upon the termination of a participant’s employment, except
that the participant may exercise an option to the extent it was
exercisable on
the date of termination for a period of time after termination.
In
September 1998, the Company issued an option to purchase 11,905 shares
of the
Company’s Common Stock at an exercise price of $2.10 per share to Thornhill
Capital LLC in consideration for services. The option has a term
of 10 years. In
September 1999, warrants to purchase 19,079 shares of the Company’s Common Stock
at an exercise price of $9.36 per share were cancelled and reissued
at an
exercise price of $1.42 per share. In April 2002, the Company issued
an option
to purchase 11,905 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at an exercise price of
$2.10 per share to Thornhill Capital in consideration of services.
In
November 1999, warrants issued in 1997 to purchase up to 76,389 shares
of the
Company’s Common Stock for $9.36 were cancelled. New warrants to purchase
up to
423,579 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at $1.688 were issued. The new
warrants had a term of 3 years and were exercised in 2002.
F-18
In
July
2001, certain members of company management were issued warrants
to purchase
119,050 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at an exercise price of $1.50 per
share in consideration of their facilitating and guaranteeing and
securing bank
loans to the Company in the amount of $1.4 million and for advancing
additional
monies to the company that were repaid in 2001. The warrants have
a term of five
years.
In
March
2003, certain members of company management were issued warrants
to purchase
163,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at an exercise price of $4.87 per
share in consideration of their loaning the company $1,630,000.
In
December 2003, certain members of company management were issued
incentive-based
options to purchase 7,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at an exercise
price of $2.29 per share. These options have a term of 10 years.
In
December 2005, certain members of company management were issued
incentive-based
options to purchase 79,000 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at an exercise
price of $2.88 per share. These options have a term of 10 years.
In
February 2006, certain members of company management were issued
warrants to
purchase 303,030 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at an exercise price of
$3.30 per share in consideration of their loaning the company
$1,000,000.
The
following is a summary of the activity in the Company’s stock option plans and
other options and warrants issued, for the years ended December 31,
2005, 2004
and 2003, respectively.
Dec.
31,
2005
|
Weighted
Avg.
Exercise
Price
|
Dec.
31,
2004
|
Weighted
Avg.
Exercise
Price
|
Dec.
31,
2003
|
Weighted
Avg.
Exercise
Price
|
||||||||||||||
Outstanding
and exercisable, beginning of period
|
687,472
|
$
|
3.16
|
725,597
|
$
|
2.58
|
572,862
|
$
|
2.58
|
||||||||||
Granted
|
79,000
|
2.88
|
0
|
170,000
|
2.22
|
||||||||||||||
Exercised
|
(32,144
|
)
|
1.70
|
0
|
(8,336
|
)
|
1.54
|
||||||||||||
Cancelled
|
(90,876
|
)
|
1.77
|
(38,125
|
)
|
1.81
|
(8,929
|
)
|
6.51
|
||||||||||
Outstanding
and exercisable at the end of period
|
643,452
|
$
|
3.40
|
687,472
|
$
|
3.33
|
725,597
|
$
|
2.58
|
At
December 31, 2005, available options to grant were 907.
Significant
option and warrant groups outstanding at December 31, 2005 and related
weighted
average price and remaining life information are as follows:
Grant
Date
|
Outstanding
|
Exercisable
|
Exercise
Price
|
Remaining
Life
(Years)
|
|||||||||
September
1997
|
5,953
|
5,953
|
|
$6.28
|
1
|
||||||||
September
1998
|
88,494
|
88,494
|
|
$6.51
|
2
|
||||||||
September
1998
|
11,905
|
11,905
|
|
$2.10
|
2
|
||||||||
March
2000
|
57,143
|
57,143
|
|
$1.95
|
4
|
||||||||
July
2001
|
119,050
|
119,050
|
|
$1.50
|
0.5
|
||||||||
December
2001
|
44,048
|
44,048
|
|
$1.47
|
5
|
||||||||
April
2002
|
11,905
|
11,905
|
|
$2.10
|
6
|
||||||||
December
2002
|
55,954
|
55,954
|
|
$2.36
|
6
|
||||||||
February
2003
|
163,000
|
163,000
|
|
$4.87
|
2
|
||||||||
December
2003
|
7,000
|
7,000
|
|
$2.29
|
8
|
||||||||
December
2005
|
79,000
|
79,000
|
|
$2.88
|
9
|
||||||||
643,452
|
643,452
|
F-19
There
were 79,000 options issued in 2005, no options issued in 2004, the
weighted
average fair value of options granted during the years ending December
31, 2005
and December 31, 2003 was $2.88 and $2.29 per share, respectively.
17.
|
Earnings
Per Share
|
Basic
earnings per share is computed by dividing the income available to
common
shareholders, net earnings, less redeemable preferred stock dividends
and
redeemable common stock accretion, by the weighted average number
of shares of
common stock outstanding during each period.
Diluted
earnings per share is computed by dividing the net earnings by the
weighted
average number of shares of common stock and common stock equivalents
(redeemable common stock, stock options and warrants), unless anti-dilutive,
during each period.
Consolidated
Earnings per Share
Year
Ended December 31,
|
||||||||||
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
Basic
|
||||||||||
Average
shares outstanding:
|
||||||||||
Weighted
average number of shares outstanding during the period
|
1,977,235
|
1,930,976
|
1,918,260
|
|||||||
Earnings:
|
||||||||||
Net
loss:
|
$
|
(333,210
|
)
|
$
|
(2,479,374
|
)
|
$
|
(566,047
|
)
|
|
Amount
for per share Computation
|
$
|
(333,210
|
)
|
$
|
(2,479,374
|
)
|
$
|
(566,047
|
)
|
|
Net
(loss) earnings applicable to Common Shares
|
$
|
(0.17
|
)
|
$
|
(1.28
|
)
|
$
|
(0.30
|
)
|
|
Diluted
|
||||||||||
Average
shares outstanding:
|
1,977,235
|
1,930,976
|
1,918,260
|
|||||||
Weighted
averages shares Outstanding Common stock equivalents
(options,
warrants)
|
|
|||||||||
Weighted
average number of shares outstanding during the period
|
1,977,235
|
1,930,976
|
1,918,260
|
|||||||
Earnings:
|
||||||||||
Net
(loss) income
|
$
|
(333,210
|
)
|
$
|
(2,479,374
|
)
|
$
|
(566,047
|
)
|
|
Amount
for per share computation
|
$
|
(333,210
|
)
|
$
|
(2,479,374
|
)
|
$
|
(566,047
|
)
|
|
Net
loss applicable to Common Shares
|
$
|
(0.17
|
)
|
$
|
(1.28
|
)
|
$
|
(0.30
|
)
|
18.
|
Geographic
Segment Data
|
The
Company’s operations consist of a business segment which designs, manufactures,
and distributes film products. Transfers between geographic areas
were primarily
at cost. The Company’s subsidiaries have assets consisting primarily of trade
accounts receivable, inventory and machinery and equipment. Sales
and selected
financial information by geographic area for the periods ended December
31,
2003, December 31, 2004 and December 31, 2005 are as follows:
United
States
|
United
Kingdom
|
Mexico
|
Eliminations
|
Consolidated
|
||||||||||||
Year
ended 12/31/05
|
||||||||||||||||
Revenues
|
$
|
23,564,000
|
$
|
2,573,000
|
$
|
4,536,000
|
($1,483,000
|
)
|
$
|
29,190,000
|
||||||
Operating
income (loss)
|
$
|
602,000
|
$
|
290,000
|
($240,000
|
)
|
$
|
652,000
|
||||||||
Net
(loss) income
|
($342,000
|
)
|
$
|
220,000
|
($211,000
|
)
|
($333,000
|
)
|
||||||||
Total
Assets
|
$
|
21,343,000
|
$
|
2,122,000
|
$
|
4,818,000
|
($4,747,000
|
)
|
$
|
23,536,000
|
||||||
Year
ended 12/31/04
|
||||||||||||||||
Revenues
|
$
|
32,855,000
|
$
|
2,664,000
|
$
|
4,890,000
|
($3,216,000
|
)
|
$
|
37,193,000
|
||||||
Operating
income
|
($214,000
|
)
|
$
|
121,000
|
($427,000
|
)
|
($48,000
|
)
|
($568,000
|
)
|
||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
($2,595,000
|
)
|
$
|
223,000
|
($59,000
|
)
|
($48,000
|
)
|
($2,479,000
|
)
|
||||||
Total
Assets
|
$
|
24,072,000
|
$
|
1,989,000
|
$
|
5,319,000
|
($3,492,000
|
)
|
$
|
27,888,000
|
||||||
Year
ended 12/31/03
|
||||||||||||||||
Revenues
|
$
|
32,687,000
|
$
|
2,415,000
|
$
|
4,003,000
|
($2,845,000
|
)
|
$
|
36,260,000
|
||||||
Operating
income
|
($246,000
|
)
|
$
|
191,000
|
($528,000
|
)
|
($96,000
|
)
|
($679,000
|
)
|
||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
($883,000
|
)
|
$
|
163,000
|
$
|
249,000
|
($95,000
|
)
|
($566,000
|
)
|
||||||
Total
Assets
|
$
|
27,603,000
|
$
|
1,412,000
|
$
|
5,476,000
|
($4,221,000
|
)
|
$
|
30,270,000
|
F-20
19.
|
Litigation
|
On
September 5, 2003, Airgas Inc., Airgas-Southwest, Inc., Airgas-South,
Inc. and
Airgas-East, Inc. filed a joint action against CTI Industries Corporation
for
claimed breach of contract in the Circuit Court of Lake County, Illinois
claiming as damages the aggregate amount of $162,242. The Company
has filed an
answer denying the material claims of the complaint, affirmative
defenses and a
counterclaim. In the action, the plaintiffs claim that CTI Industries
Corporation owes them certain sums for (i) helium sold and delivered,
(ii)
rental charges with respect to helium tanks and (iii) replacement
charges for
tanks claimed to have been lost. On November 2, 2004, this matter
was settled.
The amount agreed to be paid by the Company in settlement totaled
$100,000. The
first payment of $50,000 was paid on November 15, 2004. The balance
of $50,000
was payable in five consecutive $10,000 monthly installments, commencing
December 30, 2004 and has been paid. The Company had fully accrued
the amount of
the settlement as of December 31, 2004.
On
June
4, 2004, Spar Group, Inc. initiated an arbitration proceeding in
New York City
against the Company. In the proceeding, Spar Group claimed that there
was due
from the Company to Spar Group a sum for services rendered in the
amount of
$180,043, plus interest. Spar Group claimed to have rendered services
to the
Company in various Eckerd stores with respect to the display and
ordering of
metalized and latex balloons for sale in those stores. The Company
filed an
answer denying liability with respect to the claim and asserted a
counterclaim
for damages against Spar Group for breach of its agreement to provide
such
services. On January 13, 2005, this matter was settled. The amount
agreed to be
paid by the Company in settlement totaled $100,000. The first payment
of $30,000
was paid on February 1, 2005. The balance of $70,000 was payable
in seven
consecutive $10,000 monthly installments, commencing March 1, 2005
and has been
paid in full. The Company had fully accrued the amount of the settlement
as of
December 31, 2004.
In
addition, the Company is also party to certain lawsuits arising in
the normal
course of business. The ultimate outcome of these matters is unknown,
but in the
opinion of management, the settlement of these matters is not expected
to have a
significant effect on the future financial position or results of
operations of
the Company.
20.
Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited):
The
following table sets forth selected unaudited statements of income
for each
quarter of fiscal 2005 and 2004:
Quarter
Ended (1)
|
|||||||||||||
March
31,
|
June
30,
|
Sept.
30,
|
Dec.
31,
|
||||||||||
|
2005
|
2005
|
2005
|
2005
|
|||||||||
Net
sales
|
$
|
9,103,327
|
$
|
7,572,626
|
$
|
6,033,831
|
$
|
6,480,189
|
|||||
Gross
profit
|
$
|
1,873,993
|
$
|
1,582,954
|
$
|
1,242,186
|
$
|
1,765,016
|
|||||
Net
income (loss)
|
$
|
84,488
|
($53,616
|
)
|
($416,267
|
)
|
$
|
52,186
|
|||||
Earnings
(loss) per common share
|
|||||||||||||
Basic
|
$
|
0.04
|
($0.03
|
)
|
($0.21
|
)
|
$
|
0.03
|
|||||
Diluted
|
$
|
0.04
|
($0.03
|
)
|
($0.21
|
)
|
$
|
0.02
|
|||||
|
(1)
Earnings per common share are computed independently for each of
the quarters
presented. Therefore, the sum of the quarterly per common share information
may
not equal the annual earnings per common share
F-21
Quarter
Ended(1)
|
|||||||||||||
March
31,
|
June
30,
|
Sept.
30,
|
Dec.
31,
|
||||||||||
|
2004
|
2004
|
2004
|
2004(2)(3)
|
|||||||||
Net
sales
|
$
|
10,893,964
|
$
|
9,591,785
|
$
|
8,125,521
|
$
|
8,581,819
|
|||||
Gross
profit
|
$
|
2,147,370
|
$
|
2,032,028
|
$
|
1,669,778
|
$
|
502,944
|
|||||
Net
income (loss)
|
$
|
371,901
|
($135,681
|
)
|
($150,370
|
)
|
($2,565,224
|
)
|
|||||
Earnings
(loss) per common share
|
|||||||||||||
Basic
|
$
|
0.19
|
($0.07
|
)
|
($0.08
|
)
|
($1.31
|
)
|
|||||
Diluted
|
$
|
0.18
|
($0.07
|
)
|
($0.08
|
)
|
($1.31
|
)
|
|||||
|
(1)
Earnings per common share are computed independently for each of
the quarters
presented. Therefore, the sum of the quarterly per common share information
may
not equal the annual earnings per common share.
(2)
Cost
of sales were higher, as a percentage of net sales in the fourth
quarter of 2004
than in prior quarters of 2004, resulting in lower gross profit than
in those
prior quarters by reason of the facts that: (i) sales of storage
bags continued
to decline resulting in a shift in product mix to lower margin products,
(ii)
higher costs of production in prior quarters resulted in higher unit
costs for
metalized balloons sold during the fourth quarter and (iii) there
were
discounted and low margin sales of balloon products in the fourth
quarter.
(3)
The
amount of the income tax expense recognized by the Company in 2004
reflects
adjustments in deferred tax assets and other items arising from the
operating
results of the Company for the year. This increase, which was recorded
during
the fourth quarter, was made after management determined, based on
fourth
quarter activity, that the realization of the deferred tax asset
was not likely
in the foreseeable future. Fourth quarter activity affecting this
determination
included lower than anticipated sales in the storage bag product
line and lower
margin sales of novelty products, as described above.
21.
|
Subsequent
Events
|
On
February 1, 2006, the Company entered into a Loan Agreement with
Charter One
Bank, Chicago, Illinois, under which the Bank agreed to provide a
credit
facility to the Company in the total amount of $12,800,000, which
includes (i) a
five year mortgage loan secured by the Barrington, Illinois property
in the
principal amount of $2,800,000, amortized over a 20 year period,
(ii) a five
year term loan secured by the equipment at the Barrington, Illinois
plant in the
amount of $3,500,000 and (iii) a three-year revolving line of credit
up to a
maximum amount of $6,500,000, secured by inventory and receivables.
The amount
the Company can borrow on the revolving line of credit includes 85%
of eligible
receivables and 60% of eligible inventory. Proceeds of this loan
totaling
$10,349,653 were utilized to pay the entire outstanding principal
amount of the
Company’s outstanding debt obligations to Cole Taylor Bank and Banco Popular.
Under the terms of the Loan Agreement, the Company is restricted
from declaring
any cash dividends or other distributions on its shares.
On
January 10, 2006, an officer of Flexo Universal, Pablo Gortazar,
acquired all
rights in a loan of a credit union to Flexo Universal and CTF International
both
Mexican subsidiaries of the Company for the book value. The principal
amount of the obligation of Flexo Universal and CTF International
acquired was
$191,000, and such amount bears interest at the rate of 9.5% per
annum.
On
February 1, 2006, two principal shareholders and officers of the
Company each
loaned to the Company the sum of $500,000 in exchange for (i) promissory
notes
due January 31, 2011 and bearing interest at the rate of 2% per annum
in excess
of the prime rate determined quarterly and (ii) five-year warrants
to purchase
up to 151,515 shares of the common stock of the Company, each, at
the price of
$3.30 per share.
On
March
9, 2006, the Company entered into a four-year term Production and
Supply
Agreement with ITW Spacebag, a division of Illinois Tool Works, Inc.,
under
which ITW is to purchase from the Company (i) all of its requirements
for a
certain kind of pouch for the storage of personal and household items
and (ii)
all of its requirements, subject to being price competitive, for
film to be
utilized by ITW to produce certain other storage pouches.
F-22
Schedule
II -Valuation and qualifying accounts:
The
following is a summary of the allowance for doubtful accounts related
to
accounts receivable for the years ended December 31:
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
Balance
at beginning of year
|
$
|
404,070
|
$
|
316,047
|
$
|
391,406
|
||||
Charged
to expenses
|
$
|
145,000
|
$
|
288,562
|
$
|
145,000
|
||||
Uncollectible
accounts written off
|
$ |
(468,865
|
)
|
$ |
(200,539
|
)
|
$ |
(220,359
|
)
|
|
Balance
at end of year
|
$
|
80,205
|
$
|
404,070
|
$
|
316,047
|
The
following is a summary of the allowance for obsolete inventory for
the years
ended December 31:
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
Balance
at beginning of year
|
$
|
186,713
|
$
|
492,157
|
$
|
392,142
|
||||
Charged
to expenses
|
$
|
205,000
|
$
|
60,000
|
$
|
210,000
|
||||
Obsolete
inventory written off
|
$ |
(136,968
|
)
|
$ |
(365,444
|
)
|
$ |
(109,985
|
)
|
|
Balance
at end of year
|
$
|
254,745
|
$
|
186,713
|
$
|
492,157
|
The
following is a summary of property and equipment and the related
accounts of
accumulated depreciation for the years ended December 31:
2005
|
2004
|
2003
|
||||||||
Cost
Basis
|
||||||||||
Balance
at beginning of year
|
$
|
26,224,962
|
$
|
27,023,245
|
$
|
25,881,777
|
||||
Additions
|
$
|
549,547
|
$
|
305,547
|
$
|
2,007,104
|
||||
Disposals
|
$ |
(70,143
|
)
|
$ |
(1,103,830
|
)
|
$ |
(865,636
|
)
|
|
Balance
at end of year
|
$
|
26,704,366
|
$
|
26,224,962
|
$
|
27,023,245
|
||||
|
||||||||||
Accumulated
depreciation
|
||||||||||
Balance
at beginning of year
|
$
|
15,636,451
|
$
|
14,815,596
|
$
|
14,166,764
|
||||
Depreciation
|
$
|
1,463,369
|
$
|
1,651,322
|
$
|
1,514,468
|
||||
Disposals
|
$ |
(12,198
|
)
|
$ |
(830,467
|
)
|
$ |
(865,636
|
)
|
|
Balance
at end of year
|
$
|
17,087,622
|
$
|
15,636,451
|
$
|
14,815,596
|
||||
|
||||||||||
Property
and equipment, net
|
$
|
9,616,744
|
$
|
10,588,511
|
$
|
12,207,649
|