UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-Q
(Mark One)
|
x
|
QUARTERLY
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
|
|
|
|
|
|
For
the quarterly period ended
March 31,
2010
|
|
o
|
TRANSITION
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
|
For the transition period from
__________to__________
COMMISSION
FILE NUMBER
1-8086
GENERAL
DATACOMM INDUSTRIES, INC.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
DELAWARE
|
06-0853856
|
(State
of other jurisdiction of
|
I.R.S.
Employer
|
incorporation
or organization)
|
Identification
No.)
|
|
|
|
|
6
Rubber Avenue, Naugatuck, CT
|
06770
|
(Address
of principal executive offices)
|
(Zip
Code)
|
Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code
203-729-0271
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be
filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the
preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required
to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for
the past 90 days.
Yes
x
No
o
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on
its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be
submitted and posted pursuant to rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding
12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit
and post such files).
Yes
x
No
o
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting
company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated
filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange
Act.
Large
accelerated filer
|
o
|
|
Accelerated
filer
|
o
|
|
Non-accelerated
filer
|
o
|
|
Smaller
reporting company
|
x
|
|
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act):
Yes
o
No
x
As
of April 30, 2010, there were outstanding the following number of shares of each
of the issuer’s classes of common equity:
3,526,295
shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share
596,708
shares of Class B stock, par value $0.01 per share
GENERAL
DATACOMM INDUSTRIES, INC.
INDEX
TO QUARTERLY REPORT ON FORM 10-Q
The
financial statements for the three and six months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009
have not been reviewed by an independent accounting firm. In
addition, the financial statements for the years ended September 30, 2009 and
2008 are unaudited. The Company has limited financial
resources. The Company’s previous audit firm resigned on January 5,
2009 and, while the Company is in the process of appointing new auditors, such
appointment is pending its ability to pay audit fees. See Note 1 to
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for discussion of the
Company’s liquidity and going concern issues.
|
|
|
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Page
|
PART
I
|
|
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item 1
.
|
|
Financial Statements
(unaudited):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Condensed
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of March 31, 2010 and September 30,
2009
|
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Three and Six Months Ended
March 31, 2010 and 2009
|
|
4
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Six Months Ended March 31,
2010 and 2009
|
|
5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes
to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item 2
.
|
|
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
|
|
12
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item
3.
|
|
Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
|
|
22
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item
4.
|
|
Controls
and Procedures
|
|
22
|
|
|
|
|
|
PART
II
|
|
OTHER
INFORMATION
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item 1
.
|
|
Legal
Proceedings
|
|
23
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item 1A
.
|
|
Risk
Factors
|
|
23
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item 3
.
|
|
Defaults
Upon Senior Securities
|
|
23
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item 6
.
|
|
Exhibits
|
|
23
|
|
|
|
|
|
Signatures
|
|
|
|
23
|
|
|
|
|
|
PART
I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ITEM
1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
General
DataComm Industries, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Condensed
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited)
(in
thousands except shares)
|
|
March
31,
|
|
|
September
30,
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
Assets:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
assets:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
|
$
|
9
|
|
|
$
|
79
|
|
Accounts
receivable, less allowance for doubtful receivables of
$140
at March 31, 2010 and $224 at September 30, 2009
|
|
|
27
|
|
|
|
264
|
|
Inventories
|
|
|
2,083
|
|
|
|
2,435
|
|
Other
current assets
|
|
|
325
|
|
|
|
323
|
|
Total
current assets
|
|
|
2,444
|
|
|
|
3,101
|
|
Property,
plant and equipment, net
|
|
|
3,142
|
|
|
|
3,309
|
|
Total
Assets
|
|
$
|
5,586
|
|
|
$
|
6,410
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Liabilities
and Stockholders’ Deficit:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
liabilities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
portion of long-term debt (including $8,937 owed to related
parties
at March 31, 2010 and September 30, 2009 )
|
|
$
|
22,251
|
|
|
$
|
22,163
|
|
Accounts
payable (including $1,627 and $1,534 owed to a related party
at
March
31, 2010 and September 30, 2009, respectively)
|
|
|
2,983
|
|
|
|
3,014
|
|
Accrued
payroll and payroll-related costs
|
|
|
173
|
|
|
|
461
|
|
Accrued
interest (including $4,513 and $4,115 owed to related parties
at
March
31, 2010 and September 30, 2009, respectively)
|
|
|
13,311
|
|
|
|
12,189
|
|
Other
current liabilities (including $1,257 and $888 owed to a related party
at
March
31, 2010 and September 30, 2009, respectively)
|
|
|
3,984
|
|
|
|
3,473
|
|
Total
current liabilities
|
|
|
42,702
|
|
|
|
41,300
|
|
Long-term
debt, less current portion
|
|
|
4,500
|
|
|
|
4,500
|
|
Other
liabilities
|
|
|
464
|
|
|
|
469
|
|
Total
Liabilities
|
|
|
47,666
|
|
|
|
46,269
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Commitments
and contingencies (Notes 5 and 8)
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stockholders’
Deficit:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9%
Preferred stock, par value $1.00 per share, 3,000,000 shares
authorized;
776,996
and 781,996 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2010
and
September
30, 2009, respectively; $36.5 million liquidation preference,
including
$17.0
million of cumulative dividend arrearages at March 31,
2010
|
|
|
777
|
|
|
|
782
|
|
Class
B stock, par value $.01 per share, 5,000,000 shares
authorized; 596,708 and
634,615
shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2010 and September
30,
2009,
respectively
|
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
6
|
|
Common
stock, par value $.01 per share, 25,000,000 shares authorized;
3,526,295
and
3,487,473 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2010 and
September
30, 2009, respectively
|
|
|
35
|
|
|
|
35
|
|
Capital
in excess of par value
|
|
|
199,399
|
|
|
|
199,369
|
|
Accumulated
deficit
|
|
|
(242,300
|
)
|
|
|
(240,054
|
)
|
Accumulated
other comprehensive income
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
|
3
|
|
Total
Stockholders’ Deficit
|
|
|
(42,080
|
)
|
|
|
(39,859
|
)
|
Total
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Deficit
|
|
$
|
5,586
|
|
|
$
|
6,410
|
|
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these
condensed
consolidated financial statements.
General
DataComm Industries, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
(in
thousands except share data)
|
|
Three
Months Ended
March 31,
|
|
Six
Months Ended
March 31,
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
Revenues:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Product
|
|
$
|
1,194
|
|
|
$
|
1,548
|
|
|
$
|
3,434
|
|
|
$
|
3,293
|
|
Service
|
|
|
344
|
|
|
|
510
|
|
|
|
669
|
|
|
|
1,109
|
|
Total
|
|
|
1,538
|
|
|
|
2,058
|
|
|
|
4,103
|
|
|
|
4,402
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost
of revenues:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Product
|
|
|
615
|
|
|
|
1,300
|
|
|
|
2,164
|
|
|
|
2,551
|
|
Service
|
|
|
121
|
|
|
|
197
|
|
|
|
222
|
|
|
|
475
|
|
Total
|
|
|
736
|
|
|
|
1,497
|
|
|
|
2,386
|
|
|
|
3,026
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
margin
|
|
|
802
|
|
|
|
561
|
|
|
|
1,717
|
|
|
|
1,376
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating
expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Selling,
general and administrative
|
|
|
794
|
|
|
|
1,093
|
|
|
|
1,523
|
|
|
|
2,175
|
|
Research
and product development
|
|
|
495
|
|
|
|
408
|
|
|
|
943
|
|
|
|
937
|
|
|
|
|
1,289
|
|
|
|
1,501
|
|
|
|
2,466
|
|
|
|
3,112
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating
loss
|
|
|
(487
|
)
|
|
|
(940
|
)
|
|
|
(749
|
)
|
|
|
(1736
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest
expense
|
|
|
(703
|
)
|
|
|
(743
|
)
|
|
|
(1,422
|
)
|
|
|
(1,463
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other
income, net
|
|
|
(43
|
)
|
|
|
(19
|
)
|
|
|
(69
|
)
|
|
|
7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Loss
before income taxes
|
|
|
(1,233
|
)
|
|
|
(1,702
|
)
|
|
|
(2,240
|
)
|
|
|
(3,192
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income
tax provision
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
|
(34
|
)
|
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
(31
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss
|
|
|
(1,236
|
)
|
|
|
(1,668
|
)
|
|
|
(2,246
|
)
|
|
|
(3,161
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dividends
applicable to preferred stock
|
|
|
(440
|
)
|
|
|
(440
|
)
|
|
|
(880
|
)
|
|
|
(880
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss
applicable to common and Class B stock
|
|
$
|
(1,676
|
)
|
|
$
|
(2,108
|
)
|
|
$
|
(3,126
|
)
|
|
$
|
(4,041
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings
(loss) per share:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
and diluted – common stock
|
|
$
|
(0.41
|
)
|
|
$
|
(0.51
|
)
|
|
$
|
(0.76
|
)
|
|
$
|
(0.98
|
)
|
Basic
and diluted – Class B stock
|
|
$
|
(0.41
|
)
|
|
$
|
(0.51
|
)
|
|
$
|
(0.76
|
)
|
|
$
|
(0.98
|
)
|
Weighted
average number of common and Class B shares outstanding:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
and diluted - common stock
|
|
|
3,526,271
|
|
|
|
3,487,473
|
|
|
|
3,516,029
|
|
|
|
3,487,473
|
|
Basic
and diluted – Class B stock
|
|
|
596,732
|
|
|
|
634,615
|
|
|
|
606,733
|
|
|
|
634,615
|
|
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these
condensed
consolidated financial statements.
General
DataComm Industries, Inc.
Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)
(In
thousands)
|
|
Six
Months Ended
March 31,
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
flows from operating activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
loss
|
|
$
|
(2,246
|
)
|
|
$
|
(
3,161
|
)
|
Adjustments
to reconcile net loss to net cash provided (used) by operating
activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Depreciation
and amortization
|
|
|
157
|
|
|
|
177
|
|
Stock
compensation expense
|
|
|
26
|
|
|
|
66
|
|
Changes
in:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts
receivable
|
|
|
237
|
|
|
|
511
|
|
Inventories
|
|
|
352
|
|
|
|
1,061
|
|
Accounts
payable
|
|
|
(31
|
)
|
|
|
55
|
|
Accrued
payroll and payroll-related costs
|
|
|
(288
|
)
|
|
|
25
|
|
Accrued
interest
|
|
|
1,123
|
|
|
|
1,123
|
|
Other
net current liabilities
|
|
|
531
|
|
|
|
(286
|
)
|
Other
net long-term assets
|
|
|
(8
|
)
|
|
|
(15
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
cash used by operating activities
|
|
|
(147
|
)
|
|
|
(444
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
flows from investing activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Acquisition
of property, plant and equipment, net
|
|
|
(11
|
)
|
|
|
(6
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
cash used by investing activities
|
|
|
(11
|
)
|
|
|
(6
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
flows from financing activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Proceeds
from notes payable to related party
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
250
|
|
Proceeds
from notes payable to unrelated party
|
|
|
179
|
|
|
|
234
|
|
Principal
payments on notes payable to unrelated party
|
|
|
(91
|
)
|
|
|
(103
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
cash provided by financing activities
|
|
|
88
|
|
|
|
381
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
decrease in cash and cash equivalents
|
|
|
(70
|
)
|
|
|
(69
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents, beginning of period
|
|
|
79
|
|
|
|
136
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents, end of period
|
|
$
|
9
|
|
|
$
|
67
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
disclosures of cash flow information:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
paid during the period for:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest
|
|
$
|
272
|
|
|
$
|
221
|
|
Income
and franchise taxes
|
|
$
|
5
|
|
|
$
|
6
|
|
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of these
condensed
consolidated financial statements.
GENERAL
DATACOMM INDUSTRIES, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
1. Liquidity
and Going Concern
The
accompanying financial statements of General DataComm Industries, Inc. (the
“Company”) for the three and six months ended March 31, 2010 have been prepared
by the Company on a going concern basis, in accordance with rules and
regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Certain
information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements
prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the
United States have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and
regulations. However, such financial statements have not been
reviewed by an independent public accounting firm due to the Company’s inability
to pay for such review. In addition, the financial statements for the
years ended September 30, 2009 and 2008 have not been audited by an independent
accounting firm.
In the
opinion of management, these statements include all adjustments, consisting of
normal and recurring adjustments, considered necessary for a fair presentation
of the results for the periods presented. The results of operations
for the three and six months ended March 31, 2010 are not necessarily indicative
of results which may be achieved for the entire fiscal year ending September 30,
2010. The unaudited interim financial statements should be read in
conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto
contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
September 30, 2009 as filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
On
November 2, 2001, General DataComm Industries, Inc. and its domestic
subsidiaries filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the
Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of
Delaware. The Company continued in possession of its properties and
the management of its business as debtors in possession. The Company
emerged from Chapter 11 effective on September 15, 2003 pursuant to a
court-approved plan of reorganization. Under this plan, the Company
was to pay all creditors 100% of their allowed claims based upon a five year
business plan. Debentures were issued to unsecured creditors as part
of the plan of reorganization. However, the Company has not met its
business plan objectives since emerging from Chapter 11 and, therefore, there
can be no assurance that any such outstanding claims will be paid.
The
Company incurred a net loss and used a significant amount of cash in its
operating activities for the six months ended March 31, 2010 and in recent years
preceding such date. The Company has no current ability to borrow
additional funds except as may be provided pursuant to a receivable sales
agreement with a related party. It must, therefore, fund operations
from cash balances, cash generated from operating activities including the sale
of its accounts receivable and any cash that may be generated from the sale of
non-core assets such as real estate and other assets. In addition, at
March 31, 2010 the Company had a stockholders’ deficit of approximately $42.1
million, and a working capital deficit of approximately $40.2 million, including
debentures in the principal amount of $19.4 million, together with
accrued interest thereon ($12.7 million), which matured on October 1,
2008. While a subordinated security agreement signed by the indenture
trustee on behalf of the debenture holders provides that no payments may be made
to debenture holders, and that no event of default may be declared under the
indenture, while senior secured debt is outstanding, in the absence of such
restrictions the Company does not have the ability to repay the
debentures. As of March 31, 2010, senior secured debt consists of
notes payable to related parties and a real estate mortgage. A
failure to pay the debentures when they become due and payable as described
above, could result in an event of default being declared under the indenture
governing the debentures.
The
conditions described above raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability
to continue as a going concern. To continue operations, management
has responded by entering into a receivable sales agreement with a related party
to provide liquidity and by implementing operational changes, including closing
its foreign offices, reducing certain salaries, restructuring the sales force,
increasing factory and office shutdown time, constraining expenses and reducing
the employee workforce. The Company also continues to pursue the sale
or lease of its headquarters’ land and building in Naugatuck, CT.
While the
Company is aggressively pursuing opportunities and corrective actions, there can
be no assurance that the Company will be successful in its efforts to generate
sufficient cash from operations or asset sales, obtain additional funding
sources or resolve the repayment of the debentures. The accompanying
consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company
will continue as a going concern and do not include any adjustments that may
result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
2. Summary
of Significant Accounting Policies
The
Company’s financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, the
instructions to Form 10-Q and Regulation S-X. Preparing financial
statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the
reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and
expenses. Management bases its estimates and judgments on historical
experience and on various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under
the circumstances. Due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making
estimates, actual results reported in future periods might be based upon amounts
that differ from those estimates.
The
following represent what the Company believes are among the critical accounting
policies most affected by significant management estimates and
judgments. See Note 2 in Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
in Item 8 in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
September 30, 2009 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a
summary of the Company’s significant accounting policies.
Revenue
Recognition
. The Company recognizes a sale when the product is
shipped or thereafter, and the following four criteria are met upon
shipment: (1) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; (2) title
and risk of loss transfers to the customer; (3) the selling price is fixed or
determinable; and (4) collectability is reasonably assured. A reserve
for future product returns is established at the time of the sale based on
historical return rates and return policies including stock rotation for sales
to distributors that stock the Company’s products. Service revenue is
recognized either when the service is performed or, in the case of maintenance
contracts, on a straight-line basis over the term of the contract.
Warranty Reserves.
The
Company offers warranties of various lengths to its customers depending on the
specific product and the terms of its customer purchase
agreements. Standard warranties require the Company to repair or
replace defective product returned during the warranty period at no cost to the
customer. An estimate for warranty related costs is recorded based on
actual historical return rates and repair costs at the time of
sale. On an on-going basis, management reviews these estimates
against actual expenses and makes adjustments when necessary. While
warranty costs have historically been within expectations of the provision
established, there is no guarantee that the Company will continue to experience
the same warranty return rates or repair costs as in the past. A
significant increase in product return rates or the costs to repair our products
would have a material adverse impact on the Company’s operating
results.
Allowance for Doubtful
Accounts.
The Company estimates losses resulting from the
inability of its customers to make payments for amounts billed. The
collectability of outstanding invoices is continually
assessed. Assumptions are made regarding the customers ability and
intent to pay, and are based on historical trends, general economic conditions
and current customer data. Should our actual experience with respect
to collections differ from these assessments, there could be adjustments to the
allowance for doubtful accounts.
Inventories
. The
Company values inventory at the lower of cost or market. Cost is
computed using standard cost, which approximates actual cost on a first-in,
first-out basis. Agreements with certain customers provide for return
rights. The Company is able to reasonably estimate these returns and
they are accrued for at the time of shipment. Inventory quantities on
hand are reviewed on a quarterly basis and a provision for excess and obsolete
inventory is recorded based primarily on product demand for the preceding twelve
months. Historical product demand may prove to be an inaccurate
indicator of future demand in which case the Company may increase or decrease
the provision required for excess and obsolete inventory in future
periods. Furthermore, if the Company is able to sell inventory in the
future that has been previously written down or off, such sales will result in
higher than normal gross margin.
Deferred Tax
Assets.
The Company has provided a full valuation allowance
related to its deferred tax assets. In the future, if sufficient
evidence of the Company’s ability to generate sufficient future taxable income
in certain tax jurisdictions becomes apparent, the Company will be required to
reduce its valuation allowances, resulting in income tax benefits in the
Company’s consolidated statement of operations. Management evaluates
the realizability of the deferred tax assets and assesses the need for the
valuation allowance each period.
Impairment of Long-Lived
Assets
. The Company assesses the impairment of long-lived
assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying
value may not be recoverable. The Company's long-lived assets consist
of real estate, equipment and other personal property. At March 31,
2010, real estate represented the most significant long-lived asset that has not
been fully depreciated or written down for impairment.
Recently
Issued Accounting Standards
Since the
filing of the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009,
the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) has issued 23 accounting
standards updates. Management has evaluated these updates and does
not believe the adoption of any of these updates has had or will have a material
impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed financial statements.
3.
Earnings (Loss) Per Share
Basic
earnings per share is computed by allocating net income available to common
stockholders and to Class B shareholders based on their contractual
participation rights to share in such net income as if all the income for the
year had been distributed. Such allocation reflects that common stock
is entitled to cash dividends, if and when paid, 11.11% higher per share than
Class B stock. However, a net loss is allocated evenly to all
shares. The income (loss) allocated to each security is divided by
the respective weighted average number of common and Class B shares outstanding
during the period. Diluted earnings per common share assumes the
conversion of Class B stock into common stock. Diluted earnings per
share gives effect to all potential dilutive common shares outstanding during
the period. In computing diluted earnings per share, which only
applies in the event there is net income, the average price of the Company’s
common stock for the period is used in determining the number of shares assumed
to be purchased from exercise of stock options and
warrants. Dividends applicable to preferred stock represent
accumulating dividends that are not declared or accrued. The
following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings (loss)
applicable to common and Class B stock for the three and six months ended March
31, 2010 and 2009 (in thousands, except shares and per share data):
|
|
Three Months Ended
March 31,
|
|
|
Six Months Ended
March 31,
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
Net
loss
|
|
$
|
(1,236
|
)
|
|
$
|
(1,668
|
)
|
|
$
|
(2,246
|
)
|
|
$
|
(3,161
|
)
|
Dividends
applicable to preferred stock
|
|
|
(440
|
)
|
|
|
(440
|
)
|
|
|
(880
|
)
|
|
|
(880
|
)
|
Net
loss applicable to common and Class B stock
|
|
$
|
(1,676
|
)
|
|
$
|
(2,108
|
)
|
|
$
|
(3,126
|
)
|
|
$
|
(4,041
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net loss
applicable to common stock-basic and diluted
|
|
$
|
(1,433
|
)
|
|
$
|
(1,783
|
)
|
|
$
|
(2,666
|
)
|
|
$
|
(3,418
|
)
|
Net loss
applicable to Class B stock-basic and diluted
|
|
$
|
(243
|
)
|
|
$
|
(325
|
)
|
|
$
|
(460
|
)
|
|
$
|
(623
|
)
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended
March 31,
|
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
Common Stock
|
|
|
|
Class B Stock
|
|
Numerator
for basic and diluted earnings per share – net loss
|
|
$
|
(1,433
|
)
|
|
$
|
(1,783
|
)
|
|
$
|
(243
|
)
|
|
$
|
(325
|
)
|
Denominator
for basic and diluted earnings per share-weighted
average
outstanding shares
|
|
|
3,526,271
|
|
|
|
3,487,473
|
|
|
|
596,732
|
|
|
|
634,615
|
|
Basic
and diluted loss per share
|
|
$
|
(0.41
|
)
|
|
$
|
(0.51
|
)
|
|
$
|
(0.41
|
)
|
|
$
|
(0.51
|
)
|
|
|
Six Months Ended
March 31,
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
|
Common Stock
|
|
|
Class B Stock
|
|
Numerator
for basic and diluted earnings per share – net loss
|
|
$
|
(2,666
|
)
|
|
$
|
(3,418
|
)
|
|
$
|
(460
|
)
|
|
$
|
(623
|
)
|
Denominator
for basic and diluted earnings per share-weighted
average
outstanding shares
|
|
|
3,516,029
|
|
|
|
3,487,473
|
|
|
|
606,733
|
|
|
|
634,615
|
|
Basic
and diluted loss per share
|
|
$
|
(0.76
|
)
|
|
$
|
(0.98
|
)
|
|
$
|
(0.76
|
)
|
|
$
|
(0.98
|
)
|
In the
three and six months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, no effect has been given to
certain outstanding options, warrants and convertible securities in computing
diluted loss per share as their effect would be antidilutive. Such
share amounts outstanding at March 31, 2010 and 2009 which could potentially
dilute basic earnings per share are as follows:
|
|
No. of Shares
|
|
|
|
March
31,
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
Stock
warrants
|
|
|
4,093,341
|
|
|
|
4,093,341
|
|
Stock
options
|
|
|
3,221,397
|
|
|
|
3,340,896
|
|
Convertible
preferred stock
|
|
|
142,307
|
|
|
|
143,223
|
|
Total
|
|
|
7,457,045
|
|
|
|
7,577,460
|
|
4. Inventories
Inventories
consist of (in thousands):
|
|
March
31,
|
|
|
September
30,
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
Raw
materials
|
|
$
|
431
|
|
|
$
|
405
|
|
Work-in-process
|
|
|
1,271
|
|
|
|
1,535
|
|
Finished
goods
|
|
|
381
|
|
|
|
495
|
|
|
|
$
|
2,083
|
|
|
$
|
2,435
|
|
Inventories
are stated at the lower of cost or market using a first-in, first-out
method. Reserves in the amount of $ 2,914,000 and $2,879,000 were
recorded at March 31, 2010 and September 30, 2009, respectively, for excess and
obsolete inventories.
5. Long-Term
Debt and Fair Value Contingency
Long-term
debt consists of (in thousands):
|
|
March
31,
|
|
|
September
30,
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
Notes
Payable to Related Parties
|
|
$
|
2,756
|
|
|
$
|
2,756
|
|
Note
Payable to Unrelated Party
|
|
|
128
|
|
|
|
40
|
|
Debentures
matured October 1, 2008
|
|
|
19,367
|
|
|
|
19,367
|
|
Real
Estate Mortgage due July 31, 2011
|
|
|
4,500
|
|
|
|
4,500
|
|
|
|
|
26,751
|
|
|
|
26,663
|
|
Less
current portion
|
|
|
22,251
|
|
|
|
22,163
|
|
|
|
$
|
4,500
|
|
|
$
|
4,500
|
|
Long-term
debt totaling $ 22,123,000 has matured as of March 31, 2010, of which
$19,367,000 in debentures matured October 1, 2008 but are restricted from being
paid until senior debt is paid (see discussion below). The real
estate mortgage in the amount of $4,500,000 is due July 31, 2011, pursuant to an
amendment dated December 31, 2009.
The
Company believes that the values of the note payable to unrelated party and real
estate mortgage approximate their respective fair
values. Also, notes payable to related parties are
considered to approximate fair value when considering their senior secured
interest in the Company’s assets. However, the estimated fair value
of debentures, with a face value totaling $19,367,000 is considered to be
substantially lower than carrying value due to the debentures being subordinated
to both the real estate and related party debt. However, due to the
extremely limited market (if any) for the debentures, the Company is unable to
determine the current fair value.
Notes
Payable to Related Parties and Warrants
On
December 9, 2005, Mr. Howard S. Modlin, Chairman of the Board and Chief
Executive Officer, and Mr. John Segall, a Director, restructured existing loans
and entered into new senior secured loans with the Company in the principal
amounts of $1,198,418 and $632,527, respectively. Interest accrues at
the rate of 10% per annum. In connection with the
transactions, Mr. Modlin and Mr. Segall each received seven year warrants
expiring December 8, 2012 to purchase common stock at $0.575 per share covering
2,084,204 shares and 1,100,047 shares, respectively.
On
February 17, 2006, the Company borrowed $250,000 from Mr. Modlin in the form of
a demand note which bore interest at the rate of 10% per annum. On
April 20, 2006, the Corporation entered into an amendment of its loan
arrangement with Mr. Modlin whereby the $250,000 demand loan made by Mr. Modlin
on February 17, 2006 was amended and restated into a term note, 50% of which was
payable February 17, 2007 and 50% of which was payable February 17, 2008 (such
payments were deferred until July 30, 2010 in agreement with Mr.
Modlin). Mr. Modlin received a seven year warrant expiring April 19,
2013 to purchase 909,090 shares of common stock at $0.275 per
share.
In the
quarters ended March 31, 2007 and December 31, 2007, Mr. Modlin made demand
loans to the Company totaling $270,000 and $125,000, respectively, and which
bore interest at the annual rate of 10%. Such loans were paid off in
the quarter ended March 31, 2008. On April 30, May 13, July 9,
September 18 and October 1, 2008, Mr. Modlin made demand loans to the Company
bearing interest at the annual rate of 10% in the amounts of $175,000, $75,000,
$110,000, $175,000 and $250,000, respectively. The loan made on
July 9, 2008 was repaid on July 17, 2008.
Accrued
interest on all such loans amounted to $524,880 and $374,926 at March 31, 2010
and September 30, 2009, respectively. All loans made by Mr. Modlin
and Mr. Segall are collateralized by all the assets of the Company and are
presently due and payable. No demand for payment of such loans has
been made by either Mr. Modlin or Mr. Segall and, if made, the Company presently
would be unable to make such payments. All warrants have exercise
prices that are above the current market price of common stock.
Debentures
Debentures
together with accrued interest matured on October 1, 2008. The
debentures have a subordinated security interest in all the assets of the
Company. The debentures were issued to unsecured creditors in 2003 as
part of the Company’s plan of reorganization. No principal or
interest is payable on the debentures until the senior lenders’ claims are paid
in full and no principal or interest has been paid as of May 17,
2010. Interest accrues at the annual rate of 10% and totaled
$12,689,000 at March 31, 2010 (see Note 1 “Liquidity and Going
Concern”).
Debentures
were issued to the following related parties: $125,000 to William G.
Henry, Vice President, Finance and Administration; $50,000 to George M. Gray,
Vice President, Operations and Engineering, $16,400 to Howard S. Modlin,
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer and $19,900 to
John L. Segall, Director. In addition, a debenture in the amount of
$2,179,000 was issued to the law firm of Weisman Celler Spett & Modlin,
P.C., of which Mr. Modlin is President.
Real
Estate Mortgage
The real
estate mortgage entered into July 30, 2007 in the amount of $4,500,000 is
secured by the Company’s premises in Naugatuck, CT. The mortgage
currently requires monthly payments of interest at the rate of 30-day LIBOR plus
8% with a minimum interest rate of 12% (such interest rate was 12% at March 31,
2010). No principal payments are required until the full amount of
the mortgage matures. Effective December 31, 2009, the Company
amended the mortgage to extend the maturity date from July 31, 2010 to July 31,
2011, to increase the interest rate effective August 1, 2010 to LIBOR plus 9%
with a minimum interest of 13% and to charge a fee in the amount of $45,000 that
is payable no later than August 1, 2010. The mortgage contains no
financial performance covenants.
6. Employee
Incentive Plans
Stock Awards, Grants and
Options
The
Company has adopted a 2003 Stock and Bonus Plan (“2003 Plan”) reserving 459,268
shares of Class B stock and 459,268 shares of common stock and a 2005 Stock and
Bonus Plan (“2005 Plan”) reserving 2,400,000 shares of common
stock. No shares of Class B stock are authorized under the 2005 Plan
and no further shares of Class B stock are available under the 2003
Plan. Officers and key employees may be granted non-incentive stock
options at an exercise price equal to, greater than or less than the market
price on the date of grant. While individual options can be issued
under various provisions, most options, once granted, generally vest in
increments of 20% per year over a five-year period and expire within ten
years.
At March
31, 2010 there were 572,076 options available for future issuance under the 2003
and 2005 Plans.
A summary
of stock options outstanding under the Company’s stock plans as of September 30,
2009 and changes during the six months ended March 31, 2010 are presented
below:
|
|
Shares
|
|
|
Weighted Average Exercise
Price
|
|
|
Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term
(Yrs)
|
|
|
Aggregate Intrinsic Value
|
|
Options
outstanding, September 30, 2009
|
|
|
3,229,153
|
|
|
$
|
0.52
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options
granted
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options
exercised
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options
cancelled or expired
|
|
|
(7,756
|
)
|
|
|
10.60
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options
outstanding, March 31, 2010
|
|
|
3,221,397
|
|
|
$
|
0.49
|
|
|
|
6.11
|
|
|
$
|
0
|
|
Vested
or expected to vest at March 31, 2010
|
|
|
2,770,943
|
|
|
$
|
0.46
|
|
|
|
6.07
|
|
|
$
|
0
|
|
Exercisable
at March 31, 2010
|
|
|
2,270,253
|
|
|
$
|
0.58
|
|
|
|
5.79
|
|
|
$
|
0
|
|
As of
March 31, 2010, there was $61,646 of total unrecognized compensation cost
related to nonvested options which is expected to be recognized over a weighted
average period of 1.39 years. There were no options granted during
the six months ended March 31, 2010.
Employee
Retirement Savings and Deferred Profit Sharing Plan
Under the
retirement savings provisions of the Company’s retirement plan established under
Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code, employees are generally eligible to
contribute to the plan after three months of continuous service in amounts
determined by the plan. The Company does not make matching
contributions and, therefore, no amounts have been charged to
expense.
The
deferred profit sharing portion of the plan provides that the Company may make
contributions to the plan out of profits at the discretion of the
Company. There were no such contributions in the three months ended
December 31, 2009 and 2008.
7. Receivable
Sales Agreement with Related Party and Subsequent Event
On
October 24, 2008, the Company’s subsidiary, General DataComm, Inc., entered into
a Receivable Sales Agreement with Howard S. Modlin, the Company’s Chief
Executive Officer, pursuant to which Mr. Modlin purchased receivables at a 2.5%
discount. In the six months ended March 31, 2010, Mr. Modlin
made purchases with a face value of $4,642,051 for an aggregate purchase price
of $4,526,000 under this agreement. In the six months ended March 31,
2009, Mr. Modlin purchased $3,061,543 of receivables for a price of
$2,987,000. For accounting purposes, the discount is recorded as an
expense at the time of purchase.
Subsequent
to March 31, 2010 and through May 14, 2010, Mr. Modlin advanced to the Company
$970,000 intended for the purchase of receivables.
8. Litigation
The
Company received an adverse ruling from a France court dated November 1, 2009
regarding compensation owed to a former employee, in the amount of 151,603 Euros
(approximately $205,000 U.S. at March 31, 2010). The Company has a
liability recorded at March 31, 2010 to absorb this expense should such payment
become necessary.
9. Subsequent
Events
Subsequent
events were evaluated through the filing date of May 17, 2010.
ITEM
2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
THE
FOLLOWING DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF THE COMPANY’S FINANCIAL CONDITION
AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS SHOULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND RELATED NOTES APPEARING ELSEWHERE IN THIS QUARTERLY
REPORT ON FORM 10-Q AND IN THE COMPANY’S ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE YEAR
ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2009 AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION.
THIS
REPORT ON FORM 10-Q CONTAINS FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS WITHIN THE MEANING OF
SECTION 21E OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED. FOR
THIS PURPOSE, STATEMENTS CONTAINED HEREIN THAT ARE NOT STATEMENTS OF HISTORICAL
FACT MAY BE DEEMED TO BE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. WITHOUT LIMITING
THE FOREGOING, THE WORDS “BELIEVES”, “ANTICIPATES”, “PLANS”, “EXPECTS” AND
SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS ARE INTENDED TO IDENTIFY FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS. THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS INVOLVE RISKS AND
UNCERTAINTIES AND ARE NOT GUARANTEES OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE. ACTUAL
RESULTS MAY DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE INDICATED IN SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS AS A RESULT OF CERTAIN FACTORS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THOSE
SET FORTH UNDER THE HEADING “RISK FACTORS” BELOW. UNLESS REQUIRED BY
LAW, THE COMPANY UNDERTAKES NO OBLIGATION TO UPDATE ANY FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS OR REASONS WHY ACTUAL RESULTS MAY DIFFER.
Unless
otherwise stated, all references to “Notes” in the following discussion of
“Results of Operations” and “Liquidity and Capital Resources” are to the “Notes
to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements” included in Item 1 in this Form
10-Q.
RESULTS
OF OPERATIONS
Revenues
|
|
Three
Months Ended March 31,
|
|
|
Six
Months Ended March 31,
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
Product
|
|
$
|
1,194
|
|
|
$
|
1,548
|
|
|
$
|
3,434
|
|
|
$
|
3,293
|
|
Service
|
|
|
344
|
|
|
|
510
|
|
|
|
669
|
|
|
|
1,109
|
|
Total
Revenues
|
|
$
|
1,538
|
|
|
$
|
2,058
|
|
|
$
|
4
,103
|
|
|
$
|
4,402
|
|
Revenues
for the three months ended March 31, 2010 decreased $520,000, or 25.3%, to
$1,538,000 from $2,058,000 reported for the three months ended March 31,
2009. Product revenues decreased $ 354,000, or 22.9%, while service
revenues decreased $ 166,000, or 32.5%.
The
product sales decrease in the quarter-to-quarter comparison was primarily due to
a 46% decrease in shipments of multi-service switches. The 2009 quarter included
shipments under a contract with a large telecommunications company that did not
repeat at the same level in the 2010 quarter. Partially offsetting
this decline was a 39% increase in shipments of network access products to
accommodate demand for services being rolled out by large telephone
companies. Sales of the multi-service switch product line constituted
approximately 52% of product revenue in the 2010 quarter while the network
access product line constituted approximately 48% of product revenue, compared
to approximately 73% multi-service switches and 27% access products in the 2009
quarter.
The
decrease in service revenue in the quarter was primarily due to the expiration
of a service contract in Europe where the customer transitioned the
equipment.
Revenues
for the six months ended March 31, 2010 decreased $299,000, or 6.8%, to
$4,103,000 from $4,402,000 reported for the six months ended March 31,
2009. Product revenues increased $141,000, or 4.3%, while service
revenues decreased $440,000, or 39.7%.
The
product sales increase in the six month comparison was due to a slight change in
product mix where a modest decline in multi-service switch revenue of $113,000
was more than offset by an increase of $254,000 in network access products sold
to telephone companies.
The
decrease in service revenue in the six month comparison was primarily due to the
expiration of a service contract in Europe mentioned above, and to project work
performed for a large telephone company in the prior year that did not repeat at
the same level in the current year.
Foreign
sales accounted for approximately 35% and 41% of revenue in the six months ended
March 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.
The
Company anticipates that demand for its legacy network access products will
decline and due to the “Risk Factors” mentioned below, there can be no assurance
that orders for new products and products with enhanced features will increase
to offset this decline. Accordingly, the ability to forecast future
revenue trends in the current environment is difficult.
Gross
Margin
|
|
Three
Months Ended March 31,
|
|
|
Six
Months Ended March 31,
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
Product
|
|
$
|
579
|
|
|
$
|
248
|
|
|
$
|
1,270
|
|
|
$
|
742
|
|
Service
|
|
|
223
|
|
|
|
313
|
|
|
|
447
|
|
|
|
634
|
|
Total
Gross Margin
|
|
$
|
802
|
|
|
$
|
561
|
|
|
$
|
1,717
|
|
|
$
|
1,376
|
|
Percentage
of Product Revenue
|
|
|
48.5
|
%
|
|
|
16.0
|
%
|
|
|
37.0
|
%
|
|
|
22.5
|
%
|
Percentage
of Service Revenue
|
|
|
64.8
|
%
|
|
|
61.4
|
%
|
|
|
66.8
|
%
|
|
|
57.2
|
%
|
Percentage
of Total Revenue
|
|
|
52.1
|
%
|
|
|
27.3
|
%
|
|
|
41.8
|
%
|
|
|
31.3
|
%
|
Gross
margin, as a percentage of revenues in the three months ended March 31, 2010,
was 52.1% as compared to 27.3% in the three months ended March 31, 2009, an
increase of 24.8%.
Product
gross margin, as a percentage of product revenue, increased 32.5%. Most of the
improvement (+31.3%) results from the impact of selling inventories that
previously were written down. In addition, low competitive pricing on a contract
with a major telephone company in 2009 contributed to a 9.9% improvement in 2010
when compared to 2009, and favorable component pricing added another 3.7%.
Offsetting these improvements were manufacturing inefficiencies associated with
lower sales volumes which had a negative effect of 12.5% on the quarter’s gross
profit margin.
Service
gross margin, as a percentage of service revenue, increased 3.4%. The
improvement was due to operating cost reductions partially offset by the impact
of reduced revenue levels. Cost reductions resulted from the service
organization being restructured to adjust to a lower revenue stream from
recurring contracts. Compensation cost reductions and related
expenses, along with lower use of outside contractors, accounted for the
reduction.
Gross
margin, as a percentage of revenue in the six months ended March 31, 2010, was
41.8% as compared to 31.3% in the six months ended March 31, 2009, an increase
of 10.5%.
Product
gross margin, as a percentage of product revenue, increased
14.5%. The increase was due to the sale of inventories that were
previously written down (+7.7%) and direct charges for plant underutilization in
the prior year (+8.1%) offset by an additional provision for obsolete
inventories in the current year (-2.9%). Favorable sales and
component pricing and lower fixed costs contributed to another 1.6%
improvement.
Service
gross margin, as a percentage of service revenue, increased
9.6%. This improvement was due to operating cost reductions partially
offset by the impact of reduced revenue levels.
In future
periods, the Company’s gross margin will vary depending upon a number of
factors, including the mix of products sold, the cost of products manufactured
at subcontract facilities, the channels of distribution, the price of products
sold, discounting practices, price competition, increases in material costs, the
costs of the service organization and changes in other components of cost of
sales. As and to the extent the Company introduces new products and
services, it is possible that such products and services may have lower gross
profit margins than other established products in higher volume production and
traditional service offerings. Accordingly, gross margin as a
percentage of revenues is expected to vary.
Selling,
General and Administrative
|
|
T
hree
Months Ended March 31
,
|
|
|
Six
Months Ended March 31,
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
Selling,
general and administrative
|
|
$
|
794
|
|
|
$
|
1,093
|
|
|
$
|
1,523
|
|
|
$
|
2,175
|
|
Percentage
of revenues
|
|
|
51.6
|
%
|
|
|
52.4
|
%
|
|
|
37.1
|
%
|
|
|
49.4
|
%
|
Selling,
general and administrative expenses decreased to $ 794,000, or 51.6% of revenues
in the three months ended March 31, 2010, from $1,093,000, or 52.4% of revenues
in the three months ended March 31, 2009. The decrease in spending in
the quarter of $299,000, or 27.4%, was primarily a result of reorganizing the
Company’s European operations which resulted in the closing of a sales office in
France and which reduced expenses by $222,000, and lower compensation costs of
$113,000 due to salary and benefit reductions, including certain job
eliminations for domestic sales and administrative staff. Other items
were a net increase of $36,000.
Selling,
general and administrative expenses decreased to $1,523,000, or 37.1% of
revenues in the six months ended March 31, 2010, from $2,175,000, or 49.4% of
revenues in the six months ended March 31, 2009. The decrease in
spending of $652,000, or 30.0%,
was primarily due to the reorganization of the Company’s European operations
which reduced expenses by $339,000, and lower compensation costs of
$272,000. In addition, professional fees were lower by $99,000 due to
lower anticipated audit fees. Other items were a net increase of
$58,000.
Research
and Product Development
|
|
Three
Months Ended March 31,
|
|
|
Six
Months Ended March 31,
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
Research
and product development
|
|
$
|
495
|
|
|
$
|
408
|
|
|
$
|
943
|
|
|
$
|
937
|
|
Percentage
of revenues
|
|
|
32.2
|
%
|
|
|
19.8
|
%
|
|
|
23.0
|
%
|
|
|
21.3
|
%
|
Research
and product development expenses increased to $495,000 or 32.2% of revenues in
the three months ended March 31, 2010, from $408,000, or 19.8% of revenues in
the three months ended March 31, 2009. The increase of $87,000, or
21.3%, was primarily the result of higher costs of outside contractors of
$133,000 engaged
to
assist with design of multi-service switch products and features offset by lower
compensation costs of $54,000 due to headcount reductions resulting from a
combination of attrition and lay-offs. Other net increases were
$8,000.
Research
and product development expenses increased to $943,000, or 23.0% of revenues in
the six months ended March 31, 2010, from $937,000, or 21.3% of revenues in the
six months ended March 31, 2009. The increase of $6,000, or 1%, was
due to higher costs of outside contractors of $175,000 offset by lower
compensation costs of $163,000. Other net reductions were
$6,000.
Interest
Expense
Interest
expense decreased to $703,000 in the three months ended March 31, 2010 from
$743,000 in the three months ended March 31, 2009. The decreased
interest charges of $40,000 resulted primarily from lower fee
amortization. Interest expense decreased to $1,422,000 in the six
months ended March 31, 2010 from $1,463,000 in the six months ended March 31,
2009. The decrease was due to lower fee amortization partially offset
by a higher interest rate on the real estate mortgage, which rate became
effective January 1, 2009 when the mortgage was amended.
The
Company is currently paying interest only on the real estate
mortgage. Such payments amounted to $272,000 in the six month period
ended March 31, 2010.
Other
Income (Expense)
Other
income (expense) for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009 totaled
($43,000) and ($19,000), respectively. The 2010 quarterly amount
includes $59,000 of discount associated with the sales of accounts receivable
and $8,000 in other net expense items offset in part by income of $24,000
received from a tradename license. The 2009 quarterly amount includes
$42,000 of discount associated with the sales of accounts receivable offset in
part by income of $21,000 received from a tradename license and $2,000 in other
net income items.
Other
income (expense) for the six months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009 totaled
($69,000) and $7,000 respectively. The 2010 amount includes $116,000
of discount associated with the sales of accounts receivable and $1,000 in other
net expense items offset in part by income of $48,000 received from a tradename
license. The 2009 amount includes $40,000 received from a tradename
license and $50,000 received in a legal settlement offset in part by $74,000 of
discount associated with the sales of accounts receivables and $9,000 in other
net expense items
.
Provision
for Income Taxes
The
income tax provision for the three and six months ended March 31, 2010 reflect
current state tax provisions only. The income tax provisions for the
three months ended March 31, 2009 includes $37,000 related to a refund of prior
years’ general business credit under provisions of the Housing and Economic
Recovery Act of 2008, offset by $3,000 in current state tax
liabilities. The income tax provisions for the six months ended March
31, 2009 includes the $37,000 refund offset by $6,000 in current state tax
liabilities.
No
federal income tax provisions were provided in the six months ended March 31,
2010 due to the valuation allowance provided against deferred tax
assets. The Company established a full valuation allowance against
its net deferred tax assets due to the uncertainty of realization of benefits of
the net operating loss carryforwards from prior years and the operating losses
in fiscal 2010. The Company has federal tax credit and net operating
loss carryforwards of approximately $11.9 million and $214.4 million,
respectively, at September 30, 2009.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
|
|
March
31,
|
|
|
September
30,
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
|
$
|
9
|
|
|
$
|
79
|
|
Working
capital (deficit)
|
|
|
(40,258
|
)
|
|
|
(38,199
|
)
|
Total
assets
|
|
|
5,586
|
|
|
|
6,410
|
|
Long-term
debt, including current portion
|
|
|
26,751
|
|
|
|
26,663
|
|
Total
liabilities
|
|
|
47,666
|
|
|
|
46,269
|
|
|
|
Six
Months Ended March 31
,
|
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
2009
|
|
Net
cash provided (used) by:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating
activities
|
|
$
|
(147
|
)
|
|
$
|
(444
|
)
|
Investing
activities
|
|
|
(11
|
)
|
|
|
(6
|
)
|
Financing
activities
|
|
|
88
|
|
|
|
381
|
|
Note: Significant
risk factors exist due to the Company’s limited financial resources and its
present inability to repay its senior debt and its debentures which matured on
October 1, 2008. See “Risk Factors” below for further
discussion.
Cash
Flows
Net cash
used by operating activities totaled $147,000 in the six months ended March 31,
2010. The net loss in the period was $ 2,246,000. Included
in this net loss were non-cash expenses for depreciation and amortization of
$157,000 and stock compensation expense of $26,000. A decrease
in accounts receivable due to levels of customer collections and sales of
accounts receivable (to a related party) being higher than new
sales levels resulted in a source of cash of $237,000. An increased
level of sales of accounts receivables to be invoiced (to a related party)
resulted in a source of cash of $369,000. Inventories were lower by
$352,000 as the Company was able to achieve shipments of on-hand inventories to
satisfy new customer orders and generate a source of cash through reduced
purchasing. Unpaid interest which accrued on the Company’s debt increased
$1,123,000 as a source of cash. Deferred revenue, primarily on
product shipments awaiting customer acceptance, added $154,000 as a source of
cash. A decrease in accrued payroll expenses due primarily to the
timing of payrolls resulted in a use of cash of $288,000. Other net uses of cash
totaled $ 31,000.
Net cash
used by investing activities in the six months ended March 31, 2010 was $11,000
for the acquisition of equipment.
Net cash
provided by financing activities in the six months ended March 31, 2010 was
$88,000, comprised of the proceeds of $179,000 from a note payable to an
unrelated party less $91,000 in payments made on the same note.
Liquidity
and Going Concern
The
Company incurred a net loss and used a significant amount of cash in its
operating activities for the six months ended March 31, 2010 and in recent years
preceding such date. The Company has no current ability to borrow
additional funds except as may be provided pursuant to a receivable sales
agreement with a related party. It must, therefore, fund operations
from cash balances, cash generated from operating activities and any cash that
may be generated from the sale of non-core assets such as real estate and other
assets. In addition, at March 31, 2010 the Company had a
stockholders’ deficit of approximately $42.1 million, and a working capital
deficit of approximately $ 40.3 million, including debentures in
the principal amount of $19.4 million, together with
accrued interest thereon ($12.7 million at March 31, 2010), which matured on
October 1, 2008. While a subordinated security agreement signed by
the indenture trustee on behalf of the debenture holders provides that no
payments may be made to debenture holders, and that no event of default may be
declared under the indenture, while senior secured debt is outstanding, in the
absence of such restrictions the Company does not have the ability to repay the
debentures. As of March 31, 2010, senior secured debt consists of
notes payable to related parties and a real estate mortgage. A
failure to pay the debentures when they become due and payable as described
above could result in an event of default being declared under the indenture
governing the debentures.
The
conditions described above raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability
to continue as a going concern. To continue operations, management
has responded by entering into a receivable sales agreement with a related party
to provide liquidity and by implementing operational changes, including closing
its foreign offices, reducing certain salaries, restructuring the sales force,
increasing factory and office shutdown time, constraining expenses and reducing
the employee workforce. The Company also continues to pursue the sale
or lease of its headquarters’ land and building in Naugatuck, CT.
Critical
Accounting Policies
A
detailed description of the Company’s significant accounting policies can be
found in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
September 30, 2009 as filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Recently
Issued Accounting Standards
Since the
filing of our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, the
Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) has issued 23 accounting standards
updates. Management has evaluated these updates and does
not believe the adoption of any of these updates has had or will have a material
impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed financial statements.
RISK FACTORS
The Financial Statements are
Unaudited and the Quarterly Financial Statements Have Not Been
Reviewed.
The financial statements in Form 10-K for the years
ended September 30, 2009 and 2008 as filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission have not been audited by an independent accounting
firm. The financial statements in Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended
December 31, 2008, March 31, 2009, June 30, 2009, December 31, 2009 and March
31, 2010 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission have not been
reviewed by an independent accounting firm. While the Company’s internal control
over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the fair presentation of financial statements in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles, because of its inherent limitations
such internal control may not prevent or detect misstatements that may arise in
an audit or review by an independent accounting firm.
GDC’s
Negative Operating History Since Emerging from Bankruptcy.
The Company
emerged from Bankruptcy on September 15, 2003. Accordingly, an investor in the
Company’s common stock must evaluate the risks, uncertainties, and difficulties
frequently encountered by a company emerging from Chapter 11 and that operates
in rapidly evolving markets such as the telecommunications equipment
industry.
Due to
the Company’s limited and negative operating history, and poor performance since
emergence, the Company may not successfully implement any of its strategies or
successfully address these risks and uncertainties. As described by the
following factors, past financial performance should not be considered to be a
reliable indicator of future performance, and investors should not use
historical trends to anticipate results or trends in future
periods.
Non-payment of Debentures and
Certain Senior Debt, and Going Concern.
The Company has
outstanding
debentures in the
principal amount of approximately $19.4 million which, together with accrued
interest thereon matured on October 1, 2008. A subordinated security
agreement signed by the indenture trustee on behalf of the debenture holders
provides that no payments may be made to debenture holders, and that no event of
default may be declared under the indenture, while the senior secured debt,
including debt owed to Mr. Modlin and Mr. Segall (Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer, and Director, respectively) and a real estate mortgage, is
outstanding. In the absence of such restrictions the Company does not
presently have the ability to repay the debentures. A failure to pay
the debentures when they become due and payable as described above, could result
in an event of default being declared under the indenture governing the
debentures. The senior debt owed to Messrs. Modlin and Segall is due and payable
but payment has not been demanded by either of them. Together
with the other conditions described in the Liquidity and Capital Resources
section above and elsewhere in this Form 10-Q, such condition raises substantial
doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.
Dependence
on Legacy and Recently Introduced Products and New Product Development.
The Company’s future results of operations are dependent on market
acceptance of existing and future applications for the Company’s current
products and new products in development. Sales of the Company’s legacy
products, primarily digital service unit and V.34 product lines, declined to
approximately 22% of product sales in fiscal 2009 from 26% in fiscal
2008 and have been flat year to date with fiscal year 2009. The Company
anticipates that net sales from legacy products will continue to decline over
the next several years and net sales of new products will increase at the same
time, with significant quarterly fluctuations possible, and without assurance
that sales of new products will increase at the same time.
Market
acceptance of the Company’s recently introduced and future product lines is
dependent on a number of factors, not all of which are in the Company’s control,
including the continued growth in the use of bandwidth intensive applications,
continued deployment of new telecommunication services, market acceptance of
multiservice access devices, the availability and price of competing products
and technologies, and the success of the Company’s sales and marketing efforts.
Failure of the Company’s products to achieve market acceptance would have a
material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and
results of operations. Failure to introduce new products in a timely manner in
order to replace sales of legacy products could result in customers purchasing
products from competitors and have a material adverse effect on the Company’s
business, financial condition and results of operations.
New
products under development may require additional development work, enhancement
and testing or further refinement before the Company can make them commercially
available. The Company has in the past experienced delays in the introduction of
new products, product applications and enhancements due to a variety of internal
factors, such as reallocation of priorities, financial constraints, difficulty
in hiring sufficient qualified personnel, and unforeseen technical obstacles, as
well as changes in customer requirements. Such delays have deferred the receipt
of revenue from the products involved. If the Company’s products have
performance, reliability or quality shortcomings, then the Company may
experience reduced orders, higher manufacturing costs, delays in collecting
accounts receivable, and additional warranty and service expenses.
Customer
Concentration and Economic Conditions.
The Company’s customers
include local exchange carriers, inter-exchange carriers, wireless service
providers, and resellers who sell to these customers. Such service providers
require substantial capital for the development, construction, and expansion of
their networks and the introduction of their services. The ability of
service providers to fund such expenditures often depends on their ability to
budget or obtain sufficient capital resources. In the past, resources made
available for such capital acquisitions have varied along with market conditions
in the United States. If the Company’s current or potential service
provider customers cannot successfully raise the necessary funds, or if they
experience any other adverse effects with respect to their operating results or
profitability, their capital spending programs may be adversely impacted which
could materially adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition
and results of operations.
A small
number of customers have historically accounted for a majority of the Company’s
sales. Sales to the Company’s top five customers accounted for 57%
and 54% of revenues in fiscal 2009 and 2008. There can be no
assurance that the Company’s current customers will continue to place orders
with the Company, that orders by existing customers will continue at the levels
of previous periods, or that the Company will be able to obtain orders from new
customers. The Company expects the economic climate and conditions in the
telecommunication equipment industry to remain unpredictable in fiscal 2010 and
beyond. Additionally, world economic conditions could have a material
adverse affect on the Company’s operations. The loss of one or more
of our service provider customers, such as occurred in the past through industry
consolidation or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our sales
and operating results. A bankruptcy filing by one or more of the
Company’s major customers could materially adversely affect the Company’s
business, financial condition and results of operations.
Dependence
on Key Personnel.
The Company’s future success will depend to a large
extent on the continued contributions of its executive officers and key
management, sales, and technical personnel. Each of the Company’s executive
officers, and key management, sales and technical personnel would be difficult
to replace. The Company does not have employment contracts with its key
employees. The Company implemented significant cost and staff reductions in
recent years, which may make it more difficult to attract and retain key
personnel. The loss of the services of one or more of the Company’s executive
officers or key personnel, or the inability to attract qualified personnel,
could delay product development cycles or otherwise could have a material
adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of
operations.
Dependence
on Key Suppliers and Component Availability.
The Company generally relies
upon several contract manufacturers to assemble finished and semi-finished
goods. The Company’s products use certain components, such as microprocessors,
memory chips and pre-formed enclosures that are acquired or available from one
or a limited number of sources. Component parts that are incorporated
into board assemblies are sourced directly by the Company from
suppliers. The Company has generally been able to procure adequate
supplies of these components in a timely manner from existing
sources.
While
most components are standard items, certain application-specific integrated
circuit chips used in many of the Company’s products are customized to the
Company’s specifications. None of the suppliers of components operate under
contract. Additionally, availability of some standard components may
be affected by market shortages and allocations. The Company’s
inability to obtain a sufficient quantity of components when required, or to
develop alternative sources due to lack of availability or degradation of
quality, at acceptable prices and within a reasonable time, could result in
delays or reductions in product shipments which could materially affect the
Company’s operating results in any given period. In addition, as
referenced above the Company relies heavily on outsourcing subcontractors for
production. The inability of such subcontractors to deliver products
in a timely fashion or in accordance with the Company’s quality standards could
materially adversely affect the Company’s operating results and
business.
The
Company uses internal forecasts to manage its general finished goods and
components requirements. Lead times for materials and components may vary
significantly, and depend on factors such as specific supplier performance,
contract terms, and general market demand for components. If orders vary from
forecasts, the Company may experience excess or inadequate inventory of certain
materials and components, and suppliers may demand longer lead times and higher
prices. From time to time, the Company has experienced shortages and allocations
of certain components, resulting in delays in fulfillment of customer orders.
Such shortages and allocations may occur in the future, and could have a
material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and
results of operations.
Fluctuations
in Quarterly and Annual Operating Results.
The Company’s sales are
subject to quarterly and annual fluctuations due to a number of factors
resulting in more variability and less predictability in the Company’s
quarter-to-quarter sales and operating results. As a small number of customers
have historically accounted for a majority of the Company’s sales, order
volatility by any of these major customers has had and may have an impact on the
Company in the prior, current and future fiscal years.
Most of
the Company’s sales require short delivery times. The Company’s ability to
affect and judge the timing of individual customer orders is limited. Large
fluctuations in sales from quarter-to-quarter could be due to a wide variety of
factors, such as delay, cancellation or acceleration of customer projects, and
other factors discussed below. The Company’s sales for a given quarter may
depend to a significant degree upon planned product shipments to a single
customer, often related to specific equipment or service deployment projects.
The Company has experienced both acceleration and slowdown in orders related to
such projects, causing changes in the sales level of a given quarter relative to
both the preceding and subsequent quarters.
Delays or
lost sales can be caused by other factors beyond the Company’s control,
including late deliveries by the third party subcontractors the Company is using
to outsource its manufacturing operations and by vendors of components used in a
customer’s products, slower than anticipated growth in demand for the Company’s
products for specific projects or delays in implementation of projects by
customers and delays in obtaining regulatory approvals for new services and
products. Delays and lost sales have occurred in the past and may occur in the
future. The Company believes that sales in the past have been adversely impacted
by merger and restructuring activities by some of its top customers. These and
similar delays or lost sales could materially adversely affect the Company’s
business, financial condition and results of operations. See “Customer
Concentration and Economic Condition” and “Dependence on Key Suppliers and
Component Availability”.
The
Company’s backlog at the beginning of each quarter typically is not sufficient
to achieve expected sales for that quarter. To achieve its sales objectives, the
Company is dependent upon obtaining orders in a quarter for shipment in that
quarter. Furthermore, the Company’s agreements with certain of its customers
typically provide that they may change delivery schedules and cancel orders
within specified timeframes, typically up to 30 days prior to the scheduled
shipment date, without significant penalty. Some of the Company’s customers have
in the past built, and may in the future build, significant inventory in order
to facilitate more rapid deployment of anticipated major projects or for other
reasons. Decisions by such customers to reduce their inventory levels could lead
to reductions in purchases from the Company in certain periods. These
reductions, in turn, could cause fluctuations in the Company’s operating results
and could have an adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition
and results of operations in the periods in which the inventory is
reduced.
Operating
results may also fluctuate due to a variety of factors, including market
acceptance of the Company’s new lines of products, delays in new product
introductions by the Company, market acceptance of new products and feature
enhancements introduced by the Company, changes in the mix of products and or
customers, the gain or loss of a significant customer, competitive price
pressures, changes in expenses related to operations, research and development
and marketing associated with existing and new products, and the general
condition of the economy.
All of
the above factors are difficult for the Company to forecast, and these or other
factors can materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial
condition and results of operations for one quarter or a series of quarters. The
Company’s expense levels are based in part on its expectations regarding future
sales and are fixed in the short term to a certain extent. Therefore, the
Company may be unable to adjust spending in a timely manner to compensate for
any unexpected shortfall in sales. Any significant decline in demand relative to
the Company’s expectations or any material delay of customer orders could have a
material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition, and
results of operations. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able
to achieve or sustain profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. In addition,
the Company has had, and in some future quarter may have operating results below
the expectations of public market analysts and investors. In such event, the
price of the Company’s Common Stock would likely be materially and adversely
affected. See “Potential Volatility of Stock Price”.
Competition.
The
markets for telecommunications network access and multi-service equipment
addressed by the Company’s products can be characterized as highly competitive,
with intensive equipment price pressure. These markets are subject to rapid
technological change, wide-ranging regulatory requirements, the entrance of low
cost manufacturers and the presence of formidable competitors that have greater
name recognition and financial resources. Certain technology such as the V.34
and digital service units portion of the SpectraComm line are not considered new
and the market has experienced decline in recent years.
Industry
consolidation could lead to competition with fewer, but stronger competitors. In
addition, advanced termination products are emerging, which represent both new
market opportunities, as well as a threat to the Company’s current products.
Furthermore, basic line termination functions are increasingly being integrated
by competitors, such as Cisco and Alcatel/Lucent, into other equipment such as
routers and switches. To the extent that current or potential competitors can
expand their current offerings to include products that have functionality
similar to the Company’s products and planned products, the Company’s business,
financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely
affected. Many of the Company’s current and potential competitors
have substantially greater technical, financial, manufacturing and marketing
resources than the Company. In addition, many of the Company’s competitors have
long-established relationships with network service providers. There can be no
assurance that the Company will have the financial resources, technical
expertise, manufacturing, marketing, distribution and support capabilities to
compete successfully in the future.
Rapid Technological Change.
The network access and telecommunications equipment markets are
characterized by rapidly changing technologies and frequent new product
introductions. The rapid development of new technologies increases the risk that
current or new competitors could develop products that would reduce the
competitiveness of the Company’s products. The Company’s success will depend to
a substantial degree upon its ability to respond to changes in technology and
customer requirements. This will require the timely selection, development and
marketing of new products and enhancements on a cost-effective basis. The
development of new, technologically advanced products is a complex and uncertain
process, requiring high levels of innovation. The Company may need to supplement
its internal expertise and resources with specialized expertise or intellectual
property from third parties to develop new products.
Furthermore,
the communications industry is characterized by the need to design products that
meet industry standards for safety, emissions and network interconnection. With
new and emerging technologies and service offerings from network service
providers, such standards are often changing or unavailable. As a result, there
is a potential for product development delays due to the need for compliance
with new or modified standards. The introduction of new and enhanced products
also requires that the Company manage transitions from older products in order
to minimize disruptions in customer orders, avoid excess inventory of old
products and ensure that adequate supplies of new products can be delivered to
meet customer orders. There can be no assurance that the Company will be
successful in developing, introducing or managing the transition to new or
enhanced products, or that any such products will be responsive to technological
changes or will gain market acceptance. The Company’s business, financial
condition and results of operations would be materially adversely affected if
the Company were to be unsuccessful, or to incur significant delays in
developing and introducing such new products or enhancements. See “Dependence on
Legacy and Recently Introduced Products and New Product
Development”.
Compliance with Regulations
and Evolving Industry Standards.
The market for the Company’s products is
characterized by the need to meet a significant number of communications
regulations and standards, some of which are evolving as new technologies are
deployed. In the United States, the Company’s products must comply with various
regulations defined by the Federal Communications Commission and standards
established by Underwriters Laboratories and Telcordia Technologies, and new
products introduced in the SpectraComm line and other products designed for
telecommunications carrier networks will need to be NEBS Certified. As standards
continue to evolve, the Company will be required to modify its products or
develop and support new versions of its products. The failure of the Company’s
products to comply, or delays in compliance, with the various existing and
evolving industry standards, could delay introduction of the Company’s products,
which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial
condition and results of operations.
GDC
Will Require Additional Funding to Sustain Operations.
The Company
emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 15, 2003. Under the plan of
reorganization, the Company was to pay all creditors 100% of their allowed
claims based upon a five year business plan. However, the Company has
not met its business plan objectives since emerging from Chapter
11. The ability to meet the objectives of this business plan was
directly affected by the factors described in this “Risk Factors” section. The
Company cannot assure investors that it will be able to obtain new customers or
to generate the increased revenues required to meet its business plan objectives
in the future. In addition, in order to execute the business plan,
the Company may need to seek additional funding through public or private equity
offerings, debt financings or commercial partners. The Company cannot assure
investors that it will obtain funding on acceptable terms, if at all. If the
Company is unable to generate sufficient revenues or access capital on
acceptable terms, it may be required to (a) obtain funds on unfavorable terms
that may require the Company to relinquish rights to certain of its
technologies or that would significantly dilute its stockholders and/or (b)
significantly scale back current operations. Either of these two possibilities
would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial
condition and results of operations.
Risks Associated With Entry into
International Markets.
The Company has limited experience in
international markets with the exception of a few direct customers and
resellers/integrators and sales into Western Europe through its formerly active
subsidiary in France, which was acquired by the Company in 2005 and de-activated
in 2009. The Company intends to expand sales of its products outside of North
America and to enter certain international markets, which will require
significant management attention and financial resources. Conducting business
outside of North America is subject to certain risks, including longer payment
cycles, unexpected changes in regulatory requirements and tariffs, difficulties
in supporting foreign customers, greater difficulty in accounts receivable
collection and potentially adverse tax consequences. To the extent any Company
sales are denominated in foreign currency, the Company’s sales and results of
operations may also be directly affected by fluctuations in foreign currency
exchange rates. In order to sell its products internationally, the Company must
meet standards established by telecommunications authorities in various
countries. A delay in obtaining, or the failure to obtain,
certification of its products in countries outside the United States could delay
or preclude the Company’s marketing and sales efforts in such countries, which
could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial
condition and results of operations.
Risk of Third Party Claims of
Infringement.
The network access and telecommunications equipment
industries are characterized by the existence of a large number of patents and
frequent litigation based on allegations of patent infringement. From time to
time, third parties may assert exclusive patent, copyright, trademark and other
intellectual property rights to technologies that are important to the Company.
The Company has not conducted a formal patent search relating to the technology
used in its products, due in part to the high cost and limited benefits of a
formal search. In addition, since patent applications in the United States are
not publicly disclosed until the related patent is issued and foreign patent
applications generally are not publicly disclosed for at least a portion of the
time that they are pending, applications may have been filed which, if issued as
patents, could relate to the Company’s products. Software comprises a
substantial portion of the technology in the Company’s products. The scope of
protection accorded to patents covering software-related inventions is evolving
and is subject to a degree of uncertainty which may increase the risk and cost
to the Company if the Company discovers third party patents related to its
software products or if such patents are asserted against the Company in the
future.
The
Company may receive communications from third parties asserting that the
Company’s products infringe or may infringe the proprietary rights of third
parties. In its distribution agreements, the Company typically agrees to
indemnify its customers for any expenses or liabilities resulting from claimed
infringements of patents, trademarks or copyrights of third parties. In the
event of litigation to determine the validity of any third-party claims, such
litigation, whether or not determined in favor of the Company, could result in
significant expense to the Company and divert the efforts of the Company’s
technical and management personnel from productive tasks. In the event of an
adverse ruling in such litigation, the Company might be required to discontinue
the use and sale of infringing products, expend significant resources to develop
non-infringing technology or obtain licenses from third
parties. There can be no assurance that licenses from third parties
would be available on acceptable terms if at all. In the event of a
successful claim against the Company and the failure of the Company to develop
or license a substitute technology, the Company’s business, financial condition,
and results of operation could be materially adversely affected.
Limited Protection of
Intellectual Property.
The Company relies upon a combination of patent,
trade secret, copyright, and trademark laws and contractual restrictions to
establish and protect proprietary rights in its products and technologies. The
Company has been issued and has licensed certain U.S., Canadian and other
foreign patents with respect to certain products, including licenses granted
under patents sold in 2008. There can be no assurance that third parties have
not or will not develop equivalent technologies or products without infringing
the Company’s patents and/or patent licenses or that a court having jurisdiction
over a dispute involving such patents would hold the Company’s patents and/or
licenses valid, enforceable and infringed. The Company also typically enters
into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with its employees and
independent contractors, and non-disclosure agreements with its suppliers,
distributors and appropriate customers so as to limit access to and disclosure
of its proprietary information. There can be no assurance that these statutory
and contractual arrangements will deter misappropriation of the Company’s
technologies or discourage independent third-party development of similar
technologies. In the event such arrangements are insufficient, the Company’s
business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially
adversely affected. The laws of certain foreign countries in which the Company’s
products are or may be developed, manufactured or sold may not protect the
Company’s products or intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the
laws of the United States and thus, make the possibility of misappropriation of
the Company’s technology and products more likely.
Potential Volatility of Stock
Price.
The trading price of the Company’s common stock may be subject to
wide fluctuations in response to quarter-to-quarter variations in operating
results, announcements of technological innovations or new products by the
Company or its competitors, developments with respect to patents or proprietary
rights, general conditions in the telecommunication network access and equipment
industries, changes in earnings estimates by analysts, or other events or
factors. In addition, the stock market has experienced extreme price
and volume fluctuations, which have particularly affected the market prices of
many technology companies and which have often been unrelated to the operating
performance of such companies. Company-specific factors or broad market
fluctuations may materially adversely affect the market price of the Company’s
common stock. The Company has experienced significant fluctuations in its stock
price and share trading volume in the past and may continue to do
so.
The Company
is Controlled by a Small Number of Stockholders and Certain
Creditors.
In particular, Mr. Modlin, Chairman of the Board
and Chief Executive Officer, and President of Weisman Celler Spett & Modlin,
P.C., legal counsel for the Company, owns approximately 73% of the Company’s
outstanding shares of Class B stock and has stock options and
warrants that would upon exercise allow him to own approximately 58% of the
Company’s common stock, although all such options and warrants have exercise
prices which are substantially over the market price of the common stock on
March 31, 2010. Furthermore, Mr. Modlin is also trustee for the benefit of
the children of Mr. Charles P. Johnson, the former Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer, and such trust holds approximately 1.2% of the
outstanding shares of Class B stock. Class B stock under certain circumstances
has 10 votes per share in the election of Directors. The Board of
Directors is to consist of no less than three and no more than thirteen
directors, one of which may be designated by the debenture
trustee. The holders of the 9% Preferred Stock are presently entitled
to designate two directors until all arrears on the dividends on such 9%
Preferred Stock are paid in full. To date, the holders of the 9%
Preferred Stock have not designated any directors. In the event of a
payment default under the debentures which is not cured within 60 days after
written notice, the debenture trustee shall be entitled to select a majority of
the Board of Directors. Accordingly, in the absence of a payment
default under the debentures, Mr. Modlin may be able to elect all members of the
Board of Directors not designated by the holders of the 9% Preferred Stock and
the debenture trustee and determine the outcome of certain corporate actions
requiring stockholder approval, such as mergers and acquisitions of the
Company. This level of ownership by such persons and entities could have
the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or of
discouraging a third party from attempting to acquire, control of the Company.
Such provisions could limit the price that certain investors might be willing to
pay in the future for shares of the Company’s common stock, thereby making it
less likely that a stockholder will receive a premium in any sale of
shares.
ITEM
3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET
RISK
Market
risk represents the risk of loss that impacts the Company’s financial position,
results of operations or cash flows due to adverse changes in financial and
commodity market prices and interest rates.
Historically
the Company has had little or no exposure to market risk in the area of changes
in foreign currency except to the extent the Company invoices customers in
foreign currencies and is, therefore, subject to foreign currency exchange rate
risk on any individual invoice while it remains unpaid, a period that normally
is less than 90 days. At March 31, 2010 such accounts receivable were
not significant.
The
interest rate on the Company’s $4.5 million real estate mortgage fluctuates
based upon the London Interbank Borrowing Rate to the extent such rate exceeds a
base of 4%, which may result in a different rate of interest being charged than
if such interest was based on the U.S. bank prime lending rate.
ITEM
4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
The
registrant carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the
participation of the registrant’s management, including the registrant’s Chief
Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the
registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e)
or 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Based on that
evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have
concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures as of March
31, 2010 were effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by
the registrant in reports that it files or submits under the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time
periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and
forms.
There
were no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting
that occurred during the quarter ended March 31, 2010 that have materially
affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s
internal control over financial reporting.
PART
II. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1. LEGAL
PROCEEDINGS
None.
ITEM 1A. RISK
FACTORS
Not
required by smaller reporting companies.
ITEM
3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES
Payment
of dividends on the 9% Cumulative Convertible Exchangeable Preferred Stock were
suspended June 30, 2000. Such dividend arrearages total $17,045,350
as of March 31, 2010.
ITEM
6. EXHIBITS
(a) Exhibits
Index:
Exhibit
Number
|
Description
of Exhibit
|
31.1
|
Certification
of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule
15d-14(a) as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.
|
31.2
|
Certification
of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule
15d-14(a) as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.
|
32.1
|
Certification
of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer pursuant to
18 U.S.C. Section 1350 as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
|
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto
duly authorized.
|
GENERAL
DATACOMM INDUSTRIES, INC.
|
|
|
|
|
|
May
17, 2010
|
|
/s/ William
G. Henry
|
|
|
|
William
G. Henry
|
|
|
|
Vice
President, Finance and Administration
|
|
|
|
Chief
Financial Officer
|
|
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