UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 20-F
£ REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) or 12(g) OF THESECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
OR
T ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THESECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010
OR
£ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THESECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from _______________ to _______________
OR
£ SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THESECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of event requiring this shell company report _______________
Commission file number 0-30148
PNI DIGITAL MEDIA INC
(Exact name of Registrant specified in its charter)
Not Applicable
(Translation of Registrant's name into English)
BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
590 - 425 Carrall Street
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6B 6E3
(Address of principal executive offices)
Simon Bodymore, 604 893 8955, sbodymore@pnimedia.com
(Name, Telephone, Email and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act.
Title of Each Class None | Name of each exchange on which registered Not applicable |
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act
Common Shares without Par Value
(Title of Class)
Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act. None
Number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer's classes of capital or common stock as of the close of business of the period covered by the annual report.
33,464,432 Common Shares Without Par Value
(See item 3.A below)
Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
Yes£ NoT
If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of theSecurities Exchange Act of 1934
Yes£ NoT
Indicate by check mark whether Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of theSecurities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
YesT No£
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer or non-accelerated filer. See definition of "accelerated filer" and "large accelerated filer" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large Accelerated Filer£ Accelerated Filer£ Non Accelerated FilerT
Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:
U.S. GAAP£ | International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board£ | OtherT |
If "Other" has been checked in response to the previous question, Indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow:
Item 17£ Item 18T
If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b 2 of the Exchange Act):
Yes NoT
(APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS)
Indicate by check mark whether Registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 13 or 15(d) of theSecurities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court.
Not applicable.
(End of Cover Page)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Page |
PART I | 2 |
| ITEM 1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS | 2 |
| ITEM 2. OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE | 2 |
| ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION | 2 |
| ITEM 4. INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY | 17 |
| ITEM 5. OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS | 33 |
| ITEM 6. DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES | 51 |
| ITEM 7. MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS | 61 |
| ITEM 8. FINANCIAL INFORMATION | 63 |
| ITEM 9. THE OFFER AND LISTING | 64 |
| ITEM 10. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION | 66 |
| ITEM 11. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK | 71 |
| ITEM 12. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER THAN EQUITY SECURITIES | 74 |
PART II | 74 |
| ITEM 13. DEFAULTS, DIVIDEND ARREARAGES AND DELINQUENCIES | 74 |
| ITEM 14. MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS AND USE OF PROCEEDS | 74 |
| ITEM 15. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES | 74 |
| ITEM 16. [RESERVED] | 76 |
| ITEM 16A. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT | 76 |
| ITEM 16B. CODE OF ETHICS | 77 |
| ITEM 16C. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES | 78 |
| ITEM 16D. EXEMPTIONS FROM THE LISTING STANDARDS FOR AUDIT COMMITTEES | 78 |
| ITEM 16E. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS | 78 |
PART III | 79 |
| ITEM 17. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | 79 |
| ITEM 18. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | 79 |
| ITEM 19. EXHIBITS | 79 |
PART I
ITEM 1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS
Not Applicable.
ITEM 2. OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE
Not Applicable.
ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION
A.Selected financial data
The following table summarizes certain selected consolidated financial data for each of the five financial years ended September 30, 2010. The selected financial data set forth below with respect to our consolidated statements of operations for each of the three financial years in the period ended September 30, 2010 and with respect to the consolidated balance sheets as at September 30, 2010 and 2009, are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this annual report. With the exceptions of weighted average number of shares and basic diluted net loss per common share data, consolidated statements of operations data for the years ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, and consolidated balance sheet data as at September 30, 2007, 2006 and 2005, have been derived from our consolidated financial statements that have not been included in this annual report.
Readers should read the following selected financial data in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto appearing in this annual report. The consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in Canada ("Canadian GAAP"). Readers are referred to Note 23 in the accompanying September 30, 2010 consolidated financial statements for a quantitative and qualitative reconciliation of the measurement differences between Canadian GAAP and generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("US GAAP"), as it relates to us.
The data is expressed in Canadian dollars ("CDN$"), unless otherwise described. We refer readers to "Currency and Exchange Rates" below for a history of exchange rates between the Canadian dollar and the U.S. dollar.
Selected Financial Data:
Under Canadian GAAP | For the years ended September 30th |
Item | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 |
Revenue | $25,356,570 | $24,446,569 | $17,049,587 | $7,511,328 | $4,075,151 |
Profit (loss) from operations | $1,979,302 | ($1,902,296) | ($8,153,568) | ($4,747,488) | ($2,628,867) |
Net profit (loss) for the year | $6,851,994 | ($1,769,666) | ($8,717,026) | ($6,072,236) | ($2,632,301) |
Comprehensive profit (loss) | $6,341,652 | ($2,422,327) | ($9,063,990) | ($6,881,805) | ($2,632,301) |
Basic net profit (loss) per common share | $0.20 | ($0.05) | ($0.26) | ($0.20) | ($0.12) |
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Under Canadian GAAP | For the years ended September 30th |
Item | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 |
Fully diluted net profit (loss) per common share | $0.20 | ($0.05) | ($0.26) | ($0.20) | ($0.12) |
Total assets | $23,520,358 | $21,136,975 | $20,623,453 | $25,758,619 | $4,883,304 |
Net assets (liabilities) | $17,129,478 | $10,192,534 | $10,263,657 | $17,611,126 | $3,434,762 |
Capital Stock | $66,200,215 | $66,017,456 | $65,614,347 | $65,293,214 | $49,115,790 |
Weighted average number of Common Shares - basic(1) | 33,804,338 | 33,610,843 | 33,383,866 | 29,877,739 | 22,804,712 |
Weighted average number of Common Shares - diluted(1) | 33,908,352 | 33,610,843 | 33,383,866 | 29,877,739 | 22,804,712 |
Common shares issued and outstanding(1) | 34,210,782 | 34,243,182 | 33,464,432 | 33,315,536 | 26,048,359 |
Long term obligations and redeemable preferred stock | Nil | 176,056 | Nil | Nil | Nil |
Cash dividends declared per common share | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
(1) See Item 3.A.
The above selected financial data in accordance with U.S. GAAP is indicated below:
| For the years ended September 30th |
Item | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 |
Revenue | $25,356,570 | $24,446,569 | $17,049,587 | $7,511,328 | $4,075,151 |
Profit (loss) from operations | $1,939,217 | ($1,957,373) | ($9,240,145) | ($4,747,488) | ($2,628,867) |
Net profit (loss) for the year | $7,693,535 | ($1,747,135) | ($4,045,820) | ($5,804,147) | ($2,632,301) |
Comprehensive profit (loss) | $7,183,193 | ($2,399,796) | ($4,392,784) | ($6,613,716) | ($2,632,301) |
Basic net profit (loss) per common share | $0.23 | ($0.05) | ($0.12) | ($0.19) | ($0.12) |
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Fully diluted net profit (loss) per common share | $0.23 | ($0.05) | ($0.12) | ($0.19) | ($0.12) |
Total assets | $30,980,573 | $27,648,038 | $27,134,516 | $32,269,682 | $11,394,367 |
Net assets (liabilities) | $24,589,693 | $16,703,597 | $16,752,189 | $19,428,452 | $9,945,825 |
Capital Stock | $66,199,666 | $65,909,296 | $65,506,187 | $65,185,054 | $49,007,630 |
Weighted average number of Common Shares - basic(1) | 33,804,338 | 33,610,843 | 33,383,866 | 29,877,739 | 22,804,712 |
Weighted average number of Common Shares - diluted(1) | 33,908,352 | 33,610,843 | 33,383,866 | 29,877,739 | 22,804,712 |
Common shares issued and outstanding(1) | 34,210,782 | 34,243,182 | 33,464,432 | 33,315,536 | 26,048,359 |
Long term obligations and redeemable preferred stock | Nil | 176,056 | Nil | Nil | Nil |
Cash dividends declared per common share | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
(1) See Item 3. A.
Currency and Exchange Rates
All dollar amounts set forth in this annual report are in Canadian dollars, unless we indicate otherwise.
The rate of exchange for the U.S. dollar, expressed in Canadian dollars, as of March 14, 2011, was $0.9759, based on the noon buying rate as published by the Bank of Canada:
The following table sets forth the high and low exchange rates for each month during the previous six months, based on the noon buying rate as published by the Bank of Canada:
Previous Six Months
| August 2010 | September 2010 | October 2010 | November 2010 | December 2010 | January 2011 |
High Rate | 1.0642 | 1.0520 | 1.0320 | 1.0264 | 1.0178 | 1.0022 |
Low Rate | 1.0158 | 1.0222 | 1.0030 | 1.0013 | 0.9946 | 0.9862 |
The following table sets forth:
- the rates of exchange for the U.S. dollar, expressed in Canadian dollars, in effect at the end of each of the periods indicated;
- the average of the exchange rates in effect on the last day of each month during such periods; and
- the high and low exchange rate during such periods, in each case based on the noon buying rate as published by the Bank of Canada.
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Years ending September 30
| 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 |
Rate at end of Period | 1.0298 | 1.0722 | 1.0382 | 0.9929 | 1.1142 |
Average Rate During Period | 1.0407 | 1.1804 | 1.0090 | 1.1143 | 1.1435 |
High Rate | 1.0845 | 1.3000 | 1.0819 | 1.1873 | 1.1975 |
Low Rate | 0.9961 | 1.0609 | 0.9057 | 0.9914 | 1.0926 |
B.Capitalization And Indebtedness
Not applicable.
C.Reasons for the offer and use of proceeds
Not applicable.
D.Risk Factors
Our business operations and our securities are subject to a number of substantial risks, including those described below. Any person who is not in a position to lose the entire amount of any investment should not invest in our securities. You should carefully consider the risks described below and the other information in this Annual Report on Form 20F before investing in our common shares. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we may face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently deem to be immaterial, may also become important factors that affect us. If any of these or other risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and operating results, as well as the trading price or value of our securities could be materially and adversely affected.
Risks Relating to the Business
The Following Risks Relate to Our Business Operations
Our business is increasingly focussing on foreign markets and our results becoming subject to significant exposure to foreign exchange rates, which may adversely impact our business.
Until 2007 we had been focused on the Canadian marketplace. Since that time we have added a number of large new customers in the United States marketplace, including Costco USA, SAMS Clubs USA and CVS/pharmacy. As a result of this we are now more concentrated in the United States marketplace. The United States marketplace for photofinishing is approximately ten times the size of the Canadian marketplace and due to our recent success in the United States market, a substantial portion of our operations is based on sales and services rendered to customers in the United States. Further, with our acquisition of Pixology in July 2007 and our acquisition of WorksMedia in March 2009, we have expanded into the United Kingdom. Although Pixology has lost customers since this acquisition and may lose additional customers going forward, we continue to expect a significant portion of our sales and services will be rendered to customers in the United Kingdom. Finally, during the past two fiscal years we have begun expanding the delivery of our service to customers outside of Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom to countries such as China, Australia, South Africa and other parts of Europe; however our financial performance will not be materially affected by fluctuations in the value of the Canadian dollar against the currencies in the other jurisdictions as we currently bill customers in Canadian dollars, U.S. dollars, or United Kingdom pounds. We record the financial results for the operations of our UK subsidiary in United Kingdom pounds and also undertake certain transactions with our United States customers in U.S. dollars. Sales to other jurisdictions around the world are conducted either in United Kingdom pounds, Canadian dollars or United States dollars. Our consolidated financial results are reported in Canadian dollars. As a result, our earnings and financial position are affected by foreign exchange rate fluctuations in a number of ways: Firstly, the Company is subject to translation risk. Translation risk is the risk that an entity's financial statements for a particular period, or at a certain date, depend on the prevailing exchange rate of the local currencies in which its foreign subsidiaries operate against the Canadian dollar; secondly, the Company is subject to transaction risk. Transaction risk is the risk that the exchange rate at which a transaction is initially recorded will be different from the rate at which it is settled; and thirdly, as a significant amount of the Company's revenue is now in either US dollars or British pounds, any weakening in these exchange rates relative to the Canadian dollar will impact the revenue that is recorded by the Company. In extreme cases, this could eliminate the impact of underlying growth being experienced within the industry and result in a situation where the Company's revenue declines even though the level of activity taking place through its platform is increasing.
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At the present time, we have no plan or policy to utilize forward contracts or currency options to minimize or hedge this exposure, and even if these measures are implemented there can be no assurance that such arrangements will be available, be cost effective or be able to fully offset such future currency risks.
Our operating results are affected by the seasonal nature of our business.
Our business is seasonal, with a significant proportion of our recurring revenues being generated during our first fiscal (fourth calendar) quarter. As a result, any stoppages or interruptions in the provision of our Network to our customers during our first fiscal (fourth calendar) quarter could have an adverse effect on our operating results and our relationships with our customers. In addition, our rapid growth in past years may have overshadowed seasonal or cyclical fluctuations in the economy which might have influenced our business to date; accordingly, our past performance may not reflect the true seasonal nature of our business, or the effect of general economic conditions on our business.
Our quarterly results may fluctuate.
Our future revenues and operating results may vary significantly from quarter to quarter due to a number of factors, some of which are outside of our control. Factors that could cause results to vary include:
- demand for services, including seasonal and holiday demand, and reduction in demand as a result of general market or economic conditions;
- the ability of our customers to attract and retain visitors to their websites;
- the ability of our customers to encourage repeat purchases from their customers;
- the pricing and marketing strategies of our customers;
- the cost of expanding or enhancing the services we provide to our customers;
- volatility in our stock price, which may lead to higher stock based compensation expense for future stock option grants;
- consumer preferences for digital photography; and
- improvements in the quality, cost and convenience of desktop printing of digital pictures and products.
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Based upon the factors cited above, quarter to quarter comparisons of our operating results may not be a good indication of our future performance. It is possible that in one or more future quarters, our operating results may be below the expectations of public market analysts and investors, which may result in a decline in the market price of our common shares.
In the past we have identified deficiencies with our internal controls and there remain areas of our internal and disclosure controls that require improvement. If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may be unable to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of our common shares may be adversely impacted.
We are subject to reporting obligations under the U.S. securities laws. The SEC, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, has adopted rules requiring every public company to include a management report on such company's internal controls over financial reporting in the company's annual report, which contains management's assessment of the effectiveness of the company's internal controls over financial reporting. In the fiscal years ended September 30, 2007 and 2008, we concluded that our internal controls over our financial reporting were not effective.The deficiencies identified related to management's application of certain complex GAAP requirements. As a result of this, management concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting were not effective as of September 30, 2008 and September 30, 2007. Following the identification of these deficiencies, we undertook remedial steps and plan to continue to take additional remedial steps to improve our internal and disclosure controls. There can be no guarantee that the measures taken will be sufficient to ensure accurate financial reporting in the future. A failure to provide accurate financial results may result in loss of investor confidence and may adversely impact the price of our common shares. In addition, our failure to maintain adequate internal and disclosure controls could lead to sanctions by the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory bodies under the applicable legislation, including theForeign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977.
If our business does not continue to grow at previously seen rates, our business could be materially and adversely affected.
While we believe we are seeing increased acceptance of our services and business model, there can be no assurance that our services will continue to grow at the pace seen over the last ten years, or that our new services will receive widespread market acceptance. Even if our services continue to grow and attain widespread acceptance, there can be no assurance we will be able to meet the demands of our customers on an ongoing basis. Our operations may be delayed or halted as a result of failure to perform as described. Such delays or failure would seriously harm our reputation and future operations. If our product does not continue to be accepted in the market place, our business could be materially and adversely affected.
If new products currently being developed by the Company are not accepted in the marketplace, our business could be adversely impacted.
A significant amount of time and effort has been focussed towards the development of new service offerings such as business printing and social stationary which will be offered across our platform to both existing and new customers. There can be no assurance that the market for our new services in these areas will emerge to a profitable level or be sustainable. Failure by the Company to sell these services to either new or existing customers may result in future internal growth targets not being achieved and the cost of developing these new services not being recovered.
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Failure by our retail partners to market products that are sold over our platform for sale could impact future growth potential or cause our revenue to decline.
There can be no assurance that any increase in marketing and sales efforts will result in a larger market or increase in market acceptance for our services. If the market fails to develop, develops more slowly than expected or becomes saturated with competitors, or if our proposed services do not achieve or sustain market acceptance, our proposed business, results of operations and financial condition will be materially and adversely affected.
While we assist retailers with their marketing programs, we cannot assure that retailers will continue to market our service or that their marketing efforts will be successful in attracting and retaining end user customers. The failure to attract and retain end user customers will adversely affect our business. In addition, if our service does not generate revenue for the retailer, whether because of failure to market it, we may lose retailers as customers, which would adversely affect our revenue.
We are currently dependent on a limited number of key customers, the loss of which could materially and adversely affect our business.
We generate a significant portion of our revenue from a small number of customers. During fiscal 2010, we earned Cdn$22,025,977 from four (4) customer groups, representing 87% of our total revenue for the year. While we are working to expand our customer base, there can be no assurance we will be able to reduce our reliance on these key customers. If our existing customers do not elect to renew their contracts with us at the expiry of their current term, our recurring revenue base will be reduced, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
If we are unable to respond to rapid technological change and improve our products, our business could be materially and adversely affected.
The market for our service is characterized by:
- rapidly changing technology;
- evolving industry standards; and
- frequent introduction of new services which may be comparable or superior to our services.
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Our success will depend upon acceptance by our retailer customers and their end users of our existing solution and our ability to enhance these solutions and introduce new solutions and features to meet changing customer demands. We cannot assure that we will be successful in identifying, developing and marketing new solutions or enhancing our existing solutions. We may introduce unsatisfactory solutions to the market, negatively impacting our ability to generate sales. In addition, we cannot assure that solutions or technologies developed by others will not render our solutions or technologies non competitive or obsolete.
To remain competitive, we must continue to enhance and improve the responsiveness, functionality and features of our solutions and our network services. The Internet and the e-commerce industry are characterized by rapid technological change, changes in user and customer requirements and preferences, frequent new product and service introductions embodying new technologies and the emergence of new industry standards and practices that could render our existing online operations, network services and proprietary technology and systems obsolete. Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to license leading technologies useful in our business, enhance our existing services, develop new services and technology that address the varied needs of our existing and prospective customers and respond to technological advances and emerging industry standards and practices on a cost-effective and timely basis. The development of our solutions, the network services and other proprietary technology entails significant technical, financial and business risks. There can be no assurance that we will successfully implement new technologies or adapt our solutions, network services, proprietary technology and transaction-processing systems to customer requirements or emerging industry standards. If we are unable to adapt in a timely manner in response to changing market conditions or customer requirements for technical, legal, financial or other reasons, our business could be materially adversely affected.
In order to remain competitive, we must continually invest in improving our solutions, and adding new products and services. We may need to expend significant resources in order maintain our competitive position. The cost to improve our solutions and add new products and services may adversely affect our financial results.
We may have difficulty in managing our growth.
Expected rapid growth in all areas of our business may place a significant strain on our operational, technical and management resources. As a result of such growth, we expect that operating expenses and staffing levels may increase in the future. To manage our growth, we must expand our operational and technical capabilities and manage our employee base, while effectively administering multiple relationships with various third parties, including affiliates. We cannot assure that we will be able to effectively manage our growth. The failure to effectively manage our growth could result in an inability to meet our customer demands, leading to customer dissatisfaction and loss. Loss of customers could adversely affect our operating results. There is no guarantee that the expansion of our operations will result in an increase in revenue.
We compete with others who provide products comparable to our products. If we are unable to compete with current and future competitors, our business could be materially and adversely affected.
We operate in a competitive market place. Our success is dependent upon our ability to maintain our current customers and obtain additional customers. Digital print services are provided by a wide range of companies. Competitors in the market for the provision of digital print services for retailers include Snapfish (a Hewlett-Packard ("HP") service), LifePics and Storefront.com Online Inc. In addition, end users have a variety of ways in which to obtain their prints, including through kiosk services provided by our competitors at many retailers, online services such as Kodak Easyshare, Snapfish and Shutterfly, Internet portals and search engines such as Yahoo!, AOL and Google that offer digital photography solutions, and home printing solutions offered by Hewlett Packard, Lexmark, Epson, Canon and others. Many of our competitors have:
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- longer operating histories;
- significantly greater financial, technical and marketing resources;
- greater name and product recognition; and
- larger existing customer bases.
As potential competitors introduce competing solutions we may encounter additional and more intense competition. We may experience delays or difficulties in introducing new functionalities into our services, allowing competitors to exploit opportunities in the market. We cannot be certain that we will be able to compete successfully against current and future competitors. If we are unable to do so it will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Certain competitors have the ability to offer discounted printing services. While in the majority of our agreements we are not directly affected by discounts in the price charged to consumers by our customers, consumers may determine not to print their photos through our retail customers' services, resulting in fewer transactions through such retailers, and reduced revenue to us. However, we are directly affected by discounts in the price charged to consumers by the retailer under certain agreements where we are responsible for the fulfillment of print orders, the provision of certain consumer deliverables and other media to the retailer's end consumer. Under this type of arrangement, we pay the retailer a commission for the use of their website and other services provided by the retailer.
As we increase the number of service offerings that we make available to retailers through areas such as business printing and social stationery, we may find ourselves operating in new segments of the retail market and encounter competition from entities that we have not been required to compete against before. These entities may have competitive advantage over the Company through longer operating history, an established market presence or superior financial resources.
We rely on our ability to attract and retain customers. If we are unable to maintain reliability of our Network and kiosk solutions we may lose both present and potential customers.
Our ability to attract and retain customers depends on the performance, reliability and availability of our network infrastructure and kiosk services. We may experience periodic service interruptions caused by temporary problems in our own systems or software or in the systems or software of third parties upon whom we rely to provide such services. Fire, floods, earthquakes, power loss, telecommunications failures, break-ins and similar events could damage these systems and interrupt our services. Computer viruses, electronic break-ins or other similar disruptive events also could disrupt our services. System disruptions could result in the unavailability or slower response times of the websites we host for our customers, which would lower the quality of the consumers' experiences. Service disruptions could adversely affect our revenues and if they were prolonged, would seriously harm our business and reputation. We do not carry business interruption insurance to compensate for losses that may occur as a result of these interruptions. Our customers depend on Internet service providers and other website operators for access to our Network. These entities have experienced significant outages in the past, and could experience outages, delays and other difficulties due to system failures unrelated to our systems. Moreover, the Internet network infrastructure may not be able to support continued growth. Any of these problems could adversely affect our business.
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The infrastructure relating to our services are vulnerable to unauthorized access, physical or electronic computer break-ins, computer viruses and other disruptive problems. Internet service providers have experienced, and may continue to experience, interruptions in service as a result of the accidental or intentional actions of Internet users, current and former employees and others. Anyone who is able to circumvent our security measures could misappropriate proprietary information or cause interruptions in our operations. Security breaches relating to our activities or the activities of third-party contractors that involve the storage and transmission of proprietary information could damage our reputation and relationships with our customers and strategic partners. We could be liable to our customers for the damages caused by such breaches or we could incur substantial costs as a result of defending claims for those damages. We may need to expend significant capital and other resources to protect against such security breaches or to address problems caused by such breaches. Security measures taken by us may not prevent disruptions or security breaches.
We rely on third parties for the development and maintenance of the Internet and the availability of increased bandwidth to users.
The success of our business will rely on the continued improvement of the Internet as a convenient means of consumer interaction and commerce. Our business will depend on the ability of our customers' consumers to use the Network without significant delays or aggravation that may be associated with decreased availability of Internet bandwidth and access to our services. This will depend upon the maintenance of a reliable network with the necessary speed, data capacity and security, as well as timely development of complementary products such as high speed modems for providing reliable Internet access and services. The failure of the Internet to achieve these goals may reduce our ability to generate significant revenue.
Our principal customers, being photofinishing retailers, must install high speed Internet access to be able to provide online one hour in store photofinishing. Our experience has been that the provision of in store printing leads to an increase in the use of our Network. Our customers have not always been able to install high speed Internet access on a timely basis, resulting in a delay in the deployment of our Network and a corresponding delay or loss of revenues. We expect delays in the installation of high speed Internet access to continue in the foreseeable future.
Our penetration of a broader consumer market will depend, in part, on continued proliferation of high speed Internet access. The Internet has experienced, and is likely to continue to experience, significant growth in the number of users and amount of traffic. As the Internet continues to experience increased numbers of users, increased frequency of use and increased bandwidth requirements, the Internet infrastructure may be unable to support the demands placed on it. In addition, increased users or bandwidth requirements may harm the performance of the Internet. The Internet has experienced a variety of outages and other delays and it could face outages and delays in the future. These outages and delays could reduce the level of Internet usage as well as the level of traffic, and could result in the Internet becoming an inconvenient or uneconomical source of products and services, which would cause our revenue to decrease. The infrastructure and complementary products or services necessary to make the Internet a viable commercial marketplace for the long term may not be developed successfully or in a timely manner.
We may not be able to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights, which could result in the loss of our rights, loss of business or increased costs.
Our success and ability to compete depends, to a large degree, on our current technology and, in the future, technology that we might develop or license from third parties. To protect our technology, we have used the following:
- confidentiality agreements;
- retention and safekeeping of source codes; and
- duplication of such for backup.
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Despite these precautions, it may be possible for unauthorized third parties to copy or otherwise obtain and use our technology or proprietary information. In addition, effective proprietary information protection may be unavailable or limited in certain foreign countries. Litigation may be necessary in the future to:
- enforce our intellectual property rights;
- protect our trade secrets; or
- determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others.
Such misappropriation or litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and the potential loss of intellectual property rights, which could impair our financial and business condition.
Third parties may sue us for infringing their intellectual property rights. Such claims may involve internally developed technology or technology and enhancements that we may license from third parties. Moreover, although we sometimes may be indemnified by third parties against such claims related to technology that we have licensed, such infringements against the proprietary rights of others and indemnity there from may be limited, unavailable, or, where the third party lacks sufficient assets or insurance, ineffectual. Any such claims could require us to spend time and money defending against them, and, if they were decided adversely to us, could cause us to:
- pay damages;
- be subject to injunctions; or
- halt deployment of our Network and products while we re-engineer them or seek licenses to the necessary technology, which necessary licenses may increase our costs and might not be available on reasonable terms.
Any of these factors could have a material and adverse effect on our financial condition and business.
The loss of any of our executive officers, key personnel or contractors would likely have an adverse effect on our business.
We are dependent upon our management, employees and contractors for meeting our business objectives. In particular, members of the senior management team play key roles in our executive management and technical development. We do not carry key man insurance coverage to mitigate the financial effect of losing the services of any of these key individuals. Our loss of any of these key individuals most likely would have an adverse effect on our business.
In addition, we may require additional capabilities, especially in our representation on the board of directors. We cannot assure that we will be successful in attracting personnel of the appropriate calibre.
If the facilities where all of our computer and communications hardware are located fail, our business and results of operations would be harmed.
Our ability to provide our service depends on the uninterrupted operation of our computer and communications systems. Our computer hardware necessary to operate our service is primarily located in two third party hosting facilities one is located in Vancouver, British Columbia and the other in Toronto, Ontario. Our systems and operations could suffer damage or interruption from human error, fire, flood, power loss, telecommunications failure, break-ins, terrorist attacks, acts of war and similar events. As the result of the two facilities we do have redundant systems in multiple locations, however, we do not have all customers hosted in each location and therefore if one facility failed it may take days to get customers resident on the failed system live in the other facility. Further, we do not have business interruption insurance to compensate us for losses that may occur in relation to a failed facility(ies). In addition, the impact of any of these disasters on our business may be exacerbated by the fact that we do not have a disaster recovery plan in place.
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Our technology may contain undetected errors that could result in limited capacity or an interruption in service.
Our technology may contain undetected errors or design faults which may cause our service to fail and result in the loss of, or delay in, acceptance of our services. If the design fault leads to an interruption in the provision of our services or a reduction in the capacity of our services, we would lose revenue. In future, we may encounter scalability limitations that could seriously harm our business. A failure of our services could lead to a loss of customers, the erosion of our reputation, and serious harm to our business.
We may divert our resources to develop new product lines, which may result in fluctuations in our expenditures.
In order to remain competitive, we must continually develop new product lines for our customers. We will continue to develop new product lines, such as online printing of business and social stationary, and expand current product lines, during calendar 2011. The development of new product lines may result in increased expenditures during the development and implementation phase, which could negatively impact our results of operations. In addition, we are a small company with limited resources and diverting these resources to the development of new product lines may result in reduced customer service turn around times and delays in deploying new customers. These delays could adversely affect our business and results of operations.
In the past we have relied on the proceeds of financings to fund our operations. In the past, we had negative cash flows from operations, including up to the year ended September 30, 2008. We achieved positive cash flows from operations for the years ended September 30, 2009 and 2010 and while we believe we will generate sufficient cash flow to meet our expected cash requirements for fiscal 2011, if we are unable to continue to generate positive cash flow from operations or continue to raise funds, we may be required to limit or curtail operations in the future.
Since inception and up to the year ended September 30, 2009 we have operated at a loss and, at September 30, 2010, had an accumulated deficit of Cdn$65,684,820. The successful implementation of our business strategy depends on numerous factors including economic, competitive and other conditions and uncertainties, the ability to hire and retain qualified personnel, the ability to obtain financing for continued development and commercialization of our products. Adverse economic or competitive conditions or the failure to hire and retain qualified personnel or obtain financing if required could affect our operations in the future.
During the year ended September 30, 2010 we recorded a profit of $6,851,994, the first time in the Company's history that a profit has been recorded on an annual basis. Our profit for the year ended September 30, 2010 consists of profit before tax in the amount of $2,042,130 and a net income tax recovery of $4,809,864 as a result of the Company recording a net deferred tax asset associated with the our expected realization of unused loss carryforwards and other deductible temporary differences. In addition, we are currently generating sufficient revenues to cover our operating expenses. However, if our revenue growth slows or declines and our expenses do not slow or decline at an equal or greater rate we may be unable to continue to generate positive cash flows. If we are unable to generate positive cash flow from operations or raise the funds necessary to continue existing operations, we may be required to either limit or curtail operations.
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As of September 30, 2010, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately Cdn$4,690,355 The cash available, along with anticipated positive cash flow from operations are expected to meet our requirements for fiscal 2011. See "Item 5 - Operating and Financial Review and Prospects - B. Liquidity and Capital Resources".
We may undertake acquisitions to expand our business, which may pose risks to our business and dilute the ownership of existing shareholders.
We may pursue acquisitions of businesses, technologies or services. Integrating newly acquired businesses, technologies or services is likely to be expensive and time consuming. To finance any acquisitions, it may be necessary to raise additional funds through public or private financings. Additional funds may not be available on terms favourable to us and, in the case of equity financings, would result in additional dilution to our existing shareholders. If we do complete any acquisitions, we may be unable to operate the acquired businesses profitably. If we are unable to integrate any newly acquired entities, technologies or services effectively, our business and results of operations may suffer. The time and expense associated with finding suitable and compatible businesses, technologies or services could also disrupt our ongoing business and divert management's attention. Future acquisitions by us could result in large and immediate write-offs or assumptions of debt and contingent liabilities, any of which could substantially harm our business and results of operations.
The Following Risks Relate to Our Acquisition of WorksMedia
We continue to face a number of challenges in integrating and further developing the legacy WorksMedia business. The risks associated with the acquisition of WorksMedia, include:
We made the offer to acquire WorksMedia for strategic reasons, which will only be realized if our operations and those of WorksMedia can be effectively integrated.
The acquisition of all of the outstanding shares of WorksMedia was made with the expectation that its successful completion will result in long-term strategic benefits. These anticipated benefits will depend in part on whether we can integrate the operations of PNI and the legacy WorksMedia business in an efficient and effective manner. As at year end, the integration of operations into the group is completed, however continued additional risks with the acquisition include the maintenance of uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies and the retention of relationships with employees and customers.
If we are unable to continue growing the legacy WorksMedia business in a profitable manner, our business and financial results may be materially and adversely affected.
WorksMedia had a history of profitable operations since inception, and historically its main source of revenue arose from sales of software licences which are non-recurring in nature. Our purchase price of $2,531,410 for the legacy WorksMedia business was based on future revenue and profit projections and included a number of assumptions regarding the ability to meet those projections without a significant increase in costs. On April 1, 2010 the legacy WorksMedia operations were amalgamated with the operations of Pixology Software Limited forming PNI Digital Media Europe Ltd. While the amalgamation was completed as part of the integration of operations into the group; the Company continues to bear the risk that should the projections not be met or require additional costs or management time to achieve, our business and financial results may be materially and adversely affected.
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The Following Risks Relate To The Market For Our Common Shares
At present, there is a limited market for our common shares in the United States. If a substantial and sustained market for our common shares does not develop in the United States, our US shareholders' ability to sell their shares may be materially and adversely affected.
Our common shares trade in Canada on the TSX Venture Exchange and in the United States on the OTC Bulletin Board. Trading of these shares is presently concentrated in the United States marketplace, however, at present there is a limited trading market in the United States for our common shares and such is unlikely to develop further while we are quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board. We have no agreement with any broker-dealer to act as a market-maker for our common shares. One or more broker-dealers have become market makers in our shares quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board. However, there is no guarantee that this will continue. Any trading is currently limited to the non-NASDAQ over-the-counter market. There can be no assurance that our securities will ever qualify for listing on any other stock market or stock exchange in the US or elsewhere. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that any US market for our securities will continue.
Our common shares may be deemed to be a "penny stock" in the United States. As a result, trading of our shares may be subject to special requirements that could impede our shareholders' ability to resell their shares in the United States.
At present our common shares are deemed to be a "penny stock" as that term is defined in Rule 3a51-1 of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Penny stocks are stocks:
- with a price of less than five US dollars per share;
- that are not traded on a recognized national exchange;
- whose prices are not quoted on the NASDAQ automated quotation system;
- of issuers with net tangible assets less than
- $2,000,000 if the issuer has been in continuous operation for at least three years; or
- $5,000,000 if in continuous operation for less than three years; or
- of issuers with average revenues of less than $6,000,000 for the last three years.
Section 15(g) of the Exchange Act, and Rule 15g-2 of the Securities and Exchange Commission, require broker-dealers dealing in penny stocks to provide potential investors with a document disclosing the risks of penny stocks and to obtain a manually signed and dated written receipt of the document before effecting any transaction in a penny stock for the investor's account. Moreover, Rule 15g-9 of the Securities and Exchange Commission requires broker-dealers in penny stocks to approve the account of any investor for transactions in such stocks before selling any penny stock to that investor. This procedure requires the broker-dealer:
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- to obtain from the investor information concerning his or her financial situation, investment experience and investment objectives;
- to determine reasonably, based on that information, that transactions in penny stocks are suitable for the investor and that the investor has sufficient knowledge and experience so as to be reasonably capable of evaluating the risks of penny stock transactions;
- to provide the investor with a written statement setting forth the basis on which the broker-dealer made the determination above; and
- to receive a signed and dated copy of such statement from the investor, confirming that it accurately reflects the investor's financial situation, investment experience and investment objectives.
Compliance with these requirements may make it more difficult for holders of our common shares to resell their shares to third parties or to otherwise dispose of them in the United States.
Our common shares may experience extreme price and volume volatility which may result in losses to our shareholders.
On March 14, 2011, our common shares closed at a price of Cdn$1.53 on the TSX-V and US$1.55 on the OTC Bulletin Board. For the period from October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010, the adjusted high and low trading prices of our common shares on the TSX-V were Cdn$1.95 and Cdn$1.30, respectively, with a total reported trading volume of 7,438,800 shares. For the same period, the adjusted high and low trading prices of our common shares on the OTC Bulletin Board were US$1.87 and US$1.28, respectively, with a total reported trading volume of approximately 9,565,446 shares. The trading volume of our shares on the OTC Bulletin Board may not be representative of actual trading volume due to double ticketing of orders that may have occurred on one or more days of the period analyzed.
Daily trading volume on the TSX-V of our common shares for the period from October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010 has fluctuated, with a high of 791,500 shares and a low of zero shares, averaging approximately 29,637 shares. Daily trading volume on the OTC Bulletin Board in our common shares for the period from October 1, 2009 to September 30, 2010 has fluctuated with a high of 213,100 and a low of zero, averaging approximately 36,509. Accordingly, the trading price of our common shares may be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of factors including announcement of material events by us such as the status of required regulatory approvals for our products, competition by new products or new innovations, fluctuations in our operating results, general and industry-specific economic conditions and developments pertaining to patent and proprietary rights. The trading price of our common shares may be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of factors and/or announcements concerning such factors, including:
- actual or anticipated period-to-period fluctuations in financial results;
- litigation or threat of litigation;
- failure to achieve, or changes in, financial estimates by securities analysts;
- new or existing products or services or technological innovations by us or our competitors;
- comments or opinions by securities analysts or major shareholders;
- significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments;
- additions or departures of key personnel;
- sales of our common shares, including by holders of the notes on conversion or repayment by us in common shares;
- economic and other external factors or disasters or crises;
- limited daily trading volume; and
- developments regarding our patents or other intellectual property or that of our competitors.
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In addition, the securities markets in the United States and Canada have recently experienced a high level of price and volume volatility, and the market price of securities of technology companies have experienced wide fluctuations in price which have not necessarily been related to the operating performance, underlying asset values or prospects of such companies. It is expected that such fluctuations in price and limited liquidity will continue in the foreseeable future which may make it difficult for a shareholder to sell shares at a price equal to or above the price at which the shares were purchased.
There may not be an active, liquid market for our common shares.
There is no guarantee that an active trading market for our common shares will be maintained on the OTC Bulletin Board or the TSX-V. Shareholders may not be able to sell their shares quickly or at the latest market price if trading in our common shares is not active.
If there are substantial sales of our common shares, the market price of our common shares could decline.
Sales of substantial numbers of our common shares could cause a decline in the market price of our common shares. Any sales by existing shareholders or holders of options or warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common shares.
We have no history of paying dividends, do not intend to pay dividends in the foreseeable future and may never pay dividends.
Since incorporation, we have not paid any cash or other dividends on our common shares and do not expect to pay such dividends in the foreseeable future as all available funds will be invested to finance the growth of our business.
ITEM 4. INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY
Summary
We are a company incorporated under theBusiness Corporations Act (British Columbia). Our principal and registered offices are located at Suite 590, 425 Carrall Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6B 6E3. We also have offices in, Southampton, England and Secaucus, New Jersey. Substantially all of our business is conducted out of our Vancouver and Southampton offices. Our New Jersey office is a sales office which we acquired upon completion of the acquisition of Pixology plc ("Pixology"). Our Southampton office is a sales and customer support office which we acquired upon completion of the acquisition of WorksMedia Ltd ("WorksMedia"), although has previously operated as an engineering centre. Prior to our acquisition of WorksMedia our UK operations were run out of an office in Guildford, England. After the completion of our acquisition we relocated our Guildford based staff to the newly acquired Southampton office which offered lower day to day operating costs and closed down our Guildford location.
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We provide software and technology to retailers, Internet portals and web sites, and telecommunication service providers (including mobile phone companies). Our principal service is the PNI Digital Media Platform. The PNI Digital Media Platform consists of digital imaging technology which we provide to retailers who provide, or wish to provide, photo print, photo gift stationary and business card print services, professional and commercial photo processing labs, image content owners, and targeted portal services (collectively, the "Retailer"). The PNI Digital Media Platform enables the Retailer to provide digital photo and personalized product services from desktops, kiosks, and mobile phones, through the Internet to end user customers. End user customers upload their digital images through the Internet via the Retailer's website, or at a retail outlet through an in-store kiosk for printing and storage by the Retailer. The Retailer controls the process from image upload to final delivery of the end product. We act as a platform intermediary in the process, and as a "white label" solution are not visible to the end user customer unless the Retailer chooses to disclose us as the provider of their solution. Currently, our principal service enables Retailers such as Costco and Sams Clubs to provide photo print and photo gift services through the Internet and at in store kiosks.
Under our general business model we charge Retailers a combination of fixed and variable fees including: initial fees or an annual license fee for the development, maintenance and continued enhancement of the digital print capture portion of their website or kiosk-based software; (ii) monthly fees for their connection to the PNI Digital Media Platform; (iii) transaction fees based on every order placed, or for images uploaded, through the PNI Digital Media Platform; and (iv) fees for the continued storage of the Retailers customers' digital images. There are different variations in the fees charged based upon the contractual relationship with each Retailer and the service provided.
In some instances, we provide services to the ultimate customers who access the PNI Digital Media Platform through a retailer's website. These services include taking on the responsibility for the fulfillment of print orders, the provision of certain consumer deliverables and other media. We pay the retailer a commission for the use of their website and other services provided by the retailer. We are responsible for fulfilling the ultimate customers' orders and fulfill our obligations through the use of third party suppliers who ship the products directly to the customer. Under this type of arrangement, we record the revenue when the product is shipped to the customer, net of estimated returns, as we have transferred the significant risks and rewards of ownership to the customer at that time. We adjust the estimated returns to the actual returns when determinable.
With the acquisition of Pixology in July of 2007, we entered into the provision of a parallel digital print capture service with the delivery of photo kiosk software. Photo kiosks are in store computer interfaces through which consumers upload, edit and order images for pick up in store. This acquisition also resulted in us acquiring Pixology's online photo solution. As we determined that our solution was more robust we have been phasing out this service by replacing it with the PNI Digital Media Platform.
With the acquisition of WorksMedia in 2009, we further provisioned advanced digital print capture services for photo kiosks and websites.
As at September 30, 2010, we have three wholly owned active subsidiaries, PNI Digital Media Ltd (formerly Pixology Limited), PNI Digital Media Europe Ltd (formerly Pixology Software Limited), and Pixology, Inc. PNI Digital Media Ltd., and PNI Digital Media Europe Ltd are located in the United Kingdom and Pixology, Inc. is located in the United States. The consolidated operations of PNI Digital Media Ltd, PNI Digital Media Europe Ltd. and Pixology Inc. are collectively referred to as PNI Europe.
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A.History and development of the Company
We were incorporated on December 1, 1995 pursuant to the laws of British Columbia, Canada under the name InMedia Presentations Inc. We changed our name on July 14, 1999 to PhotoChannel Networks Inc. On November 2, 2006, we consolidated our outstanding common shares on a one new share for ten old shares basis. On completion of the consolidation, we had approximately 26,060,559 common shares outstanding. Our financial statements for the years since that ended September 30, 2006, have been prepared on a post share consolidation basis. On July 2nd, 2007, we acquired Pixology PLC, a company with offices based in the UK and a sales office in the United States. On March 11th2009, we acquired WorksMedia Ltd., a UK-based software company with offices in Southampton. On June 8th, 2009, we formally changed our name to PNI Digital Media Inc., As of September 30th, 2010, we had 34,210,782 common shares outstanding.
Our principal executive office is located at 590-425 Carrall Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6B 6E3, our telephone number is 604-893-8955 and our website can be accessed atwww.pnimedia.com, www.photochannel.com. orwww.pnidigitalmedia.com.
Important Events In the Development of Our Business
Important events in the development of our business are provided under Item 4.B., below, and in other sections of this filing.
Principal Capital Expenditures And Divestitures
We continue to develop, change and enhance our software and product offerings. Since October 1, 1999, the only capital divestiture has been the filing by our US operating subsidiary, PhotoChannel, Inc., under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code with the United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Connecticut, on November 1, 2001. The only capital expenditures have been for computer equipment, software and furniture and leaseholds, which occurred in the normal course of our operations. Our total capital expenditures were approximately $1,468,825 for the year ended September 30, 2010 compared with $2,182,637 for the year ended September 30, 2009, $4,762,168 in 2008, $1,127,371 in 2007, $777,479 in 2006, and $523,595 in 2005. Prior to 2009 we financed these expenditures primarily by issuing common shares. All expenditures during the year ended September 30, 2009 and 2010 were financed through cash flows generated from operations. Further details applicable to our anticipated capital expenditures and funding sources are detailed in Liquidity and Capital Resources in Item 5.B.
Principal Capital Expenditures And Divestitures Currently in Process
As of March 14, 2011 there were no capital expenditures or divestitures in process outside of the normal course of business.
Public Takeover Offers
There have been no public takeover offers by third parties in respect of our shares.
Acquisition of Pixology plc
On July 2, 2007 we acquired all of the outstanding shares of Pixology pursuant to a take-over offer, for a total purchase price of approximately $17,650,000 before direct costs associated with the acquisition, based on exchange rates at the time of take-up. We completed the acquisition of all of the outstanding shares of Pixology, and converted Pixology to a non-public company under the laws of the United Kingdom on October 27, 2007.
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Information Concerning Pixology
Overview
Pixology was a provider of software for the digital photography industry and operated a business, parts of which are similar to that of our existing business. Pixology had developed software and networks that enabled equipment manufacturers and retailers of photofinishing services to substitute the analogue film environment with new digital infrastructure.
Pixology had two principal product offerings - in-store kiosk technology and an online digital printing solution which is similar to our PNI Digital Media Platform offering. Pixology's focus was in the delivery of software for in store Kiosks, which enable customers in retail stores to upload their pictures for printing within such retail store, and for ordering gift items for future delivery. Pixology had been providing this service in the retail environment for the past four years. We have taken over this service and currently provide it to a number of retail customers including Tesco in the United Kingdom and Costco in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Pixology also provided an online digital printing solution similar to the PNI Digital Media Platform called the Pixology Online Photo Center. Upon taking over Pixology we commenced replacing their online customer base with the PNI Digital Media Platform. During fiscal 2008 we were successful in replacing ASDA's online solution and finalised the transfer of Tesco onto the PNI Digital Media Platform during fiscal 2010.
Pixology Since the Acquisition
The Pixology assets, being primarily intellectual property relating to software and systems for in-store kiosks, have been employed where appropriate within our corporate group as a whole, adding peripheral enhancement and kiosk-based elements to our core product. As part of our efforts to consolidate corporate operations across our corporate group as a whole, during 2009 operations for Pixology previously based in Guildford in the UK have been amalgamated into either our Vancouver offices or our office in Southampton.
Prior to the acquisition, Pixology announced that it expected to experience a loss of between L 1.35 and L 1.65 million for the year ending December 31, 2007. We incurred a loss relating to Pixology operations of approximately Cdn$2,231,013 (approximately L 1,054,000) over the three months from the date of the acquisition of Pixology to September 30, 2007. During fiscal 2008, we incurred a loss of $2,514,303 related to Pixology's operations. In fiscal 2009, the losses recorded by Pixology were reduced to $711,683, after charging non-cash amortization of intangible assets of $1,363,129. On April 1, 2010, the operations of Pixology were amalgamated with those of WorksMedia Ltd., our other UK based operating subsidiary. Accordingly, financial information for the year ended September 30, 2010 includes the results of operations of the newly combined entity from that date on. For the year ended September 30, 2010, PNI Europe recorded a profit before tax of $593,366.
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Acquisition of WorksMedia Ltd.
On February 25th, 2009, we entered into a Share Purchase Agreement to acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding share capital of WorksMedia Ltd, a company based in Southampton, England. Under the terms of the Agreement, we paid the shareholders of WorksMedia Ltd the Sterling equivalent of $2.1 million based upon the exchange rate published by the Bank of England on February 25, 2009 in thirteen equal monthly instalments and issued to the shareholders of WorksMedia 750,000 common shares of PNI Digital Media which are being released to the former WorksMedia Ltd. shareholders in three equal instalments of 250,000 common shares after 12, 24 and 36 months after closing of the purchase, for all the issued and outstanding shares of WorksMedia Ltd. If certain performance targets are met, the shareholders of WorksMedia receive up to an additional 900,000 common shares over the three year period from the date of acquisition. To date, such performance targets have not been met.
Reasons for the acquisition of WorksMedia:
We determined to acquire WorksMedia for the following reasons:
- The addition of the software technology and key personnel that comprised the WorksMedia portfolio and staff are deemed of value to both the present and future operations of the company,
- The existing deployment of the WorksMedia software to more than 3000 kiosks opened new geographies and Retailers for the company.
- The rich media interface and network of deployments enables us to expand the ability to offer high-margin photo gifts directly from kiosks.
- The addition of a more cost-effective location to base our UK operations enabled the company to close our Pixology offices and realize an immediate 30% reduction in UK-based staff, resulting in an annual cost savings of $480,000
- WorksMedia has been profitable since inception and could directly contribute to the long term profitability of the company.
WorksMedia Since the Acquisition
Since the acquisition of WorksMedia, we have consolidated our UK operations into WorksMedia's Southampton offices, and reduced our UK based staff from 26 people pre-acquisition to 9 people as of September 30, 2010. WorksMedia's products have been re-branded and are now being distributed under the PNI Digital Media brand and work has been completed to integrate the WorksMedia products into the PNI Platform.
B.Business Overview
We were originally formed to develop and market a suite of "easy to use" multimedia presentation software products for use by consumers wishing to present and display images captured on digital cameras and photo scanners. We marketed these software products under the trade name Slides & Sound PlusTM. We discontinued development of these products during 1999 in order to focus on the development of our e-processing and network strategy. We ceased actively marketing and supporting these products effective January 31, 2001.
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In February 1999, we established our website atwww.photochannel.com as an online photo community for both digital camera and conventional film photographers. Our online photo community consisted of an Internet portal through which users could participate in photography focused chat groups, discussion forums, e-mail and have access to articles relating to photography hints, tips and techniques. Users could also upload, store and manipulate digital images online and create photo websites, albums and slide shows.
On October 2, 2000, we introduced an e-processing and photofinishing service as a business-to-consumer strategy, offering film processing, scanning, storage and printing of digital images directly to US consumers via our wholly owned US subsidiary, PhotoChannel, Inc. Our long-term strategy at that time was to develop a membership network of professional photofinishing retailers, and to apply the "mail order" model of our US subsidiary to reach the retailers' customers.
Following the launch of our e-processing and photofinishing service we were able to beta test the technology and the marketing of this concept. Our technology enabled customers to preview and edit their digital/digitized pictures online before ordering any prints from a member of our planned retailer Network. Accordingly, although the targeted end-users of our technology consisted of digital camera users who required a photofinishing solution, we felt that our services would also be attractive conventional film photographers.
In March 2001, we went through a major reorganization, which resulted in a change of management, a complete corporate restructuring and a change in business focus. We determined that we could not offer both solutions, as the e-processing "mail order" model provided by our US subsidiary was, in fact, competing with our Network model. In April of 2001, we ceased to provide the e-processing mail order option. On November 1, 2001, after attempting to settle its outstanding debt, our US operating subsidiary, PhotoChannel, Inc., filed for protection under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code with the United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Connecticut.
Subsequent to March 2001, our focus has been one of a digital imaging technology provider for a wide variety of businesses including photofinishing retailers, professional and commercial photo processing labs, image content owners and targeted portal services. We have created and manage a digital network environment (the "Platform" or "PNI Digital Media Platform") whose focus is on delivering digital image orders from capture to fulfillment under the control of our originating Platform member.
On May 10, 2001 the first retail Platform members outfitted with their own branded web sites were activated onto the Platform. These retailers accept the upload of images that originate within digital cameras or have been scanned within the store environment to sites we create and host. Our Platform is a transparent component to the end consumer, existing solely as the technology backbone of the retailer's digital imaging strategy.
With the establishment and launch of our Platform, we distanced ourselves from our past of being an Internet photofinishing "mail order" service and transformed into an Internet infrastructure company that manages a platform environment that today is focused on delivering digital imaging and personalized product creation and ordering through our retail relationships and connectivity to retail locations.
During fiscal 2007 we expanded our product offering to include software that can be installed on in-store kiosks, through our acquisition of Pixology. In fiscal 2009, we acquired WorksMedia to further enhance our software offering for in-stores kiosks. Our in-store kiosk software connects to the Platform to enable users to generate orders for photo prints, photo gifts and other personalized creative products.
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Retail Digital Photography Market
Digital photography has grown at a rapid pace in the last several years. Mainstream adoption of digital cameras by consumers replacing older film cameras has been facilitated by improved technology and rapidly falling prices.
Industry analysts estimate that digital camera sales have grown from 4.5 million units in 2000 to a projected 24.8 million units in 2010.1 By the end of 2010, analysts estimate that 80% of US households will have at least one digital camera.2 At the same time, film camera sales have fallen to almost nil by 2010.
In addition to the growth of digital cameras, the digital photography market has grown due to the proliferation of mobile phones that have a built-in digital camera mechanism. These 'camera phones' have increasingly better resolutions, enabling consumers to take images large enough to be produced as a photo print or photo gift.
Camera phone handsets in the North American marketplace totalled some 57 million by the end of 2005 (46% of all handsets) and this market is expected to continue to grow and predicted to reach 900 million units by 20103. Numbers have grown quickly from an estimated base of 3 million units in 2003 and 16 million in 2004.4 Initial handset cameras had limited resolutions of less than 1 Megapixel, and limited capability to otherwise distribute or share the resulting image. However, the latest generation of camera phones have resolutions of up to 8 Megapixels or more. 74% of mobile handsets sold in the 2007 U.S. market are estimated to have built in cameras, with 13% of those having the higher 3.2 Megapixel camera sensors.5 Additionally, technology inside the phone unit itself such as Bluetooth wireless technology and improved software systems and navigation from both handset manufacturers and mobile network operators has made it much easier for consumers to transfer, distribute and/or share their camera phone images. Despite these improvements, the vast majority of the billions of camera phone images (estimated at 97%6) are today still not yet converted to prints, so a behavioural shift here would be significant.
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1 PMA Marketing Research. Photo Industry 2010 Review and Forecast
2 Ibid
3 InfoTrends: Mobile Phone Survey 2007
4 PMA Marketing Research: Photo Industry 2006 Review and Forecast / iGillott Research
5 iSuppli research from Wall Street Journal
6 Fuji from WSJ article Feb 08, 2007
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DSLR cameras are higher priced, higher resolution, more sophisticated models, and afford consumers better and more professional quality capabilities. They differ from mainstream smaller sleeker point-and-shoot digital cameras with their characteristically lower resolution. DSLR cameras still represent a small (but growing) share of overall unit sales, but account for a disproportionately larger revenue share given their current average sales price of $942,7 as compared to a range of $1628 - $3039 for standard point-and-shoot mainstream digital cameras. DSLRs account for 6% of units shipped but a much more significant 19% of dollar value.10
The large consumer shift to digital camera technologies over the last few years as described above has brought with it an entirely new set of consumer behaviour and activities relating to the resulting digital photo images, their distribution and enjoyment, and their subsequent transformation into hard copy prints or traditional photos. It has also radically transformed the traditional photofinishing business.
Digital camera and scanner manufacturers fabricate devices for digitizing pictures. Their products capture an image and output it as a digitized picture, which can then be distributed and shared electronically (over the Internet, wireless networks, and otherwise), and printed in different ways. These images can be uploaded to the Internet for storage or transferred to CD, DVD or other forms of removable media and disks. Conventional film images can also be digitized through a scanning mechanism and then be manipulated in much the same way, but the utilization of conventional film cameras by consumers is falling away dramatically as mentioned above, and with it the development of film into prints, and their subsequent need for digitization.
Digitized pictures can be printed either on color inkjet (typically directly at home by the consumer) or dye sublimation photo printers (for instance, by a retailer in a physical commercial setting) Alternatively, they can be processed through an online service, which provides print photographs at a quality consistent with that offered by conventional film processors at retail. Digital pictures may be stored on desktop or laptop computers, camera-enabled mobile phones, CDs, DVDs, other removable media formats, or as negatives at a website of an online digital photography service provider. Consumers may alternatively also physically take the removable media memory card from their digital camera to retailers with digital photo kiosks, where they can then select and format the digital images for subsequent printing in store.
The process is further fuelled by the consumer public's adoption and acceptance of broadband-based internet services, which has enabled a host of alternative services (online and at the retailer) to meet these new photo processing demands. Residential broadband subscriptions in the USA grew 20% in 2006 to exceed 50 million households, and forecast to grow to 60 million households by the end of 2007 (a 55% penetration rate).11 The introduction of camera phones mentioned above has bred a host of different consumer behaviours and activities that include distribution by e-mail, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), saving them to the phone screen, transferring them to a PC, sharing them online, printing them, and doing nothing with them. There is a strong correlation between digital camera ownership, broadband usage, and camera phone ownership, with 79% of households with broadband and 63% of camera phone owners having a separate digital camera.12
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7 NPD Group Inc. from Wall Street Journal
8 NPD Group Inc. (Dec. 4, 2006)
9 PMA Marketing Research: Photo Industry 2006 Review and Forecast
10 Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) fromhttp://www.dpreview.com/news/0612/06120101cipashipq3.asp
11 Parks Associates - "Digital Lifestyles: 2007 Outlook"
12 2006 PMA Camera/Camcorder, Digital Imaging Survey
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The primary target market for our PNI Digital Media Platform services are print origination members such as large multi-outlet retailers, online communities, portals, and print fulfillment members such as photofinishing retailers. The use of digital cameras has increased dramatically (not only in North America, but worldwide), as has the availability of photographic quality digitized print services, both at retail and online.
There is no demographic which digital cameras are exclusive to, especially in light of constantly falling prices the last several years, nor is there a prohibitive degree of technological sophistication required to operate these cameras. The average price paid for a digital camera has fallen from $315 in 2004 to $303 in 2005, and continues to fall.13
Photofinishing retailers originally viewed digital camera penetration as threatening their future. Film processing volume has been falling steadily. In the U.S. alone, sales have fallen from 671 million rolls in 2003, to 571 million rolls in 2004, to 480 million in 2005 and an estimated 369 million in 2006 (a total drop of some 45% in that period). Commensurately, processing revenue has fallen in the same period from $5.39 billion in 2003 to an estimated $2.98 billion in 2006, a similar 44.7% drop.14 As consumers have switched their picture-taking activity from film to digital, one of the greatest challenges has been making them aware of the options for printing their digital pictures. The effect of digital cameras to date and future projections indicate that digital will have an additive effect on the growth of picture taking overall, as the cost to shoot a digital image is nothing compared to a film exposure. In recent years, the photo print market has consolidated greatly into a small group of very large, multi-outlet retailers, who have consumed market share at the expense of independent retailers and other non-direct retailers who could not realize equivalent economies of scale with a transition to digital photo services.
Despite the number of online options for digital printing, we believe that the majority of consumers will not change their habits - they will continue to look to the photofinishing retailer as their destination for convenient, quality driven printing. Photofinishing retailers are making changes to ensure they remain at the center of photofinishing. As picture taking has become increasingly digital, retailers want to ensure they retain the foot traffic in their stores and the relationship with their customers. The first step for them is ensuring they have equipment that can print digital images and can create digital images from film. The central piece of equipment retailers utilize for this is the "digital minilab", with 17,000 of them installed in the US in 2004 (or over 50% of all minilabs), and an estimate of over 25,000 digital minilabs installed by 2008 representing over 76% of all minilabs.15 The rise of the digital minilab install base has been the defining factor in returning retailers to the forefront of printing pictures. Further, retailers have worked to retain their customer base by introducing online based digital photo processing functionality (with in store pick-up) and placing digital photo kiosks physically in store to serve as wide a customer base as possible.
The amount of digital prints being made at retail (as opposed to at home by consumers directly and online) has been growing. In 2006, it was estimated that 4.5 billion prints (41.3%) of the 10.9 billion printed digital photos in total were made through a photofinishing retailer. Industry analysts estimate that in 2009 there will be 13.9 billion photo prints, of which 9.5 billion photo prints, or 68%, will be printed at a photofinishing retailer.16Digital camera technologies have enabled consumers to take many more pictures (given the zero cost of shooting in digital, and the immediacy of seeing the result, unlike with film), even if most digital images are never printed. The digital camera has radically changed how pictures are enjoyed, and it is not exclusively through prints anymore, as consumers can now view, share, and otherwise store their images electronically in ways. Consumers have much more control now as to when to decide to want to make prints, and by what method.
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13 PMA Marketing Research: Photo Industry 2006 Review and Forecast / NPD Techworld
14 All figures here from PMA Marketing Research: Photo Industry 2006 Review and Forecast
15 InfoTrends
16 PMA Marketing Reseasrch, Photo Industry 2010 Review and Focus
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In 2003, 56 Billion digital photo exposures were taken worldwide, with growth to 144 Billion in 2005 and an estimated 312 Billion by 2008.17 The number of captured digital images in the USA (not including camera phones) has grown from 7.8 Billion in 2003, 12.9 Billion in 2004, 17.1 Billion in 2005, and an estimated 21.7 Billion in 2006. At the same time, the number of digital prints made by all methods has grown from 1.5 Billion (19.2% of total captured) in 2003, 3.1 Billion (24% of total) in 2004, 4.5 Billion (26.3% of total) in 2005, and an estimated 6.4 Billion (29.4% of total) in 2006. Film and digital cameras combined produced 14% fewer prints between 2000 and 2005 including retail, online, and home alternatives. Including prints made at home, the total value of printing was higher at $6.81 Billion in 2005 than the $6.23 Billion in 2000.18
The growth of printing at retail has recently outpaced home printing, and is expected to continue to do so in the next couple of years, for a variety of reasons. This is reflected in relative home and retail printing volumes. For the first time since the introduction of digital cameras in the US, retail and online entities were the top destinations for digital printing in 2005. By 2008, of the digital photo exposures that get printed worldwide, 56 Billion or 43% were printed by retailers. Translated into photofinishing revenue, it is predicted that digital photofinishing at retail, from both store location drop-off and online orders, will be a $6.2 Billion industry by 2008. In 2000, 89% of all digital image printing was done at home with only 4% at retail, but by 2004, home printing had fallen to 56% with retailers printing 34% of all digital images. By 2010, it is expected retailers will be printing 45% of all digital images.19
The number of prints ordered online and mailed to consumers' homes peaked at 9 percent of the total prints made in 2005, up from under 7 percent the year before. The market share of pure online printing has faced increasing pressure from the increasing availability of cheap printing options at retail which are taking print orders in store (including at kiosks), and replicating the online entities' offering of online ordering of prints without corresponding shipping charges. Further, retailers are able to significantly improve the consumer experience by allowing in-store print pick-up at a convenient location shortly after order placement online.
The above trends suggest continued growth opportunities for the future, and though more current trends are not yet available, we expect that the trends outlined above will continue into the future.
* Data Sources: PMAI/PMA, InfoTrends, NPD Group Inc., IDC, Gartner Group, iSuppli, Mizuho Securities (Japan), CIPA (Japan), Parks Associates, Wall Street Journal, Fuji, Hewlett Packard (HP)
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17 Hewlett Packard (HP)
18 PMA Marketing Research: Photo Industry 2006 Review and Forecast
19 InfoTrends
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Products
The PNI Digital Media Platform
On May 10, 2001 the first retail Plaform members outfitted with their own branded Internet sites were activated onto our PNI Digital Media Platform. These retailers accept the upload of images that originate within digital cameras or have been scanned within the store environment to sites we create and host. Our Platform is a transparent component to the consumer, existing solely as the technology backbone of the retailer's digital imaging strategy. The service enables retailers to offer a variety of products to their customers, from standard 4x6 prints to various gift items as well as certain non-photographic based products such as business cards and stationary. The service is designed to prompt end users to purchase gift items in addition to their 4x6 prints, thus increasing sales for our customers and increasing our revenues.
With the establishment and launch of our Platform, we distanced ourselves from our immediate past of being an Internet photofinishing "mail order" service into an Internet infrastructure company that owns retail relationships and manages a Platform environment that today is focused on delivering digital imaging and personalized product creation from order origination to fulfillment.
In October 2002, we launched our Platform with our first large retail chain, Black Photo Corporation ("Black's"). At the time, Blacks's operated 136 photo retail stores across Canada under the Black's and Astral banners. As part of our Network, we developed a fully syndicated white branded site that allowed for orders to be placed online and then routed to a remote location for printing for ultimate pick up by the consumer at the store location of their choice. Black's continued as a customer of our online platform until October 2010 when they took that portion of their business in-house as part of a corporate restructure. They continue as a customer of ours however for kiosk and CD-based software products.
Following on from this first deployment of our technology in this manner, we increased our retail photofinishing base to include other large scale retailers as follows:
Customer | Year business won |
Black Photo Corporation | 2002 |
Walmart Canada | 2004 |
Costco Canada | 2006 |
CVS/Pharmacy | 2006 |
Walmart Puerto Rico | 2007 |
Walmart Argentina | 2007 |
Loblaws(under a partnership with Fujifilm Canada) | 2008 |
Costco USA | 2008 |
SAM's Club USA | 2008 |
Hallmark UK | 2008 |
Kodak China | 2008 |
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Koda Australasia | 2008 |
Marks & Spencer | 2009 |
In May 2008, we partnered with Hallmark PLC in the UK to provide online creation and ordering of greeting cards using the PNI Digital Media Platform. In September 2009, we further extended our business with Hallmark PLC by offering personalized, on-demand greeting card services via the Internet from Marks & Spencer website using the PNI Digital Media Platform. This was the first time we used our Platform for a significant non-photo related service offering.
In addition to the above noted customers, during 2007 we acquired Pixology PLC in the United Kingdom. As a result of this acquisition, the Company acquired ASDA and Tesco as customers in the UK, the two largest grocery chains in the country.
Wal-Mart Canada has connected all of their 340 retail locations, Costco Canada has connected all of their 80 retail locations, CVS/pharmacy in the United States had connected 7,065 of their locations, Sam's Club USA has connected 610 of their locations and Costco US has connected all 398 of their locations enabling all directly connected locations to offer a one hour digital printing solution from online ordering.
The addition of the above noted customers over the years has resulted in the number of transactions being handled over our Platform increasing significantly:
FY2007 | FY 2008 | FY 2009 | FY 2010 |
3.8 million | 7.6 million | 14.6 million | 17.1 million |
Our Platform is not restricted to the provision of digital imaging services. We can provide a range of personalized products that can be created, ordered and routed over the PNI Digital Media Platform to our customers. In 2008, we extended the PNI Digital Media Platform to include creation and on-demand ordering and routing of greeting cards from a website. This extension of the PNI Digital Media Platform has been populated across some of our existing retailers, and has also been used to acquire new retailer customers. During the past twelve months, the Company has directed a portion of its resources at investigating and developing other personalized products and services that can be offered over the Platform. After careful consideration of a number of options, the two areas chosen for development were small business printing and social stationery. Small business printing services will allow the Company's customers to offer an online service allowing consumers to order business collateral such as business cards, copies, flyers, letterhead and bound reports from their home or office and pick up the finished products in as little as an hour from the retailer's store location. Social stationery services will allow the Company's retailers to offer an online service providing personalised invitations and correspondence focused on life events such as weddings, birthdays, baby announcements etc. Both of these service offerings are currently in the process of being developed with the cost of development expected to continue through to the end of fiscal 2011. The Company expects to be in a position to launch these new service offerings during the latter part of fiscal 2011.
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Pixology Kiosk Technology
With the acquisition of Pixology on July 2, 2007, we added kiosk software to our product offering. Pixology was focused exclusively on the photofinishing market and had developed software and networks that enable equipment manufacturers and retailers of photofinishing services to substitute the analogue film environment with new digital infrastructure. Pixology's customers were principally companies located in the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom, and include Costco in the United States.
Pixology had two principal product offerings - in store kiosk technology and an online digital printing solution which is similar to our Network offering. Pixology's focus was in the delivery of software for in store Kiosks, which enable customers in retail stores to upload their pictures for printing within such retail store, and for ordering gift items for future delivery. In some instances, Pixology would also take on the responsibility for fulfilling the customers orders through the use of third party suppliers. Pixology had been providing this service in the retail environment for four years prior to our acquisition. We have taken over this service and provide it to a number of retail customers including Tesco and Costco. During the year ended September 2008 Jessops gave notice that they would not renew their contract at the end of its term in August 2009.
Red-eye correction technology
As part of the acquisition of Pixology, we acquired the IRISS red eye correction software. This software was not considered core to the Company's future plans and upon the expiration of the contracts that were in place at the time of the acquisition, the Company made the decision to dispose of these assets. Accordingly, in March 2009, the Company entered into a licence agreement with a third party granting them an exclusive right to further develop, market and sub-licence the technology with complete ownership passing to them upon reaching certain financial milestones.
WorksMedia Software Technology:
With the acquisition of WorksMedia Ltd on February 25th, 2009, we further extended the capabilities of the PNI Digital Media Platform by adding extensible rich-media software to kiosks, desktop software and online websites. The principal deployment of the WorksMedia software has been on in-store kiosks. This software differs from the solution acquired with Pixology, in that it is focused on rich-media experiences for the end user, and is highly portable across almost any medium, including mobile phones. Furthermore, the software, given the nature of its flexibility, can support the creation of personalized photo gifts or other personalized products beyond simple photo prints in a kiosk environment, thereby creating another "on ramp" to the PNI Digital Media Platform for personalized products.
WorksMedia provided the software solution to a range of retailers and resellers including Blacks Photography Corporation, Fujifilm UK, and others. On April 30th, 2009, we deployed the WorksMedia Software, now branded as the PNI ConnectedKiosk Program, with in-store kiosks in Fred Meyer and King Soopers grocery chains in the USA. On July 9th, 2009, we announced the addition of a series of resellers of the WorksMedia Software including Retail Imaging Management Group and Photo Gift World Ltd. Additionally, the PNI ConnectedKiosk Program would power the online photo services site PixureThis for Associated Foods Stores in the USA. The PNI Connected Kiosk is currently predominantly sold through distributor agreements in various countries around the world, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Israel and Continental Europe.
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Summary of Gross Revenues
During the three years ended September 30, 2010, our revenue was generated as follows:
| Year Ended September 30, |
| 2010 | | 2009 | | 2008 | |
Canadian based operations | $ 19,536,640 | 77% | $ 17,344,257 | 71% | $ 8,425,160 | 49% |
United Kingdom based operations | 5,819,930 ___________ | 23% ____ | 7,102,312 ___________ | 29% ____ | 8,624,427 __________ | 51% ______ |
Total Revenue | $ 25,356,570 | | $ 24,446,569 | | $ 17,049,587 | |
Competition
Online photo print services
Internet photography service providers offer different services, some associated with photofinishing, personalized photo gifts, stationary and small business printing collateral, others with archiving and sharing, and some provide a comprehensive photo community service. The following are the common services provided:
- Content - the ability to offer uploading through photofinishing or other devices, as well as photo enhancing options. Internet portals can charge for the uploading service or provide it free of charge. Some companies offer the content for online photography community sites, promoting photographic education via articles and photo-magazine subscriptions or via a chat platform and lectures with professional photographers.
- Sharing/Albums - via the creation of albums and archives, many of the sites offer the ability to view and share photos.
- Photofinishing - is generated through prints, reprints, enlargements, gift items and sales of photo hardware and supplies.
- Community - communities offer an interactive location where the user can find a one-stop-shop catering to photography.
We offer all of these services, except community and related content/education, through our syndicated websites.
Printing of Digital Images
Our online business model of being an open, scalable and secure network provider for the photofinishing industry is currently unique. The most notable names in the online photofinishing business, names such as Kodak's Gallery (formerly known as Ofoto, and now fully reincorporated into Kodak proper) and Shutterfly, do not currently compete for our retail customers. These companies have focused on a pure business to consumer model of online photofinishing. These companies compete with our retailers for end user customers, and directly compete with the established "mail order" retailers such as Mystic Color and District Photo (the world's largest mail order photofinishing operator). It is worth noting that mail order generally declined as a market force over the last decade as the one-hour onsite operations of retailers came to dominate the photofinishing landscape. We believe consumers will continue to show a preference for the in-store printing solutions offered by our retailers.
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Our kiosk business model going forward is one of connecting with our Platform to offer a turnkey (online and in-store) digital printing solution. This solution will provide the same look and feel to the consumer whether they are ordering prints online or in-store from the kiosk. It permits the consumer to access their online account from the in-store kiosk. This advantage will allow consumers to order prints and gifting products from their online albums while in the store or upload digital images from the kiosk into their online album(s) saving all in one step. We believe consumers, as with the automated banking machines, will continue to utilize the in-store kiosk even as the use of online becomes more common practice.
Our most significant online competitor is HP's Snapfish. Prior to HP's acquisition of Snapfish in 2005, Snapfish was focused on a pure business to consumer model, competing with Kodak's Ofoto (at the time) and Shutterfly. During 2005, Snapfish entered the distributed printing model (as used by us) when it signed Costco USA. Immediately thereafter it was purchased by HP for an undisclosed amount. Although Snapfish now competes with us under a distributed printing model for retailers they continue to operate their business to consumer ("mail order") model, which is in essence a competitor to the retailers that they aspire to contract with. We believe that continuing to support the business to consumer model may send a mixed message to the retailer and this may be an advantage to us, as we compete with Snapfish for large US retailers.
Our most significant kiosk competitor is Kodak with more kiosks in the marketplace today than any other manufacturer. We believe that going forward we will have an advantage over Kodak with an integrated online/kiosk solution, at which time our main competitor may become HP as it too has a kiosk technology similar to ours but still mandates that the retailer buy kiosk hardware to get the HP software experience. Other kiosk manufacturers are Fuji Film, Lucidiom, HP and Beaufort.
Photofinishing retailers are our key customers, however in some instances we provide services to the ultimate customer through an arrangement whereby we pay the retailer a fee for the use of their website and take on the responsibility for the fulfillment of print orders, the provision of certain consumer deliverables and other media through the use of third party suppliers. Organizations such as Kodak, Fuji, Hewlett Packard and DaiNipon also compete with our service in varying manners, but all also work with retailers in terms of providing equipment to scan silver halide images to digital, digital print equipment and some provide online storage and web site hosting. We believe that we can co-exist in many retail environments with these other industry players without directly competing with them, as our services are independent of the type of digital imaging hardware the retailer prefers to use. We also believe that we can deliver the secure network component and lab broker system of delivering print orders from outside parties without having to compete on the equipment, hosting and storage business. Some larger retailers have created internal networks, however, such networks are restricted to that retailer's stores.
One of our strengths is that we offer a complete solution that creates a secure and open network and kiosk software, both of which are agnostic to the brand of digital minilabs and kiosk hardware being utilized by the photofinishing retailer. This allows different retailers and web properties to do business together if they so desire. Up until now, the climate has been fairly one-dimensional with closed, non-integrated networks and software. Our business model allows us to create a multi-dimensional digital image solution.
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Our current customers, when given the alternative of "white labelling", have gravitated quickly toward our solutions of technology coupled with our private label branding, service and flexibility. Photofinishing retailers need innovative digital imaging goods and services.
We believe that one of differentiating factors is the advantage of being a small and efficient organization to make speedy and informed decisions. This flexibility means the retailer or their customer does not have to go through levels of bureaucracy to get a decision, act upon it and have a solution implemented. We believe that the principal factors enabling us to compete, include: a complete solution service; strategic market positioning; channel distribution; and the functionality and architecture of our technologies. The relative importance of each of these factors depends upon the specific customer involved.
C.Organizational structure
We have six (6) wholly owned subsidiaries, PNI Digital Media Ltd (formerly Pixology Limited), PNI Digital Media Europe Ltd (formerly Pixology Software Limited), and Pixology, Inc. are all active and WorksMedia Limited, PhotoChannel Capital Inc. and PhotoChannel Management Inc are inactive. We acquired Pixology Limited, Pixology Software Limited and Pixology, Inc. in connection with the acquisition of Pixology plc that was completed in July 2007. We acquired WorksMedia Limited as part of the acquisition of the WorksMedia business that was completed in March 2009. Our U.K. and kiosk operations are operated out of PNI Digital Media Europe Ltd. PhotoChannel Capital Inc. was incorporated on January 25, 2000 to undertake the sale and distribution of units of PhotoChannel.Com Limited Partnership and is the sole shareholder of PhotoChannel Management Inc. PhotoChannel Management Inc. was incorporated on January 25, 2000 and is the general partner of the PhotoChannel.Com Limited Partnership. The PhotoChannel.Com Limited Partnership is inactive and does not carry on any business.
D.Property, plant and equipment
Our executive offices are located at Suites 590 and 450 - 425 Carrall Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6B 6E3. The premises currently comprise approximately 12,266 square feet in an office building and are leased from an unaffiliated party. The company's main lease expired in July 2009 and was extended on identical terms for a further period of five years. The base monthly rent is approximately $13,071.
Our Platform equipment is located at two of TELUS Corporation's co-located hosting facilities, which are located at 73 Laird Drive, East York, Ontario, Canada and 5 - 3777 Kingsway, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, V5H 3Z7. The premises are under contract from an unaffiliated party for a period of sixty and thirty-four month periods, respectively. The leases expire on November 16, 2012 and September 16, 2010, respectively. The base monthly rent in Toronto, including prepaid monthly bandwidth usage of 200 Mbps, is approximately $80,286 and in Vancouver, including prepaid monthly bandwidth usage of 100 Mbps, is approximately $19,410.
Our United Kingdom offices are located at Suite 4, Medina Chambers, Town Quay, Southampton, SO142AQ UK. The premises are shared with another company which is part owned by an officer of the company and comprise a total of 3,350 square feet in an office building. Our UK operations use approximately 60% of this space. The lease agreement for the premises is held by the related party directly with the owners of the building and we reimburse the related party for our share of the monthly rental costs in accordance with a services agreement that was put in place at the time of acquiring WorksMedia. The base monthly rent is approximately $4,800.
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Our United Kingdom data base and network equipment is located in two data facilities: Redbus, Sovereign House - Interhouse, 227 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SD; and Telehouse Docklands, Coriander Avenue, London E14 2AA. The premises are under contract from unaffiliated parties for a period of thirty-six months expiring February 2009. Subsequent to the expiration of this three-year agreement, the Company is continuing to use the data facilities on a month-to-month basis. The base monthly rent is approximately $21,000.
ITEM 5. OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS
General
In this section, we explain our consolidated financial condition and results of operations for each of the years ended September 30, 2010, 2009 and 2008. As readers read this section, they may find it helpful to refer to our consolidated financial statements at the end of this annual report and the information contained in the section entitled "Selected Financial Data" in Item 3 of Part I of this annual report.
Our consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with Canadian GAAP. See Note 23 to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2010 for a discussion of material measurement differences between Canadian and US GAAP, as it relates to us.
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, and the reported amount of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Our estimates are based upon historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. The result of our ongoing evaluation of these estimates forms the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities and the reported amount of expenses, which are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions.
Our critical accounting policies are those that affect our consolidated financial statements' materially and involve a significant level of judgment by management. A summary of our significant accounting policies, including the critical accounting policies discussed below, are set forth in Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements.
Intangible assets acquired both individually or with a group of other assets are initially recognized and measured at cost. The cost of a group of intangible assets acquired in a transaction, including those acquired in a business combination that meet the specified criteria for recognition apart from goodwill, is allocated to the individual assets acquired based on their relative fair values. Intangible assets with finite useful lives are amortized over their estimated useful lives. The amortization methods and estimated useful lives of intangible assets are reviewed annually.
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Intangible assets with finite useful lives include acquired software and customer relationships and are amortized over their estimated useful lives of three years.
Goodwill is allocated as of the date of the business combination to our reporting units that are expected to benefit from the synergies of the business combination and, in the event of a reorganization of reporting structure, is reassigned to the reporting units affected. The reporting units identified for goodwill impairment testing are the operating segments of the Company due to the manner in which the Company is managed internally and financial information is presented.
Goodwill that arises from the Company's acquisitions is allocated to each of the reporting units that are expected to benefit as a direct result of the transaction. This allocation is made using an acquisition method which involves firstly determining the fair value of the business acquired and then allocating this value to the respective reporting units. The amount of goodwill is then determined by deducting from the consideration allocated to each reporting unit the net assets assigned to each reporting unit.
Goodwill is not amortized and is tested for impairment annually or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired. Goodwill of the reporting unit is considered to be impaired when the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value.
An impairment loss, if any, would be recognized as a separate line item in the statement of earnings.
The Company carries out an annual impairment test on September 1 of each year. In carrying out the annual impairment test during the year ended September 30, 2010, the estimated fair value of the reporting units was arrived at by using a discounted cash flow model for each reporting unit. This approach involved management developing its best estimate of the expected future cash flows from the business over the remaining expected life of the reporting unit.
At September 1, 2010, the time of the Company's goodwill impairment test, the carrying value of goodwill on the Company's balance sheet was allocated 12% to its Canadian reporting unit and 88% to its UK based reporting unit. In carrying out the goodwill impairment test, it was estimated that the fair value of the Canadian reporting unit was approximately 2 times greater than the value of that unit's net assets, including goodwill. The fair value of the UK based reporting unit was estimated to be approximately 3 times greater than the value of that unit's net assets, including goodwill. In building the estimates of fair value, it was necessary for the Company to estimate future cash flows. In doing so, a number of key assumptions were made, including estimated future growth rates and the ability of the Company to continue operating without the loss of any significant customers during the forecast period.
The Company has a stock option plan, which is described in Note 12 to the financial statements. In November 2001, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants issued Handbook Section 3870, "Stock-Based Compensation and other Stock-Based Payments". Section 3870 sets out a fair value based method for the recognition, measurement and disclosure of certain stock-based compensation and other stock-based payments made in exchange for goods and services. The standard requires the use of the fair value based method for direct awards of stock, stock appreciation rights and awards that call for settlement in cash or other assets. Awards that a company has the ability to settle in stock are recorded as equity, whereas awards that the company is required to or has a practice of settling in cash are recorded as liabilities. This section applies to certain awards outstanding on the date of adoption, being October 1, 2004 for the Company, and relates to all awards granted on or after October 1, 2002. Previously, the company disclosed the pro forma effect of employee stock based compensation expense in the notes to the financial statements.
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The Company recorded and recognized a compensation expense of $399,068, $1,846,293 and $1,511,504 for stock options issued to employees for the years ended September 30, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively.
The Company uses the liability method of accounting for income taxes. Under the liability method, future 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, and for operating losses or tax credits. Future tax assets and liabilities are measured using substantively enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on future tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the date of substantive enactment. A valuation allowance is recognized to the extent the recoverability of future income tax assets is not considered more likely than not.
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
We have made forward-looking statements in this annual report that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations. Also, when we use such words as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "could," "intend" or similar expressions, we are making forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks are discussed in Item 3.D "Risk Factors." In particular, the statements contained in Item 4.B "Business Overview", this Item 5 "Operating and Financial Review and Prospects" and Item 11 "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk" are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. Given these uncertainties, we caution readers not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to provide an update or revision to any forward looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on any which any statement is based, except as required by applicable law. You should carefully review the cautionary statements and risk factors contained in this and other documents that we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A.Operating results
The Company has built its business around being a technology producer and integrated provider of services for the photofinishing retailer.
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During 2003 and 2004, we deployed our services to photofinishing retailers. With these deployments, increased volumes and changes in the industry, during 2005 we embarked on the architecture, development and deployment of a new network platform, which we launched during 2005. Our new platform now allows us to deliver all orders received to the selected retailers' or wholesalers' digital minilabs within one hour of receipt, as well as enhancing our platform to permit easier, more cost effective launching of new retailer sites. From 2005 to date, we added a number of retailers to our new network platform, including Wal-Mart, Costco and Loblaw in Canada and CVS/pharmacy, Costco and SAMS Club in the United States, and Asda in the United Kingdom.
During 2007, we acquired Pixology and added a kiosk software to our product offering. Pixology is focused exclusively on the photofinishing market and had developed software and networks that enable equipment manufacturers and retailers of photofinishing services to substitute the analogue film environment with new digital infrastructure. Pixology's customers were principally companies located in the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom, and included Costco in the United States, Canada and Mexico and Tesco, Boots, Asda and Jessop's in the United Kingdom. Subsequent to our acquisition of Pixology, Boots commenced using a new photo online provider and Jessops decided not to renew our contract for kiosk software which expired in August 2009.
Pixology had two principal product offerings - in store kiosk technology and an online digital printing solution which is similar to our Network offering. Pixology's focus was in the delivery of software for in store Kiosks, which enable customers in retail stores to upload their pictures for printing within such retail store, and for ordering gift items for future delivery. Pixology had been providing this service in the retail environment for the past four years. We have taken over this service and currently provide it to a number of retail customers including Tesco and Costco.
During 2009, we acquired WorksMedia and added further kiosk and desktop software to our product offering. WorksMedia is focused exclusively on the photofinishing market and had developed kiosk and desktop software that allowed consumers to order prints and personalized gift items from digital photographs. WorksMedia's customers are located across a wide geographic area including the United Kingdom, Europe, South Africa and Australia and Include Fuji, 1st Digital, Foss Fotech, TS Procon, New Teltron, Athentech and Black Photo Corporation. WorksMedia had been in operation for approximately five years prior to our acquisition and we have now taken over responsibility for the contracts they had in place at the date of acquisition.
Years Ended September 30, 2010 and September 30, 2009
Revenue
Revenues for fiscal 2010 were 4% higher than fiscal 2009 reaching $25,356,570. All growth experienced during the year was from increased activity from existing customer accounts. In addition, this growth was achieved despite a 12% decline in the strength of the US dollar and an 11% decline in the strength of the British Pound compared to the Canadian dollar. 79% of the Company's revenue was earned from either the United States or the United Kingdom during the year; therefore a weakening in the value of the US dollar and British Pound relative to the Canadian dollar has a significant impact on financial results. If exchange rates during the current quarter had been at the same levels as they were during fiscal 2009, revenue would have increased year-on-year by 14% to approximately $27.9 million.
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Continuing the trend seen throughout the earlier part of fiscal 2010, growth was seen in multiple areas of the business. Transaction fees continue to be the largest element of our revenue base and increased 6% year-on-year to $19,332,006; accounting for 76% of total recorded revenue, compared to 74% in fiscal 2009.
Underlying the increase in recorded transaction fees is a 17% increase in the number of orders placed through the PNI Platform year-on-year which reached 17.1 million for the year and averaged over 46,000 per day.
Software license and installation fees fell by 22% year-on-year to $3,074,895. While a portion of revenue from this source continues to track at consistent levels each month through recurring license fees earned from some of our UK based customers the 11% year-on-year weakening of the UK pound relative to the Canadian dollar has resulted in the amount of license revenue booked in the consolidated financial statements being impacted negatively by approximately $413,000. Other elements of this revenue are non-recurring and are earned either through developing and installing new sites for customers or by making sales of kiosk software licenses. A number of our contracts that provide for recurring revenue in this area expire during fiscal 2010 and therefore sales will become more difficult to predict as they will primarily become one-off in nature.
Membership fees are earned either through monthly fixed fees based on the number of locations customers have connected to the PNI Platform or through annual recurring service and maintenance revenue from customers who have purchased our kiosk software. Revenue from this source has grown strongly over the past twelve months representing an overall increase in the number of customer locations now connected to our network as a result of existing customers expanding their own operations and also as a result of the Company's acquisition of WorksMedia during 2009. Fees earned during fiscal 2010 totaled $1,678,875, representing growth of 24% year-on-year. Revenue earned from this source is largely recurring in nature and remains relatively stable period to period.
Professional fees have shown an overall decrease of 59% or $224,059 during the year compared to fiscal 2009 from $378,118 to $154,059. This is primarily due to a number of one-off projects completed on behalf of a number of our customers during fiscal 2009. Professional fee revenue is non-recurring in nature and dependant on both the demand from our customers and also the availability of internal resources to allocate to this kind of work. While we continue to expect projects to arise and be taken on in future periods this type of revenue stream is not seen as core to our business and may fluctuate considerably from period to period.
Archive fees, which represent charges made to our customers after the volume of data held on their behalf reaches pre-determined limits, increased 76% year-on-year to $1,116,735. This continues the trend seen throughout fiscal 2009 and the earlier part of fiscal 2010. While the past twelve months has seen revenue from this source grow, our customers remain in charge of the business rules offered to their consumers around storage and therefore future revenue growth in this area could be curtailed should any of our customers stop providing their own customers with free storage solutions.
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Operating profit and expenses
We recorded a profit from operations for the year ended September 30, 2010 of $1,979,302, representing an improvement of $3,881,598 compared to the same period last year and the first time in the Company's history that a profit has been achieved for the full fiscal year..
A comparison of operating results and non-operating events for the two years ended September 30th are set out in the table below.
Description | 2010 | 2009 |
Profit (loss) from operations | $ 1,979,302 | $ (1,902,296) |
Other items | 4,872,692 | 132,630 |
Net Profit (loss) under Canadian GAAP for the year | $ 6,851,994 | $ (1,769,666) |
Change in fair value of embedded foreign currency derivative related to warrants | - | 22,531 |
Deferred tax benefit | 841,541 | - |
Net profit (loss) under US GAAP for the year | $ 7,693,535 | $ (1,747,135) |
Unrealized foreign exchange loss on translation of self-sustaining foreign operations | (510,342) | (652,661) |
Comprehensive loss for the year | $ 7,183,193 | $ (2,399,796) |
Expenses excluding non-cash items
Description | Twelve Months Ended September 30, 2010 | Twelve Months Ended September 30, 2009 |
Change
|
% Change
|
| | | | |
Network delivery | $ 5,373,604 | $ 6,617,907 | $ (1,244,303) | (19)% |
Software development | 7,984,905 | 6,855,187 | 1,129,718 | 17% |
General and administration | 3,560,737 | 3,821,662 | (260,925) | (7)% |
Sales and marketing | 849,011 | 1,024,378 | (175,367) | (17)% |
| 17,768,257 | 18,319,134 | (550,877) | (3)% |
| | | | |
Share-based compensation | 690,020 | 2,016,015 | (1,325,995) | (66)% |
Amortization | 4,918,991 | 6,013,716 | (1,094,725) | (18)% |
| | | | |
Total | $ 23,377,268 | $ 26,348,865 | $ (2,971,597) | (11)% |
Total expenses for fiscal 2010 are 11% less than fiscal 2009. Excluding non-cash expenditures of share-based compensation and amortization, controllable cash expenses fell by 3%.
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For many years as the Company's platform was being built and many new customers being added, management was confident that the current business model would allow the Company to scale and effectively grow revenue without requiring additional costs of the same magnitude to be incurred. During the current fiscal year the Company has been able to demonstrate this as revenues have increased while controllable cash costs have remained relatively stable. Management believes the technology can be further leveraged in future periods, although a current increase in development headcount to work on a number of specific projects means that the overall cost base of the Company will unlikely show further year on year reductions for the foreseeable future. Should the Company suffer the loss of significant customers or change certain aspects of its current operations requiring additional development expenditures to be incurred, this relationship between revenues and costs may alter.
Network delivery costs decreased $1,244,303, or 19% year-on-year. 66% of this decrease was as a result of lowering the cost of providing the customer support function on behalf of our customers. Part of this reduction was achieved as a result of the successful transfer of a large portion of this work to a third party professional call centre operation which was started during the early part of fiscal 2009 and completed later on in that year. The remainder of the reduction came as a result of improvements made to customer sites during the past twelve months, including the improvement of workflows and the addition of more on-line 'self-serve' help content. Being able to decrease these support costs while maintaining high levels of customer service and simultaneously dealing with a 17% year-on-year volume increase was a major achievement for the Company and the result of a significant effort made during the past year by the various site design teams to improve the quality of our product and service offerings. The remaining decrease in network delivery costs came from slightly reduced direct costs of fulfillment and lab system installations as a result of changes in sales volumes in these areas period-on-period.
Software development expenses have increased $1,129,718 or 17% year-on-year. 83% of the increase was due to the addition of new development staff during the past twelve months who have been recruited to support the continued growth of our customers as well as to work on new initiatives the Company is pursuing, including the development of online business printing services and social stationery products. The remainder of the increase relates to costs of supporting an increased number of development staff. The Company continues to take steps to maintain or where possible, reduce costs and continues to use the services of short-term contractors on an as-needed basis wherever possible to deal with periods of additional workload. Outside of staffing costs, steps continue to be taken to control all other costs in this area, including travel, staff training and general costs of the department. Staffing requirements continue to be monitored on a regular basis with reference to upcoming projects for new and existing customers, ongoing commitments to maintain current service offerings for existing customers and new product development.
General and administration expenses have decreased by 7% to $3,560,737 year-on-year. Year on year increases in investor relation costs, travel and the decision at the beginning of the year to pay quarterly fees to non-executive members of the board for the first time have been offset partially by savings in accounting and legal fees, rent and office running costs. In addition, the fiscal 2009 costs included a one-time charge of approximately $209,000 relating to the expected unrecoverable lease costs of our former Guildford, United Kingdom office location. In addition, approximately $79,000 in accretion expense has been booked during the current year relating to the payments made over a twelve month period to the prior owners of WorksMedia to acquire the business.
Over the past twelve months the Company has worked to reduce overhead costs significantly and undertook some difficult restructuring actions in the UK. These restructuring plans were completed during the earlier part of the year and the Company was able to negotiate a full release from its obligations under the property lease relating to its Guildford, United Kingdom offices. As part of this release, a payment of approximately $96,000 was made to the landlord. These costs had been anticipated during the previous fiscal year and included in the one-off charge of approximately $209,000 resulting in no adverse impact on the current year's results. Changes in the current strategy of the Company or the continued large-scale growth of the business could however result in administrative costs to increase in future periods.
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Sales and marketing expenses decreased by 17% to $849,011 year-on-year as a result of cost saving measures implemented across the department with the aim of operating more efficiently. As a result, savings were achieved in travel, communication and employee related costs whilst for most of the year maintaining the same headcount and level of customer interaction that was in place during the latter part of fiscal 2009. In addition, the Company was able to reduce significantly the cost of attending the annual Photo Marketing Association trade show during the current year. This event is the main trade show attended by the Company each year in North America and has historically fallen during either February or March. A small increase was seen in headcount numbers in this area towards the end of the year as the Company strengthened both its sales team and also added further internal marketing resources who will work closely with the Company's retail partners in order to help them improve their strategic marketing plans. As a result of these increases in headcount there will be a corresponding increase in expenditures in this area in future periods.
Share-based compensation costs, representing both the cost of the company's stock options that are issued to employees, directors and consultants of the company and compensation expense associated with shares issued as part of the acquisition of WorksMedia, have decreased year-on-year by 66% to $690,020. This is primarily as a result of the expense associated with the large tranche of stock options that were issued to staff during March 2008 ceasing at the beginning of the fiscal year as all of these options are now fully vested.
Amortization decreased by 18% year-on-year to $4,918,991. The amortization charge for the year is in line with that seen throughout the earlier part of the year and primarily relates to a mixture of both the amortization of intangible assets acquired during the Pixology and WorksMedia acquisitions as well as items of property and equipment. The final amortization associated with the Company's 2007 acquisition of Pixology was expensed during the third quarter of fiscal 2010.
Other income and expenses
During the year ended September 30, 2010, the Company recorded a realized foreign exchange loss of $119,561 and unrealized gains of $304,331. The unrealized gain arose primarily as a result of the translation of inter-company balances between the UK subsidiaries and the Canadian parent, whilst the realized loss arose primarily as a result of unfavorable changes in Canadian dollar exchange rates relative to the US dollar between the time sales invoices were raised and the receipt of funds. Year-on-year, the Canadian dollar strengthened by approximately 12% relative to the United States dollar.
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Years Ended September 30, 2009 and September 30, 2008
Revenue
Revenues for the year ended September 30, 2009 show significant growth of 43% year on year reaching $24,446,569.
While during 2009 we saw strong growth has been seen in a number of areas, the most significant element remains the year on year increase in transaction fees which are up 56% or $6,517,910 compared to the prior year. This growth has been achieved through the organic growth of existing customers and as a result of recording revenues for the whole year from a number of customers who were obtained part way through 2008 and who therefore only contributed revenue to part of that year. A total of 14.6 million orders were placed through the PNI platform during fiscal 2009, almost double the number seen in fiscal 2008. The Company has also benefitted from the acquisition of WorksMedia Ltd which was acquired during March 2009 and which contributed revenue, primarily through the sale of software licenses and the earning of membership fees during the latter part of the year.
Transaction fees represented 74% of total revenue for the year ended September 30, 2009 compared to 68% during the comparable period in fiscal 2008 and continue to demonstrate how the Company has moved over the past few years to position itself so that it is able to obtain more exposure to the underlying level of transactions experienced by our retail partners allowing us to grow as they do without incurring additional costs. During the year we assumed one-time marketing related costs of $402,708 in partnership with a customer which under GAAP were recorded as a reduction to transactional fees recorded. The Company believes that this expenditure will result in long-term benefits from increased traffic through its network.
Installation fees remained flat year on year at $3,927,506. A large portion of revenue from this source continues to track at consistent year on year levels through recurring license fees earned from some of our United Kingdom based customers. Other elements of this revenue is non-recurring and is earned either through developing and installing new sites for customers or by making sales of kiosk software licenses. Approximately 90% of this revenue was earned through our UK operations and as a result of this, was earned in Sterling. The value of Sterling relative to the Canadian dollar has on average been 8% less during fiscal 2009 compared to 2008, therefore although our recorded revenue on a consolidated basis is flat year on year, underlying sales in this area have risen by approximately 9%. A number of our contracts that provide for recurring revenue in this area will be expiring during fiscal 2010 and therefore sales will become more difficult to predict as they will primarily become one-off in nature.
Membership fees are earned either through monthly fixed fees based on the number of locations customers have connected to the Company's platform or through annual recurring service and maintenance revenue from customers who have purchased our kiosk software. Revenue from this source has grown strongly over the past twelve months, being 69% greater year on year representing an overall increase in the number of customer locations now connected to our network as a result of existing customers expanding their own operations and also as a result of the Company's acquisition of WorksMedia during the year. WorksMedia has an established base of more than 3,000 kiosks worldwide using its kiosk software and earns recurring service and maintenance revenue from most of these installations.
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Professional fees have shown an overall decrease of 19% or $89,878 as they have fallen to $378,118 during the year ended September 30, 2009. This has been primarily as a result of a significant decline of more than $300,000 year on year in the value of e-mail marketing campaigns carried out on behalf of a number of our customers as they moved to carry out these campaigns internally. Despite this reduction, additional one off projects have been taken on during the year allowing the majority to be offset.
Archive fees, which represent charges made to our customers after the volume of data held on their behalf reaches pre-determined limits have increased by 201% during fiscal 2009. While the past twelve months has seen revenue from this source grow, our customers remain in charge of the business rules offered to their consumers around storage and therefore future revenue growth in this area could be curtailed should any of our customers stop providing their own customers with free storage solutions.
Operating Loss and Expenses
We recorded a loss from operations for the year ended September 30, 2009 of $1,879,827, representing an improvement of $7,153,862 compared to the same period last year.
A comparison of operating results and non-operating events for the two years ended September 30th are set out in the table below.
Description | 2009 | 2008 |
Loss from operations | $ (1,902,296) | $ (9,240,145) |
Other items | 132,630 | 523,119 |
Net loss under Canadian GAAP for the year | $ (1,769,666) | $ (8,717,026) |
Change in fair value of embedded foreign currency derivative related to warrants | 22,531 | 4,671,206 |
Net loss under US GAAP for the year | $ (1,747,135) | $ (4,045,820) |
Unrealized foreign exchange loss on translation of self-sustaining foreign operations | (652,661) | (346,964) |
Comprehensive loss for the year | $ (2,399,796) | $ (4,392,784) |
Expenses excluding non-cash items
Description | Twelve Months Ended 2009 | Twelve Months Ended 2008 |
Change
|
% Change
|
| | | | |
Network delivery | $ 6,617,907 | $ 7,364,982 | $ (747,075) | (10)% |
Software development | 6,855,187 | 6,379,553 | 475,634 | 7% |
General and administration | 3,821,662 | 3,689,489 | 132,173 | 4% |
Sales and marketing | 1,024,378 | 998,574 | 25,804 | 3% |
| 18,319,134 | 18,432,598 | (113,464) | (1)% |
| | | | |
Share-based compensation | 2,016,015 | 1,511,504 | 504,511 | 33% |
Amortization | 6,013,716 | 5,259,053 | 754,663 | 14% |
| | | | |
Total | $ 26,348,865 | $ 25,203,155 | $ 1,145,710 | 5% |
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Total expenses for fiscal 2009 are 5% greater than fiscal 2008, although excluding non-cash expenditures of share-based compensation and amortization, controllable cash expenses fell by 1%, continuing the trend seen through the earlier part of the year.
Network delivery costs decreased $747,075, or 10% during the year. Consistent with results for the first three quarters of the year, most of this decrease is due to a reduction in the direct cost of fulfilling products and costs relating to running e-mail marketing campaigns on behalf of a number of our customers. These reductions have been offset by increases in hosting charges as a result of establishing a Canadian datacenter in Toronto during the second quarter of fiscal 2008 as well as increased costs associated with offering customer support functions on behalf of a number of customers during the first half of 2009 which was not being done during the first half of fiscal 2008.
Software development expenses have increased $475,634 or 7% year on year. Approximately one third of this increase is a direct result of the WorksMedia acquisition which took place in March 2009 and the additional development team that was taken on at that time. The remainder of the increase was due to the use of contractors during certain parts of the year as a number of projects were completed on behalf of customers. During the year the Company has taken steps to maintain or where possible, reduce staff numbers and costs and has instead utilized the services of contractors on an as-needed basis to help periods of additional workload. Outside of staffing costs, steps have been taken to reduce all other costs in this area, including travel, staff training costs and general running cots of the department. Staffing requirements continue to be monitored on a regular basis with reference to upcoming projects for new and existing customers, ongoing commitments to maintain current service offerings for existing customers as well as new product development. In addition, steps were taken during the year to reduce the level of development headcount at our United Kingdom operations which should result in significant cost savings in this area in future periods, although one time restructuring costs of approximately $40,000 were incurred as a result of this. While the Company continues to maintain development resources at levels consistent with the prior year, future projects from either existing customers or potential new ones could result in additional resources being taken on. Such projects will only be undertaken should forecasted related revenues justify.
General and administration expenses have increased by 4% or $132,173 during the year. While slight increases year on year have been experienced in salary costs, significant cost reductions have been achieved in many other areas including travel and all office related running costs, including a $140,000 reduction in annual rental costs as a result of renegotiating the UK based office lease part way through fiscal 2008. As a result of the Company's decision to relocate all of its UK based staff to its Southampton location and to shut down its Guildford office, it was necessary however to record a one-time provision of approximately $209,000 relating to the Guildford lease costs that are expected to be unrecoverable over the remaining term of that lease. The Company is actively attempting to sub-let this office space, however due to the current state of the rental property market in Guildford, it is envisaged that this may not be possible for a number of months. Excluding this one-time charge, general and administration costs would have decreased year on year. The Company fully intends to continue scrutinizing administrative costs and will take further steps in future periods to reduce non-essential expenditures. Changes in the current strategy of the Company or the continued large-scale growth of the business could however result in further cost reductions in this area not being achievable or in costs increasing.
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Sales and marketing expenses increased by 3% to $1,024,378 during the current year, all of which was as a result of acquiring WorksMedia and incorporating their sales team into the group. Following on from this acquisition, the Company developed a new marketing and business development plan and began cross training staff on the products and services offered by each respective company. This new plan is now in the process of being implemented and is targeting aggressive growth for the Company through not only acquiring new customers but also by helping existing customers grow their own businesses which will in turn will lead to increased revenue for us.
Share-based compensation costs, representing both the cost of the company's stock options that are issued to employees, directors and consultants of the company and compensation expense associated with shares issued as part of the acquisition of WorksMedia, have increased year on year by 33%. This increase is in part due to the large number of stock-options that were provided to plan participants at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2008; the higher relative fair value that was assigned to those options compared to previous options that had been issued; and also as a result of the shares that were issued during March 2009 in connection with the acquisition of WorksMedia.
Amortization increased by 14% year on year to $6,013,716. The amortization charge for the year to date is in line with that seen towards the end of fiscal 2008 and primarily relates to a mixture of both the amortization of intangible assets acquired from Pixology and also items of property and equipment, but was also increased during the third quarter as a result of the intangible assets acquired as part of the WorksMedia acquisition in March 2009. These new intangible assets which have been allocated a fair value of approximately $2.6 million will be amortized over a three-year period, commencing in March 2009. Subsequent to the acquisition of WorksMedia, the Company recognized certain tax benefits relating to loss carry-forwards available in Pixology in order to offset a potential future income tax liability. This had the effect of reducing intangible assets previously recognized regarding the Pixology acquisition by $301,390. In addition, a further adjustment was made totalling $151,000 which recognized the tax benefit of previously unrecorded loss carry-forwards available to the Company to reduce current year income taxes payable. This adjustment also resulted in a reduction to the carrying value of intangible assets previously recognized. As a result of these two adjustments, the amortization of these assets will be reduced by approximately $92,000 per quarter over their remaining estimated useful life.
Other income and expenses
During the year ended September 30, 2009, the Company recorded realized foreign exchange gains of $115,526 and unrealized gains of $435,467. The unrealized gains arose primarily as a result of the retranslation of inter-company balances between the UK subsidiaries and the Canadian parent, whilst the realized gain arose primarily as a result of favourable changes in Canadian dollar exchange rates relative to the US dollar between the time sales invoices were raised and the receipt of funds. Towards the end of the year the strengthening of the Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar began impacting results negatively as amounts being collected from customers in the United States was lower than the amount originally invoiced.
Years Ended September 30, 2008 and September 30, 2007
Revenue
Revenue for fiscal 2008 is 127% greater than fiscal 2007, due to a combination of the acquisition of Pixology during the fourth quarter of 2007, the addition of large new retailers during the year and the organic growth of PhotoChannel's existing operations over the past twelve months.
Excluding results generated through the acquisition of Pixology, revenues of the PhotoChannel operations increased 58% compared to 2007. This increase was primarily attributable to two factors: organic growth in usage of the Network from customers of our photo-finishing retailers; and the addition of a number of new retail customers during the latter part of the year. We believe that organic growth will continue to grow as the Internet is increasingly adopted by consumers as a means to print images and gifting products. Based upon our past experience, we have traditionally seen an ongoing increase in the use of our service as in-store printing is adopted.
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Transaction fees increased 141% compared to 2007 and represented 68% of total revenue for fiscal 2008 compared to 64% in fiscal 2007. This increase in overall transactional revenue has been achieved despite seeing an increase of 189% year on year in installation fees which arose primarily as a result of Pixology charging annual license fees rather than fees based on the level of transactions undertaken. The Company continues to pursue its long-term goal of moving towards a transactional-based revenue model and the results in 2008 demonstrate the success being achieved in this area.
Excluding the results of Pixology for the year, transaction fees represent 78% of the total revenue of the operations that were in existence prior to the acquisition and represent the single largest source of revenue for the Company.
Professional fees were up $68,735 or 17% compared to 2007, as we provided more email marketing assistance to our retailer base. We have seen that email marketing by our retail partners leads to increases in the number of orders placed by their customers and a related increase in transactional fees to us. We expect to continue assisting our customers in the future as requested, in order to drive additional orders through our Network.
Revenue from installation fees increased 189% compared to 2007, primarily as a result of revenue earned through Pixology relating to licence fees charged to customers. These license fees are an annual fee for the use of software and are recognized into revenue over the period to which access to services are provided. Installation fees in PhotoChannel were $192,900 lower in fiscal 2008 compared to fiscal 2007. This is a direct result of the majority of its customers having previously connected their stores to the PhotoChannel Network. In previous years, installation revenues have primarily consisted of lab system installations in our retail partner locations to enable one-hour printing, but also include a nominal monthly charge for licensing fees. Many of our new retail partners are electing to install or have already installed their own lab systems. We expect this trend will continue, leading to reduction of our revenues related directly to lab system installations.
Storage fees of $210,901 were earned during 2008, compared to $60,010 in 2007. This increase was the result of certain customers reaching pre-determined thresholds, after which we charge a monthly storage fee. Our customers remain in charge of the business rules offered to their consumers around storage and therefore future revenue growth in this area could be curtailed should any of our customers stop providing unlimited free storage.
Operating Expenses and Net Loss
We recorded a loss from operations for the year ended September 30, 2008 of $8,276,760, representing an increase of $3,529,272 or 74% compared to the same period last year. The increased loss during 2008 includes an amount of $3,214,908 representing a full year of amortization of intangible assets acquired at the time of the Pixology acquisition, compared to $574,173 recognized during 2007. Excluding this expense, the loss from operations increased by $888,602, or 19% primarily as a result of increased salary and non-cash stock-based compensation expenses as additional staff were recruited to allow the Company to develop sites for its new retail customers. The costs associated with these new staff are incurred well in advance of revenues from the new customer sites.
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A comparison of operating results and non-operating events for the two years ended September 30th are set out in the table below.
Description | 2008 | 2007 |
Loss from operations | $ (8,276,760) | $ (4,747,488) |
Other items | (462,053) | (1,324,748) |
Net loss under Canadian GAAP for the year | $ (8,717,026) | $ (6,072,236) |
Change in fair value of embedded foreign currency derivative related to warrants | 4,671,206 | 268,089 |
Net loss under US GAAP for the year | $ (4,045,820) | $ (5,804,147) |
Unrealized foreign exchange loss on translation of self-sustaining foreign operations | (346,964) | (809,569) |
Comprehensive loss for the year | $ (4,392,784) | $ (6,613,716) |
Expenses increased by 107% to $25,203,155 compared to 2007. Expenses for 2008 represented a full year of costs associated with Pixology, where fiscal 2007 only included three months, from the date of acquisition to our year end of September 30th. 39% of costs in fiscal 2008 were incurred by Pixology, with the remaining 61% incurred by PhotoChannel.
There are a number of factors which have resulted in this significant increase in expenditures year-on-year; including the acquisition of Pixology and the related ongoing cost of those operations which are now included in our results, the increase in amortization experienced as a result of the acquisition through the recognition of intangible assets on our balance sheet, along with additional hardware associated with our new data centre and our success during the year in securing a number of new contracts which resulted in an increase in employee costs, prior to the recognition of associated revenues from these contracts.
Pixology often contracts with the gifting fulfillers and takes responsibility for ensuring that orders made through the online photo sites of retailer customers are completed. As a result of this, Pixology recognizes the gross amount of sales made to the end consumer in these instances, together with the associated cost of goods sold. This cost of goods sold is recorded within network delivery costs and amounted to $3,761,946 for fiscal 2008.
PhotoChannel's operations are fulfilled by the retailer resulting in only the transaction fee earned by the Company being recorded in the financial statements as revenue.
Development expenses increased $2,736,180 or 65% year on year. $861,348 or 32% of this increase related to costs incurred by Pixology as a result of fiscal 2008 including a full year of costs compared to fiscal 2007 which included only one quarter post acquisition. The remaining $1,874,832 of increased costs were incurred by operations in Canada, with $1,664,208 due to increased salary and consulting costs incurred as a result of the Company working to develop customized online photo solutions for our new customers, including Sam's Club USA, Costco USA, Loblaws, Kodak Australia and Kodak China as well as continuing to provide ongoing support and development services to our existing client base. The completion of these projects during 2008 will result in the Company earning additional revenue in future periods, relating to the costs that have been incurred up front. As well, additional non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $162,462 was also incurred year on year.
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General and administration expenses increased $1,403,723 or 44% year on year. $238,691 of this increase related to costs incurred by Pixology, with the remaining $1,165,032 increase being incurred in Canada. Costs incurred year on year by Pixology are primarily as a result of fiscal 2008 including a full year of costs while fiscal 2007 only included 3 months of costs. Steps have been taken since the acquisition of Pixology to drastically reduce the overheads incurred at our United Kingdom operations with very successful results. The year on year increase in costs in Canada was as a result of a small increase in headcount, an increase of non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $337,000, increased audit and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance costs of $334,000 and small increases in travel expenditures and office related costs.
Network delivery costs increased $4,886,351 or 194% during fiscal 2008, although $3,366,514 or 69% of this increase can be attributed to Pixology. The remaining $1,519,837 of increased costs, which were incurred by PhotoChannel, are primarily as a result of an increase in customer service salaries and temporary contractors of $801,000 as staff numbers were increased to service newly signed customers and the Company's growing customer base; an increase of $30,000 in non-cash stock-based compensation expense; an increase of $770,000 in data storage and hosting costs resulting from the establishment of a second Canadian datacenter in Toronto in January 2008 together with the expansion of the Company's Vancouver datacenter and an increase in the cost of running e-mail marketing campaigns on behalf of a number of our customers of $113,000. These increased costs were offset by a reduction in the lab installation costs which fell in line with the reduction experienced in Canadian installation revenue during the year.
Sales and marketing expenses remained at the same levels year on year at $1,140,000. An increase of $65,000 was incurred by Pixology through the inclusion of United Kingdom specific marketing efforts, while costs in Canada were reduced by $60,000 as a result of decreased salary and consulting costs.
Amortization increased by 330% year on year to $5,259,053. This year on year increase is as a result of the amortization of intangible assets acquired when the Company purchased Pixology, amortization incurred on assets owned by Pixology and an increase seen as a result of the large capital investment undertaken during the second and third quarters of the year establishing a second Canadian datacenter in Toronto.
During the year ended September 30, 2008, the Company recognized a foreign exchange gain of $461,041, primarily as a result of an increase in the value of the United States dollar compared to the Canadian dollar and an increase in the value of the Canadian dollar compared to the British Pound. This gain arose upon the retranslation of United States dollar accounts receivable balances and British Pound denominated loans payable.
During the year ended September 30, 2008, the Company recorded an impairment charge against the carrying value of goodwill related to Pixology. This impairment arose as a result of: planned development synergies not materializing to the extent assumed at the time of the acquisition; cost reductions implemented subsequent to acquisition resulting in the operations reaching a break-even position, but being insufficient to result in the company being able to sustain profitable operations on a recurring basis; and the loss, subsequent to acquisition of a number of retail customers.
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B. Liquidity and Capital Resources
Liquidity risk is the risk that the Company will encounter difficulty in meeting obligations as they fall due. The Company's approach to managing liquidity risk is to ensure it has sufficient cash available to manage the payment of its financial liabilities. The Company does not have any credit facilities in place to help manage its liquidity position and therefore its liquidity is dependent on its overall volume of business activity and its ability to manage the collection and payment of its accounts receivable and accounts payable through cash flow management techniques.
During the year ended September 30, 2010, the Company generated positive cash flow from operations of $4,489,338 and eliminated its working capital deficit that existed at September 30, 2009. At September 30, 2010, the Company had positive working capital of $5,248,893, compared to negative working capital of $1,129,741 at September 30, 2009. During the same period, the Company's cash position increased from $4,237,284 to $4,690,355 as a result of strong operating results and careful management of working capital. In addition, during the year, the company repaid it short-term loan of just under $1 million and completed making the payments required to the previous owners of WorksMedia under the terms of the share purchase agreement which totalled approximately $938,000.
The Company's liquidity position may fluctuate during the year due to a number of factors which could include unanticipated changes to its volume of business, credit losses and the extent of capital expenditure in the year. The Company's liquidity position may also be adversely impacted by the seasonal nature of its business with the Company's busiest period of activity typically during the first quarter of the fiscal year. As the Company has a concentration of business with select key customers, its liquidity position would be adversely impacted if one of its key customer relationships was discontinued.
The Company primarily monitors its liquidity position through forecasting expected cash flows based on the timing of expected receipts and payments. Management monitors its cash balances and projections on a weekly and monthly basis. The starting point for its analysis is based upon the contractual maturity date of its liabilities and its expected collection period for its receivables. The Company manages the payment of its financial liabilities based on available cash and matching the settlement of its financial liabilities to realized financial assets. The Company also monitors its debtor collection as described in its credit risk note. As the Company's revenues are primarily collectible within 30 days of invoicing, which is performed weekly for some customers and monthly for others, the Company aims to be able to collect its accounts receivable more promptly than it settles its third party accounts payable. However, as certain of the Company's operating expenses such as its payroll obligations are contractually due at least monthly, its working capital position could periodically decrease depending on the timing of the maturity of its accounts receivable and accounts payable and accrued liabilities.
In prior years the Company purchased a number of items of property and equipment using a finance lease. At September 30, 2010, the Company has an outstanding obligation under this lease of $107,964, all of which is payable within twelve months. The Company is making these payments out of cash flows generated from operations.
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During the year ended September 30, 2010, the Company repaid its loan payable, including interest accrued, of $937,548.
The Company's activities are being funded out of its operating cash flow. As a result of generating positive results during the year ending September 30, 2010 the Company has been able to eliminate its working capital deficit, however if positive results are not continued in future periods there is a risk that the Company would not be able to meet all of its contractual commitments when due.
C.Software development, patents and licenses, etc.
During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010 we expended $7,985,058 (2009 - $6,855,188; 2008 - $6,379,553) on software development related to our Network and kiosk software.
Proprietary Protection - Trademarks, Copyrights, Etc.
We rely on a combination of contractual rights, trade secrets, copyrights, non-disclosure agreements and technical measures to establish and protect our proprietary rights. There can be no assurance, however, that the steps taken by us will be adequate to prevent misappropriation of the technology or independent development by others of software products with features based upon, or otherwise similar to, those provided by us. In addition, although we believe that our technology has been independently developed, there can be no assurance that our technology does not, and will not, infringe proprietary rights of others or that third parties will not assert infringement claims against us in the future. In the case of infringement, we would, under certain circumstances, be required to modify our products or obtain a license and any failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, there can be no assurance that we will have the necessary resources to defend or pursue any infringement actions.
During the year ended September 30, 2010, the Company received notice from a former customer that a possible patent infringement had been brought to their attention regarding software which in previous years had been sold by one of our subsidiaries and which is unrelated to the PNI Platform and to the Company's kiosk software. During the quarter ended December 31, 2010, the Company received notice from its former customer that a settlement had been reached between it and the entity that had been making the claims of patent infringement. As a result, the Company's former customer requested that the Company pay a portion of the settlement amount under an indemnification clause included in the contract that was in place during the previous relationship. After considering all of the available facts, including the expected legal costs of disputing the matter, the Company agreed to pay a contribution of the settlement charge, up to a maximum amount of US$100,000. Subsequent to the period end, the Company continues to negotiate the final allocation of the settlement charge with the former customer and expects to conclude its discussions prior to the end of the three month period ended March 31, 2011. Included in these consolidated financial statements is an accrual of US$80,000 representing the Company's best estimate of the amount that it will be required to pay out.
During the three month period ended December 31, 2010, the Company received notice from a customer that a claim had been brought against them from a United States based entity (the "entity"), alleging that certain services offered by the Company's customer infringed on a patent licenced by the entity. A portion of the services that are alleged to be in breach of this patent are provided by the Company. The Company's customer has requested that the Company indemnify them from any damages resulting from this claim. To date, the Company has only been provided with limited information regarding this potential infringement and as a result is still investigating the matter to determine its potential impact. No adjustment has been made in the financial statements as a result of this matter.
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D.Trend Information
In recent times, the photo industry has undergone significant changes as a result of improvements in technology. Three major trends have been reshaping the landscape. This first was the emergence of the digital camera as a replacement for film cameras and photo film. The second is the ongoing deployment and consumer acceptance of digital cameras in mobile phones. The third is the deployment by retailers of digital printing equipment to enable them to make digital images from traditional images captured on film and to make prints and creative photo gift products from digital images. As the industry adapts to the technological advancements forcing new ways of business to be conducted, the opportunity exists for the emergence of new players to provide the products and services to make retailers with photofinishing operations successful. A fourth factor outside of the photo industry per se that is also affecting the digital photography landscape has been the increased prevalence of broadband Internet access at home for consumers.
The use of digital cameras is increasing and management believes that the popularity of the digital camera will continue to grow as the cost of such cameras continue to decrease and the availability of photographic quality digital print services increases, at retail, online, and at home. An estimated 55% of US households owned a digital camera by 2005, and this is expected to continue to grow to 81% by 2010.20 The use of digital cameras has increased dramatically (not only in North America, but worldwide) since their introduction in the mid 1990's.There is no demographic which digital cameras are exclusive to, especially in light of constantly falling prices the last several years, nor is there a prohibitive degree of technological sophistication required to operate these cameras. The average price paid for a digital camera has fallen from $315 in 2004 to $303 in 2005, and continues to fall.21
Photofinishing retailers originally viewed digital camera penetration as threatening their future. Film processing volume has been falling steadily the last years globally. In the U.S. alone, sales have fallen from 671 million rolls in 2003, to 571 million rolls in 2004, to 480 million in 2005 and an estimated 369 million in 2006 (a total drop of some 45% in that period). Commensurately, processing revenue has fallen in the same period from $5.39 billion in 2003 to an estimated $2.98 billion in 2006, a similar 44.7% drop.22 As consumers have switched their picture-taking activity from film to digital, one of the greatest challenges has been making them aware of the options for printing their digital pictures. The effect of digital cameras to date and future projections indicate that digital will have an additive effect on the growth of picture taking overall, especially as the cost to shoot a digital image is nothing as compared to the cost of developing photo film.
In 2003, 56 Billion digital photo exposures were taken worldwide, with growth to 144 Billion in 2005 and an estimated 312 Billion by 2008.23 The number of captured digital images in the USA (not including camera phones) has grown from 7.8 Billion in 2003, 12.9 Billion in 2004, 17.1 Billion in 2005, and an estimated 21.7 Billion in 2006. At the same time, the number of digital prints made by all methods has grown from 1.5 Billion (19.2% of total captured) in 2003, 3.1 Billion (24% of total) in 2004, 4.5 Billion (26.3% of total) in 2005, and an estimated 6.4 Billion (29.4% of total) in 2006. Film and digital cameras combined produced 14% fewer prints between 2000 and 2005 including retail, online, and home alternatives. Including prints made at home, the total value of printing was higher at $6.81 Billion in 2005 than the $6.23 Billion in 2000.24
___________________________
20 InfoTrends - 2005 Report
21 PMA Marketing Research: Photo Industry 2006 Review and Forecast / NPD Techworld
22 All figures here taken from PMAI / PMA Marketing Research: Photo Industry 2006
23 Hewlett Packard (HP) as from your previous writing
24 PMA Marketing Research: Photo Industry 2006 Review and Forecast
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The growth of printing at retail has recently outpaced home printing, and is expected to continue to do so in the next couple of years, for a variety of reasons. This is reflected in relative home and retail printing volumes, and for the first time since the introduction of digital cameras in the US, retail and online entities were the top destinations for digital printing in 2005. It was forecasted that for 2008, of the digital photo exposures that get printed worldwide, 56 Billion or 43% will be printed by retailers. Translated into photofinishing revenue, it is predicted that digital photofinishing at retail, from both store location drop-off and online orders, will be a $6.2 Billion industry in 2008.
We continue to see a significant organic increase in the usage from our existing customers' connected to our PNI Digital Media Platform, however due to additional factors that have to be taken into account, including but not limited to currency fluctuations, product mix and the number of prints made from images uploaded through one of our retail customer's sites, the Company's results may not always mirror the overall transaction level growth seen within the wider industry.
Data Sources: PMAI / PMA, InfoTrends, Hewlett Packard (HP)
E.Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
Not Applicable
F.Tabular Disclosure of Contractual Obligations
| Payments due by period | |
| Total | Less than 1 year | 1-3 years | 3-5 years | More than 5 years |
Property leases | 1,009,631 | 263,382 | 526,764 | 219,485 | - |
Other service agreements | 2,383,044 | 1,188,125 | 1,194,919 | - | - |
Capital leases | 107,964 | 107,964 | - | - | - |
| 3,500,639 | 1,559,471 | 1,721,683 | 219,485 | - |
ITEM 6. DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES
A.Directors and Senior Management
The names, residences, ages, positions with us, principal occupations within the last five years and beneficial ownership of our securities of each of our directors and executive officers as at February 28, 2010 are as follows. All Directors serve until the next Annual General Meeting of our Shareholders.
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Name and Residence (If a Director, period such position held) | Age | Positions with Company and Principal Occupations During the Last 5 Years | Securities Beneficially Owned, Directly or Indirectly(4)(5) | Percentage of Outstanding Shares(6) |
Peter Fitzgerald (1)(2)- Herts, United Kingdom
Director (July 31, 2001 - present) | 62 | March 3, 2005 - September 30, 2008: President & CEO of the Company
| 1,773,451 Common Shares(7) | 5%
|
Peter Scarth (1)(2)- West Vancouver, BC, Canada
Director (Oct 10, 2000 to present) | 65 | August 1, 2002 - October 4, 2004: President & CEO of the Company March 2001- February 3, 2004: Chairman of the Company. a | 835,462 Common Shares(8) | 2% |
Cory Kent(3)(3) Vancouver, BC, Canada
Director (March 10, 1999 - Present) | 41 | February 2003 to Present: Lawyer at McMillan LLP (formerly Lang Michener LLP)
| 227,778 Common Shares(9) | 1% |
Thomas Nielsen(1) (2) Seattle, WA, USA
Director (June 23, 2005 - present) | 40 | November 2009 to present: VP Marketing, Product Management & Business Strategy, Digital Imaging Products, Adobe Systems; October 2004 - November 2009: Director of Engineering, Adobe Systems; and
| 161,278 Common Shares(10) | 0.4% |
Scott Brownstein-(2)(3) Florida, USA
Director (September 15, 2008 to May 14, 2010)
| 61
| Present - Businessman Brownstein & McCabe Associates; December 2000 to May 2006 - FujiFilm eSystems SVP & CTO
|
| - |
Robert Chisholm(1) Vancouver, BC, Canada
Director (April 27, 2009 to present) | 48 | April 2009 - Present: Partner Emprise Capital Corp.; Nov. 2001 - March 2009: Chief Financial Officer of PNI Digital Media Inc.;= | 227,778 Common Shares | 1% |
Lawrence Lerner(3) Illinois, USA
Director (March 10, 2010 to present | 46 | November 2007 to Present - Businessman UST Global; August 2007 to October 2007 Director Acquity Group; December 2002 to August 2007 Sr. Manager for Cognizant | 37,778 Common Shares(12) | 0% |
Kyle Hall(3) Vancouver, BC, Canada
Director (March 25, 2009 to present) | 45 | October 1, 2008 to Present: Chief Executive Officer ;March 13, 2003 - October 4, 2004: Corporate Secretary of the Company; June 5, 2002 to September 30, 2008: Executive Vice President, Business Development of the Company;
| 290,140 Common Shares(13) | 1% |
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Name and Residence (If a Director, period such position held) | Age | Positions with Company and Principal Occupations During the Last 5 Years | Securities Beneficially Owned, Directly or Indirectly(4)(5) | Percentage of Outstanding Shares(6) |
Aaron Rallo Vancouver, BC, Canada
Director (March 25, 2009 to present) | 38 | October 1, 2008 to Present: President & COO; November 2004 - September 30, 2008: Chief Technology Officer of the Company; March 2003 to May 2004: Senior Program Manager of Digital Imaging Devices for Microsoft Corporation;
| 235,920 Common Shares(14) | 1% |
Simon Bodymore North Vancouver, BC | 35 | March 2009 - Present: CFO; December 17 to March 2009 - VP of Finance of the Company; January 2008 to December 16 - Director of Finance of the Company; November 2000 to December 2007 - Senior Manager of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP | 82,444 Common Shares(15) | 0% |
Patricia Spice Vancouver, BC, Canada
| 63 | December 1995 - Present: Executive Assistant, PNI Digital Media Inc. October 4, 2004 to present: Corporate Secretary of the Company | 62,100 Common Shares | 0% |
Chris Tivel Vancouver, BC, Canada
| 40 | March 26, 2009 to Present - Chief Technology Officer August 2007 - March 26, 2009: VP Product Development, of the Company | 121,474 Common Shares(16) | 0% |
Susan Page New Jersey, USA
| 40
| July 2007 to Present - EVP Sales & Marketing of the Company; June 2005 - July 2007 - Pixology Inc. - VP US Sales;
| 66,888(17)
| 0.0% |
Karl Oertel Surrey, UK
| 43
| July 2007 to Present - VP UK Operations of the Company; August 2006 - July 2007 - Pixology Ltd. VP UK Operations; July 1997 - August 2006 - ITEBA Ltd. - Operations Manager
| 7,100
| 0% |
Harley Ware Vancouver, BC, Canada | 42 | November 13, 2009 - Present - EVP In-Store Retail Systems March 11, 2009 - November 13, 2009 - Managing Director Europe | 381,166(18) | 1% |
(1) Member of the Audit Committee.
(2) Member of the Compensation Committee.
(3) Member of the Corporate Governance Committee.
(4) Information regarding shares beneficially owned or controlled is as of December 31, 2010 and has been furnished by the respective individuals. As such, we assume no responsibility for its accuracy or completeness. Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and generally includes voting or investment power with respect to securities. We believe that the beneficial owners of shares of our common shares listed above, have sole investment and voting power with respect to such shares, subject to community property laws where applicable.
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(5) On November 2, 2006, we implemented a consolidation of our common shares on a one-new-common-share-for-10-old-common-shares basis. The number of shares disclosed as being beneficially owned or controlled by the named persons are shown on a post-consolidation basis.
(6) Based on 34,007,083 common shares issued and outstanding as of February 28, 2011
(7) Includes 2,778 common shares that may be issued pursuant to stock options exercisable within the next sixty days.
(8) Includes 2,778 common shares that may be issued pursuant to stock options exercisable within the next sixty days.
(9) Includes 2,778 common shares that may be issued pursuant to stock options exercisable within the next sixty days.
(10) Consists of 2,778 common shares that may be issued pursuant to stock options exercisable within the next sixty days.
(11) Consists of 2,778 common shares that may be issued pursuant to stock options exercisable within the next sixty days.
(12) Includes 2,778 common shares that may be issued pursuant to stock options exercisable within the next sixty days.
(13) Includes 11,110 common shares that may be issued pursuant to stock options exercisable within the next sixty days.
(14) Includes 7,334 common shares that may be issued pursuant to stock options exercisable within the next sixty days.
(15) Includes 4,444 common shares that may be issued pursuant to stock options exercisable within the next sixty days.
(16) Includes 4,444 common shares that may be issued pursuant to stock options exercisable within the next sixty days.
(17) Includes 5,388 common shares that may be issued pursuant to stock options exercisable within the next sixty days.
(18) Includes 6,166 common shares that may be issued pursuant to stock options exercisable within the next sixty days.
* Denotes beneficial ownership of less than 1% of the issued and outstanding common shares of our Company.
B.Compensation
During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010, the aggregate amount of compensation paid by us and our subsidiaries to all directors and officers as a group for services in all capacities was $1,966,025. Of such amount, $385,000 was paid or accrued under a described bonus plan.
Our Company may grant, pursuant to the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, stock options to directors, officers and employees of, and consultants to, our Company or a subsidiary of our Company, or to employees of a company providing management services to our Company or any of our subsidiaries. We have adopted a stock option plan that is more fully described in Item 6.E of this annual report.
During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010, neither us nor our subsidiaries set aside or accrued any amount to provide pension, retirement or similar benefits for directors and officers pursuant to any existing plan provided or contributed to by us or our subsidiaries. The term "plan" includes all plans, contracts, authorizations or arrangements, whether or not set forth in any formal document.
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The following table sets out all compensation paid to our Chief Executive Officer and our four most highly compensated executive officers other than the Chief Executive Officer during the fiscal periods indicated.
| | Annual Compensation | Long Term Compensation |
Name and Principal Position | Fiscal Year | Salary ($) | Bonus ($) | Other Annual Compensation ($) | Common Shares Under- Lying Options Granted (Number) |
Kyle Hall(1) CEO | 2010 2009 2008 | 256,250 235,417 189,583 | 125,000 10,000 25,000 | Nil Nil Nil | - 50,000 75,000 |
Aaron Rallo President(2) | 2010 2009 2008 | 225,082 225,299 201,277 | 112,500 10,000 25,000 | Nil Nil Nil | - 50,000 75,000 |
Simon Bodymore(3) CFO | 2010 2009 2008 | 181,250 161,250 85,923 | 87,500 - - | Nil Nil Nil | - 25,000 50,000 |
Chris Tivel VP, Product Development(4) | 2010 2009 2008 | 175,000 172,542 145,500 | 10,000 17,500 29,100 | - - Nil | - - 75,000 |
Harley Ware, EVP, In-Store Retail Systems(5) | 2010 2009 2008 | 194,693 98,995 - | 50,000 - - | Nil Nil Nil | - - 25,000 |
(1) On March 9, 2001, Kyle Hall, formerly VP Sales and Business Development for our US subsidiary, PhotoChannel, Inc., became our President and Chief Operating Officer, as well as a director. On June 5, 2002, Mr. Hall resigned as a director and as President and Chief Operating Officer and assumed the role of Executive Vice President of Business Development. On March 13, 2003, Mr. Hall assumed the role of Corporate Secretary, a position he held until October 4, 2004. On October 1, 2008, Mr. Hall assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer.
(2) On November 8, 2004, Aaron Rallo was appointed Chief Technical Officer. On July 2, 2007, Mr. Rallo also assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer and on October 1, 2008 Mr. Rallo assumed the role of President.
(3) On December 17, 2008, Simon Bodymore, formerly Director of Finance for us became VP Finance. On March 26, 2009 Mr. Bodymore became Chief Financial Officer.
(4) On August 16, 2007, Chris Tivel, formerly Senior Architect for us became VP of Product Development. Mr. Tivel was appointed to Chief Technical Officer on March 26, 2009
(5) On March 11, 2009 upon the acquisition of WorksMedia Ltd., Harley Ware joined the PNI Digital Media group and was appointed Managing Director - Europe. On November 13, 2010, Mr. Ware took on the role of EVP In-Store Retail Systems.
C.Board Practices
Our articles provide that our Board of Directors shall consist of a minimum of three directors. Directors can be either elected annually by the shareholders at the annual meeting of the shareholders or, subject to our articles and applicable law, be appointed by the Board of Directors between annual meetings. Each director holds office until the close of the next annual meeting of shareholders or until he or she ceases to be a director by operation of law or until his or her resignation becomes effective. None of the directors have a service contract with us to provide for benefits upon termination of his or her directorship.
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Committees Of The Board
Our Board of Directors has formed three committees.
The Audit Committee consists of four directors. This committee is responsible for all relationships between our independent external auditor, including the approval of all work and related fees and for actively engaging in a dialog with that auditor with respect to any disclosed relationships or services that may impact the objectivity and independence of the auditor. This Committee also oversees and establishes procedures concerning our systems of internal accounting and auditing controls. This committee consists of Robert Chisholm (Chairman), Peter Scarth, Peter Fitzgerald and Thomas Nielsen.
The Compensation Committee consists of three directors. This committee is responsible for recommending salary levels and granting of options for our executive officers. This committee consists of Peter Fitzgerald (Chairman), Peter Scarth, and Thomas Nielsen.
The Corporate Governance Committee consists of three directors. This committee is responsible for corporate governance. This committee consists of , Cory Kent (Chairman), Kyle Hall and Lawrence Lerner.
D.Employees
We currently have one hundred fifteen (115) permanent full-time employees, two (2) permanent part-time employees and eight (8) consultants we retain for regular engagements. None of our staff are unionized.
We currently have the following staffing in our Vancouver office:
Executive Officers | 6 |
Operations | 10 |
Finance/Administration | 7, includes 3 executive officers. |
Technology and Applications | 85, includes 3 executive officers. |
Sales, and Business Development | 3 |
We currently have the following staffing in our Southampton, UK office:
Executive Officers | 1 |
Operations | 2 |
Finance/Administration | 2 |
Technology and Applications | 4, includes 1 executive officer. |
Sales, and Business Development | 1 |
We currently have the following staffing in our New Jersey office:
Sales, and Business Development | 1, includes 1 executive officer. |
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E.Share Ownership
As disclosed in Item 6.A, each of our current directors and executive officers has reported to us the number of common shares he or she beneficially owned in our Company as of February 28, 2011. To determine beneficial ownership for these purposes, each director or executive officer is deemed to be the beneficial owner of securities over which he or she exercises voting or investment power; and of securities that he or she has the right to acquire within sixty days, pursuant to such events as the exercise of a stock option, warrant or right, or through the conversion of a security, or through the power to revoke a trust or the automatic termination of a trust. Based on the information provided by our directors and executive officers, they as a group beneficially owned a total of 4,510,757 common shares (including an aggregate of 55,554 common shares that are reserved for issuance pursuant to stock options that are all exercisable within sixty days).
As of February 28, 2011, options to purchase an aggregate of 2,372,999 common shares had been granted and were outstanding, as follows:
Number of Common Shares | Exercise Price Per Common Share | Expiration Date |
301,776 669,723 307,500 4,000 200,000 365,000 25,000 500,000
| |
$1.25 $2.32 $3.35 $3.65 $2.00 $1.48 $1.50 $1.55
| |
March 5, 2011 December 11, 2011 March 11, 2013 April 14, 2013 March 10, 2014 March 25, 2014 August 6, 2014 October 4, 2015
|
In addition, 306,600 Restricted Stock Units had been issued to members of staff, Officers and Directors with an expiry date of October 4, 2013.
As of February 28, 2011, a total of 1,831,000 common shares were subject to options held by our directors and executive officers as a group. The following table sets forth particulars of the options held by each of our directors and executive officers:
Name | Grant Date | Exercise Price | Expiration Date | Total Number of Options |
Peter Fitzgerald Director, Chairman | March 5, 2006 December 11, 2006
March 25, 2009 October 4, 2010 | $1.25 $2.32
$1.48 $1.55 | March 5, 2011 December 11, 2011
March 25, 2014 October 4, 2015 | 35,000 35,000
50,000 25,000 |
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Name | Grant Date | Exercise Price | Expiration Date | Total Number of Options |
Peter Scarth Director | March 5, 2006 December 11, 2006
March 25, 2009 October 4, 2010 | $1.25 $2.32
$1.48 $1.55 | March 5, 2011 December 11, 2011
March 25, 2014 October 4, 2010 | 35,000 100,000
50,000 25,000 |
Cory Kent Director | March 5, 2006 December 11, 2006
March 25, 2009 October 4, 2010 | $1.25 $2.32 $3.35 $1.48 $1.55 | March 5, 2011 December 11, 2011
March 25, 2014 October 4, 2015 | 35,000 100,000
50,000 25,000 |
Thomas Nielsen Director | March 5, 2006 December 11, 2006
March 25, 2009 October 4, 2010
| $1.25 $2.32
$1.48 $1.55
| March 5, 2011 December 11, 2011
March 25, 2014 October 4, 2015
| 35,000 35,000
50,000 25,000
|
Robert Chisholm Director | March 5, 2006 December 11, 2006
March 11, 2008 October 4, 2010 | $1.25 $2.32
$1.48 $1.55 | March 5, 2011 December 11, 2011
March 11, 2013 October 4, 2015 | 50,000 75,000
50,000(1) 25,000 |
Lawrence Lerner Director | October 4, 2010 | $1.55 | October 4, 2015 | 25,000 |
Kyle Hall Director & Chief Executive Officer | March 5, 2006 December 11, 2006
March 25, 2009 October 4, 2010
| $1.25 $2.32
$1.48 $1.55
| March 5, 2011 December 11, 2011
March 25, 2014 October 4, 2015
| 50,000 75,000
50,000 100,000
|
Aaron Rallo Director, President & Chief Operating Officer | March 5, 2006 December 11, 2006
March 25, 2009 October 4, 2010
| $1.25 $2.32
$1.48 $1.55
| March 5, 2011 December 11, 2011
March 25, 2014 October 4, 2015
| 3,000 75,000
50,000 66,000
|
Simon Bodymore Chief Financial Officer | March 25, 2009 October 4, 2010
| $1.48 $1.55
| March 25, 2014 October 4, 2010
| 25,000 40,000
|
Patricia Spice Corporate Secretary | March 5, 2006 December 11, 2006
March 25, 2009 | $1.25 $2.32
$1.48 | March 5, 2011 December 11, 2011
March 25, 2014 | 15,000 25,000
15,000 |
Chris Tivel Chief Technology Officer | March 5, 2006 December 11, 2006
October 4, 2010
| $1.25 $2.32
$1.55
| March 5, 2011 December 11, 2011
October 4, 2015
| 13,500 50,000
40,000
|
Susan Page EVP Sales & Marketing | October 4, 2010
| $1.55
| October 4, 2015
| 48,500
|
Harley Ware, EVP In-Store Retail Systems | March 10, 2009 October 4, 2010 | $2.00 $1.55 | March 10, 2014 October 4, 2015 | 100,000 55,000 |
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(1)- During the year ended September 30, 2009, the exercise price of 50,000 options previously granted to Robert Chisholm on March 11, 2008 was amended from $3.35 to $1.48
As of February 28, 2011, a total of 74,200 Restricted Share Units ("RSU's") were held by our non-executive directors and executive officers as a group. The following table sets forth particulars of the RSU's held by each of our directors and executive officers:
Name | Grant Date | Grant Price | Expiration Date | Total Number of Restricted Shares Units |
Peter Fitzgerald Director | Oct. 4, 2010 | $1.55 | Oct. 4, 2013 | 10,000 |
Peter Scarth Director | Oct. 4, 2010 | $1.55 | Oct. 4, 2013 | 10,000 |
Cory Kent Director | Oct. 4, 2010 | $1.55 | Oct. 4, 2013 | 10,000 |
Thomas Nielsen Director | Oct. 4, 2010 | $1.55 | Oct. 4, 2013 | 10,000 |
Robert Chisholm Director | Oct. 4, 2010 | $1.55 | Oct. 4, 2013 | 10,000 |
Lawrence Lerner Director | Oct. 4, 2010 | $1.55 | Oct. 4, 2013 | 10,000 |
Karl Oertel VP UK Operations | Oct. 4, 2010 | $1.55 | Oct. 4, 2013 | 7,100 |
Patricia Spice Corporate Secretary | Oct. 4, 2010 | $1.55 | Oct. 4, 2013 | 7,100 |
As of February 28, 2011, a total of 100,000 Performance Share Units ("PSU's") were held by our executive officers as a group. The following table sets forth particulars of the PSU's held by each of the executive officers:
Name | Grant Date | Grant Price | Expiration Date | Total Number of Performance Share Units |
Kyle Hall Chief Executive Officer | Oct. 4,2010 | $1.55 | Oct. 4, 2013 | 21,000 |
Aaron Rallo President & Chief Operating Officer | Oct. 4,2010 | $1.55 | Oct. 4, 2013 | 20,000 |
Harley Ware EVP In-Store Retail Systems | Oct. 4,2010 | $1.55 | Oct. 4, 2013 | 20,000 |
Chris Tivel Chief Tehnical Officer | Oct. 4,2010 | $1.55 | Oct. 4, 2013 | 13,000 |
Sue Page EVP Sales & Marketing | Oct. 4,2010 | $1.55 | Oct. 4, 2013 | 13.000 |
Simon Bodymore Chief Financial Officer | Oct. 4,2010 | $1.55 | Oct. 4, 2013 | 13.000 |
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Stock Option Plan
Our Company initially adopted a stock option plan in 1997. At our Company's annual general meeting held on March 10, 2004, our shareholders approved an increase in the number of common shares reserved for issuance under the plan to 18,000,000 common shares (as so amended, the "2004 Plan").
At our Company's annual general meeting held on March 6, 2006, our shareholders approved a stock option plan (the "2006 Plan") which provides for a "rolling" number of underlying shares rather than a "fixed" number of shares. Specifically, the 2006 Plan provides that the maximum number of common shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of any options granted under the 2006 Plan shall be equal to 10% of the issued and outstanding common shares of our Company at the time the options are granted, less the number of shares reserved for issuance under any outstanding options. This will mean that there can never be more than 10% of our Company's issued and outstanding common shares reserved for issuance under the 2006 Plan at any point in time. The 2006 Plan was amended by shareholders at the annual general meetings held on March 6, 2007 March 25, 2009 and March 10, 2010.
Eligible Optionees
Under the policies of TSX Venture Exchange, to be eligible for the issuance of a stock option under the 2006 Plan, as amended, an Optionee must be, at the time the option is granted, a director, officer or employee of, or a consultant to, our Company or a subsidiary of our Company, or an employee of a company providing management services to our Company or any of our subsidiaries.
Options may be granted only to an individual or to a non-individual that is wholly owned by individuals eligible for an option grant. If the option is granted to a non-individual, it must provide the TSX Venture Exchange with an undertaking that it will not permit any transfer of its securities, nor issue further securities, to any individual or other entity as long as the option remains in effect, without the consent of the TSX Venture Exchange.
Material Terms of the 2006 Plan
The following is a summary of the material terms of the 2006 Plan, as amended:
(a) all options granted under the 2006 Plan are non-assignable, non-transferable and exercisable for a period of up to 10 years (subject to extension in the event that the expiry of the option occurs during a securities trading black out period);
(b) for stock options granted to employees or service providers (inclusive of management company employees), our Company must ensure that the proposed Optionee is a bona fide employee or service provider (inclusive of management company employees), as the case may be, of our Company or any subsidiary;
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(c) if an Optionee ceases to be employed by our Company (other than as a result of termination with cause) or ceases to act as a director or officer of our Company or a subsidiary of the Company, any option held by such Optionee may be exercised within 90 days after the date of such Optionee ceases to be employed or act as an officer or director (30 days if the Optionee is engaged in "Investor Relations Activities: as defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, and our Company remains listed on the TSX Venture Exchange as a Tier 2 issuer), unless the Board determines to extend the term of the Option for a period of not more than one year;
(d) the minimum exercise price of an option granted under the 2006 Plan must not be less than the Discounted Market Price (as defined in the policies of the TSXV);
(e) no Optionee can be granted an option or options to purchase more than 5% of the outstanding listed shares of our Company in any one year period; and
(f) as indicated above, outstanding stock options granted under the 2004 Plan are now deemed to have been granted under the 2006 Plan and will be subject to the terms and conditions of the 2006 Plan, as amended.
Restricted Share Unit Plan
At our Company's Annual General Meeting held on March 10, 2010, the Shareholders approved a Restricted Share Unit Plan, with the purpose of the plan to attract and retain highly qualified officers, directors, key employees and consultants, to motivate such officers, directors, key employees and consultants to serve the Company and to encourage the continued employment and service of, and maximum efforts by, officers, key employees and directors of the Company by offering those persons an opportunity to acquire or increase a direct proprietary interest in the operations and future success of the Company.
A restricted share unit (RSU) is a right granted to a unit holder to receive on common share of the Company. The RSU's vest over a three (3) year period from the award grant date (1/3 upon the first anniversary of the grant, 1/3 upon the second anniversary of grant and 1/3 upon the third anniversary of grant). In addition, the RSU's awarded to executive officers will be subject to performance requirements. The RSU will be terminated to the extent the performance objectives are not met.
ITEM 7. MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
A.Major Shareholders
To the knowledge of our directors and senior officers, as of February 28, 2011, no person or corporation beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, or exercises control or direction over 5% or more of our outstanding common shares, except as noted below. Our directors and officers, as a group, control us by reason of their positions with us and their ownership of common shares and common share options. As a group, they beneficially own, directly or indirectly, 4,510,757 common shares, representing about 13% of our presently issued and outstanding common shares (including an aggregate of 55,554 common shares that are reserved for issuance pursuant to stock options that are all exercisable within sixty days).
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Pursuant to the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, where an issuance of securities may result in the creation of a new control person of an issuer (which is a person holding greater than 20% of the outstanding securities of an issuer is deemed to be), the issuance must be approved by the disinterested shareholders of the company. To the knowledge of our directors and senior officers, as of December 31, 2010 no person or corporation owned or had the intent of acquiring 20%or greater of our securities.
Peter Fitzgerald is our Chairman and is a significant shareholder and investor in us. Currently, Mr. Fitzgerald owns 1,770,673 of our common shares or 5% of our outstanding common shares. Mr. Fitzgerald also holds 2,778 common share options that are all exercisable within sixty days and if he were to exercise all of these options and assuming no other common shares of us are issued prior to such exercise, Mr. Fitzgerald could own 1,773,451 of our common shares, representing 5% of our then outstanding securities, as of February 28, 2011.
As of February 28, 2011, our shareholders' register listed approximately 71 registered shareholders holding an aggregate of 34,007,083 common shares. A total of 29 of these registered shareholders were shown to be residents of Canada, owning 25,720,973 shares representing 75.6% of our issued and outstanding common shares. A total of 26 of these registered shareholders were shown to be residents of the United States, owning 7,491,530 shares representing 22.03% of our issued and outstanding common shares.
B.Related Party Transactions
During the year ended September 30, 2008, the Company advanced loans to officers of the Company in the amount of $68,000 with interest payable at a rate of 7% per annum. Included in accounts receivable at September 30, 2009 was $19,320, comprising an amount of $17,000 representing a portion of the principal which remains outstanding and $2,320 representing interest accrued on that principal. During the year ended September 30, 2010, the Company received full payment of the principal and accrued interest owing from the loan in the amount of $19,792. Interest income of $472 (2009 - $1,306) was earned on these loan balances during the year ended September 30, 2010.
During the year-ended September 30, 2008, the Company was provided with an unsecured loan from a Director and Officer totalling L 500,000. The loan, which was denominated in Sterling bore interest at a rate equal to the Bank of England base rate, plus 3.75% and fell due for repayment no later than May 31, 2010. In October, 2009 the Company repaid the principal and all accrued interest of this loan, totalling $937,548.
During the year ended September 30, 2010, the Company incurred legal fees of $83,203 (2009 - $130,287) for services provided by a law firm of which a director of the Company is a partner. Accounts payable and accrued liabilities at September 30, 2010 included $4,968 (2008 - $23,217) related to these services.
During the year ended September 30, 2010, the Company incurred consulting fees for services performed by two directors of the Company totalling $6,608 (2009: $122,059). At September 30, 2010, no amounts were due to directors in relation to consulting services performed (2009: $38,288).
During the year ended September 30, 2010, the Company incurred consulting fees of $18,432 (2009: $nil) for services provided by a company of which a Director and Officer of the Company controls. Accounts payable and accrued liabilities at September 30, 2010 included $4,993 (2009: $nil) related to these services.
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During the year ended September 30, 2010, the Company incurred expenses in relation to setting up e-mail marketing campaigns on behalf of a number of our retail customers of $41,740 (2009: $52,398) and website services of $6,920 with a company of which a director of the Company is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Accounts payable and accrued liabilities at September 30, 2010 included $7,128 (2009: $18,262) related to these services. The amounts charged were recorded at their exchange amount, which is the amount of consideration established and agreed to by the related parties and having normal trade terms.
The Company shares its UK premises with another company of which an Officer is a majority shareholder. During the year ended September 30, 2010, the Company was recharged its proportional share of office running costs totalling $192,395 (2009: $128,819) by this related party. In addition, during the year ended September 30, 2010, the Company used the software development services of this company, incurring costs of $95,398 (2009: $20,660) and carried out professional development work totalling $nil (2009: $18,255) on behalf of this company. At September 30, 2010, accounts payable included $25,118 (2009: $119,076) and accounts receivable $nil (2009: $19,887) due to and from this company respectively.
During the year ended September 30, 2010, the Company utilized the services of an Officers' family member on a contract basis, incurring fees of $28,326 (2009: $22,404). At September 30, 2010, $nil (2009: $3,656) was included in accounts payable related to these fees.
All transactions entered into with Management as disclosed in this section were based on terms and conditions that are similar to those of transactions with disinterested third parties.
C.Interests of Experts and Counsel
Not Applicable.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
A.Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information
Please see the Consolidated Financial Statements listed in Item 18 hereof and included at the end of this annual report.
Legal Proceedings.
As of the date of this Annual Report, in the opinion of our management, we are not currently a party to any litigation or legal proceedings which are material, either individually or in the aggregate, and, to our knowledge, no legal proceedings of a material nature involving us currently are contemplated by any individuals, entities or governmental authorities. We may become involved in claims litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. In the opinion of management, the outcome of such claims litigation, if decided adversely, could have an effect on the operating results or cash flows when resolved in a future period. However, in the opinion of management, these matters would not materially affect our consolidated financial position.
During the year ended September 30, 2010, the Company received notice from a former customer that a possible patent infringement had been brought to their attention regarding software which in previous years had been sold by one of our subsidiaries and which is unrelated to the PNI Platform and to the Company's kiosk software. To date, the Company has only been provided with limited information regarding this potential infringement and as a result is still investigating the matter in order to determine its potential impact. No adjustment has been made in our September 30, 2010 financial statements as a result of this matter.
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B.Significant Changes
Since the date of the audited consolidated financial statements, there have been no significant changes other than as detailed, if applicable, in Liquidity and Capital Resources in Item 5.B and in Business Overview in Item 4.B.
ITEM 9. THE OFFER AND LISTING
Not applicable except for Item 9A(4) and Item 9C.
A. (4).Price History
Market and Trading Prices
Our common shares are listed and posted for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange, commonly called the TSX-V, under the trading symbol "PN". Our shares were first listing for trading on the Montreal Exchange ("ME"), in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, which merged with the Canadian Venture Exchange ("CDNX") in September 2001 and effective October 1, 2001 we began trading on the CDNX. Subsequently the CDNX was acquired by the TSX in 2002 and on April 1, 2002 we were listed for trading on the TSX-V. The following table sets forth the reported high and low sale prices of our common shares as reported by the TSX-V for the periods indicated.
| | Sales Prices (CAN$) |
| | High | Low |
Common Shares | | | |
Annual Data | 2010 | 1.95 | 1.30 |
| 2009 | 2.29 | 1.00 |
| 2008 | 4.50 | 1.90 |
| 2007 | 5.77 | 2.31 |
| 2006 | 3.75 | 0.95 |
| 2005 | 1.90 | 0.70 |
| | | |
Quarterly data | 2010 | | |
| September 30, 2010 | 1.61 | 1.30 |
| June 30, 2010 | 1.82 | 1.52 |
| March 31, 2010 | 1.81 | 1.56 |
| December 31 2009 | 1.95 | 1.6 |
| | | |
| 2009 | | |
| September 30, 2009 | 2.02 | 1.40 |
| June 30, 2009 | 1.82 | 1.45 |
| March 31, 2009 | 2.00 | 1.44 |
| December 31 2008 | 2.29 | 1.00 |
| | | |
Monthly data | February 2011 | 1.65 | 1.40 |
| January 2011 | 1.60 | 1.49 |
| December 2010 | 1.76 | 1.56 |
| November 2010 | 1.80 | 1.53 |
| October 2010 | 1.62 | 1.50 |
| September 2010 | 1.61 | 1.30 |
| | | |
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Our common shares are also listed on the OTC Bulletin Board in the United States under the trading symbol PNDMF, however, we do not presently have an active market maker in the United States. The following table sets forth the high and low sales prices for the common shares on the OTC BB the periods indicated.
| | Sales Prices (US$) |
| | High | Low |
Common Shares | | | |
Annual Data | 2010 | 1.87 | 1.28 |
| 2009 | 2.05 | 0.89 |
| 2008 | 4.65 | 1.84 |
| 2007 | 4.88 | 2.52 |
| 2006 | 3.29 | 0.63 |
| 2005 | 1.70 | 0.50 |
| | | |
Quarterly Data | 2010 | | |
| September 30 2010 | 1.57 | 1.28 |
| June 30 2010 | 1.83 | 1.45 |
| March 31 2010 | 1.70 | 1.55 |
| December 31, 2009 | 1.87 | 1.52 |
| | | |
| 2009 | | |
| September 30 2009 | 1.86 | 1.23 |
| June 30 2009 | 1.59 | 1.24 |
| March 31 2009 | 1.60 | 1.14 |
| December 31, 2008 | 2.05 | 0.89 |
| | | |
Monthly data | February 2011 | 1.66 | 1.45 |
| January 2011 | 1.61 | 1.53 |
| December 2010 | 1.77 | 1.60 |
| November 2010 | 1.75 | 1.52 |
| October 2010 | 1.60 | 1.50 |
| September 2010 | 1.57 | 1.28 |
| | | |
Our common share register indicates that 26 of our registered shareholders are residents of the United States, owning 7,491,530 shares representing 22.03% of our issued and outstanding common shares. We have no information and express no opinion regarding the identities, addresses or holdings of the beneficial owners of these securities.
B.Plan of Distribution
Not Applicable.
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C.Markets
See Item 9.A(4) above.
D.Selling Shareholders
Not Applicable.
E.Dilution
Not Applicable.
F.Expenses of the Issue
Not Applicable.
ITEM 10. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
A.Share Capital
Not Applicable.
B.Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our charter documents consist of our Notice of Articles and our Articles. Our corporation number, as assigned by the British Columbia Ministry of Consumer and Commercial relations, is 509287.
In March 2004, theCompany Act (British Columbia) (the "BCCA") was replaced by theBusiness Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the "BCA"). All companies incorporated under the BCCA were required complete a transition application under the BCA by March 29, 2006. We have been successfully transitioned under the BCA. We filed a Notice of Articles in June 2005. At our annual general meeting held on March 24, 2005, our shareholders adopted a new set of Articles which is intended to take advantage of the increased flexibility afforded by the BCA with respect to certain provisions of our Charter Documents. Details of our Notice of Articles and Articles were disclosed in our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A copy of our Articles was filed as an exhibit to our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005. There have been no changes to the Notice of Articles or Articles since that time.
C.Material Contracts
The following summary of our material agreements, which agreements are filed as exhibits to this annual report or have been previously filed with the SEC, does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, all the provisions of those agreements. There are no material contracts, other than those contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business, currently in place or to which we or any member of our group is a party, from the two years immediately preceding the publication of this annual report, except as follows:
1. The Toronto Co-Located Hosting Agreement with TELUS Communications Inc., dated November 19, 2007. This agreement is for a 60 month period commencing January 15, 2008.
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2. The Vancouver Co-Located Hosting Agreement with TELUS Communications Inc., dated November 20, 2007. This agreement is for a 34 month period commencing December 1, 2007.
3. The Services Agreement between Pixology and ASDA Stores Limited is dated 28 September 2005 and continues in full force and effect until terminated by either party giving no less than three calendar month's notice in writing to the other, such notice to expire at any time on or after the first anniversary of the commencement date.
4. The Services Agreement with Sam's West Inc., dated January 23, 2008. This Agreement is for a period of two years, expiring January 23, 2010 (the "Term") and automatically renews for one year periods unless written notice is provided by one party to the other prior to the end of the Term or the then current renewal term.
5. The Amended and Restated Services Agreement with Wal-Mart Canada Corp., dated January 31, 2008. This Agreement is for a period of two years, expiring January 31, 2010 (the "Term") and automatically renews for one year periods unless written notice is provided by one party to the other not less than thirty (30) days prior to the end of the Term or the then current renewal term.
6. The Internet Photo Services Agreement with Costco Wholesale Corporation, dated April 29, 2008. This Agreement is for a period of three years, expiring April 29, 2011 (the "Term") and may be extended by Costco for one year periods unless written notice is provided by Costco to at least ninety (90) days prior to the end of the Term or the then current renewal term.
7. The Master Equipment Lease Agreement with Relational Funding Canada Corp., dated March 10, 2008. This Agreement is for a period of three years.
8. The lease renewal and modification agreement for our executive offices located at Suites 580 & 590, 425 Carrall Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, dated June 11, 2009 and covers 6,602 square feet. The amendment comprises an extension to the original lease for the period August 1, 2009 to July 31, 2014. We lease the premises from a third party corporation. The monthly base rent is approximately $6,877.08.
9. The lease agreement for our support offices located at Suite 100, 425 Carrall Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada dated July 26, 2010. The lease comprises 4,705 square feet in an office building owned by a third party corporation. The lease term is from September 1, 2010 to July 31, 2014. The monthly base rent is approximately $5,195.10
10. The Share Purchase Agreement amongst PhotoChannel Networks Inc., as Purchaser and Vendors in relation to the sale and purchase of the whole of the issued share capital of WorksMedia Limited, dated February 25, 2009.
D.Exchange Controls
We incorporated pursuant to the laws of the Province of British Columbia, Canada. There is no law or governmental decree or regulation in Canada that restricts the export or import of capital, or affects the remittance of dividends, interest or other payments to a non-resident holder of Common Shares, other than withholding tax requirements. Any such remittances to United States residents are generally subject to withholding tax, however no such remittances are likely in the foreseeable future. See "Taxation", below.
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There is no limitation imposed by the laws of Canada or by our charter on the right of a non-resident to hold or vote our shares, other than as provided in theInvestment Canada Act (Canada) (the "Investment Act"). The following discussion summarizes the material features of the Investment Act for a non-resident who proposes to acquire a controlling number of Great our common shares. It is general only, it is not a substitute for independent advice from an investor's own advisor, and it does not anticipate statutory or regulatory amendments. We do not believe the Investment Act will have any affect on us or on our non-Canadian shareholders due to a number of factors including the nature of our operations and our relatively small size.
The Investment Act generally prohibits implementation of a "reviewable" investment by an individual, government or agency thereof, corporation, partnership, trust or joint venture (each an "entity") that is not a "Canadian" as defined in the Investment Act (i.e. a "non-Canadian"), unless after review the Minister responsible for the Investment Act is satisfied that the investment is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. An investment in our common shares by a non-Canadian (other than a "WTO Investor" as that term is defined in the Investment Act and which term includes entities which are nationals of or are controlled by nationals of member states of the World Trade Organization) when we were not controlled by a WTO Investor, would be reviewable under the Investment Act if it was an investment to acquire control of the Company and the value of our assets, as determined in accordance with the regulations promulgated under the Investment Act, was over $5 million, or if an order for review was made by the federal cabinet on the grounds that the investment related to Canada's cultural heritage or national identity, regardless of the value of our assets. An investment in our common shares by a WTO Investor, or by a non-Canadian when the Company was controlled by a WTO Investor, would be reviewable under the Investment Act if it was an investment to acquire control of the Company and the value of our assets, as determined in accordance with the regulations promulgated under the Investment Act, was not less than a specified amount, which for 2005 exceeds $265 million. A non-Canadian would acquire control of the Company for the purposes of the Investment Act if the non-Canadian acquired a majority of the common shares. The acquisition of less than a majority but one-thirds or more of the common shares would be presumed to be an acquisition of control unless it could be established that, on the acquisition, we were not controlled in fact by the acquiror through the ownership of the common shares.
Certain transactions relating to the common shares would be exempt from the Investment Act, including
(a) an acquisition of the common shares by a person in the ordinary course of that person's business as a trader or dealer in securities,
(b) an acquisition of control in connection with the realization of security granted for a loan or other financial assistance and not for a purpose related to the provisions of the Investment Act, and
(c) an acquisition of control by reason of an amalgamation, merger, consolidation or corporate reorganization following which the ultimate direct or indirect control in fact of the Company, through the ownership of the common shares, remained unchanged.
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E.Taxation
The following summary is not exhaustive, but is materially complete.
A brief description of certain provisions of the tax treaty between Canada and the United States is included below, together with a brief outline of certain taxes, including withholding tax provisions, to which United States security holders are subject under existing laws and regulations of Canada. The consequences, if any, of provincial, state and local taxes are not considered.
The following information is general and security holders are advised to seek the advice of their own tax advisors, tax counsel or accountants with respect to the applicability or effect on their own individual circumstances of the matters referred to herein and of any provincial, state, or local taxes.
Certain Canadian Federal Income Tax Consequences
The discussion under this heading summarizes the principal Canadian federal income tax consequences of acquiring, holding and disposing of shares of our common stock for any of our shareholders who is not a resident of Canada but is a resident of the United States and who will acquire and hold shares of our common stock as capital property for the purposes of theIncome Tax Act (Canada) (the "Canadian Tax Act"). This summary does not apply to a shareholder who carries on business in Canada through a "permanent establishment" situated in Canada or performs independent personal services in Canada through a fixed base in Canada if the shareholder's holding in our stock is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. This summary is based upon the provisions of the Canadian Tax Act including the regulations thereunder (the "Regulations") in force as of the date hereof and Counsels' understanding of the current published administrative and assessing practices and policies of the Canada Revenue Agency (the "CRA"). Except for specifically proposed amendments (the "Proposed Amendments") to the Tax Act and the Regulations that have been publicly announced by or on behalf of the federal Minister of Finance prior to the date hereof, this summary does not take into account or anticipate changes in the income tax law, whether by legislative, governmental or judicial action, nor any changes in the administrative practices and policies of the CRA. There can be no assurance that the Proposed Amendments will be enacted in their present form, or at all. This summary is not exhaustive of all Canadian federal income tax considerations nor does it take into account any provincial, territorial or foreign tax considerations arising from the acquisition, ownership or disposition of the Securities. This discussion is general only and is not a substitute for independent advice from a shareholder's own Canadian and U.S. tax advisors.
The provisions of the Canadian Tax Act are subject to income tax treaties to which Canada is a party, including the Canada-United States Income Tax Convention (1980), as amended (the "Convention").
Dividends on Common Shares and Other Income
Under the Canadian Tax Act, a non-resident of Canada is generally subject to Canadian withholding tax at the rate of 25 percent on dividends paid or deemed to have been paid to him or her by a corporation resident in Canada. The Convention limits the rate to 15 percent if the shareholder is a resident of the United States and the dividends are beneficially owned by and paid to such shareholder, and to 5 percent if the shareholder is also a corporation that beneficially owns at least 10 percent of the voting stock of the payor corporation.
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The amount of a stock dividend (for tax purposes) would generally be equal to the amount by which our paid up or stated capital had increased by reason of the payment of such dividend. We will furnish additional tax information to shareholders in the event of such a dividend. Interest paid or deemed to be paid on the Corporation's debt securities held by non-Canadian residents may also be subject to Canadian withholding tax, depending upon the terms and provisions of such securities and any applicable tax treaty.
The Convention generally exempts from Canadian income tax dividends paid to a religious, scientific, literary, educational or charitable organization or to an organization constituted and operated exclusively to administer or provide a pension, retirement or employee benefit fund or plan, if it is a resident of the United States and is exempt from income tax under the laws of the United States.
Dispositions of Common Shares
Under the Canadian Tax Act, a taxpayer's capital gain or capital loss from a disposition of a share of our common stock is the amount, if any, by which his or her proceeds of disposition exceed (or are exceeded by, respectively) the aggregate of his or her adjusted cost base of the share and reasonable expenses of disposition. The capital gain or loss must be computed in Canadian currency using a weighted average adjusted cost base for identical properties. The capital gains net of losses realized and included in income are at 50%. There are special transitional rules to apply capital losses against capital gains that arose in different periods. The amount by which a shareholder's capital loss exceeds the capital gain in a year may be deducted from a capital gain realized by the shareholder in the three previous years or any subsequent year, subject to certain restrictions in the case of a corporate shareholder.
Under the Canadian Tax Act, a non-resident of Canada is subject to Canadian tax on taxable capital gains, and may deduct allowable capital losses, realized on a disposition of "taxable Canadian property." Shares of our common stock will constitute taxable Canadian property of a shareholder at a particular time if the shareholder used the shares in carrying on business in Canada, or if at any time in the five years immediately preceding the disposition 25% or more of the issued shares of any class or series in our capital stock belonged to one or more persons in a group comprising the shareholder and persons with whom the shareholder did not deal at arm's length and in certain other circumstances.
The Convention relieves United States residents from liability for Canadian tax on capital gains derived on a disposition of shares unless:
(a) the value of the shares is derived principally from "real property" in Canada, including the right to explore for or exploit natural resources and rights to amounts computed by reference to production,
(b) the shareholder was resident in Canada for 120 months during any period of 20 consecutive years preceding the disposition, or was a resident in Canada at any time during the 10 years immediately preceding, and the shares were owned by the shareholder when they ceased to be resident in Canada, or
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(c) the shares formed part of the business property of a "permanent establishment" that the holder has or had in Canada within the 12 months preceding the disposition.
F.Dividends and Paying Agents
Not Applicable.
G.Statements by Experts
Not Applicable.
H.Documents on Display
The documents concerning us which are referred to in this annual report may be inspected at our offices located at 590 - 425 Carrall Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 6E3.
We are required to file reports and other information with the securities commission in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. Readers are invited to read and copy any reports, statements or other information, other than confidential filings, that we file with the provincial securities commission. These filings are also electronically available for the Canadian System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) (www.sedar.com), the Canadian equivalent of the SEC's electronic document gathering and retrieval system (EDGAR).
I.Subsidiary Information
For information about our subsidiaries, please see "Item 4. Information On The Company; Organizational Structure."
ITEM 11. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
We are exposed to a number of risks related to changes in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates, collection of accounts receivable, settlement of liabilities and management of cash and cash equivalents. We manage these risks through internal risk management policies.
Many of our strategies are based on historical trading patterns and correlations and our management's expectations of future events. However, these strategies may not be fully effective in all market environments or against all types of risks. Unexpected market developments may affect our risk management strategies during this time, and unanticipated developments could impact our risk management strategies in the future. If any of the variety of instruments and strategies we utilize are not effective, we may incur losses.
Credit risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash and cash equivalents and accounts receivable. The Company aims to protect its cash and cash equivalents from undue risk by holding them with various high credit quality financial institutions located in Canada and the United Kingdom which generally have an investment grade rating of a minimum of A- and does not invest any significant deposits in any financial institutions with a rating below that investment grade. In circumstances in which a bank in which the Company holds a deposit has any significant decline in its credit rating, the Company carefully monitors the extent of any credit risk net of government deposit guarantees and, where appropriate, would take remedial action to minimise the risk of any potential credit loss. Of the amounts held with financial institutions on deposit, $181,365 is covered by either the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the United Kingdom or the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation, leaving $4,508,990 at risk should the financial institutions with which the deposits are held cease trading.
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The Company's accounts receivable are all from large, well-known retailers located primarily in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Credit risk from accounts receivable encompasses the default risk of retail customers. The Company manages its exposure to credit risk by only working with larger, reputable companies and prior to accepting new customers; the Company assesses the risk of default associated with a particular company. In addition, on an ongoing basis, management monitor the level of accounts receivable attributable to each customer and the length of time taken for amounts to be settled and where necessary, takes appropriate action to follow up on those balances considered overdue.
Management does not believe that there is significant credit risk arising from any of the Company's customers; however, should one of the Company's main customers be unable to settle amounts due, the impact on the Company could be significant. The maximum exposure to loss arising from accounts receivable is equal to their total carrying amounts. At September 30, 2010, three customers each account for 10% or more of total trade accounts receivable (2009 - four customers).
Financial assets past due
At September 30, 2010, the Company has a provision of $176,531 against trade accounts receivable, the collection of which is considered doubtful.
The following table provides information regarding the ageing of financial assets that are past due but which are not impaired.
At September 30, 2010
| | Financial assets that are past due but not impaired | |
| Neither past due nor impaired | 31 - 60 days | 61 - 90 days | 91 days + | Carrying value on the balance sheet $ |
| | | | | |
Trade accounts receivable | 3,520,349 | 136,997 | 982,557 | 609,371 | 5,249,274 |
| | | | | |
The definition of items that are past due is determined by reference to terms agreed with individual customers. Of the 91 days+ balance outstanding at September 30, 2010, 65% has been subsequently collected as at March 14, 2011. None of the amounts outstanding have been challenged by the respective customer(s) and the Company continues to conduct business with them on an ongoing basis. Accordingly, management has no reason to believe that this balance is not fully collectable in the future.
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The Company reviews financial assets past due on an ongoing basis with the objective of identifying potential matters which could delay the collection of funds at an early stage. Once items are identified as being past due, contact is made with the respective company to determine the reason for the delay in payment and to establish an agreement to rectify the breach of contractual terms. At September 30, 2010, the Company had a provision for doubtful accounts of $176,531 which was made against trade accounts receivable in excess of twelve months old or where collection efforts to date have been unsuccessful. All amounts neither past due nor impaired are collectible from large, well-known retailers located in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. The Company is not aware of any information suggesting that the collectability of these amounts is in doubt.
Market risk
Market risk is the risk to the Company that the fair value or future cash flows of financial instruments will fluctuate due to changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates. Market risk arises as a result of the Company generating revenues and incurring expenses in foreign currencies, holding cash and cash equivalents which earn interest and having operations based in the United Kingdom in the form of its wholly owned subsidiaries.
Interest rate risk
The only financial instruments that expose the Company to interest rate risk are its cash and cash equivalents. The Company's objectives of managing its cash and cash equivalents are to ensure sufficient funds are maintained on hand at all times to meet day-to-day requirements and to place any amounts which are considered in excess of day-to-day requirements on short-term deposit with the Company's banks so that they earn interest. When placing amounts of cash and cash equivalents on short-term deposit, the Company only uses high quality commercial banks and ensures that access to the amounts placed can be obtained on short-notice. As at September 30, 2010 the weighted average interest rate of all cash equivalent investments was nil (2009: nil).
Currency risk
The Company generates revenues and incurs expenses and expenditures primarily in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom and is exposed to risk from changes in foreign currency rates. In addition, the Company holds financial assets and liabilities in foreign currencies that expose the Company to foreign exchange risks. The Company does not utilise any financial instruments or cash management policies to mitigate the risks arising from changes in foreign currency rates.
At September 30, 2010, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $2,750,575, accounts receivable of $1,989,819 and accounts payable of $3,367,819 which were denominated in UK L . In addition, at September 30, 2010, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $1,867,911, accounts receivable of $2,167,447 and accounts payable of $428,653 which were denominated in US$.
Sensitivity analysis
The Company has completed a sensitivity analysis to estimate the impact on net loss for the period which a change in foreign exchange rates or interest rates during the year ended September 30, 2010 would have had.
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This sensitivity analysis includes the following assumptions:
- Changes in individual foreign exchange rates do not cause foreign exchange rates in other countries to alter
- Changes in market interest rates do not cause a change in foreign exchange rates
The results of the foreign exchange rate sensitivity analysis can be seen in the following table:
| Impact on net loss
$ |
| |
Change of +/- 10% in US$ foreign exchange rate | +/- 360,670 |
Change of +/- 10% in UK L foreign exchange rate | +/- 577,944 |
The above results arise primarily as a result of the Company having US$ and UK L denominated trade accounts receivable balances, trade accounts payable balances and bank account balances.
Limitations of sensitivity analysis
The above table demonstrates the effect of either a change in foreign exchange rates or interest rates in isolation. In reality, there is a correlation between the two factors.
Additionally, the financial position of the Company may vary at the time that a change in either of these factors occurs, causing the impact on the Company's results to differ from that shown above.
ITEM 12. DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER THAN EQUITY SECURITIES
Not Applicable.
PART II
ITEM 13. DEFAULTS, DIVIDEND ARREARAGES AND DELINQUENCIES
There have not been any defaults with respect to dividends, arrearages or delinquencies since September 30, 2009.
ITEM 14. MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS AND USE OF PROCEEDS
There have been no material modifications to the rights of our security holders or use of proceeds since September 30, 2009.
ITEM 15. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Disclosure Controls And Procedures
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Disclosure controls and proceduresare controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed bythe Company inthereportsthatwe fileor submit under theSecurities 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. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that we file or submit under theSecurities Exchange Act of 1934 is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
As required by Rule 13a-15 under theSecurities Exchange Act of 1934, we have carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Company's disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this annual report, being September 30, 2010. This evaluation was carried out by the Company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Based upon that evaluation, the Company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the Company's disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of September 30, 2010.
Management's Annual Report On Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer and effected by the Board of Directors, management and other personnel to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. It includes those policies and procedures that:
- Pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company;
- Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are made only in accordance with authorizations of management and the directors of the Company; and
- Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the Company's assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Management has assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as at September 30, 2010 using criteria established inInternal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on our evaluation, management has concluded that the Company maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as at September 30, 2010.
This annual report does not include an attestation report of the Company's registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management's report was not subject to attestation by the Company's registered public accounting firm pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act") being signed into law in the United States. Section 989G of the Dodd-Frank Act permanently exempts non-accelerated filers from filing auditor attestation reports over the effectiveness of the Company's internal controls in accordance with Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002. For the year ended September 30, 2010, the Company continues to meet the definition of a non-accelerated filer.
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Changes In Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during the Company's year ending September 30, 2010 that has materially affected or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Limitations Of Controls And Procedures
The Company's management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, believe that any disclosure controls and procedures or internal controls over financial reporting, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, they cannot provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the Company have been prevented or detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgements in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of a simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by unauthorized override of the control. The design of any systems of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Accordingly, because of the inherent limitations in a cost effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
ITEM 16. [RESERVED]
ITEM 16A. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT
The members of the audit committee are Robert Chisholm (Chairman), Peter Scarth, Peter Fitzgerald and Thomas Nielsen.
Our Board of Directors has determined that Robert Chisholm and Peter Fitzgerald each qualify as a "financial expert", however, neither is independent according to the standards for audit committee member independence prescribed by the American Stock Exchange.
Two members of the audit committee are independent (being Peter Scarth and Thomas Nielson) and all audit committee members are financially literate.
A member of the audit committee is consideredfinancially literate if he or she has the ability to read and understand a set of financial statements that present a breadth and level of complexity of accounting issues that are generally comparable to the breadth and complexity of the issues that can reasonably be expected to be raised by the Company.
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Relevant Education and Experience
Peter Fitzgerald obtained his M.S.C. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MASS., USA in 1989; a PMD from the Harvard Business School in 1983; and an FCCA from the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants in 1973. In his previous employment, Mr. Fitzgerald was CEO of Gretag Imaging and prior to this CEO of Qualex, the Eastman Kodak proto-processing subsidiary.
Peter Scarth obtained his Professional Engineering designation, in Chemical Engineering in 1969 from Queens University. Mr Scarth is a retired businessman, but in his previous employment he was President & CEO of the Company from March 2001 to October 2004 and was Vice President and Business Manager, Consumer Imaging and Vice President of the Motion Picture division within Kodak Canada.
Thomas Neilsen obtained his Bachelor of Computer Science in 1990 from the Tietgenskolen, EDB-skolen, Denmark. Mr. Neilsen is currently the Director of Engineering for Adobe Systems Incorporated Creative Professional Business Unit. Prior to Adobe, Mr. Neilsen led the Windows Printing and Imaging and Windows Digital Document teams at Microsoft.
Robert Chisholm received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Saint Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia in 1984 and holds a professional accounting designation from the Certified Management Accountants of Canada. Mr. Chisholm was the former Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") of the Company from 2001 to 2009 and currently acts as the CFO for a number of public and private companies.
All of the above have had extensive experience reviewing financial statements.
ITEM 16B. CODE OF ETHICS
Our policy is to conduct our business in accordance with the highest ethical and legal standards. To assist us in achieving this policy, the Board of Directors has adopted a Code of Ethics and Trading Restrictions Policy on December 11, 2006. The Code is designed to deter wrongdoing and 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 in reports and documents that we submit to regulatory authorities and communicate to the public;
(3) Compliance with applicable governmental laws and regulations;
(4) Prompt internal reporting of violations of the Code to appropriate persons identified in the Code; and
(5) Accountability for adherence to the Code.
The Code applies to all of our employees, officers, and directors, including those of our subsidiaries. Depending on the circumstances, it may also apply to agents and other representatives of us.
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The Company undertakes to provide to any person without charge, upon request, a copy of our Code. Such requests can be made to the Company in writing (our principal executive office is located at 590-425 Carrall Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6B 6E3) or by telephone (our telephone number is 604-893-8955).
ITEM 16C. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
A. Audit Fees
The aggregate fees billed by our auditors were CDN $275,000 and CDN$374,000 for the fiscal years ended 2010 and 2009, respectively.
B. Audit-Related Fees
The aggregate fees billed by our auditors for audit-related fees were CDN$nil and CDN$22,000 for the fiscal years ended 2010 and 2009, respectively and related to review engagements carried out with regards to certain of our quarterly financial statements.
C. Tax Fees
The aggregate fees billed by our auditors for tax fees were CDN$nil and CDN$9,000 for the fiscal years ended 2008 and 2007, respectively.
D. All Other Fees
The aggregate fees billed by our auditors for other services were CDN$59,000 and CDN$nil for the fiscal years ended 2010 and 2009, respectively.
Pre-Approval of Services by the Independent Auditor
The Audit Committee is responsible for the pre-approval of audit and permitted non-audit services to be performed by the Company's independent auditor. The Audit Committee will, on an annual basis, consider and, if appropriate, approve the provision of audit and non-audit services by its auditor. Thereafter, the Audit Committee will, as necessary, consider and, if appropriate, approve the provision of additional audit and non-audit services by its auditor which are not encompassed by the Audit Committee's annual pre-approval and are not prohibited by law. The Audit Committee has delegated to the Chair of the Audit Committee the authority to pre-approve, on a case-by-case basis, non-audit services to be performed by the Company's auditors. The Audit Committee has approved all of the audit and permitted non-audit services performed by the Company's auditors in the year ended September 30, 2010.
ITEM 16D. EXEMPTIONS FROM THE LISTING STANDARDS FOR AUDIT COMMITTEES
Not Applicable
ITEM 16E. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS
Not Applicable
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ITEM 16F. CHANGE IN REGISTRANT'S CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT.
Not Applicable
ITEM 16G. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE.
Not Applicable
PART III
ITEM 17. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
We are providing financial statements pursuant to Item 18.
ITEM 18. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Our consolidated financial statements are expressed in Canadian dollars and are prepared in accordance with Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or Canadian GAAP. See Note 16 to the consolidated financial statements for a reconciliation of the measurement differences between Canadian and US GAAP, as they relate to us.
The financial statements and notes thereto as required under Item 18 are attached hereto and are found immediately following the text of this annual report.
ITEM 19. EXHIBITS
The following exhibits are filed as part of this annual report:
Exhibit Number | Description |
1.1 | Articles, as amended (5) |
1.2 | Notice of Articles, dated December 2, 2009 (5) |
1.3 | Notice of Change of Name, dated June 4, 2009 (5) |
4.1 | The Services and Software Agreement with CVS Pharmacy, Inc., dated February 1, 2006.* (2) |
4.2 | The Toronto Co-Located Hosting Agreement with TELUS Communications Inc., dated November 19, 2007. This agreement is for a 60 month period commencing January 15, 2008.*(3) |
4.3 | The Vancouver Co-Located Hosting Agreement with TELUS Communications Inc., dated November 20, 2007. This agreement is for a 34 month period commencing December 1, 2007.*(3) |
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Exhibit Number | Description |
4.4 | The Services Agreement between Pixology and ASDA Stores Limited is dated 28 September 2005 and continues in full force and effect until terminated by either party giving no less than three calendar month's notice in writing to the other, such notice to expire at any time on or after the first anniversary of the commencement date.*(3) |
4.5 | The Services Agreement with Sam's West Inc., dated January 23, 2008.*(4) |
4.6 | The Amended and Restated Services Agreement with Wal-Mart Canada Corp., dated January 31, 2008.*(4) |
4.7 | The Internet Photo Services Agreement with Costco Wholesale Corporation, dated April 29, 2008.*(4) |
4.8 | The Master Equipment Lease Agreement with Relational Funding Canada Corp., dated March 10, 2008.*(4) |
4.9 | The lease renewal and modification agreement for our executive offices in Canada with The Old BC Electric Building Corp., dated June 11, 2009.*(5) |
4.10 | The lease agreement for our support offices in Canada with The Old BC Electric Building Corp., dated July 26, 2010. (1) |
4.11 | The share purchase agreement amongst PhotoChannel Networks Inc., as Purchaser and Vendors in relation to the sale and purchase of the whole of the issued share capital of WorksMedia Limited. *(5) |
12.1 | Section 302(a) Certification of CEO.(1) |
12.2 | Section 302(a) Certification of CFO.(1) |
13.1 | Section 906 Certifications of CEO and CFO.(1) |
_____________________
(1) Filed herewith.
(2) Filed as an exhibit to our Annual Report on Form 20-F for our fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, as filed with the SEC on April 2, 2007.
(3) Filed as an exhibit to our Annual Report on Form 20-F for our fiscal year ended September 30, 2007, as filed with the SEC on April 4, 2008.
(4) Filed as an exhibit to our Annual Report on Form 20-F for our fiscal year ended September 30, 2008,as filed with the SEC on January 20, 2009.
(5) Filed as an exhibit to our Annual Report on Form 20-F for our fiscal year ended September 30, 2009,as filed with the SEC on March 17, 2010.
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SIGNATURES
The registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form 20-F and that it has duly caused and authorized the undersigned to sign this annual report on its behalf.
Date: March 28, 2011
| PNI DIGITAL MEDIA INC. (Registrant)
By: "Thomas Kyle Hall" Thomas Kyle Hall Chief Executive Officer |
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