been decided. If the stay is lifted, and if our motions are ultimately unsuccessful and some portion of WeddingChannel’s patent infringement claims remain, the case may go to trial in the third quarter of 2006. Legal costs related to this litigation were $683,000 in the three months ended March 31, 2005. For the three months ended March 31, 2006, we recorded stock-based compensation expense of approximately $246,000, $200,000 in costs with respect to the development of a formal disaster recovery plan for the Company and additional professional and other legal costs of $138,000. In March 2005, we incurred $95,000 in fees in connection with our re-listing on the Nasdaq National Market. As a percentage of our net revenues, general and administrative expenses decreased to 22% for the three months ended March 31, 2006 from 26% for the three months ended March 31, 2005.
Total stock-based compensation expense related to all of our stock awards was included in various operating expense categories for the three months ended March 31, 2006, as follows:
We did not record any stock-based compensation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2005.
The following table details the effect on net income and earnings per share had stock-based compensation expense been recorded based on the fair value method under SFAS No. 123, as amended, for the three months ended March 31, 2005.
As of March 31, 2006, total unrecognized estimated compensation expense related to nonvested stock options, restricted shares and ESPP rights was $2.7 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.4 years. We currently believe that stock-based compensation expense for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006 will range from $1.6 million to $1.9 million.
Since June 2005, we have awarded shares of restricted stock as our primary form of stock-based compensation. However, we may elect to resume granting stock options in the future.
Depreciation and amortization consists of depreciation and amortization of property and equipment and capitalized software, and amortization of intangible assets related to acquisitions.
Depreciation and amortization increased to $372,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2006, from $281,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2005. The increase was primarily due to an increase in capital expenditures over 2005 and in the three months ended March 31, 2006.
Interest Income
Interest income, net of interest expense, increased to $300,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2006, from $130,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2005, as a result of higher funds available for investment and higher interest rates.
Provision for Taxes on Income
For the three months ended March 31, 2006 and 2005, we incurred income tax expense of $103,000 and $35,000, respectively, primarily due to operating income generated in certain states. We continue to utilize net operating loss carryforwards for federal income tax purposes.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of March 31, 2006, our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments amounted to $31.2 million. We currently invest primarily in short-term debt instruments that are highly liquid, of high-quality investment grade, and have maturities of less than three months, with the intent to make such funds readily available for operating purposes.
Net cash provided by operating activities was $2.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2006. This resulted primarily from the net income for the quarter of $1.7 million, depreciation, amortization, non-cash services expense and stock-based compensation of $849,000, a decrease in accounts receivable, net of deferred revenue, of $1.1 million due to improved collection efforts and further credit card usage by local vendors. These sources of cash were offset, in part, by an increase in inventory of $163,000 in anticipation of higher seasonal sales of wedding supplies in the second and third quarters and an increase in other assets of $892,000. Net cash provided by operating activities was $637,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2005. This resulted from the net income for the period of $409,000, depreciation and amortization of $281,000 and a decrease in accounts receivable, net of deferred revenue, of $632,000 due to improved collection efforts and further credit card usage by local vendors. We also reduced our merchandise inventory balance by $113,000. These sources of cash were offset, in part, by a decrease in accounts payable and accrued expenses of $910,000, primarily related to payments for legal services.
Net cash used in investing activities was $2.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2006 due primarily to purchases of property, equipment and software of $1.1 million and purchases of short-term investments, net of proceeds from sales, of $1.5 million. Net cash used in investing activities was $1.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2005 and consisted primarily of purchases of property, equipment and software of $861,000 and cash paid for the acquisition of the business and assets of GreatBoyfriends LLC of $621,000 offset, in part, by proceeds from the sale of short-term investments, net of purchases, of $300,000. We currently believe that purchases of property and equipment for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006 will increase to between $3.0 million and $3.5 million as a result of the planned acquisition of additional computer hardware and software to establish secondary back-up systems in connection with the development of a formal disaster recovery plan and due to leasehold improvements to be made at our Omaha facility.
Net cash provided by financing activities was $401,000 and $499,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2006 and 2005, respectively, primarily due to proceeds from the issuance of common stock in connection with the exercise of stock options and through our Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
Through March 31, 2006, we have reserved all future tax benefits resulting from tax deductions in excess of recognized stock-based compensation expense and, accordingly, we have not reflected any such benefits in our consolidated statements of cash flows.
We have only achieved operating income in recent periods, and we have an accumulated deficit of $40.5 million as of March 31, 2006. We believe that our current cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund our working capital and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next twelve months. This expectation is primarily based on internal estimates of revenue growth, as well as continuing emphasis on controlling operating expenses. However, there can be no assurance that actual costs will not exceed amounts estimated, that actual revenues will equal or exceed estimated amounts, or that we will sustain profitable operations, due to significant uncertainties surrounding our estimates and expectations.
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Contractual Obligations and Commitments
We do not have any special purposes entities or capital leases, and other than operating leases, which are described below, we do not engage in off-balance sheet financing arrangements.
In the ordinary course of business, we enter into various arrangements with vendors and other business partners principally for magazine production, inventory purchases, host services and bandwidth.
As of March 31, 2006, we had no material commitments for capital expenditures.
As of March 31, 2006, we had commitments under non-cancelable operating leases amounting to approximately $4.6 million.
As of March 31, 2006, other long term liabilities of $494,000 substantially represented accruals to recognize rent expense on a straight-line basis over the respective lives of three of our operating leases under which rental payments increase over the lease periods. These accruals will be reduced as the operating lease payments, summarized in the table of contractual obligations below, are made.
Our contractual obligations as of March 31, 2006 are summarized as follows:
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| | Payments due by Period |
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Contractual Obligations | | Total | | Less than 1 year | | 1-3 years | | 3-5 years | | More than 5 years | |
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| | (in thousands) |
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Long term debt | | $ | 153 | | $ | 47 | | $ | 106 | | $ | — | | $ | — | |
Operating leases | | | 4,622 | | | 953 | | | 1,762 | | | 1,297 | | | 610 | |
Purchase commitments | | | 1,648 | | | 1,080 | | | 568 | | | — | | | — | |
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Total | | $ | 6,423 | | $ | 2,080 | | $ | 2,436 | | $ | 1,297 | | $ | 610 | |
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Seasonality
We believe that the impact of the frequency of weddings from quarter to quarter results in lower merchandise revenues in the first and fourth quarters.
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Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Market risk represents the risk of loss that may impact the financial position, results of operations, or cash flows of the Company due to adverse changes in financial market prices, including interest rate risk, foreign currency exchange rate risk, commodity price risk, and other relevant market rate or price risks.
We are exposed to some market risk through interest rates related to the investment of our current cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of approximately $31.2 million as of March 31, 2006. These funds are generally invested in highly liquid debt instruments. As such instruments mature and the funds are re-invested, we are exposed to changes in market interest rates. This risk is not considered material, and we manage such risk by continuing to evaluate the best investment rates available for short-term, high quality investments.
We have no activities related to derivative financial instruments or derivative commodity instruments, and we are not currently subject to any significant foreign currency exchange risk.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
The Company’s management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures, as that term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), as of March 31, 2006. Based on that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that the Company files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
There were no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended March 31, 2006 identified in connection with the evaluation thereof by the Company’s management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
On September 19, 2003, WeddingChannel.com, Inc. (“WeddingChannel”) filed a complaint against The Knot in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The complaint alleges that The Knot has violated U.S. Patent 6,618,753 (“Systems and Methods for Registering Gift Registries and for Purchasing Gifts”), and further alleges that certain actions of The Knot give rise to various federal statute, state statute and common law causes of actions. WeddingChannel is seeking, among other things, damages and injunctive relief. If The Knot is found to have willfully infringed the patent-in-suit, enhanced damages may be awarded. This complaint was served on the Company on September 22, 2003.
Based on information currently available, The Knot believes that the claims are without merit and is vigorously defending itself against all claims. On October 14, 2003, The Knot filed an answer and counterclaims against WeddingChannel. The Knot’s answer raises various defenses to the counts alleged by WeddingChannel. Additionally, The Knot has brought counterclaims including a request that the court declare that the patent-in-suit is invalid, unenforceable and not infringed. On April 15, 2005, WeddingChannel specified that they were seeking damages in an amount ranging from approximately $1,100,000 to in excess of approximately $13,000,000 plus interest. The Knot raised defenses to WeddingChannel’s patent and other claims, which, if successful, would obviate or substantially limit any potential damages payments. WeddingChannel has also requested unspecified damages in connection with other claims set forth in its complaint.
The Knot has filed a series of summary judgment motions seeking to dismiss entirely and/or limit WeddingChannel’s claims for patent infringement, and WeddingChannel filed certain “cross-motions” for summary judgment concerning certain of The Knot’s defenses. These motions were argued before the Court on September 28 and October 19, 2005, and have not yet been decided. On January 17, 2006, a stay was entered in the litigation
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between The Knot and WeddingChannel for a period of not less than 60 days, upon the request of the parties. If the stay is lifted, and if The Knot’s motions are unsuccessful and some portion of WeddingChannel’s patent infringement claims remain, the case may go to trial in the third quarter of 2006.
There can be no assurance that The Knot’s answer or counterclaims against WeddingChannel will be successful. If The Knot’s answer and its defenses do not succeed or if its counterclaims are found to be without merit, or if The Knot determines to settle this litigation at a later date, The Knot could suffer harm to its business and a material adverse effect to its financial condition and results of operations.
The Knot is engaged in other legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business and believes that the ultimate outcome of these actions will not have a material effect on its results of operations, financial position or cash flows.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Risks that could have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition include without limitation, (i) The Knot’s unproven business model and limited operating history, (ii) The Knot’s history of losses, (iii) the significant fluctuation to which The Knot’s quarterly revenues and operating results are subject, (iv) the risks and related costs associated with ongoing litigation, (v) the seasonality of the wedding industry and (vi) other factors detailed in documents The Knot files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A more detailed description of each of these and other risk factors can be found under the caption “Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed on March 17, 2006.
There have been no material changes to the risk factors described in the Form 10-K.
Item 6. Exhibits
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| 31.1 | Certification of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a), As Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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| 31.2 | Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a), As Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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| 32.1 | Certification of Chairman and Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, As Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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| 32.2 | Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, As Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
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Date: May 11, 2006 | | THE KNOT, INC. |
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| | By: | /s/ Richard Szefc |
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| | | Richard Szefc |
| | | Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer and Duly Authorized Officer) |
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EXHIBIT INDEX
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Number | Description |
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31.1 | Certification of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a), As Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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31.2 | Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a), As Adopted Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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32.1 | Certification of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, As Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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32.2 | Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, As Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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