UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015
or
o TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from to
Commission File Number: 000-50502
ROOT9B TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
(Exact Name of registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
Delaware | 20-0443575 |
(State of other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
4521 Sharon Road
Suite 300
Charlotte, North Carolina 28211
(Address of principal executive offices)
(704) 521-8077
(Registrant’s telephone number)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Each Class | Name of Each Exchange On Which Registered | |
N/A | N/A |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
Common stock, par value $0.001 per share
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
o Yes x No
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act.
o Yes x No
Note – Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act from their obligations under those Sections.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the past 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
x Yes o No
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.
o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “non-accelerated filer”, and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer o Accelerated filer o
Non-accelerated filer o Smaller reporting company x
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
o Yes x No
State issuer’s revenues for its most recent fiscal year (ended December 31, 2015): $29,358,431.
The aggregate market value of voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average bid and asked price of such common equity as of the last day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter was $74,368,345.
The total number of shares of Common Stock of the Registrant outstanding as of the latest practicable date, March 15, 2016 is 83,668,314.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Certain sections of the Company’s definitive proxy statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) within 120 days of the end of the Company’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, are incorporated by reference into Part III hereof. Except for those portions specifically incorporated by reference herein, such document shall not be deemed to be filed with the SEC as part of this annual report on Form 10-K.
FORM 10-K FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I | Page | |
Item 1. | BUSINESS | 1 |
Item 2. | PROPERTIES | 16 |
Item 3. | LEGAL PROCEEDINGS | 16 |
Item 4. | MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES | 16 |
PART II | ||
Item 5. | MARKET FOR COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND REGISTRANT’S ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES | 17 |
Item 6. | SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA | 18 |
Item 7. | MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS | 19 |
Item 8. | FINANCIAL STATEMENTS & SUPPLEMENTARY DATA | 36 |
Item 9. | CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE | 37 |
Item 9A. | CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES | 37 |
Item 9B. | OTHER INFORMATION | 38 |
PART III | ||
Item 10. | DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE | 39 |
Item 11. | EXECUTIVE C0MPENSATION | 39 |
Item 12. | SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS | 39 |
Item 13. | CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE | 39 |
Item 14. | PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES | 39 |
Item 15. | EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SCHEDULES | 40 |
SIGNATURES | 43 | |
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | F-1 | |
EXHIBIT 31.1 | SECTION 302 CEO CERTIFICATION | |
EXHIBIT 31.2 | SECTION 302 CFO CERTIFICATION | |
EXHIBIT 32.1 | SECTION 906 CEO CERTIFICATION | |
EXHIBIT 32.2 | SECTION 906 CFO CERTIFICATION |
DISCLOSURES REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the information incorporated by reference herein, that are not historical in nature, including those concerning the Company’s current expectations about its future requirements and needs, are “forward-looking” statements as defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “provides,” “anticipates,” “assumes,” “can,” “meets,” “could,” “intends,” “might,” “predicts,” “seeks,” “would,” “believes,” “estimates,” “plans” or “continues.” Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable at the time they are made, you are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond our control. Risks and uncertainties could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, forward-looking information and statements provided here or in other disclosures and presentations. Those risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risks discussed or identified below in a section titled "Risk Factors." As we may update those Risk Factors from time to time, please consult our public filings at www.sec.gov or www.root9btechnologies.com. We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements.
In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, references to "we," "our," "us," "the Company," or "root9B" refer to root9B Technologies, Inc. All references to years, unless otherwise noted, refer to our fiscal year, which ends on December 31.
ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
OVERVIEW
We are a provider of cybersecurity, business advisory services principally in regulatory risk mitigation, and energy and controls solutions. We help clients in diverse industries to provide full scale cyber operations and solutions, mitigate risk, comply with complex regulations, improve performance and productivity, and leverage and integrate technology. We work with our customers to assess, design, and provide customized solutions and advisory services that are tailored to address each client’s particular requirements and needs. Our clients range in size from Fortune 100 companies to mid-sized and owner-managed businesses across a broad range of industries including local, state, and federal agencies.
We were incorporated on January 5, 2000 as Continuum Group C Inc. under the laws of the State of Nevada, and did not conduct business as such. On November 5, 2004, we consummated a share exchange agreement dated as of October 12, 2004, among us, Premier Alliance Group, Inc., a North Carolina corporation (‘‘North Carolina Premier’’), and the shareholders of North Carolina Premier. As a result, North Carolina Premier merged into us and our name was changed to Premier Alliance Group, Inc. North Carolina Premier had commenced operations in 1995 and was founded by a group of experienced consultants that specialized in technology and financial services. In November 2004, and as a result of the merger of North Carolina Premier into the Company, it became part of a publicly traded company. In 2011, we re-domiciled under the laws of the state of Delaware. We have grown significantly both organically and through strategic acquisitions of complementary businesses. Significant acquisitions we have completed include root9B, LLC in November 2013 and IPSA International, Inc. in February 2015.
In September 2014, the Company announced a shift in strategy to accelerate the differentiated capabilities of its wholly-owned cybersecurity subsidiary root9B, and to focus primarily on cybersecurity and regulatory risk mitigation. In connection with this strategic shift, the Company changed its name and OTCQB ticker symbol as part of a rebranding effort, to root9B Technologies, Inc. and RTNB.
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Our team is made up of individuals that have deep experience and training as cyber security experts, analysts, technology and engineer specialists, business and project consultants. We have hired our experienced professionals from a wide variety of organizations and key industries, which include cyber security, financial services, utilities, life science, technology, government and healthcare.
OUR SERVICES
We are a provider of cyber security, business advisory services principally in regulatory risk mitigation, and energy and controls solutions. Our services and solutions target mitigating risk, assisting with compliance, and maximizing profits by addressing core areas for businesses, primarily cyber security, regulatory compliance, risk mitigation and energy and controls related initiatives.
During 2015 we provided our services through three operating segments: Cyber Solutions, IPSA/Business Advisory Solutions and Energy and Controls Solutions. For the year ended December 31, 2015, 10% of our revenue was generated from Cyber Solutions, 84% from IPSA/Business Advisory Solutions and 6% from Energy and Controls Solutions.
For further financial information on our segment results, see “Part II—Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and Note 19 “Segment Information” under “Part II—Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”
Cyber Solutions
We are a provider of cyber security and advanced technology training capabilities, operational support and consulting services. From our offices in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Honolulu, Hawaii, New York, NY, and San Antonio, Texas, we provide services to the US Government and commercial organizations in the United States and overseas. Our services range from cyber operations assessments, analysis and testing, to cyber training, forensics, exploitation, and strategic defense planning. Our cybersecurity personnel are recognized providers of cyber services across the defense, civil, intelligence and commercial communities. Our capabilities include but are not limited to:
· Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing | · Network Defense Operations |
· Computer Forensics | · Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering |
· Forensic Data Analysis | · Mobile Forensics |
· Tool Development | · Mobile Cyber Protection |
· SCADA Security Operations | · Wireless Technology Support |
· Compliance Testing | · Data Breach Prevention & Remediation |
· Cyber Policy Assessment & Design | · Curriculum Development |
IPSA/Business Advisory Solutions
IPSA specializes in Anti-Money Laundering (AML) operational, investigative and remedial services, AML risk advisory and consulting services, conducting high-end investigations with expertise in services ranging from complex financial crime and intellectual property issues to conducting anti-bribery investigations or due diligence on a potential partner or customer. Our IPSA/Business Advisory Solutions team focuses on delivering solutions in both regulatory compliance and risk mitigation. The group works to assist our customers with compliance by applying our expertise in various regulations and deploying processes and automation. Similarly, we have deep expertise in risk assessment and work with our customers to develop solutions and structures to evaluate and mitigate risk. A typical customer is an organization that has complex business processes, large amounts of data to manage, and faces change driven by regulatory or market environments, or strategic, growth and profitability initiatives. Key areas of focus continue to be large, mandated regulatory efforts including complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), BASEL ACCORDS (for financial institutions), the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and cybersecurity initiatives, where the team partners with the Cyber Solutions group.
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Energy and Controls Solutions
The Energy and Controls Solutions group works with our customers to assess, design and install processes and automation to address energy regulation, strategy, cost, and usage initiatives. Examples of solutions and areas of expertise include automated control systems and energy management systems. These systems apply technology to respond to events, scenarios or data patterns automatically adjusting for more efficient processes. Our customers include companies in the commercial sector, not for profit entities and local municipalities.
OUR ACQUISITION STRATEGY
We are focused on balanced growth with a priority on driving growth in revenue and profitability in our existing businesses along with the acquisition of complementary businesses. In 2013, we made the acquisition of root9B, LLC which expanded our scope of solutions offerings into the cybersecurity business. We viewed this acquisition as a way to strategically broaden our business capability while also being complementary to our existing businesses, which set up an opportunity for cross-selling and providing our customers key solutions. In February 2015, we acquired IPSA International, which is discussed further below, consolidating Business Advisory Solutions with this segment as of the acquisition date. After our acquisitions of root9B and IPSA, we believe we are positioned in the highest areas of concern and activity for our target customers and will allow for future growth. These segments and our solutions are complementary and give us the opportunity to cross sell across the business lines and provide our customers with core solutions and greater value. We will continue to assess complementary acquisition opportunities.
On February 6, 2015, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with IPSA International, Inc. (“IPSA”). On February 9, 2015, the Company and IPSA consummated and closed the Merger. Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, upon the closing of the Merger, the Corporation issued ten million shares of the Corporation’s common stock to the stockholders of IPSA (the “Stock Consideration”), as well as paid $2,500,000 to such stockholders. Twenty five percent of the Stock Consideration (the “Indemnity Shares”) are subject to a pledge agreement executed by and between the Company and the stockholders of IPSA, whereby such Indemnity Shares shall secure the obligations of IPSA to indemnify the Company pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement. In conjunction with the closing of the Merger, the Corporation entered into a registration rights agreement with the stockholders of IPSA whereby the Corporation agreed to provide piggyback registration rights to the holders of the Stock Consideration. The Company entered into an employment agreement with Dan Wachtler, the CEO of IPSA.
IPSA specializes in Anti-Money Laundering (AML) operational, investigative and remedial services, AML risk advisory and consulting services, conducting high-end investigations with expertise in services ranging from complex financial crime and intellectual property issues to conducting anti-bribery investigations or due diligence on a potential partner or customer. Additionally IPSA provides investigative services related to passport issuances by foreign countries. IPSA has offices in the U.S., Canada, U.K., U.A.E. and Hong Kong, vetted resources in over 75 countries worldwide and a talent base that is focused on assisting clients in making better-informed decisions to protect their investments and assets.
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FINANCINGS
During 2015 the Company closed on five financing transactions. Subsequent to December 31, 2015 the Company closed three financing transactions. The eight transactions are as follows:
1) | On February 9, 2015, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with an accredited investor, an investment advisory client of Wellington Management Company LLP, pursuant to which the Company issued 5,586,450 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $1.10 per share. In addition, the Company issued warrants to purchase up to 5,135,018 shares of the Company’s common stock in the aggregate, at an exercise price of $0.80 per share (the “Warrants”). The Warrants have a term of three years and may be exercised at any time from or after the date of issuance, may be exercised on a cashless basis and contain customary, structural anti-dilution protection (i.e., stock splits, dividends, etc). Upon closing of this equity financing, the Company received proceeds of $6,145,095. |
2) | On February 17, 2015, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with the same accredited investor, pursuant to which the Company issued 1,162,321 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $1.10 per share. In addition, the Company issued warrants to purchase up to 1,068,390 shares of the Corporation’s common stock in the aggregate, at an exercise price of $0.80 per share (the “Warrants”). The Warrants have a term of three years and may be exercised at any time from or after the date of issuance, may be exercised on a cashless basis and contain customary, structural anti-dilution protection (i.e., stock splits, dividends, etc). Upon closing of this equity financing, the Company received proceeds of $1,278,553. |
3) | On March 12, 2015, the Company entered into securities purchase agreements with a group of accredited investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 3,686,818 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $1.10 per share. In addition, the Company issued warrants to purchase up to 1,843,413 shares of the Corporation’s common stock in the aggregate, at an exercise price of $1.50 per share (the “Warrants”). The Warrants have a term of three years and may be exercised at any time from or after the date of issuance and contain customary, structural anti-dilution protection (i.e., stock splits, dividends, etc). Upon closing of this equity financing, the Company received proceeds of $4,055,498. |
The Company incurred fees of $184,697 in connection with these three financing transactions and this amount is not reflected in the proceeds above.
4) | On November 5, 2015, the Company entered into securities purchase agreements with a group of accredited investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 768,864 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $1.10 per share. In addition, the Company agreed to issue warrants to purchase up to 192,216 shares of the Corporation’s common stock in the aggregate, at an exercise price of $1.50 per share. The warrants have a term of five years and may be exercised at any time from or after the date of issuance and contain customary, structural anti-dilution protection (i.e., stock splits, dividends, etc). The warrants qualified for equity accounting. Upon closing of this equity financing, the Company received proceeds of $845,750. |
5) | On December 23, 2015, the Company entered into securities purchase agreements with a group of accredited investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 927,000 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $1.10 per share. In addition, the Company agreed to issue warrants to purchase up to 231,750 shares of the Corporation’s common stock in the aggregate, at an exercise price of $1.50 per share. The warrants have a term of five years and may be exercised at any time from or after the date of issuance and contain customary, structural anti-dilution protection (i.e., stock splits, dividends, etc). The warrants qualified for equity accounting. Upon closing of this equity financing, the Company received proceeds of $1,019,700. |
Legal fees incurred in connection with these financings were deemed immaterial and expensed in the ordinary course of business.
6) | On January 26, 2016, the Company entered into securities purchase agreements with a group of accredited investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 227,273 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $1.10 per share. In addition, the Company agreed to issue warrants to purchase up to 56,818 shares of the Corporation’s common stock in the aggregate, at an exercise price of $1.50 per share (the “Warrants”). The Warrants have a term of five years and may be exercised at any time from or after the date of issuance and contain customary, structural anti-dilution protection (i.e., stock splits, dividends, etc). Upon closing of this equity financing, the Company received proceeds of $250,000. |
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Legal fees incurred in connection with this financing were deemed immaterial and expensed in the ordinary course of business.
7) | On February 24, 2016, the Company received proceeds of $1,256,782 in connection with the Company's offer to amend and exercise warrants. In connection with the offering, warrant holders elected to exercise a total of 1,142,529 of their $1.125 warrants at a reduced exercise price of $1.10 per share. The Company issued new warrants to the participants to purchase 285,654 shares of common stock with a term of five (5) years and have an exercise price per share equal to $1.50. |
Aside from legal fees, the Company incurred fees of $75,407 in connection with this transaction and this amount is not reflected in the proceeds above.
8) | On March 10, 2016, the Company entered into securities purchase agreements with accredited investors, advisory clients of Wellington Management Company, LLP and the Dan Wachtler Family Trust pursuant to which the Company issued 5,076,863 shares of common stock at the purchase price of $1.10 per share. In addition, the Company issued warrants to purchase up to 5,076,863 shares of the Company’s common stock in the aggregate, at an exercise price of $1.10 per share. The warrants have a term of five years and may be exercised on a cashless basis. In addition to customary, structural anti-dilution protection (i.e., stock splits, dividends, etc), should the Company, during the term of the warrants, issue common shares at a per share consideration that is less than the exercise price, the exercise price of each warrant shall be reduced concurrently with such issue, to the consideration per share received by the Company for such issue of additional stock. Upon closing of this equity financing, the company received proceeds of $5,584,549. |
On March 3, 2016 the Company agreed to amend the 480,784 $1.50 warrants from the November 5, 2015, December 23, 2015 and January 5, 2016 financings and to issue these amended warrants to equal 100% warrant coverage equal to 1,923,137 five year warrants at $1.10 per share.
Aside from legal fees, the Company incurred $334,875 in fees, plus the issuance of 202,955 $1.10 five year warrants in connection with this financing transaction and this amount is not reflected in the proceeds above.
OUR STRATEGY
Our business focus is to work with the top levels of corporations to address major initiatives that fall under governance, risk and compliance (GRC) areas. Within GRC, the key emphasis today is around risk related to cybersecurity. With our cyber group, root9B, we take a new approach to combatting cyber activity, using a full solution encompassing active adversarial pursuit (HUNT), cybersecurity and intelligence training, operational support, and associated technology and tools. In 2015, we built the HUNT operations center where we conduct and provide remote HUNT services to our customers, which, we believe, offers a competitive advantage. We believe a full spectrum solution is needed to mitigate risk associated with cyber threats. Our IPSA/Business Advisory capabilities focus on aspects related to the ongoing emerging regulatory environment and money laundering risk mitigation that corporations and governments must address (AML, SOX, FCP, etc). We utilize talent with specific expertise that allow us to effectively assist corporations to assess compliance, design programs, remediate problems, and provide ongoing operational support.
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Our customers include Fortune 500 companies (including Cisco, Duke Power, Bank of America, and PNC Bank). With the acquisition of root9B, we are also providing services to the mid-market arena and governmental entities. The acquisition of IPSA has added financial institutions and international customers to our customer base.
OUR COMPETITION
The market for professional services and solutions is highly competitive. It is also highly fragmented, with many providers and no single competitor maintaining clear market leadership. Our competition varies by segment, type of service provided, and the customer to whom services are provided. Our competitors in cyber security include Fireeye, IBM, Palo Alto Networks, Cisco and Symantec; and in the risk regulatory arena include Deloitte, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young and Accenture. Many of our competitors are larger and better financed than we are and have substantial marketplace reputations.
CONTRACTS
When servicing customers, we typically sign master contracts for a one to three year period. The contracts typically set rules of engagement and can include pricing guidelines. The contracts manage the relationship and are not indicators of guaranteed work. Individual contracts, Purchase Orders, or Statements of Work, are put in place (under the master agreement) for each engineer, consultant or team assigned to the client site and cover logistics of length of contract, billing information and deliverables for the particular assignment. In most cases, contracts can be terminated by either party by providing ten to thirty days’ advance notice. To date, we have received a significant portion of revenues from large sales to a small number of customers. During 2015 and 2014, our five largest customers, together comprised approximately 50% and 34% of our total revenues, respectively. Our operating results may be harmed if we are not able to complete one or more substantial sales to any large customers or are unable to collect accounts receivable from any of the large customers in any future period.
EMPLOYEES
As of March 1, 2016, we employed a total of 224 persons on a full time basis. We believe our employee relations are good.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
We are subject to various risks that may materially harm our financial condition and results of operations. If any of these risks or uncertainties actually occurs, the trading price of our common stock could decline.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
WE HAVE CONTINUED TO EXPERIENCE SIGNIFICANT LOSSES FROM OPERATIONS
We have experienced substantial and continuing losses from operations. These are the result of declining revenues and increases in selling, general and administrative expenses incurred in preparation for growth. We expect that our cyber security operations and the operations of IPSA, which we acquired in February 2015, will increase revenues and help move the Company to profitability from operations, of which there can be no assurance.
Should revenue increases not occur as anticipated, we will need to obtain additional financing in 2016 to support our future operations and there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain financing, or if obtained, on terms favorable to the Company. Failure to obtain the same will adversely affect the operations of the Company.
A DECLINE IN THE PRICE OF, OR DEMAND FOR, ANY OF OUR BUSINESS ADVISORY SOLUTIONS AND SERVICES, WOULD HARM OUR REVENUES AND OPERATING MARGINS.
Our Business Advisory Solutions services accounted for the majority of our revenues in 2015 (approximately 84%, post the IPSA acquisition), and 2014 (approximately 64%, pre the IPSA acquisition). We anticipate that revenue from the Business Advisory Solutions services, particularly in view of the acquisition of IPSA International, which was combined with the Business Advisory group, will continue to constitute the majority of our revenues in 2016. A decline in the price of, or demand for Business Advisory Solutions would harm our business. We experienced such a decline in 2015, and cannot predict if such a trend will be reversed in future periods. We anticipate that revenue in the Cybersecurity segment could, in the future, exceed the revenues of our Business Advisory Solutions group, of which there can be no assurance.
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A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF OUR BUSINESS REVENUES DEPEND ON A RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER OF LARGE CUSTOMERS. IF ANY OF THESE CUSTOMERS DECIDE THEY WILL NO LONGER USE OUR SERVICES, REVENUES WILL DECREASE AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE WILL BE SEVERELY IMPACTED.
To date, we have received a significant portion of our revenues from large sales to a small number of customers. During 2015 and 2014, our five largest customers, together comprised approximately 50% and 34% of our total revenues, respectively. Our operating results may be harmed if we are not able to complete one or more substantial sales to any large customers or are unable to collect accounts receivable from any of the large customers in any future period.
INTENSE COMPETITION IN OUR TARGET MARKETS COULD IMPAIR OUR ABILITY TO GROW AND TO ACHIEVE PROFITABILITY. IF WE DO NOT GROW, OUR COMPETITIVE ABILITY WILL BE SEVERELY RESTRICTED, WHICH WOULD DECREASE PROFITABILITY.
Our competitors vary in size and in the scope and breadth of the products and services they offer. Our competitors include Deloitte, Accenture, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, Fireeye, IBM, Palo Alto Networks, Cisco and Symantec as well as other national firms and a number of smaller regional firms. Many of our competitors have longer operating histories, substantially greater financial, technical, marketing, or other resources, or greater name recognition than us. Our competitors may be able to respond more quickly to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements. Increased competition is likely to result in price reductions, reduced gross margins, and loss of market share, any one of which could seriously harm our business. We have recently experienced price competition in our Business Advisory Services Group and continue to evaluate pricing strategies and service delivery processes to respond to this new market condition.
OUR LENGTHY SALES CYCLE COULD MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE OUR GROWTH OBJECTIVES.
The period between initial contact with a potential customer and that customer’s purchase of services is often long and difficult to predict. A customer’s decision to purchase services involves a significant allocation of resources, is influenced by a customer’s budgetary cycles, and in many instances involves a preferred-vendor process. To successfully sell our services, generally we must educate the potential customers regarding the uses and benefits of our services, which can require significant time and resources. Many potential customers are large enterprises that generally take longer to designate preferred vendors; the typical sales cycle in connection with becoming an approved vendor has been approximately six to twelve months. Delay or failure to complete sales in a particular quarter could reduce revenues in that quarter, as well as subsequent quarters over which revenues for the sale would likely be recognized. If the sales cycle unexpectedly lengthens in general, or for one or more large orders, it would adversely affect the timing of revenues and revenue growth. If we were to experience a delay of several weeks on a large order, it could harm our ability to meet forecasts for a given quarter.
WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SECURE NECESSARY FUNDING IN THE FUTURE WHICH WOULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR ABILITY TO GROW, INCREASE REVENUES, AND ACHIEVE PROFITABILITY.
Unless we achieve positive cash flow, substantial working capital will be required for continued operations. We believe that if capital requirements increase materially, additional financing may be required sooner than anticipated. If we raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, the percentage of our capital stock owned by our current shareholders would be reduced, and those equity securities may have rights that are senior to those of the holders of our currently outstanding securities. Additional financing may not be available when needed on commercially acceptable terms, or at all. If adequate funds are not available or are not available on acceptable terms, we may be forced to curtail planned growth, and we may be unable to develop or enhance planned products and services, take advantage of future opportunities, or respond to competitive pressures.
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THERE ARE SUBSTANTIAL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH ACQUISITIONS.
An integral part of our growth strategy has been evaluating and, from time to time, consummating acquisitions. These transactions involve a number of risks and present financial, managerial and operational challenges, including: diversion of management’s attention from running the existing business; increased expenses, including legal, administrative and compensation expenses resulting from newly hired employees; increased costs to integrate personnel, customer base and business practices of the acquired company; adverse effects on reported operating results due to possible impairment of intangible assets including goodwill associated with acquisitions; and dilution to stockholders to the extent of issuance of securities in the transaction.
OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS, AND MAJOR STOCKHOLDERS WILL BE ABLE TO EXERT SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE OVER US,WHICH WILL LIMIT OUR STOCKHOLDERS’ ABILITY TO INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF KEY DECISIONS.
Our executive officers and directors collectively control approximately 31.3% of our current outstanding capital stock and approximately 21.5% on a fully diluted basis. As a result, if they act together they will be able to influence management and affairs and all matters requiring stockholder approval, including significant corporate transactions.
Miriam Blech currently controls approximately 10.4% of our outstanding voting capital stock, including 60% of our Series C preferred stock. Isaac Blech currently controls approximately 1.8% of our outstanding voting capital stock (which is included in the above figures concerning officers and directors), including 40% of our Series C preferred stock. Together, Mr. and Mrs. Blech currently control approximately 12.2% of our outstanding voting capital stock, including 100% of our Series C preferred stock. The interests of Mr. and Mrs. Blech may differ from the interests of other stockholders. Third parties may be discouraged from making a tender offer or bid or it may make it easier for them to acquire root9B because of this concentration of ownership.
As of March 15, 2016 Quad Capital, directly and through affiliated parties currently controls approximately 5.8% of our outstanding voting stock and through the exercise of warrants could increase their ownership up to approximately 6.7%.�� Also as of March 15, 2016 Ithan Creek Master Investors (Cayman), L.P. currently controls approximately 9.1% of our outstanding voting capital stock, and thru the exercise of warrants increase their ownership up to approximately 9.9%
This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying or preventing any change in control of our Company and might affect the market price of the common stock.
A FAILURE TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN QUALIFIED PERSONNEL COULD HAVE AN ADVERSE EFFECT ON US.
Our ability to attract and retain qualified professional and/or skilled personnel in accordance with our needs, either through direct hiring or acquisition of other firms employing such professionals, is an important factor in determining our future success. The market for these professionals is competitive, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in our efforts to attract and retain needed personnel. Our success is also highly dependent upon the continued services of our key officers, and we maintain key employee insurance on one original executive officer.
If we are unable to retain qualified personnel, the roles and responsibilities of those employees will need to be filled, which may require that we devote time and resources to identifying, hiring and integrating new employees. In addition, the failure to attract and retain key employees, including officers, could impair our ability to provide services to our clients and conduct our business effectively.
8
WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INDEMNIFICATION OF OUR OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS.
Should our officers and/or directors require us to contribute to their defense in certain lawsuits, we may be required to spend significant amounts of our capital. Our articles of incorporation and bylaws also provide for the indemnification of our directors, offices, employees, and agents, under certain circumstances, against attorney’s fees and other expenses incurred by them in any litigation to which they become a party arising from their association with or activities on our behalf. This indemnification policy could result in substantial expenditures, which we may be unable to recoup. If these expenditures are significant, or involve issues which result in significant liability for our key personnel, it may impact our business operations and revenues.
Risks Related to root9B
ROOT9B’S PRODUCTS ARE BEING READIED FOR MARKET AND WE ARE CONFRONTING THE ISSUE OF MARKET ACCEPTANCE.
Since the commencement of operations by our root9B cyber security subsidiary, it has been preparing its products for market and has been compiling and communicating with a list of prospects. Some of these products are now ready for market and root9B is beginning the process of converting prospects into customers. There cannot be any assurance of the market acceptance of its products, and the failure acceptance of the same would be materially adverse to root9B and to the growth of the Company.
ROOT9B’S FAILURE TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN HIGHLY SKILLED CYBER EXPERTS WOULD HAVE AN ADVERSE EFFECT ON US.
Our ability to attract and retain qualified professional and/or skilled cyber personnel, either through direct hiring or acquisition of other firms employing such professionals, is an important factor in determining our future success. The market for these professionals is very competitive as well as limited for senior level operators with the Department of Defense experience we seek. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in our efforts to attract and retain the needed personnel. The failure to attract and retain skilled personnel could impair our ability to sell, provide services to our clients, and conduct our business effectively by limiting the number of engagements we can handle concurrently and could limit our ability to work on large scale projects.
INTENSE COMPETITION IN OUR TARGET MARKETS COULD IMPAIR OUR ABILITY TO GROW AND TO ACHIEVE PROFITABILITY.
The market for cyber solutions work has been developing rapidly over the past several years and continues to change as new entrants enter the market and as legislation moves forward in this area. As competition increases, there could be impact on the markets and pricing which will present a risk to the revenue growth for root9B.
ROOT9B’S SALES CYCLES CAN BE LONG AND UNPREDICTABLE, AND OUR SALES EFFORTS REQUIRE CONSIDERABLE TIME AND EXPENSE. AS A RESULT, OUR SALES AND REVENUE ARE DIFFICULT TO PREDICT AND MAY VARY SUBSTANTIALLY FROM PERIOD TO PERIOD, WHICH MAY CAUSE OUR RESULTS OF OPERATIONS TO FLUCTUATE SIGNIFICANTLY.
Our results of operations may fluctuate, in part, because of the resource intensive nature of our sales efforts, the length and variability of our sales cycle and the short-term difficulty in adjusting our operating expenses. Our results of operations depend in part on sales to large organizations. The length of our sales cycle, from proof of concept to delivery of and payment for our products, is typically four to twelve months but can be more than a year. To the extent our competitors develop products that our prospective customers view as equivalent to ours, our average sales cycle may increase. Because the length of time required to close a sale varies substantially from customer to customer, it is difficult to predict exactly when, or even if, we will make a sale with a potential customer. As a result, large individual sales may, in some cases, occur in quarters subsequent to those we anticipated, or may not occur at all. The loss or delay of one or more such transactions in a quarter could impact our results of operations for that quarter and any future quarters for which revenue from that transaction is delayed.
As a result of these factors, it is difficult for us to forecast our revenue accurately in any quarter. Because a substantial portion of our expenses are relatively fixed in the short term, our results of operations will suffer if our revenue falls below expectations in a particular quarter, which could cause the price of our common stock to decline.
9
IF ROOT9B IS UNABLE TO SELL OUR PROPRIETARY PRODUCTS, SUBSCRIPTIONS AND SERVICES, AS WELL AS RENEWALS OF OUR SUBSCRIPTIONS AND SERVICES, TO OUR CUSTOMERS, OUR FUTURE REVENUE AND OPERATING RESULTS WILL BE HARMED.
Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to expand the deployment of our products with new and existing customers, including solutions delivered through the new Adversarial Pursuit Center. This may require increasingly sophisticated and costly sales efforts and may not result in additional sales. In addition, the rate at which our customers purchase additional products, subscriptions and services depends on a number of factors, including the perceived need for additional IT security as well as general economic conditions. If our efforts to sell additional products, subscriptions and services to our customers are not successful, our business would suffer.
Further, existing customers that purchase our products have no contractual obligation to renew their subscriptions and support and maintenance services agreements beyond the initial contract period, and given our limited operating history, we may not be able to accurately predict our renewal rates. Our customers’ renewal rates may decline or fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, including the level of their satisfaction with our products, our customer support, customer budgets and the pricing of our products compared with the products and services offered by our competitors. We cannot assure that our customers will renew their subscriptions, and if our customers do not renew their subscriptions or renew on less favorable terms, our revenue may grow more slowly than expected, if at all.
We also depend on our installed customer base for future support and maintenance revenue. We offer our support and maintenance agreements for terms that generally range between one and five years. If customers choose not to renew their support and maintenance agreements or seek to renegotiate the terms of their support and maintenance agreements prior to renewing such agreements, our revenue may decline.
IF ROOT9B IS UNABLE TO INCREASE SALES OF OUR SOLUTIONS TO LARGE ORGANIZATIONS WHILE MITIGATING THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH SERVING SUCH CUSTOMERS, OUR BUSINESS, FINANCIAL POSITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS MAY SUFFER.
Our growth strategy is dependent, in part, upon increasing sales of our solution to large enterprises and governments. Sales to large customers involve risks that may not be present (or that are present to a lesser extent) with sales to smaller entities. These risks include:
● | Increased purchasing power and leverage held by large customers in negotiating contractual arrangements with us; |
● | More stringent or costly requirements imposed upon us in our support service contracts with such customers; |
● | More complicated implementation processes; |
● | Longer sales cycles and the associated risk that substantial time and resources may be spent on a potential customer that ultimately does not purchase our platform or solutions |
● | More pressure for discounts and write-offs |
In addition, because security breaches with respect to larger, high-profile enterprises are likely to be heavily publicized, there is increased reputational risk associated with serving such customers. If we are unable to increase sales of our platform to large enterprise and government customers while mitigating the risks associated with serving such customers, our business, financial position and results of operations may suffer.
IF ROOT9B IS UNABLE TO PROTECT OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, THE VALUE OF OUR CYBER SECURITY BUSINESS MAY BE DIMINISHED, AND OUR CYBER SECURITY BUSINESS MAY BE ADVERSELY AFFECTED.
We rely and expect to continue to rely on a combination of confidentiality and license agreements with our employees, consultants, and third parties with whom we have relationships, as well as trademark, copyright, trade secret, and domain name protection laws, to protect our cyber security proprietary rights. We presently do not intend to rely on the filing and prosecution of patent applications. Third parties may knowingly or unknowingly infringe our proprietary rights, third parties may challenge proprietary rights held by us, and future trademark and patent applications may not be approved. In any or all of these cases, we may be required to expend significant time and expense in order to prevent infringement or to enforce our rights. Although we have taken measures to protect our proprietary rights, there can be no assurance that others will not offer products or concepts that are substantially similar to ours and compete with our business. If the protection of our proprietary rights is inadequate to prevent unauthorized use or appropriation by third parties, the value of our cyber security business and other intangible assets may be diminished and competitors may be able to more effectively mimic our service and methods of operations. Any of these events would have an adverse effect on our cyber security business and financial results.
10
WE AND ROOT9B, IN THE FUTURE, MAY BE A PARTY DEFENDANT TO PATENT LAWSUITS AND OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS CLAIMS THAT ARE EXPENSIVE AND TIME CONSUMING, AND, IF RESOLVED ADVERSELY, WOULD HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON OUR CYBER SECURITY BUSINESS, FINANCIAL CONDITION, AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
Companies in the cyber security business often own large numbers of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets, and frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement, misappropriation, or other violations of intellectual property or other rights. In addition, various "non-practicing entities" that own patents and other intellectual property rights often attempt to aggressively assert their rights in order to extract value from technology companies. Furthermore, from time to time we may introduce new products, including in areas where we currently do not operate, which could increase our exposure to patent and other intellectual property claims from competitors and non-practicing entities. Defending patent and other intellectual property litigation is costly and can impose a significant burden on management and employees, and there can be no assurances that favorable final outcomes will be obtained in all cases. In addition, plaintiffs may seek, and we may become subject to, preliminary or provisional rulings in the course of any such litigation, including potential preliminary injunctions requiring us to cease some or all of our operations. We may decide to settle such lawsuits and disputes on terms that are unfavorable to us. Similarly, if any litigation to which we are a party is resolved adversely, we may be subject to an unfavorable judgment that may not be reversed upon appeal. The terms of such a settlement or judgment may require us to cease some or all of our operations or pay substantial amounts to the other party. In addition, we may have to seek a license to continue practices found to be in violation of a third party's rights, which may not be available on reasonable terms, or at all, and may significantly increase our operating costs and expenses. As a result, we may also be required to develop alternative non-infringing technology or practices or discontinue the practices. The development of alternative non-infringing technology or practices could require significant effort and expense or may not be feasible. Our business, financial condition, and results of operations would be adversely affected as a result of an unfavorable resolution of the disputes and litigation referred to above.
A DATA SECURITY BREACH WITH OUR CUSTOMERS AS A RESULT OF OUR CYBERSECURITY PROCESSES COULD CAUSE SUBSTANTIAL NEGATIVE IMPACT ON US FINANCIALLY, LEGALLY AS WELL AS IMPACT OUR REPUTATION IN THE MARKETPLACE
As a part of our services we access customers environments, if this access led to the opportunity for a data breach by others, although remote, and if this happened and it was determined we were liable this could cause significant damage to our reputation, have an adverse impact on our results of operations as well as lead to the possibility of litigation and other financial liabilities.
Risks related to IPSA/Business Advisory Solutions
IPSA IS EXPERIENCING ENHANCED PRICE COMPETITION
The competitive environment for IPSA’s services, particularly in the anti-money laundering space, has sharpened significantly as more competitors have entered this line of business, including those who off shore labor and indirect sourcing and provide services at significantly lower rates. These conditions have resulted in lower revenues for IPSA in 2015, as compared with 2014, due to difficulty in readily replacing lost business. The Company continues to evaluate it’s pricing and service delivery processes to respond to this new market condition.
AN INABILITY TO RETAIN IPSA’S SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM AND OTHER MANAGING DIRECTORS WOULD BE DETRIMENTAL TO THE SUCCESS OF IPSA’S BUSINESS.
We rely heavily on IPSA senior management team, its practice leaders, and other staff; our ability to retain them is particularly important to IPSA’s future success. Given the highly specialized nature of IPSA’s services, the senior management team must have a thorough understanding of IPSA’s service offerings as well as the skills and experience necessary to manage an organization consisting of a diverse group of professionals. In addition, we rely on IPSA’s senior management team and other managing directors to generate and market IPSA’s business. Further, IPSA’s senior management’s and other managing directors’ personal reputations and relationships with IPSA’s clients are a critical element in obtaining and maintaining client engagements.
11
IPSA’S INABILITY TO HIRE AND RETAIN TALENTED PEOPLE IN AN INDUSTRY WHERE THERE IS GREAT COMPETITION FOR TALENT COULD HAVE A SERIOUS NEGATIVE EFFECT ON OUR PROSPECTS AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
IPSA’s business involves the delivery of professional services and is highly labor-intensive. Its success depends largely on its ability to attract, develop, motivate, and retain highly skilled professionals. Further, IPSA must successfully maintain the right mix of professionals with relevant experience and skill sets if IPSA is to continue to grow, as it expands into new service offerings, and as the market evolves. The loss of a significant number of its professionals, the inability to attract, hire, develop, train, and retain additional skilled personnel, or failure to maintain the right mix of professionals could have a serious negative effect on IPSA, including its ability to manage, staff, and successfully complete its existing engagements and obtain new engagements.
INCREASED REGULATORY SECRUTINY OF THE IMMIGRATION INVESTOR PROGRAM INDUSTRY.
IPSA’s Investigative Due Diligence practice area provides international background checks to many countries offering an Immigration Investor Program (IIP). The IIP industry as a whole is under scrutiny by certain investigative journalists as well as certain Western nations. In addition to possible changes in the laws and regulations governing this industry, possible decreases in the number of investor applicants to IPSA’s clients could also have a negative impact on IPSA revenue.
CHANGES IN CAPITAL MARKETS, LEGAL AND GENERAL ECONOMIC OR OTHER FACTORS BEYOND IPSA’S CONTROL COULD REDUCE DEMAND FOR IPSA’S SERVICES, IN WHICH CASE IPSA’S REVENUES AND PROFITABILITY COULD DECLINE.
A number of factors outside of its control affect demand for IPSA’s services. These include:
● | Fluctuations in U.S. and global economies; |
● | The U.S. or global financial markets and the availability, costs, and terms of credit; and |
● | Other economic factors and general business conditions. |
We are not able to predict the positive or negative effects that future events or changes to the U.S. or global economy, financial markets, and business environment could have on IPSA’s operations.
IPSA’S REPUTATION COULD BE DAMAGED AND IT COULD INCUR ADDITIONAL LIABILITIES IF IT FAILS TO PROTECT CLIENT AND EMPLOYEE DATA.
IPSA relies on information technology systems to process, transmit, and store electronic information and to communicate among its locations around the world and with its clients, partners, and employees. The breadth and complexity of this infrastructure increases the potential risk of security breaches which could lead to potential unauthorized disclosure of confidential information.
In providing services to clients, IPSA may manage, utilize, and store sensitive or confidential client or employee data, including personal data. As a result, IPSA is subject to numerous laws and regulations designed to protect this information, such as the U.S. federal and state laws governing the protection of health or other personally identifiable information and international laws such as the European Union Directive on Data Protection.
These laws and regulations are increasing in complexity and number. If any person, including any of IPSA’s employees, negligently disregards or intentionally breaches its established controls with respect to client or employee data, or otherwise mismanages or misappropriates that data, IPSA could be subject to significant monetary damages, regulatory enforcement actions, fines, and/or criminal prosecution. In addition, unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential client or employee data, whether through systems failure, employee negligence, fraud, or misappropriation, could damage IPSA’s reputation and cause it to lose clients and their related revenue in the future.
12
INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS COULD RESULT IN ADDITIONAL RISKS.
IPSA operates both domestically and internationally, including in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. IPSA intends to continue to expand internationally. These operations result in additional risks that are not present domestically and which could adversely affect IPSA’s business:
● | compliance with additional U.S. regulations and those of other nations applicable to international operations; |
● | cultural and language differences; |
● | employment laws and rules and related social and cultural factors; |
● | losses related to start-up costs, lack of revenue, higher costs due to low utilization, and delays in purchase decisions by prospective clients; |
● | currency fluctuations between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies, which are harder to predict in the current adverse global economic climate; |
● | restrictions on the repatriation of earnings; |
● | potentially adverse tax consequences and limitations on our ability to utilize losses generated in IPSA’s foreign operations; |
● | different regulatory requirements and other barriers to conducting business; |
● | different or less stable political and economic environments; |
● | greater personal security risks for employees traveling to or located in unstable locations; and |
● | civil disturbances or other catastrophic events. |
Further, conducting business abroad subjects IPSA to increased regulatory compliance and oversight. For example, in connection with its international operations, it is governed by laws prohibiting certain payments to entities and individuals by the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act. The provisions of these laws may apply outside of the U.K. and the U.S. and given it’s international activities, IPSA could be subject to liability based on actions by employees and vendors. A failure to comply with applicable regulations could result in regulatory enforcement actions as well as substantial civil and
criminal penalties assessed against IPSA and our employees.
IPSA’S FINANCIAL RESULTS COULD SUFFER IF IT IS UNABLE TO ACHIEVE OR MAINTAIN ADEQUATE UTILIZATION AND SUITABLE BILLING RATES FOR ITS CONSULTANTS.
IPSA’s profitability depends to a large extent on the utilization and billing rates of its professionals. Utilization of its professionals is affected by a number of factors, including:
● | the number and size of client engagements; |
● | the timing of the commencement, completion and termination of engagements, which in many cases is unpredictable; |
● | IPSA’s ability to transition its consultants efficiently from completed engagements to new engagements; |
● | the hiring of additional consultants because there is generally a transition period for new consultants that results in a temporary drop in our utilization rate; |
● | unanticipated changes in the scope of client engagements; |
● | IPSA’s ability to forecast demand for its services and thereby maintain an appropriate level of consultants; and |
● | conditions affecting the industries in which IPSA practices as well as general economic conditions. |
The billing rates of IPSA’s consultants that it is able to charge are also affected by a number of factors, including:
● | clients’ perception of our ability to add value through IPSA’s services; |
● | the market demand for the services IPSA provides; |
● | an increase in the number of clients in the government sector; |
● | introduction of new services by IPSA or its competitors; |
● | competition and the pricing policies of its competitors; and |
● | current economic conditions. |
13
A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF IPSA’S REVENUES IS DERIVED FROM A LIMITED NUMBER OF CLIENTS, AND ITS ENGAGEMENT AGREEMENTS, INCLUDING THOSE RELATED TO ITS LARGEST CLIENTS, CAN BE TERMINATED BY CLIENTS WITH LITTLE OR NO NOTICE AND WITHOUT PENALTY, WHICH MAY CAUSE ITS OPERATING RESULTS TO BE UNPREDICTABLE.
IPSA has derived, and expects to continue to derive, a significant portion of its revenues from a limited number of clients. Its five largest clients accounted for approximately 88% and 94% of its revenues for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. IPSA’s clients typically retain it on an engagement-by-engagement basis, rather than under fixed-term contracts; the volume of work performed for any particular client is likely to vary from year to year, and a major client in one fiscal period may not require or may decide not to use our services in any subsequent fiscal period. Moreover, a large portion of new engagements comes from existing clients. Accordingly, the failure to obtain new large engagements or multiple engagements from existing or new clients could have a material adverse effect on the amount of revenues IPSA generates. In addition, almost all engagement agreements can be terminated by its clients with little or no notice and without penalty.
IPSA’S ENGAGEMENTS COULD RESULT IN PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY, WHICH COULD BE VERY COSTLY AND HURT OUR REPUTATION.
IPSA’s engagements typically involve complex analyses and the exercise of professional judgment. As a result, IPSA is subject to the risk of professional liability. Litigation alleging that IPSA performed negligently or breached any other obligations could expose it to significant legal liabilities and, regardless of outcome, is often very costly, could distract management, could damage its reputation, and could harm its financial condition and operating results.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST COULD PRECLUDE IPSA FROM ACCEPTING ENGAGEMENTS, THEREBY CAUSING DECREASED UTILIZATION AND REVENUES.
IPSA provides services that usually involve sensitive client information. IPSA’s engagement agreement with a client or other business reasons may preclude it from accepting engagements from time to time with its clients’ competitors or adversaries. As IPSA grows its operations and the complement of consulting services, the number of conflict situations may continue to increase. Moreover, in industries in which IPSA provides services, there has been a continuing trend toward business consolidations and strategic alliances. These consolidations and alliances reduce the number of companies that may seek IPSA’s services and increase the chances that IPSA will be unable to accept new engagements as a result of conflicts of interest. If IPSA is unable to accept new engagements for any reason, its consultants may become underutilized, which would adversely affect IPSA’s revenues and results of operations in future periods.
Risks Related to Our Stock
THE MARKET FOR OUR COMMON STOCK IS LIMITED.
Our common stock is thinly-traded and any recently reported sales price may not be a true market-based valuation of our common stock. There can be no assurance that an active market for our common stock will develop. In addition, the stock market in general has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to operating performance. Consequently, holders of shares of our common stock may not be able to liquidate their investment in our shares at prices that they may deem appropriate.
OUR EXISTING PREFERRED STOCK HAS LIQUIDATION PREFERENCES THAT COULD ADVERSELY AFFECT OUR COMMON STOCK HOLDERS.
In the event of our dissolution, liquidation or change of control, the holders of our Series C preferred stock will receive a liquidation preference in priority to the holders of our common stock. A consolidation or merger, a sale of all or substantially all of our assets, or a sale of 50% or more of our common stock would be treated as a change of control for this purpose. Therefore, it is possible that holders of common stock will not obtain any proceeds upon any such event.
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THE ISSUANCE OF SHARES UPON CONVERSION OF THE PREFERRED STOCK AND EXERCISE OF OUTSTANDING WARRANTS COULD CAUSE IMMEDIATE AND SUBSTANTIAL DILUTION TO EXISTING STOCKHOLDERS.
The issuance of shares upon conversion of our outstanding preferred stock and exercise of warrants could result in substantial dilution to the interests of other stockholders since the selling stockholders may ultimately convert and sell the full amount issuable on conversion.
OUR COMMON STOCK IS CONSIDERED A “PENNY STOCK."
The SEC has adopted regulations that generally define "penny stock" to be an equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to specific exemptions. This designation requires any broker or dealer selling these securities to disclose certain information concerning the transaction, obtain a written agreement from the purchaser and determine that the purchaser is reasonably suitable to purchase the securities. These rules may restrict the ability of brokers or dealers to sell our common stock and may affect the ability of investors hereunder to sell their shares. Additionally, previously we were considered a “shell company” (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). As a result, the Company will be required to continue to file current information in order for the holders of our securities to rely on Rule 144 in order to sell their restricted securities. In addition, since our common stock is traded on the OTCQB, investors may find it difficult to obtain accurate quotations of the stock and may experience a lack of buyers to purchase such stock or a lack of market makers to support the stock price.
THERE ARE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR STOCK TRADING ON THE OTCQB RATHER THAN A NATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE.
There are significant consequences associated with our stock trading on the OTCQB rather than a national securities exchange. The effects of not being able to list our securities on a national securities exchange include:
● | Limited release of the market prices of our securities; |
● | Limited news coverage of our Company; |
● | Limited interest by investors in our securities; |
● | Volatility of our stock price due to low trading volume; |
● | Increased difficulty in selling our securities in certain states due to “blue sky” restrictions; |
● | Limited ability to issue additional securities or to secure financing. |
WE DO NOT INTEND TO PAY CASH DIVIDENDS ON OUR COMMON STOCK. AS A RESULT, STOCKHOLDERS WILL BENEFIT FROM AN INVESTMENT IN THE COMMON STOCK ONLY IF IT APPRECIATES IN VALUE.
We have never paid a cash dividend on our common stock, and do not plan to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain any future earnings to finance operations and further expand and grow the business, including growth through acquisitions. As a result, the success of an investment in our common stock will depend upon any future appreciation in its value. We cannot assure you that our common stock will appreciate in value or even maintain the price at which stockholders have purchased their shares.
WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ATTRACT THE ATTENTION OF MAJOR BROKERAGE FIRMS, WHICH COULD HAVE A MATERIAL ADVERSE IMPACT ON THE MARKET VALUE OF OUR COMMON STOCK.
Security analysts of major brokerage firms may not provide coverage of our common stock stock since there is no incentive to brokerage firms to recommend the purchase of our common stock. The absence of such coverage limits the likelihood that a sustained active market will develop for our common stock. It will also likely make more difficult to attract new investors at times should we require additional capital.
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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.
We lease commercial office space for all of our offices. Our headquarters are in New York, NY and our primary operations offices are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, Colorado Springs, Colorado, San Antonio, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona. Currently we lease approximately 55,000 square feet of space at all of our 19 locations, under leases that will expire between April 2016 and March 2023.
Most of these facilities serve as sales and support offices or training facilities and vary in size, depending on the number of people employed at that office. The lease terms vary from periods of less than a year to five years and generally have flexible renewal options. We believe that our existing facilities are adequate to meet our current needs.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
Platte River Insurance Company (“Platte River”) instituted an action on April 8, 2015 in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in which Platte River claims that the Company signed as a co-indemnitor in support of surety bonds issued by Platte River on behalf of Prime Solutions for the benefit of Honeywell pursuant to Prime Solutions, Inc.’s (“Prime”) solar project located in Worcester Massachusetts (the “Prime Contract”). The Company filed its answer to the complaint, denying the allegations of Platte River. On February 1, 2016 the Company received a demand letter from Platte River for immediate payment of an $868,617 claim under the terms of the co-indemnity agreement. The Company continues to deny the allegations and will not agree to the demand. The Company’s maximum liability exposure under the bond is $1,412,544, if Prime failed to meet its contracted obligations. In October 2014, the Company determined it probable that Prime did fail to meet its contracted obligations under the Prime Contract, and therefore, the potential existed that the Company may have to meet outstanding Prime Contract obligations. The Company has evaluated the status of the project, amounts paid to date on the contract and assessed the remaining work to be performed. Notwithstanding the demand letter from Platte River, the Company continues to believe its potential obligation under the Prime Contract is approximately $650,000, and that amount was accrued as a Selling, General and Administrative expense on the Consolidated Statement of Operations during 2014. The Company intends to vigorously defend this litigation.
The Company and two senior executives of the Company are named as defendants in a class action proceeding filed on June 23, 2015, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. On September 24, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted a motion to transfer the lawsuit to the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. On October 14, 2015, the Court appointed David Hampton as Lead Plaintiff and approved Hampton’s selection of the law firm Levi & Korsinsky LLP as Lead Counsel. Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint on January 4, 2016. The Amended Complaint alleges violations of the federal securities laws on behalf of a class of persons who purchased shares of the Company’s common stock between October 17, 2014 and June 15, 2015. In general, the Amended Complaint alleges that false or misleading statements were made or that there was a failure to make appropriate disclosures concerning the Company’s cyber security business and products. On February 18, 2016, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint. Plaintiff’s opposition to the motion to dismiss is due on or before April 4, 2016, and Defendants’ reply is due on or before May 4, 2016. We cannot predict the outcome of this lawsuit; however, the Company believes that the claims lack merit and intends to defend against the lawsuit vigorously
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.
Not applicable.
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PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND REGISTRANT’S ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
(a) Market information. Our common stock is traded on the OTCQB under the symbol “RTNB” and was traded on such market prior to December 1, 2014 under the symbol “PIMO”. The following table sets forth the range of high and low bid prices for the common stock for each of the periods indicated as reported by the OTCQB. These quotations reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, mark-down or commission and may not represent actual transactions.
Year Ended December 31, 2015: | High $ | Low $ | ||||||
Quarter Ended | ||||||||
March 31, 2015 | 1.69 | 1.15 | ||||||
June 30, 2015 | 2.51 | 0.93 | ||||||
September 30, 2015 | 1.50 | 0.81 | ||||||
December 31, 2015 | 1.44 | 1.00 | ||||||
Year Ended December 31, 2014: | High $ | Low $ | ||||||
Quarter Ended | ||||||||
March 31, 2014 | 0.68 | 0.51 | ||||||
June 30, 2014 | 0.86 | 0.51 | ||||||
September 30, 2014 | 1.16 | 0.83 | ||||||
December 31, 2014 | 1.59 | 0.85 |
We consider our common stock to be thinly traded and, accordingly, reported sales prices or quotations may not be a true market-based valuation of our common stock.
(b) Holders. As of March 21, 2016, there were 340 record holders of our common stock. We believe there are more owners of our common stock whose shares are held by nominees or in street name.
(c) Dividends. Holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends, as and when declared by our Board of Directors, out of funds legally available therefor, subject to the dividend and liquidation rights of preferred stock issued and outstanding. We have never declared or paid any dividends on common stock, nor do we anticipate paying any cash dividends on common stock in the foreseeable future.
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The following table provides information regarding the status of our existing equity compensation plan at December 31, 2015:
Equity Compensation Plan
Plan Category | A Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights | B Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights | C Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (A)) |
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders | 10,360,084 (1) | $1.01 | 9,639,916 |
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 10,360,084 | $1.01 | 9,639,916 |
(1) | The Board of Directors approved the 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) in May 2008 and the stockholders approved the Plan in 2009. On August 13, 2014, the Company’s stockholders approved an amendment to the Company’s 2008 Stock Incentive Plan increasing the number of shares of Common Stock available for issuance under the Plan to 20,000,000 from 10,000,000. The Plan reserves 20,000,000 shares of common stock for issuance, and allows the board to issue Incentive Stock Options, non-statutory Stock Options, and Restricted Stock Awards, whichever the Board or the Compensation Committee shall determine, subject to the terms and conditions contained in the Plan document. The purpose of the Plan is to provide a method whereby selected key employees, selected key consultants, professionals and non-employee directors may have the opportunity to invest in our common stock, thereby giving them a proprietary and vested interest in our growth and performance, generating an increased incentive to contribute to our future success and prosperity, thus enhancing our value for the benefit of shareholders. Further, the Plan is designed to enhance our ability to attract and retain individuals of exceptional managerial talent upon whom, in large measure, our sustained progress, growth, and profitability depends. |
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
As a Smaller Reporting Company as defined Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K, we are electing scaled disclosure reporting obligations and therefore are not required to provide the information requested by this Item 6.
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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion and analysis also contains forward-looking statements and should be read in conjunction with the disclosures and information contained in "Disclosures Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. References to "we," "our," "us," "the Company," or "root9B Technologies" in this Annual Report on Form 10-K refer to root9B Technologies, Inc. “SEC” refers to the Securities and Exchange Commission. All references to years, unless otherwise noted, refer to our fiscal year, which ends on December 31.
Results of Operations
Our results of operations for 2015, 2014, and 2013 are highlighted in the table below and discussed in the following paragraphs:
Years Ended December 31 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015 | % of Net Revenue | 2014 | % of Net Revenue | 2013 | % of Net Revenue | |||||||||||||||||||
Net Revenue | $ | 29,358,429 | $ | 20,175,488 | $ | 26,399,916 | ||||||||||||||||||
Operating Expenses: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of revenues | 22,925,136 | 78.1 | % | 14,982,996 | 74.3 | % | 20,845,516 | 79.0 | % | |||||||||||||||
Selling, general & administrative | 17,446,270 | 59.4 | % | 11,184,909 | 55.4 | % | 9,214,410 | 34.9 | % | |||||||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization | 1,600,246 | 5.5 | % | 386,282 | 1.9 | % | 380,951 | 1.4 | % | |||||||||||||||
Energy repositioning and subcontract obligation | - | 0.0 | % | 1,162,089 | 5.8 | % | - | 0.0 | % | |||||||||||||||
Acquisition related costs | 649,442 | 2.2 | % | - | 0.0 | % | - | 0.0 | % | |||||||||||||||
Total operating expenses | 42,621,094 | 145.2 | % | 27,716,276 | 137.4 | % | 30,440,877 | 115.3 | % | |||||||||||||||
Loss from Operations | (13,262,665 | ) | -45.2 | % | (7,540,788 | ) | -37.4 | % | (4,040,961 | ) | -15.3 | % | ||||||||||||
Other Income (Expense): | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Derivative (expense) income | 3,644,594 | 12.4 | % | (10,344,753 | ) | -51.3 | % | 2,149,951 | 8.1 | % | ||||||||||||||
Adjustment to estimates recorded at acquisition | - | 0.0 | % | - | 0.0 | % | 431,919 | 1.6 | % | |||||||||||||||
Interest expense, net | (793,289 | ) | -2.7 | % | (59,066 | ) | -0.3 | % | (44,270 | ) | -0.2 | % | ||||||||||||
Goodwill impairment | - | 0.0 | % | (6,363,630 | ) | -31.5 | % | (4,472,089 | ) | -16.9 | % | |||||||||||||
Intangibles impairment | - | 0.0 | % | (429,394 | ) | -2.1 | % | (238,803 | ) | -0.9 | % | |||||||||||||
Other income (expense) | (166,583 | ) | -0.6 | % | 301,065 | 1.5 | % | 87,799 | 0.3 | % | ||||||||||||||
Total other income (expense) | 2,684,722 | 9.1 | % | (16,895,778 | ) | -83.7 | % | (2,085,493 | ) | -7.9 | % | |||||||||||||
Loss Before Income Taxes | (10,577,943 | ) | -36.0 | % | (24,436,566 | ) | -121.1 | % | (6,126,454 | ) | -23.2 | % | ||||||||||||
Income Tax Benefit | 2,239,917 | 7.6 | % | - | 0.0 | % | - | 0.0 | % | |||||||||||||||
Net Loss | (8,338,026 | ) | -28.4 | % | (24,436,566 | ) | -121.1 | % | (6,126,454 | ) | -23.2 | % | ||||||||||||
Preferred Stock Dividends | (406,372 | ) | -1.4 | % | (1,597,356 | ) | -7.9 | % | (1,280,408 | ) | -4.9 | % | ||||||||||||
Deemed Dividend On Preferred Stock | - | 0.0 | % | - | 0.0 | % | (509,184 | ) | -1.9 | % | ||||||||||||||
Net Loss Available to Common Stockholders | $ | (8,744,398 | ) | -29.8 | % | $ | (26,033,922 | ) | -129.0 | % | $ | (7,916,046 | ) | -30.0 | % |
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Comparison of 2015 to 2014
The result of operations described below includes the Cyber Solutions (“CS”), Business Advisory Solutions (“BAS”) and the Energy Solutions (“ES”) segments for the entire years of 2015 and 2014. We acquired IPSA International, Inc. on February 9, 2015 and this new business is included in the BAS segment as of the acquisition date.
Net Revenue
Total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2015 was $29,358,429 as compared to $20,175,488 for the year ended December 31, 2014, a net increase of $9,182,941, or 45.5%. Revenue by segment was as follows:
Year Ended December 31st | ||||||||||||
2015 | 2014 | % growth | ||||||||||
Cyber Solutions | $ | 2,975,583 | $ | 4,076,050 | -27.0 | % | ||||||
IPSA/Business Advisory Solutions: | ||||||||||||
Without IPSA | 8,107,977 | 12,964,920 | -37.5 | % | ||||||||
IPSA | 16,480,226 | - | nm | |||||||||
Total IPSA/ BAS | 24,588,203 | 12,964,920 | 89.7 | % | ||||||||
Energy Solutions | 1,794,643 | 3,134,518 | -42.7 | % | ||||||||
Total Revenue | $ | 29,358,429 | $ | 20,175,488 | 45.5 | % |
Cyber Solutions Segment
Revenue for the CS segment for the year ended December 31, 2015 decreased 27.0% as compared to the year ended December 31, 2014. The primary reason for the decline in revenue is due to revenue from hardware re-sales in 2014, in the amount of approximately $1,600,000 which was not repeated during 2015. Revenue for this line of business (hardware re-sales) is significantly lower in 2015 as compared to 2014 and it is being discontinued. The CS segment has operated as an early stage business. We believe that the Company’s products and service offerings represent a disruptive technology and our efforts have been focused on gaining acceptance in the marketplace. The Company believes that its products and service offerings provide unique and significant benefits over the existing products, and while we have expanded our sales efforts and continue to enhance our product offerings, no assurance can be given as to if and when our products will receive broad acceptance in the marketplace.
IPSA/Business Advisory Solutions Segment
Revenue for the IPSA/BAS segment for the year ended December 31, 2015 increased 89.7% as compared to the year ended December 31, 2014. The large increase is due to the acquisition of IPSA on February 9, 2015. Revenue for the this segment, excluding the contribution of the IPSA acquisition, for the year ended December 31, 2015, decreased 37.5% as compared to the year ended December 31, 2014. The decline in revenue for the BAS segment was mainly due to a significant decline in revenue from four large customers as well as the impact of five projects that were active and completed during 2014, which was not fully offset by revenue from new customers in 2015. Our sales efforts have not been effective in replacing revenue reductions from existing customers. Revenue due to the IPSA acquisition during the year ended December 31, 2015 was $16,480,226 and was entirely incremental. The competitive environment has sharpened significantly as more companies have entered this line of business, including those who use off shore labor and indirect sourcing and provide services at significantly lower rates. The Company continues to evaluate it’s pricing and service delivery processes to respond to this new market condition.
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Energy and Controls Solutions Segment
Revenue for the ES segment for the year ended December 31, 2015 decreased 42.7% as compared to the year ended December 31, 2014. As a part of the Company’s shift in strategy and repositioning that was announced in September 2014, the Company decided to de-emphasize the energy business and, as a result the assets of the energy audit business were sold in the first quarter of 2015. This shift in the energy business is and may continue to be a primary reason for the decline in revenue.
Gross Margin
Gross margin (revenue less cost of revenues, defined as all costs for billable staff for the IPSA/BAS segment and cost of goods for the ES and CS segments) increased to $6,433,293 for 2015 from $5,192,492 for 2014, an increase of $1,240,801 or 23.9%. The main reason for the increase in gross margin was the acquisition of IPSA on February 9, 2015. Gross margin for 2015 excluding the contribution from the acquisition of IPSA was $728,870, a net decrease of $4,463,622 when compared to 2014. Gross margin, as a percentage of revenue, decreased to 21.9% in 2015 from 25.7% in 2014.
The main reasons for the decreased gross margin are: i) increased expenditures in revenue related resources and staffing in the Cyber Solutions segment, ii) expansion of the cyber proprietary platform, which were charged to cost of revenues, iii) a decrease in gross margin contribution associated with 2014 CS hardware sales not repeated in 2015, and iv) Energy Solutions revenue reductions greater than an associated reduction in cost of revenue expenses.
On a segment basis, the gross margin percentage increased in the BAS segment to 31.1% in 2015 from 27.0% in 2014, decreased in the ES segment to 7.8% in 2015 from 18.3% in 2014, and with the investment in people and resources in advance of revenue, decreased in the CS segment to -45.9% in 2015 from 27.6% in 2014.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses increased to $17,446,270 in 2015 from $11,184,909 in 2014, an increase of 56.0%. SG&A expenses for 2015 excluding the impact from the acquisition of IPSA were $11,730,023, an increase of $545,114 when compared to 2014, or 4.9%. As a percentage of revenue, SG&A expenses increased to 59.5% in 2015 as compared to 55.4% in 2014. SG&A expenses increased $6,261,361 during 2015 as compared to 2014 and break out as follows: the BAS segment increased $5,049,585, the ES segment decreased $1,033,766, the CS segment increased $1,655,713 and Corporate Overhead increased $589,829. The Company accounts and manages expenses as those directly related to a business segment and corporate overhead expenses which includes executive compensation, back office functions, such as finance and human resources, and other administrative costs. Expenses related to these groups are discussed below.
Cyber Segment
SG&A expenses in the CS segment were $2,786,314 in 2015 as compared to $1,130,601 in 2014, an increase of $1,655,713. The increase is primarily due to increased labor costs of approximately $830,000, increased travel expense of $290,000, increased rent expense of $220,000 and increased professional fees of $147,000. Labor costs and travel expense increased during 2015 as the Company continues to invest in and build out CS resources and expertise as the Company positions this segment for future growth. Rent expense increased as the Company leased three new office/training facilities during 2015 and professional fees increased due to higher marketing costs. CS expenses as a percentage of segment revenue increased to 93.6% in 2015 from 27.7% in 2014.
IPSA/BAS Segment
SG&A expenses in the BAS segment increased to $7,135,061 in 2015 as compared to $2,085,476 in 2014, an increase of $5,049,585 or 242.1%. The increase is attributable to the incremental expenses due to the acquisition of IPSA which were $5,716,247. BAS expenses as a percentage of segment revenue increased to 29.1% in 2015 from 16.1% in 2014.
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ES Segment
SG&A expenses in the ES segment decreased to $840,823 in 2015 as compared to $1,874,589 in 2014, a decrease of $1,033,766 or 55.1%. The decrease is primarily attributable to reduced labor costs of approximately $703,000. The decrease in labor costs is due to planned reductions in the labor force as the Company’s shifted its strategy and de-emphasized the energy segment. ES expenses as a percentage of segment revenue decreased to 46.9% in 2015 from 59.8% in 2014.
Corporate Overhead
Corporate Overhead SG&A expenses increased to $6,684,072 in 2015 from $6,094,243 in 2014, an increase of $589,829 or 9.7%. The main drivers of the increase were increases in professional fees of $575,000 and stock option expenses of $370,000. Those increases were offset by a decrease in labor costs of $440,000. The increase in professional fees is primarily due to higher legal and accounting fees as well as increased public relations and advisory fees. The increase in stock option expense was primarily due to the increase in the valuations of the options issued in 2015 as compared to those issued in 2014. The decrease in labor costs was primarily due to a reduction in bonus expense for senior executives.
Energy repositioning and subcontract obligation
During 2014, the Company incurred one-time charges of approximately $1,162,000 related to two items: 1) the repositioning of the Company to accentuate an increased focus and commitment to cybersecurity and regulatory risk mitigation and 2) recording a liability where the Company is alleged to have signed as a co-indemnitor with Prime Solutions, Inc. which is a subcontractor to Honeywell on a solar project, which items are explained below.
On October 17, 2014, the Company announced it would reposition the business to focus on cyber security and regulatory risk mitigation, rename the Company “root9B Technologies, Inc.”, and de-emphasize the ES segment by adjusting its focus to operate in support of the Cyber Solutions and IPSA/Business Advisory Solutions segments. As a part of this repositioning the Company reduced headcount in the ES segment and incurred one-time expenses of $412,000 related to the headcount adjustments.
Platte River has alleged that the Company signed as a co-indemnitor in support of surety bonds issued by Platte River on behalf of Prime Solutions for the benefit of Honeywell pursuant to Prime Solutions, Inc.’s (“Prime”) solar project located in Worcester Massachusetts (the “Prime Contract”). The Company filed its answer to the complaint relating to this action denying the allegations of Platte River. On February 1, 2016, the Company received a demand letter from Platte River for immediate payment of an $868,617 claim under the terms of the co-indemnity agreement. The Company continues to deny the allegations and will not agree to the demand. The Company’s maximum liability exposure under the bond is $1,412,544, if Prime fails to meet its contracted obligations. In October 2014, the Company determined it was probable that Prime would fail to meet its contracted obligations under the Prime Contract, and therefore, that the potential existed that the Company may have to meet outstanding Prime Contract obligations. The Company has evaluated the status of the project, amounts paid to date on the contract and assessed the remaining work to be performed. Notwithstanding the demand letter from Platte River, the Company continues to believe its potential obligation under the Prime Contract is approximately $650,000, and that amount was accrued as a Selling, general and administrative expense on the Consolidated Statement of Operations during 2014. The Company intends to vigorously defend this litigation.
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Acquisition related costs
On February 6, 2015, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with IPSA International, Inc. (“IPSA”). On February 9, 2015, the Company and IPSA consummated and closed the Merger. During 2015, the Company incurred legal, accounting and advisory fees of $649,442 related to the merger transaction.
Other Income (Expense)
Other Income (Expense) for 2015 resulted in income of $2,684,722 as compared to an expense of $16,895,788 in 2014. The components of the net income/expense are discussed below.
Derivative (expense) income
From May 2010 through the first quarter of 2013, the Company issued Series B Preferred Stock, Debentures, Series C Preferred Stock, 7% Convertible Redeemable Promissory Notes, and Series D Preferred Stock, all with detachable common stock purchase warrants deemed to be derivative instruments. Additionally, a contingent value right was issued as a part of the merger agreement with IPSA International, Inc. and this right was also deemed to be a derivative instrument. These warrants and the contingent value right are recorded as derivative liabilities and “marked-to-market” based on fair value estimates at each reporting date. Collectively, these derivatives were valued at an estimated fair value of $3,540,084 at December 31, 2015, with the change (decrease) in value since December 31, 2014 of $3,644,594, being recognized as derivative (non-cash) income on the consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2015. For the year ended December 31, 2014, the change in derivative valuation for the like period was non-cash expense of $10,344,753.
Interest Expense
Interest expense increased to $793,289 in 2015 as compared to $59,066 in 2014. The Company’s IPSA subsidiary sells certain of its accounts receivable with full recourse to Advance Payroll Funding Ltd. (“Advance”). Fees charged to the Company from this factoring arrangement with Advance for accounts receivable sold with full recourse include an administrative fee that is incurred upon funding of the factored invoices to the Company and a closing fee that is incurred when payment of the original accounts receivable amount is paid to the factoring company by the Company’s customer. Administrative and closing fees from the factoring arrangement are included in interest expense in the consolidated financial statements. During 2015 interest expense related to this arrangement was approximately $467,837 and completely incremental as compared to 2014. Additionally, during 2015, the Company incurred interest expense of approximately $320,458 related to the outstanding convertible notes, which compares to $26,278 during 2014.
Goodwill impairment
An annual goodwill impairment evaluation for 2015 was performed as prescribed by FASB ASC 350. No impairment charge was recorded as a result of the evaluation. An annual goodwill impairment evaluation for 2014 was performed by applying both the Step 1 and Step 2 tests as prescribed by FASB ASC 350. The results of the Step 1 test for the BAS segment indicated no impairment to goodwill related to this segment and Step 2 was not required. The results for the Step 1 test for the ES segment did indicate impairment of goodwill and Step 2 was completed to determine the amount of impairment. The Company engaged an outside firm that specializes in valuation assessments to perform the Step 1 and Step 2 tests and valuation work. Of the $10,715,807 in goodwill that was recorded as of December 31, 2013, $6,363,630 was attributable to the ES segment. After completion of the valuation work of the segment it was determined that the fair value of the goodwill for the ES segment was $0, resulting in a non-cash impairment charge of $6,363,630. The impairment was due primarily to the slower than planned growth in revenue, earnings and cash flow as well as the repositioning of the Company to focus on cyber security and regulatory risk mitigation while deemphasizing the energy business. See further discussion on goodwill and goodwill impairment in Note 7 to the Financial Statements.
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Intangibles impairment
There was no impairment charge related to intangible assets during 2015. As a part of the acquisitions of GHH and Ecological, both in 2012, the Company recorded intangible assets for the acquired customer lists and trade names of both companies. The value at acquisition of these assets was $1,118,000 and they were being amortized over 5 to 7 years. The balance at December 31, 2014 prior to impairment was $429,000. The estimates of future revenue, income and cash flow were reduced from prior estimates and the Company shifted its strategy to focus on cyber security and regulatory risk mitigation while deemphasizing the energy segment. Based on the revised strategy and estimates, we measured the fair value of the intangible assets as of December 31, 2014 and determined the fair value for each of these intangible assets to be $0, resulting in a non-cash impairment charge of $429,000 during the year ended December 31, 2014.
Other income (expense)
Other income (expense) decreased to an expense of $166,583 in 2015 as compared to income of $301,065 in 2014. The expense during 2015 is primarily due to realized and unrealized currency translation gains. Additionally, during 2015, the Company sold some assets from its Energy Solutions segment which resulted in a realized gain of approximately $85,000 and is included in other income. During 2014, the Company entered into an agreement with the landlord for the New York office where it was agreed that the Company would vacate the office space at the end of 2014, which was earlier than the lease term, and in exchange incurred no rent expense during 2014. As a result of this agreement, the Company recorded a gain related to the early termination of the contract of $239,248 in 2014, which was included in other income.
Income Tax Benefit (Expense)
The Company had an income tax benefit for 2015 of $2,239,917, compared to $0 of income tax expense for 2014. The effective tax rate was 21.2% in 2015 and 0.0% in 2014.
As a part of the purchase price allocation for the IPSA acquisition, the Company recorded net deferred tax assets, which were recorded on IPSA’s books at the time of acquisition, of approximately $556,000. In connection with the purchase price allocation, the Company recorded a deferred tax liability of approximately $2,842,000, with a corresponding increase to goodwill, for the tax effect of the acquired identifiable intangible assets from IPSA. This liability was recorded as there will be no future tax deductions related to the acquired intangibles but they will be amortized as described above for financial reporting purposes.
Prior to the acquisition, the Company had determined that it was more likely than not that some portion or all of its deferred tax assets would not be realized and therefore had recorded a valuation allowance for the full amount of its deferred tax assets (which were $7,543,910 at December 31, 2014). Upon the acquisition, the Company evaluated the likelihood that the acquired deferred tax assets and liabilities would be realized and as a result of that evaluation, recorded an increase to the valuation allowance of approximately $474,000 related to the acquired deferred tax assets and recorded a reduction to the valuation allowance of approximately $2,842,000 related to the deferred tax liability associated with the acquired identifiable intangible assets. The net amount of these two adjustments to the Company’s valuation allowance against its net deferred tax assets was approximately $2,368,000 and is included in the income tax benefit on the Company’s consolidated statement of operations for year ended December 31, 2015.
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Preferred Stock Dividends
The Company has two series of Convertible Preferred Stock which pay dividends at annual specified rates. The two series are: Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, which has a 7% dividend rate, and the Series D Convertible Preferred Stock, which has a 8% dividend rate. See further discussion on the Convertible Preferred Stock in Note 11 to the Financial Statements. Dividends paid during 2015, which were paid in common stock, were valued at issuance as follows: to Series B, 36,369 shares valued at $56,372 and to Series C, 225,807 shares valued at $350,000. Dividends paid during 2014, which were paid in common stock, were valued at issuance as follows: to Series B, 98,003 shares valued at $56,372, to Series C, 603,448 shares valued at $350,000 and to Series D, 1,592,748 shares valued at $1,190,984.
Comparison of 2014 to 2013
The result of operations described below includes the Business Advisory Solutions (“BAS”) segment and the Energy Solutions (“ES”) segment for the entire years of 2014 and 2013. We acquired root9B, LLC on November 22, 2013, and the results of operations for the Cyber Solutions (“CS”) segment are for the full year of 2014 and only the period from November 22, 2013 to December 31, 2013 is included in 2013.
Net Revenue
Total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $20,175,488 as compared to $26,399,916 for the year ended December 31, 2013, a net decrease of $6,224,428, or 23.6%. Revenue by segment was as follows:
Year Ended December 31st | ||||||||||||
2014 | 2013 | % growth | ||||||||||
Business Advisory Solutions Revenue | $ | 12,964,920 | $ | 14,482,476 | -10.5 | % | ||||||
Energy Solutions Revenue | $ | 3,134,518 | $ | 11,908,690 | -73.7 | % | ||||||
Cyber Solutions Revenue | $ | 4,076,050 | $ | 8,750 | nm | |||||||
Total Revenue | $ | 20,175,488 | $ | 26,399,916 | -23.6 | % |
Business Advisory Solutions Segment
Revenue for the BAS segment for the year ended December 31, 2014 decreased 10.5% as compared to the year ended December 31, 2013. Revenue for the BAS segment was below the Company’s plans for mid-to-high single digit revenue growth and was mainly due to a significant decline in revenue from two large customers as well as the impact of three projects that were completed during 2013 and the related revenue was not fully offset by revenue from new customers in 2014.
Energy Solutions Segment
Revenue for the ES segment for the year ended December 31, 2014 decreased 73.7% as compared to the year ended December 31, 2013. There are two key reasons for the decline in revenue. First, the Company had two significant contracts during 2013 that generated approximately $7.6 million of revenue and did not have similar large sized projects during 2014. Second, the ES segment had a significant amount of revenue in 2013 related to the implementation of auto demand response (ADR) systems in California. During 2013, the state of California altered the ADR program and incentives to corporations for implementing these type of energy saving systems and as a result the demand for this business has dropped significantly. During 2014, the Company had no revenue from ADR systems work. In light of the Company’s repositioning effort and strategy adjustment as well as lower than planned revenue growth in the ES segment, the energy business changed its deliverables based on current capabilities and opportunities to have a more narrow focus going forward on controls and automation.
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Cyber Solutions Segment
Revenue for the CS segment for the year ended December 31, 2014, which is generated from cyber security advisory and technical services, was approximately $4,076,000, and was almost entirely incremental as compared to the year ended December 31, 2013, and is attributable to the acquisition of root9B, LLC. The CS segment was formed upon the acquisition of root9B, LLC in November 2013, and therefore the revenue during 2013 was not significant. During 2014, the Company invested in building up the CS segment, primarily by hiring new resources with specialized cyber security skills and extending the infrastructure.
Gross Margin
Gross margin (revenue less cost of revenues, defined as all costs for billable staff for the BAS segment and cost of goods for the ES and CS segments) decreased to approximately $5,192,000 for 2014 from approximately $5,554,000 for 2013, a reduction of $362,000. The decline in gross margin was due to decreases in both the BAS and ES segments, which totaled approximately $1,550,000 and was a result of the lower revenue in both segments in 2014 as compared to 2013. This reduction was partially offset by an increase in gross margin of $1,188,000 in the CS segment, which business was incremental in 2014 as compared to 2013.
Gross margin, as a percentage of revenue, increased to 25.7% in 2014 from 21.0% in 2013. On a segment basis, the gross margin percentage increased in the BAS segment to 27.0% in 2014 from 25.7% in 2013 and increased in the ES segment to 18.3% in 2014 from 16.0% in 2013. The increase in the gross margin rate was due to the impact in 2013 of low gross margin on a significant solar contract, and, in 2014 there was not a similar contract. The gross margin rate in the ES segment was lower than planned in 2014 due to the decrease in revenue and that resulting lower revenue not covering the production related fixed overhead costs in the segment. The gross margin rate in the CS segment was 27.6% for 2014 and was lower than planned due to the ramp up of headcount as the CS segment builds its infrastructure in anticipation of future growth. As a result of this ramp up, all of the production resources being assembled were not deployed to projects and therefore reduced the gross margin rate.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses increased to $11,185,000 in 2014 from $9,214,000 in 2013, an increase of 21.4%. As a percentage of revenue, SG&A expenses increased to 55.4% in 2014 as compared to 34.9% in 2013. The increase in SG&A expenses as a percentage of revenue was due primarily to the reduced revenue in the ES segment, additional expenses related to the CS segment, as well as increased corporate overhead expenses. SG&A expenses increased approximately $1,971,000 during 2014 as compared to 2013 and break out as follows: the BAS segment increased $250,000, the ES segment decreased $991,000, the CS segment increased $776,000 (primarily incremental for 2014 as compared to 2013) and Corporate Overhead increased $1,936,000. The Company accounts and manages expenses as those directly related to a business segment and corporate overhead expenses which includes executive compensation, back office functions, such as finance and human resources, and other administrative costs. Expenses related to these groups are discussed below.
BAS Segment
SG&A expenses in the BAS segment increased to approximately $2,085,000 in 2014 as compared to approximately $1,835,000 in 2013, an increase of $250,000 or 13.6%. The increase is mainly attributable to increased labor costs of $247,000. This increase in labor expenses for the BAS segment is due to a change in the classification of certain individuals from overhead to direct expenses for the BAS segment. During the first quarter of 2014, the Company determined that the labor costs related to some BAS leadership positions, which had previously been charged to Corporate Overhead, would be charged directly to the BAS segment. As a result of this change, labor costs increased for the BAS segment in 2014 as compared to 2013 and were reduced for Corporate Overhead. BAS expenses as a percentage of segment revenue increased to 16.2% in 2014 from 12.7% in 2013.
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ES Segment
SG&A expenses in the ES segment decreased to approximately $1,894,000 in 2014 as compared to approximately $2,885,000 in 2013, a decrease of $991,000 or 34.3%. The decrease is primarily attributable to reduced labor costs of $806,000. The decrease in labor costs is due to planned reductions in the labor force due to declining revenues as well as reduced commission expense, also due to lower revenues as compared to the prior year.
CS Segment
SG&A expenses in the CS segment were approximately $1,131,000 in 2014 as compared to $355,000 in 2013. The CS segment began operations in November 2013 when the Company acquired root9B, LLC, and therefore a majority of the expenses in 2014 are incremental as compared to 2013. SG&A expenses during 2014 were slightly higher than planned as the Company invested in additional headcount, with specialized cyber security skill sets, as the Company prepared for anticipated growth in this segment.
Corporate Overhead
Corporate Overhead SG&A expenses increased to $6,094,000 in 2014 from $4,139,000 in 2013 (exclusive of CS segment startup expenses), an increase of $1,955,000 or 47.2%. The main drivers of the increase were an increase in labor costs of $1,278,000 and an increase in stock option expense for employees and directors in the amount of $579,000. The increase in labor costs was primarily due to the addition of two senior executive positions. During January of 2014, the Company hired a senior team member who was leading the Energy Solutions group and is no longer with the Company. Additionally, in May of 2014 a new CEO was named. The compensation and bonus related to these two positions is incremental to 2014 as compared to 2013. The increase in stock option expense was due to the issuance of 6,585,000 stock options to new hires, key employees and directors during 2014 as compared to 525,000 stock option issuances during 2013. The buildup in corporate overhead was undertaken in planning for substantial revenue growth, of which there can be no assurance.
Energy repositioning and subcontract obligation
During 2014, the Company incurred one-time charges of approximately $1,162,000 related to two items: 1) the repositioning of the Company to accentuate an increased focus and commitment to cybersecurity and regulatory risk mitigation and 2) recording a liability where the Company was alleged to have signed as a co-indemnitor with Prime Solutions, Inc. which is a subcontractor to Honeywell on a solar project, which items are explained below.
On October 17, 2014, the Company announced it would reposition the business to focus on cyber security and regulatory risk mitigation, rename the Company “root9B Technologies, Inc.”, and de-emphasize the ES segment by adjusting its focus to operate in support of the Cyber and Business Advisory segments. As a part of this repositioning the Company has reduced headcount in the ES segment and incurred one-time expenses of $412,000 related to the headcount adjustments.
Platte River has alleged that the Company is a co-indemnitor in support of surety bonds issued by Platte River on behalf of Prime Solutions for the benefit of Honeywell pursuant to Prime Solutions, Inc.’s (“Prime”) solar project located in Worcester Massachusetts (the “Prime Contract”). The Company’s maximum liability exposure under the bond is limited to $1,412,544, if Prime were to fail to meet its contracted obligations. On October 15, 2014, the Company determined it was probable that Prime would not be able to meet its contracted obligations under the Prime Contract and therefore the Company may have an obligation to Platte River to meet outstanding Prime Contract obligations. The Company recorded a one-time accrual of $650,000, which was the Company’s estimate of the most likely amount of its obligation under the co-indemnity agreement.
Other Income (Expense)
Other Income (Expense) for 2014 resulted in an expense of $16,896,000 as compared to an expense of $2,085,000 in 2013. The components of the net expense are discussed below.
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Derivative (expense) income
From May 2010 through the first quarter of 2013, the Company issued Series B Preferred Stock, Debentures, Series C Preferred Stock, 7% Convertible Redeemable Promissory Notes, and Series D Preferred Stock, all with detachable common stock purchase warrants deemed to be derivative instruments. These warrants are recorded as a derivative liability and “marked-to-market” based on fair value estimates at each reporting date. Collectively, these derivatives were valued at an estimated fair value of $10,651,000 at December 31, 2014, with the change (increase) in value since December 31, 2013 of $10,344,000, being recognized as derivative (non-cash) expense on the consolidated statement of operations for 2014. For the year ended December 31, 2013, the change in derivative valuation for the like period was non-cash income of $2,150,000.
Goodwill impairment
An annual goodwill impairment evaluation for 2014 was performed by applying both the Step 1 and Step 2 tests as prescribed by FASB ASC 350. The results of the Step 1 test for the BAS segment indicated no impairment to goodwill related to this segment and Step 2 was not required. The results for the Step 1 test for the ES segment indicated impairment of goodwill and Step 2 was completed to determine the amount of impairment. The Company engaged an outside firm that specializes in valuation assessments to perform the Step 1 and Step 2 tests and valuation work. Of the $10,716,000 in goodwill that was recorded as of December 31, 2013, $6,364,000 was attributable to the ES segment. After completion of the valuation work of the segment it was determined that the fair value of the goodwill for the ES segment was $0, resulting in a non-cash impairment charge of $6,364,000. The impairment was due primarily to the slower than planned growth in revenue, earnings and cash flow as well as the repositioning of the Company to focus on cyber security and regulatory risk mitigation while deemphasizing the energy business. A similar process was performed for 2013 and resulted in a goodwill impairment charge for the ES segment of $4,472,000. This impairment was related to the timing and amounts of expected revenue, earnings and cash flow results. See further discussion on goodwill and goodwill impairment in Note 7 to the Financial Statements.
Intangibles Impairment
As a part of the acquisitions of GHH and Ecological, both in 2012, the Company recorded intangible assets for the acquired customer lists and trade names of both companies. The value at acquisition of these assets was $1,118,000 and they were being amortized over 5 to 7 years. The balance at December 31, 2014 prior to impairment was $429,000. The estimates of future revenue, income and cash flow were reduced from prior estimates and the Company shifted its strategy to focus on cyber security and regulatory risk mitigation while deemphasizing the energy segment. Based on the revised strategy and estimates, we measured the fair value of the intangible assets as of December 31, 2014 and determined the fair value for each of these intangible assets to be $0, resulting in a non-cash impairment charge of $429,000. A similar process was performed for 2013 and resulted in an intangible asset impairment charge for the ES segment of $238,000.
Other income
Other income increased to approximately $301,000 in 2014 as compared to approximately $88,000 in 2013. During the first quarter of 2014 the Company entered into an agreement with the landlord for the New York office under which we vacated the office space at the end of 2014, which was earlier than the lease term, and in exchange we incurred no rent expense during 2014. As a result of this agreement, the Company recorded a gain related to the early termination of the contract of $239,248 which is included in other income in 2014.
Income Tax Benefit (Expense)
There was no income tax expense for 2014 or 2013. The effective tax rate was 0% in 2014 and 2013. We record deferred tax assets and liabilities attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis. We determined, at both December 31, 2014 and 2013, that it was not more likely than not that our deferred tax assets would be recoverable and, accordingly set up a full valuation allowance for the deferred tax assets at December 31, 2014 and 2013.
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Preferred Stock Dividends
In 2014 the Company had three series of Convertible Preferred Stock which paid dividends at annual specified rates. The three series were: 7% Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, which has a 7% dividend rate, and the Series D Convertible Preferred Stock, which has a 8% dividend rate. See further discussion on the Convertible Preferred Stock in Note 11 to the Financial Statements. Dividends paid during 2014, which were paid in common stock, were valued at issuance as follows: to Series B, 98,003 shares valued at $56,372, to Series C, 603,448 shares valued at $350,000 and to Series D, 1,592,748 shares valued at $1,190,984.
Critical Accounting Policies
Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with the U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make significant estimates and judgments that affect the reported amount of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. We evaluate our estimates, including those related to bad debts, intangible assets and contingencies on an ongoing basis. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
While our significant accounting policies are more fully described in our consolidated financial statements appearing at the end of the Annual Report on Form 10-K, we believe that the following critical accounting policies involve the more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements and are the most critical to aid you in fully understanding and evaluating our reported financial results.
Revenue Recognition
We follow the guidance of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 104 for revenue recognition. In general, we record revenue when persuasive evidence of any agreement exists, services have been rendered, and collectability is reasonably assured, therefore, revenue is recognized when we invoice customers for completed services at contracted rates and terms. Therefore, revenue recognition may differ from the timing of cash receipts.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets
Our intangible assets include goodwill, trademarks, non-compete agreements, patents and purchased customer relationships, all of which are accounted for based on Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 350 Intangibles-Goodwill and Other. As described below, goodwill and intangible assets that have indefinite useful lives are not amortized but are tested at least annually for impairment or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired. Intangible assets with limited useful lives are amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated period of benefit, ranging from two to fifteen years. Goodwill is tested for impairment by comparing the carrying value to the estimated fair value, in accordance with GAAP.
Impairment Testing
Our goodwill impairment testing is calculated at the reporting or segment unit level. Our annual impairment test has two steps. The first identifies potential impairments by comparing the fair value of the reporting or segment unit with its carrying value. If the fair value exceeds the carrying amount, goodwill is not impaired and the second step is not necessary. If the carrying value exceeds the fair value, the second step calculates the possible impairment loss by comparing the implied fair value of goodwill with the carrying amount. If the implied fair value of goodwill is less than the carrying amount, a write-down is recorded.
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The impairment test for the other intangible assets is performed by comparing the carrying amount of the intangible assets to the sum of the undiscounted expected future cash flows. In accordance with GAAP, which relates to impairment of long-lived assets other than goodwill, impairment exists if the sum of the future undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the intangible asset or to its related group of assets.
We predominately use discounted cash flow models derived from internal budgets in assessing fair values for our impairment testing. Factors that could change the result of our impairment test include, but are not limited to, different assumptions used to forecast future net sales, expenses, capital expenditures, and working capital requirements used in our cash flow models. In addition, selection of a risk-adjusted discount rate on the estimated undiscounted cash flows is susceptible to future changes in market conditions, and when unfavorable, can adversely affect our original estimates of fair values. In the event that our management determines that the value of intangible assets have become impaired using this approach, we will record an accounting charge for the amount of the impairment. We have engaged an independent valuation expert to assist us in performing the valuation and analysis of fair values of goodwill and intangibles.
Derivative Warrant Liability
The Company evaluates warrants issued in connection with debt and preferred stock issuances to determine if those contracts or any potential embedded components of those contracts qualify as derivatives to be separately accounted for. This accounting treatment requires that the carrying amount of any embedded derivatives be marked-to-market at each balance sheet date and carried at fair value. In the event that the fair value is recorded as a liability, the change in the fair value during the period is recorded in the Statement of Operations as either income or expense. Upon conversion or exercise, the derivative liability is marked to fair value at the conversion date and then the related fair value is reclassified to equity. The fair value at each balance sheet date and the change in value for each class of warrant derivative is disclosed in detail in Note 2 to the Financial Statements.
Share-Based Compensation
The Company accounts for stock based compensation in accordance with FASB ASC 718 – Compensation-Stock Compensation. For employee stock options issued under the Company’s stock-based compensation plans, the fair value of each option grant is estimated on the date of the grant using the Black-Scholes pricing model, and an estimated forfeiture rate is used when calculating stock-based compensation expense for the period. For employee restricted stock awards and units issued under the Company’s stock-based compensation plans, the fair value of each grant is calculated based on the Company’s stock price on the date of the grant and an estimated forfeiture rate when calculating stock-based compensation expense for the period. The Company recognizes the compensation cost of stock-based awards according to the vesting schedule of the award.
The Company accounts for stock-based compensation awards to non-employees in accordance with FASB ASC 505-50 Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees (“ASC 505-50”). Under ASC 505-50, the Company determines the fair value of the warrants or stock-based compensation awards granted as either the fair value of the consideration received or the fair value of the equity instruments issued, whichever is more reliably measurable. Any stock options issued to non-employees are recorded in expense and additional paid-in capital in stockholders’ equity (deficit) over the applicable service periods.
Fair Value of Financial Assets and Liabilities – Derivative Instruments
We measure the fair value of financial assets and liabilities in accordance with GAAP, which defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value, and requires certain disclosures about fair value measurements.
GAAP defines fair value as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. GAAP also establishes a fair value hierarchy, which requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. GAAP describes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:
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Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2 – quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets or inputs that are observable.
Level 3 – inputs that are unobservable (for example the probability of a capital raise in a “binomial” methodology for valuation of a derivative liability directly related to the issuance of common stock warrants).
We do not use derivative financial instruments to hedge exposures to cash-flow, market or foreign-currency risks. However, we have entered into certain financial instruments and contracts, such as debt financing arrangements, the issuance of preferred stock with detachable common stock warrants features that are either i) not afforded equity classification, ii) embody risks not clearly and closely related to host contracts, or iii) may be net-cash settled by the counterparty. These instruments are required to be carried as derivative liabilities, at fair value.
Certain of our derivative instruments are detachable (or “free-standing”) common stock purchase warrants issued in conjunction with debt or preferred stock. We estimate fair values of these derivatives utilizing Level 2 inputs for all warrants issued, other than those associated with Series C Preferred Stock. Other than the Series C Preferred Stock warrants, we use the Black-Scholes option valuation technique as it embodies all of the requisite assumptions (including trading volatility, remaining term to maturity, market price, strike price, and risk free rates) necessary to fair value these instruments, for they do not contain material “down round protection” (otherwise referred to as “anti-dilution” and full ratchet provisions). For the warrants directly related to the Series C Preferred Stock, the warrant contracts do contain “Down Round Protections” and the “Black-Scholes” option valuation technique does not, in its valuation calculation, give effect for the additional value inherently attributable to the “Down Round Protection” mechanisms in its contractual arrangement. Valuation models and techniques have been developed and are widely accepted that take into account the additional value inherent in “Down Round Protection.” These techniques include “Modified Binomial”, “Monte Carlo Simulation” and the “Lattice Model.” The “core” assumptions and inputs to the “Binomial” model are the same as for “Black-Scholes”, such as trading volatility, remaining term to maturity, market price, strike price, and risk free rates; all Level 2 inputs. However, a key input to the “Binomial” model (in our case, the “Monte Carlo Simulation”, for which we engage an independent valuation firm to perform) is the probability of a future capital raise which would trigger the Down Round Protection feature. By definition, this input assumption does not meet the requirements for Level 1 or Level 2 outlined above; therefore, the entire fair value calculation for the Series C Common Stock Warrants is deemed to be Level 3. This input to the Monte Carlo Simulation model, was developed with significant input from management based on its knowledge of the business, current financial position and the strategic business plan with its best efforts.
As discussed above, financial liabilities are considered Level 3 when their fair values are determined using pricing models or similar techniques and at least one significant model assumption or input is unobservable. For the Company, the only Level 3 financial liability is the derivative liability related to the common stock purchase warrants directly related to the Series C Preferred Stock for the warrant contract includes “Down Round Protection” and they were valued using the “Monte Carlo Simulation” technique.
As of December 31, 2015, the Company has determined that the Black-Scholes model valuation for the Series C warrants was not materially different than the Binomial model due to the remaining period before warrant expiration being less than 3 months and the current market price of the Company’s stock being in excess of the down round trigger price of $0.77. As a result, the valuation of the Series C warrants as of December 31, 2015 was performed using the Black-Scholes model to approximate the Binomial model valuation.
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under FASB ASC Topic 740 Income Taxes. Under FASB ASC Topic 740, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be removed or settled. The Company regularly assesses the likelihood that its deferred tax assets will be realized from recoverable income taxes or recovered from future taxable income. To the extent that the Company believes any amounts are not more likely than not to be realized through the reversal of the deferred tax liabilities and future income, the Company records a valuation allowance to reduce its deferred tax assets. In the event the Company determines that all or part of the net deferred tax assets are not realizable in the future, an adjustment to the valuation allowance would be charged to earnings in the period such determination is made. Similarly, if the Company subsequently realizes deferred tax assets that were previously determined to be unrealizable, the respective valuation allowance would be reversed, resulting in an adjustment to earnings in the period such determination is made.
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Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606).” This guidance requires an entity to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) – Deferral of the Effective Date”, a standard to provide for a one-year deferral of the effective date of ASU 2014-09. ASU 2015-14 requires application of ASU 2014-09 for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and early adoption is permitted as of the original effective date (i.e. for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016). The Company has not yet determined the effect, if any, that the adoption of this standard will have on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.
In August 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-15, Going Concern (“ASU 2014-15”). ASU 2014-15 provides GAAP guidance on management’s responsibility in evaluating whether there is substantial doubt about a company’s ability to continue as a going concern and about related footnote disclosures. For each reporting period, management will be required to evaluate whether there are conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about a company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year from the date the financial statements are issued. The standard will be effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Early application is permitted for annual or interim reporting periods for which the financial statements have not previously been issued. Upon adoption the Company will use the guidance in ASU 2014-15 to assess going concern uncertainty matters.
In February, 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (“ASU 2016-02”). ASU 2016-02 is intended to improve financial reporting about leasing transactions. ASU 2016-02 affects companies that lease assets such as real estate, airplanes, and manufacturing equipment. The ASU will require organizations that lease assets referred to as “Lessees” to recognize on the balance sheet the assets and liabilities for the rights and obligations created by those leases. The standard will be effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. Early adoption will be permitted for all companies and organizations upon issuance of the standard. See Note 14 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for the Company’s current lease commitments. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact that ASU 2016-02 will have on its financial statements.
In addition to the items referenced above, since January 1, 2015, there have been several new accounting pronouncements and updates to the Accounting Standards Codification. Each of these updates has been reviewed by Management who does not believe their adoption has had or will have a material impact on the Company’s financial position or operating results.
Executive Compensation Agreements
We have executive compensation agreements with one original executive. We own a separate life insurance policy (Flexible Premium Multifunded Life), with a face amount of $3,000,000. We pay all scheduled monthly premiums and retain all interests in the policy. If the insured employee were to die, we would pay the employee’s designated beneficiary an annual survivor’s benefit of $300,000 per year for 10 consecutive years after the employee’s death.
Employee Benefit Plan
After the acquisition of IPSA on February 9, 2015, the Company has two 401(k) plans which cover substantially all employees. The Company had a 401(k) plan in place prior to the acquisition of IPSA (the “Root9B Plan”) and IPSA had also had a 401(k) plan, (the “IPSA Plan”). Plan participants in either plan can make voluntary contributions of up to 15 percent of compensation, subject to certain limitations. Under the Root9B Plan, the Company matches a portion of employee deferrals. Under the IPSA Plan, there are no matches of a portion of employee deferrals. It is the Company’s intent during 2016 to combine the two plans. Total company contributions to the plans for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 were approximately $50,140 and $51,296, respectively.
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Financial Condition and Liquidity
As of December 31, 2015, we had cash and cash equivalents of $795,682, compared to $765,099 at December 31, 2014, an increase of $30,583. The increase is primarily attributable to the proceeds from the equity financing, stock and warrant exercise transactions during 2015 which totaled approximately $16,100,000, offset by the net cash used in operations and investing activities during 2015 of approximately $12,400,000 and $3,800,000, respectively. After financings in the first quarter of 2016 (see below), our cash position has increased and outstanding cash and cash equivalents at March 11, 2016 was approximately $5.5 million.
Our objective from a liquidity perspective is to use operating cash flows to fund day to day operations. In both 2015 and 2014, we did not achieve this objective, as cash flow from operations in the 2015 and 2014 has been the net use of $12.4 million and $5.5 million, respectively. Our high use of cash has been predominantly caused by declines in revenue in our existing businesses, costs associated with the IPSA acquisition, costs for the ramp up of the cyber solutions employee base and capital costs associated with the build out of the operations center for the cyber solutions group. Additionally, revenues at IPSA were below expectations during the last nine months of 2015 due to the unexpected delay and ultimate early termination of a project with a significant customer and revenue in the cyber solutions segment has not materialized at the pace that was anticipated. Based on the foregoing, should these trends continue, the Company may have to obtain additional financing to support future operations. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to obtain such financing, or if obtained, on terms favorable to the Company. Failure to obtain the same will adversely affect the operations of the Company.
In 2015, the consequence of the downturn in our non-IPSA revenues and the increases in our expenses as we invested in the Cyber Solution Segments products and services led to significant liquidity pressures.
The Company continues to explore various financing alternatives to provide additional liquidity. In February and March of 2016, we closed on $1,256,782 and $5,584,549, respectively, of additional financing, which proceeds will provide relief for near term liquidity pressures. Should we continue to experience revenue decreases in our non-IPSA revenue segments and slower than planned customer acceptance of the Cyber Solution Segments products and services we will need additional financing to assure future operations. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain the same, or if obtained, on terms favorable to the Company.
Working capital was $(971,669) and $(1,606,502), at December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, an increase of $634,833. The increase results primarily from a $399,834 net decrease in liabilities associated with billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings, combined with a $234,999 net increase related to increased prepaid expenses offset by reduced notes payable.
Non-current liabilities at December 31, 2015 are $3,542,457, and primarily consist of a derivative liability related to the current valuation of outstanding common stock purchase warrants, of $3,540,084, which is a non-cash liability.
Stockholders’ Equity was $21,119,604 at December 31, 2015, compared to a deficit balance at December 31, 2014 of $(5,480,525). The $26,600,129 increase in Stockholders’ Equity relates to: i) a 2015 net loss of $(8,338,026), ii) $8,340,692 in common stock issuances for services, warrant and option exercises, iii) a net of $13,159,900 from financings, iv) $13,300,000 from the issuance of stock associated with the IPSA acquisition, and v) $137,563 in foreign currency exchange gains.
Cash Flows from Operating Activities
During the year ended December 31, 2015, net cash used in operating activities was $12,395,663 as compared to net cash used in operating activities of $5,534,232 during the year ended December 31, 2014, an increase of $6,861,431. The net cash used during 2015 consisted of: i) the net loss of $8,338,026, ii) increased by the non-cash charges for derivative expense $3,644,594 deferred income taxes $2,427,733 and loss on the sale of assets of $79,327, iii) $3,337,400 of non-cash expenses for depreciation and amortization, stock compensation expenses, and cash surrender value of life insurances, iv) the decrease in accounts payable and accrued expenses of $4,374,650, iv) a decrease in accounts receivable of $10,136,988, v) a decrease in factored obligations of $6,488,748, and vi) a net decrease in billings in excess of costs on contracts in progress at December 31, 2015 of $430,897.Cash Flows from Investing Activities
Cash used in investing activities during 2015 was $2,407,196 from net purchases of property and equipment and $1,368,825 in cash paid in the acquisition of IPSA.
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Cash Flows from Financing Activities
Cash received from financing activities was $2,906,365 for the exercise of stock options in 2015 and $13,159,899 in the issuance of common stock.
The following table represents the Company’s most liquid assets:
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 795,682 | $ | 765,099 | ||||
Marketable securities | 33,366 | 38,863 | ||||||
Investment in cost method investee | 100,000 | 100,000 | ||||||
$ | 929,048 | $ | 903,962 |
We continue to actively explore additional sources of financing as we expect we could need to raise additional funds in order to fund operations. Without additional financing beyond the $7,091,331 in funds raised in 2016 Q1, the Company may not be able to continue operating in the manner that is presently in place, and would have to reduce operations and/or restructure selling, general and administrative expenses.
Financing transactions may include the issuance of equity or debt securities, and obtaining credit facilities, or other financing mechanisms. The trading price of our common stock, or the continued incurrence of losses could make it more difficult for the Company to obtain financing through the issuance of equity or debt securities. If we issue additional equity or debt securities, stockholders will likely experience additional dilution or the new equity securities may have rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of existing holders of our common stock.
Outlook
In the latter half of 2014, the Company announced that it was de-emphasizing the energy business and repositioning itself as a cybersecurity and regulatory risk mitigation business.
The Company acquired root9B, its wholly owned cybersecurity business at the end of 2013. In 2014, root9B began expanding the number of subject matter experts it employs from 6 to its current number of 48, and developed and enhanced its offensive and defensive cyber operations platforms and tools. These efforts have resulted in the development of: i) Orion, an Active Adversarial Pursuit (HUNT) platform, ii) Orkos, which identifies compromised credentials and supports predictive remediation, iii) Cerberus, which provides host based security analytics and breach monitoring, and iv) Event Horizon, which provides non attributable network access that allows users to connect to a secure managed tunnel for web, e-mail and file transfers. The Adversarial Pursuit Center (APC), root9B’s 24/7 manned cyber security center, opened in September 2015. The APC combines internal and external threat intelligence feeds to drive pursuit operations and perimeter defense within client networks. In 2014, we reported approximately $4.0 million in cybersecurity revenue which was broken down between $1.5 million of training, $1.6 million of low margin hardware re-sales and $0.9 million of other revenue. In 2015 we discontinued the re-sale of hardware and focused on the development, sale and licensing of root9B’s tools at significantly higher margins. We continue to believe that root9B’s Orion and Hunt Platforms and other tools will provide a distinct advantage by allowing customers to focus on identifying potential threats before significant data breaches occur rather than remediation after the occurrence. We are still in the early stages of commercialization and while we believe that our business developments efforts will be successful, and enhanced by the opening of the APC in September 2015, there can be no assurances that our efforts to commercialize our new products offerings and grow root9B’s revenues will be successful.
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In February 2015, the Company acquired IPSA International, Inc., an international risk mitigation consulting firm. IPSA is an established business with operations at a number of locations in and outside of the United States. IPSA’s revenue has historically been generated through a small number of anti-money laundering clients who have traditionally accounted for approximately 80% of total revenue. As these large customer engagements conclude or as new engagements begin, IPSA’s revenue can experience dramatic swings. In order to decrease this dependency, we are focusing efforts on growing IPSA’s other revenue lines, particularly investigations related to the issuance of second passports in Antigua, St Kitts and other emerging markets, which are expected to provide increased revenue stability. When we acquired IPSA, we combined our Business Advisory Solutions unit with IPSA and that combined entity accounted for approximately 84% of our revenues for 2015. We expect that IPSA International / Business Advisory Services segment will produce the preponderance of our revenues in 2016, after which we expect to recognize revenue gains within our cybersecurity unit, root9B, of which there can be no assurance. The competitive environment has sharpened significantly as more Companies have entered IPSA’s line of business, including those who use off shore labor and indirect sourcing and provide services at significantly lower rates. The Company continues to evaluate how best to respond to this new market condition.
Because of the time needed to build root9B and IPSA revenues, and the selling, general and administrative expenses of the Company related to such anticipated growth, the Company has been experiencing negative cash flow and has used periodic financings to maintain its operations. With new IPSA and Cyber Solutions client engagements in 2016, the Company expects such incremental revenue along with expense management to improve the Company’s liquidity position, and while there can be no assurances, based upon its current cash position as well as these new executed contracts that will be performed in 2016, management believes that it will have sufficient cash to fund operations into the first quarter of 2017. The Company continues to pursue available options for obtaining additional financing. No assurances can be given that, if needed, the Company will be successful in obtaining the necessary financing.
Contractual Obligations
As of December 31, 2015, our contractual obligations consisted of the following lease and other contractual obligations:
2016 | $ | 1,270,509 | ||
2017 | $ | 1,117,855 | ||
2018 | $ | 734,166 | ||
2019 | $ | 420,568 | ||
2020 | $ | 342,891 | ||
2021 | $ | 55,600 |
The leases cover office premises. Non-cancellable contracts with talent acquisition search engines account for $6,858 of the obligations. The above schedule of contractual obligations does not include dividends on preferred stock as they have not been declared, and the Company has the option of paying the dividends in cash or common stock of the Company at its discretion. The Company has several employment contracts in place with key management which are in the normal course and have not been included in the above table.
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Off-Balance-Sheet Arrangements
The 7% Series B Convertible Preferred Stock accrues 7 percent per annum dividends. Dividends are payable annually in arrears. At December 31, 2015, $6,857 of dividends has accrued on these shares, respectively. However, they are unrecorded on the Company’s books until declared. On February 16, 2015, we declared dividends on our Convertible Series B Preferred Stock and we paid the dividends in shares of our common stock, and on February 16, 2015, we issued 4,969 shares of our common stock to the 7% Series B Convertible Preferred Stockholders.
The 7% Series C Convertible Preferred Stock accrues 7 percent per annum dividends. Dividends are payable annually in arrears. At December 31, 2015, $350,000 of dividends has accrued on these shares. However, they are unrecorded on our books until declared. On February 9, 2016, the Company entered into a letter agreement (the “Agreement”) with Miriam Blech and River Charitable Remainder Unitrust f/b/o Isaac Blech, who together control all of the Company’s Series C Preferred Stock. Pursuant to the Agreement, the parties agreed to postpone payment of the annual dividend on the Company’s Series C Preferred Stock until five (5) business days following the day on which the Company holds an annual or special meeting of its stockholders where the stockholders are presented with a proposal to increase the authorized capital stock of the Company.
As of December 31, 2015, and during the prior year then ended, there were no transactions, agreements or other contractual arrangements to which an unconsolidated entity was a party under which we (1) had any direct or contingent obligation under a guarantee contract, derivative instrument, or variable interest in the unconsolidated entity, or (2) had a retained or contingent interest in assets transferred to the unconsolidated entity.
On December 8, 2015, the Company issued 2,025,000 stock options to employees. The vesting of these options is contingent on shareholder approval of an increase in the amount of authorized shares of common stock at the next annual meeting. In the event that the shareholders do not approve the increase in authorized shares the options will be cancelled. The Company has determined that due to the contingent vesting of these options, the grant date has not occurred as of December 31, 2015 and as a result, they are not included in the Company’s outstanding stock options at December 31, 2015.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Our financial statements, including notes and the report of our independent accountants, can be found at page F-1 of this annual report.
36
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None.
ITEM 9A(T). CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
EVALUATION OF DISCLOSURE CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to this Company’s management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow for timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and management is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.
As required by Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 13a-15(b), we carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures. Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls were effective at December 31, 2015.
MANAGEMENT’S ANNUAL REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, and includes those policies and procedures that:
1. | Pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company; |
2. | 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 being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and, |
3. | 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 Company’s financial statements. |
We have in place controls for financial process and reporting that encompass the following: (a) use of an automated financial system with built in controls and balance points, (b) fully documented compliance and audit processes for the operations team, (c) segregation of duties, (d) daily and monthly reconciliation/balance and audit points, (e) established review points with external accounting / auditors and SEC counsel, (f) review points by management for all unique or key financial transactions/activity, and (g) a Code of Ethics guiding activity of all employees.
Despite these controls, because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their control objectives. Furthermore, smaller reporting companies, like us, face additional limitations. Smaller reporting companies employ fewer individuals and can find it difficult to properly segregate all duties. Often, one or two individuals control every aspect of the Company's operation and are in a position to override any system of internal control. Additionally, smaller reporting companies tend to utilize general accounting software packages that lack a rigorous set of software controls.
37
Management, with the participation of the CEO, evaluated the effectiveness of the Company's internal controls over financial reporting as of December 31, 2015. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control – 2013 Integrated Framework. Based on the above management, with the participation of the CEO, concluded that as of December 31, 2015, our internal controls over financial reporting are effective in all material respects.
LIMITATIONS ON CONTROLS
Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and implemented, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the Company's disclosure objectives. The likelihood of achieving such objectives is affected by limitations inherent in such controls and procedures, including the fact that human judgment in decision making can be faulty and that breakdown in internal controls can occur because of human failures such as simple errors or mistakes or intentional circumvention of the established process.
This annual report does not include an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by our registered public accounting firm pursuant to temporary rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission that permit the Company to provide only management’s report in this annual report.
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
None.
38
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The information required by Item 10 is incorporated by reference to our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2016 annual meeting of shareholders. In accordance with Regulation 14A, we will be filing that proxy statement no later than 120 days after the end of the last fiscal year.
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
The information required by Item 11 is incorporated by reference to our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2016 annual meeting of shareholders. In accordance with Regulation 14A, we will be filing that proxy statement no later than 120 days after the end of the last fiscal year.
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
The information required by Item 12 is incorporated by reference to our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2016 annual meeting of shareholders. In accordance with Regulation 14A, we will be filing that proxy statement no later than 120 days after the end of the last fiscal year.
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
The information required by Item 13 is incorporated by reference to our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2016 annual meeting of shareholders. In accordance with Regulation 14A, we will be filing that proxy statement no later than 120 days after the end of the last fiscal year.
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
The information required by Item 14 is incorporated by reference to our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2016 annual meeting of shareholders. In accordance with Regulation 14A, we will be filing that proxy statement no later than 120 days after the end of the last fiscal year.
39
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SCHEDULES
The following exhibits are filed as a part of, or incorporated by reference into, this report.
No. | Description |
2.1 | Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated November 13, 2013, between the root9B Technologies, Inc., (the “Registrant”) and root9B LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on November 19, 2013). |
2.2 | Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated February 6, 2015, between the Registrant, IPSA International Services Inc., and IPSA International Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on February 10, 2015). |
3.1 | Certificate of Incorporation filed with the Delaware Secretary of State on June 21, 2011 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on March 30, 2012). |
3.2 | Amended and Restated Bylaws (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on February 1, 2011). |
3.3 | Certificate of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation filed with the Delaware Secretary of State on April 30, 2012 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on May 1, 2012). |
3.4 | Certificate of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation filed with the Delaware Secretary of State on August 28, 2014 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on August 29, 2014). |
3.5 | Certificate of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation filed with the Delaware Secretary of State on November 24, 2014 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on December 1, 2014). |
4.1 | Amended and Restated Certificate of Designations, Powers, Preferences and other Rights and Qualifications of the Series B Convertible Preferred Stock (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on March 11, 2011). |
4.2 | Amended and Restated Certificate of Designations, Powers, Preferences and other Rights and Qualifications of the Series C Convertible Preferred Stock (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on March 7, 2011). |
4.3 | Certificate of Designations, Powers, Preferences and other Rights and Qualifications of the Series D Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K/A of the Registrant filed with the Commission on January 31, 2013). |
4.4 | Form of Warrant issued to the Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stockholders (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on March 7, 2011). |
4.5 | Form of Warrant issued to the Series D Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stockholders (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on January 2, 2013). |
4.6 | Form of Warrant issued to the 10% Convertible Promissory Note Holders (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on October 29, 2014). |
40
4.7 | Form of 10% Convertible Promissory Note by and between the Registrant and the Purchasers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on October 29, 2014). |
4.8 | Form of Warrant issued to the Purchasers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on February 10, 2015). |
4.9 | Form of Warrant issued to the Holders (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on March 16, 2015). |
4.10 | Form of Warrant issued to the Series C Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stockholders (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on August 12, 2015). |
4.11 | Form of Warrant issued to the 10% Convertible Promissory Note Holders (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on October 30, 2015). |
4.12 | Form of Warrant for Qualified Purchasers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on March 14, 2016). |
4.13 | Form of Warrant for non-Qualified Purchasers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on March 14, 2016). |
10.1 | Securities Purchase Agreement, dated March 3, 2011, by and between the Registrant, Miriam Blech, and River Charitable Remainder Unitrust f/b/o Isaac Blech (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Current Report on Form 8- K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on March 7, 2011). |
10.2 | Registration Rights Agreement, dated March 3, 2011 by and between the Registrant and Holders (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to Current Report on Form 8- K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on March 7, 2011). |
10.3 | Form of Subscription Agreement by and between the Registrant and the Series D Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock Subscribers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Current Report on Form 8- K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on January 2, 2013). |
10.4 | Form of Securities Purchase Agreement by and between the Registrant and the Purchasers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on October 23, 2014). |
10.5 | Registration Rights Agreement, dated February 9, 2015, by and between the Registrant and the Stockholders (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on February 10, 2015). |
10.6 | Form of Securities Purchase Agreement by and between the Registrant and Purchasers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on February 10, 2015). |
10.7 | Form of Pledge Agreement by and between the Registrant and Pledgors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on February 10, 2015). |
10.8 | Form of Securities Purchase Agreement by and between the Registrant and the Purchasers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on March 16, 2015). |
10.9 | Form of Exchange Agreement by and among the Registrant and the Investors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on August 12, 2015). |
41
10.10 | Amendment to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated October 9, 2015, by and between the Registrant, IPSA International Services, Inc., and IPSA International, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on October 15, 2015). |
10.11 | Form of Convertible Promissory Note Extension Agreement by and between the Registrant and the Noteholders (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on October 30, 2015). |
10.12 | Form of Securities Purchase Agreement by and among the Registrant and the Purchasers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on November 12, 2015). |
10.13+ | 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Annex A to the Definitive Proxy Statement of the Registrant filed with the Commission on April 3, 2009). |
10.14+ | Employment Agreement, dated May 20, 2014, between the Registrant and Joseph Grano (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on May 22, 2014). |
10.15+ | Employment Agreement, Wachtler dated February 9, 2015, between Registrants subsidiary IPSA International and Dan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on February 10, 2015). |
10.16+ | Confidentiality, Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation Agreement, dated February 9, 2015, by and between the Registrant and Dan Wachtler (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Current Report on Form 8-K of the Registrant filed with the Commission on February 10, 2015). |
21* | Subsidiaries of the Registrant. |
31.1* | Certification of the Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a). |
31.2* | Certification of the Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a). |
32.1** | Written Statement of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (18 U.S.C. Section 1350). |
32.2** | Written Statement of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (18 U.S.C. Section 1350). |
101.NS** | XBRL Instance Document. |
101.SCH** | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document. |
101.CAL** | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document. |
101.DEF** | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document. |
101.LAB** | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document. |
101.PRE** | XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document. |
* Filed herewith.
** Furnished herewith.
+ Management contract or compensatory agreement.
42
SIGNATURES
In accordance with the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
ROOT9B TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
ROOT9B TECHNOLOGIES, INC. | |||
Date: March 30, 2016 | By: | /s/ Joseph J. Grano, Jr. | |
Joseph J. Grano, Jr., Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
Date: March 30, 2016 | By: | /s/ Michael J. Effinger | |
Michael J. Effinger, Chief Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer and (Principal Financial Officer) |
In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, this report is signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature | Signature | ||
/s/ Joseph J Grano Jr | /s/ Gregory C Morris | ||
Joseph J. Grano, Jr. – Director, Chairman | Gregory C. Morris – Director | ||
March 30, 2016 | March 30, 2016 | ||
/s/ Isaac Blech | /s/ Harvey Pitt | ||
Isaac Blech – Director | Harvey Pitt – Director | ||
March 30, 2016 | March 30, 2016 | ||
/s/ Kevin Carnahan | /s/ Anthony Sartor | ||
Kevin Carnahan – Director | Anthony Sartor – Director | ||
March 30, 2016 | March 30, 2016 | ||
/s/ John Catsimatidis | /s/ Cary W Sucoff | ||
John Catsimatidis – Director | Cary W. Sucoff - Director | ||
March 30, 2016 | March 30, 2016 | ||
/s/ Wesley Clark | /s/ Seymour Siegel | ||
Wesley Clark – Director | Seymour Siegel - Director | ||
March 30, 2016 | March 30, 2016 | ||
/s/ Patrick Kolenik | /s/ Daniel Wachtler | ||
Patrick Kolenik – Director | Daniel Wachtler – Director | ||
March 30, 2016 | March 30, 2016 |
43
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of root9B Technologies, Inc. and subsidiaries
Charlotte, North Carolina
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of root9B Technologies, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for the years then ended. The Company’s management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. Our audit included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purposes of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly we express no such opinion. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for the years then ended in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
/s/ Cherry Bekaert LLP
Charlotte, North Carolina
March 30, 2016
F-1
ROOT9B TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
DECEMBER 31, 2015 AND 2014
December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
ASSETS | ||||||||
CURRENT ASSETS: | ||||||||
Cash and Cash Equivalents | $ | 795,682 | $ | 765,099 | ||||
Accounts receivable, net | 3,010,161 | 3,078,604 | ||||||
Marketable securities | 33,366 | 38,863 | ||||||
Cost and estimated earnings in excess of billings | 357,625 | 731,709 | ||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 758,240 | 384,223 | ||||||
Total current assets | 4,955,074 | 4,998,498 | ||||||
Construction in Progress - at cost | 108,095 | - | ||||||
Property and Equipment - at cost less accumulated depreciation | 3,782,388 | 1,748,631 | ||||||
OTHER ASSETS: | ||||||||
Goodwill | 15,676,246 | 4,352,177 | ||||||
Intangible assets - net | 5,509,642 | 151,623 | ||||||
Investment in cost-method investee | 100,000 | 100,000 | ||||||
Deferred income taxes | 56,409 | - | ||||||
Cash surrender value of officers' life insurance | 167,371 | 338,214 | ||||||
Deposits and other assets | 233,579 | 175,497 | ||||||
Total other assets | 21,743,247 | 5,117,511 | ||||||
TOTAL ASSETS | $ | 30,588,804 | $ | 11,864,640 |
See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
F-2
December 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT) | ||||||||
CURRENT LIABILITIES: | ||||||||
Notes payable | $ | 1,540,693 | $ | 1,670,765 | ||||
Current portion of long-term debt | 1,500 | 1,500 | ||||||
Accounts payable | 1,607,166 | 1,306,578 | ||||||
Billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings | 217,336 | 991,254 | ||||||
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 2,560,048 | 2,634,903 | ||||||
Total current liabilities | 5,926,743 | 6,605,000 | ||||||
NONCURRENT LIABILITIES: | ||||||||
Long term debt - net of current portion | 2,373 | 3,926 | ||||||
Derivative liability | 3,540,084 | 10,651,239 | ||||||
Deferred tax liability | - | 85,000 | ||||||
Total noncurrent liabilities | 3,542,457 | 10,740,165 | ||||||
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (DEFICIT): | ||||||||
Preferred stock, $.001 par value, 4,985,000 authorized, no shares issued or outstanding at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014. | - | - | ||||||
Class B convertible preferred stock, no liquidation preference $.001 par value, 2,000,000 shares authorized, 0 and 1,080,000 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. | - | 1,080 | ||||||
Class C convertible preferred stock, $.001 par value, 2,500,000 shares authorized, 2,380,952 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. | 2,381 | 2,381 | ||||||
Common stock, $.001 par value, 125,000,000 shares authorized, 76,990,639 and 48,670,144 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. | 77,009 | 48,670 | ||||||
Additional paid-in capital | 77,983,593 | 42,803,888 | ||||||
Accumulated deficit | (57,080,942 | ) | (48,336,544 | ) | ||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income | 137,563 | - | ||||||
Total stockholders' equity (deficit) | 21,119,604 | (5,480,525 | ) | |||||
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (DEFICIT) | $ | 30,588,804 | $ | 11,864,640 |
See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
F-3
ROOT9B TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2015 AND 2014
December 31, 2015 | December 31, 2014 | |||||||
NET REVENUE | $ | 29,358,429 | $ | 20,175,488 | ||||
OPERATING EXPENSES: | ||||||||
Cost of revenues | 22,925,136 | 14,982,996 | ||||||
Selling, general and administrative | 17,446,270 | 11,184,909 | ||||||
Depreciation and amortization | 1,600,246 | 386,282 | ||||||
Energy repositioning and subcontract obligation | - | 1,162,089 | ||||||
Acquisition related costs | 649,442 | - | ||||||
Total operating expenses | 42,621,094 | 27,716,276 | ||||||
LOSS FROM OPERATIONS | (13,262,665 | ) | (7,540,788 | ) | ||||
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE): | ||||||||
Derivative income (expense) | 3,644,594 | (10,344,753 | ) | |||||
Goodwill impairment | - | (6,363,630 | ) | |||||
Intangibles impairment | - | (429,394 | ) | |||||
Interest expense, net | (793,289 | ) | (59,066 | ) | ||||
Other income (expense) | (166,583 | ) | 301,065 | |||||
Total other income (expense) | 2,684,722 | (16,895,778 | ) | |||||
LOSS BEFORE INCOME TAXES | (10,577,943 | ) | (24,436,566 | ) | ||||
INCOME TAX BENEFIT | 2,239,917 | - | ||||||
NET LOSS | (8,338,026 | ) | (24,436,566 | ) | ||||
PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDENDS | (406,372 | ) | (1,597,356 | ) | ||||
NET LOSS ATTRIBUTABLE TO COMMON STOCKHOLDERS | $ | (8,744,398 | ) | $ | (26,033,922 | ) | ||
Net loss per share: | ||||||||
Basic | (0.12 | ) | (0.86 | ) | ||||
Diluted | (0.12 | ) | (0.86 | ) | ||||
Weighted average number of shares: | ||||||||
Basic | 70,581,243 | 30,345,422 | ||||||
Diluted | 70,581,243 | 30,345,422 |
See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
F-4
ROOT9B TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2015 AND 2014
December 31, 2015 | December 31, 2014 | |||||||
Net Loss | $ | (8,338,026 | ) | $ | (24,436,566 | ) | ||
Other comprehensive income: | ||||||||
Foreign currency translation income | 137,563 | - | ||||||
Other comprehensive income | 137,563 | - | ||||||
COMPREHENSIVE LOSS | $ | (8,200,463 | ) | $ | (24,436,566 | ) |
See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
F-5
ROOT9B TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2015 AND 2014
Class B | Class C | Class D | Additional Paid-In Capital | Retained Earnings (Accumulated Deficit) | Total Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preferred Stock | Preferred Stock | Preferred Stock | Common Stock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at December 31, 2013 | 1,160,000 | $ | 1,160 | 2,380,952 | $ | 2,381 | 13,376 | $ | 13 | 27,465,836 | $ | 27,466 | $ | 39,193,174 | $ | (22,302,622 | ) | $ | 16,921,572 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deemed Dividend on Preferred Stock | $ | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of common stock as dividends on Preferred B, C and D stock | 2,294,487 | $ | 2,294 | $ | 1,595,062 | $ | (1,597,356 | ) | $ | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stock warrants issued for services | $ | 28,259 | $ | 28,259 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stock options issued for assets and services rendered | $ | 983,305 | $ | 983,305 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Conversion of Preferred D stock to common stock | (13,376 | ) | $ | (13 | ) | 18,001,392 | $ | 18,001 | $ | (17,988 | ) | $ | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Conversion of Preferred B stock to common stock | (80,000 | ) | $ | (80 | ) | 80,000 | $ | 80 | $ | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Exercise of stock warrants | 795,095 | $ | 795 | $ | 437,755 | $ | 438,550 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Exercise of stock options | 33,334 | $ | 34 | $ | 23,301 | $ | 23,335 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Reclassification of derivative warrant liabiity to equity | $ | 420,507 | $ | 420,507 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of stock warrants in connection with 10% Convertible Notes | $ | 140,513 | $ | 140,513 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net Loss | $ | (24,436,566 | ) | $ | (24,436,566 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at December 31, 2014 | 1,080,000 | $ | 1,080 | 2,380,952 | $ | 2,381 | - | $ | - | 48,670,144 | $ | 48,670 | $ | 42,803,888 | $ | (48,336,544 | ) | $ | (5,480,525 | ) |
See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
F-6
ROOT9B TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2015 AND 2014
Class B | Class C | Class D | Additional Paid-In Capital | Retained Earnings (Accumulated Deficit) | Accumulated Other Comprehensive | Total Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Preferred Stock | Preferred Stock | Preferred Stock | Common Stock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at December 31, 2014 | 1,080,000 | $ | 1,080 | 2,380,952 | $ | 2,381 | - | $ | - | 48,670,144 | $ | 48,670 | $ | 42,803,888 | $ | (48,336,544 | ) | $ | - | $ | (5,480,525 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deemed Dividend on Preferred Stock | $ | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of common stock as dividends on Preferred B and C stock | 262,176 | $ | 262 | $ | 406,110 | $ | (406,372 | ) | $ | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stock warrants issued for services | $ | 18,373 | $ | 18,373 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stock options issued for assets and services rendered | $ | 1,128,979 | $ | 1,128,979 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Conversion of Preferred B stock to common stock | (1,080,000 | ) | $ | (1,080 | ) | 1,080,000 | $ | 1,080 | $ | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Exercise of stock warrants | 1,379,306 | $ | 1,379 | $ | 879,956 | $ | 881,335 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Exercise of stock options | 3,053,273 | $ | 3,053 | $ | 2,021,977 | $ | 2,025,030 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Reclassification of derivative warrant liabiity to equity from exercise of warrants | $ | 18 | $ | 1,079,877 | $ | 1,079,895 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Reclassification of derivative warrant liabiity to equity as a result of warrant exchange agreement | $ | 2,618,049 | $ | 2,618,049 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of stock warrants in connection with 10% Convertible Notes | $ | 83,031 | $ | 83,031 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of stock from IPSA acquisition | 10,000,000 | $ | 10,000 | $ | 13,290,000 | $ | 13,300,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of stock from financings | 12,131,453 | $ | 12,132 | $ | 13,147,768 | $ | 13,159,900 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of stock for services | 200,000 | $ | 200 | $ | 265,800 | $ | 266,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of stock for principal and interest payments on Convertible Notes | 214,287 | $ | 215 | $ | 239,785 | $ | 240,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign Exchange Translation Income | $ | 137,563 | $ | 137,563 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net Loss | $ | (8,338,026 | ) | $ | (8,338,026 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at December 31, 2015 | - | $ | - | 2,380,952 | $ | 2,381 | - | $ | - | 76,990,639 | $ | 77,009 | $ | 77,983,593 | $ | (57,080,942 | ) | $ | 137,563 | $ | 21,119,604 |
See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
F-7
ROOT9B TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2015 AND 2014
December 31, 2015 | December 31, 2014 | |||||||
Cash flows from operating activities: | ||||||||
Net Income (loss) | $ | (8,338,026 | ) | $ | (24,436,566 | ) | ||
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||||
Depreciation and amortization | 1,600,246 | 386,282 | ||||||
Amortization of debt discount | 152,958 | 11,278 | ||||||
Decrease in cash surrender value of officers’ life insurance | 170,843 | 78,051 | ||||||
(Income) loss from change in value of derivatives | (3,644,594 | ) | 10,344,753 | |||||
Deferred income taxes | (2,427,733 | ) | - | |||||
Stock option / warrant compensation expense | 1,413,353 | 794,901 | ||||||
Gain on sale of assets | (79,327 | ) | - | |||||
Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets | - | 6,793,024 | ||||||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
Decrease (increase) in accounts receivable | 10,136,988 | (290,395 | ) | |||||
Decrease (increase) in marketable securities | 5,497 | (2,353 | ) | |||||
Decrease in costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings | 343,021 | 286,432 | ||||||
Increase in prepaid expenses | (85,953 | ) | (223,743 | ) | ||||
Increase in deposits and other assets | (5,620 | ) | (101,452 | ) | ||||
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable and accrued expenses | (4,374,677 | ) | 390,847 | |||||
Increase (decrease) in factored receivables obligation | (6,488,748 | ) | - | |||||
Increase (decrease) in billings in excess of costs and estimated earnings | (773,918 | ) | 434,709 | |||||
Net cash used in operating activities | (12,395,690 | ) | (5,534,232 | ) | ||||
Cash flows from investing activities: | ||||||||
Cash paid in acquisitions net of cash acquired | (1,368,825 | ) | - | |||||
Proceeds on sale of assets | 99,828 | - | ||||||
Purchases of property and equipment and construction in progress | (2,507,024 | ) | (243,587 | ) | ||||
Net cash used in investing activities | (3,776,021 | ) | (243,587 | ) | ||||
Cash flows from financing activities: | ||||||||
Warrants and Options Exercised | 2,906,365 | 461,884 | ||||||
Common stock issuances | 13,159,899 | - | ||||||
Net Payments on long-term debt | (1,533 | ) | (1,500 | ) | ||||
Issuance of Convertible Notes and Warrants | - | 1,800,000 | ||||||
Net payments of Notes Payable | - | (2,721,239 | ) | |||||
Net cash provided for by (used in) financing activities | 16,064,731 | (460,855 | ) | |||||
Exchange gain on foreign currency | 137,563 | - | ||||||
Net (decrease) increase in cash | 30,583 | (6,238,674 | ) | |||||
Cash - beginning of period | 765,099 | 7,003,773 | ||||||
Cash - end of period | $ | 795,682 | $ | 765,099 |
See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
F-8
ROOT9B TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2015 AND 2014
(continued)
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION: | ||||||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
Cash payments for: | ||||||||
Interest | $ | 602,138 | $ | 44,066 | ||||
Income taxes | $ | 1,169,584 | $ | 0 | ||||
Summary of non-cash investing and financing activities: | ||||||||
Reclassification of Derivative warrant liability to equity, including $2,618,049 related to the exchange of the Series C warrants – see Note 11 | $ | 3,697,944 | $ | 420,507 | ||||
Issuance of 262,176 shares of common stock for dividend payment on preferred stock | $ | 406,372 | $ | 941,880 | ||||
Stock options issued for assets purchased | $ | 0 | $ | 216,663 | ||||
Issuance of 10,000,000 shares of common stock in IPSA Acquisition | $ | 13,300,000 | $ | 0 | ||||
Issuance of 214,287 shares of common stock for principal (in the amount of $200,000) and interest payments (in the amount of $40,000) on convertible notes | $ | 240,000 | $ | 0 | ||||
Issuance of 160,000 stock warrants in connection with 10% Convertible Notes Extension | $ | 83,031 | $ | 0 |
See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
F-9
ROOT9B TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2015 AND 2014
Note 1 - Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies:
Description of Business
We are a provider of cyber security, business advisory services principally in regulatory risk mitigation, and energy solutions. We help clients in diverse industries improve performance, comply with complex regulations, reduce costs, leverage and integrate technology, and stimulate growth. We team with our clients to deliver sustainable and measurable results. Our primary focus is using our expertise on issues related to three key areas for customers; (i) cyber security, (ii) regulatory risk mitigation, and (iii) energy usage and strategy initiatives. We work with our customers to assess, design, and provide customized advice and solutions that are tailored to address each client’s particular needs. We provide solutions and services to a wide variety of organizations including Fortune 500 companies, medium-sized businesses and governmental entities.
Principles of Consolidation
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries, all of which are wholly owned. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, requires management to make estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates.
Cash and cash equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid investments having an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. Amounts invested may exceed federally insured limits at any given time. Financial instruments that potentially expose the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents. The Company places its cash and cash equivalents on deposit with financial institutions in the United States. The Company from time to time may have amounts on deposit in excess of the insured limits (FDIC limits are $250,000). The Company periodically assesses the financial condition of the institutions and believes that the risk of loss is remote.
Accounts receivable:
Accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount, net of an allowance for doubtful accounts. The allowance for doubtful accounts is the Company’s best estimate of the amount of probable credit losses in the Company’s existing accounts receivable. The Company determines the allowance based on historical write-off experience, customer specific facts and economic conditions. Bad debt expense, if any, is included in general and administrative expenses. At December 31, 2015 and 2014, the allowance for doubtful accounts was $383,503 and $356,597, respectively.
Marketable securities:
Marketable equity securities are accounted for as trading securities and are stated at market value with unrealized gains and losses accounted for in other income (expense).
Property and equipment:
Property and equipment are recorded at cost and depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets ranging from three to seven years. Maintenance and repair costs are expensed as incurred. Gains or losses on dispositions are reflected in income.
Valuation of goodwill and intangible assets:
Our intangible assets include goodwill, trademarks, non-compete agreements and purchased customer relationships, all of which are accounted for based on Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 350 Intangibles-Goodwill and Other. As described below, goodwill and intangible assets that have indefinite useful lives are not amortized but are tested at least annually for impairment or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired. Intangible assets with limited useful lives are amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated period of benefit, ranging from two to fifteen years.
F-10
Impairment testing:
Our goodwill impairment testing is calculated at the reporting unit level. Our annual impairment test has two steps. The first identifies potential impairments by comparing the fair value of the reporting unit with its carrying value. If the fair value exceeds the carrying amount, goodwill is not impaired and the second step is not necessary. If the carrying value exceeds the fair value, the second step calculates the possible impairment loss by comparing the implied fair value of goodwill with the carrying amount. If the implied fair value of goodwill is less than the carrying amount, a write-down is recorded.
The impairment test for the other intangible assets is performed by comparing the carrying amount of the intangible assets to the sum of the undiscounted expected future cash flows whenever events or circumstances indicate that an impairment may have occurred. If the sum of the future undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the intangible asset or to its related group of assets, an impairment charge is recorded to the extent that the carrying amount of the intangible asset exceeds its fair value.
We predominately use a discounted cash flow model derived from internal budgets and forecasts in assessing fair values for our impairment testing. Factors that could change the result of our impairment test include, but are not limited to, different assumptions used to forecast future net sales, expenses, capital expenditures, and working capital requirements used in our cash flow models. In addition, selection of a risk-adjusted discount rate on the estimated undiscounted cash flows is susceptible to future changes in market conditions, and when unfavorable, can adversely affect our original estimates of fair values. In the event that management determines that the value of intangible assets have become impaired using this approach, we will record an accounting charge for the amount of the impairment. The Company also engages an independent valuation expert to assist it in performing the valuation and analysis of fair values of goodwill and intangibles.
The Company’s annual goodwill impairment testing date is October 1 of each year. In determining impairment charges, the Company uses various valuation techniques using both the income approach and market approach at each reporting unit in accordance with FASB ASC 350. The Company did not record an impairment charge during 2015. During 2014, the Company recorded a goodwill impairment write-down of $6,363,630 related to the Energy Solutions segment which is reflected in the Statement of Operations. The balance recorded as goodwill as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 is $15,676,246 and $4,352,177, respectively, net of accumulated impairment of $16,969,662 for both periods.
Intangible assets, other than goodwill, consist of customer relationships, non-competition agreements and trademarks/trade names. The fair market value of the customer relationships were determined by discounting the expected future cash flows from the acquired customers. The value of the non-competition agreements were estimated from the percentage of discounted cash flows expected to be lost if the agreement was not in place. The Company performed its annual impairment test and determined there was no impairment during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015. In addition, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014, it was determined that a full impairment of the trade name and customer list intangible assets related to the Energy Solutions segment was required and such impairment was recorded during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014. As a result, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $429,394 at September 30, 2014. Customer relationships acquired are being amortized over the estimated useful life of four or five years. Non-competition agreements are being amortized over the life of the agreement. Acquired trademarks/trade names are being amortized over five or fifteen years. Total intangibles balances, prior to accumulated amortization, were $7,245,112 and $664,648 at December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. At December 31, 2015 and 2014, accumulated amortization of intangible assets totaled $1,735,470 and $513,025, respectively. Amortization expense on these intangible assets of $1,222,446 and $222,476 for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, is included as depreciation and amortization on the Statement of Operations.
Amortization expense related to intangible assets for the next five years and thereafter is expected to be as follows for the years ended:
December 31, 2016 | $ | 1,311,836 | ||
December 31, 2017 | 862,103 | |||
December 31, 2018 | 790,429 | |||
December 31, 2019 | 781,262 | |||
December 31, 2010 | 220,838 | |||
Thereafter | 1,543,174 | |||
$ | 5,509,642 |
F-11
Revenue recognition:
The Company follows the guidance of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 104 for revenue recognition. In general, the Company records revenue when persuasive evidence of any agreement exists, services have been rendered, and collectability is reasonably assured; therefore, revenue is recognized when the Company invoices customers for completed services at contracted rates and terms. Therefore, revenue recognition may differ from the timing of cash receipts.
Income taxes:
The Company accounts for income taxes under FASB ASC Topic 740 Income Taxes. Under FASB ASC Topic 740, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax basis. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be removed or settled (see Note 13). The Company regularly assesses the likelihood that its deferred tax assets will be realized from recoverable income taxes or recovered from future taxable income. To the extent that the Company believes any amounts are not more likely than not to be realized through the reversal of the deferred tax liabilities and future income, the Company records a valuation allowance to reduce its deferred tax assets. In the event the Company determines that all or part of the net deferred tax assets are not realizable in the future, an adjustment to the valuation allowance would be charged to earnings in the period such determination is made. Similarly, if the Company subsequently realizes deferred tax assets that were previously determined to be unrealizable, the respective valuation allowance would be reversed, resulting in an adjustment to earnings in the period such determination is made.
FASB ASC Topic 740-10 clarifies the accounting for income taxes, by prescribing a minimum recognition threshold a tax position is required to meet before being recognized in the balance sheet. It also provides guidance on de-recognition, measurement and classification of amounts related to uncertain tax positions, accounting for and disclosure of interest and penalties, accounting in interim period disclosures and transition relating to the adoption of new accounting standards. Under FASB ASC Topic 740-10, the recognition for uncertain tax positions should be based on a more-likely-than-not threshold that the tax position will be sustained upon audit. The tax position is measured as the largest amount of benefit that has a greater than fifty percent probability of being realized upon settlement.
Derivative Warrant Liability:
The Company evaluates warrants issued in connection with debt and preferred stock issuances to determine if those contracts, or any potential embedded components of those contracts, qualify as derivatives to be separately accounted for. This accounting treatment requires that the carrying amount of any embedded derivatives be marked-to-market at each balance sheet date and carried at fair value. In the event that the fair value is recorded as a liability, the change in the fair value during the period is recorded in the Statement of Operations as either income or expense. Upon expiration or exercise of the warrants, the derivative liability is marked to fair value at the conversion date and then the related fair value is reclassified to equity. The fair value at each balance sheet date and the change in value for each class of warrant derivative is disclosed in detail in Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Share-based compensation:
The Company accounts for stock based compensation in accordance with FASB ASC 718 – Compensation-Stock Compensation. For employee stock options issued under the Company’s stock-based compensation plans, the fair value of each option grant is estimated on the date of the grant using the Black-Scholes pricing model, and an estimated forfeiture rate is used when calculating stock-based compensation expense for the period. For employee restricted stock awards and units issued under the Company’s stock-based compensation plans, the fair value of each grant is calculated based on the Company’s stock price on the date of the grant and a forfeiture rate is estimated when calculating stock-based compensation expense for the period. The Company recognizes the compensation cost of stock-based awards according to the vesting schedule of the award.
The Company accounts for stock-based compensation awards to non-employees in accordance with FASB ASC 505-50 Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees (“ASC 505-50”). Under ASC 505-50, the Company determines the fair value of the warrants or stock-based compensation awards granted as either the fair value of the consideration received or the fair value of the equity instruments issued, whichever is more reliably measurable. Any stock options issued to non-employees are recorded in expense and additional paid-in capital in stockholders��� equity (deficit) over the applicable service periods.
F-12
Fees From Factoring Arrangement:
Fees charged to the Company from its factoring arrangement for accounts receivable sold with full recourse include an administrative fee that is incurred upon funding of the factored invoices to the Company and a closing fee that is incurred when payment of the original accounts receivable amount is paid to the factoring company by the Company’s customer. Administrative and closing fees from the factoring arrangement are included in interest expense in the consolidated financial statements.
Foreign Currency Translation:
The functional currencies of the Company’s foreign operations are the local currencies. The consolidated financial statements of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries have been translated into U.S. dollars. All balance sheet accounts have been translated using the exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date. Statement of Operations amounts have been translated using the average exchange rate for the periods presented. Accumulated net translation adjustments have been reported in other comprehensive income in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.
Recent accounting pronouncements:
In May, 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606).” This guidance requires an entity to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) – Deferral of the Effective Date”, a standard to provide for a one-year deferral of the effective date of ASU 2014-09. ASU 2015-14 requires application of ASU 2014-09 for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and early adoption is permitted as of the original effective date (i.e. for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016). The Company has not yet determined the effect, if any, that the adoption of this standard will have on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.
In August 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-15, Going Concern (“ASU 2014-15”). ASU 2014-15 provides GAAP guidance on management’s responsibility in evaluating whether there is substantial doubt about a company’s ability to continue as a going concern and about related footnote disclosures. For each reporting period, management will be required to evaluate whether there are conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about a company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year from the date the financial statements are issued. The standard will be effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Early application is permitted for annual or interim reporting periods for which the financial statements have not previously been issued. Upon adoption the Company will use the guidance in ASU 2014-15 to assess going concern uncertainty matters.
On February 25, 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02, Leases (“ASU 2016-02”). ASU 2016-02 is intended to improve financial reporting about leasing transactions. ASU 2016-02 affects companies that lease assets such as real estate, airplanes, and manufacturing equipment. The ASU will require organizations that lease assets referred to as “Lessees” to recognize on the balance sheet the assets and liabilities for the rights and obligations created by those leases. The standard will be effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. Early adoption will be permitted for all companies and organizations upon issuance of the standard. See Note 14 for the Company’s current lease commitments. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact that ASU 2016-02 will have on its financial statements.
Since January 1, 2015, there have been several other new accounting pronouncements and updates to the Accounting Standards Codification. Each of these updates has been reviewed by Management who does not believe their adoption has had or will have a material impact on the Company’s financial position or operating results.
Note 2 – Fair Value Measurements:
We measure the fair value of financial assets and liabilities in accordance with GAAP, which defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value, and requires certain disclosures about fair value measurements.
GAAP defines fair value as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. GAAP also establishes a fair value hierarchy, which requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. GAAP describes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:
F-13
Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2 – quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets or inputs that are observable.
Level 3 – inputs that are unobservable (for example the probability of a capital raise in a “binomial” methodology for valuation of a derivative liability directly related to the issuance of common stock warrants).
Derivative Instruments:
We do not use derivative financial instruments to hedge exposures to cash-flow, market or foreign-currency risks. However, we have entered into certain financial instruments and contracts, such as debt financing arrangements and the issuance of preferred stock with detachable common stock warrants features that are either i) not afforded equity classification, ii) embody risks not clearly and closely related to host contracts, or iii) may be net-cash settled by the counterparty. These instruments are required to be carried as derivative liabilities, at fair value.
Certain of our derivative instruments are detachable (or “free-standing”) common stock purchase warrants issued in conjunction with debt or preferred stock. We estimate fair values of these derivatives utilizing Level 2 inputs for all warrants issued, other than those associated with Series C Preferred Stock. Other than the Series C Preferred Stock warrants, we use the Black-Scholes option valuation technique as it embodies all of the requisite assumptions (including trading volatility, remaining term to maturity, market price, strike price, and risk free rates) necessary to fair value these instruments, for they do not contain material “down round protection” (otherwise referred to as “anti-dilution” and full ratchet provisions). For the warrants directly related to the Series C Preferred Stock, the warrant contracts do contain “Down Round Protections” and the “Black-Scholes” option valuation technique does not, in its valuation calculation, give effect for the additional value inherently attributable to the “Down Round Protection” mechanisms in its contractual arrangement. Valuation models and techniques have been developed and are widely accepted that take into account the additional value inherent in “Down Round Protection.” These techniques include “Modified Binomial”, “Monte Carlo Simulation” and the “Lattice Model.” The “core” assumptions and inputs to the “Binomial” model are the same as for “Black-Scholes”, such as trading volatility, remaining term to maturity, market price, strike price, and risk free rates; all Level 2 inputs. However, a key input to the “Binomial” model (in our case, the “Monte Carlo Simulation”, for which we engage an independent valuation firm to perform) is the probability of a future capital raise which would trigger the Down Round Protection feature. By definition, this input assumption does not meet the requirements for Level 1 or Level 2 outlined above; therefore, the entire fair value calculation for the Series C Common Stock Warrants is deemed to be Level 3. This input to the Monte Carlo Simulation model, was developed with significant input from management based on its knowledge of the business, current financial position and the strategic business plan with its best efforts.
As of December 31, 2015, the Company has determined that the Black-Scholes model valuation for the Series C warrants was not materially different than the Binomial model due to the remaining period before warrant expiration being less than 3 months and the current market price of the Company’s stock being in excess of the down round trigger price of $0.77. As a result, the valuation of the Series C warrants as of December 31, 2015 was performed using the Black-Scholes model to approximate the Binomial model valuation.
Additionally, as a part of the Merger Agreement with IPSA International, Inc., (see Note 3) the Company was subject to issue additional shares of the Company’s stock based on the performance of the Company’s stock as of the 18 month anniversary of the transaction as well as the attainment of certain financial benchmarks by the IPSA subsidiary. If 18 months from the IPSA transaction closing (February 9, 2015), the Company’s stock price was below $1.30, the Company was to issue additional shares, up to a maximum of 2.5 million shares, such that the value on the 18 month anniversary of the shares issued at closing is equal to the value at the closing. The issuance of any shares based on the stock price on the 18 month anniversary was only to occur if the IPSA subsidiary contributed $39 million and $4.5 million to the Company’s net revenue and earnings before income taxes, respectively, for the 12 months after closing. The potential issuance of shares (“contingent value right”) is a derivative liability. The contingent value right had been valued on a quarterly basis utilizing a Monte Carlo Simulation model, which includes significant level 3 inputs, and the fair value of the contingent value right has been included as a Derivative Liability.
On October 9, 2015, the Company and IPSA amended the Merger Agreement to remove the provision relating to the contingent value right. Therefore as of December 31, 2015 there was no value assigned to this contingent value right.
Estimating fair values of these derivative financial instruments require the use of significant and subjective inputs that may, and are likely to, change over the duration of the instrument with related changes in internal and external market factors. In addition, option-based techniques are volatile and sensitive to changes in our trading market price, the trading market price of various peer companies and other key assumptions such as the probability of a capital raise for the Monte Carlo Simulation described above. Since derivative financial instruments are initially and subsequently carried at fair value, our operating results will reflect this sensitivity of internal and external factors.
F-14
The key quantitative assumptions related to the Series C Common Stock Warrants, issued March 3, 2011 and expiring March 3, 2016, are as follows:
December 31, 2015 | December 31, 2014 | |||||||
Expected Life (Years) | 0.2 | 1.2 | ||||||
Risk Free Rate | 0.15 | % | 0.32 | % | ||||
Volatility | 38.06 | % | 26.78 | % | ||||
Probability of a Capital Raise | 100 | % | 8-95 | % |
Financial Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis
Financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis (for the Company, only derivative liabilities related to common stock purchase warrants, issued in conjunction with debt and preferred stock issuances) are summarized below and disclosed on the balance sheet under Derivative liability:
December 31, 2015 | ||||||||||||||||
Fair Value | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | |||||||||||||
Derivative Liability – Common Stock Purchase Warrants: | ||||||||||||||||
Debentures | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||||||
Series B Preferred Stock | - | - | ||||||||||||||
Promissory Notes | 2,189 | 2,189 | ||||||||||||||
Series D Preferred Stock | 2,904,849 | 2,904,849 | ||||||||||||||
Series C Preferred Stock | 633,046 | 633,046 | ||||||||||||||
Total | $ | 3,540,084 | $ | 2,907,038 | $ | 633,046 |
December 31, 2014 | ||||||||||||||||
Fair Value | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | |||||||||||||
Derivative Liability – Common Stock Purchase Warrants: | ||||||||||||||||
Debentures | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||||||||
Series B Preferred Stock | 794,633 | 794,633 | ||||||||||||||
Promissory Notes | 225,897 | 225,897 | ||||||||||||||
Series D Preferred Stock | 3,325,449 | 3,325,449 | ||||||||||||||
Series C Preferred Stock | 6,305,260 | 6,305,260 | ||||||||||||||
Total | $ | 10,651,239 | $ | 4,345,979 | $ | 6,305,260 |
F-15
The table below provides a summary of the changes in fair value of financial assets and liabilities (for the Company, only derivative liabilities related to common stock purchase warrants, issued in conjunction with certain debt and preferred stock issuances) measured at fair value on a recurring basis for all derivatives, both level 2 and those using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3 – or only the common stock purchase warrants directly related to Series C Preferred Stock) for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.
Fair Value Measurements Using | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Level 2 Inputs | Level 3 Inputs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Derivative liability - Common Stock Purchase Warrants - Debentures | Derivative liability - Common Stock Purchase Warrants – Series B Preferred Stock | Derivative liability - Common Stock Purchase Warrants –Promissory Notes | Derivative liability - Common Stock Purchase Warrants – Series D Preferred Stock | Total Fair Value Measurements Using Level 2 Inputs | Derivative liability - Common Stock Purchase Warrants – Series C Preferred Stock | Derivative Liability – Contingent Value Right | Grand Total Fair Value Measurements Using Both Level 2 and Level 3 Inputs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance December 31, 2013 | $ | 10,207 | $ | 24,277 | $ | 85,824 | $ | 224,075 | $ | 344,383 | $ | 382,610 | $ | - | $ | 726,993 | ||||||||||||||||
Total unrealized (gains) or losses included in net income or (loss) | 120,343 | 777,865 | 422,521 | 3,101,374 | 4,422,103 | 5,922,650 | - | 10,344,753 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Reclassification to equity resulting from exercise of Common Stock Purchase Warrants | ( 130,550 | ) | (7,509 | ) | (282,448 | ) | -- | (420,507 | ) | -- | -- | (420,507 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Balance December 31, 2014 | $ | -- | $ | 794,633 | $ | 225,897 | $ | 3,325,449 | $ | 4,345,979 | $ | 6,305,260 | $ | -- | $ | 10,651,239 | ||||||||||||||||
Total unrealized (gains) or losses included in net income or (loss) | -- | 21,079 | 12,722 | (410,731 | ) | (376,930 | ) | (3,036,281 | ) | (231,384 | ) | (3,644,594 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Reclassification to equity resulting from exercise of Common Stock Purchase Warrants | -- | (815,712 | ) | (236,430 | ) | (9,869 | ) | (1,062,011 | ) | (17,884 | ) | - | (1,079,895 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Release of contingent value right | - | - | - | - | 231,384 | 231,384 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Reclassification to equity resulting from the warrant exchange agreement | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | (2,618,049 | ) | -- | (2,618,049 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance December 31, 2015 | $ | -- | $ | -- | $ | 2,189 | $ | 2,904,849 | $ | 2,907,038 | $ | 633,046 | $ | -- | $ | 3,540,084 |
Note 3 – Acquisitions:
We have acquired certain businesses, as set forth below and accordingly, the accompanying consolidated Financial Statements include the results of operations of each acquired business since the date of acquisition.
IPSA International, Inc.
On February 6, 2015, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with IPSA International, Inc. (“IPSA”). On February 9, 2015, the Company and IPSA consummated and closed the Merger, which was accounted for as a business acquisition. Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, upon the closing of the Merger, the Corporation issued 10,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, valued at $13,300,000 to the stockholders of IPSA (the “Stock Consideration”), as well as paid $2,500,000 in cash to such stockholders. In conjunction with the closing of the Merger, the Company entered into a registration rights agreement with the stockholders of IPSA whereby the Company agreed to provide piggyback registration rights to the holders of the Stock Consideration. The Company also entered into an employment agreement with Dan Wachtler, the CEO of IPSA. The Company incurred acquisition related costs of $649,442 and these were included in operating expenses.
IPSA specializes in Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) operational, investigative and remedial services, AML risk advisory and consulting services, conducting high-end investigations with expertise in services ranging from complex financial crime and intellectual property issues to conducting anti-bribery investigations or due diligence on a potential partner or customer. Additionally IPSA provides investigative services related to passport issuances by foreign countries. IPSA has offices in the U.S., Canada, U.K., U.A.E. and Hong Kong and a talent base that is focused on assisting clients in making better-informed decisions to protect their investments and assets.
F-16
Valuation work was completed during the fourth quarter and as a result amounts for other long term assets and goodwill were adjusted by $163,698 from those previously reported on Form 10Q as of September 30, 2015.
The following table presents the final purchase price allocation:
Consideration | $ | 15,800,000 | ||
Assets Acquired: | ||||
Current Assets | $ | 11,798,564 | ||
Property and Equipment, net | 29,180 | |||
Other long term assets | 712,353 | |||
Intangible assets | 6,580,464 | |||
Goodwill | 11,324,069 | |||
Total assets acquired | 30,444,630 | |||
Liabilities Assumed: | ||||
Accounts Payable | 1,546,117 | |||
Factored Receivables Obligation | 6,488,748 | |||
Accrued Expenses | 1,990,857 | |||
Dividends Payable | 1,100,000 | |||
Deferred Income Tax – non current | 3,287,524 | |||
Derivative – contingent value right | 231,384 | |||
Total liabilities assumed | 14,644,630 | |||
Net Assets Acquired | $ | 15,800,000 |
The acquired intangibles include customer relationships valued at $3,056,856 being amortized over 5 years, trademarks valued at $2,548,364 being amortized over 15 years and a non-compete agreement valued at $975,244 being amortized over 2 years.
As a part of the purchase price allocation, the Company recorded net deferred tax assets, which were recorded on IPSA’s books at the time of acquisition, of approximately $556,000. In connection with the purchase price allocation, the Company recorded a deferred tax liability of approximately $2,842,000, with a corresponding increase to goodwill, for the tax effect of the acquired identifiable intangible assets from IPSA. This liability was recorded as there will be no future tax deductions related to the acquired intangibles but they will be amortized as described above for financial reporting purposes.
Prior to the acquisition, the Company had determined that it was more likely than not that some portion or all of its deferred tax assets would not be realized and therefore had recorded a valuation allowance for the full amount of its deferred tax assets (which were $7,543,910 at December 31, 2014). Upon the acquisition, the Company evaluated the likelihood that the acquired deferred tax assets and liabilities would be realized and, as a result of that evaluation, recorded an increase to the valuation allowance of approximately $474,000 related to the acquired deferred tax assets and recorded a reduction in the valuation allowance of approximately $2,842,000 related to the deferred tax liability associated with the acquired identifiable intangible assets. The net amount of these two adjustments to the Company’s valuation allowance against its net deferred tax assets was approximately $2,368,000 and is included in the income tax benefit on the Company’s consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2015.
F-17
Note 4 - Property and Equipment:
The principal categories and estimated useful lives of property and equipment are as follows:
Estimated | ||||||||||||
2015 | 2014 | Useful Lives | ||||||||||
Office equipment | $ | 1,490,297 | $ | 1,564,404 | 5 years | |||||||
Furniture and fixtures | 2,049,525 | 277,499 | 7 years | |||||||||
Vehicles | 13,567 | 13,567 | 5 Years | |||||||||
Computer software | 732,842 | 276,613 | 3 to 5 years | |||||||||
Leasehold improvements | 159,361 | 114,572 | ** | |||||||||
Land | 226,261 | 266,765 | N/A | |||||||||
4,671,853 | 2,513,420 | |||||||||||
Less: accumulated depreciation | (889,465 | ) | (764,789 | ) | ||||||||
$ | 3,782,388 | $ | 1,748,631 |
** The lesser of useful life or the minimum lease term.
Note 5 - Marketable Securities Classified as Trading Securities:
Under FASB ASC Topic 320 Investments-Debt and Equity Securities, securities that are bought and held principally for the purpose of selling them in the near term (thus held only for a short time) are classified as trading securities. Trading generally reflects active and frequent buying and selling, and trading securities are generally used with the objective of generating profits on short-term differences in price. All inputs used to value the securities are based on Level 1 inputs under FASB ASC Topic 820 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures. The unrealized holding loss as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, is as follows:
Fair Market | Holding | |||||||||||
Cost | Value | Gain (Loss) | ||||||||||
December 31, 2015 | $ | 42,504 | $ | 33,366 | $ | (5,497 | ) | |||||
December 31, 2014 | $ | 42,504 | $ | 38,863 | $ | 2,353 |
Note 6 - Investment in Limited Liability Company:
The Company has an investment in a limited liability company, which owns approximately 33 percent of the office building the Company leases office space in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Company’s investment represents an approximate 3 percent share of ownership in the limited liability company. Based on the Company’s ownership percentage, the Company accounts for its investment using the cost method. Accordingly, the carrying value of $100,000 is equal to the capital contribution the Company has made. Income is recognized when capital distributions are received by the Company and totaled $3,600 for each of the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.
Note 7 - Goodwill Impairment:
The Company completed an annual impairment evaluation for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, applying both Step 1 and Step 2 tests as applicable in FASB ASC 350.. The Company performed its annual impairment test and determined there was no impairment during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015. In addition, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014, it was determined that a full impairment of the trade name and customer list intangible assets related to the Energy Solutions segment was required and such impairment was recorded during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014. During 2014, the Company recorded a goodwill impairment write down of $6,363,630 related to its Energy Solutions business segment / reporting unit, which is reflected in the Statement of Operations. The balance recorded as goodwill as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 is $15,676,246 and $4,352,177, respectively, net of accumulated impairment of $16,969,662 for both periods.
F-18
Note 8 - Accrued Expenses:
Accrued expenses consisted of the following at December 31, 2015 and 2014:
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
Accrued payroll | $ | 913,907 | $ | 1,404,815 | ||||
Accrued vacation | 318,684 | 292,775 | ||||||
Other accrued liabilities | 1,327,457 | 937,313 | ||||||
$ | 2,560,048 | $ | 2,634,903 |
Note 9 - Notes Payable:
Between October 23, 2014 and November 21, 2014, the Company issued $1,800,000 of 10% Convertible Promissory Notes (the “Promissory Notes”) and warrants to purchase 630,000 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Warrants”) to accredited investors. The Promissory Notes have a term of 12 months, pay interest semi-annually at 10% per annum and can be voluntarily converted by the holder into shares of common stock at an exercise price of $1.12 per share. The Warrants have an exercise price of $1.12 per share and have a term of five years. The fair value of the Warrants was $140,513 and was recorded as a debt discount and credited to Additional Paid-In Capital. The discount is being amortized to interest expense over the one year term of the promissory notes. During the second quarter of 2015, $200,000 of the Promissory Notes were converted to common stock.
On October 28, 2015, the Company entered into Note Extension Agreements with existing Noteholders who hold the Promissory Notes. Pursuant to the Note Extension Agreements, the Noteholders, who held Promissory Notes with an aggregate principal balance of $1,600,000 which were scheduled to mature between October 23, 2015 and November 21, 2015, agreed to extend the maturity date of the Promissory Notes to May 21, 2016. As consideration for agreeing to extend the maturity date of the Promissory Notes, the Company agreed to issue the Noteholders five year common stock warrants to purchase an aggregate of 160,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $1.12 per share. The fair value of the Warrants was $83,031 and was recorded as a debt discount and credited to Additional Paid-In Capital. The discount is being amortized to interest expense over the extended term of the Promissory Notes.
The outstanding amount of Promissory Notes (net of the debt discount) at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 was $1,540,693 and $1,670,765, respectively.
Note 10 - Long-Term Debt:
Long-term debt as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 consists of the following:
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
Xerox Copier Lease, due in 63 installments of $145. | ||||||||
ending in April 2018. Payments include interest at 4%. | $ | 3,873 | $ | 5,426 | ||||
3,873 | 5,426 | |||||||
Current portion | (1,500 | ) | (1,500 | ) | ||||
Long-term portion | $ | 2,373 | $ | 3,926 |
Note 11 - Stockholders’ Equity:
Common Stock:
Generally, the Company issues common stock in connection with acquisitions, as a part of equity financing transactions, as dividends on preferred stock, upon conversion of preferred shares to common stock and upon the exercise of stock options or warrants.
In 2015, the Company issued 10,000,000 shares as a part of the merger agreement with IPSA International, Inc. (see Note 3), 12,131,453 shares as a part of equity financing transactions, 262,176 shares as dividends on Preferred Stock, 1,080,000 shares due upon the conversion of Preferred Stock, 3,053,273 shares upon the exercise of options, 1,379,306 shares upon the exercise of warrants, 200,000 shares in exchange for services and 214,287 shares upon conversion of a portion of the principal and interest of outstanding convertible promissory notes.
In 2014, the Company issued 2,294,487 shares as dividends on preferred stock, 18,081,392 shares upon conversion of Series B and Series D convertible Preferred stock, 795,095 shares upon the exercise of common stock warrants, 33,334 shares upon exercise of stock options.
During 2015, the Company issued common stock and common stock purchase warrants as a part of the following equity financing transactions:
F-19
On February 9, 2015, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with an accredited investor, pursuant to which the Company issued 5,586,450 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $1.10 per share. In addition, the Company issued warrants to purchase up to 5,135,018 shares of the Company’s common stock in the aggregate, at an exercise price of $0.80 per share. The warrants have a term of three years and may be exercised at any time from or after the date of issuance, may be exercised on a cashless basis and contain customary, structural anti-dilution protection (i.e., stock splits, dividends, etc). The warrants qualified for equity accounting. Upon closing of this equity financing, the Company received proceeds of $6,145,095.
On February 17, 2015, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with an accredited investor, pursuant to which the Company issued 1,162,321 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $1.10 per share. In addition, the Company issued warrants to purchase up to 1,068,390 shares of the Corporation’s common stock in the aggregate, at an exercise price of $0.80 per share. The warrants have a term of three years and may be exercised at any time from or after the date of issuance, may be exercised on a cashless basis and contain customary, structural anti-dilution protection (i.e., stock splits, dividends, etc). The warrants qualified for equity accounting. Upon closing of this equity financing, the Company received proceeds of $1,278,553.
On March 12, 2015, the Company entered into securities purchase agreements with a group of accredited investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 3,686,818 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $1.10 per share. In addition, the Company issued warrants to purchase up to 1,843,413 shares of the Corporation’s common stock in the aggregate, at an exercise price of $1.50 per share. The warrants have a term of three years and may be exercised at any time from or after the date of issuance and contain customary, structural anti-dilution protection (i.e., stock splits, dividends, etc). The warrants qualified for equity accounting. Upon closing of this equity financing, the Company received proceeds of $4,055,498.
The Company incurred fees of $184,697 in connection with the financing transactions discussed above and this amount has been charged to additional paid in capital.
On November 5, 2015, the Company entered into securities purchase agreements with a group of accredited investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 768,864 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $1.10 per share. In addition, the Company agreed to issue warrants to purchase up to 192,216 shares of the Corporation’s common stock in the aggregate, at an exercise price of $1.50 per share. The warrants have a term of five years and may be exercised at any time from or after the date of issuance and contain customary, structural anti-dilution protection (i.e., stock splits, dividends, etc). The warrants qualified for equity accounting. Upon closing of this equity financing, the Company received proceeds of $845,750.
On December 23, 2015, the Company entered into securities purchase agreements with a group of accredited investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 927,000 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $1.10 per share. In addition, the Company issued warrants to purchase up to 231,750 shares of the Corporation’s common stock in the aggregate, at an exercise price of $1.50 per share. The warrants have a term of five years and may be exercised at any time from or after the date of issuance and contain customary, structural anti-dilution protection (i.e., stock splits, dividends, etc). The warrants qualified for equity accounting. Upon closing of this equity financing, the Company received proceeds of $1,019,700.
7% Class B Convertible Preferred Stock:
During 2010, the Company issued 1,200,000 shares of 7% Class B Convertible Preferred Stock (“Class B Preferred Stock”), along with 1,058,940 detachable warrants. The holders of shares of Class B Convertible Preferred Stock are entitled to receive a 7 percent annual dividend until the shares are converted to common stock. The warrants, immediately exercisable, are for a term of five years, and entitle the holder to purchase shares of common stock at an exercise price of $ 0.77 per share. During 2015, 1,080,000 Shares of Class B Preferred Stock were converted into 1,080,000 shares of Common Stock. As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, 0 shares and 1,080,000 shares, respectively, of the Class B Preferred Stock remain outstanding.
7% Class C Convertible Preferred Stock:
During 2011, the Company designated 2,500,000 shares of its preferred stock as Class C Convertible Preferred Stock; $.001 par value per share (“Class C Preferred Stock”), each share was priced at $2.10 and, included 3 warrants at an exercise price of $0.77 which expire in 5 years. The Class C Preferred Stock (a) is convertible into three shares of common stock, subject to certain adjustments, (b) pays 7 percent dividends per annum, payable annually in cash or shares of common stock, at the Company’s option, and (c) is automatically converted into common stock should the price of the Company’s common stock exceed $2.50 for 30 consecutive trading days. During 2011, the Company issued 2,380,952 shares of Class C Preferred Stock and 8,217,141 warrants. All of these shares were outstanding as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.
F-20
Stock Options:
In May 2008, the Company and shareholders adopted a stock incentive plan, entitled the 2008 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”), authorizing the Company to grant stock options of up to 10,000,000 common shares for employees and key consultants. On August 13, 2014, the Company’s stockholders approved an amendment to the Company’s 2008 Stock Incentive Plan increasing the number of shares of Common Stock available for issuance under the Plan to 20,000,000. All options are approved by the Compensation Committee. As of December 31, 2015, there were 9,639,916 shares available for grant under the Plan.
The Company’s results for 2015 and 2014 include stock option based compensation expense of $1,129,000 and $757,000, respectively. These amounts are included within Selling, General & Administrative expenses on the Statement of Operations. There were no tax benefits recognized in 2015 or 2014 for stock option based compensation.
Years Ended | ||||||||
December 31, 2015 | December 31, 2014 | |||||||
Exercise price | $ | 1.20 - $2.32 | $ | 0.54 - $2.00 | ||||
Risk free interest rate | 0.80% to 1.84% | 0.66% to 2.09% | ||||||
Volatility | 27.62% - 60.7 | % | 29.65% - 37.13 | % | ||||
Expected Term | 2.5 Years – 5.5 Years | 2.5 Years - 6 Years | ||||||
Dividend yield | None | None |
The Company grants stock options to key employees and Board members at prices not less than the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the grant date. Options issued expire either at five or ten years from the date of grant. The options are exercisable either immediately or based on a vesting schedule over 1 to 4 years. Compensation cost is recognized on a straight line basis based on the applicable vesting schedule. The Company uses the Black-Scholes valuation method to estimate the grant date fair value of each option. The fair values of options granted were estimated using the following weighted-average assumptions:
The expected dividend yield is zero as the Company does not currently pay dividends on its common stock. As the Company’s common stock has very low trading volume, volatility is calculated based on the average volatility of a group which includes the Company and peer companies. The risk free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury rates on the grant date with maturity dates approximating the expected life of the option on the grant date. The expected term is an estimate based on the average of the date of vesting and the end of term of the option. These assumptions are evaluated and revised for future grants, as necessary, to reflect market conditions and experience. There were no significant changes made to the methodology used to determine the assumptions during 2015. The weighted-average grant-date fair value of stock options granted was $0.51 during 2015 and $0.21 during 2014. The following represents the activity under the stock incentive plan as of December 31, 2015 and changes during the two years then ended:
F-21
Weighted Average | ||||||||
Outstanding Options | Exercise Price | |||||||
Outstanding at December 31, 2013 | 5,639,864 | $ | 0.83 | |||||
Issued | 6,585,000 | $ | 0.80 | |||||
Exercised | (33,334 | ) | $ | 0.70 | ||||
Forfeitures | (881,666 | ) | $ | 0.85 | ||||
Outstanding at December 31, 2014 | 11,309,864 | $ | 0.81 | |||||
Issued | 3,140,000 | $ | 1.37 | |||||
Exercised | (3,053,397 | ) | $ | 0.66 | ||||
Forfeitures | (1,036,383 | ) | $ | 1.07 | ||||
Outstanding at December 31, 2015 | 10,360,084 | $ | 1.01 | |||||
Exercisable at December 31, 2015 | 7,439,084 | $ | 0.97 |
The weighted-average remaining contractual life for options outstanding at December 31, 2015 was 6.8 years and for options exercisable at December 31, 2015 was 5.9 years. The aggregate intrinsic value of options outstanding at December 31, 2015 was $4,396,128 and for options exercisable at December 31, 2015 was $3,379,022. As of December 31, 2015 there was approximately $2,270,855 of unrecognized compensation cost related to outstanding stock options. The unrecognized compensation cost will be recognized over a weighted-average period of 0.8 years.
On December 8, 2015, the Company issued 2,025,000 stock options to employees. The vesting of these options is contingent on shareholder approval of an increase in the amount of authorized shares of common stock at the next annual meeting. In the event that the shareholders do not approve the increase in authorized shares the options will be cancelled. The Company has determined that due to the contingent vesting of these options, the grant date has not occurred as of December 31, 2015 and as a result, they are not included in the Company’s outstanding stock options at December 31, 2015.
Warrants:
The Company predominantly issues warrants to purchase Common Stock in connection with the issuance of Convertible Preferred Stock, Convertible Notes and equity financings. The Company has also issued warrants for service to board members and outside companies. Additionally, the Company has issued warrants in connection with an acquisition. 7,156,144 of the 25,867,753 outstanding warrants have been issued in connection with equity instruments and are accounted for as a derivative liability. The remaining 18,711,609 warrants were issued for services to board members or external companies, in connection with acquisitions, or in connection with the issuance of convertible notes or equity instruments and have been recorded based on fair value. The warrants expire 3 or 5 years from the date of issuance. Generally, warrants vest immediately or over a vesting schedule of between 1 and 3 years. The Company uses the Black-Scholes or “Binomial” valuation method, as appropriate, to estimate the grant date fair value of each warrant.
The Company issued 75,000 and 297,000 warrants to purchase shares of common stock in exchange for service during 2015 and 2014, respectively. The Company’s results for the years 2015 and 2014, include expense related to warrants issued for services of $18,000 and $38,000, respectively. These amounts are included within Selling, General & Administrative expenses on the Consolidated Statement of Operations.
Warrant holders exercised 1,546,308 warrants to purchase common stock, some of which were cashless exercises, during 2015. The weighted average price of the exercised warrants was $0.76 and the Company received $881,335 in proceeds and issued 1,379,306 shares of common stock as a result of these exercises. During 2014, warrant holders exercised 1,186,300 warrants to purchase common stock, some of which were cashless exercises. The weighted average price of the exercised warrants was $0.71 and the Company received $438,550 in proceeds and issued 795,095 shares of common stock as a result of these exercises.
F-22
On August 11, 2015 (the “Closing Date”), the Company entered into an exchange agreement (the “Exchange Agreement”) with the holders of outstanding warrants to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Holders”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to issue warrants to purchase an aggregate of 7,142,856 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Replacement Warrants”) in exchange for the cancellation of the Holder’s existing warrants to purchase an aggregate of 7,142,856 shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Prior Warrants”). The Holders consist of (i) River Charitable Remainder Unitrust f/b/o Isaac Blech (the “Trust”), of which Isaac Blech, a current Director of the Company, is the sole trustee; and (ii) Miriam Blech, the wife of Isaac Blech. The Prior Warrants had an exercise price of $0.77 per share, contained weighted-average anti-dilution price protection and contained an expiration date of March 3, 2016. The Replacement Warrants have an exercise price of $1.20 per share, are not exercisable for a period of eighteen months from the Closing Date and expire on the three year anniversary of the Closing Date. Pursuant to the terms of the Exchange Agreement, the Company has agreed to seek shareholder approval for an increase in the Company’s authorized capital stock within twelve months of the Closing Date. In the event the Company fails to obtain approval of the proposal relating to such increase in the Company’s authorized capital stock the Company has agreed to resubmit such proposal to its stockholders within three (3) months after the result of the prior meeting is rendered.
As a result of the Exchange Agreement, the Prior Warrants, which were recorded as a derivative liability were valued at $2,618,049 as of August 11, 2015 and cancelled and removed from derivative liabilities and the Replacement Warrants, which were determined to be equity instruments, were recorded to additional paid in capital in the same amount.
The fair values of warrants granted for service were estimated using the following weighted-average assumptions:
Years Ended | ||||||||
December 31, 2015 | December 31, 2014 | |||||||
Exercise price | $ | 1.50 | $ | 0.75 - $1.12 | ||||
Risk free interest rate | 0.39% to 0.46% | 0.63% to 1.87% | ||||||
Volatility | 26.47% - 26.6%6 | 28.93% - 36.91% | ||||||
Expected Term | 1.5 Years | 2.5 Years – 5.75 Years | ||||||
Dividend yield | None | None |
The following represents the stock warrant activity as of December 31, 2015 and changes during the two years then ended:
Outstanding Warrants | Weighted Average Exercise Price | |||||||
Outstanding at December 31, 2013 | 19,112,360 | $ | 1.11 | |||||
Issued | 927,000 | $ | 1.05 | |||||
Exercised | (1,186,300 | ) | $ | 0.71 | ||||
Cancelled | (100,000 | ) | $ | 0.75 | ||||
Outstanding at December 31, 2014 | 18,753,060 | $ | 1.06 | |||||
Issued | 15,848,643 | $ | 1.09 | |||||
Exercised | (1,546,308 | ) | $ | 0.76 | ||||
Cancelled | (7,187,642 | ) | $ | 0.80 | ||||
Outstanding at December 31, 2015 | 25,867,753 | $ | 1.16 |
F-23
Note 12 - Income Taxes:
Significant components of the income tax benefit (expense) are summarized as follows:
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
Current provision: | ||||||||
Federal | $ | 0 | $ | 0 | ||||
State | 0 | 0 | ||||||
Foreign | (81,273 | ) | ||||||
Deferred provision: | ||||||||
Federal | 1,579,747 | 0 | ||||||
State | 744,223 | |||||||
Foreign | (2,780 | ) | 0 | |||||
$ | 2,239,917 | $ | 0 |
A reconciliation of the statutory federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective income tax rate on income before income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 follows:
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
Federal statutory rate | 34.0 | % | 34.0 | % | ||||
State income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit | 7.0 | 0.7 | ||||||
Book derivative income (expense) | 13.4 | (14.2 | ) | |||||
Dividend income from Canadian subsidiary | (6.6 | ) | -- | |||||
Section 78 Gross up | (2.5 | ) | -- | |||||
Stock compensation expense | (5.2 | ) | (1.1 | ) | ||||
Acquisition costs | (2.4 | ) | -- | |||||
Taxes related to foreign operations | 2.1 | -- | ||||||
Officers’ life insurance | (0.7 | ) | (0.1 | ) | ||||
Goodwill impairment | -- | (6.6 | ) | |||||
Intangibles impairment | -- | (0.3 | ) | |||||
Change in valuation allowance | (16.9 | ) | (10.6 | ) | ||||
Other | (1.5 | ) | (1.8 | ) | ||||
20.9 | % | 0 | % |
The Company provides for income taxes in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 740 Income Taxes. Deferred income taxes arise from the differences in the recognition of income and expenses for tax and financial reporting purposes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are comprise of the following at December 31, 2015 and 2014.
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2015 | 2014 | |||||||
Deferred income tax assets: | ||||||||
Operating loss carry forward | $ | 9,608,605 | $ | 5,260,000 | ||||
Acquired NOL – Ecological acquisition | 64,654 | 164,910 | ||||||
Accrued compensation | - | 92,000 | ||||||
Allowance for doubtful accounts | 150,354 | 141,000 | ||||||
Transaction costs capitalized | 48,238 | - | ||||||
Intangible assets | - | 1,886,000 | ||||||
Dividend withheld tax credit | 80,819 | - | ||||||
Property, Plant and Equipment | 61,715 | - | ||||||
Charitable contribution carryforward | 8,312 | - | ||||||
Foreign tax credit on repatriated earnings | 436,518 | - | ||||||
Cumulative Eligible Capital Deduction - Canada | 54,682 | 0 | ||||||
Total deferred tax assets | 10,513,897 | 7,543,910 | ||||||
Less: valuation allowance | (9,199,787 | ) | (7,543,910 | ) | ||||
Deferred income tax assets | $ | 1,314,110 | $ | - | ||||
Deferred income tax liabilities: | ||||||||
Intangibles Assets – IPSA acquisition | $ | (1,116,610 | ) | $ | - | |||
Property and equipment | - | (85,000 | ) | |||||
Repatriated earnings of foreign subsidiaries | (141,091 | ) | - | |||||
Total deferred tax liabilities | (1,257,701 | ) | (85,000 | ) | ||||
Net deferred tax assets / (liabilities) | $ | 56,409 | $ | (85,000 | ) |
A valuation allowance is recorded when, in the opinion of management, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company has provided a valuation allowance for all its net current and non-current U.S. deferred tax assets $9,256,196, which is primarily comprised of net operating loss carry forward deferred tax assets of $9,673,259. The Company has recorded a deferred tax asset of $56,409 related to its Canadian operations. See Note 3 for further information on the recognition of the deferred tax benefit. Management made the assessment at the end of both 2015 and 2014 that a full valuation allowance for its U.S. deferred tax assets should be provided based on consideration of recent net operating losses, that it was no longer, at this time, more likely than not that the deferred tax assets would be recoverable. Management will continue to monitor the status of the recoverability of deferred tax assets. At December 31, 2015, the Company has income tax net operating loss carry forwards that begin to expire in 2031 to 2035.
Note 13 - Net Loss Per Share:
Basic net income or loss per common share is computed by dividing net income or loss for the period by the weighted - average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted income or loss per share is computed by dividing net income or loss for the period by the weighted - average number of common and common equivalent shares, such as stock options, warrants and convertible securities outstanding during the period. Such common equivalent shares have not been included in the Company’s computation of net income (loss) per share when their effect would have been anti-dilutive based on the strike price as compared to the average trading price or due to the Company’s net losses attributable to common stockholders.
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
Basic: | ||||||||
Numerator –net loss attributable to common stockholders | $ | (8,744,398 | ) | $ | (26,033,922 | ) | ||
Denominator – weighted – average shares outstanding | 70,581,243 | 30,345,422 | ||||||
Net loss per share – Basic and diluted | $ | (0.12 | ) | $ | (0.86 | ) | ||
Incremental common shares (not included due to their anti-dilutive nature) : | ||||||||
Stock options | 10,360,084 | 11,309,864 | ||||||
Stock warrants | 25,867,753 | 18,753,060 | ||||||
Convertible preferred stock – Series B | - | 1,080,000 | ||||||
Convertible preferred stock – Series C | 7,142,856 | 7,142,856 | ||||||
Convertible preferred stock – Series D | - | - | ||||||
Convertible Notes | 1,428,571 | 1,607,143 | ||||||
44,799,264 | 39,892,923 |
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Note 14 - Commitments and Contingencies:
The Company is obligated under various operating leases for office space and equipment and is obligated under non-cancelable contracts with job search firms.
The future minimum payments under non-cancelable operating leases and non-cancelable contracts with initial remaining terms in excess of one year as of December 31, 2015, are as follows:
2016 | $ | 1,270,509 | ||
2017 | $ | 1,117,855 | ||
2018 | $ | 734,166 | ||
2019 | $ | 420,568 | ||
2020 | $ | 342,891 | ||
2021 | $ | 55,600 |
The leases cover office premises. Non-cancellable contracts with talent acquisition search engines account for $6,858 of the obligations. The above schedule of contractual obligations does not include dividends on preferred stock as they have not been declared, and the Company has the option of paying the dividends in cash or common stock of the Company at its discretion. The Company has several employment contracts in place with key management which are in the normal course and have not been included in the above table.
Expenses for operating leases during 2015 and 2014 were $1,342,592 and $677,989, respectively.
The Company has a three percent ownership interest in a limited liability company that owns approximately 33 percent of the building the Company leases office space from in Charlotte, North Carolina. Additionally, an individual stockholder of the Company owns approximately 30 percent of the same limited liability company. Rent expense pertaining to this operating lease during 2015 and 2014 was $177,236 and $172,074, respectively.
Note 15 – Receivables sold with recourse:
The Company’s IPSA subsidiary sells certain of its accounts receivable with full recourse to Advance Payroll Funding Ltd. (“Advance”). Advance retains portions of the proceeds from the receivable sales as reserves, which are released to the Company as the receivables are collected. Proceeds from sales of such receivables, net of amounts held in reserves, during the period from February 9, 2015 to December 31, 2015 totaled $7,393,507. The outstanding balance of full recourse receivables at December 31, 2015 was $0. In the event of default, the Company is required to repurchase the entire balance of the full recourse receivables and is subject to fees. There are no limits on the amount of accounts receivable factoring available to the Company under the factoring agreement. The agreement with Advance is effective through January 10, 2018, with two year renewal intervals thereafter.
Note 16 - Employee Benefit Plan:
After the acquisition of IPSA on February 9, 2015, the Company has two 401(k) plans which cover substantially all employees. The Company had a 401(k) plan in place prior to the acquisition and IPSA had also had a 401(k) plan. Plan participants in either plan can make voluntary contributions of up to 15 percent of compensation, subject to certain limitations. Under the Company’s plan that was in place prior to the acquisition, the Company matches a portion of employee deferrals. Under the plan established by IPSA, there are no matches of a portion of employee deferrals. It is the Company’s intent during 2016 to combine the two plans. Total company contributions to the plans for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 were approximately $50,140 and $51,296, respectively.
Note 17 - Advertising:
The Company expenses advertising costs as incurred. Advertising expenses for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 were $25,097 and $4,435, respectively.
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Note 18 - Major Customers:
Approximately 50 and 34 percent of total revenues were earned from the Company’s top five customers for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
Note 19 - Segment Information:
The Company operates in three business segments: the Cyber Solutions segment, the Business Advisory Solutions segment and the Energy Solutions segment. The Cyber Solutions segment provides cyber security and advanced technology training services, operational support and consulting services. The Business Advisory Solutions segment, which includes IPSA as of February 9, 2015, provides anti-money laundering operational, advisory and consulting services, investigative due diligence services and advisory services in the following areas: risk, data, organizational change and cyber. The Energy Solutions segment works with customers to assess, design and install processes and automation to address energy regulation, strategy, cost, and usage initiatives. The Business Advisory Solutions segment operated without IPSA for the full year in 2014 and up through February 9, 2015, and included IPSA from February 9, 2015 through December 31, 2015.
The performance of the business is evaluated at the segment level. Cash, debt and financing matters are managed centrally. These segments operate as one from an accounting and overall executive management perspective, though each segment has senior management in place; however they are differentiated from a marketing and customer presentation perspective, though cross-selling opportunities exist and continue to be pursued. Condensed summary segment information follows for the year ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.
Year Ended December 31, 2015 | ||||||||||||||||
Cyber Solutions | Business Advisory Solutions * | Energy Solutions | Total | |||||||||||||
Revenue | $ | 2,975,583 | $ | 24,588,203 | $ | 1,794,643 | $ | 29,358,429 | ||||||||
Income (Loss) from Operations before Overhead | $ | (4,446,716 | ) | $ | (676,777 | ) | $ | (784,732 | ) | $ | (5,908,245 | ) | ||||
Allocated Corporate Overhead | 2,034,785 | 4,719,903 | 599,732 | 7,354,420 | ||||||||||||
Loss from Operations | $ | (6,481,501 | ) | $ | (5,396,680 | ) | $ | (1,384,464 | ) | $ | (13,262,665 | ) | ||||
Assets | $ | 5,054,281 | $ | 23,530,701 | $ | 2,003,822 | $ | 30,588,804 | ||||||||
Year Ended December 31, 2014 | ||||||||||||||||
Cyber Solutions | Business Advisory Solutions * | Energy Solutions | Total | |||||||||||||
Revenue | $ | 4,076,050 | $ | 12,964,920 | $ | 3,134,518 | $ | 20,175,488 | ||||||||
Income (Loss) from Operations before Overhead | $ | (106,312 | ) | $ | 1,332,555 | $ | (2,352,884 | ) | $ | (1,126,641 | ) | |||||
Allocated Corporate Overhead | 1,529,255 | 3,198,644 | 1,686,248 | 6,414,147 | ||||||||||||
Loss from Operations | $ | (1,635,567 | ) | $ | (1,866,089 | ) | $ | (4,039,132 | ) | $ | (7,540,788 | ) | ||||
Assets | $ | 3,392,939 | $ | 5,928,331 | $ | 2,543,370 | $ | 11,864,640 |
* The Company acquired IPSA International, Inc. on February 9, 2015 and this business is included in the Business Advisory Solutions segment as of the acquisition date.
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Note 20 – Summary Pro-Forma Financial Information (unaudited):
The following unaudited pro-forma data summarizes the results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, as if the February 9, 2015 purchase of IPSA International, Inc. had been completed on January 1, 2014. The pro-forma financial information is presented for informational purposes only and is not indicative of the results of operations that would have been achieved if the acquisition had taken place on January 1, 2014.
December 31, 2015 | December 31, 2014 | |||||||
Net revenues | $ | 34,390,577 | $ | 61,454,454 | ||||
Operating loss | (12,841,292 | ) | (7,109,581 | ) | ||||
Net loss per share – basic | $ | (0.18 | ) | $ | (0.18 | ) | ||
Net loss per share- diluted | $ | (0.18 | ) | $ | (0.18 | ) |
Note 21 – Commitments and Contingencies:
Platte River Insurance Company (“Platte River”) instituted an action on April 8, 2015 in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in which Platte River claims that the Company signed as a co-indemnitor in support of surety bonds issued by Platte River on behalf of Prime Solutions for the benefit of Honeywell pursuant to Prime Solutions, Inc.’s (“Prime”) solar project located in Worcester Massachusetts (the “Prime Contract”). The Company filed its answer to the complaint, denying the allegations of Platte River. On February 1, 2016 the Company received a demand letter from Platte River for immediate payment of an $868,617 claim under the terms of the co-indemnity agreement. The Company continues to deny the allegations and will not agree to the demand. The Company’s maximum liability exposure under the bond is $1,412,544, if Prime failed to meet its contracted obligations. In October 2014, the Company determined it probable that Prime did fail to meet its contracted obligations under the Prime Contract, and therefore, the potential existed that the Company may have to meet outstanding Prime Contract obligations. The Company has evaluated the status of the project, amounts paid to date on the contract and assessed the remaining work to be performed. Notwithstanding the demand letter from Platte River, the Company continues to believe its potential obligation under the Prime Contract is approximately $650,000, and that amount was accrued as a Selling, General and Administrative expense on the Consolidated Statement of Operations during 2014. The Company intends to vigorously defend this litigation.
Legal Proceedings:
The Company and two senior executives of the Company are named as defendants in a class action proceeding filed on June 23, 2015, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. On September 24, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted a motion to transfer the lawsuit to the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. On October 14, 2015, the Court appointed David Hampton as Lead Plaintiff and approved Hampton’s selection of the law firm Levi & Korsinsky LLP as Lead Counsel. Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint on January 4, 2016. The Amended Complaint alleges violations of the federal securities laws on behalf of a class of persons who purchased shares of the Company’s common stock between October 17, 2014 and June 15, 2015. In general, the Amended Complaint alleges that false or misleading statements were made or that there was a failure to make appropriate disclosures concerning the Company’s cyber security business and products. On February 18, 2016, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint. Plaintiff’s opposition to the motion to dismiss is due on or before April 4, 2016, and Defendants’ reply is due on or before May 4, 2016. We cannot predict the outcome of this lawsuit; however, the Company believes that the claims lack merit and intends to defend against the lawsuit vigorously. No liability, if any that may result from this matter has been recorded on the Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Note 22 – Related Party Transactions
On January 16, 2014, the Company paid dividends on its Series C Preferred Stock in Common Stock of the Company. Of this dividend, $140,000, equating to 241,379 shares was paid to River Charitable Remainder Unitrust f/b/o Isaac Blech, which is controlled by Isaac Blech, Vice Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors.
On January 22, 2015, we paid dividends on our Series C Preferred Stock in Common Stock of the Company. Of this dividend, $140,000, represented by 90,323 shares, was paid to River Charitable Remainder Unitrust f/b/o Isaac Blech. On January 16, 2014, we paid dividends on our Series C Preferred Stock in Common Stock of the Company. Of this dividend, $140,000, equating to 241,379, shares was paid to River Charitable Remainder Unitrust f/b/o Isaac Blech. River Charitable Remainder Unitrust f/b/o Isaac Blech is controlled by Isaac Blech, Vice Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors.
On February 9, 2015, the Company acquired IPSA International Inc. (“IPSA”). Mr. Joseph Grano, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, served, at the time of the acquisition, on the Advisory Board of IPSA. In addition, Centurion Holdings of which Mr. Grano is a majority owner, was an approximately 5% stockholder of IPSA. In consideration for the acquisition of IPSA, we paid approximately $15.8 million in cash and shares of our common stock to the stockholders of IPSA. Centurion received approximately $722,000 of such consideration. Mr. Grano recused himself from all matters and voting processes related to the transaction.
Mr. Dan Wachtler, was the CEO and Chairman at the time of the IPSA acquisition and is now CEO of our IPSA subsidiary as well as a Director of the Company. Mr. Wachtler received approximately $9,478,000 of the consideration for the acquisition of IPSA.
Centurion Holdings, of which Mr. Grano is a majority owner, has a sublease agreement for a portion of its office in New York with IPSA. The sublease is at market rates and constitutes IPSA’s New York Office. The lease expires in August 2018. The base rent for the sublease is approximately $204,000 per year.
On February 20, 2015 the Company paid a dividend to IPSA’s shareholders in the amount of $1,100,000. The dividend had been declared and accrued on IPSA’s books on December 31, 2014, prior to the merger agreement with the Company. $659,892 of this dividend was paid to Mr. Wachtler and $50,294 of this dividend was paid to Centurion Holdings, a Company whose majority owner is Mr. Grano.
On August 11, 2015, the Company entered into an exchange agreement (the “Exchange Agreement”) with the holders of outstanding warrants to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock (the “Holders”). The Holders consist of (i) River Charitable Remainder Unitrust f/b/o Isaac Blech (the “Trust”), of which Isaac Blech, a current Director of the Company, is the sole trustee; and (ii) Miriam Blech, the wife of Isaac Blech. See Note 11 for further discussion on the Exchange Agreement.
On November 5, 2015, the Company entered into securities purchase agreements with a group of accredited investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 768,864 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $1.10 per share. In addition, the Company agreed to issue warrants to purchase up to 192,215 shares of the Corporation’s common stock in the aggregate, at an exercise price of $1.50 per share (the “Warrants”). The Warrants have a term of five years and may be exercised at any time from or after the date of issuance and contain customary, structural anti-dilution protection (i.e., stock splits, dividends, etc). Upon closing of this equity financing, the Company received proceeds of $845,750. Two of the accredited investors are Dan Wachtler, CEO of the IPSA subsidiary, who invested $250,000 and was issued 227,273 shares of common stock and 56,818 warrants, and John Catsimatidis, a member of the Board of Directors of the Company, who invested $242,750 and was issued 220,682 shares of common stock and 55,170 warrants.
On February 9, 2016, the Company entered into a letter agreement (the “Agreement”) with Miriam Blech and River Charitable Remainder Unitrust f/b/o Isaac Blech, who together control all of the Company’s Series C Preferred Stock. Pursuant to the Agreement, the parties agreed to postpone payment of the annual dividend on the Company’s Series C Preferred Stock until five (5) business days following the day on which the Company holds an annual or special meeting of its stockholders where the stockholders are presented with a proposal to increase the authorized capital stock of the Company.
During 2015, the Company incurred $148,945 in public relations and marketing expenses from, ZITO Partners, a Company Shareholder. In March 2015 Robert Zito invested $500,000 in the Company, receiving 454,545 shares of Common Stock and 227,273 $1.10 five year warrants. In 2016 Robert Zito invested $250,000 in the Company, receiving 227,273 shares of Common Stock and 227,273 $1.10 five year warrants.
As of December 31, 2015, the Company owed members of the Board of Directors, $222,000 in fees for various Board of Director, Audit Committee and Compensation Committee Fees.
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Associated with the March 10, 2016 financing, Mr. Isaac Blech and his affiliates agreed that the Company does not have to reserve shares of common stock for the conversion of their Series C Preferred Stock and underlying warrants until five days after the Company holds a special or annual meeting of stockholders.
See Note 14 for description of a related party leasing arrangement.
Note 23 – Liquidity and Capital Resources:
As of December 31, 2015, we had cash and cash equivalents of $795,682, compared to $765,099 at December 31, 2014, an increase of $30,583. The increase is primarily attributable to the proceeds from the equity financing, stock and warrant exercise transactions during 2015 which totaled approximately $16,100,000, offset by the net cash used in operations and investing activities during 2015 of approximately $12,400,000 and $3,800,000, respectively. After financings in the first quarter of 2016 (see below), our cash position has increased and outstanding cash and cash equivalents at March 11, 2016 was approximately $5.5 million.
Our objective from a liquidity perspective is to use operating cash flows to fund day to day operations. In both 2015 and 2014 we did not achieve this objective, as cash flow from operations in the 2015 and 2014 has been the net use of $11.8 million and $5.5 million, respectively. Our high use of cash has been predominantly caused by declines in revenue in our existing businesses, costs associated with the IPSA acquisition, costs for the ramp up of the cyber solutions employee base and capital costs associated with the build out of the operations center for the cyber solutions group. Additionally, revenues at IPSA were below expectations during 2015 due to the unexpected delay and ultimate early termination of a project with a significant customer and revenue in the cyber solutions segment has not materialized at the pace that was anticipated. Based on the foregoing, we will have to obtain additional financing by the end of the first quarter of 2016 to support our future operations and there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain such financing, or if obtained, on terms favorable to the Company. Failure to obtain the same will adversely affect the operations of the Company.
With new IPSA and Cyber Solutions client engagements in 2016, the Company expects such incremental revenue along with expense management will improve the Company’s liquidity position. Based upon its current cash position as well as these new executed contracts that will be performed in 2016, management believes that it will have sufficient cash to fund operations into the first quarter of 2017.
Note 24 – Subsequent Events:
The Class B preferred stock accrues 7 percent per annum dividends. The dividends began accruing April 30, 2010, and are cumulative. Dividends are payable annually in arrears. At December 31, 2015, $6,857 of dividends had accrued on these shares. However, they are unrecorded on the Company’s books until declared. On February 16, 2015, the Company declared dividends on its Series B and the Company paid the dividends in Company common stock. On February 16, 2015 the Company issued 4,969 shares to the 7% Series B Convertible Preferred Stockholders.
On February 9, 2016, the Company entered into a letter agreement (the “Agreement”) with Miriam Blech and River Charitable Remainder Unitrust f/b/o Isaac Blech, who together control all of the Company’s Class C Preferred Stock. Pursuant to the Agreement, the parties agreed to postpone payment of the annual dividend on the Company’s Class C Preferred Stock until five (5) business days following the day on which the Company holds an annual or special meeting of its stockholders where the stockholders are presented with a proposal to increase the authorized capital stock of the Company.
On January 26, 2016, the Company entered into securities purchase agreements with a group of accredited investors, pursuant to which the Company issued 227,273 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $1.10 per share. In addition, the Company issued warrants to purchase up to 56,818 shares of the Corporation’s common stock in the aggregate, at an exercise price of $1.50 per share (the “Warrants”). The Warrants have a term of five years and may be exercised at any time from or after the date of issuance and contain customary, structural anti-dilution protection (i.e., stock splits, dividends, etc). Upon closing of this equity financing, the Company received proceeds of $250,000.
On February 24, 2016, the Company received proceeds of $1,256,782 in connection with the Company's offer to amend and exercise warrants. In connection with the offering, warrant holders elected to exercise a total of 1,142,529 of their $1.125 warrants at a reduced exercise price of $1.10 per share. The Company issued new warrants to the participants to purchase 285,654 shares of common stock with a term of five (5) years and have an exercise price per share equal to $1.50.
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On March 3, 2016 the Company agreed to amend the 480,784 $1.50 warrants from the November 5, 2015, December 23, 2015 and January 5, 2016 financings and to issue these amended warrants to equal 100% warrant coverage equal to 1,923,137 five year warrants at $1.10 per share.
On March 10, 2016, the Company entered into securities purchase agreements with accredited investors, advisory clients of Wellington Management Company, LLP and the Dan Wachtler Family Trust pursuant to which the Company issued 5,076,863 shares of common stock at the purchase price of $1.10 per share. In addition, the Company issued warrants to purchase up to 5,076,863 shares of the Company’s common stock in the aggregate, at an exercise price of $1.10 per share. The warrants have a term of five years and may be exercised on a cashless basis. In addition to customary, structural anti-dilution protection (i.e., stock splits, dividends, etc), should the Company, during the term of the warrants, issue common shares at a per share consideration that is less than the exercise price, the exercise price of each warrant shall be reduced concurrently with such issue, to the consideration per share received by the Company for such issue of additional stock. Upon closing of this equity financing, the company received proceeds of $5,584,549.
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