The Company’s provision for income taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2024 increased by $507,000 to $1,935,000 as compared to $1,428,000 for the same period a year ago. The increase in the provision for income taxes for the three months was primarily due to higher taxable income in the U.S. The Company’s effective rate for income tax was 12.8% and 13.0% for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 respectively. The Company’s provision for income taxes for the nine months ended March 31, 2024 increased by $2,901,000 to $5,376,000 as compared to $2,475,000 for the same period a year ago. The increase in the provision for income taxes for the nine months was primarily due to higher taxable income in the U.S. The Company’s effective rate for income tax was 12.9% and 13.0% for the nine months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2024 increased by $3,647,000 to $13,196,000 or $0.36 per diluted share as compared to $9,549,000 or $0.26 per diluted share for the same period a year ago. Net income for the nine months ended March 31, 2024 increased by $19,722,000 to $36,284,000 or $0.98 per diluted share as compared to $16,562,000 or $0.45 per diluted share for the same period a year ago. The increase in net income for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2024, was primarily due to the items described above.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The Company has cash, certificates of deposit (“CD”) which mature within 12 months, and marketable securities which aggregate to $87.5 million. During the nine months ended March 31, 2024, the Company utilized a portion of its cash balance at June 30, 2023 ($160,000) to purchase marketable securities and other investments ($1,123,000) and property, plant and equipment ($1,043,000). The securities and investments consist of money market accounts, CD’s and time deposits. During the nine months ended March 31, 2024, the Company generated cash flows from operations of $31,032,000. The Company believes its current working capital, cash flows from operations and its revolving credit agreement will be sufficient to fund the Company’s operations through the next twelve months.
Accounts receivable at March 31, 2024 increased by $4,204,000 to $30,273,000 as compared to $26,069,000 at June 30, 2023. This increase was due primarily to sales of intrusion products to a large, new customer during the nine months ended March 31, 2024 as well as sales of door locking products to one of the Company’s customers in March 2024 to supply several of their contracting jobs.
Inventories, which include both current and non-current portions, increased by $1,754,000 to $50,103,000 as of March 31, 2024, as compared to $48,349,000 at June 30, 2023. The increase was due primarily to the Company level-loading its production facility where production is smoothed out over the year in order to avoid large fluctuations in manpower requirements throughout the fiscal year.
Accounts payable and accrued expenses, not including income taxes payable, remained consistent at $19,745,000 as of March 31, 2024 as compared to $19,686,000 as of June 30, 2023.
As of March 31, 2024 long-term debt consisted of a revolving line of credit of $20,000,000 (“Amended Agreement”), with no amounts outstanding, which expires in February 2029. The revolving credit facility contains various restrictions and covenants including, among others, restrictions on borrowings and compliance with certain financial ratios, as defined in the agreement. The Company’s long-term debt is described more fully in Note 8 to the condensed consolidated financial statements.
As of March 31, 2024, the Company had no material commitments for capital expenditures or inventory purchases other than purchase orders issued in the normal course of business. In addition, the Company’s balance sheet reflects a refund liability of $5,224,000 as of March 31, 2024 for customer returns and promotional credits which is more fully discussed in Note 2 to the condensed consolidated financial statements.
ITEM 3: Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
The Company's principal financial instrument is long-term debt (consisting of a revolving credit facility) that provides for interest based on the prime rate or SOFR as described in the agreement. The Company is affected by market risk exposure primarily through the effect of changes in interest rates on amounts payable by the Company under these credit facilities.
All foreign sales transactions by the Company are denominated in U.S. dollars. As such, the Company has shifted foreign currency exposure onto its foreign customers. As a result, if exchange rates move against foreign customers, the Company could experience difficulty collecting unsecured accounts receivable, the cancellation of existing orders or the loss of future orders. The foregoing could