UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-QSB
| | |
þ | | QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
| | |
For the fiscal quarter ended: | | Commission file number: |
March 31, 2006 | | 0-11582 |
Auto Underwriters of America, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| | |
California | | 94-2915849 |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
2755 Campus Drive, Suite 155, San Mateo, California
(Address of principal executive offices)
94403
(Zip Code)
(650) 377-4381
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yesþ Noo
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filero Accelerated filero Non-accelerated filerþ
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yeso Noþ
Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.
| | |
| | Outstanding at |
Title of Each Class | | May 15, 2006 |
Common Stock, no par value | | 6,018,570 |
AUTO UNDERWRITERS OF AMERICA, INC.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
2
Part I. Financial Information
Item 1. Financial Statements
Auto Underwriters of America, Inc.
Balance Sheets
(Unaudited)
| | | | | | | | |
| | March 31, 2006 | | | June 30, 2005 | |
Assets: | | | | | | | | |
Cash and cash equivalents | | $ | 19,810 | | | $ | 68,112 | |
Finance receivables, net of allowance $2,380,906 and $2,323,089, respectively | | | 9,440,802 | | | | 10,322,936 | |
Other receivables | | | 1,210,196 | | | | 1,166,730 | |
Inventory | | | 1,004,406 | | | | 661,352 | |
Fixed assets, net of accumulated depreciation $33,668 and $16,360, respectively | | | 148,042 | | | | 177,874 | |
Prepaid and other assets | | | 80,757 | | | | 51,861 | |
Deferred financing costs | | | 348,794 | | | | — | |
| | | | | | |
| | $ | 12,252,807 | | | $ | 12,448,865 | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity/(deficit): | | | | | | | | |
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | | $ | 868,375 | | | $ | 777,469 | |
Funding payable | | | — | | | | 769,886 | |
Income taxes payable | | | — | | | | 121,676 | |
Short term debt | | | 2,000,452 | | | | 61,742 | |
Senior debts – revolving line of credit | | | 8,779,329 | | | | 8,145,528 | |
Deferred sales tax | | | 842,905 | | | | 732,420 | |
Advances from related parties | | | 675,832 | | | | 668.867 | |
| | | | | | |
| | | 13,166,893 | | | | 11,277,588 | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Commitments and contingencies | | | — | | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | |
Stockholders’ equity/(deficit): | | | | | | | | |
Preferred stock: no par value: 10,000,000 authorized, none issued or outstanding | | | — | | | | — | |
Common stock: no par value: 100,000,000 authorized, issued and outstanding: 6,018,570 and 6,020,053, respectively | | | 5,758,220 | | | | 5,453,878 | |
Deferred compensation | | | — | | | | (230,175 | ) |
Retained deficit | | | (6,672,306 | ) | | | (4,052,426 | ) |
| | | | | | |
Total stockholders’ equity/(deficit) | | | (914,086 | ) | | | 1,171,277 | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity/(deficit) | | $ | 12,252,807 | | | $ | 12,448,865 | |
| | | | | | |
3
Auto Underwriters of America, Inc.
Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Three Months Ended | | | Nine Months Ended | |
| | March 31, | | | March 31, | |
| | 2006 | | | 2005 | | | 2006 | | | 2005 | |
Revenues: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Sales | | $ | 2,814,314 | | | $ | 4,446,818 | | | $ | 10,073,274 | | | $ | 8,787,892 | |
Interest income | | | 480,703 | | | | 409,819 | | | | 1,549,299 | | | | 1,280,440 | |
Other | | | 47,912 | | | | — | | | | 302,043 | | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | 3,342,929 | | | | 4,856,637 | | | | 11,924,616 | | | | 10,068,332 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Costs and expenses: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Cost of sales | | | 1,863,911 | | | | 2,704,700 | | | | 7,254,413 | | | | 5,247,552 | |
Selling, general and administrative | | | 979,359 | | | | 1,001,910 | | | | 2,870,622 | | | | 2,499,622 | |
Provision for credit losses | | | 752,916 | | | | 475,396 | | | | 3,234,742 | | | | 1,306,624 | |
Discount on sales of receivables | | | — | | | | — | | | | 83,744 | | | | 48,740 | |
Interest expense | | | 372,219 | | | | 196,529 | | | | 987,015 | | | | 674,381 | |
Depreciation and amortization | | | 91,560 | | | | 5,806 | | | | 198,549 | | | | 11,580 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | 4,059,965 | | | | 4,384,341 | | | | 14,629,085 | | | | 9,788,499 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Income/(loss) before income taxes | | | (717,036 | ) | | | 472,296 | | | | (2,704,469 | ) | | | 279,833 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Provision for income tax (income tax benefit) | | | — | | | | 160,500 | | | | (121,676 | ) | | | 95,000 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Net income/(loss) | | $ | (717,036 | ) | | $ | 311,796 | | | $ | (2,582,793 | ) | | $ | 184,833 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Basic and diluted net income/(loss) per share: | | $ | (0.12 | ) | | $ | 0.14 | | | $ | (0.43 | ) | | $ | 0.08 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Weighted average shares outstanding: | | | 6,020,053 | | | | 2,306,942 | | | | 6,019,555 | | | | 2,235,162 | |
4
Auto Underwriters of America, Inc.
Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)
| | | | | | | | |
| | Nine Months Ended | |
| | March 31, | |
| | 2006 | | | 2005 | |
Operating activities: | | | | | | | | |
Net income/(loss) | | $ | (2,582,793 | ) | | $ | 184,833 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Adjustments to reconcile net income(loss) to net cash (used in) operating activities: | | | | | | | | |
Stock compensation expense | | | 20,000 | | | | — | |
Depreciation and amortization | | | 198,549 | | | | 11,580 | |
Discount on sale of finance receivables | | | 83,744 | | | | 48,740 | |
Imputed interest | | | 30,256 | | | | — | |
Changes in finance receivables, net: | | | | | | | | |
Finance receivable | | | (4,134,310 | ) | | | (5,209,636 | ) |
Provision for credit losses | | | 3,234,742 | | | | 1,306,624 | |
Inventory acquired in repossession | | | 1,633,432 | | | | 2,147,940 | |
| | | | | | |
Subtotal finance receivables | | | 733,864 | | | | (1,755,072 | ) |
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | | | | | | | | |
Deferred financing cost | | | (283,500 | ) | | | | |
Other receivables | | | (43,466 | ) | | | (528,488 | ) |
Inventory | | | (343,054 | ) | | | (1,115,327 | ) |
Prepaid and other assets | | | (28,896 | ) | | | (21,594 | ) |
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | | | 328,682 | | | | 239,724 | |
Income tax payable | | | (121,676 | ) | | | 95,000 | |
Funding payable | | | (769,886 | ) | | | (59,107 | ) |
Deferred sales tax | | | 73,398 | | | | 212,016 | |
| | | | | | |
Net cash used in operating activities | | | (2,704,778 | ) | | | (2,687,695 | ) |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Investing activities: | | | | | | | | |
Purchase of property and equipment | | | (3,564 | ) | | | — | |
Proceeds from sale of finance receivables | | | 64,526 | | | | 1,961,140 | |
| | | | | | |
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | | | 60,962 | | | | 1,961,140 | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Financing activities: | | | | | | | | |
Repayments of other debt, net | | | (35,252 | ) | | | (66,857 | ) |
Proceeds from convertible note payable | | | 990,000 | | | | — | |
Proceeds from secured notes payable | | | 1,000,000 | | | | — | |
Borrowings under senior credit facility, net | | | 633,801 | | | | 638,399 | |
Advances from related parties, net | | | 6,965 | | | | 88,946 | |
| | | | | | |
Net cash provided by financing activities | | | 2,595,514 | | | | 660,488 | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents | | | (48,302 | ) | | | (66,067 | ) |
Cash at: Beginning of period | | | 68,112 | | | | 101,019 | |
| | | | | | |
Cash at: End of period | | $ | 19,810 | | | $ | 34,952 | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Cash paid for: | | | | | | | | |
Income tax | | | | | | | | |
Interest | | | 934,775 | | | | 674,381 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Non-cash transaction: | | | | | | | | |
Shares issued for accounts payable | | | 75,000 | | | | — | |
Discount on notes payable | | | 16,310 | | | | — | |
Shares issued to purchase receivables | | | 162,776 | | | | — | |
5
Auto Underwriters of America, Inc.
Notes to Financial Statements
(Unaudited)
NOTE 1 – BASIS OF PRESENTATION
The accompanying unaudited interim financial statements of Auto Underwriters of America, Inc. (“Auto Underwriters”) have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto contained in Auto Underwriters’ Annual Report filed with the SEC on Form 10-KSB. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of financial position and the results of operations for the interim periods presented have been reflected herein. The results of operations for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. Notes to the financial statements which would substantially duplicate the disclosure contained in the audited financial statements for fiscal 2005 as reported in the 10-KSB have been omitted.
NOTE 2 – FINANCE RECEIVABLES
Auto Underwriters originates installment sale contracts from the sale of used vehicles at its dealerships. These installment sale contracts typically include interest rates ranging from approximately 12% to 27% per annum and provide for payments over periods ranging from 18 to 48 months. The components of finance receivables as of March 31, 2006 and June 30, 2005 are as follows:
| | | | | | | | |
| | March 31, | | | June 30, | |
| | 2006 | | | 2005 | |
Finance receivables | | $ | 11,821,708 | | | $ | 12,646,025 | |
Allowance for credit losses | | | (2,380,906 | ) | | | (2,323,089 | ) |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | $ | 9,440,802 | | | $ | 10,322,936 | |
| | | | | | |
Changes in the finance receivables allowance for credit losses for the nine months ended March 31, 2006 and 2005 are as follows:
| | | | | | | | |
| | Nine Months Ended | |
| | March 31, | |
| | 2006 | | | 2005 | |
Balance at beginning of period | | $ | 2,323,089 | | | $ | 2,007,982 | |
Provision for credit losses | | | 3,234,742 | | | | 1,306,624 | |
Net charge offs | | | (4,810,357 | ) | | | (3,471,482 | ) |
Net recoveries | | | 1,633,432 | | | | 2,147,940 | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
Balance at end of period | | $ | 2,380,906 | | | $ | 2,055,765 | |
| | | | | | |
NOTE 3 – REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITIES
Auto Underwriters has a $9,000,000 revolving line of credit (“LOC”) with Oak Rock Financial, LLC, bearing interest at the greater of prime+7% or 14.75% and expires on March 31, 2007. The LOC is secured by all of Auto Underwriters’ assets and a personal validity guarantee by our President. At March 31, 2006, the LOC balance outstanding was $8,779,329.
6
NOTE 4 – SHORT TERM DEBTS
During the first nine months of fiscal 2006, Auto Underwriters borrowed $990,000 from several investors. These loans are unsecured, bear interest at 9.25%, and are due February 28, 2007. These loans are convertible into 660,000 shares of common stock at conversion price of $1.50 per share. Auto Underwriters also borrowed $1,000,000 from several investors. These loans are secured by the Company’s inventory, bear interest at 10%, and are due September 1, 2006. Auto Underwriters analyzed these instruments for derivative accounting consideration under SFAS 133 and EITF 00-19. Auto Underwriters determined the convertible notes were conventional and the warrants met the criteria for classification in stockholders equity under SFAS 133 and EITF 00-19. Therefore, derivative accounting is not applicable for these instruments. Auto Underwriters also analyzed these instruments for Beneficial Conversion Feature under EITF 98-5 and EITF 00-27. Because the conversion price exceeds the market trading price of Auto Underwriters’ common stock when the loans were issued, a Beneficial Conversion Feature was not created.
NOTE 5 – EQUITY
During the nine months ended March 31, 2006:
| – | | Auto Underwriters issued 40,000 shares of its common stock to one consultant for his services. These shares were recorded at fair value of $20,000. |
|
| – | | 300,000 shares of Auto Underwriters’ common stock previously issued to a consultant were cancelled. |
|
| – | | Auto Underwriters issued 150,000 shares of its common stock to an individual to repay the payable in the amount of $75,000. These shares were recorded at fair value of $225,000. |
|
| – | | Auto Underwriter issued 108,517 shares of its common stock to two individuals in connection with purchase of finance receivables. These shares were recorded at fair value of $162,776. |
|
| – | | Auto Underwriters granted 250,000 units of five year warrants to the investors and broker from the $1,000,000 financing to purchase the Company’s common stock at $1.50 per share, these warrants have a relative fair value of $16,310. |
7
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this report.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-looking Information
This Form 10-QSB for the quarter ended March 31, 2006 contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements regarding, among other items, our growth strategies, anticipated trends in our business and our future results of operation, market conditions in the automobile finance industry and the impact of governmental regulation. These forward-looking statements are based largely on our expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements as a result of, among other things:
| • | | The creditworthiness of contract obligors; |
|
| • | | Economic factors affecting delinquencies; |
|
| • | | Our ability to retain and attract experienced and knowledgeable personnel; |
|
| • | | Our ability to purchase installment contracts; and |
|
| • | | Our ability to compete in the consumer finance industry. |
In addition, the words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” and similar expressions, as they relate to us, our business or our management, are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this Form 10-QSB. In light of these risks and uncertainties, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this Form 10-QSB may not occur and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.
Business Overview
Auto Underwriters of America, Inc. began operations in August 1983 under the name Advanced Cellular Technology, Inc. and developed and marketed cellular mobile telephone control units and resold used PBX telecommunications equipment. On December 31, 1990, we suspended operations and remained inactive until December 2002, when we adopted our current name and began our principal operations as a specialty finance company and specialty retailer of used cars and light trucks.
During the nine month period ended March 31, 2006, many of our customers and our Company were affected by macroeconomic factors which had a decidedly negative effect on our results for the period. These factors consisted of: a) the impact of rising energy prices which peaked during the period placing a strain on our customers’ ability to meet all of their financial obligations and created a difficult environment for vehicle sales; b) hurricane Rita created significant disruptions to our customers’ lives, as many people were affected and businesses were shut down for various periods of time; and c) hurricane Rita and Katrina created a relatively tight supply of vehicle inventory. We expect some lingering effects of the hurricanes on sales and supply of vehicle inventory in our next quarter.
We began our specialty finance company operations in December 2002 to engage in the purchasing and servicing of non-prime installment contracts (“Contracts”) generated by automobile dealers in the sale of new and used automobiles and light trucks. We provide financing programs to automobile dealers through our website Autounderwriters.com which allows the dealer to input various fields of information into an online financing application and obtain an automatic credit decision within 30 seconds. Generally our target customers do not meet the credit standards of traditional lenders, such as banks and credit unions, because of the age of the vehicle being financed or the customer’s credit history. Unlike traditional lenders, which look primarily to the credit history of the borrower in making lending decisions and typically finance new automobiles, we are willing to provide financing for purchases made by our customers who have short or impaired credit histories and for used automobiles. In making decisions regarding the financing of a particular contract,
8
we consider several factors related to the borrower: place and length of residence, current and prior job status, history in making installment payments for automobiles, current income and credit history. In addition, we examine the value of the automobile in relation to the purchase price and the term of the contract.
We began our specialty automotive retailing operations which focuses on the “Buy Here/Pay Here” segment of the used car market in January 2004. We purchase, recondition, sell and finance used vehicles from three dealerships in Houston, Texas that operate under the name Affordable Cars & Trucks. We advertise extensively on television and in auto sales magazines emphasizing our multiple locations, wide selection of vehicles, and ability to provide financing to a wide array of customers.
We are still at an early stage in the rollout of our financing programs and retail concept. The primary drivers for future earnings growth will be vehicle unit sales growth from geographic expansion, comparable store sales increases, and interest income from growth in our finance receivable portfolio. During the next two years, we plan to focus our growth primarily on adding stores to new markets in the state of Texas. In addition, in fiscal 2007 we plan to expand our network of automobile dealers that utilize our financing programs in the states we currently service. Over the three-year period, we plan to open new used car stores. We also expect used unit comparable store sales increases, reflecting the multi-year ramp up in sales of newly opened stores as they mature and continued market share gains at stores that have reached mature sales levels. On a combined basis, we expect that new store openings and comparable store used unit increases will drive total used unit growth.
The principal challenges we face in expanding our store and dealer base and meeting our growth targets include:
| • | | Our ability to procure suitable real estate at reasonable costs. Real estate acquisition will be an increasing challenge as we enter large, multi-store markets. |
|
| • | | Our ability to build our management team to support the store growth. |
|
| • | | Our ability to maintain a competitive indirect finance program for franchise and independent dealers. |
We staff each newly opened store with an experienced management team, including the general manager, purchasing manager, and business office manager, as well as a number of experienced sales managers and account servicing personnel. We must therefore be continually recruiting, training, and developing managers to support future store openings. If at any time we believe that the rate of store growth is causing our performance to falter, we will slow the growth rate.
9
Results of Operations
The following table summarizes our results of operations for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2006 and 2005.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Auto Underwriters of America, Inc | |
| | (Unaudited) | |
| | Three Months Ended | | | Nine Months Ended | |
| | March 31, | | | March 31, | |
| | 2006 | | | 2005 | | | 2006 | | | 2005 | |
Revenues: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Sales | | $ | 2,814,314 | | | $ | 4,446,818 | | | $ | 10,073,274 | | | $ | 8,787,892 | |
Interest income | | | 480,703 | | | | 409,819 | | | | 1,549,299 | | | | 1,280,440 | |
Other | | | 47,912 | | | | — | | | | 302,043 | | | | — | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | 3,342,929 | | | | 4,856,637 | | | | 11,924,616 | | | | 10,068,332 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Costs and expenses: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Cost of sales | | | 1,863,911 | | | | 2,704,700 | | | | 7,254,413 | | | | 5,247,552 | |
Selling, general and administrative | | | 979,359 | | | | 1,001,910 | | | | 2,870,622 | | | | 2,548,362 | |
Provision for credit losses | | | 752,916 | | | | 475,396 | | | | 3,234,742 | | | | 1,306,624 | |
Discount on sale of loans | | | — | | | | — | | | | 83,744 | | | | — | |
Interest expense | | | 372,219 | | | | 196,529 | | | | 987,015 | | | | 674,381 | |
Depreciation and amortization | | | 91,560 | | | | 5,806 | | | | 198,549 | | | | 11,580 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | 4,059,965 | | | | 4,384,341 | | | | 14,629,085 | | | | 9,788,499 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Income/(loss) before income taxes | | $ | (717,036 | ) | | $ | 472,296 | | | $ | (2,704,469 | ) | | $ | 279,833 | |
Three months ended March 31, 2006 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2005
Revenues
Total revenues decreased $1,513,708 for the three month period ended March 31, 2006 compared to the corresponding prior period. Revenues decreased principally as a result of the significant slow-down in vehicle sales during the period. A couple of factors combined to produce a decidedly negative effect on our sales for the period. These factors consisted of: a) the impact of rising energy prices which placed a strain on our customers’ ability to meet all of their financial obligations and created a difficult environment for vehicle sales, and b) hurricane Rita created significant disruptions to our customers’ lives, as many people were negatively affected. We expect some lingering effects of the hurricane on sales, including a tight supply of vehicle inventory.
Cost of Sales
Cost of sales as a percentage of automobile and light truck sales was 66.2% or $1,863,911 for the three month period ended March 31, 2006 compared to 60.8% or $2,704,700 for the corresponding prior period ended March 31, 2005. Our gross margin percentages were negatively affected during the period by short-term supply shortages brought on by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which contributed to the significant slow-down in new car sales in the Houston area which provide a source of trade-ins, increased vehicle repair expenses, and by increased fuel costs. We expect our gross margin to be negatively affected because of used vehicle supply shortages to linger through the next period.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased by $22,551 for the three month period ended March 31, 2006 compared to the corresponding prior period. This decrease was primarily attributable to decreased general operating expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of total income was 29.3% for the three month period ending March 31, 2006 compared to 20.6% for the same corresponding prior period.
Interest Expense
Interest expense increased to $372,219 for the three month period ended March 31, 2006 as compared to $196,529 for the corresponding prior period. The indebtedness from our senior credit facility as of March 31, 2006 increased to $8,779,329 compared to $7,437,207 as of March 31, 2005. The increase in interest expense was primarily due to the increase in the prime lending rate and due to an increase in borrowings from a line of credit as we finance our operations and increase the receivable base through the purchase of a loan portfolio and loan originations from our direct and indirect lending operations.
10
Nine months ended March 31, 2006 compared to the nine months ended March 31, 2005
Revenues
Total revenues increased to $11,924,616 for the nine month period ended March 31, 2006 compared to $10,068,332 for the corresponding prior period principally as a result of increase unit sales from our automotive specialty retailing operations during the first three months of the period and an increase in interest income due to an increase in the outstanding loan portfolio .
Cost of sales as a percentage of automobile and light truck sales was 72.0% or $7,254,413 for the nine month period ended March 31, 2006. During the corresponding period ended March 31, 2005, cost of sales as a percentage of automobile and light truck sales was 59.7% or $5,247,552. Our gross margin percentages were negatively affected during the last six months of the period by short-term supply shortages brought on by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which contributed to the significant slow-down in new car sales in the Houston area which provide a source of trade-ins, increased vehicle repair expenses, and by increased fuel costs. We expect our gross margin to be negatively affected because of used vehicle supply shortages to linger through the next quarter.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $371,000 for the nine month period ended March 31, 2006 compared to the corresponding period ended March 31, 2005. This increase was primarily attributable to additional staffing, increased general operating expenses and the opening of automotive retailing facilities during the first three months of the period.
Interest Expense
Interest expense increased to $987,015 for the nine month period ended March 31, 2006 as compared to $674,381 for the corresponding period ended March 31, 2005. The increase in interest expense was primarily due to the increase in the prime lending rate and due to the increase in borrowings from a line of credit as we financed our operations and our increase in the receivable base through the purchase of loan portfolios and loan originations from our direct and indirect lending operations.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The following table summarizes our liquidity and capital resources for the nine months ended March 31, 2006 and 2005.
| | | | | | | | |
| | Nine Months Ended | |
| | March 31, | |
| | 2006 | | | 2005 | |
Operating activities: | | | | | | | | |
Net income (loss) | | $ | (2,582,793 | ) | | $ | 184,833 | |
|
Stock compensation expense | | | 20,000 | | | | — | |
Depreciation and amortization | | | 198,549 | | | | 11,580 | |
Discount on sale of finance receivables | | | 83,744 | | | | 48,740 | |
Imputed interest | | | 30,256 | | | | — | |
Changes in finance receivables, net: | | | 733,864 | | | | (1,755,072 | ) |
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | | | (1,188,398 | ) | | | (1,177,776 | ) |
| | | | | | |
Net cash used in operating activities | | | (2,704,778 | ) | | | (2,687,695 | ) |
| | | | | | | | |
Cash provided by investing activities: | | | 60,962 | | | | 1,961,140 | |
| | | | | | | | |
Cash provided by financing activities: | | | 2,595,514 | | | | 660,488 | |
| | | | | | |
Decrease in cash | | $ | (48,302 | ) | | $ | (66,067 | ) |
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Our primary use of working capital was the funding of the origination and purchase of contracts and inventory. The contracts were financed substantially through borrowings on the revolving line of credit. The line of credit is secured primarily by contracts, and available borrowings are based on a percentage of qualifying contracts. We have also funded a portion of our working capital needs through the issuance of subordinated notes.
We believe that borrowings available under the line of credit as well as cash flow from operations and, if necessary, the issuance of additional subordinated debt, or the sale of additional securities, will be sufficient to meet our short-term funding needs.
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America requires us to make estimates and assumptions in determining the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reported period. Actual results could differ from our estimates. We believe the most significant estimate made in the preparation of the accompanying consolidated financial statements relates to the determination of our allowance for credit losses. Below is a discussion of our accounting policy concerning such allowance. Other accounting policies are disclosed in the footnotes of our consolidated financial statements which are included in our annual report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended June 30, 2005.
We maintain an allowance for credit losses at a level we consider sufficient to cover anticipated losses in the collection of our finance receivables. The allowance for credit losses is determined based upon a review of historical, recent credit losses, and the finance receivable portfolio. The allowance for credit losses is periodically reviewed by management with any changes reflected in current operations. It is at least reasonably possible that actual credit losses may be materially different from the recorded allowance for credit losses.
Seasonality
Our automobile sales and finance business is seasonal in nature. In such business, the second fiscal quarter (October through December) is historically the slowest period for vehicle sales. The third fiscal quarter (January through March) is historically the busiest time for vehicle sales as many of our customers use income tax refunds as a down payment on the purchase of a vehicle.
Item 3. Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the required time periods, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate, to allow for timely decisions regarding disclosure.
As required by Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of March 31, 2006. Based upon that evaluation and for the reason described below, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that as of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report on Form 10-QSB, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective to enable us to record, process, summarize and report information required to be included in our periodic SEC filings within the required time period.
The deficiencies in our internal control related to the valuation of stock-based compensation, expense recognition and disclosure control deficiencies related to statements of cash flows. The adjustment to stock-based compensation, expense and statements of cash flows disclosure deficiencies were detected in the review process and have been appropriately recorded and disclosed in this Form 10-QSB. We are in the process of improving our internal control over financial reporting in an effort to remediate these deficiencies through improved supervision and training of our accounting staff. These deficiencies have been disclosed to our Board of Directors. Additional effort is needed to fully remedy these deficiencies and we are continuing our efforts to improve and strengthen our control processes and procedures. Our management and directors will continue to work with our auditors and other outside advisors to ensure that our controls and procedures are adequate and effective.
Except as otherwise noted above, there has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended March 31, 2006 that has materially affected, or is reasonably to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
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PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Not Applicable
ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS.
Not Applicable
ITEM 3. DEFAULT UPON SENIOR SECURITIES
Not Applicable
ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS
Not Applicable
ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION
Not Applicable
ITEM 6. EXHIBITS
| 31.1 | | Principal Executive Officer Certification under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
|
| 31.2 | | Principal Financial Officer Certification under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
|
| 32.1 | | Principal Executive Officer Certification under Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
|
| 32.2 | | Principal Financial Officer Certification under Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | Auto Underwriters of America, Inc. | | |
| | | | | | |
| | By: | | /s/ Dean Antonis | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | Dean Antonis | | |
| | | | President and Treasurer (Principal Executive, | | |
| | | | Financial and Accounting Officer) | | |
| | | | | | |
Dated: May 15, 2006 | | | | | | |
14
Exhibit Index
| 31.1 | | Principal Executive Officer Certification under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
|
| 31.2 | | Principal Financial Officer Certification under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
|
| 32.1 | | Principal Executive Officer Certification under Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
|
| 32.2 | | Principal Financial Officer Certification under Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |