On March 31, 2003, the Company redeemed 17.5 million in principal amount of its outstanding debentures. The transaction was financed by a loan from Bank Hapoalim, the principal repayments of which are due as follows: 50% on April 1, 2006, and 10% on each of April 1, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. The loan bears interest at a rate of libor plus 2.5% on the 50% of the loan which is to be repaid on April 1, 2006 and libor plus 2.4% on the balance of the loan. The interest is payable semi-annually on October 1 and April 1 of each year. The loan is secured by certain of the Company’s marketable securities and the Company’s investment in Ophir Holdings Ltd. As of September 30, 2003, the company had $3.9 million in debentures outstanding with interest rates of 7.5% These debentures, which mature in 2005, are secured by $3.9 million in cash held in a secured account.
The Company financed a portion of the development of Am-Hal, a wholly-owned subsidiary which develops and operates luxury retirement centers for senior citizens, through bank loans from Hapoalim. At September 30, 2003, the amounts outstanding under these loans were $10.2 million, as compared to $12.7 million at December 31, 2002. The loans are dollar linked, mature through 2007-2010 and have interest rates of LIBOR plus 2.25%. The Company generally repays these loans with the proceeds received from deposits and other payments from the apartments in Am-Hal facilities. The loans are secured by a lien on Am-Hal’s properties. The Company also issued guarantees in the amount of $4.6 million in favor of clients of Am-Hal in order to secure their deposits.
The Company finances its operations and other financial commitments through short-term borrowings, mainly from Hapoalim. The term of these borrowings is up to one year. The weighted average interest rates and the balances of these short-term borrowings at September 30, 2003 and December 31, 2002 were 3.9% on $42.6 million and 4.03% on $39.8 million, respectively.
As of September 30, 2003, the Company had issued guarantees on certain outstanding loans to its investees and subsidiaries in the aggregate principal amount of $11.6 million. This includes:
$0.5 million guarantee to Leumi with respect to the MIRS loan as described above.
$5.7 million guarantee on indebtedness incurred by Bay Heart ($3.8 million of which is recorded as a liability in the Company’s financial statements) in connection with the development of its property. There can be no guarantee that Bay Heart will become profitable or that it will generate sufficient cash to repay its outstanding indebtedness without relying on the Company’s guarantee.
$4.6 million guarantee to Am-Hal tenants as described above.
$0.8 million guarantee to Galha 1960 Ltd.
The Company’s derivative financial instruments consist of foreign currency forward exchange contracts. These contracts are utilized by the Company, from time to time, to manage risk exposure to movements in foreign exchange rates. None of these contracts have been designated as hedging instruments. These contracts are recognized as assets or liabilities on the balance sheet at their fair value, which is the estimated amount at which they could be settled based on market prices or dealer quotes, where available, or based on pricing models. Changes in fair value are recognized currently in earnings.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Quarterly Report (including but not limited to factors discussed above, in the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” as well as those discussed elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q) includes forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) and information relating to the Company that are based on the beliefs of management of the Company as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the management of the Company. When used in this Quarterly Report, the words anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, intend, plan, and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or the management of the Company, identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events or future financial performance of the Company, the outcome of which is subject to certain risks and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements, including among others, the economic and political conditions in Israel, the Middle East, including the situation in Iraq, and the global business and economic conditions in the different sectors and markets where the Company’s portfolio companies operate.
Should any of those risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results or outcome may vary from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected, intended or planned. Subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements in this paragraph and elsewhere described in this quarterly Report and other Reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
ITEM 3. | QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK |
MARKET RISKS AND SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
The Company is exposed to various market risks, including changes in interest rates, foreign currency rates and equity price changes. The following analysis presents the hypothetical loss in earnings, cash flows and fair values of the financial instruments which were held by the Company at September 30, 2003, and are sensitive to the above market risks.
During the nine months ended September 30, 2003, there have been no material changes in the market risk exposures facing the Company as compared to those the Company faced in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002.
Interest Rate Risks
At September 30, 2003, the Company had financial assets totaling $14 million and financial liabilities totaling $138.3 million. For fixed rate financial instruments, interest rate changes affect the fair market value but do not impact earnings or cash flows. Conversely, for variable rate financial instruments, interest rate changes generally do not affect the fair market value but do impact future earnings and cash flows, assuming other factors are held constant.
At September 30, 2003, the Company had fixed rate financial assets of $6.9 million and variable rate financial assets of $7.1 million. Holding other variables constant, a ten percent increase in interest rates would decrease the unrealized fair value of the fixed financial assets by approximately $0.1 million.
At September 30, 2003, the Company had fixed rate debt of $13.7 million and variable rate debt of $124.6 million. A ten percent decrease in interest rates would increase the unrealized fair value of the fixed rate debt by approximately $0.1 million.
The net decrease in earnings for the next year resulting from a ten percent interest rate increase would be approximately $0.5 million, holding other variables constant.
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Exchange Rate Sensitivity Analysis
The Company’s exchange rate exposure on its financial instruments results from its investments and ongoing operations in Israel. During 2003, the Company entered into various foreign exchange forward purchase contracts to partially hedge this exposure. At September 30, 2003, the Company had open foreign exchange forward purchase contracts in the amount of $6 million. Holding other variables constant, if there were a ten percent devaluation of the foreign currency, the Company’s cumulative translation (loss) reflected in the Company’s accumulated other comprehensive (loss) would increase by $1.7 million, and in the statements of operations, a ten percent devaluation of the foreign currency would decrease net earnings in the amount of approximately $3.1 million.
Securities Price Risk
The Company’s investments at September 30, 2003, included marketable securities (trading and available-for-sale) which are recorded at fair value of $62.5 million. Those securities have exposure to price risk. The estimated potential loss in fair value resulting from a hypothetical ten percent decrease in prices quoted on stock exchanges is approximately $6.2 million.
ITEM 4. | CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES |
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
The Company’s management with the participation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act)) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on such evaluation, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the end of such period, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are effective. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that it will detect or uncover failures within the Company to disclose material information otherwise required to be set forth in the Company’s periodic reports.
Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There have not been any changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the fiscal quarter to which this report relates that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Part II – OTHER INFORMATION
Yakhin Hakal
In February 1995, Yakhin Hakal and its affiliates commenced a legal proceeding in Tel Aviv District Court seeking to cause Etz Vanir and Yakhin Mataim to redeem the perpetual debentures owned by the Company for approximately $700,000 and to require the Company to surrender all of its preferred shares of Etz Vanir and Yakhin Mataim for their par value (which is a nominal amount), on the alleged grounds that the perpetual debentures are debt and not equity investments. It is the Company’s view that its investments in these companies, which were made in the 1950‘s, are equity investments and are not subject to redemption by these companies, other than upon liquidation.
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On July 27, 1998, a Tel Aviv District Court ruled in favor of Yakhin Hakal, the manager and co-owner of the Company’s 50%-owned affiliates Etz Vanir and Yakhin Mataim. The judge’s decision allows Etz Vanir and Yakhin Mataim to redeem debentures owned by the Company for approximately $800,000 and to require the Company to surrender all of its preferred shares of Etz Vanir and Yakhin Mataim for their par value. After the redemption and surrender, the Company will no longer have any interest in Etz Vanir or Yakhin Mataim.
On October 15, 1998, the Company filed an appeal with the Israeli Supreme Court in Jerusalem. On September 30, 2001, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal filed by the Company, on the grounds that the Company failed to timely produce a guarantee to cover Yakhin Hakal’s expenses in the appeal. On November 1, 2001, the Company filed a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court, contending that the dismissal of an appeal due to a delay in producing guarantees as part of the appeal is unreasonable and that the law allowing this should be changed. The petition was withdrawn by the Company on October 6, 2002.
On December 30, 2001, the Company filed a motion to allow it to file a new appeal in this case. The Supreme Court dismissed the motion on September 10, 2002.
On October 12, 2001, the Company filed a request with the Tel-Aviv District Court for a preliminary injunction and other remedies in relation to the validity and enforceability of Etz Vanir’s and Yakhin Mataim’s decisions to redeem the debentures owned by the Company and to require the Company to surrender all of its preferred shares in Etz Vanir and Yakhin Mataim. On January 28, 2002, the Tel Aviv District Court dismissed the request. On March 12, 2002, the Company filed an appeal with regard to this decision with the Israeli Supreme Court. On July 15, 2003, the Israeli Supreme Court dismissed the appeal.
MIRS
A petition to certify a class action against MIRS in the amount of NIS 170 million ($36 million) was filed in the Tel Aviv District Court in September 2001. The claim is in connection with the change in MIRS’ tariffs resulting from the implementation of MIRS’ own dialing prefix, which replaced its previous dialing prefix, the Tel-Aviv area code. As a result, persons in the Tel Aviv area code claimed that they are subject to higher tariffs than those they had been subject to under MIRS’s previous dialing prefix. On May 14, 2003 the petitioners withdrew their claim.
A petition to certify a class action against MIRS and the other three cellular operators in Israel in the total amount of NIS 600 million ($127 million) was filed in the Tel Aviv District Court in May 2002. The claim involves the inter-connect fees that were collected from the customers of the other operators with regard to phone calls that were made to voice recorder applications through the cellular operators’ dialing numbers. On June 22, 2003 the petitioners withdrew their claim.
AMPAL (ISRAEL) LTD.
In May 2002, the Israeli Income Tax Authority issued an assessment to Ampal (Israel) Ltd., the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, for payment of approximately NIS 34 million ($7,655,933) for the tax years 1997-2000. Ampal (Israel) filed an appeal regarding this assessment. In October, 2003, Ampal and the Israeli Income Tax Authority signed a settlement agreement pursuant to which Ampal agreed to pay the sum of NIS 6 million ($1,351,047) as a final payment for the tax years 1997-2000. The reserve previously established to cover the Company’s estimated exposure has been adjusted accordingly.
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Item 2. | Changes in Securities and Use of Proceeds None. |
Item 3. | Defaults upon Senior Securities None. |
Item 4. | Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders |
The Annual Meeting of Shareholders was held on September 16, 2003. The following proposals were approved by the margins indicated below:
To elect seven (7) directors to the Board of Directors of the Company to hold office for one year terms and until their respective successors shall be elected and qualified:
Names | For | Withheld Authority |
---|
| | |
---|
| | |
---|
| | |
---|
Yosef A. Maiman | | | | 12,391,622 | | | 144,687 | |
Jack Bigio | | | | 12,303,106 | | | 233,203 | |
Leo Malamud | | | | 12,320,933 | | | 215,376 | |
Dr. Joseph Yerushalmi | | | | 12,504,148 | | | 32,161 | |
Michael Arnon | | | | 12,089,165 | | | 447,144 | |
Yehuda Karni | | | | 12,391,022 | | | 145,287 | |
Eitan Haber | | | | 12,391,115 | | | 145,194 | |
To ratify the nomination of Kesselman & Kesselman, a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, as the independent auditors of the Company for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2003:
For | Against | Abstain |
---|
| | |
---|
| | |
---|
| | |
---|
| 12,523,900 | | | 6,302 | | | 6,107 | |
Item 5. | Other Information None. |
Item 6. | Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K |
| 11.1 Schedule Setting Forth Computation of Loss per Share of Class A Stock. |
| 31.1 Certification of Jack Bigio pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
| 31.2 Certification of Irit Eluz pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
| 32.1 Certification of Jack Bigio and Irit Eluz pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
| (b) | Reports on Form 8-K: None |
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AMPAL-AMERICAN ISRAEL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto dully authorized.
| | AMPAL-AMERICAN ISRAEL CORPORATION
BY: /S/ Jack Bigio —————————————— Jack Bigio Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) |
| |
BY: /S/ Irit Eluz —————————————— Irit Eluz CFO and Vice President - Finance and Treasurer (Principal Financial Officer) |
| |
BY: /S/ Alla Kanter —————————————— Alla Kanter Vice President - Accounting (Principal Accounting Officer) |
| |
BY: /S/ Giora Bar-Nir —————————————— Giora Bar-Nir Controller (Principal Accounting Officer) |
Dated: November 13, 2003
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AMPAL-AMERICAN ISRAEL CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
Exhibit Index
| 11.1 | Schedule Setting Forth Computation of Earnings |
| Per Share of Class A Stock..................... |
| 31.1 Certification of Jack Bigio pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 |
| 31.2 Certification of Irit Eluz pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
| 32.1 Certification of Jack Bigio and Irit Eluz pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
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