Our cash and cash equivalents decreased from $3.5 million on March 31, 2007 to $1.2 million as of September 30, 2007. Cash provided by operating activities was $1.6 million, cash used in investing activities was $0.6 million and cash used in financing activities was $3.2 million resulting in a total decrease in cash of $2.3 million for the six-month period ended September 30, 2007.
Cash provided by operating activities primarily resulted from net income of $0.9 million, a decrease in trade accounts receivable of $1.1 million, depreciation of $0.6 million and an increase in trade accounts payable of $0.3 million, partially offset by a decrease in income taxes payable of $1.0 million, and an increase in inventories of $0.5 million. The decrease in accounts receivable was primarily due to improved collections from customers. The increase in accounts payable was principally due to the increased level of inventory. The decrease in income tax payable primarily reflects the payment of federal income taxes due to filing amended income tax returns for fiscal 2005 and fiscal 2006 and paying additional income tax resulting from deemed dividends from our Honduran subsidiary. The increase in inventory was primarily due to purchases of raw materials to be used in manufacturing new products and to the timing of in-transit inventory items.
Cash used in investing activities was due to purchase of short-term investments in excess of maturities and cash paid for purchases of property and equipment.
Cash used in financing activities was primarily due to the reduction in debt in the amount of $3.0 million.
The maturity date of the revolving credit agreement with our institutional lender is September 30, 2008. The agreement provides for borrowings up to $6.0 million. We have the option of borrowing at the lender's prime rate of interest minus 100 basis points or the 30-day London Interbank Offering Rate (“LIBOR”) plus 160 basis points. We were borrowing under the LIBOR option (7.13% as of September 13, 2007). The loan is collateralized with a perfected first security interest which attaches to all of our accounts receivable and inventories, and a blanket security interest attaching to all of our assets, and requires us to maintain certain financial ratios. As of September 30, 2007, we were in compliance with the covenants under our revolving credit agreement. As of March 31, 2007, we had $3.0 million in outstanding borrowings, of which $1.0 million was recorded as current portion of long-term debt based upon our intent to repay that amount in the next year and $2.0 million was recorded as long-term debt, less current portion. As of September 30, 2007, we had no outstanding borrowings.
We believe cash flow from operations, the available bank borrowings, current short-term investments and cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to meet our working capital requirements for the next 12 months.
OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS
We do not have financial partnerships with unconsolidated entities, such as entities often referred to as structured finance or variable interest entities, which are often established for the purposes of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes. As a result, we are not exposed to any financing, liquidity, market or credit risk that could arise if we had such relationships.
NEW ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, Fair Value Measurements (“SFAS No. 157”). SFAS No. 157 establishes a single definition of fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and enhances disclosures about fair value measurements. We are currently evaluating whether SFAS No. 157 will result in a change to our fair value measurements. The measurement and disclosure requirements are effective for us beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2009.
In June 2006, the FASB ratified the Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) consensus on Issue No. 06-03, How Taxes Collected from Customers and Remitted to Government Authorities Should Be Presented in the Income Statement (That Is, Gross versus Net Presentation) (“EITF No. 06-03”). We are required to adopt the provisions of EITF No. 06-03 for the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2007, electing the net basis of reporting. EITF No. 06-03 will not have a material impact on our fiscal 2008 consolidated financial statements.
In February 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 159, The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Liabilities (“SFAS No. 159”). SFAS 159 allows companies to make an election to carry certain eligible financial assets and liabilities at fair value, even if fair value measurement has not historically been required for such assets and liabilities under U.S. GAAP. The provisions of SFAS No. 159 are effective for our fiscal year beginning April 1, 2008. We are currently assessing the impact SFAS No. 159 may have on our consolidated financial statements.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures, in conformity with United States generally accepted accounting principles, requires management to make judgments, assumptions and estimates that affect the amounts reported. Certain of these significant accounting policies are considered to be critical accounting policies, as defined below.
A critical accounting policy is defined as one that is both material to the presentation of our financial statements and requires management to make difficult, subjective or complex judgments that could have a material effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Specifically, critical accounting estimates have the following attributes: (i) we are required to make assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time of the estimate; and (ii) different estimates that we could reasonably have used, or changes in the estimates actually used resulting from events that could be reasonably foreseen as likely to have a material effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
Estimates and assumptions about future events and their effects cannot be determined with certainty. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions believed to be applicable and reasonable under the circumstances. These estimates may change as new events occur, as additional information is obtained and as our operating environment changes. These changes have historically been minor and have been included in the consolidated financial statements once known. In addition, we are periodically faced with uncertainties, the outcomes of which are not within our control and will not be known for prolonged periods of time. These uncertainties are discussed in the section above entitled Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and in section Item 1A below, entitled Risk Factors. Based on a critical assessment of our accounting policies and the underlying judgments and uncertainties affecting the application of those policies, we believe that our consolidated financial statements are fairly stated in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles and present a meaningful presentation of our financial condition and results of operations.
We believe that the following are critical accounting policies:
Revenue Recognition/Allowance for Doubtful Accounts. We recognize revenue from commercial customers when an order has been received and accepted, pricing is fixed, delivery has occurred and title to the product has passed and collectability is reasonably assured. Title generally passes upon shipment to the customer; however, in a limited number of cases, title passes upon receipt of shipment by the customer. We have no installation obligation subsequent to product shipment. Similarly, revenue from sales to distributors is recognized as title passes to them without additional involvement or obligation. Collection of receivables related to distributor sales is not contingent upon subsequent sales to third parties.
We may enter into government contracts that fall within the scope of Statement of Position 81-1, Accounting for Performance of Construction-Type and Certain Production-Type Contracts (SOP 81-1). Products that fall outside SOP 81-1 are generally referred to as (“standard” products) and those products that are within the scope of SOP 81-1 are commonly referred to as “non-standard” products. For government contracts within the scope of SOP 81-1, we record revenue under a units-of-delivery model with revenues and costs equal to the average unit value times the number of units delivered. Any estimated loss on an overall contract would be recognized in the period determined in accordance with SOP 81-1. For government contracts outside the scope of SOP 81-1, we record revenue the same as for commercial customers discussed above and would record a loss in the event the costs to fulfill a government contract are in excess of the associated revenues. We have not experienced past losses on government contracts, and currently, we do not have any transactions being accounted for within the scope of SOP 81-1.
We record an allowance for estimated losses resulting from the inability of customers to make payments of amounts due on account of product purchases. We assess the credit worthiness of our customers based on multiple sources of information, including publicly available credit data, subscription based credit reports, trade association data, and analyzes factors such as historical bad debt experience, changes in customer payment terms or payment patterns, credit risk related to industry and geographical location and economic trends. This assessment requires significant judgment. If the financial condition of our customers were to worsen, additional write-offs could be required, resulting in write-offs not included in our current allowance for doubtful accounts.
Inventories. Because of the lead times required to obtain certain raw materials, we must maintain sufficient quantities on hand to meet expected product demand for each of our many products. If actual demand is much lower than forecasted, we may not be able to dispose of our inventory at or above our cost. We write down our inventory for estimated excess and obsolete amounts to the lower of cost or market. We review the reasonableness of our estimates each quarter (or more frequently). An allowance is established for inventory that has had no activity for long periods of time, for which management believes is no longer salable or for which is salable below current cost. The allowance is reviewed and approved by the senior management team. In the future, based on our quarterly analysis, if we estimate that any remaining allowance for excess or obsolescence is either inadequate or in excess of the inventory allowance required, we may need to adjust it. At present, based on our analysis, we believe the allowance is properly valued for the inventory held by us.
Income Taxes. Significant management judgment is required in developing our provision for income taxes, including the determination of any accrual for tax contingencies, any foreign withholding taxes or any United States income taxes on undistributed earnings of the foreign subsidiary, deferred tax assets and liabilities and any valuation allowances that might be required to be applied against the deferred tax assets. It is our intention to reinvest undistributed earnings of our foreign subsidiary and thereby indefinitely postpone their repatriation. Accordingly, no provision has been made for foreign withholding taxes or United States income taxes which may become payable if undistributed earnings of our foreign subsidiary are paid to us as dividends. We apply the Comparable Profits Method for transfer pricing to determine the amounts our subsidiary charges to the parent.
Warranty. We generally provide a one year warranty period for all of our products. We also provide coverage on certain of our surge products for “downstream” damage of products not manufactured by us. Our warranty provision represents our estimate of probable liabilities, calculated as a function of sales volume and historical repair experience for each product under warranty. Our warranty accrual represents our estimate of our liability for warranty repairs that we will incur over the warranty period.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets. We review long-lived assets for possible impairment of carrying value whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 144, Accounting for Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets. In evaluating the fair value and future benefit of our assets, management performs an analysis of the anticipated undiscounted future net cash flows to be derived from the use of individual assets over their remaining amortization period. If the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its anticipated undiscounted cash flows, we recognize an impairment loss equal to the difference between its carrying value and its fair value.