x
|
QUARTERLY
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
1934
|
¨
|
TRANSITION
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
1934
|
BEL FUSE INC.
|
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its
charter)
|
NEW
JERSEY
|
22-1463699
|
|
(State
of other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
|
(I.R.S.
Employer Identification
No.)
|
206 Van Vorst Street
|
Jersey City, New Jersey
|
07302
|
(Address of
principal executive offices)
|
|
(Zip Code) |
(201) 432-0463
|
(Registrant's
telephone number, including area
code)
|
(Former
name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last
report)
|
Large
accelerated filer ¨
|
Accelerated
filer x
|
Non-accelerated
filer ¨
|
Smaller
reporting company ¨
|
(Do
not check if a smaller
|
|||
reporting
company)
|
Page
|
||||
Part I
|
Financial
Information
|
|||
Item
1.
|
Financial
Statements
|
1
|
||
Condensed
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of March 31, 2009and December 31,
2008
|
2-3
|
|||
Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Three Months Ended March 31,
2009 and 2008
|
4
|
|||
Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity for the Year Ended
December 31, 2008 and the Three Months Ended March 31,
2009
|
5
|
|||
Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Three Months Ended March 31,
2009 and 2008
|
6-7
|
|||
Notes
to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
|
8-21
|
|||
Item
2.
|
Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
|
22-32
|
||
Item
3.
|
Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
|
33
|
||
Item
4.
|
Controls
and Procedures
|
34-35
|
||
Part II
|
Other
Information
|
|||
Item
1.
|
Legal
Proceedings
|
36
|
||
Item
2.
|
Unregistered
Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
|
36
|
||
Item
6.
|
Exhibits
|
37
|
||
Signatures
|
38
|
March
31,
|
December
31,
|
|||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
ASSETS
|
||||||||
Current
Assets:
|
||||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
$ | 90,918 | $ | 74,955 | ||||
Marketable
securities
|
13,759 | 13,735 | ||||||
Short-term
investments
|
1,712 | 4,013 | ||||||
Accounts
receivable - less allowance for doubtful accounts of $644 and
$660 at March 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008,
respectively
|
30,943 | 46,047 | ||||||
Inventories,
net
|
38,420 | 46,524 | ||||||
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
1,485 | 859 | ||||||
Refundable
income taxes
|
3,024 | 2,498 | ||||||
Assets
held for sale
|
- | 236 | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
5,048 | 4,752 | ||||||
Total
Current Assets
|
185,309 | 193,619 | ||||||
Property,
plant and equipment - net
|
38,699 | 39,936 | ||||||
Restricted
cash
|
- | 2,309 | ||||||
Long-term
investments
|
1,911 | 1,062 | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
3,669 | 5,205 | ||||||
Intangible
assets - net
|
810 | 926 | ||||||
Goodwill
|
14,204 | 14,334 | ||||||
Other
assets
|
4,122 | 4,393 | ||||||
TOTAL
ASSETS
|
$ | 248,724 | $ | 261,784 |
March
31,
|
December
31,
|
|||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
||||||||
Current
Liabilities:
|
||||||||
Accounts
payable
|
$ | 10,773 | $ | 14,285 | ||||
Accrued
expenses
|
6,419 | 9,953 | ||||||
Accrued
restructuring costs
|
153 | 555 | ||||||
Income
taxes payable
|
3,998 | 4,054 | ||||||
Dividends
payable
|
801 | 787 | ||||||
Total
Current Liabilities
|
22,144 | 29,634 | ||||||
Long-term
Liabilities:
|
||||||||
Accrued
restructuring costs
|
625 | 406 | ||||||
Deferred
gain on sale of property
|
- | 4,616 | ||||||
Liability
for uncertain tax positions
|
3,477 | 3,445 | ||||||
Minimum
pension obligation and unfunded pension liability
|
6,111 | 5,910 | ||||||
Total
Long-term Liabilities
|
10,213 | 14,377 | ||||||
Total
Liabilities
|
32,357 | 44,011 | ||||||
Commitments
and Contingencies
|
||||||||
Stockholders'
Equity:
|
||||||||
Preferred
stock, no par value, authorized 1,000,000 shares; none
issued
|
- | - | ||||||
Class
A common stock, par value $.10 per share - authorized 10,000,000 shares;
outstanding 2,174,912 and 2,180,982 shares, respectively (net of 1,072,770
treasury shares)
|
217 | 218 | ||||||
Class
B common stock, par value $.10 per share - authorized 30,000,000 shares;
outstanding 9,359,693 and 9,369,893 shares, respectively (net of 3,218,310
treasury shares)
|
936 | 937 | ||||||
Additional
paid-in capital
|
20,299 | 19,963 | ||||||
Retained
earnings
|
196,497 | 196,467 | ||||||
Accumulated
other comprehensive (loss) income
|
(1,582 | ) | 188 | |||||
Total
Stockholders' Equity
|
216,367 | 217,773 | ||||||
TOTAL
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
$ | 248,724 | $ | 261,784 |
Three
Months Ended
|
||||||||
March 31,
|
||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Net
Sales
|
$ | 43,871 | $ | 60,869 | ||||
Costs
and expenses:
|
||||||||
Cost
of sales
|
38,211 | 49,638 | ||||||
Selling,
general and administrative
|
7,653 | 8,933 | ||||||
Restructuring
charge
|
413 | - | ||||||
Gain
on sale of property, plant and equipment
|
(4,665 | ) | - | |||||
41,612 | 58,571 | |||||||
Income
from operations
|
2,259 | 2,298 | ||||||
Other,
net
|
8 | - | ||||||
Realized
gain (loss/impairment charge) on investment
|
2 | (280 | ) | |||||
Interest
income
|
181 | 913 | ||||||
Earnings
before provision for income taxes
|
2,450 | 2,931 | ||||||
Income
tax provision
|
1,634 | 764 | ||||||
Net
earnings
|
$ | 816 | $ | 2,167 | ||||
Earnings
per Class A common share
|
||||||||
Basic
|
$ | 0.06 | $ | 0.17 | ||||
Diluted
|
$ | 0.06 | $ | 0.17 | ||||
Weighted-average
Class A common shares outstanding
|
||||||||
Basic
|
2,176,156 | 2,532,408 | ||||||
Diluted
|
2,176,156 | 2,532,408 | ||||||
Earnings
per Class B common share
|
||||||||
Basic
|
$ | 0.07 | $ | 0.19 | ||||
Diluted
|
$ | 0.07 | $ | 0.19 | ||||
Weighted-average
Class B common shares outstanding
|
||||||||
Basic
|
9,362,115 | 9,306,940 | ||||||
Diluted
|
9,362,115 | 9,313,556 |
Accumulated
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other
|
Class
A
|
Class
B
|
Additional
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Comprehensive
|
Retained
|
Comprehensive
|
Common
|
Common
|
Paid-In
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Total
|
(Loss)
Income
|
Earnings
|
Income
(loss)
|
Stock
|
Stock
|
Capital
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
January 1, 2008
|
$ | 244,527 | $ | 214,580 | $ | (344 | ) | $ | 255 | $ | 929 | $ | 29,107 | |||||||||||||||
Exercise
of stock options
|
312 | 3 | 309 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tax
benefits arising from the disposition of non-qualified incentive stock
options
|
39 | 39 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cash
dividends declared on Class A common stock
|
(565 | ) | (565 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cash
dividends declared on Class B common stock
|
(2,619 | ) | (2,619 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance
of restricted common stock
|
- | 6 | (6 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termination
of restricted common stock
|
- | (1 | ) | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Repurchase/retirement
of Class A common stock
|
(11,002 | ) | (37 | ) | (10,965 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Currency
translation adjustment
|
(355 | ) | $ | (355 | ) | (355 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Unrealized
holding losses on marketable securities arising during the year, net of
taxes
|
(4,230 | ) | (4,230 | ) | (4,230 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Reclassification
adjustment of unrealized holding losses for impairment charge
included in net loss, net of tax
|
5,551 | 5,551 | 5,551 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stock-based
compensation expense
|
1,478 | 1,478 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Change
in unfunded SERP liability, net of taxes
|
(434 | ) | (434 | ) | (434 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Net
loss
|
(14,929 | ) | (14,929 | ) | (14,929 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Comprehensive
loss
|
$ | (14,397 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
December 31, 2008
|
$ | 217,773 | $ | 196,467 | $ | 188 | $ | 218 | $ | 937 | $ | 19,963 | ||||||||||||||||
Cash
dividends declared on Class A common stock
|
(131 | ) | (131 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cash
dividends declared on Class B common stock
|
(655 | ) | (655 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termination
of restricted common stock
|
- | (1 | ) | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Repurchase/retirement
of Class A common stock
|
(92 | ) | (1 | ) | (91 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Currency
translation adjustment
|
(524 | ) | $ | (524 | ) | (524 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Unrealized
holding losses on marketable securities arising during the year, net of
taxes
|
(1,246 | ) | (1,246 | ) | (1,246 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Stock-based
compensation expense
|
426 | 426 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net
earnings
|
816 | 816 | 816 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Comprehensive
loss
|
$ | (954 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance,
March 31, 2009
|
$ | 216,367 | $ | 196,497 | $ | (1,582 | ) | $ | 217 | $ | 936 | $ | 20,299 |
Three
Months Ended
|
||||||||
March 31,
|
||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Cash
flows from operating activities:
|
||||||||
Net
earnings
|
$ | 816 | $ | 2,167 | ||||
Adjustments
to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided by operating
activities:
|
||||||||
Depreciation
and amortization
|
1,686 | 1,813 | ||||||
Stock-based
compensation
|
426 | 254 | ||||||
Restructuring
charges, net of cash payments
|
(183 | ) | ||||||
Gain
on sale of property, plant and equipment
|
(4,665 | ) | - | |||||
Realized
(gain) loss/impairment charge on investment
|
(2 | ) | 280 | |||||
Unrealized
foreign exchange transaction losses (gains)
|
176 | (139 | ) | |||||
Other,
net
|
496 | 157 | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
1,953 | (248 | ) | |||||
Changes
in operating assets and liabilities
|
14,624 | 5,752 | ||||||
Net
Cash Provided by Operating Activities
|
15,327 | 10,036 | ||||||
Cash
flows from investing activities:
|
||||||||
Purchase
of property, plant and equipment
|
(410 | ) | (1,659 | ) | ||||
Purchase
of intangible asset
|
- | (150 | ) | |||||
Purchase
of marketable securities
|
(2,033 | ) | (10,124 | ) | ||||
Proceeds
from sale of property, plant and equipment
|
2,617 | - | ||||||
Redemption
of investment
|
1,454 | 7,766 | ||||||
Net
Cash Provided by (Used in) Investing Activities
|
1,628 | (4,167 | ) |
Three
Months Ended
|
||||||||
March 31,
|
||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Cash
flows from financing activities:
|
||||||||
Proceeds
from exercise of stock options
|
- | 49 | ||||||
Dividends
paid to common shareholders
|
(772 | ) | (765 | ) | ||||
Purchase
and retirement of Class A common stock
|
(92 | ) | (394 | ) | ||||
Net
Cash Used In Financing Activities
|
(864 | ) | (1,110 | ) | ||||
Effect
of exchange rate changes on cash
|
(128 | ) | 240 | |||||
Net
Increase in Cash and Cash Equivalents
|
15,963 | 4,999 | ||||||
Cash
and Cash Equivalents - beginning of period
|
74,955 | 83,875 | ||||||
Cash
and Cash Equivalents - end of period
|
$ | 90,918 | $ | 88,874 | ||||
Changes
in operating assets and liabilities consist
of:
|
||||||||
Decrease
in accounts receivable
|
$ | 14,862 | $ | 9,988 | ||||
Decrease
(increase) in inventories
|
7,938 | (3,234 | ) | |||||
Increase
in prepaid expenses and other current assets
|
(634 | ) | (453 | ) | ||||
Increase
in other assets
|
(6 | ) | (161 | ) | ||||
(Decrease)
increase in accounts payable
|
(3,464 | ) | 981 | |||||
Decrease
in accrued expenses
|
(3,496 | ) | (2,288 | ) | ||||
(Decrease)
increase in income taxes payable
|
(576 | ) | 919 | |||||
$ | 14,624 | $ | 5,752 | |||||
Supplementary
information:
|
||||||||
Cash
paid during the period for income taxes
|
$ | 207 | $ | 137 |
1.
|
BASIS
OF PRESENTATION AND ACCOUNTING
POLICIES
|
2.
|
EARNINGS
PER SHARE
|
Three
Months Ended
|
||||||||
March 31,
|
||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Numerator:
|
||||||||
Net
earnings
|
$ | 816 | $ | 2,167 | ||||
Less
Dividends:
|
||||||||
Class
A
|
131 | 158 | ||||||
Class
B
|
655 | 637 | ||||||
Undistributed
earnings
|
$ | 30 | $ | 1,372 | ||||
Undistributed
earnings allocation - basic:
|
||||||||
Class
A undistributed earnings
|
5 | 282 | ||||||
Class
B undistributed earnings
|
25 | 1,090 | ||||||
Total
undistributed earnings
|
$ | 30 | $ | 1,372 | ||||
Undistributed
earnings allocation - diluted:
|
||||||||
Class
A undistributed earnings
|
5 | 282 | ||||||
Class
B undistributed earnings
|
25 | 1,090 | ||||||
Total
undistributed earnings
|
$ | 30 | $ | 1,372 | ||||
Net
earnings allocation - basic:
|
||||||||
Class
A allocated earnings
|
136 | 440 | ||||||
Class
B allocated earnings
|
680 | 1,727 | ||||||
Net
earnings
|
$ | 816 | $ | 2,167 | ||||
Net
earnings allocation - diluted:
|
||||||||
Class
A allocated earnings
|
136 | 440 | ||||||
Class
B allocated earnings
|
680 | 1,727 | ||||||
Net
earnings
|
$ | 816 | $ | 2,167 | ||||
Denominator:
|
||||||||
Weighted-average
shares outstanding:
|
||||||||
Class
A - basic and diluted
|
2,176,156 | 2,532,408 | ||||||
Class
B - basic
|
9,362,115 | 9,306,940 | ||||||
Dilutive
impact of stock options
|
- | 6,616 | ||||||
Class
B - diluted
|
9,362,115 | 9,313,556 | ||||||
Earnings
per share:
|
||||||||
Class
A - basic
|
$ | 0.06 | $ | 0.17 | ||||
Class
A - diluted
|
$ | 0.06 | $ | 0.17 | ||||
Class
B - basic
|
$ | 0.07 | $ | 0.19 | ||||
Class
B - diluted
|
$ | 0.07 | $ | 0.19 |
3.
|
MARKETABLE
SECURITIES
|
4.
|
FAIR
VALUE MEASUREMENT
|
Assets at Fair Value as of March 31, 2009
|
||||||||||||||||
Total
|
Quoted Prices
in Active
Markets for
Identical
Assets
(Level 1)
|
Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs
(Level 2)
|
Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
|
|||||||||||||
Available-for-sale
securities
|
$ | 13,759 | $ | 13,759 | - | - | ||||||||||
Total
|
$ | 13,759 | $ | 13,759 | - | - |
Assets at Fair Value as of March 31, 2009
|
Total Gains
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Total
|
Quoted Prices
in Active
Markets for
Identical
Assets
(Level 1)
|
Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs
(Level 2)
|
Significant
Unobservable
Inputs
(Level 3)
|
Three Months
Ended
March 31, 2009
|
||||||||||||||||
Other
investments
|
$ | 3,653 | - | $ | 3,653 | - | $ | 2 | ||||||||||||
Total
|
$ | 3,653 | - | $ | 3,653 | - | $ | 2 |
5.
|
COMPANY-OWNED
LIFE INSURANCE
|
6.
|
INVENTORIES
|
March 31,
|
December 31,
|
|||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Raw
materials
|
$ | 21,858 | $ | 25,527 | ||||
Work
in progress
|
1,551 | 1,650 | ||||||
Finished
goods
|
15,011 | 19,347 | ||||||
$ | 38,420 | $ | 46,524 |
7.
|
BUSINESS
SEGMENT INFORMATION
|
Three
Months Ended
|
||||||||
March 31,
|
||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Total
segment revenues
|
||||||||
North
America
|
$ | 11,306 | $ | 22,991 | ||||
Asia
|
33,798 | 42,139 | ||||||
Europe
|
5,040 | 6,786 | ||||||
Total
segment revenues
|
50,144 | 71,916 | ||||||
Reconciling
items:
|
||||||||
Intersegment
revenues
|
(6,273 | ) | (11,047 | ) | ||||
Net
sales
|
$ | 43,871 | $ | 60,869 | ||||
Income
(loss) from Operations:
|
||||||||
North
America
|
$ | 2,570 | $ | 1,097 | ||||
Asia
|
(192 | ) | 841 | |||||
Europe
|
(119 | ) | 360 | |||||
$ | 2,259 | $ | 2,298 |
8.
|
DEBT
|
9.
|
INCOME
TAXES
|
10.
|
ACCRUED
EXPENSES
|
March 31,
|
December 31,
|
|||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Sales
commissions
|
$ | 1,150 | $ | 1,598 | ||||
Contract
labor
|
1,429 | 2,939 | ||||||
Salaries,
bonuses and related benefits
|
1,920 | 2,834 | ||||||
Other
|
1,920 | 2,582 | ||||||
$ | 6,419 | $ | 9,953 |
11.
|
RETIREMENT
FUND AND PROFIT SHARING PLAN
|
Three Months Ended
|
||||||||
March 31,
|
||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Service
cost
|
$ | 96 | $ | 73 | ||||
Interest
cost
|
88 | 76 | ||||||
Amortization
of adjustments
|
37 | 33 | ||||||
Total
SERP expense
|
$ | 221 | $ | 182 |
March 31,
|
December 31,
|
|||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Balance
sheet amounts:
|
||||||||
Minimum
pension obligation and unfunded pension liability
|
$ | 6,111 | $ | 5,910 | ||||
Accumulated
other comprehensive (loss) income
|
(1,588 | ) | (1,588 | ) |
12.
|
SHARE-BASED
COMPENSATION
|
Weighted
|
|||||||||||||
Average
|
|||||||||||||
Weighted
|
Remaining
|
Aggregate
|
|||||||||||
Average
|
Contractual
|
Intrinsic
|
|||||||||||
Options
|
Shares
|
Exercise Price
|
Term
|
Value (000's)
|
|||||||||
Outstanding
at January 1, 2009
|
53,000 | $ | 31.48 | ||||||||||
Granted
|
- | ||||||||||||
Exercised
|
- | ||||||||||||
Forfeited
or expired
|
- | ||||||||||||
Outstanding
at March 31, 2009
|
53,000 | $ | 31.48 |
1.0 years
|
$ | - | |||||||
Exercisable
at March 31, 2009
|
38,000 | $ | 32.26 |
0.9 years
|
$ | - |
Weighted-Average
|
||||||||
Grant-Date
|
||||||||
Unvested Stock Options
|
Shares
|
Fair Value
|
||||||
Unvested
at December 31, 2008
|
15,000 | $ | 29.50 | |||||
Granted
|
- | - | ||||||
Vested
|
- | - | ||||||
Forfeited
|
- | - | ||||||
Unvested
at March 31, 2009
|
15,000 | $ | 29.50 |
Weighted
|
|||||||||
Weighted
|
Average
|
||||||||
Average
|
Remaining
|
||||||||
Restricted Stock
|
Award
|
Contractual
|
|||||||
Awards
|
Shares
|
Price
|
Term
|
||||||
Outstanding
at January 1, 2009
|
202,900 | $ | 32.58 |
3.06
years
|
|||||
Granted
|
- | - | |||||||
Vested
|
- | - | |||||||
Forfeited
|
(10,200 | ) | 29.14 | ||||||
Outstanding
at March 31, 2009
|
192,700 | $ | 32.76 |
2.78
years
|
13.
|
COMMON
STOCK
|
14.
|
COMPREHENSIVE
INCOME
|
Three Months Ended
|
||||||||
March 31,
|
||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Net
earnings
|
$ | 816 | $ | 2,167 | ||||
Currency
translation adjustment
|
(524 | ) | 719 | |||||
(Decrease)
increase in unrealized gain on marketable securities - net of
taxes
|
(1,246 | ) | 2,894 | |||||
Comprehensive
(loss) income
|
$ | (954 | ) | $ | 5,780 |
March 31,
|
December 31,
|
|||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Foreign
currency translation adjustment
|
$ | 1,222 | $ | 1,746 | ||||
Unrealized
holding loss on available-for-sale securities under SFAS No. 115, net of
taxes of ($740) and $23 as of March 31, 2009 and December 31,
2008
|
(1,216 | ) | 30 | |||||
Unfunded
SERP liability, net of taxes of ($606) as of March 31, 2009 and December
31, 2008
|
(1,588 | ) | (1,588 | ) | ||||
Accumulated
other comprehensive (loss) income
|
$ | (1,582 | ) | $ | 188 |
15.
|
SALE
OF PROPERTY
|
16.
|
NEW
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
|
17.
|
LEGAL
PROCEEDINGS
|
18.
|
RELATED
PARTY TRANSACTIONS
|
19.
|
RESTRUCTURING
ACTIVITY
|
Liability at
|
New
|
Cash Payments &
|
Liability at
|
|||||||||||||
December 31, 2008
|
Charges
|
Other Settlements
|
March 31, 2009
|
|||||||||||||
Termination
benefit charges
|
$ | 437 | $ | 121 | $ | (558 | ) | $ | - | |||||||
Facility
lease obligation
|
524 | 292 | (38 | ) | 778 | |||||||||||
$ | 961 | $ | 413 | $ | (596 | ) | $ | 778 |
20.
|
SUBSEQUENT
EVENT
|
|
·
|
With
respect to the stock option plan, the Company has determined that over a
period of approximately eight years, the Employee exercised options
covering 28,000 shares of Class B Common Stock on the basis of
documentation that the Employee fabricated. The fair value of these 28,000
shares at the times of issuance approximated $0.8 million. Option
exercises covering an additional 3,500 shares are questionable but have
not, as yet, been determined to be based on fabricated documentation. The
Employee has returned 24,000 shares to the Company for cancellation with a
fair market value on the dates of their return of approximately $0.4
million.
|
|
·
|
With
respect to the Company's 401(k) plan, the Company has determined that over
the same approximate eight year period, the Employee made paper entries to
artificially increase the balance in his 401(k) account by a total of
$44,300. The Employee has not withdrawn any funds in his 401(k) account.
Accordingly, the Company intends to recoup such $44,300 directly from the
Employee's 401(k) account.
|
|
·
|
With
respect to the Company's profit-sharing plan, the Company has determined
that the Employee diverted to his account a total of $3,600 credited to
the account of an employee whose employment had terminated and who
therefore was about to forfeit his profit-sharing interest. The Employee
has not withdrawn any funds in his profit-sharing account. The Company
intends to recoup such $3,600 directly from the Employee's profit-sharing
account.
|
|
·
|
Increasing
pressures in the U.S. and global economy related to the global economic
downturn, the credit crisis, volatility in interest rates, investment
returns, energy prices and other elements that impact commercial and
end-user consumer spending are creating a highly challenging environment
for Bel and its customers.
|
|
·
|
These
weakening economic conditions have resulted in reductions in capital
expenditures by end-user consumers of our products, resulting in a
decreased backlog of orders in
2009.
|
|
·
|
With
the overall reduction in demand in our industry, competition will continue
to increase. As a result, Bel is being faced with pricing pressures, which
will impact Bel’s future profit
margins.
|
|
·
|
Commodity
prices, especially those pertaining to gold and copper, have been highly
volatile. Fluctuations in these prices and other commodity
prices associated with Bel’s raw materials will have a corresponding
impact on our profit margins.
|
|
·
|
The
costs of labor, particularly in the People’s Republic of China where
several of Bel’s factories are located, have risen significantly as a
result of government mandates for new minimum wage and overtime
requirements (effective April 2008). These higher labor rates
will continue to have a negative impact on Bel’s profit
margins.
|
|
·
|
The
global nature of Bel’s business exposes Bel to earnings volatility
resulting from exchange rate
fluctuations.
|
|
·
|
Net
Sales. The Company’s sales decreased by $17.0 million or
27.9% during the three months ended March 31, 2009 as compared to the same
period of 2008, primarily due to a reduction in demand across all product
lines related to weakening global economic
conditions.
|
|
·
|
Income from
Operations. During the three months ended March 31,
2009, the Company recorded a gain on sale of property in the amount of
$4.6 million, which is included in income from
operations. Excluding this gain, income from operations for the
three months ended March 31, 2008 of $2.3 million decreased by $4.7
million to a loss from operations of $2.4 million for the three months
ended March 31, 2009. The exclusion of such gain results in a
Non-GAAP Financial Measure, which is presented in order to assist the
reader in comparing income from operations from one quarter to another
quarter. The decrease in income from operations after excluding
such gain is primarily attributable to the
following:
|
|
§
|
Rising
Bill of Material Costs. Bel continues to increase its sales
volume of a particular product line within the modules group in which a
larger percentage of the final product is comprised of purchased
components. In addition, sales revenue in other product lines
has decreased, thereby increasing the proportion of total sales
represented by this product line, and reducing gross
margins.
|
|
§
|
Restructuring
Charges. The Company ceased manufacturing at its Bel Power
manufacturing facility in Westborough, Massachusetts as of December 31,
2008. Related to this closure, the Company incurred severance
costs of $0.1 million and costs associated with its facility lease
obligation of $0.3 million during the three months ended March 31,
2009.
|
|
§
|
Reduced
Labor Costs. The Company experienced a significant increase in
customer demand after the Lunar New Year in early February 2008, leading
to large number of new workers being hired and the associated training
costs, production inefficiencies and excessive overtime. Due to
reduced demand in the first quarter of 2009, additional workforce was not
needed.
|
|
§
|
Reduction
in Selling, General and Administrative (“SG&A”)
Expenses. SG&A expenses were $1.3 million lower during the
first quarter of 2009 as compared to the same period of
2008. This reduction was primarily due to lower commissions
from the reduced sales volume, administrative headcount reductions and
travel restrictions put in place during the first quarter of
2009.
|
|
·
|
Net
Earnings. The Company’s net earnings decreased
significantly from $2.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008
to $0.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009. In
addition to the factors impacting income from operations discussed above,
the following non-operating factors impacted the first quarter 2009 net
earnings:
|
|
§
|
Reduced
Interest Rates. Interest income decreased from $0.9 million
during the first quarter of 2008 to $0.2 million during the first quarter
of 2009 as a result of significantly lower interest rates earned on
invested balances during the first quarter of
2009.
|
|
§
|
Income
tax expense of $1.7 million was recognized, related to the gain on sale of
property described above.
|
Percentage of Net Sales
|
||||||||
Three Months Ended
|
||||||||
March 31,
|
||||||||
2009
|
2008
|
|||||||
Net
sales
|
100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | ||||
Cost
of sales
|
87.1 | 81.5 | ||||||
Selling,
general and administrative expenses
|
17.4 | 14.7 | ||||||
Restructuring
charge
|
0.9 | - | ||||||
Gain
on sale of property, plant and equipment
|
(10.6 | ) | - | |||||
Realized
gain (loss/impairment charge) on investment
|
- | (0.5 | ) | |||||
Interest
income
|
0.4 | 1.5 | ||||||
Earnings
before provision for income taxes
|
5.6 | 4.8 | ||||||
Income
tax provision
|
3.7 | 1.3 | ||||||
Net
earnings
|
1.9 | 3.6 |
Increase
(decrease) from
|
||||
Prior Period
|
||||
Three
Months Ended
|
||||
March
31, 2009
|
||||
Compared
with
|
||||
Three
Months Ended
|
||||
March 31, 2008
|
||||
Net
sales
|
(27.9 | ) % | ||
Cost
of sales
|
(23.0 | ) | ||
Selling,
general and administrative expenses
|
(14.3 | ) | ||
Net
earnings
|
(62.3 | ) |
¨
|
Material
costs as a percentage of sales have increased from 53.3% during the three
months ended March 31, 2008 to 57.0% during the three months ended March
31, 2009. Sales of a particular product line within the modules
group have increased to 15% of total sales for the three months ended
March 31, 2009 as compared to 11% of total sales in the same period in
2008. Much of this increase was due to revenue declines in
other product lines. While these products are strategic to
Bel’s growth and important to total earnings, they return lower gross
profit margins as a larger percentage of the final product is comprised of
purchased components. As these sales continue to increase as a
percentage of total sales, the Company’s average gross profit percentage
will likely decrease.
|
¨
|
Included
in cost of sales are research and development expenses of $2.2 million and
$2.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008,
respectively. The increase in research and development
expenses during the first quarter of 2009 was primarily related to Bel’s
power products and new integrated connector
modules.
|
¨
|
While
other fixed costs within cost of sales, such as support labor and
depreciation and amortization, have decreased in dollar amount during the
first quarter of 2009 as compared to 2008, as a percentage of sales these
costs have increased due to the lower sales volume in
2009.
|
¨
|
As
an offsetting factor, the Company experienced a reduction in labor costs
during the three months ended March 31, 2009 (8.5% of sales as compared to
10.3% of sales for the three months ended March 31, 2008). A
significant increase in customer demand after the Lunar New Year in
February 2008 resulted in the hiring of approximately 5,000 new workers,
which resulted in training expenses, production inefficiencies and
excessive overtime. With lower customer demand in 2009,
additional manpower was not needed after Lunar New Year and Bel has
effectively eliminated overtime costs. In addition, the Company
continues to transition the labor intensive assembly operations to lower
cost regions of the PRC.
|
¨
|
Sales
commissions decreased by $0.7 million due to the 2009 lower sales
volume.
|
¨
|
Travel
expenses were reduced by $0.2 million, as management implemented travel
restrictions during the first quarter of
2009.
|
¨
|
General
and administrative salaries decreased by $0.4 million as compared to the
first quarter of 2008 as a result of headcount reductions in Westborough,
Massachusetts, Germany and Asia.
|
¨
|
Other
reductions in SG&A of $0.2 million included reduced legal and
professional fees, lower bad debt expense and other factors that were not
individually significant.
|
¨
|
As
an offsetting factor, the Company recorded a $0.2 million charge during
the first quarter of 2009 to account for the reduction in fair market
value of its COLI.
|
a)
|
Disclosure controls
and procedures. As of the end of the Company’s most
recently completed fiscal quarter covered by this report, the Company
carried out an evaluation, with the participation of the Company’s
management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Vice
President - Finance, of the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure
controls and procedures pursuant to Securities Exchange Act Rule
13a-15. As part of the quarter-end review, the Company's
internal accounting personnel identified a questionable entry in the
Company's stock option exercise records. After questioning by management,
a Company employee (the "Employee") responsible for certain aspects of the
Company's benefit plan administration admitted fabricating certain Company
records for his own benefit in order to enable him to exercise stock
options that had not been granted to him by the Company's Compensation
Committee. The Company's management immediately terminated the employment
of the Employee and reported the matter to the Company's Audit Committee
and external auditors. The Audit Committee, in turn, directed internal
accounting personnel to investigate this matter and directed counsel to
engage a forensic accounting firm to supplement the Company's internal
review.
|
|
·
|
With
respect to the stock option plan, the Company has determined that over a
period of approximately eight years, the Employee exercised options
covering 28,000 shares of Class B Common Stock on the basis of
documentation that the Employee fabricated. The fair value of these 28,000
shares at the times of issuance approximated $0.8 million. Option
exercises covering an additional 3,500 shares are questionable but have
not, as yet, been determined to be based on fabricated documentation. The
Employee has returned 24,000 shares to the Company for cancellation with a
fair market value on the dates of their return of approximately $0.4
million.
|
|
·
|
With
respect to the Company's 401(k) plan, the Company has determined that over
the same approximate eight year period, the Employee made paper entries to
artificially increase the balance in his 401(k) account by a total of
$44,300. The Employee has not withdrawn any funds in his 401(k) account.
Accordingly, the Company intends to recoup such $44,300 directly from the
Employee's 401(k) account.
|
|
·
|
With
respect to the Company's profit-sharing plan, the Company has determined
that the Employee diverted to his account a total of $3,600 credited to
the account of an employee whose employment had terminated and who
therefore was about to forfeit his profit-sharing interest. The Employee
has not withdrawn any funds in his profit-sharing account. The Company
intends to recoup such $3,600 directly from the Employee's profit-sharing
account.
|
|
·
|
The
Company does not believe that the Employee's actions have had or will have
a material effect on the Company's consolidated financial
statements.
|
|
·
|
The
Audit Committee has directed the Company's internal audit staff to assess
whether existing controls should be enhanced to assure that employees
engaged in benefit plan administration do not have the ability to allocate
employment benefits to themselves absent a third party
approval.
|
|
·
|
Management
will recommend to the Company's Compensation Committee that no stock
options or restricted stock be granted by the Company until such time as
the Audit Committee determines that enhanced controls have been
implemented or are not necessary.
|
|
·
|
The
Company's Chief Executive Officer and Vice President - Finance have
concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are
effective in ensuring that information required to be disclosed by the
Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized and reported
within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and
forms.
|
b.)
|
Changes in internal
controls over financial reporting: There were no changes
in the Company's internal controls over financial reporting that occurred
during the Company's last 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.
|
Period
|
Total
Number of
Shares
Purchased
|
Average
Price Paid
per Share
|
Total Number of
Shares Purchased as
Part of Publicly
Announced Plans or
Programs
|
Maximum Number
of Shares that
May Yet Be
Purchased Under
the Plan
|
||||||||||||
January
1 - January 31, 2009
|
4,448 | $ | 15.26 | 4,448 | 604,273 | |||||||||||
February
1 - February 29, 2009
|
1,622 | 14.83 | 1,622 | 602,651 | ||||||||||||
March
1 - March 31, 2009
|
- | - | - | 602,651 | ||||||||||||
Total
|
6,070 | $ | 15.14 | 6,070 | 602,651 |
|
31.1
|
Certification
of the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
|
|
31.2
|
Certification
of the Vice President of Finance pursuant to Section 302 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
|
|
32.1
|
Certification
of the Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes -
Oxley Act of 2002.
|
|
32.2
|
Certification
of the Vice-President of Finance pursuant to Section 906 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
|
BEL
FUSE INC.
|
|
By:
|
/s/ Daniel Bernstein
|
Daniel
Bernstein, President and
|
|
Chief
Executive Officer
|
|
By:
|
/s/ Colin Dunn
|
Colin
Dunn, Vice President of
Finance
|