UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

(Mark One)

 

ý                                 QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the Quarterly Period Ended September 30, 2005

 

o                                 TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the transition period from                      to                     

 

Commission File Number:  001-16105

 

STONEPATH GROUP, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware

 

65-0867684

(State or other jurisdiction of

 

(I.R.S. Employer

incorporation or organization)

 

Identification No.)

 

 

 

2200 Alaskan Way, Suite 200

Seattle, WA 98121

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

 

 

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (206) 336-5400

 

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.  Yes ý  No o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes ý  No o

 

There were 43,712,726 issued and outstanding shares of the registrant’s common stock, par value $.001 per share, at November 4, 2005.

 

 



 

STONEPATH GROUP, INC.

 

INDEX

 

PART I  FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

Item 1. Financial Statements

 

 

Consolidated Balance Sheets at September 30, 2005 and December 31, 2004

 

 

Consolidated Statements of Operations - Three- and Nine-months ended September 30, 2005 and 2004

 

 

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - Nine-months ended September 30, 2005 and 2004

 

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

 

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

 

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

 

 

 

PART II  OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

 

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

 

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

 

Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

 

Item 5. Other Information

 

Item 6. Exhibits

 

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

 

i



 

PART I
FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

Item 1.  Financial Statements

 

STONEPATH GROUP, INC.
Consolidated Balance Sheets

 

 

 

September 30, 2005

 

December 31, 2004

 

 

 

(UNAUDITED)

 

 

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

5,387,335

 

$

2,800,645

 

Accounts receivable, net

 

72,040,653

 

64,064,382

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

2,022,179

 

2,559,858

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total current assets

 

79,450,667

 

69,424,885

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodwill

 

40,579,684

 

37,278,661

 

Technology, furniture and equipment, net

 

6,862,045

 

7,595,859

 

Acquired intangibles, net

 

5,632,364

 

7,079,986

 

Note receivable, related party

 

87,500

 

87,500

 

Other assets

 

4,070,185

 

1,479,181

 

Total assets

 

$

136,681,945

 

$

122,946,072

 

Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

Lines of credit

 

$

5,000,000

 

$

16,911,700

 

Note payable

 

1,897,539

 

 

Accounts payable

 

49,513,771

 

38,537,750

 

Earn-outs payable

 

2,640,045

 

2,645,695

 

Accrued payroll and related expenses

 

3,509,204

 

3,192,889

 

Accrued restructuring costs

 

2,054,384

 

741,637

 

Capital lease obligation

 

335,419

 

1,510,461

 

Accrued expenses

 

6,158,665

 

5,627,276

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

 

71,109,027

 

69,167,408

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long-term debt

 

17,916,269

 

 

Other long-term liabilities

 

161,537

 

2,064,128

 

Deferred tax liability

 

2,189,100

 

1,650,900

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities

 

91,375,933

 

72,882,436

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minority interest

 

5,996,022

 

5,094,336

 

Commitments and contingencies (Note 8)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stockholders’ equity:

 

 

 

 

 

Preferred stock, $.001 par value, 10,000,000 shares authorized; none issued

 

 

 

Common stock, $.001 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized; issued and outstanding: 43,712,726 and 42,839,795 shares at 2005 and 2004, respectively

 

43,713

 

42,840

 

Additional paid-in capital

 

223,933,281

 

221,728,796

 

Accumulated deficit

 

(184,932,667

)

(176,806,892

)

Accumulated other comprehensive income

 

265,663

 

35,856

 

Deferred compensation

 

 

(31,300

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ equity

 

39,309,990

 

44,969,300

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

 

$

136,681,945

 

$

122,946,072

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

1



 

STONEPATH GROUP, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(UNAUDITED)

 

 

 

Three months ended September 30,

 

Nine months ended September 30,

 

 

 

2005

 

2004

 

2005

 

2004

 

Total revenue

 

$

111,311,674

 

$

109,711,414

 

$

301,328,275

 

$

256,405,516

 

Cost of transportation

 

87,971,539

 

84,638,366

 

235,451,678

 

195,515,923

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net revenue

 

23,340,135

 

25,073,048

 

65,876,597

 

60,889,593

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Personnel costs

 

11,805,255

 

13,600,160

 

35,395,425

 

36,628,969

 

Other selling, general and administrative costs

 

7,985,747

 

8,608,533

 

26,266,035

 

22,080,720

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

1,163,778

 

1,039,742

 

3,460,457

 

3,023,520

 

Restructuring charges

 

 

 

3,448,209

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income (loss) from operations

 

2,385,355

 

1,824,613

 

(2,693,529

)

(843,616

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other income (expense):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loan refinancing costs

 

(911,998

)

 

(911,998

)

 

Interest expense, net

 

(871,469

)

(174,924

)

(2,004,697

)

(269,967

)

Provision for excess earn-out payments

 

 

 

 

(3,075,190

)

Other income (expense), net

 

(3,838

)

(33,865

)

74,828

 

(69,149

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income (loss) from continuing operations before income tax expense and minority interest

 

598,050

 

1,615,824

 

(5,535,396

)

(4,257,922

)

Income tax expense

 

481,016

 

964,061

 

1,688,693

 

1,607,532

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income (loss) from continuing operations before minority interest

 

117,034

 

651,763

 

(7,224,089

)

(5,865,454

)

Minority interest

 

296,584

 

545,996

 

901,686

 

1,098,032

 

Income (loss) from continuing operations

 

(179,550

)

105,767

 

(8,125,775

)

(6,963,486

)

Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax

 

 

(50,000

)

 

(50,000

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

 

$

(179,550

)

$

55,767

 

$

(8,125,775

)

$

(7,013,486

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted income (loss) per common share -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continuing operations

 

$

 

$

 

$

(0.19

)

$

(0.17

)

Discontinued operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted income (loss) per common share

 

$

 

$

 

$

(0.19

)

$

(0.17

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic weighted average shares outstanding

 

43,712,726

 

41,352,322

 

43,550,871

 

40,099,518

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted weighted average shares and share equivalents outstanding

 

43,712,726

 

45,773,006

 

43,550,871

 

40,099,518

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

2



 

STONEPATH GROUP, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(UNAUDITED)

 

 

 

Nine months ended September 30,

 

 

 

2005

 

2004

 

Cash flow from operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

$

(8,125,775

)

$

(7,013,486

)

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred income taxes

 

538,200

 

363,000

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

3,460,457

 

3,023,520

 

Minority interest in income of subsidiaries

 

901,686

 

1,098,032

 

Stock-based compensation

 

31,300

 

42,474

 

Loss (Gain) on disposal of technology, furniture and equipment and other

 

(57,436

)

8,350

 

Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisitions:

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts receivable

 

(7,976,271

)

(13,880,578

)

Prepaid expenses and other assets

 

48,483

 

378,987

 

Accounts payable and accrued expenses

 

13,259,122

 

10,092,245

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

 

2,029,766

 

(5,887,456

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities:

 

 

 

 

 

Purchases of technology, furniture and equipment

 

(1,049,534

)

(4,070,129

)

Payment of earn-out

 

(2,452,125

)

(3,431,285

)

Proceeds from sales of technology, furniture and equipment

 

129,390

 

 

Acquisition of business, net of cash acquired

 

 

(6,837,119

)

Loans made

 

 

(75,000

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

 

(3,372,269

)

(14,413,533

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities:

 

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from line of credit, net

 

6,004,569

 

18,119,900

 

Principal payments on capital lease

 

(1,245,655

)

(551,670

)

Payment of debt issuance costs

 

(1,109,528

)

 

Proceeds from issuance of common stock upon exercise of options and warrants

 

 

1,782,819

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash provided by financing activities

 

3,649,386

 

19,351,049

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Effect of foreign currency translation

 

229,807

 

47,919

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

 

2,586,690

 

(902,021

)

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

 

2,800,645

 

3,074,151

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

 

$

5,387,335

 

$

2,172,130

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash paid for interest

 

$

1,834,892

 

$

305,215

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash paid for income taxes

 

$

61,597

 

$

98,602

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities:

 

 

 

 

 

Issuance of common stock in connection with acquisitions

 

$

854,548

 

$

100,000

 

Issuance of common stock in connection with Employee Stock Purchase Plan

 

57,089

 

224,170

 

Issuance of warrants in connection with loan refinancing

 

1,293,721

 

 

Increase in goodwill related to accrued earn-out payments

 

2,300,000

 

 

Issuance of warrants for consulting services

 

 

70,000

 

Increase in technology, furniture and equipment and capital lease obligation

 

 

390,754

 

Increase in common stock from conversion of Series D convertible preferred stock

 

 

149

 

Issuance of common stock in connection with exercise of options

 

 

511,068

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

3



 

STONEPATH GROUP, INC.
Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements
September 30, 2005

 

(1)                                 Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation

 

Stonepath Group, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) is a non-asset based third-party logistics services company providing supply chain solutions on a global basis.  A full range of time-definite transportation and distribution solutions is offered through the Company’s Domestic Services platform, where the Company manages and arranges for the movement of raw materials, supplies, components and finished goods for its customers.  These services are offered through the Company’s domestic air and ground freight forwarding business.  A full range of international logistics services including international air and ocean transportation as well as customs house brokerage services is offered through the Company’s International Services platform.  In addition to these core service offerings, the Company also provides a broad range of value added supply chain management services, including warehousing, order fulfillment and inventory management.  The Company services a customer base of manufacturers, distributors and national retail chains through a network of owned offices in North America and Puerto Rico, strategic locations in Asia, South America and Europe, and service partners strategically located around the world.

 

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information.  Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements have been condensed or omitted pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) relating to interim financial statements.  These statements reflect all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring accruals, necessary to present fairly the Company’s financial position, operations and cash flows for the periods indicated.  While the Company believes that the disclosures presented are adequate to make the information not misleading, these unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004.  Interim operating results are not necessarily indicative of the results for a full year because our operating results are subject to seasonal trends when measured on a quarterly basis.  Our first and second quarters are likely to be weaker as compared with our other fiscal quarters, which we believe is consistent with the operating results of other supply chain service providers.

 

The Company has experienced losses from operations, and has an accumulated deficit.  In addition the Company has experienced negative cash flow from operations in earlier years.  In view of these matters, recoverability of a major portion of the recorded asset amounts shown in the accompanying balance sheet is dependent upon profitable future operations of the Company and generation of cash flow sufficient to meet its obligations.  The Company believes that operating improvement and cost reduction actions implemented in the first half of 2005 coupled with existing availability on its credit facilities will provide the Company with adequate liquidity to provide uninterrupted support for its business operations through at least September 30, 2006.

 

Certain amounts for prior periods have been reclassified in the consolidated financial statements to conform to the classification used in 2005.

 

(2)                                 Restructuring Charges

 

In November 2004, the Company commenced a restructuring program, engineered to accelerate the integration of its businesses and improve the Company’s overall profitability.  Currently, the Company has consolidated its corporate headquarters and is in the process of consolidating its domestic and international divisional headquarters into one central management facility in Seattle, Washington. This streamlining will eliminate unnecessary duplication of efforts as well as provide a much more cohesive day-to-day management coordination capability and improved internal controls. In addition, the restructuring initiative included the rationalization of technology systems, personnel and facilities throughout the U.S.  In connection with this plan, the Company recorded pre-tax restructuring charges of $3,448,209 during the

 

4



 

six-month period ended June 30, 2005.  No additional restructuring charges were recorded during the three-month period ended September 30, 2005.  A summary of 2005 restructuring charges, cash payments and related liabilities is as follows:

 

 

 

Liability Balance,
January 1, 2005

 

Restructuring
Charges

 

Cash
Payments

 

Liability Balance,
September 30, 2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Personnel

 

$

666,408

 

$

657,289

 

$

(978,497

)

$

345,200

 

Lease terminations:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Building

 

75,229

 

2,200,010

 

(566,055

)

1,709,185

 

Equipment

 

 

590,910

 

(590,910

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

741,637

 

$

3,448,209

 

$

(2,135,462

)

$

2,054,384

 

 

Personnel charges primarily relate to contractual obligations incurred in 2005 with certain executives. Lease termination costs relate to vacating certain Domestic facilities, vacating and relocating the Company’s former corporate headquarters in Philadelphia, and the disposal of related leased equipment.  All restructuring charges will result in cash payments in future periods through 2008.  The Company does not expect to incur additional restructuring costs during the remainder of 2005.

 

(3)                                 Loan Refinancing Costs

 

As more fully discussed in Note (7), on August 31, 2005, the Company completed a refinancing of its $25,000,000 U.S. revolving credit facility.  In connection with this transaction, the Company incurred a charge of $911,998, reflecting payment of a prepayment fee and the expensing of previously deferred loan issue costs.

 

(4)                                 Stock-Based Compensation

 

As permitted by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 123, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation, the Company has elected to account for stock-based compensation using the intrinsic value method prescribed in Accounting Principles Board (“APB”) Opinion No. 25, Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees, and related interpretations.  Accordingly, compensation cost for stock options granted to employees and members of the board of directors is measured as the excess, if any, of the quoted market price of the Company’s common stock at the date of the grant over the amount the grantee must pay to acquire the stock.  The Company accounts for stock-based compensation to non-employees (including directors who provide services outside their capacity as members of the board) in accordance with SFAS No. 123 and Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) Issue No. 96-18, Accounting for Equity Instruments That are Issued to Other Than Employees for Acquiring, or in Conjunction with Selling, Goods or Services. The table below illustrates the effect on net income or loss and income or loss per common share as if the fair value of options granted had been recognized as compensation expense in accordance with the provisions of SFAS No. 123.

 

 

 

Three months ended September 30,

 

Nine months ended September 30,

 

 

 

2005

 

2004

 

2005

 

2004

 

Net income (loss):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As reported

 

$

(179,550

)

$

55,767

 

$

(8,125,775

)

$

(7,013,486

)

Add: stock-based employee compensation expense included in reported net loss

 

 

 

 

22,174

 

Deduct: total stock-based compensation expense determined under fair value method for all awards

 

(61,694

)

(1,051,036

)

(1,837,482

)

(4,147,125

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pro forma net loss

 

$

(241,244

)

$

(995,269

)

$

(9,963,257

)

$

(11,138,437

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted loss per common share:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As reported

 

$

 

$

 

$

(0.19

)

$

(0.17

)

Pro forma

 

(0.01

)

(0.02

)

(0.23

)

(0.28

)

 

5



 

In December 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued its final standard on accounting for share-based payments, SFAS 123R (Revised 2004), Share-Based Payment.  SFAS 123R requires companies to expense the fair value of employee stock options and other similar awards.  When measuring the fair value of these awards, companies can choose from two different pricing models that reflect their specific circumstances and the economics of their transactions.  The Company is in the process of selecting one of three transition methods available under SFAS 123R.  Accordingly, the Company has not yet determined the impact on its consolidated financial statements of adopting SFAS 123R.  In April 2005, the SEC adopted a new rule which delayed the date for compliance with SFAS 123R.  The new effective date for the Company is January 1, 2006.

 

(5)                                 Acquisitions

 

On February 9, 2004, the Company acquired, through its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Stonepath Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited, a 55% interest in Shaanxi Sunshine Cargo Services International Co., Ltd. (“Shaanxi”). Shaanxi is a Class A licensed freight forwarder headquartered in Shanghai, PRC and provides a wide range of customized transportation and logistics services and supply chain solutions, including global freight forwarding, warehousing and distribution, shipping services and special freight handling.  As consideration for the purchase, which was effective as of March 1, 2004, the Company paid $3,500,000 in cash, financed through its revolving credit agreement, and 630,915 shares of the Company’s common stock which had a value of $2,000,000 on the date of the transaction.  The common shares issued in the transaction were subject to a one-year restriction on sale and were subject to a pro rata forfeiture based upon a formula that compares the actual pre-tax income of Shaanxi through December 31, 2004 with the targeted level of income of $4,000,000 (on an annualized basis).  Also, if the trading price of the Company’s common stock was less than $3.17 per share at the end of the one-year restriction, the Company could issue up to 169,085 additional shares to the seller.  Because the common shares issued in connection with this transaction were subject to forfeiture, they were accounted for as contingent consideration.  Based upon the actual pre-tax income through December 31, 2004, the seller forfeited 37,731 shares of common stock. As provided for in the purchase agreement, the amount of $119,608, which represents the original fair value of the forfeited shares at the date of acquisition, will be added ratably to the future earn-outs.  Because the quoted market price of the Company’s common stock was less than $3.17 on February 9, 2005, the Company issued 158,973 additional shares of its common stock.  As of February 9, 2005, the Company had issued 752,157 shares of its common stock in connection with this transaction.  The Company recorded additional goodwill amounting to $752,157 in the first quarter of 2005. The seller may receive additional consideration of up to $5,619,608 under an earn-out arrangement payable at the rate of $1,100,000 in the first year and $1,129,902 per year over the next four years based on the future financial performance of Shaanxi.

 

In addition, the Company agreed to pay the seller 55% of Shaanxi’s accounts receivable balances, net of assumed liabilities, existing on the date of acquisition realized in cash within 180 days following the acquisition with a targeted distribution date in August 2004.  Effective September 20, 2004, the Company amended the purchase agreement for a change in the settlement date from August 2004 to an initial payment of $1,045,000 on or before November 15, 2004, and the final payment of $868,000 on or before March 31, 2005.  The amendment also fixed the date of distribution for collections in cash after the initial 180 day working capital assessment period from being due when collected to March 31, 2005. On March 21, 2005, the Company and the seller entered into a financing arrangement whereby the amount due on March 31, 2005 was extended to March 31, 2006 through the execution of a note between the seller and the Company with interest at 10% per annum.  The note balance of $1,897,539 is classified in current liabilities under the caption note payable in the consolidated balance sheet at September 30, 2005.  The note was included in other long-term liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2004.

 

The acquisition, which significantly enhances the Company’s presence in the region, was accounted for as a purchase and accordingly, the results of operations and cash flows of Shaanxi have been included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements prospectively from the date of acquisition.  Because the Company consolidates its foreign subsidiaries on a one-month lag, such information has been reflected in the consolidated statement of operations effective for periods subsequent to April 1, 2004.  The total purchase price, including acquisition expenses of $269,000, was $7,402,000.  The following table

 

6



 

summarizes the allocation of the purchase price based on the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed (in thousands):

 

Current assets

 

$

15,090

 

Furniture and equipment

 

157

 

Goodwill

 

2,913

 

Other intangible assets

 

1,453

 

Total assets acquired

 

19,613

 

Current liabilities assumed

 

(9,727

)

Minority interest

 

(2,484

)

 

 

 

 

Net assets acquired

 

$

7,402

 

 

The acquired intangible assets have a weighted average life of 6.6 years.  The intangible assets include a customer related intangible of $1,112,100 with a 7.1 year life and a covenant-not-to-compete of $341,000 with a five year life.  The $2,913,300 of goodwill was assigned to the Company’s International Services business unit and is not deductible for income tax purposes.

 

The following unaudited pro forma information for the nine months ended September 30, 2004 is presented as if the acquisition of Shaanxi had occurred on December 1, 2003, using the one month lag consolidation policy (in thousands, except earnings per share):

 

 

 

Nine months ending
September 30, 2004

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenue

 

$

280,961

 

Net loss

 

(6,275

)

Loss per share:

 

 

 

Basic and diluted

 

$

(0.15

)

 

(6)                                 Acquired Intangible Assets

 

Information with respect to acquired intangible assets is as follows:

 

 

 

September 30, 2005

 

December 31, 2004

 

 

 

Gross
Carrying
Amount

 

Accumulated
Amortization

 

Gross
Carrying
Amount

 

Accumulated
Amortization

 

Amortizable intangible assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Customer related

 

$

11,042,100

 

$

6,062,418

 

$

11,042,100

 

$

4,813,229

 

Covenants-not-to-compete

 

1,506,000

 

853,318

 

1,506,000

 

654,885

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

$

12,548,100

 

$

6,915,736

 

$

12,548,100

 

$

5,468,114

 

 

Aggregate amortization expense:

 

For the three-months ended September 30, 2005

 

$

454,706

 

For the three-months ended September 30, 2004

 

584,614

 

For the nine-months ended September 30, 2005

 

1,438,659

 

For the nine-months ended September 30, 2004

 

1,707,234

 

 

7



 

Estimated aggregate amortization expense:

 

For the remainder of the year ended December 31, 2005

 

$

420,000

 

For the year ended December 31, 2006

 

1,547,000

 

For the year ended December 31, 2007

 

1,254,000

 

For the year ended December 31, 2008

 

931,000

 

For the year ended December 31, 2009

 

607,000

 

For the year ended December 31, 2010

 

482,000

 

 

(7)                                 Revolving Credit Facilities

 

U.S. Credit Facility

 

On August 31, 2005, the Company entered into several agreements with Laurus Master Fund, Inc. (“Laurus”), to provide a new $25,000,000 U.S. revolving credit facility (“U.S. Facility”) which replaced its previous revolving credit facility held by Zohar II 2005-1, Limited, an affiliate of Patriarch Partners, LLC (“Patriarch”).  In connection with establishing the U.S. Facility with Laurus, the Company entered into two principal borrowing agreements and a warrant agreement, the terms of which are as follows:

 

Secured Convertible Minimum Borrowing Note (“Minimum Borrowing Note”) – The Minimum Borrowing Note has a principal amount of $10,000,000, has a three-year term expiring August 31, 2008 and bears interest at prime plus 1% subject to a minimum interest rate of 5.5%.  The Minimum Borrowing Note is convertible into the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $1.08 per share subject to customary antidilution adjustments.  A total of 9,259,259 shares of the Company’s common stock would be issued upon the full conversion of the principal of the Minimum Borrowing Note.  Assuming the Company has registered the shares necessary to complete the full conversion of the Minimum Borrowing Note, and if the market price of the Company’s common stock for the last five trading dates of any month exceeds the conversion price of $1.08 per share by 25%, then the interest rate for the next month will be reduced by 200 basis points for each incremental 25% increase in market price above $1.08.

 

In the event that the Minimum Borrowing Note has been converted in full into the Company’s common stock and there remains at least $11,000,000 outstanding under the U.S. Facility, then a new Minimum Borrowing Note will be issued.  The terms of the new Minimum Borrowing Note would be the same as the initial note except for the conversion price, which would be 115% of the average closing price of the Company’s common stock for the ten trading days immediately prior to the date of the issuance of a new Minimum Borrowing Note, but in no event greater than 120% of the closing price of the Company’s common stock on such date.

 

Secured Revolving Note (“Revolving Note”) – The Revolving Note covers borrowing outstanding under the facility that are not represented by the Minimum Borrowing Note.  The Revolving Note has a three-year term expiring August 31, 2008 and bears interest at prime plus 3.5% subject to a floor of 8.0% and prepayment premiums of 3% in the first year, 2% in the second year, and 1% in the third year of the Revolving Note.

 

Common Stock Purchase Warrants (“Warrant”) – The Warrant entitles Laurus to purchase 2,500,000 shares of the Company’s common stock for a period of five years, at an exercise price that varies with the number of shares purchased under the Warrant.  The exercise price is $1.13 for the first 900,000 shares, $1.41 for the next 700,000 shares, $4.70 for the next 450,000 shares and $7.52 for the remaining 450,000 shares.  The Warrants were recorded at their fair value of $1,293,721, as measured using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model.  The Warrants are included in other assets on the consolidated balance sheet and are being amortized to interest expense over the three-year term of the Facility on a straight line-basis.

 

The level of eligible accounts receivable of the Company limits the amounts available to be borrowed under the Minimum Borrowing Note and Revolving Note.  The U.S. Facility generally provides for an advance rate of 90% of eligible accounts receivable.  The U.S. Facility does not contain financial covenants

 

8



 

although it does have affirmative and negative covenants, including the requirement for consent from the lender for certain actions, including future acquisitions, the payment of cash dividends or a merger.  The Minimum Borrowing Note and Revolving Note are further secured by a global security interest in substantially all the assets of the Company’s domestic subsidiaries, excluding any stock held in a foreign subsidiary.

 

To complete the transaction, the Company paid a loan fee to Laurus of $875,000, which is included in other assets and is being amortized to expense over the term of the facility.  Additionally, prepayment fees due upon early termination of the previous domestic credit facility and expensing of previously capitalized loan issue costs resulted in a charge of $911,998 being recorded during the three-months ended September 30, 2005.

 

As of September 30, 2005, the Company had $10,000,000 outstanding under Minimum Borrowing Note and $7,916,269 outstanding under the Revolving Note.  Based on the level of eligible receivables there was additional borrowing availability of $2,080,000 under the Revolving Note.

 

In April and May 2005, the Company had amended its previous credit facility to assign the facility’s interest to Patriarch in addition to making changes to other key terms, including changes to certain restrictive covenants.  As noted above, the agreement with Laurus replaced this amended facility.

 

Offshore Credit Facility

 

In October, 2004, a subsidiary of the Company, Stonepath Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited (“Asia Holdings”) entered into a Term Credit Agreement with Hong Kong League Central Credit Union (the “Lender”) and SBI Advisors, LLC, as agent for the Lender.  The Term Credit Agreement provided Asia Holdings with the right to borrow an initial amount of $3,000,000 and up to an additional $7,000,000 upon the satisfaction of certain conditions.  Asia Holdings borrowed $3,000,000 on November 4, 2004 and $2,000,000 on February 16, 2005.  The borrowings under the Term Credit Agreement were secured by floating charges on the foreign accounts receivable of three of its subsidiaries, Planet Logistics Express (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., G-Link Express (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., and Stonepath Logistics (Hong Kong) Limited.  All borrowings under the Term Credit Agreement bore interest at an annual rates of between 12% and 15% and were to be repaid on or before November 4, 2005.  Stonepath Group, Inc. has guaranteed the obligations of Asia Holdings under the Term Credit Agreement.  The outstanding balance on the Term Credit Agreement was $5,000,000 at September 30, 2005.

 

On October 26, 2005 the Company exchanged $3,000,000 of principal outstanding under the Term Credit Agreement for 30,000 newly issued preferred shares of Asia Holdings and extended the maturity date for the repayment of $1,000,000 of the remaining $2,000,000 outstanding principal under the Term Credit Agreement to November 4, 2007.  The preferred shares are convertible into the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $1.08 per share.  Dividends on the preferred shares accumulate at a rate of 12% payable monthly in cash or, at the option of the Company, payable in additional preferred shares.  A total of 2,777,778 shares of the Company’s common stock would be issued upon the full conversion of the preferred shares, assuming dividends are paid in cash.  The remaining $1,000,000 due under the Term Credit Agreement would be unsecured, bear interest at an annual rate of 12%, and previous security provided through floating rate charges would be released.  No additional borrowing availability exists under the Term Credit Agreement.  The Company also issued warrants to the Lender entitling the holders to purchase 277,778 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $1.13 for a period of four years.  The Company does not anticipate that these warrants will have a material affect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations at the time of issuance.

 

(8)                                 Commitments and Contingencies

 

The Company was named as a defendant in eight purported class action complaints filed in the United States Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania between September 24, 2004 and November 19, 2004. Also named as defendants in these lawsuits were officers Dennis L. Pelino and Thomas L. Scully and former officer Bohn H. Crain.  These cases were consolidated for all purposes in that Court under the caption In re Stonepath Group, Inc. Securities Litigation, Civ. Action No. 04-4515 and the lead plaintiff, Globis Capital Partners, LP, filed an amended complaint in February 2005. The lead plaintiff seeks to

 

9



 

represent a class of purchasers of the Company’s shares between March 29, 2002 and September 20, 2004, and alleges claims for securities fraud under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These claims were based upon the allegation that certain public statements made during the period from March 29, 2002 through September 20, 2004 were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose that the Company’s Domestic Services operations had improperly accounted for accrued purchased transportation costs.  The plaintiffs sought compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and further relief as may be determined by the Court.  The Company and the individual defendants believe that this action was without merit, have filed a motion to dismiss this action and intend to vigorously defend against the claims raised in this action.  On October 27, 2005, the Court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s complaint with leave to file an amended complaint.

 

The Company was named as a nominal defendant in a shareholder derivative action on behalf of the Company that was filed on October 12, 2004 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania under the caption Ronald Jeffrey Neer v. Dennis L. Pelino, et al., Civ. A. No. 04-cv-4971.  Also named as defendants in the action were all of the individuals who were serving as directors of the Company when the complaint was filed (Dennis L. Pelino, J. Douglas Coates, Robert McCord, David R. Jones, Aloysius T. Lawn and John H. Springer), former directors Andrew Panzo, Lee C. Hansen, Darr Aley, Stephen George, Michela O’Connor-Abrams and Frank Palma, officer Thomas L. Scully and former officers Bohn H. Crain and Stephen M. Cohen. The derivative action alleged breach of fiduciary duty, abuse of control, gross mismanagement, waste of corporate assets, unjust enrichment and violations of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.  These claims were based upon the allegation that the defendants knew or should have known that the Company’s public filings for fiscal years 2001, 2002 and 2003 and for the first and second quarters of fiscal year 2004, and certain press releases and public statements made during the period from January 1, 2001 through August 9, 2004, were materially misleading.  The complaint alleged that the statements were materially misleading because they understated the Company’s accrued purchase transportation liability and related costs of transportation in violation of generally accepted accounting principles and they failed to disclose that the Company lacked internal controls.  The derivative action sought compensatory damages in favor of the Company, attorneys’ fees and costs, and further relief as may be determined by the Court.  The Court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss this action on September 27, 2005 and the plaintiff has filed a notice of appeal on October 26, 2005.  The Company and the individual defendants believe that the action was without merit and intend to vigorously defend against the claims raised in this action.

 

On October 22, 2004, Douglas Burke filed a two-count action against United American Acquisitions, Inc. (“UAF”), Stonepath Logistics Domestic Services, Inc., and the Company in the Circuit Court for Wayne County, Michigan. Mr. Burke is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of UAF. The Company purchased the stock of UAF from Mr. Burke on May 30, 2002 pursuant to a Stock Purchase Agreement.  At the closing of the transaction Mr. Burke received $5.1 million and received the right to receive an additional $11.0 million in four annual installments based upon UAF’s performance in accordance with the Stock Purchase Agreement.  Subject to the purchase, Stonepath Logistics Domestic Services, Inc. and Mr. Burke entered into an Employment Agreement.  Mr. Burke’s complaint alleges that the defendants breached the terms of the Employment Agreement and Stock Purchase Agreement and seeks, among other things, the production of financial information, unspecified damages, attorney’s fees and interest.  In early October 2005, the Wayne County Circuit Court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit and to compel arbitration.  The court ordered, and the parties agreed, to submit the issues concerning the plaintiff’s objections regarding the earn-out calculation under the Stock Purchase Agreement to a national accounting firm and to submit plaintiff’s claim relating to the Employment Agreement and defendant’s counterclaims to a different neutral arbitrator.  The defendants believe that Mr. Burke’s claims are without merit and intend to vigorously defend against them.  In addition, the Company is seeking $456,000 in excess earn-out payments that were paid to Mr. Burke.

 

The Company has received notice that the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) is conducting an informal inquiry to determine whether certain provisions of the federal securities laws have been violated in connection with the Company’s accounting and financial reporting in connection with the restatement of the Company’s financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2001, 2002 and 2003 and the first two quarters of 2004.  As part of the inquiry, the staff of the Commission has requested information relating to the restatement amounts, personnel at the Air Plus subsidiary and Stonepath Group,

 

10



 

Inc. and additional background information for the period from October 5, 2001 to December 2, 2004. The Company is voluntarily cooperating with the staff.

 

The Company is not able to predict the outcome of any of the foregoing actions at this time, since each action is in an early stage.  An adverse determination in any of those actions could have a material and adverse effect on the Company’s financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows.

 

The Company is also involved in various other claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business.  In the opinion of management, the ultimate disposition of those matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity. No accruals have been established for any pending legal proceedings.

 

(9)                                 Stockholders’ Equity

 

In connection with the December 2003 acquisition of the Malaysia operations of the G Link Group, the Company agreed to pay $102,000, as additional consideration on a post-closing basis, for net assets acquired amounting to $102,000 through the issuance of common stock.  In May 2005, 41,757 shares of the Company’s common stock were issued to complete this transaction.

 

In connection with the Shaanxi acquisition, as of February 9, 2005 the Company had issued 752,157 shares of its common stock.  Because the ultimate number of shares issued in connection with the transaction were contingent on the financial performance of Shaanxi through December 31, 2004, and the trading price of the Company’s common stock on February 9, 2005, such shares were not reflected as outstanding securities in the accompanying consolidated financial statements for periods prior to February 9, 2005.  As discussed in Note (5), 630,915 shares were originally designated for issuance with this transaction as of the date of acquisition and 121,242 shares were issued upon ultimate completion of all contingent matters.

 

Stock option activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2005 included the grant to an employee of 30,000 options to purchase common shares at a price of $0.70 per share.  The option price was the trading price of the Company’s common stock on the date of the grant.  Additionally, 467,406 options were cancelled during the first nine-months of 2005.

 

As discussed in Note (7), in connection with entering into a new loan facility, 2,500,000 warrants were issued on August 31, 2005 at various exercise prices between $1.13 and $7.52 per share and were recorded at a fair value of $1,293,721.  Additionally, 1,208,784 warrants expired during the first nine-months of 2005 relating to warrants issued prior to 2005.

 

On April 29, 2005, 79,016 shares of common stock were issued to satisfy obligations to employees under the Company’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

 

During the nine-month period ended September 30, 2004, holders converted 149,293 shares of the Company’s Series D Preferred Stock into 1,492,930 shares of the Company’s common stock.

 

(10)                           Earnings (Loss) per Share

 

Basic earnings (loss) per common share and diluted earnings (loss) per common share are presented in accordance with SFAS No. 128, “Earnings per Share.” Basic earnings (loss) per common share has been computed using the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period.  Diluted earnings (loss) per common share incorporates the incremental shares issuable upon the assumed exercise of stock options, warrants and convertible securities if dilutive.  Dilutive shares for the three-month period ended September 30, 2004 were 4,420,684.  The inclusion of these dilutive shares did not cause diluted earnings per share to differ from basic earnings per share for this period.  Certain stock options, warrants and convertible securities were excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings (loss) per common share because their effect was antidilutive.  The total number of such shares excluded from diluted earnings (loss) per common share are 12,892,847 and 9,628,684 for the three-month periods ended September 30, 2005 and 2004, respectively and 11,463,372 and 8,777,902 for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2005 and 2004, respectively.

 

11



 

Also, the 630,915 shares of common stock issued in connection with the Shaanxi acquisition were subject to pro rata forfeiture based upon the financial performance of Shaanxi through December 31, 2004.  Accordingly, such shares have been excluded from the calculation of basic and diluted loss per common share for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2004.

 

(11)                           Income Taxes

 

The components of income tax expense consist of the following:

 

 

 

Three months ended September 30,

 

Nine months ended September 30,

 

 

 

2005

 

2004

 

2005

 

2004

 

U.S. federal

 

$

155,400

 

$

105,200

 

$

466,200

 

$

315,600

 

State

 

37,505

 

76,137

 

156,999

 

156,737

 

Foreign

 

288,111

 

782,724

 

1,065,494

 

1,135,195

 

 

 

$

481,016

 

$

964,061

 

$

1,688,693

 

$

1,607,532

 

 

The Company has accumulated net operating losses (NOLs).  Due to the uncertainty surrounding the realization of the NOLs, the Company has placed a valuation allowance on its deferred tax assets.  Income tax expense for the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2005 and 2004 resulted primarily from non-U.S.-based earnings, state income taxes and deferred income taxes arising from the amortization of goodwill for income tax purposes.

 

(12)                           Related Party Transactions

 

The Company, through its Shaanxi subsidiary, advanced $416,000 to the principal minority shareholder of Shaanxi, who is also a current officer.  The advance is repayable, at the Company’s option, in cash or by the contribution to Shaanxi of 100% of the stock in a newly opened Taiwan logistics company currently owned by that individual.  The Company has a note payable outstanding to this minority shareholder amounting to $1,897,539 in connection with the acquisition of Shaanxi as discussed in Note 5.

 

(13)                           Segment Information

 

SFAS No. 131, “Disclosures About Segments of an Enterprise and Related Information,” established standards for reporting information about operating segments in financial statements.  Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise engaging in business activities about which separate financial information is available that is evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision maker or group in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance.  The Company identifies operating segments based on the principal service provided by the business unit.  Each segment has a separate management structure.  The accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004.  Segment information, in which corporate expenses have been fully allocated to the operating segments, is as follows (in thousands):

 

 

 

Three months ended September 30, 2005

 

 

 

Domestic
Services

 

International
Services

 

Corporate

 

Total

 

Revenue from external customers

 

$

29,672

 

$

81,640

 

$

 

$

111,312

 

Intersegment revenue

 

100

 

55

 

 

155

 

Segment operating income

 

1,036

 

1,349

 

 

2,385

 

 

 

 

Three months ended September 30, 2004

 

 

 

Domestic
Services

 

International
Services

 

Corporate

 

Total

 

Revenue from external customers

 

$

37,822

 

$

71,889

 

$

 

$

109,711

 

Intersegment revenue

 

4

 

123

 

 

127

 

Segment operating income (loss)

 

(823

)

2,648

 

 

1,825

 

 

12



 

 

 

Nine months ended September 30, 2005

 

 

 

Domestic
Services

 

International
Services

 

Corporate

 

Total

 

Revenue from external customers

 

$

91,608

 

$

209,720

 

$

 

$

301,328

 

Intersegment revenue

 

175

 

162

 

 

337

 

Segment operating income (loss)

 

(4,862

)

2,170

 

 

(2,694

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Segment assets

 

40,177

 

90,614

 

5,891

 

136,682

 

Segment goodwill

 

19,731

 

20,849

 

 

40,580

 

 

 

 

Nine months ended September 30, 2004

 

 

 

Domestic
Services

 

International
Services

 

Corporate

 

Total

 

Revenue from external customers

 

$

105,685

 

$

150,720

 

$

 

$

256,405

 

Intersegment revenue

 

14

 

217

 

 

231

 

Segment operating income (loss)

 

(4,816

)

3,973

 

 

(844

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Segment assets

 

43,642

 

68,941

 

12,086

 

124,669

 

Segment goodwill

 

19,641

 

14,823

 

 

34,464

 

 

The revenue in the table below is allocated to geographic areas based upon the location of the customer (in thousands):

 

 

 

Three months ended September 30,

 

Nine months ended September 30,

 

 

 

2005

 

2004

 

2005

 

2004

 

Total revenue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

$

57,930

 

$

70,285

 

$

170,974

 

$

178,281

 

Asia

 

49,239

 

35,815

 

118,331

 

65,761

 

North America
(excluding the United States)

 

97

 

190

 

350

 

1,128

 

Europe

 

2,020

 

2,051

 

5,686

 

5,900

 

South America

 

1,236

 

807

 

4,149

 

2,697

 

Other

 

790

 

563

 

1,838

 

2,638

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

$

111,312

 

$

109,711

 

$

301,328

 

$

256,405

 

 

The following table presents long-lived assets by geographic area (in thousands):

 

 

 

September 30,

 

 

 

2005

 

2004

 

United States

 

$

5,965

 

$

10,106

 

Asia

 

771

 

663

 

South America

 

112

 

114

 

Europe

 

14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total long-lived assets

 

$

6,862

 

$

10,883

 

 

Cash held with foreign banks amounted to $5,607,000 at September 30, 2005.

 

13



 

Item 2.  Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 

Cautionary Statement For Forward-Looking Statements

 

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, regarding future results, levels of activity, events, trends or plans.  We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about such future results, levels of activity, events, trends or plans.  These forward-looking statements are not guarantees and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, events, trends or plans to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, events, trends or plans expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions.  While it is impossible to identify all of the factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, events, trends or plans to differ materially from those set forth in such forward-looking statements, such factors include the inherent risks associated with:  (i) our ability to sustain an annual growth rate in revenue consistent with recent results, (ii) our ability to achieve our targeted operating margins, (iii) our ability to realize the planned benefits from our restructuring efforts, (iv) our dependence on certain large customers, (v) our dependence upon certain key personnel, (vi) an unexpected adverse result in any legal proceeding, (vii) competition in the freight forwarding, logistics and supply chain management industry, (viii) the impact of current and future laws affecting the Company’s operations, (ix) adverse changes in general economic conditions as well as economic conditions affecting the specific industries and customers we serve, (x) regional disruptions in transportation, and (xi) other factors which are or may be identified from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and other public announcements.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made.  We undertake no obligation to publicly release the result of any revision of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

 

OVERVIEW

 

We are a non-asset based third-party logistics services company providing supply chain solutions on a global basis.  We offer a full range of time-definite transportation and distribution solutions through our Domestic Services platform, where we manage and arrange the movement of raw materials, supplies, components and finished goods for our customers.  These services are offered through our domestic air and ground freight forwarding business.  We also offer a full range of international logistics services, including international air and ocean transportation as well as customs house brokerage services, through our International Services platform.  In addition to these core services, we provide a broad range of value-added supply chain management services, including warehousing, order fulfillment and inventory management solutions.  We serve a customer base of manufacturers, distributors and national retail chains through a network of offices in 22 major metropolitan areas in North America, Puerto Rico, 17 locations in Asia, six locations in Brazil and one location in Europe, as well as an extensive network of independent carriers and service partners strategically located around the world.

 

Our objective is to build a leading global logistics services organization that integrates established operating businesses and innovative technologies.  To that end, we are extending our network through a combination of synergistic acquisitions and the organic expansion of our existing base of operations.

 

Our acquisition strategy focuses on acquiring and integrating logistics businesses that will enhance operations within our current market areas as well as extend our network to targeted locations in Asia, South America, Europe and the Middle East.  We select acquisition targets based upon their ability to demonstrate: (1) historic levels of profitability; (2) a proven record of delivering superior time-definite distribution and other value-added services; (3) an established customer base of large and mid-sized companies; and (4) opportunities for significant growth within strategic segments of our business.

 

As we integrate these companies, we intend to create additional stockholder value by: (1) improving productivity by adopting enhanced technologies and business processes; (2) improving transportation margins by leveraging our growing purchasing power; (3) enhancing the opportunity for organic growth by cross-selling and offering expanded services; and (4) implementing standard management reporting systems.

 

14



 

We have completed, to date, the acquisition of 16 logistics companies and are currently working to improve profitability by further consolidating and rationalizing our facilities and personnel within the U.S.  Our existing domestic credit facility requires the lender’s consent for further acquisitions.  If and when our acquisition program is resumed, we do not expect it to continue at its historic pace because of our desire to optimize and fully integrate new acquisitions into our existing facilities, personnel and services.

 

Our strategy is designed to take advantage of shifting market dynamics.  The third-party logistics industry continues to grow as an increasing number of businesses outsource their logistics functions to more cost effectively manage and extract value from their supply chains.  Also, we believe the industry is positioned for further consolidation since it remains highly fragmented, and since customers are demanding the types of sophisticated and broad reaching services that can more effectively be handled by larger and more diverse organizations.

 

Our principal source of income is derived from freight forwarding services.  As a freight forwarder, we arrange for the shipment of our customers’ freight from point of origin to point of destination.  Generally, we quote our customers a turn key cost for the movement of their freight.  Our price quote will often depend upon the customer’s time-definite needs (next day through fifth day delivery), special handling needs (heavy equipment, delicate items, environmentally sensitive goods, electronic components, etc.) and the means of transport (truck, air, ocean or rail).  In turn, we assume the responsibility for arranging and paying for the underlying means of transportation.

 

We also provide a range of other services including customs brokerage, warehousing and other value added services, which include customized distribution, fulfillment, and other value added supply chain services.

 

Total revenue represents the total dollar value of services we sell to our customers.  Our cost of transportation includes direct costs of transportation, including motor carrier, air, ocean and rail services.  We act principally as the service provider to add value in the execution and procurement of these services to our customers.  Our net transportation revenue (gross transportation revenue less the direct cost of transportation) is the primary indicator of our ability to source, add value and resell services provided by third parties, and is considered by management to be a key performance measure.  We believe that net revenue is also an important measure of economic performance.  Net revenue includes transportation revenue and our fee-based activities, after recognizing the cost of transportation.  In addition, management believes measuring its operating costs as a function of net revenue provides a useful metric, as our ability to control costs as a function of net revenue directly impacts operating earnings.

 

A majority of our revenue is derived from our international operations, and the growth of those operations is an important part of our business strategy.  Our current international operations are focused principally on the shipment of goods into and out of the United States and Asia and are dependent on the volume of international trade with the United States.  Our strategic plan contemplates the growth of those operations, as well as the expansion into the transportation of goods wholly outside of the United States.  The following factors could adversely affect our current international operations, as well as the growth of those operations:

 

                  the political and economic systems in certain international markets are less stable than in the United States;

 

                  wars, civil unrest, acts of terrorism and other conflicts exist in certain international markets;

 

                  export restrictions, tariffs, licenses and other trade barriers can adversely affect the international trade serviced by our international operations;

 

                  managing distant operations with different local market conditions and practices is more difficult than managing domestic operations;

 

                  differing technology standards in other countries present difficulties and expense in integrating our services across international markets;

 

                  complex foreign laws and treaties can adversely affect our ability to compete; and

 

                  our ability to repatriate funds may be limited by foreign exchange controls.

 

15



 

Our operating results will be affected as acquisitions occur.  Since all acquisitions are made using the purchase method of accounting for business combinations, our consolidated financial statements will only include the results of operations and cash flows of acquired companies for periods subsequent to the dates of acquisition.  To help facilitate the consolidation, analysis and public reporting process, our offshore operations are included within our consolidated results on a one-month lag, as such, our third quarter includes results from our offshore operations for the period June 1 through August 31.  As a result of the one-month lag, the operating results of Shaanxi were first reflected in our consolidated financial statements beginning in April 2004.

 

Our net income will also be affected by non-cash charges relating to the amortization of customer-related intangible assets and other intangible assets arising from our completed acquisitions.  Under applicable accounting standards, purchasers are required to allocate the total consideration in a business combination to the identified assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their fair values at the time of acquisition.  The excess of the consideration paid over the fair value of the identifiable net assets acquired is to be allocated to goodwill, which is tested at least annually for impairment.  Applicable accounting standards require the Company to separately account for and value certain identifiable intangible assets based on the unique facts and circumstances of each acquisition.  As a result of the Company’s acquisition strategy, our net income will include material non-cash charges relating to the amortization of customer related intangible assets and other intangible assets acquired in our acquisitions.

 

Our operating results are also subject to seasonal trends when measured on a quarterly basis.  Our first and second quarters are likely to be weaker as compared with our other fiscal quarters, which we believe is consistent with the operating results of other supply chain service providers.  This trend is dependent on numerous factors, including the markets in which we operate, holiday seasons, consumer demand and economic conditions.  Since our revenue is largely derived from customers whose shipments are dependent upon consumer demand and just-in-time production schedules, the timing of our revenue is often beyond our control.  Factors such as shifting demand for retail goods and/or manufacturing production delays could unexpectedly affect the timing of our revenue.  As we increase the scale of our operations, seasonal trends in one area may be offset to an extent by opposite trends in another area.  We cannot accurately predict the timing of these factors, nor can we accurately estimate the impact of any particular factor, and thus we can give no assurance that historical seasonal patterns will continue in future periods.

 

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

Our accounting policies, which are in compliance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, require us to apply methodologies, estimates and judgments that have a significant impact on the results we report in our financial statements.  In our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 we have discussed those policies that we believe are critical and require the use of complex judgment in their application.  Since December 31, 2004, there have been no material changes to our critical accounting policies.

 

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

Quarter ended September 30, 2005 compared to quarter ended September30, 2004

 

The following table summarizes our total revenue, net transportation revenue and other revenue (in thousands):

 

16



 

 

 

Quarter ended September 30,

 

Change

 

 

 

2005

 

2004

 

Amount

 

Percentage

 

Total revenue

 

$

111,312

 

$

109,711

 

$

1,601

 

1.5

%

Transportation revenue

 

$

105,380

 

$

103,999

 

1,381

 

1.3

 

Cost of transportation

 

87,971

 

84,638

 

3,333

 

3.9

 

Net transportation revenue

 

17,409

 

19,361

 

(1,952

)

(10.1

)

Net transportation margin

 

16.5

%

18.6

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Customs brokerage

 

1,889

 

1,683

 

206

 

12.2

 

Warehousing and other value added services

 

4,042

 

4,029

 

13

 

0.3

 

Total net revenue

 

$

23,340

 

$

25,073

 

$

(1,733

)

(6.9

)%

Net revenue margin

 

21.0

%

22.9

%

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenue was $111.3 million in the third quarter of 2005, an increase of 1.5% or $1.6 million over total revenue of $109.7 million in the third quarter of 2004.  There were no domestic or international acquisitions in 2005 or 2004 affecting the quarterly comparability of year over year results.  The Domestic Services platform recorded $29.7 million in total revenue for the third quarter of 2005, a decline of $8.2 million or 21.7% compared to $37.9 million recorded in the same period of 2004.  The decline in Domestic Services total revenue was due to lower automotive related business caused by the difficult economic conditions of domestic automobile manufacturers and reduced volume from a major customer.  The decline in revenue from this major customer, which was approximately $7.2 million less in the third quarter of 2005 than was recorded in the third quarter of 2004, resulted from the customer selling a line of business we serviced and realigning a distribution program to an in-house operation.  The International Services platform recognized $81.6 million in total revenue for the third quarter of 2005, a year over year improvement of $9.8 million or 13.7%. International Services experienced a strong revenue increase in its Asia businesses, which offset a decline of $2.4 million in its U.S. recorded international revenues during the third quarter. The revenue increase in the third quarter was achieved despite a labor strike at the primary carrier that services our China operations and resulted in certain volumes being diverted to other freight forwarders. Growth is attributable to increases in volume from existing customers and development of new customer relationships.

 

Net transportation revenue was $17.4 million in the third quarter of 2005, a decrease of 10.1% compared to net transportation revenue of $19.4 million in the third quarter of 2004.  The Domestic Services platform recorded $8.0 million in net transportation revenue for the third quarter of 2005, a decrease of $0.9 million or 9.9% over the same prior year period.  The International Services platform recognized $9.4 million in net transportation revenue for the third quarter of 2005, a year over year decline of $1.1 million or 10.3%. We estimate this negative impact of the strike on our net transportation revenue to be $750,000 in the third quarter of 2005.

 

Net transportation margins decreased to 16.5% for the third quarter of 2005 from 18.6% for the third quarter of 2004.  For the third quarter of 2005, net transportation margins for the Domestic Services platform increased to 30.6% from 25.8% in the same period in 2004. Domestic margins were favorably impacted by price increases implemented during the first nine months of 2005 and reductions of less profitable business. For the International Services platform, net transportation margins declined to 11.8% in the third quarter of 2005 from 15.0% in the same period in 2004. The decline in International Services margin was attributable to several factors, including higher costs resulting from a labor strike at an airline that provides significant lift capacity for our Asia export business.  While we continued to service business through the time of the strike, we were forced to pay higher airline rates which couldn’t be fully recovered from our customers. Further, our margins on new and existing business tend to be lower due to competitive pricing pressures.

 

Net revenue was $23.3 million in the third quarter of 2005, a decrease of 6.9% over net revenue of $25.1 million in the third quarter of 2005. The Domestic Services platform delivered $11.3 million in net revenue for the third quarter of 2005, a 7.3% decline compared to the $12.3 million in net revenue recorded in the third quarter of 2004.  The International Services platform delivered $12.0 million in net revenue for the third quarter of 2005, a year over year decline of $0.8 million or 6.5%.

 

17



 

Net revenue margins decreased to 21.0% for the third quarter of 2005 compared to 22.9% for the same prior year period.  Net revenue margins for Domestic Services improved to 38.3% from 32.3%.  For the International Services platform, net transportation margins declined to 14.7% from 17.9%.

 

The following table compares certain consolidated statement of operations data as a percentage of our net revenue (in thousands):

 

 

 

Quarter ended September 30,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2005

 

2004

 

Change

 

 

 

Amount

 

Percent

 

Amount

 

Percent

 

Amount

 

Percent

 

Net revenue

 

$

23,340

 

100.0

%

$

25,073

 

100.0

%

$

(1,733

)

(6.9

)%

Personnel costs

 

11,805

 

50.6

 

13,600

 

54.3

 

(1,795

)

(13.2

)

Other selling, general and administrative costs

 

7,986

 

34.2

 

8,608

 

34.3

 

(622

)

(7.2

)

Depreciation and amortization

 

1,164

 

5.0

 

1,040

 

4.1

 

124

 

11.9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total operating costs

 

20,955

 

89.8

 

23,248

 

92.7

 

(2,293

)

(9.9

)

Income from operations

 

2,385

 

10.2

 

1,825

 

7.3

 

(560

)

(30.7

)

Loan refinancing costs

 

(912

)

(3.9

)

 

 

(912

)

NM

 

Other income (expense), net

 

(875

)

(3.7

)

(209

)

(0.9

)

(666

)

NM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income from continuing operations before income tax expense and minority interest

 

598

 

2.6

 

1,616

 

6.4

 

(1,018

)

(63.0

)

Income tax expense

 

481

 

2.1

 

964

 

3.8

 

(483

)

(50.1

)

Income from continuing operations before minority interest

 

117

 

0.5

 

652

 

2.6

 

(535

)

(82.1

)

Minority interest

 

297

 

1.3

 

546

 

2.2

 

(249

)

(45.8

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income (loss) from continuing operations

 

(180

)

(0.8

)

106

 

0.4

 

(286

)

NM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax

 

 

 

(50

)

(0.2

)

50

 

NM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

 

$

(180

)

(0.8%

)

$

56

 

0.2

%

$

(236

)

NM

 

 

Personnel costs were $11.8 million for the third quarter of 2005, a decrease of 13.2% from $13.6 million recorded in the third quarter of 2004.  The decrease in personnel costs is attributable to lower U.S. personnel costs and lower temporary labor requirements to support Domestic Services business.  This decrease was offset by additional costs incurred to support new International Services business. Personnel costs as a percentage of net revenue decreased to 50.6% in the third quarter of 2005 from 54.3% in the third quarter of 2004.  Compared to September 30, 2004, headcount decreased by 5.0% or 59 employees to a total of 1,119.  Headcount has also decreased 4.3% or 50 employees since December 31, 2004.  We have been aggressively rationalizing our U.S. operations, including our employment level, as part of our previously announced restructuring program.

 

Other selling, general and administrative costs were $8.0 million for the third quarter of 2005, a decrease of 7.2% compared to $8.6 million recorded in the third quarter of 2004.  This decrease is primarily due to lower facilities, equipment, and continued management focus on lowering costs to improve profitability.  As a percentage of net revenue, other selling, general and administrative costs decreased to 34.2% in the third quarter of 2005 from 34.3% in the third quarter of 2004.

 

Depreciation and amortization was $1.2 million in the third quarter of 2005, compared to $1.0 million recorded in the third quarter of 2004.  Higher depreciation levels are primarily due to increases in technology related capital expenditures for information systems placed in service since the fourth quarter of 2004. Depreciation and

 

18



 

amortization as a percentage of net revenue increased to 5.0% in the third quarter of 2005 from 4.1% in the third quarter of 2004.

 

As a result of the matters above, income from operations was $2.4 million in the third quarter of 2005, as compared to income of $1.8 million in the third quarter of 2004.  While sequential improvement has taken place in operating performance since the first quarter of 2005 and the same period a year ago, we are continuing to pursue opportunities to grow the business, improve net revenue margins and lower costs.

 

In connection with refinancing our U.S. revolving credit facility we incurred a charge of $0.9 million, reflecting payment of a prepayment fee and the expensing of previously deferred loan issue costs.

 

Other income (expense) principally consists of interest expense. Interest expense for the third quarter of 2005 was $0.9 million compared to $0.2 million in the third quarter of 2004.  The increase in expense was due to higher average borrowings in the U.S. and Asia used to fund operating and investing activities coupled with higher average interest rates contained in the revolving credit agreements we had in place during the quarter.  Average borrowing levels were affected by our Asia borrowings, which did not exist in the prior year.

 

Income tax expense for the third quarter of 2005 was $0.5 million compared to $1.0 million in the third quarter of 2004.  A portion of our tax expense is associated with earnings from our overseas operations.  The foreign income tax provision decreased to $0.3 million in the third quarter of 2005 compared to $0.8 million in the third quarter of 2005 due to lower non U.S. based earnings. The balance is due to state income taxes and deferred income taxes resulting from the amortization of goodwill for income tax purposes.  We have accumulated U.S. federal net operating losses and had carryforwards of approximately $47.0 million as of December 31, 2004 which will expire beginning 2018 through 2024.

 

Net loss was $180,000 in the third quarter of 2005, compared to a net income of $56,000 in the third quarter of 2004.  Basic and diluted income per common share amounts were zero for the third quarter of 2005, the same as was reported in the third quarter of 2004.

 

Nine months ended September 30, 2005 compared to nine months ended September 30, 2004

 

The following table summarizes our total revenue, net transportation revenue and other revenue (in thousands):

 

 

 

Nine months ended September 30,

 

Change

 

 

 

2005

 

2004

 

Amount

 

Percentage

 

Total revenue

 

$

301,328

 

$

256,405

 

$

44,923

 

17.5

%

Transportation revenue

 

$

282,787

 

$

239,633

 

43,154

 

18.0

 

Cost of transportation

 

235,452

 

195,516

 

39,936

 

20.4

 

Net transportation revenue

 

47,335

 

44,117

 

3,218

 

7.3

 

Net transportation margin

 

16.7

%

18.4

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Customs brokerage

 

6,067

 

6,784

 

(717

)

(10.6

)

Warehousing and other value added services

 

12,475

 

9,988

 

2,487

 

24.9

 

Total net revenue

 

$

65,877

 

$

60,889

 

$

4,988

 

8.2

%

Net revenue margin

 

21.9

%

23.7

%

 

 

 

 

 

Total revenue was $301.3 million in the first nine months of 2005, an increase of 17.5% over total revenue of $256.4 million in the first nine months of 2004.  $46.6 million of growth in total revenue was primarily attributable to acquisitions made in China and South America in the first quarter of 2004, with same store revenues declining $1.7 million.  The Domestic Services platform recorded $91.6 million in total revenue for the first nine months of 2005, a decline of 13.3% compared to $105.7 million in same period in 2004.  There were no domestic acquisitions in 2005 or 2004 affecting the comparability of this platform’s results.  The decline in Domestic Services total revenue was

 

19



 

due to lower automotive related business caused by the difficult economic conditions of domestic automobile manufacturers and reduced volume from a major customer.  The decline in revenue from this major customer, which was approximately $13.9 million less in the first nine months of 2005 than was recorded in the same period of 2004, resulted from the customer selling a line of business we serviced and realigning a distribution program to an in-house operation.  The International Services platform recognized $209.7 million in total revenue for the first nine months of 2005, a year over year improvement of $59.7 million or 39.2%, with $12.4 million of the increase coming from same store growth and the remaining $46.6 million improvement attributed to our acquisitions.

 

Net transportation revenue was $47.3 million in the first nine months of 2005, an increase of 7.3% over net transportation revenue of $44.1 million in the first nine months of 2004.  $1.1 million, or 32.8% of the increase in net transportation revenue, was attributable to same store growth with $2.1 million, or 67.2% of the increase, attributable to acquisitions.  The Domestic Services platform recorded $22.9 million in net transportation revenue for the first nine months of 2005, a decline of 3.9% when compared to $23.8 million recorded in the first nine months of 2004.  The International Services platform recognized $24.4 million in net transportation revenue for the first nine months of 2005, a year over year improvement of $4.2 million or 20.5%, with $2.0 million of the increase resulting from same store growth and the remaining $2.2 million improvement attributed to acquisitions. Net transportation revenue was negatively impacted by a labor strike in China that resulted in higher transport cost to provide alternative lift capacity and diversion of customer volumes to other forwarders. We estimate the impact on net transportation revenue was $750,000 in the third quarter of 2005.

 

Net transportation margins decreased to 16.7% for the first nine months of 2005 from 18.4% for the same period in 2004.  For the first nine months of 2005, net transportation margins for the Domestic Services platform improved to 28.2% from 24.6% in the same period a year ago. Domestic margins were favorably impacted by price increases implemented during the first nine months of 2005 on certain significant customer relationships and reductions in less profitable business.   For the International Services platform, net transportation margins declined to 12.1% from 14.2% driven primarily by the mix of lower margin business acquired with the Shaanxi transaction, higher transport costs in the third quarter of 2005 resulting from an airline labor strike in China, coupled with competitive pressures which have lowered margins on existing and new business.

 

Net revenue was $65.9 million in the first nine months of 2005, an increase of 8.2% over net revenue of $60.9 million in the first nine months of 2004.  $2.9 million, or 57.9% of the increase in net revenue, was attributable to same store growth, with $2.1 million, or 42.1% of the increase, attributable to acquisitions.  The Domestic Services platform delivered $33.3 million in net revenue for the first nine months of 2005, a 2.5% increase over the $32.5 million in net revenue recorded in the first nine months of 2004.  The International Services platform recorded $32.6 million in net revenue for the first nine months of 2005, a year over year improvement of $4.2 million or 15.2%, with $2.1 million of the increase resulting from same store growth and the remaining $2.1 million improvement attributed to acquisitions.

 

Net revenue margins decreased to 21.9% for the first nine months of 2005 compared to 23.7% for the same prior in the year period.  Net revenue margins for Domestic Services improved to 36.3% from 30.7%. The International Services platform net transportation margins declined to 15.5% from 18.8%.

 

The following table compares certain consolidated statement of operations data as a percentage of our net revenue (in thousands):

 

 

 

Nine months ended September 30,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2005

 

2004

 

Change

 

 

 

Amount

 

Percent

 

Amount

 

Percent

 

Amount

 

Percent

 

Net revenue

 

$

65,877

 

100.0

%

$

60,889

 

100.0

%

$

4,988

 

7.6

%

Personnel costs

 

35,395

 

53.7

 

36,629

 

60.2

 

(1,234

)

(3.4

)

Other selling, general and administrative costs

 

26,267

 

39.9

 

22,080

 

36.3

 

4,187

 

19.0

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

3,461

 

5.3

 

3,024

 

4.9

 

437

 

14.5

 

Restructuring charges

 

3,448

 

5.2

 

 

 

3,448

 

NM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total operating costs

 

68,571

 

104.1

 

61,733

 

101.4

 

6,838

 

11.1

 

Loss from operations

 

(2,694

)

(4.1

)

(844

)

(1.4

)

(1,850

)

(219.2

)

Loan refinancing costs

 

(912

)

(1.4

)

 

 

(912

)

NM

 

Provision for excess earn-out payments

 

 

 

(3,075

)

(5.1

)

3,075

 

NM

 

Other income (expense), net

 

(1,929

)

(2.9

)

(339

)

(0.5

)

(1,590

)

(469.0

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss from continuing operations before income tax expense and minority interest

 

(5,535

)

(8.4

)

(4,258

)

(7.0

)

(1,277

)

(30.0

)

Income tax expense

 

1,689

 

(2.6

)

1,607

 

2.6

 

82

 

5.1

 

Loss from continuing operations before minority interest

 

(7,224

)

(11.0

)

(5,865

)

(9.6

)

(1,359

)

(23.2

)

Minority interest

 

902

 

1.4

 

1,098

 

1.8

 

196

 

(17.9

)

Loss from continuing operations

 

(8,126

)

(12.4

)

(6,963

)

(11.4

)

(1,163

)

(16.7

)

Loss from discontinued operations

 

 

 

(50

)

(0.1

)

50

 

NM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

$

(8,126

)

(12.4

)%

$

(7,013

)

(11.5

)%

$

(1,113

)

(13.7

)%

 

20



 

Personnel costs were $35.4 million for the first nine months of 2005, a decrease of 3.4% compared to $36.6 million recorded in the first nine months of 2004.  $1.5 million of incremental personnel costs were attributable to costs assumed as part of our acquisition program with the remaining decline of $2.7 million attributable to restructuring efforts afforded our U.S. operations and lower volumes in our Domestic Services platform.  Personnel costs as a percentage of net revenue decreased to 53.7% in the first nine months of 2005 from 60.2% in the first nine months of 2004. Compared to September 30, 2004, headcount decreased by 5.0% or 59 employees to a total of 1,119.  Headcount has also decreased 4.3% or 50 employees since December 31, 2004.  We have been aggressively rationalizing our U.S. operations, including our employment level, as part of our previously announced restructuring program.

 

Other selling, general and administrative costs were $26.3 million for the first nine months of 2005, an increase of 19.0% over $22.1 million for the same period of 2004.  $1.2 million of the increase is attributable to incremental costs assumed as part of our acquisition program with the remaining $2.9 million attributable to increased costs of the base business.  Negatively impacting this category of expense were approximately $1.0 million in higher legal, technology and Sarbanes-Oxley and audit related expenses incurred in the first quarter of 2005.  As a percentage of net revenue, other selling, general and administrative costs increased to 39.9% in the first nine months of 2005 from 36.3% in the first nine months of 2004.

 

Depreciation and amortization was $3.5 million in the first nine months of 2005, an increase of 14.5% over $3.0 million in the first nine months of 2004.  Depreciation and amortization as a percentage of net revenue increased to 5.3% in the first nine months of 2005 from 4.9% in the same period of 2004.  The increase in this category of expense is due to higher depreciation from technology and equipment assets acquired since the first quarter of 2004.

 

As part of our restructuring initiative announced in January 2005 we have rationalized the number of facilities in which we operate and the level of employment in the U.S.  We had completed the majority of this initiative as of the end of the second quarter of 2005 but continue to pursue opportunities to reduce costs while maintaining a high level of service to our customers. Restructuring charges recorded in the first nine months of 2005 due to this initiative were $3.4 million. We do not anticipate incurring additional restructuring charges during the balance of 2005.

 

In connection with refinancing our U.S. revolving credit facility in the third quarter of 2005, we incurred a charge of $0.9 million, reflecting payment of a prepayment fee and adjustments to previously deferred loan issue costs.

 

21



 

The provision for excess earn-out payments recorded in the first quarter of 2004 represented a valuation adjustment for amounts paid to former shareholders of acquired companies that, as a result of the restatement of our financial performance for 2003, was in excess of the amount that would have been paid out based upon the restated financial results for 2003.  Due to differing interpretations between the Company and the selling shareholders of the earn-out provisions of the purchase agreements, we determined that the resulting receivable from the former shareholders should be fully reserved.  If in the future, excess amounts paid are recovered, those proceeds would be reflected as other income in our consolidated statement of operations.

 

Other income (expense) principally consists of interest expense. Interest expense for the first nine months of 2005 was $2.1 million compared to $0.3 million in the comparable period of 2004.  The increase in expense was due to higher average borrowings in the U.S. and Asia used to fund operating and investing activities coupled with higher interest rates contained in our revolving credit agreements we had in place for the majority of 2005.  Average borrowings were also affected by our Asia borrowings, which did not exist in the prior year.

 

Income tax expense for the first nine months of 2005 was $1.7 million compared to $1.6 million in the first nine months of 2004.  A portion of our tax expense is associated with earnings from our overseas operations.  The foreign income tax provision amounted to $1.1 million or 63.1% of the consolidated income tax provision. The balance is due to state income taxes and deferred income taxes resulting from the amortization of goodwill for income tax purposes.  We have accumulated U.S. federal net operating losses and had carryforwards of approximately $47.0 million as of December 31, 2004.

 

Net loss was $8.1 million in the first nine months of 2005, compared to a net loss of $7.0 million in the first nine months of 2004.  Basic loss per common share was $0.19 for the first nine months of 2005 compared to a basic net loss of $0.17 per common share for the same period in 2004.

 

FINANCIAL OUTLOOK

 

We anticipate our gross revenues will be in excess of $400 million in 2005. While we were pleased with the sequential improvement in our second and third quarter operating performance in comparison to the first quarter of 2005, we continue to look for opportunities to grow the business, improve net revenue margins and reduce costs while maintaining a high level of service to our customers.

 

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

 

As we approach the next stage of our development, we need to augment our capital structure by obtaining additional capital from other sources to provide enhanced flexibility.  Additional forms of capital could take the form of subordinated debt, convertible preferred stock and/or common stock, among others.  Such enhancements to our capital structure would permit continued expansion.  There is no assurance we can raise additional capital from other sources.

 

Cash and cash equivalents totaled $5.4 million and $2.8 million as of September 30, 2005 and December 31, 2004, respectively.  Working capital was $8.3 million at September 30, 2005 compared to $0.3 million at December 31, 2004.  The increase in working capital was primarily due to a change in classification of borrowings under our revolving credit agreement from a current obligation to a long-term obligation.

 

Net cash provided by operating activities was $2.1 million for the first nine months of 2005 compared to cash used of $5.9 million in the comparable period of 2004.  The change was driven principally by improved receivable collections and increases in current payables.

 

Net cash used in investing activities during the first nine months of 2005 was $3.4 million compared to $14.4 million in the first nine months of 2004.  Investing activities in 2005 consisted primarily of $2.5 million in earn-out payments made in relation to 2004 performance targets, and technology related investments.  Investing activities in 2004 were driven principally by cash paid in connection with the Shaanxi acquisition, $4.1 million spent primarily on the development of a technology platform and approximately $3.4 million in earn-out payments made in relation to 2003 performance targets.

 

22



 

Net cash provided by financing activities during the first nine months of 2005 was approximately $3.6 million compared to $19.4 million in the same period of 2004.  Financing activities in 2005 consisted of $6.0 million in proceeds from our lines of credit, debt issuance cost payments of $1.1 million and capital lease payments of $1.3 million.  Capital lease payments include a $1.0 million payoff of obligations initially incurred to finance the acquisition of a technology platform.  Financing activities in 2004 consisted of $18.1 million in proceeds from our line of credit and $1.8 million from the issuance of common stock upon the exercises of options and warrants, offset by principal payments of $0.6 million on capital leases.

 

We may receive proceeds in the future from the exercise of outstanding options and warrants.  The proceeds ultimately received upon exercise, if any, are dependent on a number of factors, including the trading price of our common stock in relation to the exercise price.  As of September 30, 2005, the number of shares issuable upon exercise of our options and warrants were as follows:

 

 

 

Number of shares

 

Proceeds if exercised

 

Options outstanding under our stock option plan

 

10,413,784

 

$

16,622,835

 

Non-plan options

 

552,000

 

920,750

 

Warrants

 

3,249,000

 

10,712,010

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

14,214,784

 

$

28,255,595

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exercisable

 

13,457,283

 

$

27,681,712

 

 

Our new U.S. credit facility, which was entered into with Laurus Master Fund, Ltd. on August 31, 2005, provides for a total commitment of $25.0 million for a three-year term.  The amount that we may borrow under the facility is limited by the level of our eligible domestic receivables.  Generally, we can borrow up to 90% of these receivables, subject to adjustment and establishment of reserves by the lender.  As of September 30, 2005, $17.9 million borrowings were outstanding under the facility and the level of eligible receivables supported an additional $2.1 million borrowing availability.  Proceeds from the new facility were used primarily to fund the outstanding principal and prepayment fees under our previous domestic credit facility.

 

The new facility provides us the liquidity through two principal borrowing agreements, a Secured Convertible Minimum Borrowing Note (“Minimum Borrowing Note”) and Secured Revolving Note (“Revolving Note”).  The Minimum Borrowing Note carries a $10.0 million principal amount, bears interest at prime plus 1% subject to floor of 5.5% and is convertible into our common stock at a conversion price of $1.08 per share.  The interest rate on this note can be reduced if the market price for our common stock exceeds the conversion price by 25% for the last five days of any month.  For each 25% increase the interest rate for the next month will be reduced by 200 basis points.  The Revolving Note covers the amount outstanding under the facility which is not represented by the Minimum Borrowing Note.  As of September 30, 2005, the Revolving Note had $7.9 million outstanding, bears interest at prime plus 3.5% subject to a floor of 8.0%.  This Revolving Note is not convertible into any of our securities.

 

Other features of the facility includes the ability to issue a new Minimum Borrowing Note assuming the initial Minimum Borrowing note is converted into our common stock and there remains at least $11.0 million outstanding under the facility.  The conversion price for this new note would be 115% of the trading price of our common stock for the 10 days preceding the date of the new note.  While the facility does not contain financial covenants, it does have certain affirmative and negative covenants, including the requirement for consent from the lender for various actions including acquisitions, cash dividends and mergers.  The agreement is secured by a global security interest in the assets of our domestic subsidiaries, excluding any stock held in a foreign subsidiary.

 

In addition to our new U.S. Facility, we also completed a transaction to refinance outstanding borrowings of our subsidiary, Stonepath Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited (“Asia Holdings”).  On October 27, 2004, Asia Holdings entered into a term credit facility expiring November 4, 2005, with Hong Kong League Central Credit Union that was collateralized by the accounts receivable of our Hong Kong and Singapore operations and an unsecured guarantee from Stonepath Group, Inc.  Advances of $5.0 million were outstanding under this facility as of September 30, 2005.  On October 26, 2005 we issued 30,000 preferred shares to retire $3.0 million of that indebtedness.  The preferred shares are exchangeable for shares of our common stock at a conversion price of $1.08.

 

23



 

$1.0 million of the remaining outstanding principal was repaid on November 4, 2005, with the residual $1.0 million of principal payable on November 4, 2007 and bearing an annual interest rate of 12%.  We do not anticipate that these warrants will have a material effect on our financial position or results of operations at the time of issuance.

 

Below are descriptions of material acquisitions made since 2001 including a breakdown of consideration paid at closing and future potential earn-out payments.  We define “material acquisitions” as those with aggregate potential consideration of $5.0 million or more.

 

On October 5, 2001, we acquired Air Plus, a group of Minneapolis-based privately held companies that provide a full range of logistics and transportation services.  The transaction was valued at up to $34.5 million, consisting of cash of $17.5 million paid at closing and a four-year earn-out arrangement of up to $17.0 million.  In the earn-out, we agreed to pay the former Air Plus shareholders installments of $3.0 million in 2003, $5.0 million in 2004, $5.0 million in 2005 and $4.0 million in 2006, with each installment payable in full if Air Plus achieves pre-tax income of $6.0 million in each of the years preceding the year of payment.  In the event there is a shortfall in pre-tax income, the earn-out payment will be reduced on a dollar-for-dollar basis to the extent of the shortfall.  Shortfalls may be carried over or carried back to the extent that pre-tax income in any other payout year exceeds the $6.0 million level.  Based upon increased costs of purchased transportation as a result of the restatement and the Company’s interpretation of the underlying purchase agreement language, the cumulative adjusted earnings for Air Plus from date of acquisition through December 31, 2003 is $8.1 million compared to the previously calculated amount of $12.7 million.  As a result, the Company believes that it has paid approximately $3.9 million to the selling shareholders in excess of amounts that should have been paid.  As a consequence of these restatements, the amounts paid in 2003 and 2004 in excess of earn-out payments due have been reclassified from goodwill to advances due from shareholders.  At June 30, 2005 the excess earn-out payments related to the 2002 and 2003 results of operations have been fully reserved for because of differing interpretations, by the Company and selling shareholders, of the earn-out provisions of the purchase agreement.  However, the Company will seek the refund of such excess payments.

 

On April 4, 2002, we acquired Stonepath Logistics International Services, Inc. (“SLIS”) (f/k/a Global Transportation Services, Inc.), a Seattle-based privately held company that provides a full range of international air and ocean logistics services.  The transaction was valued at up to $12.0 million, consisting of cash of $5.0 million paid at the closing and up to an additional $7.0 million payable over a five year earn-out period based upon the future financial performance of SLIS.  We agreed to pay the former Global shareholders a total of $5.0 million in base earn-out payments payable in installments of $0.8 million in 2003, $1.0 million in 2004 through 2007 and $0.2 million in 2008, with each installment payable in full if SLIS achieves pre-tax income of $2.0 million in each of the years preceding the year of payment (or the pro rata portion thereof in 2002 and 2007).  In the event there is a shortfall in pre-tax income, the earn-out payment will be reduced on a pro-rata basis.  Shortfalls may be carried over or carried back to the extent that pre-tax income in any other payout year exceeds the $2.0 million level.  We also provided the former Global shareholders with an additional incentive to generate earnings in excess of the base $2.0 million annual earnings target (“SLIS’ tier-two earn-out”).  Under SLIS’ tier-two earn-out, the former Global shareholders are also entitled to receive 40% of the cumulative pre-tax earnings in excess of $10.0 million generated during the five-year earn-out period subject to a maximum additional earn-out opportunity of $2.0 million.  SLIS would need to generate cumulative earnings of $15.0 million over the five-year earn-out period to receive the full $7.0 million in contingent earn-out payments.  Based upon 2004 performance, the former Global shareholders received $1.0 million in April 2005.  On a cumulative basis, SLIS has generated $13.5 million in adjusted earnings, providing its former shareholders with a total of $2.8 million in cash earn-out payments and excess earnings of $8.0 million to carryforward and apply to future earnings targets.

 

On May 30, 2002, we acquired United American, a Detroit-based privately held provider of expedited transportation services.  The United American transaction provided us with a new time-definite service offering focused on the automotive industry.  The transaction was valued at up to $16.1 million, consisting of cash of $5.1 million paid at closing and a four-year earn-out arrangement based upon the future financial performance of United American.  We agreed to pay the former United American shareholder a total of $5.0 million in base earn-out payments payable in installments of $1.25 million in 2003 through 2006, with each installment payable in full if United American achieves pre-tax income of $2.2 million in each of the years preceding the year of payment.  In the event there is a shortfall in pre-tax income, the earn-out payment will be reduced on a dollar-for-dollar basis to the extent of the shortfall.  Shortfalls may be carried over or carried back to the extent that pre-tax income in any other payout year exceeds the $2.2 million level.  The Company has also provided the former United American shareholder with an additional incentive to generate earnings in excess of the base $2.2 million annual earnings target (“United

 

24



 

American’s tier-two earn-out”).  Under United American’s tier-two earn-out, the former United American shareholder is entitled to receive 50% of the cumulative pre-tax earnings generated by a certain pre-acquisition customer in excess of $8.8 million during the four-year earn-out period subject to a maximum additional earn-out opportunity of $6.0 million.  United American would need to generate cumulative earnings of $20.8 million over the four-year earn-out period to receive the full $11.0 million in contingent earn-out payments.  Based upon restated financial results, the Company believes that it has paid approximately $0.5 million to the selling shareholder in excess of amounts due.  As a consequence of these restatements, the amounts paid in 2003 in excess of earn-out payments due have been reclassified from goodwill to advances due from shareholders.  At September 30, 2005, the excess earn-out payments related to the 2002 and 2003 results of operations have been fully reserved because of differing interpretations, by the Company and the selling shareholders, of the earn-out provisions of the purchase agreement.  However, the Company has sought the refund of such excess payment in litigation with the selling shareholder.  Based upon the pre-tax income of United American for 2004, no earn-out payment was made to the selling shareholder.  However, the selling shareholder has objected to our calculation of that pre-tax income, and as further discussed in Note (8) to the consolidated financial statements. The matter is currently in arbitration.

 

On June 20, 2003, through our indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Stonepath Logistics Government Services, we acquired the business of Regroup, a Virginia limited liability company.  The Regroup transaction enhanced our presence in the Washington, D.C. market and provided a platform to focus on the logistics needs of U.S. government agencies and contractors.  The transaction was valued at up to $27.2 million, consisting of cash of $3.7 million and $1.0 million of Company stock paid at closing, and a five-year earn-out arrangement.  The Company agreed to pay the members of Regroup a total of $10.0 million in base earn-out payments payable in equal installments of $2.5 million in 2005 through 2008, if Regroup achieves pre-tax income of $3.5 million in each of the years preceding the year of payment.  In the event there is a shortfall in pre-tax income, the earn-out payment will be reduced on a dollar-for-dollar basis.  Shortfalls may be carried over or carried back to the extent that pre-tax income in any other payout year exceeds the $3.5 million level.  The Company also agreed to pay the former members of Regroup an additional $2.5 million if Regroup earned $3.5 million in pre-tax income during the 12-month period commencing July 1, 2003, however no payment was required based on Regroup’s actual results.  In addition, the Company has also provided the former members of Regroup with an additional incentive to generate earnings in excess of the base $3.5 million annual earnings target (“Regroup’s tier-two earn-out”).  Under Regroup’s tier-two earn-out, the former members of Regroup are also entitled to receive 50% of the cumulative pre-tax earnings in excess of $17.5 million generated during the five-year earn-out period subject to a maximum additional earn-out opportunity of $10.0 million.  Regroup would need to generate cumulative earnings of $37.5 million over the five-year earn-out period in order for the former members to receive the full $22.5 million in contingent earn-out payments.

 

On August 8, 2003, through two indirect international subsidiaries, we acquired a seventy (70%) percent interest in the assets and operations of the Singapore and Cambodia based operations of the G-Link Group, which provide a full range of international logistics services, including international air and ocean transportation, to a worldwide customer base of manufacturers and distributors.  This transaction substantially increased our presence in Southeast Asia and expanded our network of owned offices through which to deliver global supply chain solutions.  The transaction was valued at up to $6.2 million, consisting of cash of $2.8 million, $0.9 million of the Company’s common stock paid at the closing and an additional $2.5 million payable over a four-year earn-out period based upon the future financial performance of the acquired operations.  We agreed to pay $2.5 million in base earn-out payments payable in installments of $0.3 million in 2004, $0.6 million in 2005 through 2006 and $1.0 million in 2007, with each installment payable in full if the acquired operations achieve pre-tax income of $1.8 million in each of the years preceding the year of payment (or the pro rata portion thereof in 2003 and 2006).  In the event there is a shortfall in pre-tax income, the earn-out payment will be reduced on a dollar-for-dollar basis.  Shortfalls may be carried over or carried back to the extent that pre-tax income in any other payout year exceeds the $1.8 million level.  As additional purchase price, the Company also agreed to pay G-Link for excess net assets amounting to $1.5 million through the issuance of Company common stock, on a post-closing basis.  Based upon 2004 performance, G-Link received an earn-out payment of $0.5 million in April 2005.

 

On February 9, 2004, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, we acquired a 55% interest in Shanghai-based Shaanxi Sunshine Cargo Services International Co., Ltd. (“Shaanxi”).  Shaanxi provides a wide range of customized transportation and logistics services and supply chain solutions.  The transaction is valued at up to $11.0 million, consisting of cash of $3.5 million and $2.0 million of the Company’s common stock paid at the closing, plus up to an additional $5.5 million payable over a five-year period based upon the future financial performance of Shaanxi.  The earn-out payments are due in five installments of $1.1 million beginning in 2005, with each installment payable in

 

25



 

full if Shaanxi achieves pre-tax income of at least $4.0 million in each of the earn-out years.  In the event there is a shortfall in pre-tax income, the earn-out payment for that year will be reduced on a dollar-for-dollar basis by the amount of the shortfall.  Shortfalls may be carried over or back to the extent that pre-tax income in any other payout year exceeds the $4.0 million level.  As additional purchase price, on a post-closing basis the Company has agreed to pay Shaanxi for 55% of its closing date working capital which amounted to $1.9 million.  On March 21, 2005, the Company and the selling shareholder entered into a financial arrangement whereby the amount due became subject to a note payable due March 31, 2006 with interest at 10% per annum.  Based upon 2004 performance, the shareholder of Shaanxi received $0.9 million in April 2005.

 

Certain selling shareholders have provided us notice disputing the underlying earn-out calculations for 2004 and have requested further supporting information.  We are currently working to provide this supporting documentation as appropriate.  Although we believe the calculations have been accurately computed and intend to vigorously defend the computations, there is a possibility we could incur additional costs to resolve these matters.  These additional costs, if incurred, could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position and cash flows.

 

We have accrued $2.6 million as of September 30, 2005 for amounts anticipated to be due under the earn-out provisions of the various acquisition agreements.  Of this accrual, $2.3 million has been estimated for the 2005 performance period based on performance through the first nine months of 2005.  The ultimate amounts due for the 2005 period will not be known until the full year’s results are computed.  The remaining $0.3 million of accruals represents amounts remaining to be paid for the 2004 and 2003 performance periods.

 

We may be required to make significant payments in the future if the earn-out installments under our various acquisitions become due.  While we believe that a significant portion of the required payments will be generated from earnings of the acquired subsidiaries, we may have to secure additional sources of capital to fund some portion of the earn-out payments as they become due.  This presents us with certain business risks relative to the availability and pricing of future fund raising, as well as the potential dilution to our stockholders if the fund raising involves the sale of equity securities.

 

The following table summarizes our maximum possible contingent base earn-out payments for the years indicated based on results of the prior year assuming pre-tax earning targets associated with each acquisition were achieved, although, based on our recent performance levels and current expectations, we do not anticipate the Domestic Services pre-tax earnings targets to be fully achieved (in thousands):

 

 

 

2006

 

2007

 

2008

 

2009

 

Total

 

Earn-out payments(1)(2):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Domestic

 

$

8,050

 

$

2,500

 

$

2,500

 

$

 

$

13,050

 

International

 

5,131

 

5,503

 

3,769

 

3,417

 

17,820

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total earn-out payments

 

$

13,181

 

$

8,003

 

$

6,269

 

$

3,417

 

$

30,870

 

Prior year pre-tax earnings targets(3):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Domestic

 

$

12,306

 

$

3,500

 

$

3,500

 

$

 

$

19,306

 

International

 

12,446

 

13,502

 

8,840

 

7,723

 

42,511

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total pre-tax earnings targets

 

$

24,752

 

$

17,002

 

$

12,340

 

$

7,723

 

$

61,817

 

Earn-outs as a percentage of prior year pre-tax earnings targets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Domestic

 

65.4

%

71.4

%

71.4

%

 

67.6

%

International

 

41.2

%

40.8

%

42.6

%

44.2

%

41.9

%

Combined

 

53.3

%

47.1

%

50.8

%

44.2

%

49.9

%

 


(1)                                  Excludes the impact of prior year’s pre-tax earnings carryforwards (excess or shortfalls versus earnings targets).

 

(2)                                  During the 2005-2008 earn-out period, there is an additional contingent obligation related to tier-two earn-outs that could be as much as $18.0 million if certain of the acquired companies generate an incremental $37.0 million in pre-tax earnings.

 

26



 

(3)                                  Aggregate pre-tax earnings targets as presented here identify the uniquely defined earnings targets of each acquisition and should not be interpreted to be the consolidated pre-tax earnings of the Company which would give effect for, among other things, amortization or impairment of intangible assets created in connection with each acquisition or various other expenses which, in some circumstances, may not be charged to the operating groups for purposes of calculating earn-outs.

 

The Company is a defendant in a number of legal proceedings.  Although we believe that the claims asserted in these proceedings are without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend these matters, there is the possibility that the Company could incur material expenses in the defense and resolution of these matters.  Furthermore, since the Company has not established any reserves in connection with such claims, any such liability, if at all, would be recorded as an expense in the period incurred or estimated.  This amount, even if not material to the Company’s overall financial condition, could adversely affect the Company’s results of operations in the period recorded.

 

Item 3.  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

 

The Company’s exposure to market risk for changes in interest rates relates primarily to the Company’s short-term cash investment and its line of credit.  The Company is averse to principal loss and ensures the safety and preservation of its invested funds by limiting default risk, market risk and reinvestment risk.  The Company invests its excess cash in institutional money market accounts.  The Company does not use interest rate derivative instruments to manage its exposure to interest rate changes.  If market interest rates were to change by 10% from the levels at September 30, 2005, the change in interest expense would have impacted on the Company’s results of operations and cash flows by $0.1 million and $0.2 million for the three- and nine-month periods ending September 30, 2005, respectively.

 

The Company also has exposure to foreign currency fluctuations with respect to its offshore subsidiaries.  The Company does not utilize derivative instruments to manage such exposure.  A hypothetical change of 10% in the value of the U.S. dollar would have had an immaterial impact on the Company’s results of operations.

 

Item 4.  Controls and Procedures

 

Overview

 

In January 2004, the Company restated its consolidated statements of operations for the last three quarters of fiscal 2002, the first three quarters of fiscal 2003, and for the year ended December 31, 2002, as a result of an error discovered in the legacy accounting processes of SLIS.  The Company determined that a process error existed which resulted in the failure to eliminate certain intercompany transactions in consolidation.  This process error was embedded in the legacy accounting process of SLIS for a period which began substantially before its acquisition by the Company in April 2002.  The Company believes that the presence of this error, in and of itself, constituted a reportable condition as defined under standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  This significant deficiency was addressed by correcting the process error that resulted in the failure to eliminate intercompany transactions in consolidation. In addition, the Company changed its organizational structure to require the senior financial representatives within the International Services segment to report directly to the Company’s Chief Financial Officer.

 

In connection with the preparation of the Company’s June 30, 2004 consolidated financial statements, the Company’s management determined that Stonepath Logistics Domestic Services, Inc. (“SLDS”) did not follow the Company’s designed disclosure controls and procedures to report a potential weakness in the methodology used by SLDS to estimate its accrued cost of purchased transportation.  Based on its initial analysis at that time, the Company recorded an immaterial increase to SLDS’ cost of transportation in the second quarter of 2004.  The Company’s management believes that the failure of SLDS to follow the designed disclosure and control procedures in and of itself constitutes a material weakness as defined under standards established by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”).  The Company has implemented changes in its estimating procedures and its processes for recognizing differences between actual and estimated costs to assure the proper recognition of purchased transportation costs.  To address this material weakness, the Company initiated an immediate change in process at its Domestic Services segment to reduce the likelihood that a similar error could occur in the future.  In addition, the Company changed its organizational structure to require the senior financial representatives within the Domestic Services segment to report directly to the Company’s Chief Financial Officer.

 

27



 

On September 20, 2004, the Company announced, after having performed some additional analysis, that it had understated its accrued purchase transportation liability and related cost of purchased transportation for previously reported periods as a result of an error discovered in the accounting processes within certain subsidiary operations of the Domestic Services segment.  The Company determined that the process error did not accurately account for the differences between the estimates and the actual freight costs incurred.  This allowed for an accumulation of previously unrecorded purchased transportation costs to build up (such amounts should have been reflected as purchased transportation costs).  In addition, the error resulted in the Company making earn-out payments to selling shareholders in amounts greater than what otherwise would have been owed.  The Company believes that the presence of this error is indicative of a material weakness in internal controls as defined under standards established by the PCAOB.  To address this material weakness, the Company has altered its methods to recognize the difference between actual costs of transportation and estimates for such costs on a timely basis and will modify its operating systems to provide for the recording of purchased transportation costs at the time an order is entered.

 

In the course of its review of the process error related to the under accrual of purchased transportation, the Company also identified two additional process errors related to revenue transactions within the Domestic Services segment.  At its Detroit location, the Company identified a billing error in which the operating unit was invoicing one of its automotive customers at rates which had been approved by a customer representative who did not have the authority to do so.  This customer billing error caused the Company to overstate its revenues.  At its Minneapolis location, the Company identified an accounting error related to revenue recognition and depreciation that originated during the second quarter of 2004.  Upon billing to a customer for certain capital equipment purchased in connection with the launch of a new distribution center for that customer, the unit recognized the revenue immediately rather than over the two-year life of the contract and had depreciated the capital equipment over its useful life rather than matching it to the life of the contract.  The Company believes that the presence of the billing error and the accounting error in the aggregate constitute a material weakness as defined under standards established by the PCAOB.  The Company has addressed the material weakness by advising management of each unit in question on the proper treatment of these and similar transactions in the future.

 

The Company has restated its consolidated financial statements for the first two quarters of 2004, and for the years ended December 31, 2003, 2002 and 2001 to correct the processing errors related to its purchased transportation accrual, the customer billings issue, and to reflect the related income tax effects.  In addition, the amounts owed as of December 31, 2003 and 2002 under various earn-out provisions have been changed to reflect the impact of the restatement.

 

A material weakness is a significant deficiency, or combination of significant deficiencies, that results in more than a remote likelihood that a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected.  A significant deficiency is a control deficiency, or combination of control deficiencies that adversely affects the Company’s ability to initiate, record, process and report financial data consistent with the assertions of management in the financial statements.

 

In connection with the preparation of this Form 10-Q, the Company carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2005.  This evaluation was carried out under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer.  Based on that evaluation, taking into account the reportable condition, material weaknesses, and remedial actions described above, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of September 30, 2005.

 

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in Company reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms.  Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in Company reports filed under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.

 

28



 

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

 

As discussed in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2004, in the fourth quarter of 2004, the Company identified material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting in the Company’s information systems and financial policies and procedures.

 

During the third quarter of 2005, the Company made the following changes in internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect the company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

The Company has implemented portions of a new operating system which provide for the recording of              transportation costs at the time an order is entered.

 

The Company continues to consolidate and integrate its financial personnel within the United States.

 

Management of the Company has evaluated, with the participation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, these changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting and has concluded that the favorable changes implemented during the third quarter of 2005 have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Other than the changes identified above, there have been no changes to the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect,  the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

PART II
OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 1.  Legal Proceedings

 

Other than as described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 and the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2005 and June 30, 2005, there have been no material developments in any of the reported legal proceedings except as described below.

 

The Company was named as a defendant in eight purported class action complaints filed in the United States Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania between September 24, 2004 and November 19, 2004. Also named as defendants in these lawsuits were officers Dennis L. Pelino and Thomas L. Scully and former officer Bohn H. Crain.  These cases wereconsolidated for all purposes in that Court under the caption In re Stonepath Group, Inc. Securities Litigation, Civ. Action No. 04-4515 and the lead plaintiff, Globis Capital Partners, LP, filed an amended complaint in February 2005. The lead plaintiff sought to represent a class of purchasers of the Company’s shares between March 29, 2002 and September 20, 2004, and alleged claims for securities fraud under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These claims were based upon the allegation that certain public statements made during the period from March 29, 2002 through September 20, 2004 were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose that the Company’s Domestic Services operations had improperly accounted for accrued purchased transportation costs.  The plaintiffs sought compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and further relief as may be determined by the Court.  The Company and the individual defendants believe that this action was without merit, filed a motion to dismiss this action and intend to vigorously defend against the claims raised in this action.  On October 27, 2005, the Court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s complaint with leave to file an amended complaint.

 

The Company was named as a nominal defendant in a shareholder derivative action on behalf of the Company that was filed on October 12, 2004 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania under the caption Ronald Jeffrey Neer v. Dennis L. Pelino, et al., Civ. A. No. 04-cv-4971.  Also named as defendants in the action were all of the individuals who were serving as directors of the Company when the complaint was filed (Dennis L. Pelino, J. Douglas Coates, Robert McCord, David R. Jones, Aloysius T. Lawn and John H.  Springer), former directors Andrew Panzo, Lee C. Hansen, Darr Aley, Stephen George, Michela O’Connor-Abrams and Frank Palma, officer Thomas L. Scully and former

 

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officers Bohn H. Crain and Stephen M. Cohen. The derivative action alleged breach of fiduciary duty, abuse of control, gross mismanagement, waste of corporate assets, unjust enrichment and violations of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.  These claims were based upon the allegation that the defendants knew or should have known that the Company’s public filings for fiscal years 2001, 2002 and 2003 and for the first and second quarters of fiscal year 2004, and certain press releases and public statements made during the period from January 1, 2001 through August 9, 2004, were materially misleading.  The complaint alleged that the statements were materially misleading because they understated the Company’s accrued purchase transportation liability and related costs of transportation in violation of generally accepted accounting principles and they failed to disclose that the Company lacked internal controls.  The derivative action sought compensatory damages in favor of the Company, attorneys’ fees and costs, and further relief as may be determined by the Court.  The Court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss this action on September 27, 2005 and the plaintiff has filed a notice of appeal on October 26, 2005. The Company and the individual defendants believe that the action was without merit and intend to vigorously defend against the claims raised in this action.

 

On October 22, 2004, Douglas Burke filed a two-count action against United American Acquisitions, Inc. (“UAF”), Stonepath Logistics Domestic Services, Inc., and the Company in the Circuit Court for Wayne County, Michigan. Mr. Burke is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of UAF. The Company purchased the stock of UAF from Mr. Burke on May 30, 2002 pursuant to a Stock Purchase Agreement.  At the closing of the transaction Mr. Burke received $5.1 million and received the right to receive an additional $11.0 million in four annual installments based upon UAF’s performance in accordance with the Stock Purchase Agreement.  Subject to the purchase, Stonepath Logistics Domestic Services, Inc. and Mr. Burke entered into an Employment Agreement.  Mr. Burke’s complaint alleges that the defendants breached the terms of the Employment Agreement and Stock Purchase Agreement and seeks, among other things, the production of financial information, unspecified damages, attorney’s fees and interest.  In early October 2005, the Wayne County Circuit Court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit and to compel arbitration.  The court ordered, and the parties agreed, to submit the issues concerning the plaintiff’s objections regarding the earn-out calculation under the Stock Purchase Agreement to a national accounting firm and to submit plaintiff’s claim relating to the Employment Agreement and defendant’s counterclaims to a different neutral arbitrator.  The defendants believe that Mr. Burke’s claims are without merit and intend to vigorously defend against them.  In addition, the Company is seeking $456,000 in excess earn-out payments that were paid to Mr. Burke.

 

The Company is also involved in various other claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business.  In the opinion of management, the ultimate disposition of those matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

 

Item 2.  Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

 

On February 9, 2005 the Company issued 158,973 shares under the terms of the acquisition agreement for Shaanxi Sunshine Cargo Services International Co., Ltd.  This transaction was exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 pursuant to Section 4(2) and Rule 506 thereunder as an issuer transaction not involving a public offering, and pursuant to Regulation S.

 

In May 2005, the Company issued 41,757 shares in connection with the December 2003 acquisition of the Malaysia operations of the G Link Group.  This transaction was exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 pursuant to Section 4(2) and Rule 506 thereunder as an issuer transaction not involving a public offering, and pursuant to Regulation S.

 

On October 26, 2005,  Stonepath Group, Inc. (the “Company”) and its subsidiary Stonepath Holdings (Hong Kong) Limited (“Asia Holdings”) closed the transactions under the Exchange Agreement dated as of October 7, 2005 (the “Exchange Agreement”) described in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on October 26, 2005. Pursuant to the Exchange Agreement, the Company entered into the Preferred Shares Exchange Agreement dated October 26, 2005  (the “Preferred Shares Exchange Agreement”) by and among the Company, Asia Holdings, Hong Kong League Central Credit Union (the “Lender”), and SBI Advisors, LLC (the “Agent”) and issued a Common Stock Purchase Warrant (the “Warrant”).

 

30



 

Preferred Shares Exchange Agreement

 

The Preferred Shares Exchange Agreement provides the Lender with the right to exchange its Preferred Shares of Asia Holdings for Common Stock of the Company at an exchange price of $1.08 per share of Common Stock, subject to customary anti-dilution adjustments. This provides the Lender with the right to exchange the 30,000 Preferred Shares issued to it for 2,777,778 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at the current exchange price. The Lender also has the right to exchange any Preferred Shares issued to it by Asia Holdings as payment-in-kind dividends on the Preferred Shares at the same exchange price. The Preferred Shares outstanding are subject to mandatory exchange at the exchange price then in effect in the event that (i) the average closing price for the Company’s Common Stock has been 200% or more than the exchange price for at least 20 consecutive trading days, (ii) the average trading volume of the Company’s Common Stock for 20 trading days in that period has been 250,000 shares or more, (iii) the Company’s Common Stock is listed on The American Stock Exchange or the Nasdaq National Market System or SmallCap Market, and (iv) the Common Stock receivable upon exchange can be resold pursuant to an effective registration statement or under Rule 144(k) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933.

 

Warrant

 

The Warrant entitles the Lender to purchase 277,778 shares of the Company’s Common Stock at an exercise price of $1.13 per share, subject to customary anti-dilution adjustments, for a four year period.

 

The Warrant and the Preferred Shares Exchange Agreement were issued and entered into in a transaction was exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 pursuant to Section 4(2) and Rule 506 thereunder as an issuer transaction not involving a public offering, and pursuant to Regulation S.

 

Item 3.  Defaults Upon Senior Securities

 

None.

 

Item 4.  Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

 

We held our Annual Meeting of Stockholders on October 7, 2005 at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center, Pier 66, 2211 Alaskan Way, Seattle, Washington.  At the Annual Meeting our stockholders voted on the following proposals identified in our Proxy Statement dated August 30, 2005:

 

(1) Vote for the Election of Directors:
 

The following directors were elected to serve as member of our Board of Directors until the close of the next annual meeting of stockholders:

 

 

 

For

 

Withheld

 

Dennis Pelino

 

31,367,170

 

2,770,005

 

J. Douglass Coates

 

32,318,609

 

1,818,566

 

John Springer

 

32,313,958

 

1,823,217

 

David R. Jones

 

32,311,458

 

1,825,717

 

Aloysius T. Lawn, IV

 

32,305,483

 

1,831,692

 

Robert McCord

 

32,232,284

 

1,813,391

 

 

(2) Proposal to ratify appointment of Grant Thornton as independent auditors for the Company for the fiscal year entry December 31, 2005:

 

For

 

Against

 

Abstain

 

32,448,265

 

570,910

 

1,823,217

 

 

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Item 5.  Other Information

 

None.

 

Item 6.  Exhibits

 

The following exhibits are included herein:

 

12

 

Calculation of Ratio of Earnings to Combined Fixed Charges and Preferred Stock Dividends.

 

 

 

31.1

 

Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

31.2

 

Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

32.1

 

Certification of Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. (This exhibit shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liability of that section. Further, this exhibit shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.)

 

 

 

32.2

 

Certification of Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. (This exhibit shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liability of that section. Further, this exhibit shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.)

 

32



 

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 duly authorized.

 

 

 

STONEPATH GROUP, INC.

 

 

 

 

Date: November 9, 2005

/s/ Jason Totah

 

Jason Totah

 

Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

 

Date: November 9, 2005

/s/ Thomas L. Scully

 

Thomas L. Scully

 

Chief Financial Officer

 

 

 

 

Date: November 9, 2005

/s/ Robert T. Christensen

 

Robert T. Christensen

 

Vice President, Controller and

 

Principal Accounting Officer

 

33