Unassociated Document
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-Q
(Mark
One)
x |
QUARTERLY
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT OF
1934
|
For
the quarterly period ended September 30, 2006
or
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 0-18672
ZOOM
TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
(Exact
Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
Delaware
|
51-0448969
|
(State
or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)
|
(I.R.S.
Employer Identification No.)
|
|
|
207
South Street, Boston, Massachusetts
|
02111
|
(Address
of Principal Executive Offices)
|
(Zip
Code)
|
|
|
Registrant’s
Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (617)
423-1072
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 x
NO
o
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated
filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange
Act.
Large
accelerated filer o Accelerated
filer o Non-accelerated
filer x
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act).
Yes
o No
x
The
number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s Common Stock, $.01 Par Value,
as of November 9, 2006 was 9,346,966 shares.
ZOOM
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
INDEX
|
|
|
|
Page
|
Part
I.
|
|
Financial
Information
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item
1.
|
|
Condensed
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2006 and December
31, 2005
(unaudited)
|
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three and nine months
ended
September 30, 2006 and 2005 (unaudited)
|
|
4
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Condensed
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September
30, 2006 and 2005 (unaudited)
|
|
5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notes
to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited)
|
|
6-10
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item
2.
|
|
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
|
|
10-17
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item
3.
|
|
Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
|
|
18
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item
4.
|
|
Controls
and Procedures
|
|
18
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|
|
|
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|
Part
II.
|
|
Other
Information
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item
1A.
|
|
Risk
Factors
|
|
18-25
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item
6.
|
|
Exhibits
|
|
25
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Signatures
|
|
26
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|
|
|
|
|
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|
Exhibit
Index
|
|
27
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|
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|
|
Exhibits
|
|
|
PART
I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ZOOM
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
(unaudited)
|
|
September
30, 2006
|
|
December
31, 2005
|
|
Assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
assets:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
|
$
|
4,158,695
|
|
$
|
9,081,122
|
|
Accounts
receivable, net of allowances of $1,179,481 at September 30, 2006
and
$1,294,637 at December 31, 2005
|
|
|
1,825,416
|
|
|
2,630,859
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inventories
|
|
|
4,288,425
|
|
|
5,073,178
|
|
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
|
|
64,221
|
|
|
301,265
|
|
Total
current assets
|
|
|
10,336,757
|
|
|
17,086,424
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Property,
plant and equipment, net
|
|
|
2,513,227
|
|
|
2,600,660
|
|
Certificate
of deposit held for debt service
|
|
|
214,637
|
|
|
-
|
|
Total
assets
|
|
$
|
13,064,621
|
|
$
|
19,687,084
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Liabilities
and Stockholders’ Equity:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
liabilities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
portion of long-term debt
|
|
$
|
135,075
|
|
$
|
4,889,928
|
|
Accounts
payable
|
|
|
1,641,342
|
|
|
3,140,593
|
|
Accrued
expenses
|
|
|
713,859
|
|
|
788,427
|
|
Total
current liabilities
|
|
|
2,490,276
|
|
|
8,818,948
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Long-term
debt, less current portion
|
|
|
3,479,595
|
|
|
-
|
|
Total
liabilities
|
|
|
5,969,871
|
|
|
8,818,948
|
|
Stockholders’
Equity:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Common
stock, $0.01 par value: authorized - 25,000,000 shares; and issued
-
9,355,366 shares, including shares held in treasury
|
|
|
93,554
|
|
|
93,554
|
|
Additional
paid-in capital
|
|
|
31,196,955
|
|
|
31,015,977
|
|
Accumulated
deficit
|
|
|
(24,691,902
|
)
|
|
(20,627,318
|
)
|
Accumulated
other comprehensive income - currency translation adjustment
|
|
|
503,465
|
|
|
393,245
|
|
Treasury
stock, at cost stock (8,400 shares),
|
|
|
(7,322
|
)
|
|
(7,322
|
)
|
Total
stockholders’ equity
|
|
|
7,094,750
|
|
|
10,868,136
|
|
Total
liabilities and stockholders’ equity
|
|
$
|
13,064,621
|
|
$
|
19,687,084
|
|
See
accompanying notes.
ZOOM
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
(Unaudited)
|
|
Three
Months Ended September 30,
|
|
Nine
Months ended September 30,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
2005
|
|
2006
|
|
2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
sales
|
|
$
|
3,579,317
|
|
$
|
5,308,380
|
|
$
|
13,378,260
|
|
$
|
18,269,296
|
|
Costs
of goods sold
|
|
|
3,338,349
|
|
|
4,789,732
|
|
|
11,948,971
|
|
|
14,836,965
|
|
Gross
profit
|
|
|
240,968
|
|
|
518,648
|
|
|
1,429,289
|
|
|
3,432,331
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating
expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Selling
|
|
|
781,954
|
|
|
977,718
|
|
|
2,563,921
|
|
|
3,172,332
|
|
General
and administrative
|
|
|
689,599
|
|
|
314,188
|
|
|
2,236,287
|
|
|
2,867,694
|
|
Research
and development
|
|
|
520,768
|
|
|
664,641
|
|
|
1,709,640
|
|
|
2,109,347
|
|
Total
operating expenses
|
|
|
1,992,321
|
|
|
1,956,547
|
|
|
6,509,848
|
|
|
8,149,373
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating
income (loss)
|
|
|
(1,751,353
|
)
|
|
(1,437,899
|
)
|
|
(5,080,559
|
)
|
|
(4,717,042
|
)
|
Other:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest
income
|
|
|
51,138
|
|
|
69,984
|
|
|
189,327
|
|
|
151,508
|
|
Interest
expense
|
|
|
(76,140
|
)
|
|
(63,596
|
)
|
|
(221,845
|
)
|
|
(190,511
|
)
|
Gain
on sale of investment in
InterMute, Inc.
|
|
|
869,750
|
|
|
|
|
|
869,750
|
|
|
3,495,516
|
|
Other,
net
|
|
|
74,364
|
|
|
56,251
|
|
|
178,744
|
|
|
2,131
|
|
Total
other income (expense), net
|
|
|
919,112
|
|
|
62,639
|
|
|
1,015,976
|
|
|
3,458,644
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income
(loss) before income taxes
|
|
|
(832,241
|
)
|
|
(1,375,260
|
)
|
|
(4,064,583
|
)
|
|
(1,258,398
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income
taxes
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income (loss)
|
|
$
|
(832,241
|
)
|
$
|
(1,375,260
|
)
|
$
|
(4,064,583
|
)
|
$
|
(1,258,398
|
)
|
Earnings
(loss) per common share:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
|
$
|
(0.09
|
)
|
$
|
(
0.15
|
)
|
$
|
(0.43
|
)
|
$
|
(0.14
|
)
|
Diluted
|
|
$
|
(0.09
|
)
|
$
|
(
0.15
|
)
|
$
|
(0.43
|
)
|
$
|
(0.14
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted
average common and common equivalent shares
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
|
|
9,346,966
|
|
|
9,341,124
|
|
|
9,346,966
|
|
|
9,158,734
|
|
Diluted
|
|
|
9,346,966
|
|
|
9,341,124
|
|
|
9,346,966
|
|
|
9,158,734
|
|
See
accompanying notes.
ZOOM
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
(Unaudited)
|
|
Nine
Months Ended
September
30,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
2005
|
|
Operating
activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income (loss)
|
|
$
|
(4,064,583
|
)
|
$
|
(1,258,398
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adjustments
to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided (used) by operating
activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gain
on sale of Investment in InterMute, Inc.
|
|
|
(869,750
|
)
|
|
(3,495,516
|
)
|
Depreciation
|
|
|
172,006
|
|
|
200,605
|
|
Stock
based compensation
|
|
|
180,977
|
|
|
0
|
|
Changes
in operating assets and liabilities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts
receivable, net
|
|
|
921,914
|
|
|
381,433
|
|
Inventories
|
|
|
784,753
|
|
|
(101,735
|
)
|
Prepaid
expenses and other assets
|
|
|
22,406
|
|
|
321,758
|
|
Accounts
payable and accrued expenses
|
|
|
(1,573,819
|
)
|
|
(949,674
|
)
|
Net
cash provided (used ) by operating activities
|
|
|
(4,426,096
|
)
|
|
(4,901,527
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Investing
activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Proceeds
from sale of Investment in InterMute, Inc.
|
|
|
869,750
|
|
|
3,495,516
|
|
Additions
to property, plant and equipment
|
|
|
(84,572
|
)
|
|
(46,896
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
cash provided (used) by investing activities
|
|
|
785,178
|
|
|
3,448,620
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Financing
activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Principal
payments on long-term debt
|
|
|
(1,275,258
|
)
|
|
(158,429
|
)
|
Proceeds
from exercise of stock options
|
|
|
0
|
|
|
447,450
|
|
Net
cash provided (used) by financing activities
|
|
|
(1,275,258
|
)
|
|
289,021
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Effect
of exchange rate changes on cash
|
|
|
(6,251
|
)
|
|
(2,562
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
change in cash
|
|
|
(4,922,427
|
)
|
|
(1,166,448
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents at beginning of period
|
|
|
9,081,122
|
|
|
9,438,596
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents at end of period
|
|
$
|
4,158,695
|
|
$
|
8,272,148
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supplemental
disclosures of cash flow information:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
paid during the period for:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest
|
|
$
|
221,845
|
|
$
|
190,511
|
|
Income
taxes
|
|
$
|
—
|
|
$
|
—
|
|
See
accompanying notes.
ZOOM
TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Notes
to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(Unaudited)
(1) |
Summary
of Significant Accounting
Policies
|
(a) |
Basis
of Presentation and Principles of
Consolidation
|
The
condensed consolidated financial statements of Zoom Technologies, Inc. (the
"Company" or “Zoom”) presented herein have been prepared pursuant to the rules
of the Securities and Exchange Commission for quarterly reports on Form 10-Q
and
do not include all of the information and disclosures required by accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America. These statements
should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements
and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2005 included in the Company's
2005 Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The
accompanying financial statements are unaudited. However, the condensed balance
sheet as of December 31, 2005 was derived from audited financial statements.
In
the opinion of management, the accompanying financial statements include all
adjustments (consisting of normal, recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair
presentation of financial position, results of operations, and cash flows for
the interim periods.
The
accompanying financial statements include the accounts and operations of the
Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Zoom Telephonics, Inc. All significant
intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in
consolidation
The
results of operations for the periods presented are not necessarily indicative
of the results to be expected for the entire year.
(b) |
Stock-Based
Compensation
|
Effective
January 1, 2006, the Company adopted SFAS No. 123 (R), “Accounting for Stock
Based Compensation” using the modified-prospective method. Under this method,
compensation cost is recognized for all share-based payments granted, modified
or settled after January 1, 2006, as well as for any unvested awards that were
granted prior thereto. Compensation cost for unvested awards granted prior
to
January 1, 2006 is recognized using the same estimate of the grant-date fair
value and the same attribution method used to determine the pro forma
disclosures under SFAS No. 123, “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation.”
Compensation cost for awards granted after January 1, 2006 is based on the
estimated fair value of the awards on their grant date and is generally
recognized over the required service period. Prior to January 1, 2006, the
Company accounted for its stock option plans under the recognition and
measurement principles of Accounting Principles Board (APB) Opinion No. 25,
"Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees, and Related Interpretations.” No
stock-based compensation expense was recognized in operations for these plans,
since all options granted under them had an exercise price equal to the market
value of the underlying common stock on the date of grant. The effect of
adopting SFAS No. 123 (R ) was to increase compensation cost and the reported
net loss for the quarter ended September 30, 2006 by $58 thousand, or $0.01
per
basic and diluted share and for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 by
$181
thousand, or $0.02 per basic and diluted share.
The
unrecognized stock-based compensation cost related to non-vested stock awards
as
of September 30, 2006 was $117,921. Such amount will be recognized in operations
over a remaining period of 3 quarters.
The
fair
value of each option granted was estimated on the date of grant using the
Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The fair value of options granted during
the
three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 and September 30, 2005 were
estimated using the following assumptions:
|
|
Three
Months Ended
September
30,
|
|
Nine
Months ended
September
30,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
2005
|
|
2006
|
|
2005
|
|
Weighted-average
expected stock-price volatility
|
|
|
60.5
|
%
|
|
88.9
|
%
|
|
63.3
|
%
|
|
91.1
|
%
|
Weighted-average
expected option life
|
|
|
2.0
years
|
|
|
2.0
years
|
|
|
2.0
years
|
|
|
2.47
years
|
|
Average
risk-free interest rate
|
|
|
5.03
|
%
|
|
3.74
|
%
|
|
4.66
|
%
|
|
3.60
|
%
|
Average
dividend yield
|
|
|
0
|
|
|
0
|
|
|
0
|
|
|
0
|
|
Pro-forma
information required under SFAS No. 123, Accounting
for Stock-Based Compensation
before
the adoption of SFAS No.123(R) follows:
|
|
Three
Months
Ended
September
30, 2005
|
|
Nine
Months
Ended
September
30, 2005
|
|
Net
income (loss), as reported
|
|
$
|
(1,375,260
|
)
|
$
|
(1,258,398
|
)
|
Stock-based
employee compensation expense determined under fair value
method
|
|
|
(214,657
|
)
|
|
(473,398
|
)
|
Pro
forma net income (loss)
|
|
$
|
(1,589,917
|
)
|
$
|
(1,731,796
|
)
|
Net
income (loss) per share:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
- as reported
|
|
$
|
(0.15
|
)
|
$
|
(0.14
|
)
|
Diluted
- as reported
|
|
$
|
(0.15
|
)
|
$
|
(0.14
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
- pro forma
|
|
$
|
(0.17
|
)
|
$
|
(0.19
|
)
|
Diluted
- pro forma
|
|
$
|
(0.17
|
)
|
$
|
(0.19
|
)
|
(c) |
New
Accounting Pronouncements
|
In
July
2006, the FASB issued FASB Interpretation No. 48, “Accounting for Uncertainty in
Income Taxes - an interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109” (FIN 48). FIN 48
clarifies the accounting and disclosure for uncertain tax positions, as defined,
and seeks to reduce the diversity in practice associated with certain aspects
of
the recognition and measurement related to accounting for income taxes. This
interpretation is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2006.
The Company does not believe that the adoption of FIN 48 will have a significant
impact on its financial statements.
In
September 2006, the FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards
No. 157, “Fair Value Measurements” (SFAS 157). SFAS 157 defines fair value,
establishes a framework for measuring fair value, and expands disclosure
requirements regarding fair value measurement. This statement simplifies and
codifies fair value related guidance previously issued and is effective for
financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007,
and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company does not believe
that
SFAS 157 will significantly impact its financial statements.
In
September 2006, the SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 108,
“Considering the Effects of Prior Year Misstatements when Quantifying
Misstatements in Current Year Financial Statements” (SAB 108). SAB 108 provides
guidance on the consideration of the effects of prior year unadjusted errors
in
quantifying current year misstatements for the purpose of a materiality
assessment. SAB 108 requires registrants to apply the new guidance the first
time that it identifies material errors in existence at the beginning of the
first fiscal year ending after November 15, 2006 by correcting those errors
through a one-time cumulative effect adjustment to beginning-of-year retained
earnings. The Company does not believe that SAB 108 will significantly
impact its financial statements
(2)
Liquidity
On
September 30, 2006 the Company had working capital of $7.8 million, including
$4.2 million in cash and
cash
equivalents.
On
January 10, 2001 the Company obtained a mortgage for $6 million on the real
estate property located at 201 and 207 South Street, Boston, Massachusetts.
The
loan was scheduled to be paid in full on January 10, 2006 and the final payment
was deferred during negotiations for a new mortgage. On March 30, 2006 the
Company paid the lender $1.2 million to reduce the then balance of $4.9 million,
and refinanced the remaining $3.7 million with a new mortgage. Payments on
the
new mortgage are based on a 15 year amortization period with initial interest
at
7.75%, adjusted along with the prime rate as published in the Wall Street
Journal. The rate of interest at September 30, 2006 was 8.25%. The mortgage
matures April 10, 2007 but may be extended at Zoom’s option to April 10, 2008 if
Zoom makes the election to extend the loan and pays the lender an extension
fee
of $36,750 by March 10, 2007 and prior to and following such election Zoom
is
not in default under the loan. As required by the lender the Company has
deposited six months of principal and interest ($214,637 as of September 30,
2006) in a Certificate of Deposit held by the lender as a debt service reserve
account. The new mortgage contains certain customary financial and non-financial
covenants including requirements to maintain tangible net worth of $7.0 million
and to maintain cash and cash equivalents, free from any and all encumbrances,
of not less than $1.0 million. The Company was in compliance with these
covenants as of September 30, 2006. The Company’s tangible net worth at
September 30, 2006 was $7.1 million. For additional liquidity, the Company
has
negotiated a Purchase and Sale Agreement for the sale of its company-owned
buildings which now house its entire Boston headquarters staff. On October
30,
2006 the deposit relating to that purchase was increased to $400,000. If the
sale closes, which is likely but not certain, the Company expects the closing
to
occur in December 2006. The liquidity impact of the sale would be to eliminate
$3.6 million in bank debt and increase cash by approximately $4.2 million.
The
agreement provides for the lease-back to Zoom of a portion of the sold property
at below-market lease rates.
On
March
16, 2005 the Company entered into a one year Loan and Security Agreement with
Silicon Valley Bank that provides for a revolving line of credit of up to $2
million. The revolving line of credit terminated, as scheduled, on March 15,
2006. There were no borrowings under the line for the entire one year contract.
The Company and Silicon Valley Bank have put further discussions for a new
one
year line on hold pending the outcome of the sale of the headquarter buildings.
There can be no assurance as to the outcome of these negotiations.
To
conserve cash and manage liquidity during the past few years, the Company has
implemented expense reductions, including the reduction of employee headcount
and overhead costs. The employee headcount was 125 at September 30, 2005 and
79
at September 30, 2006. The Company continues to implement cost cutting
initiatives including the reduction of employee headcount and overhead costs,
and most recently, the move of most of its manufacturing operations to a
dedicated facility in Tijuana, Mexico during September 2006. In connection
therewith on June 30, 2006 the Company notified 40 employees working at Zoom
in
Boston that they would be terminated on approximately August 31, 2006. One-time
severance benefits of approximately $100,000 were accrued in the second quarter
of 2006 and paid in the third quarter of 2006. The Company plans to continue
to
assess its cost structure as it relates to the Company’s revenues and cash
position in 2006, and may make further changes if the actions are deemed
necessary.
The
Company realized a gain on the sale of its investment in InterMute, Inc. of
$3.5
million during the quarter ended June 30, 2005. The Company realized in cash
an
additional contingent gain of $837,750 during the quarter ended September 30,
2006, representing its portion of an earnout payment paid by the buyer as a
result of the achievement of a performance milestone. On November 11, 2006
the
Company received a second and final performance milestone payment, also of
$837,750. The Company expects to receive in December 2006 a return of its escrow
deposit of approximately $370,000. No further payments from the sale of
InterMute are expected.
The
Company believes that its current level of working capital combined with the
anticipated proceeds from the completion of the pending sale of the Company’s
headquarter buildings will provide sufficient resources to fund the Company’s
normal operations over the next twelve months, the relevant period for a
going-concern evaluation, through September 30, 2007. However, the Company
cannot assure that it can sell its building on favorable terms and on a timely
basis, if at all. The Company’s $3.6 million mortgage loan contains financial
covenants including the requirement that the Company maintain a tangible net
worth of at least $7.0 million. As of September 30, 2006 the Company’s tangible
net worth was $7.1 million. If the Company continues to incur operating losses
that are not otherwise offset by proceeds from the timely sale of the Company’s
headquarters facility the Company could be in default of this covenant before
the loan matures in April 2007. In such event, the lender would have the right
to demand payment in full of the loan and the Company would have
no
right to exercise its option to extend the loan.
The
Company entered into a consignment arrangement with a significant retailer
customer in October 2006. In connection with this agreement ownership of all
unsold products previously purchased from the Company by that retailer will
revert to the Company in November 2006. The Company estimated the amount of
products for which ownership is expected to revert to the Company and applied
consignment accounting to them retroactively for products shipped prior to
October 1, 2006. The new arrangement has resulted in a reduction of net sales
in
the quarter ended September 30, 2006 of $0.5 million and a reduction of cost
of
sales and other directly related expenses of $0.3 million, which increased
the
net loss for the quarter ended September 30, 2006 by $0.2 million. As of
September 30, 2006, the Company estimated that the cash repayment in November
for the inventory ownership transferring back to the Company will be
approximately $0.2 million
If
the
Company is not able to sell its building on a timely basis the Company’s
liquidity could be significantly impaired and the Company may not have
sufficient resources to fund its normal operations over the next twelve months.
Longer-term, if the Company is unable to increase its revenues, reduce or
otherwise adequately control its expenses, or raise capital, the Company’s
ability to continue as a going concern and achieve its intended business
objectives would be adversely affected.
(3) Earnings
(loss) per share
The
reconciliation of the numerators and denominators of the basic and diluted
net
earnings (loss) per share computations for the Company’s reported net income
(loss) is as follows:
|
|
Three
Months Ended September 30,
|
|
Nine
Months Ended September 30,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
2005
|
|
2006
|
|
2005
|
|
Basic:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income (loss)
|
|
$
|
(832,241
|
)
|
$
|
(1,375,260
|
)
|
$
|
(4,064,583
|
)
|
$
|
(1,258,398
|
)
|
Weighted
average shares outstanding
|
|
|
9,346,966
|
|
|
9,341,124
|
|
|
9,346,966
|
|
|
9,158,734
|
|
Earnings
(loss) per share
|
|
$
|
(0.09
|
)
|
$
|
(0.15
|
)
|
$
|
(.43
|
)
|
$
|
(0.14
|
)
|
Diluted:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income (loss)
|
|
$
|
(832,241
|
)
|
$
|
(1,375,260
|
)
|
$
|
(4,064,583
|
)
|
$
|
(1,258,398
|
)
|
Weighted
average shares outstanding
|
|
|
9,346,966
|
|
|
9,341,124
|
|
|
9,346,966
|
|
|
9,158,734
|
|
Net
effect of dilutive stock options based on the Treasury stock method
using
average market price
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
Weighted
average shares outstanding
|
|
|
9,346,966
|
|
|
9,341,124
|
|
|
9,346,966
|
|
|
9,158,734
|
|
Earnings
(loss) per share
|
|
$
|
(.09
|
)
|
$
|
(0.15
|
)
|
$
|
(.43
|
)
|
$
|
(0.14
|
)
|
Options
to purchase 1,228,200 shares of common stock at September 30, 2006, were
outstanding but not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share
for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 as their effect would
be
antidilutive.
(4)
Inventories
Inventories
consist of the following:
|
|
September
30, 2006
|
|
December
31, 2005
|
|
Raw
materials
|
|
$
|
3,421,463
|
|
$
|
2,333,949
|
|
Work
in process
|
|
|
394,717
|
|
|
648,034
|
|
Finished
goods (including $294,784 held by a customer as of September 30,
2006)
|
|
|
472,245
|
|
|
2,091,195
|
|
Total
|
|
$
|
4,288,425
|
|
$
|
5,073,178
|
|
(5)
Comprehensive Income (Loss)
|
|
Three
Months Ended September 30,
|
|
Nine
Months Ended September 30
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
2005
|
|
2006
|
|
2005
|
|
Net
income (loss)
|
|
$
|
(832,241
|
)
|
$
|
(1,375,260
|
)
|
$
|
(4,064,583
|
)
|
$
|
(1,258,398
|
)
|
Foreign
currency translation adjustment
|
|
|
44,696
|
|
|
(10,356
|
)
|
|
110,220
|
|
|
(107,193
|
)
|
Comprehensive
income (loss)
|
|
$
|
(876,937
|
)
|
$
|
(1,385,616
|
)
|
$
|
(3,954,363
|
)
|
$
|
(1,365,591
|
)
|
(6)
Long-Term Debt
On
January 10, 2001 the Company obtained a mortgage for $6 million on the real
estate property located at 201 and 207 South Street, Boston, Massachusetts.
The
loan was scheduled to be paid in full on January 10, 2006 and the final payment
was deferred during negotiations for a new mortgage. On March 30, 2006 the
Company paid the lender $1.2 million to reduce the then balance of $4.9 million,
and refinanced the remaining $3.7 million with a new mortgage. Payments on
the
new mortgage are based on a 15 year amortization period with the initial
interest at 7.75%, adjusted along with the prime rate as published in the Wall
Street Journal. The rate of interest at September 30, 2006 was 8.25%. The
mortgage matures April 10, 2007 but may be extended at Zoom’s option to April
10, 2008 if Zoom makes the election to extend the loan and pays the lender
an
extension fee of $36,750 by March 10, 2007 and prior to and following such
election Zoom is not in default under the loan. Zoom has classified the
scheduled principal payments due after September 30, 2007 as long-term debt
because the Company intends to extend the maturity date to April 10, 2008 unless
other more financially advantageous arrangements are obtained. As required
by
the lender the Company has deposited six months of principal and interest
($214,637 as of September 30, 2006) in a Certificate of Deposit held by the
lender as a debt service reserve account. The new mortgage contains certain
customary financial and non-financial covenants including requirements to
maintain tangible net worth of $7.0 million and to maintain cash and cash
equivalents, free from any and all encumbrances, of not less than $1.0 million.
The Company was in compliance with these covenants as of September 30, 2006.
The
Company’s tangible net worth at September 30, 2006 was $7.1 million. For
additional liquidity, the Company has negotiated a Purchase and Sale Agreement
for the sale of its company-owned buildings which now house its entire Boston
headquarters staff. On October 30, 2006 the deposit relating to that purchase
was increased to $400,000. If the sale closes, which is likely but not certain,
the Company expects the closing to occur in December 2006. The liquidity impact
of the sale would be to eliminate $3.6 million in bank debt and increase cash
by
approximately $4.2 million. The agreement provides for the lease back to Zoom
of
a portion of the sold property at below-market lease rates. If the sale of
the
building is not completed, the Company may not meet the minimum tangible net
worth requirement in the near term. If the Company defaults, the lender would
have the right to demand payment in full of the loan and the Company
would have
no
right to exercise its option to extend the loan. The Company may not have
sufficient liquid assets to repay the loan if the lender makes demand. As such,
the Company may be unable to continue as a going concern.
(7)
Commitments
Except
as
related to the Company’s mortgage as discussed above there were no material
changes to the Company’s commitments and contractual obligations compared to
those disclosed in the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005.
(8)
Segment and Geographic Information
The
Company’s operations are classified as one reportable segment. The Company’s net
sales were comprised as follows:
|
|
Three
Months
Ended
September
30, 2006
|
|
%
of
Total
|
|
|
Three
Months
Ended
September
30, 2005
|
|
%
of
Total
|
|
|
Nine
Months
Ended
September
30, 2006
|
|
%
of
Total
|
|
|
Nine
Months
Ended
September
30, 2005
|
|
%
of
Total
|
|
North
America
|
|
$
|
2,280,425
|
|
|
64
|
%
|
|
$
|
2,668,030
|
|
|
50
|
%
|
|
$
|
7,711,063
|
|
|
58
|
%
|
|
$
|
8,439,326
|
|
|
46
|
%
|
Turkey
|
|
|
49,630
|
|
|
1
|
%
|
|
|
973,349
|
|
|
18
|
%
|
|
|
1,101,894
|
|
|
8
|
%
|
|
|
3,110,560
|
|
|
17
|
%
|
UK
|
|
|
679,357
|
|
|
19
|
%
|
|
|
1,108,810
|
|
|
21
|
%
|
|
|
2,474,063
|
|
|
18
|
%
|
|
|
4,057,410
|
|
|
22
|
%
|
All
Other
|
|
|
569,905
|
|
|
16
|
%
|
|
|
558,191
|
|
|
11
|
%
|
|
|
2,091,240
|
|
|
16
|
%
|
|
|
2,661,511
|
|
|
15
|
%
|
Total
|
|
$
|
3,579,317
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
$
|
5,308,380
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
$
|
13,378,260
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
$
|
18,269,296
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
(9)
Customer Concentrations
Relatively
few customers have accounted for a substantial portion of the Company's net
sales. In the third quarter of 2006 the Company's net sales to its top three
customers accounted for 37% of its total net sales, with the Company's net
sales
to a North American distributor accounting for 19% of total net sales. The
remaining 18% was divided between a United Kingdom retailer at 12% and a North
American distributor at 6%. For the first nine months of 2006 the Company’s net
sales to its top three customers accounted for 28% of the Company’s net sales,
with the Company’s net sales to a United Kingdom retailer accounting for 10%, a
North American retailer accounting for 9%, and a North American distributor
accounting for 9% of total net sales.
In
the
third quarter of 2006 the Company’s net sales to its top three customers
accounted for 39% of its total net sales, with the Company’s sales to a Turkish
distributor accounting for 17% of the total net sales. The Company’s net sales
to a North American retailer accounted for 14% and to a United Kingdom retailer
8% of total net sales.
ITEM
2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS
OF
OPERATIONS
The
following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the safe
harbor statement and the risk factors contained in Item 1A of Part II of this
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as well those set forth in our Annual Report
on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 and our other filings with the
SEC. Readers should also be cautioned that results of any reported period are
often not indicative of results for any future period.
Overview
We
derive
our net sales primarily from sales of Internet-related communication products,
principally broadband and dial-up modems and other communication products,
to
retailers, distributors, Internet Service Providers and Original Equipment
Manufacturers. We sell our products through a direct sales force and through
independent sales agents. Our employees are primarily located at our
headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, our support office in Boca Raton,
Florida, our sales office in the United Kingdom, and our new production facility
in Tijuana, Mexico. We typically design our hardware products, though we do
sometimes use another company’s design if it meets our requirements. Electronic
assembly and testing of the Company’s products in accordance with our
specifications is typically done in China or Taiwan.
For
many
years we performed most of the final assembly, test, packaging, warehousing
and
distribution effort at a production and warehouse facility on Summer Street
in
Boston, Massachusetts, which has also engaged in firmware programming for some
products. On June 30, 2006 we announced our plans to move most of our Summer
Street operations to a dedicated facility in Tijuana, Mexico commencing
approximately September 1, 2006, and we have implemented that plan. Our lease
for our Summer Street facility expired in August 2006, and we completely vacated
the facility on September 30, 2006.
Since
1983 our headquarters has been near South Station in downtown Boston. Zoom
owns
two adjacent company-owned buildings which connect on most floors, and which
now
house our entire Boston staff. We recently announced that we have negotiated
a
Purchase and Sale Agreement for our sale of those buildings, and on October
30,
2006 the deposit relating to that purchase was increased to $400,000. If that
sale closes, which is likely but not certain, we expect the close to occur
in
December 2006. The liquidity impact of the sale would be to eliminate $3.6
million in bank debt and increase cash by approximately $4.2 million. Of course
Zoom’s total cash and equity will also depend on other factors including our
operating results.
For
many
years we derived a majority of our net sales from the retail after-market sale
of dial-up modems to customers seeking to add or upgrade a modem for their
personal computers. In recent years the size of this market and our sales to
this market have declined, as personal computer manufacturers have incorporated
a modem as a built-in component in most consumer personal computers and as
increasing numbers of consumers world-wide have switched to broadband Internet
access. The consensus of communications industry analysts is that after-market
sales of dial-up modems will probably continue to decline. There is also
consensus among industry analysts that the installed base for broadband Internet
connection devices, such as cable modems and DSL modems, will grow rapidly
during the decade. In response to increased and forecasted worldwide demand
for
faster connection speeds and increased modem functionality, we have invested
and
continue to invest resources to advance our product line of broadband modems,
especially DSL modems and to a lesser extent cable modems.
We
continually seek to improve our product designs and manufacturing approach
in
order to improve product performance and reduce our costs. We pursue a strategy
of outsourcing rather than internally developing our modem chipsets, which
are
application-specific integrated circuits that form the technology base for
our
modems. By outsourcing the chipset technology, we are able to concentrate our
research and development resources on modem system design, leverage the
extensive research and development capabilities of our chipset suppliers, and
reduce our development time and associated costs and risks. As a result of
this
approach, we are able to quickly develop new products while maintaining a
relatively low level of research and development expense as a percentage of
net
sales. We also outsource aspects of our manufacturing to contract manufacturers
as a means of reducing our costs of production, and to provide us with greater
flexibility in our production capacity.
Over
the
past several years our net sales have declined. In response to declining sales
volume, we have cut costs by reducing staffing and some overhead costs. Our
total headcount of full-time employees, including temporary workers, went from
125 on September 30, 2005 to 79 on September 30, 2006 primarily due to
termination of most of the employees who worked at our Summer Street facility.
However, we have made commitments relating to workers staffing our Tijuana
facility, most of whom are hired through a company called NAPS, and are not
employees of Zoom.
Generally
our gross margin for a given product depends on a number of factors including
the type of customer to whom we are selling. The gross margin for retailers
tends to be higher than for some of our other customers; but the sales, support,
and overhead costs associated with retailers also tend to be higher. Zoom’s
sales to certain countries, including Turkey, Vietnam, and Saudi Arabia, are
currently handled by a single master distributor for each country who handles
the support and marketing costs within the country. Gross margin for sales
to
these master distributors tends to be low, since lower pricing to these
distributors helps them to cover the support and marketing costs for their
country. Our gross margin for broadband modems tends to be lower than for
dial-up modems for a number of reasons, including that retailers are currently
a
more significant channel for our dial-up modems than for our broadband modems,
that a higher percentage of our DSL sales come from low-margin countries, and
that there is stronger competition in the DSL market than in the dial-up
market.
In
the
third quarter of 2006 our net sales were down 33% compared to the third quarter
of 2005. In the first nine months of 2006 our net sales were down 27% compared
to the first nine months of 2005. The main reason for the sales decreases was
the decline in DSL modem and dial-up modem sales. Until the second quarter
of
2006 we have generally experienced growth in our DSL modem sales. However,
a
significant portion of these sales is currently concentrated with a small number
of customers, and this reduces the predictability of our results. In Turkey
Zoom
has had a relatively high share of the small but growing DSL market, but our
Turkey sales in 2006 have been declining. We attribute this decline to a number
of factors including increased competition and actions by Turkish Telecom to
dramatically increase their bundling of DSL modems with their service. We are
seeing growth in some areas, including DSL sales to U.S. Internet Service
Providers, and we are continuing our efforts to expand our DSL customer base
and
product line. Because of our significant customer concentration, however, our
net sales and operating results have fluctuated and in the future could
fluctuate significantly due to changes in political or economic conditions
or
the loss, reduction of business, or less favorable terms for any of our
significant customers.
Since
1999 we had a minority interest in a privately held software company, InterMute,
Inc. In June 2005 InterMute was acquired by Trend Micro Inc., a U.S. subsidiary
of Trend Micro Japan. In connection with the acquisition, in June 2005 we
received a payment of approximately $3.5 million which we recorded as a
non-operating gain in our second quarter of 2005. We realized in cash an
additional contingent gain of $837,750 during the quarter ended September 30,
2006, representing our portion of an earnout payment paid by the buyer as a
result of the achievement of a performance milestone. On November 11, 2006
we
received a second and final performance milestone payment, also of $837,750.
We
expect to receive in December 2006 a return of our escrow deposit of
approximately $370,000. No further payments from the sale of InterMute are
expected.
Our
cash
and cash equivalents balance at September 30, 2006 was $4.2 million compared
to
$9.1 million at December 31, 2005. This reduction of $4.9 million was due
primarily to funding our $4.1 million net loss for the first nine months of
2006, and to a $1.4 million cash reduction from the refinancing of our mortgage
loan.
Critical
Accounting Policies and Estimates
Following
is a discussion of what we view as our more significant accounting policies
and
estimates. As described below, management judgments and estimates must be made
and used in connection with the preparation of our consolidated financial
statements. We have identified areas where material differences could result
in
the amount and timing of our net sales, costs, and expenses for any period
if we
had made different judgments or used different estimates.
Revenue
(Net Sales) Recognition. We
primarily sell hardware products to our customers. The hardware products include
dial-up modems, DSL modems, cable modems, voice over IP products, and wireless
and wired networking equipment. We earn a small amount of royalty revenue that
is included in our net sales, primarily from internet service providers. We
generally do not sell software. We began selling services in 2004. We introduced
our Global Village VoIP service in late 2004, but sales of those services to
date have not been material.
We
derive our net sales primarily from the sales of hardware products to four
types
of customers:
· |
computer
peripherals retailers,
|
· |
computer
product distributors,
|
· |
Internet
service providers, and
|
· |
original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
|
We
recognize hardware net sales for our customers at the point when the customers
take legal ownership of the delivered products. Legal ownership passes from
Zoom
to the customer based on the contractual FOB point specified in signed contracts
and purchase orders, which are both used extensively. Many of our customer
contracts or purchase orders specify FOB destination. We verify the delivery
date on all significant FOB destination shipments made during the last 10
business days of each quarter.
Our
net
sales of hardware include reductions resulting from certain events which are
characteristic of the sales of hardware to retailers of computer peripherals.
These events are product returns, certain sales and marketing incentives, price
protection refunds, and consumer mail-in and in-store rebates. Each of these
is
accounted for as a reduction of net sales based on detailed management
estimates, which are reconciled to actual customer or end-consumer credits
on a
monthly or quarterly basis.
Our
2006
VoIP service revenues were recorded as the end-user-customer consumed billable
VoIP services. The end-user-customer became a service customer by electing
to
sign up for the Global Village billable service on the Internet. Zoom recorded
revenue either when billable services were consumed or when a monthly flat-fee
service was billed.
Product
Returns.
Products are returned by retail stores and distributors for inventory balancing,
contractual stock rotation privileges, and warranty repair or replacements.
We
estimate the sales and cost value of expected future product returns of
previously sold products. Our estimates for product returns are based on recent
historical trends plus estimates for returns prompted by, among other things,
new product introductions, announced stock rotations and announced customer
store closings. Management reviews historical returns, current economic trends,
and changes in customer demand and acceptance of our products when estimating
sales return allowances. The estimate for future returns is recorded as a
reserve against accounts receivable, a reduction of net sales, and the
corresponding change to inventory reserves and cost of sales. Product returns
as
a percentage of total net sales were 11.8% and 9.2 %, respectively, for the
three and nine months ended September 30, 2006 compared to 8.9 % and 7.5%,
respectively, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005.
Price
Protection Refunds.
We have
a policy of offering price protection to certain of our retailer and distributor
customers for some or all their inventory. Under the price protection policies,
when we reduce our prices for a product, the customer receives a credit for
the
difference between the original purchase price and our reduced price for their
unsold inventory of that product. Our estimates for price protection refunds
are
based on a detailed understanding and tracking by customer and by sales program.
Estimated price protection refunds are recorded in the same period as the
announcement of a pricing change. Information from customer inventory-on-hand
reports or from direct communications with the customers is used to estimate
the
refund, which is recorded as a reduction of net sales and a reserve against
accounts receivable. Reductions in our net sales due to price protection were
$0.2 million in 2003, $0.1 million in 2004, and $0.2 million in 2005. In the
three and nine months ended September 30, 2006, the reduction in our net sales
due to price protection was $0.02 million and $0.07 million, respectively
compared to $0.07 million and $0.22 million, respectively, for the three and
nine months ended September 30, 2005.
Sales
and Marketing Incentives.
Many of
our retailer customers require sales and marketing support funding, usually
set
as a percentage of our sales in their stores. The incentives were reported
as
reductions in our net sales and were $1.5 million in 2003, $1.3 million in
2004,
and $1.1 million in 2005. In the three and nine months ended September 30,
2006,
the reduction in our net sales due to sales and marketing incentives was $0.14
million and $0.71 million, respectively compared to $0.21 million and $0.86
million, respectively, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2005.
Consumer
Mail-In and In-Store Rebates.
Our
estimates for consumer mail-in and in-store rebates are based on a detailed
understanding and tracking by customer and sales program, supported by actual
rebate claims processed by the rebate redemption centers plus an accrual for
an
estimated lag in processing at the redemption centers. The estimate for mail-in
and in-store rebates is recorded as a reserve against accounts receivable and
a
reduction of net sales in the same period that the rebate obligation was
triggered. Reductions in our net sales due to the consumer rebates were $0.2
million in 2003, $1.4 million in 2004, and $0.8 million in 2005. In the three
and nine months ended September 30, 2006, the reduction in our net sales due
to
consumer rebates was $0.02 million and $0.56 million, respectively compared
to
$0.24 million and $0.88 million, respectively, for the three and nine months
ended September 30, 2005.
To
ensure
that the sales, discounts, and marketing incentives are recorded in the proper
period, we perform extensive tracking and documenting by customer, by period,
and by type of marketing event. This tracking includes reconciliation to the
accounts receivable records for deductions taken by our customers for these
discounts and incentives.
Accounts
Receivable Valuation.
We
establish accounts receivable valuation allowances equal to the above-discussed
net sales adjustments for estimates of product returns, price protection
refunds, consumer rebates, and general bad debt reserves. These allowances
are
reduced as actual credits are issued to the customer's accounts. Our bad-debt
write-offs were less than $0.01 million for the three and nine months ended
September 30, 2006.
Inventory
Valuation and Cost of Goods Sold.
Inventory is valued on a standard cost basis where the material standards are
periodically updated for current material pricing. Allowances for obsolete
inventory are established by management based on usability reviews performed
each quarter. Our allowances against the inventory of a particular product
range
from 0% to 100%, based on management's estimate of the probability that the
material will not be consumed or that it will be sold below cost. In the third
quarter of 2006 we recorded an additional $0.1 million charge for inventory
reserves related to some slow-moving VoIP products.
Valuation
and Impairment of Deferred Tax Assets. As
part
of the process of preparing our consolidated financial statements we estimate
our income tax expense and deferred income tax position. This process involves
the estimation of our actual current tax exposure together with assessing
temporary differences resulting from differing treatment of items for tax and
accounting purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets and
liabilities, which are included in our consolidated balance sheet. We then
assess the likelihood that our deferred tax assets will be recovered from future
taxable income. To the extent we believe that recovery is not likely, we
establish a valuation allowance. Changes in the valuation allowance are
reflected in the statement of operations.
Significant
management judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes
and any valuation allowance recorded against our net deferred tax assets. We
have recorded a 100% valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets. It
is
management's estimate that, after considering all the available objective
evidence, historical and prospective, with greater weight given to historical
evidence, it is more likely than not that these assets will not be realized.
If
we establish a record of continuing profitability, at some point we will be
required to reverse the valuation allowance and restore the deferred asset
value
to the balance sheet, recording an equal income tax benefit which will increase
net income in that period(s).
On
December 31, 2005 we had federal net operating loss carryforwards of
approximately $31,854,000. These federal net operating losses are available
to
offset future taxable income, and are due to expire in years ranging from
2018 to 2025. On December 31, 2005 we had state net operating loss carryforwards
of approximately $22,253,000. These state net operating losses are available
to
offset future taxable income, and are primarily due to expire in years ranging
from 2006 to 2010.
Results
of Operations
Summary.
Net
sales were $3.6 million for our third quarter ended September 30, 2006, down
32.6% (including the $0.5 million sales reduction resulting from our new
consignment arrangement with a significant retailer customer) from $5.3 million
in the third quarter of 2005. We had a net loss of $0.8 million for the third
quarter of 2006, compared to a net loss of $1.4 million in the third quarter
of
2005. Our operating loss for the third quarter of 2006 was $1.8 million,
compared to an operating loss of $1.4 million for the third quarter of 2005.
The
net loss of $0.8 million for the third quarter of 2006 was comprised of an
operating loss of $1.8 million offset by other income of $0.9 million, due
to
the additional $870 thousand payment based on a performance goal earn-out from
the 2005 sale of our interest in InterMute. Loss per diluted share was $0.09
for
the third quarter of 2006 compared to a loss per diluted share of $0.15 for
the
third quarter of 2005.
Net
sales
were $13.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2006, down 26.8%
(including the $0.5 million sales reduction resulting from our new consignment
arrangement with a significant retailer customer) from $18.3 million in the
first nine months of 2005. We had a net loss of $4.1 million for the first
nine
months of 2006, compared to a net loss of $1.3 million in the first nine months
of 2005. Our operating loss for the first nine months of 2006 was $5.1 million,
and our operating loss was $4.7 million for the first nine months of 2005.
Other
income for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005 was $1.0 million
and $3.5 million, respectively, due primarily to proceeds from the sale of
our
interest in InterMute. Net loss per diluted share was $0.43 for the first nine
months of 2006 compared to net loss per diluted share of $0.14 for the first
nine months of 2005.
Net
Sales.
Our net
sales for the third quarter of 2006 decreased 32.6% from the third quarter
of
2005, primarily due to a 49% decrease in DSL modem sales and a 14% decrease
in
dial-up modem sales. DSL modem net sales decreased from $2.6 million in the
third quarter of 2005 to $1.3 million in the third quarter of 2006 primarily
as
a result of: (i) decreased DSL sales to our Turkish distributor due to the
plans
by Turkish Telecom to dramatically increase their bundling of DSL modems with
their service offerings, (ii) reduced DSL sales at retail in the U.K. due to
the
decision in the third quarter of 2005 of a large U.K retailer to
discontinue carrying most of our DSL product line; and (iii) reduced DSL sales
to our distributor in Vietnam. Dial-up modem net sales declined to $2.0 million
in the third quarter of 2006 compared to $2.3 million in the third quarter
of
2005, and net sales would have risen without the $0.5 million reserve recorded
against the third quarter sales to our major retailer customer who will be
moving to consignment in the fourth quarter. Net sales in our other products
sales categories, which include wireless networking equipment, cable modems,
and
VoIP decreased $0.1 million from $0.4 million in the first nine months of 2005
to $0.3 million in the first nine months of 2006.
Our
net
sales for the first nine months of 2006 decreased 26.8% from the first nine
months of 2005, primarily due to a 35% decrease in DSL modem sales and a 24%
decrease in dial-up modem sales. DSL modem net sales decreased to $5.8 million
in the first nine months of 2006 compared to $8.8 million in the first nine
months of 2005, primarily as a result of decreased DSL sales to our Turkish
distributor as discussed above, reduced DSL sales at retail in the U.K. due
to
the decision in the third quarter of 2005 of a large U.K retailer to
discontinue carrying most of our DSL product line, and the loss of Granville
Technologies, a former large DSL and dial-up modem customer in the United
Kingdom that went out of business in mid-2005. Dial-up modem net sales declined
to $6.2 million in the first nine months of 2006 compared to $8.2 million in
the
first nine months of 2005, primarily due to lower dial-up modem unit sales,
primarily resulting from the continued decline of the dial-up modem
after-market, lower dial-up modem average selling prices, and to the $0.5
million reserve recorded against the third quarter sales to our major retailer
customer who will be moving to consignment in the fourth quarter. Net
sales
in our other product sales categories, which include wireless networking
equipment, cable modems, and VoIP increased $0.1 million from $1.3 million
for
the first nine months of 2005 to $1.4 million in the first nine months of 2006,
primarily due to increased wireless product sales.
Our
net
sales in North America were $2.3 million in the third quarter of 2006, a
decrease from $2.7 million in the third quarter of 2005. Our net sales in Turkey
were $0.05 million in the third quarter of 2006, a decrease from $1.0 million
in
the third quarter of 2005. Our net sales in the U.K. were $0.7 million in the
third quarter of 2006, a decline from $1.1 million in the third quarter of
2005.
The decline in net sales in Turkey and the U.K. are for the reasons discussed
above. Our net sales other than North America, Turkey and the U.K. were $0.6
million in the third quarter of 2006, and $0.6 million in the third
quarter of 2005. Our net sales in North America were $7.7 million in the first
nine months of 2006, a decline from $8.4 million in the first nine months of
2005. Our net sales in Turkey were $1.1 million in the first nine months of
2006
and $3.1 million in the first nine months of 2005. Our net sales in the U.K.
were $2.5 million in the first nine months of 2006, a decline from $4.1 million
in the first nine months of 2005. Our net sales in countries other than North
America, Turkey and the U.K. were $2.1 million for the first nine months of
2006
and $2.7 million for the first nine months of 2005.
Relatively
few customers have accounted for a substantial portion of our net sales. In
the
third quarter and nine months of 2006, respectively, net sales to our top three
customers accounted for 37% and 28% of total net sales. In the third quarter
and
nine months of 2005, respectively, net sales to our top three customers
accounted for 38% and 39% of total net sales.
Gross
Profit. Our
total
gross profit was $0.2 million in the third quarter of 2006, a decline from
$0.5
million in the third quarter of 2005. Our gross margin percent of net sales
decreased to 6.7% in the third quarter of 2006 from 9.8% in the third quarter
of
2005. The lower gross profit resulted primarily from lower sales volume with
the
gross margin drop due primarily to lower absorption of fixed manufacturing
overhead due to lower sales, and transition costs relating to the move of our
production operations from Boston to Tijuana, Mexico.
Our
total
gross profit was $1.4 million in the first nine months of 2006, a decline from
$3.4 million in the first nine months of 2005. Our gross margin percent of
net
sales decreased to 10.7% in the first nine months of 2006 from 18.8% in the
first nine months of 2005. Gross margins were lower primarily because of lower
absorption of fixed manufacturing overhead due to lower sales in the first
nine
months of 2006 compared to the first nine months of 2005, and a $0.1 million
severance charge and other moving-related costs associated with the closing
of
our manufacturing operations in Boston and the move of those operations to
Tijuana, Mexico in the second and third quarters of 2006. .
Selling
Expense.
Selling
expense decreased $0.2 million to $0.8 million or 21.8% of net sales in the
third quarter of 2006 from $1.0 million or 18.4% of net sales in the third
quarter of 2005. Selling expense was lower primarily because of lower personnel
and related costs resulting from employee headcount reductions and lower sales,
sales promotions, and product delivery expense.
Selling
expense decreased $.6 million to $2.6 million or 19.2% of net sales in the
first
nine months of 2006 from $3.2 million or 17.4% of net sales in the first nine
months of 2005. Selling expense was lower primarily because of lower personnel
and related costs resulting from employee headcount reductions and lower sales,
sales promotions, and product delivery expense.
General
and Administrative Expense.
General
and administrative expense was $0.7 million or 19.3% of net sales in the third
quarter of 2006 compared to $0.3 million or 5.9% of net sales in the third
quarter of 2005. General and administrative expense in the third quarter of
2005
was low due to the $0.4 million reversal of a $1.1 million bad debt allowance
recorded in the second quarter of 2005 for the business failure of Granville
Technologies.
General
and administrative expense decreased $0.6 million to $2.2 million, or 16.7%
of
net sales in the first nine months of 2006 from $2.9 million or 15.7% of net
sales in the first nine months of 2005. The decrease of $0.6 million was
primarily due to the $0.7 million bad debt charge to general and administrative
expense for Granville Technologies in 2005.
Research
and Development Expense.
Research
and development expense decreased $0.2 million to $0.5 million or 14.5% of
net
sales in the third quarter of 2006 from $0.7 million or 12.5% of net sales
in
the third quarter of 2005. Research and development costs decreased primarily
as
a result of lower personnel costs due to headcount reductions and lower
consulting and product license and approval fees. Development and support
continues on all of our major product lines with particular emphasis on VoIP
products and service, DSL products, wireless products, and the new iHIFi product
line.
Research
and development expense decreased $0.4 million to $1.7 million or 12.8% of
net
sales in the first nine months of 2006 from $2.1 million or 11.5% of net sales
in the first nine months of 2005. Research and development costs decreased
primarily as a result of lower personnel costs due to headcount reductions
and
lower consulting and product license and approval fees.
Other
Income (Expense), Net. Other
income (expense), net was net income of $0.9 million in the third quarter of
2006 compared to net income of $0.1 million in the third quarter of 2005. The
$0.9 million income gain resulted primarily from a performance milestone
payment in the third quarter ended September 30, 2006 related to the sale of
InterMute to Trend Micro in 2005.
Other
income net was $1.0 million in the first nine months of 2006, compared to $3.5
million in the first nine months of 2005. The primary reason for both the $1.0
million and $3.5 million income in the first nine months of 2006 and 2005,
respectively, was due to payments we received from the sale of our
interest in InterMute to Trend Micro.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
On
September 30, 2006 we had working capital of $7.8 million, including $4.2
million in cash and cash equivalents. Our net loss in the first nine months
of
2006 was $4.1 million. In the first nine months of 2006, operating activities
used $4.4 million in cash. Uses of cash from operations included a decrease
of
accounts payable and accrued expenses of $1.6 million. Sources of cash from
operations included a decrease of accounts receivable of $0.9 million, and
a
decrease of inventory of $0.8 million.
In
the
first nine months of 2006 net cash used in financing activities was $1.3
million, due primarily to the refinancing of the mortgage on our headquarters
buildings. Our original mortgage was a 5-year balloon mortgage that was
initially due and payable on January 10, 2006. The balloon payment was deferred
until March 30, 2006 when a mortgage amendment was agreed and signed. On that
date we paid the lender $1.2 million to reduce the then outstanding balance
of
$4.9 million and refinanced the remaining $3.7 million with a new mortgage.
Payments on the new mortgage are based on a 15 year amortization period with
initial interest at 7.75%, adjusted along with the prime rate as published
in
the Wall Street Journal. The rate of interest as of September 30, 2006 was
8.25%. The mortgage matures April 10, 2007 but may be extended at Zoom’s option
to April 10,2008 if Zoom makes the election to extend and Zoom pays the lender
an extension fee of $36,750 by March 10, 2007 and prior to and following such
election Zoom is not in default under the loan. As required by the lender we
deposited six months of principal and interest ($214,637 as of September 30,
2006) in a Certificate of Deposit held by the lender as a debt service reserve
account. The new mortgage contains certain customary financial and non-financial
covenants, including the requirement to maintain a tangible net worth of $7.0
million and an amount of cash and cash equivalents, free from any and all
encumbrances, in an amount of not less than $1.0 million. We were in compliance
with those covenants as of September 30, 2006. Our tangible net worth at
September 30, 2006 was $7.1 million. For additional liquidity, we negotiated
a
Purchase and Sale Agreement for the sale of our company-owned buildings which
now house our entire Boston headquarters staff. On October 30, 2006 the deposit
relating to that purchase was increased to $400,000. If the sale closes, which
is likely but not certain, we expect the closing to occur in December 2006.
The
liquidity impact of the sale would be to eliminate $3.6 million in bank debt
and
increase cash by approximately $4.2 million. The agreement provides for the
lease-back to Zoom of a portion of the sold property at below-market lease
rates. If the sale of the building is not completed, we may not meet the minimum
tangible net worth requirement in the near term. If we default, the lender
would
have the right to demand payment in full of the loan and we would have no right
to exercise our option to extend the loan. We may not have sufficient liquid
assets to repay the loan if the lender makes demand. As such, we may be unable
to continue as a going concern.
On
March
15, 2006 our one-year revolving line of credit with Silicon Valley Bank
terminated. There were no borrowings under the line for the entire one-year
contract. Out discussions on a new line of credit are currently on hold, pending
the outcome of the sale of our Headquarters buildings. Accordingly, we do not
currently have a line of credit from which we can borrow.
In
June
2005 InterMute, Inc., a software company in which we have a minority interest,
was acquired by Trend Micro Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Trend Micro Japan. In
connection with the acquisition, in June 2005, we received a payment of
approximately $3.5 million in exchange for our investment. We recorded a
non-operating gain of $3.5 million in our third quarter of 2005 in connection
with this sale. At that time we disclosed that we could receive up to $3.0
million in additional payments in 2006 if certain conditions and performance
targets are met. We realized in cash an additional contingent gain of $837,750
during the quarter ended September 30, 2006, representing our portion of an
earnout payment paid by the buyer as a result of the achievement of a
performance milestone. On November 11, 2006 we received a second and final
performance milestone payment, also of $837,750. We expect to receive in
December 2006 a return of our escrow deposit of approximately $370,000. No
further payments from the sale of InterMute are expected.
To
conserve cash and manage our liquidity, we continue to implement cost cutting
initiatives including the reduction of employee headcount and overhead costs,
and most recently, the move of most of our manufacturing operations to a
dedicated facility in Tijuana, Mexico starting on approximately September 1,
2006. In connection therewith on June 30, 2006 we notified 40 employees
currently working at Zoom in Boston that they would be terminated on
approximately August 31, 2006. One-time severance benefits approximating
$100,000 were accrued for this termination and charged to operations as of
June
30, 2006. We expect to incur approximately $300,000 of costs, including the
aforementioned severance benefits, in connection with the move. We plan to
continue to assess our cost structure as it relates to our revenues and cash
position in 2006, and we may make further changes if the actions are
deemed necessary.
We
believe that our current level of working capital combined with the anticipated
proceeds from the completion of the pending sale of our headquarter buildings
will provide sufficient resources to fund the Company’s normal operations over
the next twelve months, the relevant period for a going-concern evaluation,
through September 30, 2007. However, we cannot assure that we can sell our
building on favorable terms and on a timely basis, if at all. Our $3.6 million
mortgage loan contains financial covenants including the requirement that we
maintain a tangible net worth of at least $7.0 million. As of September 30,
2006
our tangible net worth was $7.1 million. If we continue to incur operating
losses that are not otherwise offset by proceeds from the timely sale of our
headquarters facility we could be in default of this covenant before the loan
matures in April 2007. In such event, the lender would have the right to demand
payment in full of the loan and we would have no right to exercise our option
to
extend the loan.
We
entered into a consignment arrangement with a significant retailer customer
in
October 2006. In connection with this agreement ownership of all unsold products
previously purchased from Zoom are scheduled to revert to us in November 2006.
The new arrangement has resulted in an accounting adjustment that reduced our
net sales in the quarter ended September 30, 2006 by $0.5 million and reduced
cost of sales and other directly related expenses by $0.3 million, which
increased the net loss for the quarter ended September 30, 2006 by $0.2 million.
We estimated, as of September 30, 2006, that the cash repayment to the retailer
in November for the inventory ownership transferring back to us will be
approximately $0.2 million. Sales in the fourth quarter ending December 31,
2006
will also be reduced compared to a non-consignment arrangement. The recording
of
sales under the consignment arrangement does not take place until the retailer
makes a sale to its customer. The dating of invoices, the recognition of
Accounts Receivable, and the due dates for payments to Zoom are also delayed.
If
the
buyer of our headquarters buildings does not close on the sale through no fault
of ours, we are entitled to $0.4 million of cash that has been deposited in
escrow by the buyer. However, if we subsequently are not able sell our building
on a timely basis our liquidity could be significantly impaired and we may
not
have sufficient resources to fund our normal operations over the next twelve
months. Longer-term, if we are unable to increase our revenues, reduce or
otherwise adequately control our expenses, or raise capital, our ability to
continue as a going concern and achieve our intended business objectives would
be adversely affected. See the safe harbor statement contained herein and the
"Risk Factors" in Item 1A under Part II of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
below, Zoom’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005
and Zoom’s other filings with the SEC, for further information with respect to
events and uncertainties that could harm our business, operating results, and
financial condition.
Commitments
During
the nine months ended September 30, 2006, there were no material changes to
our
capital commitments and contractual obligations from those disclosed in the
Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 except that, as described above,
in
March 2006 we paid our mortgage lender $1.2 million to reduce the then balance
of $4.8 million, and refinanced the remaining balance of our mortgage loan
with
a new $3.7 million mortgage with a 15 year amortization for one year and a
Maturity Date of April 10, 2007.
"Safe
Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995.
Some
of the statements contained in this report are forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of
the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our or our industry's
actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from
any
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to statements regarding: Zoom's plans, expectations and intentions,
including statements relating to Zoom's prospects and plans relating to sales
of
and markets for its products;
Zoom’s
expected benefits and cost savings resulting from the move of its manufacturing
facilities to Mexico; Zoom’s sufficiency of capital resources; and Zoom's
financial condition or results of operations.
In
some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may,"
"will, " "should," "could," "would," "expects," "plans," "anticipates,"
"believes," "estimates," "projects," "predicts," "potential" and similar
expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements
are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and
other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity,
performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results,
levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties you should not place
undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements. Also, these forward-looking
statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this
report. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly
any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained in this
report to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events,
conditions or circumstances on which any of our forward-looking statements
are
based. Factors that could cause or contribute to differences in our future
financial results include those discussed in the risk factors set forth in
Item
1A of Part II below as well as those discussed elsewhere in this report and
in
our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We qualify all of
our
forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
ITEM
3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET
RISK
We
own
financial instruments that are sensitive to market risks as part of our
investment portfolio. The investment portfolio is used to preserve our capital
until it is required to fund operations, including our research and development
activities. None of these market-risk sensitive instruments are held for trading
purposes. We do not own derivative financial instruments in our investment
portfolio. The investment portfolio contains instruments that are subject to
the
risk of a decline in interest rates. Investment Rate Risk - Our investment
portfolio consists entirely of money market funds, which are subject to interest
rate risk. Due to the short duration and conservative nature of these
instruments, we do not believe that it has a material exposure to interest
rate
risk. Our market risks have not changed substantially since December 31,
2005.
ITEM
4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
We
maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that
information required to be disclosed in our Securities Exchange Act reports
is
recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified
in the SEC's rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and
communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief
Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required
disclosure. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures,
management recognized that any controls and procedures, no matter how well
designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the
desired control objectives, as ours are designed to do, and management
necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit
relationship of possible controls and procedures.
As
of
September 30, 2006 we carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and
with
the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer
and
Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of
our
disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Based upon that evaluation, our
Chief
Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure
controls and procedures are effective in enabling us to record, process,
summarize and report information required to be included in our periodic SEC
filings within the required time period.
There
have been no changes in our 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, our internal control over
financial reporting.
PART
II OTHER
INFORMATION
ITEM
1A. RISK
FACTORS
This
report contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties,
such as statements of our objectives, expectations and intentions. The
cautionary statements made in this report should be read as applicable to all
forward-looking statements wherever they appear in this report. Our actual
results could differ materially from those discussed herein. Factors that could
cause or contribute to such differences include those discussed below, as well
as those discussed elsewhere in this report.
Our
liquidity may be significantly impaired if we are not able to sell our
headquarters facility.
We
recently announced that we have negotiated a Purchase and Sale Agreement for
the
sale of our headquarters facility. The potential purchaser has deposited
$400,000 related to this purchase. While we expect the closing of the sale
of
our headquarters will occur in December 2006, there can be no assurance that
the
sale will close. If the sale of our headquarters to the currently identified
purchaser does not close there can be no assurance that we would be able to
locate another purchaser for the buildings on a timely basis and on terms
acceptable to us. Our headquarters facility is subject to a $3.6 million
mortgage. The mortgage matures April 10, 2007 but may be extended at our option
to April 10, 2008 if we make the election to extend the loan and pay the lender
an extension fee of $36,750 by March 10, 2007 and if prior to and following
such
election we are not in default under the loan. The mortgage contains financial
and non-financial covenants, including the requirement to maintain a minimum
tangible net worth of $7.0 million. As of September 30, 2006 our tangible net
worth was $7.1 million. If we continue to incur losses that are not otherwise
offset by proceeds from the timely sale of our headquarters facility, we could
be in default of this covenant before the loan matures on April 10, 2007. In
such event, the lender would have the right to demand payment in full of the
loan and we would have
no
right to exercise our option to extend the loan. If we are not able to sell
our
building on a timely basis, our liquidity could be significantly impaired and
we
may not have sufficient resources to fund our normal operations over the next
twelve months. Moreover, if we do sell our headquarters facility, we believe
that we will be able to lease back a portion of the sold property or otherwise
find suitable space for our principal headquarters on satisfactory terms. If
we
fail to lease back a portion of the sold property or to find suitable space
for
our principal headquarters, our business would be harmed.
To
stay in business we may require future additional funding which we may be unable
to obtain on favorable terms, if at all.
In
addition to obtaining funds to refinance or repay our mortgage, over the next
twelve months we may require additional financing for our operations either
to
fund losses beyond those we anticipate or to fund growth in our inventory and
accounts receivable. Our revolving credit facility expired on March 15, 2006
and
we currently have no line of credit from which we can borrow. Our discussions
on
a new line of credit are currently on hold, pending the outcome of the sale
of
our Headquarters buildings. Additional financing may not be available to us
on a
timely basis if at all, or on terms acceptable to us. If we fail to obtain
acceptable additional financing when needed, we may not have sufficient
resources to fund our normal operations and we may be required to further reduce
planned expenditures or forego business opportunities. These factors could
reduce our net sales, increase our losses, and harm our business. Moreover,
additional equity financing could dilute the per share value of our common
stock
held by current shareholders, while additional debt financing could restrict
our
ability to make capital expenditures or incur additional indebtedness, all
of
which would impede our ability to succeed.
In
September 2006 we transferred most of our manufacturing operations from Boston,
Massachusetts to Tijuana, Mexico. As a result of moving our manufacturing
options to Mexico, we experienced delays and interruptions in production and
may
experience additional delays and interruptions as well as unanticipated costs
and other problems. We incurred approximately $280,000 in costs in connection
with the move of our manufacturing
operations to Mexico. Delays, interruptions in production or other problems
related to the move could lead to increased or unexpected costs, reduced
margins, delays in product deliveries, order cancellations, and lost revenue,
all of which could harm our business,
results of operation, and liquidity.
Our
conduct of business in Mexico is
subject to the additional challenges and risks associated with international
operations, including those related to integration of operations across
different cultures and languages, currency risk, and economic, legal, political
and regulatory risks.
The
market for high-speed communications products and services has many competing
technologies and, as a result, the demand for certain of our products and
services is declining.
Industry
analysts believe that the market for our dial-up modems will continue to
decline. If we are unable to increase demand for and sales of our broadband
modems, we may be unable to sustain or grow our business. The market for
high-speed communications products and services has a number of competing
technologies. For instance, Internet access can be achieved by:
· |
using
a standard telephone line and appropriate service for dial-up modems;
|
· |
ISDN
modems, or DSL modems, possibly in combination;
|
· |
using
a cable modem with a cable TV line and cable modem service;
|
· |
using
a router and some type of modem to service the computers connected
to a
local area network; or
|
· |
other
approaches, including wireless links to the
Internet.
|
Although
we currently sell products that include these technologies, our most successful
products have historically been our dial-up modems. The introduction of new
products by competitors, market acceptance of products based on new or
alternative technologies, or the emergence of new industry standards have in
the
past rendered and could continue to render our products less competitive or
even
obsolete. For example, these factors have caused the market for our dial-up
modems to shrink dramatically. If we are unable to increase demand for our
broadband modems, we may be unable to sustain or grow our business.
Capacity
constraints in our Mexican operations could reduce our sales and revenues and
hurt customer relationships.
We
now
rely on our Mexican operations to finish and ship most of the products we sell.
Since moving our manufacturing operations to our Mexican facility we have
experienced and may continue to experience constraints on our manufacturing
capacity as we address challenges related to operating our new
facility, such as hiring and training workers, creating the facility's
infrastructure, developing new supplier relationships, complying with customs
and border regulations, and resolving shipping and logistical issues. Our sales
and revenues may be reduced and our customer relationships may be impaired
if we
continue to experience constraints on our manufacturing capacity. We are working
to minimize capacity constraints in a cost-effective manner, but there can
be no
assurance that we will be able to adequately minimize capacity
constraints.
Our
reliance on a business processing outsourcing partner to conduct our operations
in Mexico could materially harm our business and
prospects.
In
connection with the move of most of our manufacturing operations to Mexico,
we
rely on a business processing outsourcing partner to hire, subject to our
oversight, the production team for our manufacturing operation, provide the
selected facility described above, and coordinate some of the start-up and
ongoing manufacturing logistics relating to our operations in Mexico. Our
outsourcing partner’s related functions include acquiring the necessary Mexican
permits, providing the appropriate Mexican operating entity, assisting in
customs clearances, and providing other general assistance and administrative
services in connection with the start-up and ongoing operation of the Mexican
facility. Our
outsourcing partner’s performance of these obligations efficiently and
effectively will be critical to the success of our operations in Mexico. Failure
of our outsourcing partner to perform its obligations efficiently and
effectively could result in delays, unanticipated costs or interruptions in
production, delays in deliveries to our customers or other harm to our business,
results of operation, and liquidity. Moreover, if our outsourcing arrangement
is
not successful, we cannot assure our ability to find an alternative production
facility or outsourcing partner to assist in our operations in Mexico or our
ability to operate successfully in Mexico without outsourcing or similar
assistance.
Our
reliance on a limited number of customers for a large portion of our revenues
could materially harm our business and prospects.
Relatively
few customers have accounted for a substantial portion of our net sales. In
the
first nine months of 2006, our net sales to three companies constituted 34%
of
our total net sales. Our customers generally do not enter into long-term
agreements obligating them to purchase our products. We may not continue to
receive significant revenues from any of these or from other large customers.
Because of our significant customer concentration, our net sales and operating
income could fluctuate significantly due to changes in political or economic
conditions or the loss of, reduction of business with, or less favorable terms
for any of our significant customers. For example, in the first nine months
of
2006, DSL sales to our Turkish distributor, one of our top three customers,
have
declined significantly from $3.1 million in the first nine months in 2005 to
$1.1 million in the first nine months in 2006. We attribute this decline due
to
a number of factors including increased competition and plans by Turkish Telecom
to dramatically increase the bundling of DSL modems with their service. We
cannot guarantee that we will increase our sales to our Turkish distributor.
A
reduction or delay in orders from any of our significant customers, or a delay
or default in payment by any significant customer could materially harm
our
business,
results of operation and liquidity.
Our
net sales, operating results and liquidity have been and may in the future
be
adversely affected because of the decline in the retail market for dial-up
modems.
The
dial-up modem industry has been characterized by declining average selling
prices and a declining retail market. The decline in average selling prices
is
due to a number of factors, including technological change, lower component
costs, and competition. The decline in the size of the retail market for dial-up
modems is primarily due to the inclusion of dial-up modems as a standard feature
contained in new PCs, and the advent of broadband products. Decreasing average
selling prices and reduced demand for our dial-up modems have resulted and
may
in the future result in decreased net sales for dial-up modems. If we fail
to
replace declining revenue from the sales of dial-up modems with the sales of
our
other products, including our broadband modems, our business, results of
operation and liquidity will be harmed.
Less
advantageous terms of sale of our products could harm our
business.
The
Company entered into a consignment arrangement with a significant retailer
customer in October 2006. In connection with this arrangement ownership of
all
unsold products previously purchased from the Company are scheduled to revert
to
the Company in November 2006. The new arrangement has resulted in an accounting
adjustment that reduced the Company’s net sales in the quarter ended September
30, 2006 by $0.5 million and reduced cost of sales and other directly related
expenses by $0.3 million, which increased the net loss for the quarter ended
September 30, 2006 by $0.2 million. The Company estimated, as of September
30,
2006, that the cash repayment to the retailer in November for the inventory
ownership transferring back to the Company will be approximately $0.2 million.
Sales in the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2006 will also be reduced due
to
the start of the consignment arrangement. Under the consignment arrangement
we
are not able to recognize revenue from the sale of a product until the retailer
actually sells such product to its customer. The consignment arrangement also
results in a delay in the dating of invoices, the recognition of accounts
receivable, and the due dates for payment by the retailer for goods sold. If
additional significant customers adopt similar arrangements or otherwise change
the terms of sale, our business, results of operation and liquidity will be
harmed.
We
believe that our future success will depend in large part on our ability to
more
successfully penetrate the broadband modem markets, which have been challenging
markets, with significant barriers to entry.
With
the
shrinking of the dial-up modem market, we believe that our future success will
depend in large part on our ability to more successfully penetrate the broadband
modem markets, DSL and cable, and the VoIP market. These markets have
significant barriers to entry that have adversely affected our sales to these
markets. Although some cable and DSL modems are sold at retail, the high volume
purchasers of these modems are concentrated in a relatively few large cable,
telecommunications, and Internet service providers which offer broadband modem
services to their customers. These customers, particularly cable services
providers, also have extensive and varied approval processes for modems to
be
approved for use on their network. These approvals are expensive, time
consuming, and continue to evolve. Successfully penetrating the broadband modem
market therefore presents a number of challenges including:
· |
the
current limited retail market for broadband
modems;
|
· |
the
relatively small number of cable, telecommunications and Internet
service
provider customers that make up a substantial part of the market
for
broadband modems;
|
· |
the
significant bargaining power of these large volume purchasers;
|
· |
the
time consuming, expensive, uncertain and varied approval process
of the
various cable service providers;
and
|
· |
the
strong relationships with cable service providers enjoyed by incumbent
cable equipment providers like Motorola and Scientific
Atlanta.
|
Our
sales
of broadband products have been adversely affected by all of these factors.
Sales of our broadband products in European countries have fluctuated and may
continue to fluctuate due to approvals and delays
in
the deployment by service providers of cable and DSL service in these countries.
We cannot assure that we will be able to successfully penetrate these
markets.
Our
failure to meet changing customer requirements and emerging industry standards
would adversely impact our ability to sell our products and
services.
The
market for PC communications products and high-speed broadband access products
and services is characterized by aggressive pricing practices, continually
changing customer demand patterns, rapid technological advances, emerging
industry standards and short product life cycles. Some of our product and
service developments and enhancements have taken longer than planned and have
delayed the availability of our products and services, which adversely affected
our sales and profitability in the past. Any significant delays in the future
may adversely impact our ability to sell our products and services, and our
results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected. Our
future success will depend in large part upon our ability to:
· |
identify
and respond to emerging technological trends and industry standards
in the
market;
|
· |
develop
and maintain competitive products that meet changing customer demands;
|
· |
enhance
our products by adding innovative features that differentiate our
products
from those of our competitors;
|
· |
bring
products to market on a timely basis;
|
· |
introduce
products that have competitive prices;
|
· |
manage
our product transitions, inventory levels and manufacturing processes
efficiently;
|
· |
respond
effectively to new technological changes or new product announcements
by
others; and
|
· |
meet
changing industry standards.
|
Our
product cycles tend to be short, and we may incur significant non-recoverable
expenses or devote significant resources to sales that do not occur when
anticipated. Therefore, the resources we devote to product development, sales
and marketing may not generate material net sales for us. In addition, short
product cycles have resulted in and may in the future result in excess and
obsolete inventory, which has had and may in the future have an adverse affect
on our results of operations. In an effort to develop innovative products and
technology, we have incurred and may in the future incur substantial
development, sales, marketing, and inventory costs. If we are unable to recover
these costs, our financial condition and operating results could be adversely
affected. In addition, if we sell our products at reduced prices in anticipation
of cost reductions and we still have higher cost products in inventory, our
business would be harmed and our results of operations and financial condition
would be adversely affected.
Our
international operations are subject to a number of risks that could harm our
business.
Currently
our business is significantly dependent on our operations outside the United
States, particularly sales of our products and the production of most of our
products. All of our manufacturing operations except our rework operations
are
now located outside of the United States. In the first nine months of 2005,
sales outside of North America were approximately 54% of our net sales. In
the
first nine months of 2006, sales outside North America were 42% of our net
sales. The inherent risks of international operations could harm our business,
results of operation, and liquidity. The types of risks faced in connection
with
international operations and sales include, among others:
· |
regulatory
and communications requirements and policy
changes;
|
· |
favoritism
toward local suppliers;
|
· |
delays
in the rollout of broadband services by cable and DSL service
providers;
|
· |
local
language and technical support requirements;
|
· |
difficulties
in inventory management, accounts receivable collection and the management
of distributors or representatives;
|
· |
reduced
control over staff and other difficulties in staffing and managing
foreign
operations;
|
· |
reduced
protection for intellectual property rights in some
countries;
|
· |
political
and economic changes and disruptions;
|
· |
governmental
currency controls;
|
· |
currency
exchange rate fluctuations, including, as a result of the move of
our
manufacturing operations to Mexico, changes in value of the Mexican
Peso
relative to the US dollar; and import, export, and tariff
regulations.
|
We
may be subject to product returns resulting from defects, or from overstocking
of our products. Product returns could result in the failure to attain market
acceptance of our products, which would harm our business.
If
our
products contain undetected defects, errors, or failures, we could
face:
· |
delays
in the development of our products;
|
· |
numerous
product returns; and
|
· |
other
losses to us or to our customers or end
users.
|
Any
of
these occurrences could also result in the loss of or delay in market acceptance
of our products, either of which would reduce our sales and harm our business.
We are also exposed to the risk of product returns from our customers as a
result of contractual stock rotation privileges and our practice of assisting
some of our customers in balancing their inventories. Overstocking has in the
past led and may in the future lead to higher than normal returns.
Our
failure to effectively manage our inventory levels could materially and
adversely affect our liquidity and harm our business.
Due
to
rapid technological change and changing markets we are required to manage our
inventory levels carefully to both meet customer expectations regarding delivery
times and to limit our excess inventory exposure. In the event we fail to
effectively manage our inventory our liquidity may be adversely affected and
we
may face increased risk of inventory obsolescence, a decline in market value
of
the inventory, or losses from theft, fire, or other casualty. We incurred a
$0.1
million inventory obsolescence charge in the three months ended September
30,2006 for inventory reserves related to some slow-moving VoIP
products.
We
may be unable to produce sufficient quantities of our products because we depend
on third party manufacturers. If these third party manufacturers fail to produce
quality products in a timely manner, our ability to fulfill our customer orders
would be adversely impacted.
We
use
contract manufacturers to partially manufacture our products. We use these
third
party manufacturers to help ensure low costs, rapid market entry, and
reliability. Any manufacturing disruption could impair our ability to fulfill
orders, and failure to fulfill orders would adversely affect our sales. Although
we currently use four contract manufacturers for the bulk of our purchases,
in
some cases a given product is only provided by one of these companies. The
loss
of the services of any of our significant third party manufacturers or a
material adverse change in the business of or our relationships with any of
these manufacturers could harm our business. Since third parties manufacture
our
products and we expect this to continue in the future, our success will depend,
in part, on the ability of third parties to manufacture our products cost
effectively and in sufficient quantities to meet our customer
demand.
We
are
subject to the following risks because of our reliance on third party
manufacturers:
· |
reduced
management and control of component purchases;
|
· |
reduced
control over delivery schedules, quality assurance and manufacturing
yields;
|
· |
lack
of adequate capacity during periods of excess demand;
|
· |
limited
warranties on products supplied to us;
|
· |
potential
increases in prices;
|
· |
interruption
of supplies from assemblers as a result of a fire, natural calamity,
strike or other significant event; and
|
· |
misappropriation
of our intellectual property.
|
We
may be unable to produce sufficient quantities of our products because we obtain
key components from, and depend on, sole or limited source
suppliers.
We
obtain
certain key parts, components, and equipment from sole or limited sources of
supply. For example, we purchase most of our dial-up and broadband modem
chipsets from Conexant Systems, Agere Systems, and Ikanos Communications.
Integrated circuit product areas covered by at least one of these companies
include dial-up modems, DSL modems, cable modems, networking, routers, and
gateways. In the past we have experienced delays in receiving shipments of
modem
chipsets from our sole source suppliers. We may experience
similar delays in the future. In addition, some products may have other
components that are available from only one source. If we are unable to obtain
a
sufficient supply of components from our current sources, we would experience
difficulties in obtaining alternative sources or in altering product designs
to
use alternative components. Resulting delays or reductions in product shipments
could damage relationships with our customers, and our customers could decide
to
purchase products from our competitors. Inability to meet our customers’ demand
or a decision by one or more of our customers to purchase products from our
competitors could harm our operating results.
We
face significant competition, which could result in decreased demand for our
products or services.
We
may be
unable to compete successfully. A number of companies have developed, or are
expected to develop, products that compete or will compete with our products.
Furthermore, many of our current and potential competitors have significantly
greater resources than we do. Intense competition, rapid technological change
and evolving industry standards could result in less favorable selling terms
to
our customers, decrease demand for our products or make our products
obsolete.
Changes
in existing regulations or adoption of new regulations affecting the Internet
could increase the cost of our products or otherwise affect our ability to
offer
our products and services over the Internet.
Congress
has adopted legislation that regulates certain aspects of the Internet,
including online content, user privacy, taxation, liability for third-party
activities and jurisdiction. In addition, a number of initiatives pending in
Congress and state legislatures would prohibit or restrict advertising or sale
of certain products and services on the Internet, which may have the effect
of
raising the cost of doing business on the Internet generally. Federal, state,
local and foreign governmental organizations are considering other legislative
and regulatory proposals that would regulate the Internet. We cannot predict
whether new taxes will be imposed on our services, and depending on the type
of
taxes imposed, whether and how our services would be affected thereafter.
Increased regulation of the Internet may decrease its growth and hinder
technological development, which may negatively impact the cost of doing
business via the Internet or otherwise harm our business.
New
regulations to reduce the use of hazardous materials in products scheduled
to be
implemented in 2007 may increase our manufacturing costs and harm our
business.
The
Federal government has announced plans to reduce the use of hazardous materials,
such as
lead,
in electronic equipment. The implementation of these new requirements, currently
scheduled to begin in 2007, may require us and other electronics companies
to
change or discontinue many products. We believe compliance with these new
requirements will be difficult, and will typically increase our product costs
by
up to $.50 per unit, depending on the product. In addition, we may incur
additional costs involved with the disposal of inventory or with returned
products that do not meet the new requirements, which could further harm our
business. In the first nine months of 2006, we incurred an additional $0.1
million in costs due to establishment of obsolescence reserves for the eventual
disposal of some of our modem components as a result of recently enacted
regulatory requirements in the European Union.
Changes
in current or future laws or governmental regulations and industry standards
that negatively impact our products, services and technologies could harm our
business.
The
jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission, or the FCC, extends
to
the entire United States communications industry including our customers and
their products and services that incorporate our products. Our products are
also
required to meet the regulatory requirements of other countries throughout
the
world where our products and services are sold. Obtaining government regulatory
approvals is time-consuming and very costly. In the past, we have encountered
delays in the introduction of our products, such as our cable modems, as a
result of government certifications. We may face further delays if we are unable
to comply with governmental regulations. Delays caused by the time it takes
to
comply with regulatory requirements may result in cancellations or postponements
of product orders or purchases by our customers, which would harm our
business.
In
addition to reliability and quality standards, the market acceptance of our
VoIP
products and services is dependent upon the adoption of industry standards
so
that products from multiple manufacturers are able to communicate with each
other. Standards are continuously being modified and replaced. As standards
evolve, we may be required to modify our existing products or develop and
support new versions of our products. The failure of our products to comply,
or
delays in compliance, with various existing and evolving industry standards
could delay or interrupt volume production of our products, which could harm
our
business.
Regulation
of VoIP services is developing and is therefore uncertain. Future regulation
of
VoIP services could increase our costs and restrict the grown of our VoIP
business.
VoIP
services currently have different regulations from traditional telephony in
most
countries including the US. The US, various states and other countries may
impose surcharges, taxes or new regulations upon providers of VoIP services.
The
imposition of any such surcharges, taxes and regulations on VoIP services could
materially increase our costs, may limit or eliminate our competitive pricing
and may require us to restructure the VoIP services we currently offer. For
example, regulations requiring compliance with the Communications Assistance
for
Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) or provision of the same type of 911 services as
required for traditional telecommunications providers could place a significant
financial burden on us depending on the technical changes required to
accommodate the requirements. In May 2005 the FCC issued an order requiring
interconnected VoIP providers to deliver 911 calls to the customer’s local
emergency operator as a standard feature of the service. We believe our VoIP
products are capable of meeting the FCC requirements. In the event our VoIP
products do not meet the FCC requirements, we may need to modify our products,
which could increase our costs.
In
many
countries outside the US in which we operate or our services are sold, we cannot
be certain that we will be able to comply with existing or future requirements,
or that we will be able to continue to be in compliance with any such
requirements. Our failure to comply with these requirements could materially
adversely affect our ability to continue to offer our VoIP services in these
jurisdictions.
Fluctuations
in the foreign currency exchange rates in relation to the U.S. Dollar could
have
a material adverse effect on our operating results.
Changes
in currency exchange rates that increase the relative value of the U.S. dollar
may make it more difficult for us to compete with foreign manufacturers on
price, may reduce our foreign currency denominated sales when expressed in
dollars, or may otherwise have a material adverse effect on our sales and
operating results. A significant increase in our foreign currency denominated
sales would increase our risk associated with foreign currency fluctuations.
A
weakness in the U.S. dollar relative to the Mexican Peso and various Asian
currencies including the Chinese renminbi could increase our product costs.
Our
future success will depend on the continued services of our executive officers
and key product development personnel.
The
loss
of any of our executive officers or key product development personnel, the
inability to attract or retain qualified personnel in the future, or delays
in
hiring skilled personnel could harm our business. Competition for skilled
personnel is significant. We may be unable to attract and retain all the
personnel necessary for the development of our business. In addition, the loss
of Frank B. Manning, our president and chief executive officer, or Peter Kramer,
our executive vice president, some other member of the senior management team,
a
key engineer or salesperson, or other key contributors, could harm our relations
with our customers, our ability to respond to technological change, and our
business.
We
may have difficulty protecting our intellectual property.
Our
ability to compete is heavily affected by our ability to protect our
intellectual property. We rely primarily on trade secret laws, confidentiality
procedures, patents, copyrights, trademarks, and licensing arrangements to
protect our intellectual property. The steps we take to protect our technology
may be inadequate. Existing trade secret, trademark and copyright laws offer
only limited protection. Our patents could be invalidated or circumvented.
We
have more intellectual property assets in some countries than we do in others.
In addition, the laws of some foreign countries in which our products are or
may
be developed, manufactured or sold may not protect our products or intellectual
property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States. This
may
make the possibility of piracy of our technology and products more likely.
We
cannot assure that the steps that we have taken to protect our intellectual
property will be adequate to prevent misappropriation of our
technology.
We
could infringe the intellectual property rights of others.
Particular
aspects of our technology could be found to infringe on the intellectual
property rights or patents of others. Other companies may hold or obtain patents
on inventions or may otherwise claim proprietary rights to technology necessary
to our business. We cannot predict the extent to which we may be required to
seek licenses. We cannot assure that the terms of any licenses we may be
required to seek will be reasonable. We are often indemnified by our suppliers
relative to certain intellectual property rights; but these indemnifications
do
not cover all possible suits, and there is no guarantee that a relevant
indemnification will be honored by the indemnifying.
ITEM
6. EXHIBITS
Exhibit
No.
|
|
Exhibit
Description
|
|
|
|
31.1
|
|
CEO
Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.**
|
|
|
|
31.2
|
|
CFO
Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.**
|
|
|
|
32.1
|
|
CEO
Certification Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.**
|
|
|
|
32.2
|
|
CFO
Certification Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.**
|
**Filed
herewith
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, the Company
has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto
duly authorized.
|
|
|
|
ZOOM
TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
|
|
|
|
Date:
November 13, 2006
|
By: |
/s/
Frank B. Manning |
|
Frank
B. Manning, President
|
|
|
|
|
By: |
/s/
Robert Crist |
|
Robert
Crist, Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer
(Principal
Financial and Accounting
Officer)
|
EXHIBIT
INDEX
Exhibit
No. |
|
Exhibit
Description |
|
|
|
31.1
|
|
CEO
Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of
2002.**
|
|
|
|
31.2
|
|
CFO
Certification Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of
2002.**
|
|
|
|
32.1
|
|
CEO
Certification Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of
2002.**
|
|
|
|
32.2
|
|
CFO
Certification Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of
2002.**
|
**Filed
herewith