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WRLS > SEC Filings for WRLS > Form 10-Q on 11-May-2009All Recent SEC Filings

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Form 10-Q for TELULAR CORP


11-May-2009

Quarterly Report


Item 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Introduction
Telular Corporation ("Telular" or "the Company") designs, develops, and distributes products and services that utilize wireless networks to provide data and voice connectivity among people and machines. Telular's product and service offerings take advantage of the pervasiveness and data transport capabilities of wireless phone networks in order to replace functionality historically provided by wireline communications networks. Bridging the gap between traditional, wireline equipment and wireless phone networks, the Company's products and services replace the wireline network while providing the added flexibility and security of wireless connectivity.
The Company generates most of its revenue by designing, producing and selling products and through the delivery of machine-to-machine ("M2M") and event monitoring services, such as its TELGUARD and TankLink services, which are delivered via certain of the Company's terminal products. In addition, the Company distributes its standalone Fixed Cellular Terminal ("FCT") products in Latin America and the United States. Telular recognizes revenue when its products ship from various manufacturing locations to customers and when services are performed.
The Company's operating expense levels are based in large part on expectations of future revenues. If anticipated sales in any quarter do not occur as expected, expenditure and inventory levels could be disproportionately high, and the Company's operating results for that quarter, and potentially for future quarters, could be adversely affected. Certain factors that could significantly impact expected results are described in Cautionary Statements that are set forth in Exhibit 99 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008.
The market for the Company's products is primarily in North and South America and consists of a number of vertical applications. The Telguard and TankLink lines of business combine a specialty terminal product with an ongoing service component to monitor alarm systems and the level of fluid in tanks. Telular's PHONECELL FCTs are electronic communications devices which provide users voice, fax and internet capabilities over commercial wireless networks. The FCT market is addressed primarily through indirect channels consisting of distributors, representatives and agents along with in-house sales and customer support teams. A direct sales model is utilized for certain large customers.
The Company believes that its future success depends on its ability to continue to meet customers' needs through product and service innovation, particularly the creation of event monitoring services that can be sold with products. Telular's engineering team continues to develop M2M hardware products and software systems and to expand the TELGUARD digital product portfolio by addressing the growing demand and technology changes in the electronics security market. The Company has designed and developed the TELGUARD DIGITAL TG-11 model for certain vendor panels in the security industry. Similarly, the Company is enhancing and expanding the specialty communications products associated with its TankLink service in order to better serve customer demand in that market. In addition, Telular completed development of the SX6 and SX7 terminal products during fiscal 2008 and in the early part of fiscal 2009, which carry voice, data, and fax services over 2G and 3G wireless networks. The Company also is devoting resources in marketing and engineering to research, specify and develop products and services for additional event monitoring applications outside of the security industry.
Fabrication of Telular's products is accomplished through contract manufacturing. Contract manufacturers in China and the United States make and test all the Company's hardware products.
The Fixed Cellular industry consists of domestic and international equipment companies, including Ericsson Radio Systems AB, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., LG Electronics, ZTE Corporation, Axesstel, Inc., Honeywell International Inc., Tyco International Ltd. and Numerex Corporation. Unless noted otherwise, all dollar figures discussed below are in thousands.


Table of Contents

Results of Operations
Second quarter fiscal year 2009 compared to second quarter fiscal year 2008
Revenues and Cost of Sales

                                                                     Change
                                    2009         2008        Amount       Percentage
         Net product sales
         Monitoring Equipment     $  4,359     $ 10,224     $ (5,865 )            -57 %
         Terminal                    1,982        3,840       (1,858 )            -48 %

         Total product revenues      6,341       14,064       (7,723 )            -55 %
         Service revenues            5,482        5,549          (67 )             -1 %

         Total revenues             11,823       19,613       (7,790 )            -40 %

         Cost of sales
         Products                    4,790        9,351       (4,561 )            -49 %
         Services                    2,450        2,633         (183 )             -7 %

                                     7,240       11,984       (4,744 )            -40 %

         Gross margin             $  4,583     $  7,629     $ (3,046 )

Revenues
Product revenues decreased 55% primarily due to the decreased sales of our Telguard monitoring equipment as a result of lower, customer demand. Demand for these products during the second quarter of fiscal 2008 was heightened by an FCC mandated transition from analog to digital cellular service. In addition, certain of our terminal distributors in Central American Latin American ("CALA") region reduced their existing inventory during the quarter along with a depressed economy resulted in decreased purchases.
Service revenues decreased 1% due to lower average revenue per unit ("ARPU") for those units placed in service during the quarter. Analog service units generated a higher ARPU than digital service units. Despite activating 25,000 new subscribers during the period, all digital service units, the Company experienced a reduced level of revenue as a result digital service revenues having a lower ARPU.
Cost of Sales
The decrease in cost of sales of 40% in the second quarter of fiscal 2009 when compared to the same period of fiscal 2008 reflects the lower sales volumes and product mix. Gross margin, as a percentage of sales, was 39% for the second quarters of both fiscal 2009 and 2008. Product margins, as a percentage of total revenues, were 24% for the three months ended March 31, 2009 compared to 34% for the same period in fiscal 2008, while service revenue, as a percentage of total revenues, was 46% for the three months ended March 31, 2009, compared 28% for the same period of fiscal 2008. This mix of product and service revenues resulted in the total margin remaining consistent between fiscal years.


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Operating Expenses

                                                              Change                 % of Revenues
                               2009        2008       Amount      Percentage       2009         2008

Engineering and development   $ 1,265     $ 1,302     $   (37 )            -3 %        10 %         7 %
Selling and marketing           1,643       1,924        (281 )           -15 %        14 %        10 %
General and administrative      1,533       1,952        (419 )           -21 %        13 %        10 %
Amortization                       71           -          71            >100 %        <1 %         -

                              $ 4,512     $ 5,178     $  (666 )                        37 %        26 %

Engineering and Development
The decrease of 3% was primarily due to a decrease in engineering materials and supplies of $27, a decrease in travel expenses of $18, a decrease of various general expenses of $11, offset by an increase in facility expenses of $19 as a result of the purchase of SupplyNet on October 1, 2008. Selling and Marketing
The decrease in selling and marketing of 15% was primarily due to reductions of:
• $219 in co-op marketing expense reflecting the decreased level of Telguard product and foreign terminal product sales;

• $216 of third party commission expenses, which also was the result of reduced product level sales;

• $112 of internal commissions as a result of decreases product sales; and,

• $16 in various general expenses.

Offsetting these reductions were an increase of $218 in salary related expenses as a result of increased marketing staff and the addition of the SupplyNet's sales force and an increase of $64 of travel and facility costs. General and Administrative (G&A)
The decrease of 21% was primarily due to reductions of:
• $270 in professional fees, related to decreased legal costs as a result of reduced use of outside counsel, decreased accounting fees as a result of changing our independent public accountants and decreased consulting fees as a result of not renewing certain strategic projects undertaken in fiscal 2008.

• $112 in various general expenses, primarily in bank fees related to the amortization of the prepaid loan fee in fiscal 2008 and a reduction in commercial insurance premiums;

• $74 in payroll expenses, primarily from non-cash compensation related to stock options;

• $46 in facility and office expenses, primarily a decrease in telecommunications expenses; and,

• $19 in travel expenses.

Offsetting these expense reductions was a $102 increase in proxy costs as a result of the proxy contest that occurred during the second quarter of fiscal 2009. These proxy costs included legal fees, consulting fees, printing and mailing costs.
Amortization
The increase in amortization expense is due to the intangible assets capitalized as part of the purchase of SupplyNet on October 1, 2008.


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Other Income
Other income for the three months ended March 31, 2009 increased $39 to $73 from $34 for the same period of fiscal 2008. The increase was primarily due to a decrease in business taxes of $42, offset by a reduction in interest income of $9 as a result of lower interest rates and decrease in various miscellaneous expenses of $6.
Income Taxes
The Company recorded an income tax provision for the three months ended March 31, 2009 related to alternative minimum taxes. Discontinued Operations
The income from discontinued operations of $160 for the three month period ended March 31, 2009, was from an unexpected sale of phone units that were manufactured utilizing existing inventory that had previously been written down to $0. This order will be completed in the third quarter of fiscal 2009. The Company has no future intentions to market or expand the production of fixed cellular phones.
First six months fiscal year 2009 compared to the first six months fiscal year

2008
Revenues and Cost of Sales

                                                                     Change
                                   2009         2008        Amount        Percentage
        Net product sales
        Monitoring Equipment     $  8,148     $ 20,359     $ (12,211 )            -60 %
        Terminal                    3,853        8,035        (4,182 )            -52 %

        Total product revenues     12,001       28,394       (16,393 )            -58 %
        Service revenues           10,597       10,945          (348 )             -3 %

        Total revenues             22,598       39,339       (16,741 )            -43 %

        Cost of sales
        Products                    8,749       19,134       (10,385 )            -54 %
        Services                    4,808        5,529          (721 )            -13 %

                                   13,557       24,663       (11,106 )            -45 %

        Gross margin             $  9,041     $ 14,676     $  (5,635 )

Revenues
Product revenues decreased 58% primarily due to decreased sales of our Telguard monitoring equipment as a result of lower, customer demand. Demand for these products during the first six months of fiscal 2008 was heightened by an FCC mandated transition from analog to digital cellular service. Sales of our terminal products were lower primarily in the CALA region due to our distributors reducing their existing inventory during the period along with a depressed economy resulted in decreased purchases.


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Service revenue decreased 3% due to the elimination of numerous analog subscribers in February 2009 as a result of the sunset of the analog wireless networks. Although digital subscribers have since replaced the lost analog subscribers, the digital subscribers have a lower ARPU than analog.
Additionally, in fiscal 2009, the Company experienced an unexpected reduction of existing subscribers in excess of 23,000 as a result of one major dealer cleansing its customer base to eliminate inactive subscribers. Cost of Sales
The decrease in cost of sales of 45% in the first six months of fiscal 2009 when compared to the same period of fiscal 2008 reflects both lower sales volume and product mix. Gross margin, as a percentage of sales, was 40% for the first six months of fiscal 2009 as compared to 37% for the same period last year. Service revenues, as a percentage of sales, were 47% for the first six months of fiscal 2009 and were 28% for the same period of last year. This resulted in an increase in total margin as a percentage of sales because service revenue has a lower cost of sales than products.

Operating Expenses

                                                                   Change                      % of Revenues
                                2009         2008         Amount        Percentage          2009           2008

Engineering and development    $ 2,513      $ 2,669      $   (156 )               -6 %          11 %            7 %
Selling and marketing            3,051        3,470          (419 )              -12 %          14 %            9 %
General and administrative       3,239        3,846          (607 )              -16 %          14 %           10 %
Amortization                       141            -           141              > 100 %           1 %            -

                               $ 8,944      $ 9,985      $ (1,041 )                             39 %           25 %

Engineering and Development
Engineering and development expenses decreased $156 primarily due to reductions of:
• $75 in engineering materials and supplies;

• $55 professional fees related to reduced utilization of engineering consultants;

• $68 in travel expenses which reflects the move of the Engineering and Development function to Atlanta from New York in fiscal 2008;and,

• $20 payroll related expenses.

These expense reductions were offset by a $62 increase in facility and general expenses related to moving expenses incurred as a result of relocating the engineering and development function from New York to Atlanta and increased facility cost allocated to engineering and development as a result of the purchase of SupplyNet.
Selling and Marketing
Selling and marketing expenses decreased $419 primarily due to reductions of expenses specifically related to the decreased level of product sales:
• $518 of third party commission expenses;

• $208 of co-op marketing expenses; and,

• $200 of internal commissions.


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Offsetting these expense reductions was a $502 increase in payroll expenses as a result of the addition of marketing staff, additional sales staff as a result of the purchase of SupplyNet, and the absorption of costs that were allocated to the abandoned FCP business segment in fiscal 2008 and a $5 increase in various general expenses.
General and Administrative (G&A)
G&A expenses decreased $607 primarily due to reductions of:
• $296 in professional fees, related to decreased legal costs as a result of reduced use of outside counsel, decreased accounting fees as a result of changing our independent public accountants and decreased consulting fees as a result of not renewing certain strategic projects undertaken in fiscal 2008.

• $212 in payroll related expenses as a result of bonus accrual reductions and non-cash compensation related to issued stock options and stock option modifications;

• $143 of general expenses primarily as a result of the reduction of amortization expenses related to a prepaid loan fee and reduced commercial insurance premiums;

• $55 of facility and office expenses; and,

• $40 of travel expenses.

Offsetting these reductions was an increase of $139 in public company expenses, primarily due to increased proxy expenses related to the proxy contest in fiscal 2009.
Amortization
The increase in amortization expense is due to the intangible assets capitalized as part of the purchase of SupplyNet on October 1, 2008. Other Income
Other income for the six month period ended March 31, 2009 increased $123 from $41 for the same period of fiscal 2008. The increase was primarily due a reduction in miscellaneous business taxes of $102, an increase in interest income of $7 primarily due to increased investment balances and a decrease of $14 in various miscellaneous expenses.
Income Taxes
The Company recorded an income tax provision for the six months ended March 31, 2009 related to alternative minimum taxes. Discontinued Operations
The income from discontinued operations of $160 for the six month period ended March 31, 2009, was from an unexpected sale of phone units that were manufactured utilizing exiting inventory that had previously been written down to $0. The Company has no future intentions to market or expand the production of fixed cellular phones.
Liquidity
Management regularly reviews net working capital in addition to cash to determine if it has enough cash to operate the business. On March 31, 2009, the Company had $19,738 of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and a working capital surplus of $32,282. Based upon its current operating plan, the Company believes its existing capital resources, including the line of credit with Silicon Valley Bank, will enable it to maintain its current and planned operations. Cash requirements may vary and are difficult to predict given the volatility of demand in certain of the developing markets targeted by the Company. The Company expects to maintain levels of cash reserves which are required to undertake major product development initiatives and to qualify for large sales opportunities.


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Cash From Operations
The Company generated $2,733 of cash from operations during the first six months
of fiscal year 2009 compared to cash generated of $3,447 during the same period
of fiscal year 2008. The components of cash generated for the first six months
of fiscal 2009 are as follows:

 $       737         The decrease in trade accounts receivable is due to the
                     timely collection of outstanding balances, resulting from a
                     more favorable product mix.Service revenue represents 47% of
                     Telular's total revenues for the six month period ending
                     March 31, 2009. The accounts receivable associated with this
                     revenue stream are generally collected within 30 days of
                     invoicing.
       1,157         The decrease in inventory reflects the Company overall
                     inventory strategy; sell from existing stock while reducing
                     production levels to augment the reduction in sales levels.
         462         Trade accounts payable primarily consists of amounts due to
                     Telular's contract manufacturers. The increase reflects
                     increased purchases from our contract manufacturers, mostly
                     during the last month of the quarter. These vendors have
                     extended payments terms, thereby increasing the overall trade
                     accounts receivable balance at March 31, 2009.
      (1,777 )       The decrease in accrued liabilities was primarily due to
                     payments for bonuses, royalties and co-op advertising and the
                     reduction in liability balances related to reduced sales
                     volumes such as agent commissions, professional fees and
                     certain operating expenses.
       1,435         Non-cash expenses: $909 from stock based compensation; $385
                     depreciation expense; $141 amortization expense.
         464         Net cash provided by other working capital items.
         255         Income from continuing operations; cash provided.

 $     2,733         Total cash provided by continuing operations

Cash Used in Investing Activities
Investing activities used $2,785 of cash for the first six months of fiscal 2009 primarily from the acquisition of SupplyNet Communications for $2,342 and from the purchase of equipment of $443. This compares to cash provided by investing activities of $149, primarily from the release of restricted cash, for the same period of fiscal 2008.
Cash Used in Financing Activities
The decrease in cash from financing activities of $3,626 in the first six months of fiscal 2009 is due to the Company's payment of notes payable of $978, which were acquired in the SupplyNet purchase, and the repurchase of its common stock on the open market of $2,648. Cash of $2,323 was provided by financing activities in the six months of fiscal year 2008 as a result of the exercise of stock options and warrants.
Cash Flows of Discontinued Operations
The increase in cash from discontinued operations of $2,248 was due to the collections of trade accounts receivable of $2,154 and $94 from the sale of the remaining fixed assets that were previously associated with the FCP business segment that was abandoned in effective June 30, 2008.


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Critical Accounting Policies
The Company's financial statements are based on the selection and application of significant accounting policies, which require management to make significant estimates and assumptions. The Company believes that the following represent the critical accounting policies that currently affect the presentation of the Company's financial condition and results of operations. Reserve for Obsolescence
Significant management judgment is required to determine the reserve for obsolete or excess inventory. The Company currently considers inventory quantities greater than a one-year supply based on current year activity as well as any additional specifically identified inventory to be excess. The Company also provides for the total value of inventories that are determined to be obsolete based on criteria such as customer demand and changing technologies. At March 31, 2009, and September 30, 2008, the inventory reserves for continuing operations were $78 and $84, respectively. Changes in strategic direction, such as discontinuance or expansion of product lines, changes in technology or changes in market conditions, could result in significant changes in required reserves.
Goodwill and Intangible Assets
The Company evaluates the fair value and recoverability of the goodwill whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of the asset may not be recoverable or at least annually. In determining fair value and recoverability, the Company makes projections regarding future cash flows. These projections are based on assumptions and estimates of growth rates for the related reporting unit, anticipated future economic conditions, and the assignment of discount rates relative to risk associated with companies in similar industries and estimates of terminal values. An impairment loss is assessed and recognized in operating earnings when the fair value of the asset is less than its carrying amount.
The Company reviews for the impairment of other intangible assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be recoverable. The Company evaluates recoverability of other intangible assets by comparing the carrying amount of the intangible asset to future net undiscounted cash flows generated by the asset. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceed the fair value of the assets calculated using a discounted cash flow analysis. Income Taxes
The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities based on the differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and the tax bases of assets and liabilities. Currently, the Company has significant deferred tax assets principally related to the carryforward of net operating losses. Deferred tax assets are reviewed regularly for recoverability, and when necessary, valuation allowances are established based on historical tax losses, projected future taxable income, and expected timing of reversals of existing temporary differences. Valuation allowances have been provided for all deferred tax assets, as management makes assessments about the realizability of such deferred tax assets. Changes in the Company's expectations could result in significant adjustments to the valuation allowances, which would significantly impact the Company's results of operations.
Forward Looking Information
The Company includes certain estimates, projections and other 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 in its reports and in other publicly available material. Statements regarding expectations, including performance assumptions and estimates relating to capital requirements, as well as other statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements.


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These statements reflect management's judgments based on currently available information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. With respect to these forward-looking statements, management has made assumptions regarding, among other things, customer growth and retention, pricing, operating costs and the economic environment.
The words "estimate", "project", "intend", "expect", "believe", "target" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are found throughout Management's Discussion and Analysis. The reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking . . .

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