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| ZOOM > SEC Filings for ZOOM > Form 10-Q on 15-May-2009 | All Recent SEC Filings |
15-May-2009
Quarterly Report
The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the safe harbor statement and the risk factors contained in Item IA of Part II of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, in our Preliminary Proxy Statement filed with the SEC on May 13, 2009 and in 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.
Potential Share Exchange
On January 28, 2009, Zoom entered into a Share Exchange Agreement (the "Agreement") with Tianjin Tong Guang Group Digital Communication Co., Ltd ("TCB Digital"), TCB Digital's majority shareholder, Gold Lion Holding Limited ("Gold Lion") and Lei Gu ("Gu"), a shareholder of Gold Lion. On May 12, 2009, the parties amended the Agreement to, among other actions, add Songtao Du ("Du"), a shareholder of Gold Lion, as a party to the Agreement.
On May 13, 2009 Zoom filed a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC with respect to soliciting votes from the Company's shareholders to approve: (a) the acquisition by Zoom by the issuance of 4,225,219 shares of Zoom common stock for 100% of Gold Lion, which is a holding company that owns (i) 100% of Jiangsu Leimone Electronics Co., Ltd., or Jiangsu Leimone, a foreign investment enterprise organized under the laws of the People's Republic of China, or PRC, which owns 51.03% of Tianjin Tong Guang Group Digital Communication Co., Ltd., or TCB Digital, a company organized under the laws of the PRC, and (ii) 100% of Profit Harvest Corporation Ltd., or Profit Harvest, a company organized under the laws of Hong Kong, and (b) the future acquisition by Zoom by the issuance of an additional 2,402,576 shares of Zoom common stock of additional shares of TCB Digital such that Zoom would own up to 80% of the outstanding shares of TCB Digital; subject to an upward adjustment that could provide for a maximum of 9,126,963 shares of Zoom common stock being issued for the acquisition of both Gold Lion and the additional 28.97% interest in TCB Digital. The acquisition is made pursuant to the Share Exchange Agreement, dated January 28, 2009, as amended on May 12, 2009, between Zoom, Gold Lion, TCB Digital, Zoom Telephonics, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Zoom, and the Gold Lion shareholders. The completion of the proposed acquisition will result in the change of control of Zoom under the NASDAQ Stock Market Rules.
For a discussion of the Agreement and the proposed transaction please review Zoom's preliminary proxy statement filed with the SEC on May 13, 2009.
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 and our sales office in the United Kingdom. We are experienced in electronics hardware, firmware, and software design and test, regulatory approvals, product documentation, and packaging; and we use that experience in developing each product in-house or in partnership with suppliers who are typically based in Asia. Electronic assembly and testing of the Company's products in accordance with our specifications is typically done in China.
For many years we performed most of the final assembly, test, packaging, warehousing and distribution 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 since implemented that plan.
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, both DSL modems and 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.
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, returns, and overhead costs associated with retailers also tend to be higher. Zoom's sales to certain countries 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.
In the first quarter of 2009 our net sales were down 34.4% compared to the first quarter of 2008. The sales decline was mainly the result of decreases in DSL and dial-up modem sales and wireless product sales. Because of our significant customer concentration our net sales and operating results have fluctuated and in the future could continue to 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.
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 was reduced from 63 on March 31, 2008 to 47 on March 31, 2009 As of May 1, 2009 Zoom had 46 full-time and part-time employees. Of the 46 Zoom employees on May 1, 2009 10 were engaged in research and development, 11 were involved in manufacturing oversight, purchasing, assembly, packaging, shipping and quality control, 16 were engaged in sales, marketing and technical support, and the remaining 9 performed accounting, administrative, management information systems, and executive functions. Zoom has implemented cost cutting measures including reducing our headcount and reducing certain employees' work week from 40 hours to 32 hours per week. As a result, Zoom currently has 37 full-time employees and 9 employees working less than 40 hours per week. Our dedicated manufacturing personnel in Mexico are employees of our Mexican manufacturing service provider and not included in our headcount.
In the first quarter of 2009 the Company's operating activities used $0.2 million in cash. Its net loss for the quarter was $0.9 million. Sources of cash from operations included a decrease in inventories of $0.4 million, a decrease in accounts receivable of $0.2 million, and an increase in accounts payable and accrued expense of $0.1 million. There were no significant uses of cash from operations.
On June 26, 2008 the stockholders of the Company approved a reverse stock split within the range of one-for-two and one-for-nine. On July 29, 2008, the Board of Directors approved a one-for-five reverse stock split which became effective on August 7, 2008. All common stock information prior to August 7, 2008 and presented herein has been retroactively restated to reflect the reverse stock split.
On January 28, 2009, Zoom entered into a Share Exchange Agreement (the "Agreement") with Tianjin Tong Guang Group Digital Communication Co., Ltd ("TCB Digital"), TCB Digital's majority shareholder, Gold Lion Holding Limited ("Gold Lion") and Lei Gu ("Gu"), a shareholder of Gold Lion. On May 12, 2009, the parties amended the Agreement to, among other actions, add Songtao Du ("Du"), a shareholder of Gold Lion, as a party to the Agreement.
On May 13, 2009 Zoom filed a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC with respect to soliciting votes from the Company's shareholders to approve: (a) the acquisition by Zoom by the issuance of 4,225,219 shares of Zoom common stock for 100% of Gold Lion, which is a holding company that owns (i) 100% of Jiangsu Leimone Electronics Co., Ltd., or Jiangsu Leimone, a foreign investment enterprise organized under the laws of the People's Republic of China, or PRC, which owns 51.03% of Tianjin Tong Guang Group Digital Communication Co., Ltd., or TCB Digital, a company organized under the laws of the PRC, and (ii) 100% of Profit Harvest Corporation Ltd., or Profit Harvest, a company organized under the laws of Hong Kong, and (b) the future acquisition by Zoom by the issuance of an additional 2,402,576 shares of Zoom common stock of additional shares of TCB Digital such that Zoom would own up to 80% of the outstanding shares of TCB Digital; subject to an upward adjustment that could provide for a maximum of 9,126,963 shares of Zoom common stock being issued for the acquisition of both Gold Lion and the additional 28.97% interest in TCB Digital. The acquisition is made pursuant to the Share Exchange Agreement, dated January 28, 2009, as amended on May 12, 2009, between Zoom, Gold Lion, TCB Digital, Zoom Telephonics, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Zoom, and the Gold Lion shareholders. The completion of the proposed acquisition will result in the change of control of Zoom under the NASDAQ Stock Market Rules.
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:
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computer peripherals retailers,
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computer product distributors,
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Internet service providers, and
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original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)
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 2008 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, 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 in our net sales, and the corresponding change to inventory reserves and cost of sales. Product returns as a percentage of total shipments were 14.3% and 13.7%, respectively, for the first quarter of 2008 and 2009.
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 $0.02 million in the first quarter of 2008 and $0.01 million in the first quarter of 2009.
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. Reductions in our net sales due to sales and marketing incentives were $0.2 million in the first quarter of 2008 and $0.1 million in the first quarter of 2009.
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 $0.03 million in the first quarter of 2008 and negligible in the first quarter of 2009.
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 de minimis in both the first quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009.
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 allowances. We have recorded a 100% valuation allowance against our deferred income tax assets. It is management's estimate that, after considering all 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 reduce the valuation allowance and recognize an equal income tax benefit which will increase net income in that period(s).
As of December 31, 2008 we had federal net operating loss carry forwards of approximately $41,553,000. These federal net operating losses are available to offset future taxable income, and are due to expire in years ranging from 2018 to 2028. We also had state net operating loss carry forwards of approximately $14,696,000. These state net operating losses are available to offset future taxable income, and are primarily due to expire in years ranging from 2009 to 2013.
Valuation of Investments. During the quarter ended September 30, 2007 the Company purchased all the Series A Preferred Shares (the Series A Shares) of Unity Business Networks, LLC (Unity) for cash of $1.2 million, including transaction costs. The Series A Shares are convertible at the Company's option into 15% of Unity's common stock on a fully-diluted basis. In addition, the Company has an option to purchase all the outstanding common stock of Unity based on a specified multiple of Unity's revenues, as defined. As December 31, 2008 Zoom determined that the fair market value of its investments in Unity was $0.96 million, which resulted in a write-down of $0.219 million. A transaction for the sales of Unity to a thirs party has ben under evaluation since December 2008 and has a mid-year 2009 target close date. While the Company expects this transaction to close, there is no guarantee that this expectation will be met.
On January 22, 2008 Zoom and RedMoon, Inc., a provider of wireless networks headquartered in Plano, Texas ("RedMoon"), entered into a Convertible Note Purchase Agreement pursuant to which we made an initial investment of $300,000 in 6% convertible notes and agreed to purchase an additional $50,000 per month of 6% convertible notes beginning on May 1, 2008 and continuing until the earlier of (i) the Company's election to exercise the option to purchase all outstanding stock of RedMoon contained in the Option Agreement described in Note 8 to the accompanying financial statements or (ii) the Company's election to terminate such Option Agreement, up to a maximum total investment of $500,000 On April 30, 2008 the Company notified RedMoon of the Company's decision not to invest $50,000 on May 1, 2008. The option to purchase all of RedMoon's outstanding stock was not exercised and terminated in accordance with its terms on August 31, 2008.
At December 31, 2008 Zoom determined that the fair market value of its investment in RedMoon was zero due to Zoom's assessment of the fair market value of the current and fixed assets, liabilities, and our analysis of the recovery value of the asset. Accordingly, Zoom recorded a write-off of the RedMoon investment asset in the amount of $0.325 million, which amount included transaction costs.
Summary. Net sales were $2.3 million for our first quarter ended March 31, 2009, down 34.4% from $3.6 million in the first quarter of 2008. We had a net loss of $0.945 million for the first quarter of 2009, compared to a net loss of $0.922 million in the first quarter of 2008. Loss per diluted share was $0.49 in the first quarter of 2009 compared to $0.49 for the first quarter of 2008.
Net Sales. Our total net sales for the first quarter of 2009 decreased $1.2 million or 34.4% from the first quarter of 2008, primarily due to decreases in DSL and dial-up modem sales, and wireless product sales. The large decline in modem sales was primarily due to the loss of DSL retail placements and to the continued decline of the dial-up modem after-market. DSL modem net sales decreased from $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2008 to $0.6 million in the first quarter of 2009. The DSL modem sales decline was primarily a result of declines in sales to large customers both in the U.S. and internationally. Dial-up modem net sales decreased from $1.4 million in the first quarter of 2008 to $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2009, primarily due to the decline in the dial-up modem market. Cable modem sales were $0.3 million in both the first quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009.
Our net sales in North America decreased by $0.4 million from $2.4 million in the first quarter of 2008 to $2.0 million in the first quarter of 2009. Our net sales outside North America declined by $0.8 million from $1.2 million in the first quarter of 2008 to $0.4 million in the first quarter of 2009.
In the quarter ended March 31, 2009 three customers accounted for 49% of total net sales. Because of our significant customer concentration, our net sales and operating income has fluctuated and could in the future 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.
Gross Profit. Our total gross profit was $0.5 million in the first quarter of 2009, a decline from $0.7 million in the first quarter of 2008. Our gross margin percent of net sales was 19.4% in the first quarter of 2009 compared to 20.2% in the first quarter of 2008. The gross margin percentage was lower in the first quarter of 2009 primarily due to the impact of fixed manufacturing costs on reduced sales.
Selling Expense. Selling expense was $0.5 million or 20.7% of net sales in the first quarter of 2009 compared to $0.7 million or 20.8% of net sales in the first quarter of 2008. Selling expense decreased primarily as a result of reduced sales.
General and Administrative Expense. General and administrative expense was $0.6 million or 25.5% of net sales in the first quarter of 2009 and $0.5 million or 15.3% of net sales in the first quarter of 2008. General and administrative expense increased due to higher legal and other professional costs related to our planned merger transaction, partially offset by lower salary cost due to reduced headcount.
Research and Development Expense. Research and development expense was $0.4 million or 15.5% of net sales in the first quarter of 2009 and $0.5 million or 13.0% of net sales in the first quarter of 2008. Development and support continues on all of our major product lines.
Gain on Sale of Real Estate. No gain on sale of real estate was recorded in the first quarter of 2009. A gain on sale of real estate of $0.096 million was recorded in the first quarters of 2008. In December 2006 Zoom sold its headquarter building in Boston and agreed to lease-back some of the office space This lease-back arrangement resulted in an accounting deferral of $0.725 million of the gain. This deferred gain was recorded over the subsequent eight quarters at $0.096 million per quarter for seven quarters and $0.053 million in the eighth and final quarter, which was the fourth quarter of 2008.
Other Income. Other income was $0.05 million in the first quarter of 2009 and $.01 million in the first quarter of 2008. The gain in the first quarter of 2009 was primarily due to our sale of a domain name, partially offset by unbillable miscellaneous costs.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
On March 31, 2009 we had working capital of $3.0 million including $1.0 million in cash and cash equivalents. On December 31, 2008 we had working capital of $3.9 million including $1.2 million in cash and cash equivalents. Our current ratio at March 31, 2008 was 2.7 compared to 3.4 at December 31, 2008. A significant portion of the reduction of the current ratio was due to a decline in inventories and accounts receivable.
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