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MRM > SEC Filings for MRM > Form 10-Q on 19-May-2009All Recent SEC Filings

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Form 10-Q for MERRIMAC INDUSTRIES INC


19-May-2009

Quarterly Report


ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains statements relating to future results of Merrimac (including certain projections and business trends) that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this report, the words "we", "us" and "our" refer to Merrimac and its subsidiaries. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risks associated with demand for and market acceptance of existing and newly developed products as to which the Company has made significant investments, particularly its Multi-Mix® products; risks associated with adequate capacity to obtain raw materials and reduced control over delivery schedules and costs due to reliance on sole source or limited suppliers; slower than anticipated penetration into the satellite communications, defense and wireless markets; failure of our Original Equipment Manufacturer or OEM customers to successfully incorporate our products into their systems; changes in product mix resulting in unexpected engineering and research and development costs; delays and increased costs in product development, engineering and production; reliance on a small number of significant customers; the emergence of new or stronger competitors as a result of consolidation movements in the market; the timing and market acceptance of our or our OEM customers' new or enhanced products; general economic and industry conditions; the ability to protect proprietary information and technology; competitive products and pricing pressures; our ability and the ability of our OEM customers to keep pace with the rapid technological changes and short product life cycles in our industry and gain market acceptance for new products and technologies; risks relating to governmental regulatory actions in communications and defense programs; and inventory risks due to technological innovation and product obsolescence, as well as other risks and uncertainties as are detailed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The words "believe," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," and "intend" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of the filing of this Form 10-Q, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

OVERVIEW

Continuing operations.

Merrimac Industries, Inc. was originally incorporated as Merrimac Research and Development, a New York corporation, in 1954. In 1994 we were reincorporated as a New Jersey corporation and subsequently reincorporated as a Delaware corporation in 2001.

We design, manufacture and sell electronic components, integrated circuits and subsystems offering extremely broad frequency coverage, high performance characteristics and extraordinary thermal management. Our operations are conducted through two operating facilities located in West Caldwell, New Jersey and San Jose, Costa Rica.

We are a versatile technology company specializing in radio frequency and microwave applications solutions. We specialize in Multi-Mix®, stripline, microstrip, discreet element, bonded stripline and thick metal-backed Teflon® and mixed dielectric multilayer circuit technologies for defense, aerospace and commercial applications. Of special significance has been the combination of two or more of these technologies into single components and integrated multifunction subassemblies to achieve a unique and proprietary solution offering superior performance and reliability while minimizing package size and weight. Our components and integrated assemblies are found in applications as diverse as satellites, military and commercial aircraft, radar, radio systems, medical diagnostic instruments communications systems and wireless connectivity. We maintain ISO 9001:2000 and AS 9100 registered quality assurance programs. Our components range in price from $0.50 to more than $10,000 and our subsystems range from $500 to more than $1,500,000.

Strategically, we position our marketing, research and development, and manufacturing operations to develop new products and expand our existing markets. Our research and development efforts, driven by our marketing strategy, are targeted at providing customers with more complex, reliable, and compact products competitively priced.

Our Multi-Mix® product development is focused on the military and space market segments. While we will carefully monitor and be alert to commercial opportunities for our Multi-Mix® technology, where the customer is willing to compensate us for our design work, we will limit the speculative funding of this commercial segment. The self-funded investment that we have previously made has created a library of pre-engineered designs, especially in RF Module Amplifiers, which provide platform families for both commercial and military final customization.

We market and sell our products domestically and internationally through a direct sales force as well as independent domestic and international sales organizations. We develop and offer for sale products built to specific customer specifications, as well as standard catalog items.

We had a strong backlog at the end of 2007 and a high volume of orders throughout 2008, which resulted in a significant increase in sales in 2008 of 33.5%. The higher sales volume in 2008 generated a 25.9% improvement in gross profit, which combined with reductions in our research and development costs and our efforts to keep selling, general and administrative expenses from growing relative to sales, restored us to profitability in fiscal year 2008. We continue to have a strong backlog and a high volume of orders in 2009 and expect an increase in sales in 2009 over 2008. Due to the expected sales increase and our efforts to keep overall costs down we anticipate that we will remain profitable in 2009.


Our cost of sales consists of materials, salaries and related expenses, and outside services for manufacturing and certain engineering personnel and manufacturing overhead. Our products are designed and manufactured in our facilities located in West Caldwell, NJ and Costa Rica. Our manufacturing and production facilities infrastructure overhead are relatively fixed and are based on our expectations of future net revenues. Should we experience a reduction in net revenues in a quarter, we could have difficulty adjusting short-term expenditures and absorbing any excess capacity expenses. If this were to occur, our operating results for that quarter would be negatively impacted. In order to remain competitive, we must continually reduce our manufacturing costs through design and engineering innovations and increases in manufacturing efficiencies. There can be no assurance that we will be able to reduce our manufacturing costs.

We anticipate that depreciation and amortization expenses will exceed capital expenditures in fiscal year 2009 by approximately $1,900,000. We intend to issue commitments to purchase approximately $500,000 of capital equipment from various vendors for the remainder of 2009 and we anticipate that such equipment will be purchased and become operational during the remainder of 2009. Our planned equipment purchases and other commitments are expected to be funded through cash resources and cash flows expected to be generated from operations, and supplemented by our $5,000,000 revolving credit facility with Wells Fargo.

Selling, general and administrative expenses consist of personnel costs for administrative, selling and marketing groups, sales commissions to employees and manufacturing representatives, travel, product marketing and promotion costs, as well as legal, accounting, information technology and other administrative costs. In 2009 we may need to increase our expenditures for selling, general and administrative expenses, especially in connection with implementation of our strategic plan for generating and expanding sales of Multi-Mix® products.

Research and development expenses consist of materials, salaries and related expenses of certain engineering personnel, and outside services related to product development projects. We charge all research and development expenses to operations as incurred. We believe that continued investment in research and development is critical to our long-term business success. We intend to continue to invest in research and development programs in future periods focusing our efforts on Multi-Mix® process enhancements for military and space market applications. However, overall we expect to reduce our research and development expenditures in fiscal 2009 as a result of limiting our investment in speculative funding of the commercial segment.

We anticipate 2009 orders from our defense and satellite customers will increase compared to fiscal year 2008 levels. Nevertheless, in times of armed conflict or war, military spending is concentrated on armaments build up, maintenance and troop support, and not on the research and development and specialty applications that are the Company's core strengths and revenue generators.

Discontinued operations.

Filtran Microcircuits Inc. ("FMI") was established in 1983, and we acquired FMI in February 1999. FMI is a manufacturer of microwave micro-circuitry for the high frequency communications industry. FMI has been engaged in the production of microstrip, bonded stripline, and thick metal-backed Teflon® (PTFE) microcircuits for RF applications including satellite, aerospace, PCS, fiber optic telecommunications, automotive, navigational and defense applications worldwide. FMI has supplied mixed dielectric multilayer and high speed interconnect circuitry to meet customer demand for high performance and cost-effective packaging.

Our management determined, and the Board of Directors approved on August 9, 2007, that we should divest our FMI operations with the view to enable us to concentrate our resources on RF Microwave and Multi-Mix® Microtechnology product lines to generate sustainable, profitable growth. Beginning with the third quarter of 2007, we reflected FMI as a discontinued operation and we reclassified prior financial statements to reflect the results of operations, financial position and cash flows of FMI as discontinued operations.

On December 28, 2007, we sold substantially all of the assets of FMI to Firan Technology Group Corporation, a manufacturer of high technology/high reliability printed circuit boards that has operations in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Chatsworth, California. The transaction was effected pursuant to an asset purchase agreement entered into between Merrimac, FMI and FTG. The total consideration payable by FTG was $1,482,000 (Canadian $1,450,000) plus the assumption of certain liabilities of approximately $368,000 (Canadian $360,000). FTG paid $818,000 (Canadian $800,000) of the purchase price at the closing on December 28, 2007 and the balance was paid on February 21, 2008 following the conclusion of a transitional period.

There was no impact of FMI, which was formerly represented as our microwave micro-circuitry segment, on the consolidated financial statements for the quarters ended April 4, 2009 and March 29, 2008.


CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES AND POLICIES

Our management makes certain assumptions and estimates that impact the reported amounts of assets, liabilities and stockholders' equity, and sales and expenses. These assumptions and estimates are inherently uncertain. The management judgments that are currently the most critical are related to the accounting for our investments in Multi-Mix® Microtechnology, contract revenue recognition, inventory valuation and valuation of deferred tax assets. Below is a further description of these policies as well as the estimates involved.

Contract Revenue Recognition

We derive our revenues from sales of the following: customized products, which include amounts billable for non-recurring engineering services and in some instances the production and delivery of prototypes, and the subsequent production and delivery of units under short-term, firm-fixed price contracts; the design, documentation, production and delivery of a series of complex components under long-term firm-fixed price contracts; and the delivery of off-the-shelf standard products.

We account for all contracts, except those for the sale of off-the-shelf standard products, in accordance with AICPA Statement of Position No. 81-1, "Accounting for Performance of Construction-Type and Certain Production-Type Contracts" ("SOP 81-1").

We recognize all amounts billable under short-term contracts, including those involving non-recurring engineering ("NRE") services for customization of products, in net sales and all related costs in cost of sales under the completed-contract method when the customized units are delivered. We periodically enter into contracts with customers for the development and delivery of a prototype prior to the shipment of units. Under those circumstances, we recognize all amounts billable for NRE services in net sales and all related costs in cost of sales when the prototype is delivered and recognizes all of the remaining amounts billable and the related costs when the units are delivered.

Periodically, we have complex, long-term contracts for the engineering design, development and production of space electronics products for which revenue is recognized under the percentage-of-completion method. Sales and related contract costs for design and documentation services under this type of contract are recognized based on the cost-to-cost method. Sales and related contract costs for products delivered under these contracts are recognized on the units-of-delivery method. We have one contract, which is primarily related to the design and development (and to a lesser extent, the production of space electronics) for which revenue under the entire contract is recognized under the percentage-of-completion method using the cost-to-cost method. For such contract, we recognized revenues, costs and estimated earnings in excess of billings of approximately $2,586,600 at April 4, 2009.

Pursuant to SOP 81-1, anticipated losses on all contracts are charged to operations in the period when the losses become known.

Sales of off-the-shelf standard products and related costs of sales are recorded when title transfers to our customer, which is generally on the date of shipment, provided persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, the sales price is fixed or determinable and collection of the related receivable is probable.

Inventory Valuation

Inventories are valued at the lower of average cost or market. Inventories are periodically reviewed for their projected manufacturing usage utilization and, when slow-moving or obsolete inventories are identified, they are charged to operations.

Procurement of inventories is based on specific customer orders and forecasts. Customers have certain rights of modification with respect to these orders and forecasts. As a result, customer modifications to orders and forecasts affecting inventories previously procured by us and our purchases of inventories beyond customer needs may result in excess and obsolete inventories for the related customers. Although we may be able to use some of these excess components and raw materials in other products we manufacture, a portion of the cost of this excess inventories may not be recoverable from customers, nor may any excess quantities be returned to the vendors. We also may not be able to recover the cost of obsolete inventories from vendors or customers.

Write offs or write downs of inventories generally arise from:

· declines in the market value of inventories;

· changes in customer demand for inventories, such as cancellation of orders; and

· our purchases of inventories beyond customer needs that result in excess quantities on hand and that we are not able to return to the vendor or charge back to the customer.


Valuation of Deferred Tax Assets

As of April 4, 2009, we have significant deferred tax assets resulting from net operating loss carryforwards, tax credit carryforwards and deductible temporary differences, which should reduce taxable income in future periods. A valuation allowance is required when management assesses that it is more likely than not that all or a portion of a deferred tax asset will not be realized. The Company's 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007 net losses have weighed heavily in the Company's overall assessments. The Company established a full valuation allowance for our remaining U.S. net deferred tax assets as a result of our assessment at December 28, 2002. This assessment continued unchanged from 2003 through the first quarter of 2009.

                 CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS SUMMARY
                                  (UNAUDITED)

                                                  Percentage of Net Sales
                                                      Quarters Ended
                                                                  March 29,
                                                April 4,             2008
                                                  2009            (Restated)
        Net sales                                    100.0 %            100.0 %
        Costs and expenses:
        Cost of sales                                 55.5               68.5
        Selling, general and administrative           31.0               39.0
        Research and development                       0.8                6.5
                                                      87.3              114.0

        Operating income (loss)                       12.7              (14.0 )
        Interest and other expense, net               (0.9 )             (1.0 )

        Income (loss) before income taxes             11.8              (15.0 )
        Provision for income taxes                    (0.5 )                -
        Net income (loss)                             11.3 %            (15.0 )%

FIRST QUARTER OF 2009 COMPARED TO THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2008

Net sales.

Net sales for the first quarter of 2009 increased $1,849,000 or 32.1% to $7,607,000, from the first quarter of 2008 net sales of $5,758,000. Net sales increased due to the higher level of orders received during 2008 resulting in a larger backlog of orders to fulfill in the first quarter of fiscal year 2009 including increased sales of Multi-Mix® products to defense industry related customers.

Backlog represents the amount of orders we have received that have not been shipped as of the end of a particular fiscal period. The orders in backlog are a measure of future sales and determine our upcoming material, labor and service requirements. The book-to-bill ratio for a particular period represents orders received for that period divided by net sales for the same period. We look for this ratio to exceed 1.0, indicating the backlog is being replenished by new orders at a higher rate than the sales being removed from the backlog.

The following table presents key performance measures that we use to monitor our operating results for the quarters ended April 4, 2009 and March 29, 2008:

                               Quarters Ended
                      April 4, 2009       March 29,2008
Beginning backlog    $    20,967,000     $    17,991,000
Plus orders                7,533,000           8,155,000
Less net sales            (7,607,000 )        (5,758,000 )
Ending backlog       $    20,893,000     $    20,388,000
Book-to-bill ratio               .99                1.42

Orders of $7,533,000 were received during the first quarter of 2009, a decrease of 622,000 or 7.6% compared to $8,155,000 in orders received during the first quarter of 2008. Backlog increased by $505,000 or 2.5% to $20,893,000 at the end of the first quarter of 2009 compared to $20,388,000 at the end of the first quarter of 2008. The book-to-bill ratio for the first quarter of 2009 was .99 to 1 and for the first quarter of 2008 was 1.42 to 1. Our book-to-bill ratio was lower in the first quarter of 2009 compared to 2008 primarily due to the high sales volume in the first quarter of 2009 and although orders received were lower in the first quarter of 2009 compared to 2008, we continue to receive a consistently high level of orders that are in line with our projections and expectations.


The backlog of unfilled orders includes amounts based on signed contracts as well as agreed letters of intent, which we have determined are legally binding and likely to proceed. Although backlog represents only business that is considered likely to be performed, cancellations or scope adjustments may and do occur. The elapsed time from the award of a contract to completion of performance may be up to approximately four years. The dollar amount of backlog is not necessarily indicative of our future earnings related to the performance of such work due to factors outside our control, such as changes in project schedules, scope adjustment or project cancellations. We cannot predict with certainty the portion of backlog to be performed in a given year. Backlog is adjusted quarterly to reflect project cancellations, deferrals, revised project scope and cost, and sales of subsidiaries, if any.

Cost of sales and gross profit.

The following table provides comparative gross profit information between the quarters ended April 4, 2009 and March 29, 2008.

                                     Quarter ended April 4, 2009                    Quarter ended March 29, 2008 (Restated)
                                              Increase/                                               Increase/
                                             (Decrease)                                               (Decrease)
                                             from prior         % of                                  from prior          % of
                                   $           period         Net Sales               $                 period          Net Sales
Consolidated gross profit    $ 3,382,000     $ 1,569,000            44.5 %   $      1,813,000       $      210,000            31.5 %

The increase in consolidated gross profit in the first quarter of 2009 compared to 2008 was primarily due to the increase in sales. The improved gross profit percentage was due to a return to standard pricing levels compared to the aggressive low pricing strategy that was in place at the end of 2007 and in the first quarter of 2008. Additionally, the gross profit percentage improved in the first quarter of 2009 due to the impact of the higher level of sales allowing us to better absorb fixed manufacturing costs.

Depreciation expense included in consolidated cost of sales for the first quarter of 2009 was $622,000, an increase of $50,000 compared to the first quarter of 2008.

Selling, general and administrative expenses.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $2,358,000 for the first quarter of 2009, an increase of $114,000 or 5.1%, compared to the first quarter of 2008. When expressed as a percentage of net sales, selling, general and administrative expenses decreased from 39.0% of sales in 2008 to 31.0% of sales in 2009. The increase in such expenses for the first quarter of 2009 was due to higher commissions related to the higher sales volume and higher professional fees, that were somewhat offset by a decrease in marketing expense.

Research and development expenses.

Research and development costs decreased $314,000 to $59,000 in the first quarter of 2009 compared to $373,000 in the first quarter of 2008. The decrease reflects our decision to focus our research and development efforts on military and space applications and reduce our investment in speculative commercial applications. Substantially all of the research and development expenses were related to Multi-Mix® Microtechnology products.

Operating income (loss).

Operating income for the first quarter of 2009 was $965,000, compared to an operating loss of $804,000 for the first quarter of 2008. The improvement in operating income for the first quarter was primarily due to the improved gross profit resulting from increased sales and the decrease in research and development costs compared to the first quarter of 2008.

Interest and other expense, net.

Interest and other expense, net was $65,000 for the first quarter of 2009 compared to interest and other expense, net of $61,000 for the first quarter of 2008. The interest expense was principally incurred on borrowings under the term loans which were financed by Wells Fargo in the first quarter of 2009 and Capital One in the first quarter of 2008.


Income taxes.

Income tax expense was $43,000 in the first quarter of 2009 compared to $0 in the first quarter of 2008.

As of April 4, 2009, we had deferred tax assets of approximately $1.5 million related to net operating loss carryforwards, tax credit carryforwards and deductible temporary differences, which should reduce taxable income in future periods. A valuation allowance is required when management assesses that it is more likely than not that all or a portion of a deferred tax asset will not be realized. Our 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007 net losses have weighed heavily in our overall assessments. We established a full valuation allowance for our remaining U.S. net deferred tax assets as a result of our assessment at December 28, 2002. This assessment continued unchanged from 2003 through the first three months of 2009.

On December 31, 2006, we adopted FIN 48, which clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in tax positions. As of that date we had no uncertain tax positions and did not record any additional benefits or liabilities. At April 4, 2009 and March 29, 2008, we had no uncertain tax positions and did not record any additional benefits or liabilities. We will recognize any accrued interest or penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits within the provision for income taxes.

Internal Revenue Service Code Section 382 places a limitation on the utilization of net operating loss carryforwards when an ownership change, as defined in the tax law, occurs. Generally, an ownership change occurs when there is a greater than 50 percent change in ownership. If such a change should occur, the actual utilization of net operating loss carryforwards, for tax purposes, would be limited annually to a percentage of our fair market value at the time of such change. We may become subject to these limitations in 2009 depending on the extent of the changes in our ownership.

Discontinued operations.

Although there were losses from discontinued operations in later quarters of 2008 and there may be some costs later in the year of 2009 that pertain to discontinued operations, there was no income or loss from discontinued operations in the first quarter of 2009 or 2008. Accordingly the loss from discontinued operations for the first quarter of 2009 and 2008 was $0.0 per share.

Net income (loss).

For the reasons set forth above, net income for the first quarter of 2009 was $856,000 compared to a net loss of $865,000 for the first quarter of 2008. Net income for the first quarter of 2009 was $0.29 per share compared to a net loss of $0.29 per share for the first quarter of 2008.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

We had liquid resources comprised of cash and cash equivalents totaling . . .

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