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Belzberg Technologies Inc ˇ 20-F ˇ For 12/31/00

Filed On 7/16/01 9:38am ET   ˇ   SEC File 0-31068   ˇ   Accession Number 1125282-1-501201

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  As Of               Filer                 Filing     As/For/On Docs:Pgs              Issuer               Agent

 7/16/01  Belzberg Technologies Inc         20-F       12/31/00    1:81                                     St Ives Financial Inc/FA

Annual Report of a Foreign Private Issuer   ˇ   Form 20-F
Filing Table of Contents

Document/Exhibit                   Description                      Pages   Size 

 1: 20-F        Annual Report                                         81    379K 


Document Table of Contents

Page (sequential) | (alphabetic) Top
 
11st Page
4Item 1. Identity Of Directors, Senior Management And Advisers
"Item 2. Offer Statistics And Expected Timetable
5Item 3. Key Information
12Item 4. Information On Our Company
21Government Regulation
23Competition
25Item 5. Operating And Financial Review And Prospectus
35Item 6. Directors, Senior Management And Employees
"Item 6
39Stock Option Plan
41Item 7. Major Shareholders
42Voting Agreements
43Item 8. Financial Information
44Item 9. The Offer And Listing
45Item 10. Additional Information
"Item 10
"Options
49Taxation
"Certain Canadian Federal Income Tax Consequences
52Foreign Tax Credit
53Foreign Personal Holding Company
"Foreign Investment Company
"Passive Foreign Investment Company
54Controlled Foreign Company
55Enforceability of Civil Liabilities Against Foreign Persons
"Item 11. Quantitative And Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk
"Item 12. Description Of Securities Other Than Equity Securities
56Item 13. Defaults, Dividend Arrearages And Delinquencies
"Item 15. [Reserved]
"Item 17. Financial Statements
57Item 19. Financial Statements And Exhibits
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 20-F [ ] REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR 12(g) OR [X] ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 - For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000. OR [ ] 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 ___________ BELZBERG TECHNOLOGIES INC. (Exact name of the Registrant as specified in its charter) Ontario, Canada (Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) 40 King Street West Suite 3400 Toronto, Ontario Canada M5H 3Y2 Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: common stock with no par value ------------------------------ (Title of Class) Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act: None On July 1, 2001, the registrant had 11,028,424 shares of common stock outstanding. 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 ----- ----- Indicate by a check mark which financial statement the Registrant has elected to follow. Item 17 X Item 18 --- ---
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PART I Item 1. Identity Of Directors, Senior Management And Advisers..............4 Item 2. Offer Statistics And Expected Timetable............................4 Item 3. Key Information....................................................5 Item 4. Information On The Company........................................12 Item 5. Operating And Financial Review And Prospectus.....................23 Item 6. Directors, Senior Management And Employees........................30 Item 7. Major Shareholders................................................35 Item 8. Financial Information............................................ 37 Item 9. The Offer And Listing.............................................38 Item 10. Additional Information............................................39 Item 11. Quantitative And Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk.........49 Item 12. Description Of Securities Other Than Equity Securities............49 PART II Item 13. Defaults, Dividend Arrearages And Delinquencies...................50 Item 14. Material Modifictaions To The Rights Of Security Holders And Use Of Proceeds...............................................50 Item 15. [Reserved]........................................................50 Item 16. [Reserved]........................................................50 PART III Item 17. Financial Statements..............................................50 Item 18. Financial Statements..............................................50 Item 19. Financial Statements And Exhibits.................................50
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EXCHANGE RATE DATA We maintain our books of account in Canadian dollars, and accordingly, have provided the financial data in this Form 20-F in Canadian dollars in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in Canada. Canadian GAAP standards conform in all material respects with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, except as noted in our financial statements attached. See "Item 19." All references to dollar amounts in this Form 20-F, unless otherwise indicated, are in Canadian dollars. The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, certain exchange rates based on the noon buying rate in New York City for cable transfers in Canadian dollars. Such rates are the number of United States dollars per one Canadian dollar and are the inverse of rates quoted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for Canadian dollars per US$1.00. The average exchange rate is based on the average of the daily exchange rates during such periods. On July 1, 2001, the exchange rate was approximately Cdn.$1.00 per US$0.6716. 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 ------------------------------------------------ RATE AT END OF PERIOD $0.7301 $ 0.6999 $0.6505 $0.6928 $0.6571 AVERAGE RATE DURING PERIOD 0.7333 0.7222 0.6740 0.6740 0.6732 HIGH 0.7513 0.7487 0.7104 0.6928 0.6903 LOW 0.7235 0.6945 0.6422 0.6542 0.6483 FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS Statements included in this Form 20-F that do not relate to present or historical conditions are "forward-looking statements." Additional oral or written forward-looking statements may be made by us from time to time and such statements may be included in documents other than this registration statement that are filed with the SEC. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this registration statement and elsewhere may include, without limitation, statements relating to the our plans, strategies, objectives, expectations, intentions and adequacy of resources. -3-
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PART I ITEM 1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS Directors and senior management. The following table provides the names and business addresses of our directors, and senior management. Name and business address Title ------------------------- ----- Sidney H. Belzberg Chairman and Chief Executive Officer & Director Alicia Belzberg Executive Vice President, Secretary and Director Donald W. Wilson Chief Operating Officer and Director Lawrence J. Cyna Chief Financial Officer and Director Stephen Sadler Director Dr. William Gnam Director John L. Engels Director The business address for our directors and senior management is Belzberg Technologies Inc., 40 King Street West, Suite 3400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5H 3Y2. Auditors. The following table provides the names and addresses of our auditors for the preceding three years. Name and business address Term ------------------------- ---- Deloitte & Touche LLP 2000-2001 Suite 1400, BCE Place 181 Bay Street Toronto, Ontario M5J 2V1 Deloitte & Touche LLP 1999-2000 (same as above) Deloitte & Touche LLP 1998-1999 (same as above) ITEM 2. OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE Not applicable. -4-
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ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION Selected financial data. The following selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with "Operating and Financial Review and Properties" and the consolidated financial statements, including the related notes. The consolidated statement of earnings for the fiscal years ended December 31, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 and the balance sheet data as at December 31, 1999 and 2000 are derived from the audited consolidated financial statements of Belzberg Technologies Inc., which have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent auditors. The amounts that have been presented on a U.S. GAAP basis have not been reported upon separately. The consolidated statement of earnings for the fiscal years ended December 31, 1996 and 1997 are derived from audited consolidated financial statements not included in this Form 20-F. Consolidated Statement of Earnings: Fiscal Year Ended December 31, [Enlarge/Download Table] 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Revenues $1,255,333 $1,967,137 $3,976,120 $5,904,099 $11,951,629 Operating Expenses: Cost of Sales 1,095,820 1,770,116 1,164,429 2,172,738 4,531,421 R&D 902,451 1,091,827 1,092,068 1,794,081 860,884 Sales & Marketing 436,020 1,151,798 1,316,526 1,874,096 2,800,675 Administrative Expenses 470,019 1,205,513 1,388,518 2,468,519 2,792,774 Amortization 121,067 33,035 106,238 219,591 842,276 Interest on Long-Term Debt 30,300 24,961 30,154 25,123 166,393 Interest Income - - - - (226,993) Other - - - - 525,198 Total Expenses 3,055,677 5,277,250 5,097,933 8,554,148 12,292,628 Net Profit/(Loss) Before Taxes (1,800,344) (3,310,113) (1,121,813) (2,650,049) (340,999) Taxes (36,378) (62,892) 244 9,019 5,063 Net Profit/(Loss) for Period (1,763,966) (3,247,221) (1,122,057) (2,659,068) (346,062) Deficit, beginning of Period 62,906 (1,701,060) (4,948,281) (6,070,338) (8,729,406) Deficit, end of Period (1,701,060) (4,948,281) (6,070,338) (8,729,406) (9,075,468) Earnings/(Loss) per Share $ (0.28) $ (0.48) $ (0.17) $ (0.38) $(0.04) Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: As at December 31, 1999 2000 ---- ---- Working Capital $(3,490,127) $7,562,596 Total Current Assets 1,643,056 10,826,993 Total Assets 2,869,254 15,459,525 Total Current Liabilities 5,133,183 3,264,397 Total Shareholders' Equity (2,502,406) 10,664,613 The above selected consolidated financial information has been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in Canada, which conforms in all material respects with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States [U.S. GAAP] except as set forth in note 17 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this registration statement. -5-
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The following sets forth selected financial information with respect to Belzberg prepared on the basis of U.S. GAAP: Consolidated Statement of Earnings: Fiscal Year Ended December 31, [Enlarge/Download Table] 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Revenues $1,255,333 $1,967,137 $3,976,120 $5,904,099 $11,951,629 Operating Expenses: Cost of Sales 1,095,820 1,770,116 1,164,429 2,172,738 4,531,421 R&D 902,451 1,091,827 1,092,068 1,794,081 860,884 Sales & Marketing 436,020 1,151,798 1,316,526 1,874,096 2,800,675 Administrative Expenses 470,019 1,205,513 1,388,518 2,468,519 3,253,615 Amortization 121,067 33,035 106,238 219,591 842,276 Interest on Long-Term Debt 30,300 24,961 30,154 25,123 166,393 Interest Income - - - - (226,993) Other - - - - 525,198 Total Expenses 3,055,677 5,277,250 5,097,933 8,554,148 12,753,469 Net Profit/(Loss) Before Taxes (1,800,344) (3,310,113) (1,121,813) (2,650,049) (801,840) Taxes (36,378) (62,892) 244 9,019 5,063 Net Profit/(Loss) for Period (1,763,966) (3,247,221) (1,122,057) (2,659,068) (806,903) Deficit, beginning of Period 62,906 (1,701,060) (4,948,281) (6,070,338) (8,729,406) Deficit, end of Period (1,701,060) (4,948,281) (6,070,338) (8,729,406) (9,536,309) Earnings/(Loss) per Share $ (0.28) $ (0.48) $ (0.17) $ (0.38) $(0.09) Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: As at December 31, 1999 2000 ---- ---- Working Capital $(3,490,127) $7,562,596 Total Current Assets 1,643,056 10,826,993 Total Assets 2,869,254 15,459,525 Total Current Liabilities 5,133,183 3,264,397 Total Shareholders' Equity (2,502,406) 10,664,613 -6-
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Risk Factors Investing in our securities will provide you with an equity ownership interest in Belzberg Technologies Inc. As one of our shareholders, your investment will be subject to risks inherent in our business. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business could be harmed. In that event, the trading price of our shares might decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. You should carefully consider the following factors as well as other information contained in this registration statement before deciding to invest in shares of our securities. Additional risks that are not currently known to us or that we deem immaterial may also harm us and the value of your investment. An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. We have a history of losses, and we expect losses in the future. If we do not achieve and sustain profitability, our business will suffer and our stock price may decline. We have incurred net losses in each fiscal year since 1996. In the fiscal years ended December 31, 2000, 1999 and 1998, we incurred net losses of approximately $0.3 million, $2.7 million, and $1.1 million, respectively. We may not achieve our profit or revenue goals, and our losses may continue to grow in the future. As a result, we may never achieve or sustain profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Our revenues depend on arrangements with our customers, all of which expire within the next two years. If we are unable to renew these arrangements or make a successful transition to transaction-based fees, our future operating results may suffer. All of our agreements expire within the next two years. We may not be able to renew these license agreements on terms that are acceptable to us, and our revenues would therefore decrease. In addition, approximately 47% of our revenues as at December 31, 2000 currently are derived from customers whose agreements provide for payment of fixed revenues on a monthly or quarterly basis. Although our business strategy is to transition these customers to transaction-based billing and to implement transaction-based billing with our new customers, we may not be successful in implementing this strategy. The failure to implement transaction-based billing on a widespread basis will likely have a material adverse effect on our revenues and results of operations. Our dependence on a limited number of customers for a substantial amount of our sales could lead to fluctuations in our operating results. Our business depends on sales of our products to a limited number of customers, which may cause fluctuations in our operating results. We do not have long-term contracts with any of our customers. The top five of our customers accounted for approximately 45% of our total revenues during the year ended December 31, 2000. Any of our customers could stop using our products in the future. As a result, a customer that generates substantial revenue for us in one period may not be a source of revenue in subsequent periods. The loss of a significant customer would have a material and adverse effect on our revenues and results of operations. -7-
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We must continue to overcome significant and increasing competition in order to continue our growth and productivity. The market for global Internet trading solutions, intelligent order routing systems, e-Commerce gateways and B2B integration solutions is intensely competitive, fragmented and rapidly changing. We face competition from ITG, NYFIX, 724 Solutions, Reuters, Bloomberg, w-Trade, Ariba and WebMethods. For more information regarding our competitors, please read the section of this registration statement entitled "Business - Competition." The loss of our key management personnel or our failure to attract and retain additional personnel could adversely affect our business. If we fail to retain and recruit the necessary personnel, our business and our ability to obtain new customers, develop new products and provide acceptable levels of customer service could suffer. The success of our business is heavily dependent on the leadership of our key management personnel, including Sidney Belzberg, our Chief Executive Officer, Alicia Belzberg, our Executive Vice President, and Secretary, and Donald Wilson, our Chief Operating Officer. Our future success also depends on our ability to attract and retain highly qualified personnel. The competition for qualified personnel in the computer software and Internet markets is intense and we may be unable to attract or retain highly qualified personnel in the future. In addition, due to intense competition for qualified employees, it may be necessary for us to increase the level of compensation paid to existing and new employees to the degree that our operating expenses could be materially increased. See "Management." We may be unable to adequately protect our proprietary rights. Our failure to protect these rights may significantly impair our competitive position. Our success depends to a significant extent on our ability to protect our proprietary software and our other proprietary rights from copying, infringement or use by unauthorized parties. To protect our proprietary rights we rely primarily on a combination of patent, copyright, trade secret and trademark laws, confidentiality agreements with employees and third parties, and protective contractual provisions such as those contained in agreements with consultants, vendors and customers, although we have not signed these types of agreements in every case. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary rights, unauthorized parties may copy aspects of our products and obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary. Other parties may breach confidentiality agreements and other protective contracts we have entered into. We may not become aware of, or have adequate remedies in the event of, these types of breaches or unauthorized activities. -8-
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We have experienced rapid growth, which has placed a strain on our resources, and any failure to manage our growth effectively could cause our business to suffer. We have been expanding our operations rapidly and intend to continue this expansion for the foreseeable future. The number of our employees increased from 8 on December 31, 1995 to 78 on December 31, 2000. As of July 1, 2001 we had 108 employees. This expansion has placed, and is expected to continue to place, a significant strain on our managerial, operational and financial resources as we integrate and manage new employees, more locations and more customers, suppliers and other business relationships. In the past, we have decided to, and in the future we may need to, improve or replace our existing operational and customer service systems, procedures and controls. Any failure by us to properly manage our growth or these systems and procedural transitions could impair our ability to efficiently manage our business, to maintain and expand important relationships with third parties and to attract and service customers, and could cause us to incur higher operating costs and delays in the execution of our business plan or in the reporting or tracking of our financial results. Fluctuations in exchange rates between the United States dollar and the Canadian dollar may affect our operating results. During the year ended December 31, 2000, approximately 49% of our revenues and corresponding receivables due from customers were in United States dollars. However, a majority of our research and development expenses, customer support costs and administrative expenses are in Canadian dollars. We are exposed to fluctuations in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar through our operations in Canada. For more information regarding historical exchange rates, please refer to the section of this registration statement entitled "Exchange Rate Information." The securities brokerage industry is subject to extensive government regulation. If Electronic Brokerage Systems, Inc. fails to comply with these regulations, it may be subject to disciplinary or other action by regulatory organizations. The securities industry is subject to extensive regulation under both federal and state laws. In addition to these laws, Electronic Brokerage Systems, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, must comply with rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and The National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., state securities commissions and other regulatory bodies charged with safeguarding the integrity of the securities markets and other financial markets and protecting the interests of investors participating in these markets. As a registered broker-dealer, Electronic Brokerage System is subject to numerous regulations covering the securities business, including: o marketing practices; o capital structure, including net capital requirements; o record keeping; and o conduct of directors, officers and employees. Any failure to comply with these regulations could subject Electronic Brokerage Systems to censure, fines, the issuance of cease-and-desist orders or the suspension, and/or disqualification of its officers, directors or employees. For more information regarding governmental regulations, please refer to the section of this registration statement entitled "Information On Our Company--Government Regulation." -9-
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Our product contains encryption technology whose export is restricted by law, which may slow our growth or result in significant costs. The U.S. and Canadian governments generally limit the export of encryption technology, which our product incorporates. A variety of cryptographic products generally require export approvals from certain U.S. government agencies in the case of exports from the U.S. and from Canadian government agencies in the case of exports from Canada, although there are currently no restrictions on exports of these products from Canada into the U.S. If any export approval that we receive is revoked or modified, if our software is unlawfully exported or if the U.S. or the Canadian government adopts new legislation or regulations restricting export of software and encryption technology, we may not be able to distribute our products to potential customers, which will cause a decline in our sales. We may need to incur significant costs and divert resources to develop replacement technologies or may need to adopt inferior substitute technologies to satisfy these export restrictions. These replacement or substitute technologies may not be the preferred security technologies of our customers, in which case, our business may not grow. In addition, we may suffer similar consequences if the laws of any other country limit the ability of third parties to sell encryption technologies to us. Our revenues could decrease if there is a decline in securities trading activity. Because most of our current customers are financial institutions or securities brokerage firms and because we intend to rely more heavily on transaction-based billing in our license agreements, our revenues will be sensitive to changes in the amount of securities trading activity both via the Internet and otherwise. A decline in Securities trading activity may result from: o loss of confidence in the reliability or security of on-line trading systems; o changes in government regulation of the securities industry or on-line trading activities; or o a downturn in the stock market. The market for our products and services may not grow as quickly as we anticipate, which would cause our revenues to fall below expectations. The market for our products and services is relatively new and evolving. We earn a substantial portion of our revenue from service fees associated with our E-Commerce Gateway, Order Management System and front-end software. We expect to earn substantially all of our revenue in the foreseeable future from fees relating to these products and services. Our future financial performance will depend on continued growth in the number of organizations demanding software and services for protocol translation and order management services. Many of our potential customers have made significant investments in internally developed systems and would incur significant costs in switching to third-party products, which may substantially inhibit the growth of the market for enterprise infrastructure software. If this market fails to grow, or grows more slowly than we expect, our sales will be adversely affected. -10-
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As we are a Canadian company and most of our assets and key personnel are located in Canada, you may not be able to enforce any U.S. judgment for claims you may bring against us, our assets or our key personnel. We are formed under the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada. Many of our assets are located outside the United States. In addition, a majority of the members of our board of directors and our officers and the experts named in this registration statement are residents of countries other than the United States. Consequently, it may be impossible for you to effect service of process within the United States upon us or these persons or to enforce against us or these persons any judgments in Civil and commercial matters, including judgments under United States federal securities laws. See the "Additional Information--Enforceability of Civil Liabilities Against Foreign Persons" section. -11-
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ITEM 4. INFORMATION ON OUR COMPANY Overview We are a leading supplier of advanced electronic trading systems, including order management and routing software, to financial institutions and securities exchanges in the U.S. and Europe. Our customers, which include both stock brokers and their customers, use our trading software to buy and sell equities and stock options on a variety of stock exchanges, electronic markets known as ECNs, or NASDAQ market maker trade management systems. Our products enable traders to execute and manage large volumes of transactions at high speed with great reliability and security. Our software was developed as a standard client-server architecture, using either Microsoft Windows NT or Windows 2000 as the underlying operating system. Our Gateway, or server software, is used to handle connections to the stock exchanges and other order execution engines. The front-end tools, or client software, is the collection of software applications used by individual traders on their PC workstations. Our Gateway software is capable of connecting traders to every major stock and options exchange in North America, and a growing number of European stock exchanges as well. Securities orders are almost exclusively generated in a protocol that is not understandable by the exchange on which the order is to be executed. Our Gateway automatically, and at high speed, translates the order into the protocol that is used by the securities exchange specified for order execution and transmits the order securely. Once confirmation is received from the relevant securities exchange by our Gateway, the confirmation is retranslated into the same protocol used by the originator of the order and then transmitted to the originator. Our Gateway software is also capable of receiving orders from third party systems, since it supports most if not all of the standard business protocols, such as FIX, CMS, STAMP, XML, SWIFT, used in the financial industry. We provide each trader with a suite of front-end software tools, tailored to let them carry out the functions of any trading situation that they require. For example, institutional traders use the single order entry system to enter their orders, and the tradelog to manage their current, outstanding trading positions. Basket traders use the Belzberg basket trading software to send lists of stocks to stock exchanges with a single click of a mouse, and also use the tradelog to watch their positions and incoming executions. Traders that need to keep track of incoming retail orders have software specific to their needs, as do traders that want to watch spreads or engage in arbitrage trading. In many cases, institutions that are customers of participating brokers use Belzberg front-end software to execute their orders directly on electronic markets, eliminating phone calls or other delays in their trading. Our core trading products are augmented by a set of complimentary software products that satisfy functions required by traders or other individuals whose jobs are related to trading or managing of stocks or options in a financial institution. Examples of these products are (1) real-time inventory management, (2) straight-through-processing of trading tickets into the back office accounting system, (3) software to handle special requirements of cross-border trading, including automatic conversion of foreign exchange rates, (4) order management software that handles a large inbound flow of retail orders from third party systems, and (5) software that does automatic credit checking upon receipt of internet generated retail order flow. Financial institutions such as Merrill Lynch, State Street Brokerage, TD Securities and CIBC World Markets use all or a subset of our trading products to automate their order execution, basket trading, arbitrage, retail order management, and real-time inventory management, as demanded by each situation. Because of the system's open architecture and flexibility, our products are easily customizable to the customers' needs and are also adaptable for use in other B2B sectors. We intend to deploy our products into other industries where high-speed, high-volume transaction processing and routing is required. -12-
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We generate revenues from: o Subscription based fees consisting of software and data rental o Software development and installation o Transaction based fees consisting of a per share and per order fee model A majority of our revenues are generated on a subscription basis, with software and maintenance provided by us for a per user, per terminal, or flat monthly subscription fee to be connected to our Gateway. As at December 31, 2000, 51% our revenues originated from subscription based fees as compared to December 31, 1999, when 77% of our revenues were received on this basis. This trend reflects the increasing acceptance of our transaction based model established in the second half of 1999, which is overtaking subscription based revenues. As at December 31, 2000, 27.4% or our revenues were received on a transaction based model. This percentage should increase as our order routing system for options begins to generate revenues. For a complete description of our revenue models, see "Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospectus" on page 26. Our two principal objectives are: o To become the leading provider of intelligent order routing systems enabling high-speed, high-reliability, high-volume and high- security transaction routing and order management for financial institutions and stock exchanges worldwide; and o To become a leading provider of intelligent order routing systems for use in other B2B contexts requiring similar transaction processing. Our principal executive and registered offices are located at 40 King Street West, Suite 3400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5H 3Y2. Our common shares currently are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange in the Province of Ontario, Canada, under the trading symbol "BLZ." In this registration statement, unless otherwise specified or the context otherwise requires, references to "we", "our" and "Belzberg" includes a reference to our subsidiaries which we beneficially own 100% of the outstanding voting shares. Our subsidiaries and the percentage of voting shares that we beneficially own are as follows: -13-
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Name of Subsidiary (Jurisdiction) Ownership --------------------------------- --------- Belzberg Financial Markets & News Inc. (Ontario, Canada) 100% Belzberg Financial Markets (U.S.A) Inc. (New Jersey, U.S.A.) 100% Electronic Brokerage Systems, Inc. (Delaware, U.S.A.) 100% Belzberg.com.Inc. (Delaware, U.S.A.) 100% eContracts, Inc. (Ontario, Canada) 100% Belzberg B2B Inc. (Delaware, U.S.A.) 100% eContracts Inc. (Delaware, U.S.A.) 100% Acquisitions In July 2000, we acquired 100% of the shares of eContracts, Inc. for the purchase price of $150,000 cash plus the issuance of 50,000 shares, to be issued in four separate amounts, at the fair market value of $9.00 per share from our treasury. The first 12,500 shares was issued on closing, the second 12,500 was issued on December 31, 2000, and the remaining 25,000, which was subsequently adjusted to 21,500 shares, will be issued on December 31, 2001 and July 31, 2002 conditional on continued employment of the vendor by the company. In July 2000, we acquired the remaining minority interest of 25% of the outstanding shares of Electronic Brokerage Systems, Inc. for the issuance from treasury of 50,000 common shares at the fair market value of $9.00 per share. Company History We were incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario on November 30, 1993, under the name Belzberg Financial Markets International Inc., to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of Belzberg Financial Markets & News Inc. On June 13, 1994, we changed our name to Belzberg Financial Markets & News International Inc. On July 14, 2000, we changed our name to our present name, Belzberg Technologies Inc. In 1993, we implemented our first automated interactive securities trading system at a leading Canadian brokerage house. In 1996, we invented and patented a message translation gateway. We developed the Belzberg Internet e-Commerce Gateway by employing this patented technology. Prior to 1996, the trading system utilized only private networks, or Intranets, for connectivity. Our Internet global securities trading system was implemented in 1996, with North American and overseas customers adopting our solution for Internet-based, direct-access trading in the U.S.A. and Canadian markets. In 1998, we introduced the Order Management System, a programmable transaction-routing system that works in tandem with the Gateway, and provides additional functionality to clients. This system routes orders according to customer-defined rules, such as managing credit checks or investor suitability on retail accounts. Also in 1998, we introduced the Real-Time Inventory System to provide additional back-office functionality to the trading system. -14-
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Industry Overview The globalization of markets and the emergence of the Internet have created new opportunities for the international flow of capital, electronically and in real-time, to sources of highest possible returns. Institutional investors and brokerages are responding to these trends by using the Internet as a convenient and efficient medium for electronic, real-time securities trading. As a globally accessible, fully interactive medium, the Internet is well suited to fulfill the promise of efficient, convenient, real-time global trading. We have developed and deployed the Belzberg Trading System, an Internet securities trading infrastructure that gives financial institutions direct access to stock exchanges. The Belzberg Trading System permits traders to securely execute and monitor their trading activities in real-time over the Internet or their institution's Intranet. Belzberg's objective is to create a global electronic trading platform that maximizes investor liquidity and control. Revenue We operate and manage our business in one industry - the financial services sector. We design and market trade execution software primarily for the financial sector. The following information for each revenue stream is reviewed by management: 2000 1999 1998 ------ ------ ------ Revenue Recurring software routing fees $ 6,226,461 $4,526,190 $3,132,090 Transaction fees 3,276,096 643,912 - Software development and installation 1,909,349 667,876 459,584 Other 539,723 66,121 384,446 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- $11,951,629 $5,904,099 $3,976,120 ========================================================================= -15-
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We operate internationally with a portion of our business conducted in the United States. Information about our geographic operations are given below: 2000 1999 1998 ------ ------ ------ Revenues Canada $ 6,134,517 $2,479,425 $1,526,052 United States 5,817,112 3,424,674 2,450,068 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- $11,951,629 $5,904,099 $3,976,120 ========================================================================= Total assets Canada $11,831,898 $2,067,073 $1,506,263 United States 3,627,627 802,181 536,520 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- $15,459,525 $2,869,254 $2,042,783 ========================================================================= Capital assets Canada $ 3,112,179 $ 958,500 $ 394,482 United States 639,003 186,698 95,555 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- $ 3,751,182 $1,145,198 $ 490,037 ========================================================================= For a complete description of our revenue models, see "Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospectus." Products and Services The Belzberg Trading System The Belzberg Trading System consists of the E-Commerce Gateway and the Order Management System. Together with various front-end and back-end applications, the Belzberg Trading System provides a comprehensive solution to the need for a system that can manage an order from its inception to its execution and confirmation. Our Trading System requires that the customer have a Windows NT-based server and workstations. A typical installation of our Trading System for a semi-professional trader involves downloading the Single Order Entry front-end application from our website on the Internet. A typical installation of our Trading System for a financial institution usually involves the on-site installation of both front-end applications which may include the Single Order Entry, Basket Trader and Arbitrage Launcher and back-end applications which include Tradelog and TicketWriter. In most cases, our Trading System can be installed on a customer's existing local area network, so the installation may take only a matter of days, though the obtaining of the requisite telecommunications infrastructure may take longer. We provide the software that runs the Trading System that connects to stock exchanges, electronic communication networks, client order entry software, and shared network facilities. Third parties provide the hardware, such as computers and routers. The market data provided is a combination of third party market data and data provided by us. -16-
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We can provide market data from third party data vendors in one of three ways, as per the wishes of the customer: 1. If the customer has previously provided Reuters data internally on their network to their users, our software is capable of accessing this data via the standard Reuters access software. 2. If the customer uses market data distribution software provided by Townsend Analytics internally on their network, our software can access market data from this server, no matter what source of market data feed the customer uses. 3. If the customer wants to receive market data provided by us, then all that is required is a data connection from the customer to one of our offices, and the market data will be accessed by the software applications. We take direct feeds from the Toronto Stock Exchange, SIAC, which is the technology division of the New York Stock Exchange, and third party vendors such as Reuters, Townsend Analytics and Comstock. Customers may choose to obtain market data from us for the following reasons: a. Many small customers do not have an infrastructure capable of providing market data to their users, either because they don't have staff capable of providing it, or economies of scale do not make sense to provide such an infrastructure for a small number of users. In this case, it is easier and less expensive to use our market data. b. Some customers believe that certain data vendors provide more timely data than others, and we allow them to make that choice for themselves. For example, some of our customers believe that our market data from the Toronto Stock Exchange is faster than Reuters and Comstock. c. We also provide a depth of market book from a feed called the Toronto Broadcast Feed, or the TBF, that is not available from Reuters or Comstock. In all cases, we assist our customers with all of the decisions required to receive market data, whether they want to obtain hardware or software independently, or whether they wish to use our market data service. Revenue generating customers are stock exchanges, brokerage houses and institutional clients of brokerage houses. The majority of our revenues come from brokerage houses followed by institutional buy side clients, followed by exchanges. Currently, the NYSE, through their technology division SIAC, is our only revenue-producing exchange. Retail traders provide indirect revenue through brokerage houses that use our system. The E-Commerce Gateway In 1996, we invented, developed and patented the world's first Internet-based, multi-protocol translation gateway for the securities industry. Since then some of our competitors' trading systems have similar features to ours. Based on this technology, we developed the e-Commerce Gateway, a fully-scalable, high-speed, high-volume, real-time protocol translation and routing engine. Designed to facilitate a wide range of e-Commerce applications, the Gateway transparently translates the format, or protocol, of incoming transaction messages that can be routed to user-specified destinations. Upon completion of the transaction, messages from the destination are retranslated into the appropriate originating protocol, thus enabling seamless and reliable real-time, bi-directional information exchange. The open and flexible architecture of the E-Commerce Gateway allows for a high degree of inter-operability between modern Internet-based applications and back-office systems that run on older systems. -17-
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Our Internet Gateway currently supports translation and routing to the following securities exchanges and electronic communication networks: [Enlarge/Download Table] NORTH AMERICA EUROPE ------------- ------ Stock Exchanges Nasdaq ECNs: Nasdaq Market Makers: Stock Exchanges New York Instinet Mayer Schweitzer (MASH) London American Island Herzog Frankfurt Pacific Bloomberg Tradebook Sherwood Boston Archipelago (Terra Nova) Tradetek Chicago Spear Leads Redibook Cantor Fitzgerald Philadelphia State Street Lattice Trimark Toronto EVWAP DE Shaw Canadian Venture Exch. Brut Knight Securities Options Exchanges Strike Troster Singer Chicago (CBOE) Pershing Montreal (MOE) The Order Management System The Order Management System is a versatile order-processing and management software component that works in concert with the Internet Gateway. Where the Internet Gateway requires that orders specify a destination exchange, the OMS accepts orders and intelligently determines the destination of each order for execution, and sends them to the Internet Gateway for translation and/or transmission. The order flow rules for the OMS can be fully customized, and the OMS is able to check a client's account to ensure that sufficient credit is available to execute the trade. To facilitate international securities trading for retail investors, the OMS takes account of the currency in which the order is placed and automatically converts it in real time through a banking network connection to the currency in which the particular stock is traded. The currency conversion feature can be enabled or disabled at the time the order is placed. The Wireless Direct-Access Trading System In March 2000, the Chicago Board Options Exchange began using wireless, hand-held devices enabled with our Internet Gateway software. Our secure wireless solution provides traders on the floor of the CBOE with direct, encrypted access to stock exchanges around the world through the Internet Gateway. Options traders on the CBOE floor can now hedge their position in options and other derivative instruments by taking positions in the underlying stocks. Front-End Applications For Institutional Investors We offer a range of alternative order-execution software tools for both institutional and retail investors, over wireless and wired connections. Single-Order Entry System. The Single-Order Entry System enables investors to create orders and select a range of destinations for order execution from brokerage houses to exchanges. The Single-Order Entry system receives real-time updates on the status of orders and trade confirmation from the destination exchange, through the Internet Gateway and the OMS. -18-
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Basket Trader. The Basket Trader program allows traders to instantaneously execute multiple trades stored in a Microsoft Excel(R) spreadsheet via the Internet Gateway and the OMS. The spreadsheets themselves can be customized to provide desired information as well as additional functions. In many trading systems, the execution of basket trades requires dedicated program code, the development of which can take weeks or even months, with changes to the baskets requiring program code changes. Basket Trader allows each individual user to formulate and adjust his or her "basket" "on the fly" from his or her workstation using Microsoft Excel(R), a program that is familiar to most users. Arbitrage Launcher. The Arbitrage Launcher is a powerful portfolio management tool that works with Basket Trader to allow traders to receive real-time market information, monitor stocks 24 hours a day and execute trades automatically when pre-set parameters set by the trader are met. All of these functions are contained within the customized spreadsheet. Although the Arbitrage Launcher does not function in any type of advisory role, the tool can be modified to perform any type of market arbitrage requested by the customer. In some trading systems, developing and implementing an arbitrage can be an arduous process of programming, debugging and adjusting, taking weeks or even months. With Arbitrage Launcher, arbitrages can be formulated, adjusted, tested and launched automatically from a workstation, using the familiar Microsoft Excel(R) spreadsheet. Foreign Exchange Calculator. The Foreign Exchange calculator tracks traders' international equity positions in real time in order to notify traders how much foreign currency they need to buy or sell to lock in their profits. Tradelog. Tradelog allows traders to view their trades simultaneously, including single, specific and multiple basket orders. Real-Time Inventory System. Inventory System integrates into legacy back-office accounting systems. This fully integrated, online inventory assistant/risk management system provides access to traders' real-time inventory and individual account inventories. All positions, average costs, as well as profit/loss and market exposure, are adjusted as trades are received, with current market data provided. Users have the ability to set up sophisticated notification targets based on individual accounts or groups of accounts or instruments. Ticketwriter. Ticketwriter eliminates the need to write manual tickets. With this application, the trader can apply foreign exchange rates, commissions and specific settlement dates as fills are received. The Ticketwriter enables full inter-operability with back-office accounting systems in financial institutions such as ISM and ADP, as well as other legacy back-office systems. Equipment As at December 31, 2000, we had acquired to date computer equipment of $968,520 on which $393,056 of amortization had been recorded, leaving a net book value of $575,464, and in addition, had acquired under capital lease to date, computer equipment of $3,160,393 on which $510,935 of amortization had been recorded, leaving a net book value of $2,649,458. Other capital assets consisting of furniture and equipment, and leasehold improvements of lesser acquisition cost and net book value were also shown on our balance sheet. -19-
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Total assets are located in: 1. Canada - $ 3,112,179 2. U.S.A - $ 639,003 Only the assets under capital lease have financial obligations attached. The capital leases generally have a three year term and a 10% buy out provision at the end of the term with the average interest rate on these leases approximating 11% per annum. The remaining annual payments, including interest, on these leases are as follows: 2001 - $1,210,000 2002 - $1,065,000 2003 - $577,000 Capital asset acquisitions consist of basic infrastructure improvements such as UPS's, computer and communications racks and accessories, workstations, monitors, telephones and equipment, as well as networking equipment consisting of switches, hubs and routers providing connectivity and network access to our offices in Toronto, New York and Chicago. Connections are established to some new clients of new routers and servers to meet requirements of quote services with many servers providing gateway services and repositories of trade data. Leasehold improvements and furniture are expended for our increases in occupied space. We operate a large enterprise network providing connectivity between our clients, and all of our offices, as well as high speed access to a multitude of destinations for live trade execution. Our core backbone consists of a high-speed triangle formed between Toronto, New York and Chicago. From this core network our customers can reach any other node of the network on an as required basis. Customers We currently have approximately 95 customers in the financial services industry. We do not have long-term contracts with any of our customers. The top five of our customers accounted for approximately 45% of our total revenues as at during the year ended December 31, 2000. Any of our customers could stop using our products in the future. As a result, a customer that generates substantial revenue for us in one period may not be a source of revenue in subsequent periods. The loss of a significant customer would have a material and adverse effect on our revenues and results of operations. In addition to the financial industry, we are deploying our e-Commerce B2B solutions into other industries, such as raw materials and heavy industry, where high-speed, high-volume transaction processing and routing are required. We currently have two customers outside of the financial industry. The total revenues from these customers have been insignificant. -20-
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Government Regulation Electronic Brokerage Systems, Inc., a Delaware corporation, is a wholly-owned subsidiary that is a member of the Chicago Board Option Exchange and the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. The U.S. securities industry is subject to extensive regulation under both federal and state laws. In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. other self regulatory organizations, commonly known as SROs, such as the various stock exchanges, and other regulatory bodies, such as state securities commissions, require strict compliance with their rules and regulations. The SEC is the federal agency responsible for the administration of the federal securities laws. Regulation of broker-dealers has been primarily delegated to self-regulatory organizations, principally the NASD and national securities exchanges. The NASD has been designated by the SEC as our self-regulatory organization. The self-regulatory organizations conduct periodic examinations of member broker-dealers in accordance with rules they have adopted and amended from time to time, subject to approval by the SEC. Securities firms are also subject to regulation by state securities administrators in those states in which they conduct business. As a matter of public policy, regulatory bodies are charged with safeguarding the integrity of the securities and other financial markets and with protecting the interests of investors participating in those markets, not protecting creditors or stockholders of broker-dealers. Companies that operate in the securities industry are subject to regulation concerning many aspects of their business, including trade practices, capital structure, record retention and the conduct of directors, officers and employees. Failure to comply with any of these laws, rules or regulations could result in censure, fine, the issuance of cease-and-desist orders or the suspension or disqualification of our directors, officers or employees. Neither we nor any of our directors, officers or employees are currently subject to any cease-and-desist orders, suspensions or disqualifications under the rules of any of these regulatory organizations. An adverse ruling in the future against us or our directors, officers or employees, including censure or suspension, could result in us, our directors, officers and other employees being required to pay a substantial fine or settlement, and could result in their suspension or expulsion. Net Capital Requirement As a registered broker-dealer, Electronic Brokerage Systems, Inc. is subject to the SEC's uniform net capital rule. The net capital rule is designed to measure the general integrity and liquidity of a broker-dealer and requires that at least a minimum part of its assets be kept in a relatively liquid form. The net capital rule prohibits a broker-dealer doing business with the public from allowing the aggregate amount of its indebtedness to exceed 15 times its adjusted net capital or, alternatively, its adjusted net capital to be less than 2% of its aggregate debit balances (primarily receivables from clients and broker-dealers) computed in accordance with the net capital rule. Credit Risk Although Electronic Brokerage Systems, Inc is registered as a broker-dealer, we generally do not perform traditional broker-dealer services. We do not act as a market-maker with respect to any securities or otherwise act as a principal in any securities transactions, we act only on an agency basis. Therefore, we do not have exposure to credit risks in the way that traditional broker-dealers have such exposure. The relatively low credit risk of our businesses is reflected in the minimal net capital requirements imposed on Electronic Brokerage Systems, Inc. as a broker-dealer. -21-
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New Markets B2B opportunities are extremely wide ranging in the industrial sector given the breadth of transactions and the trend toward globalization. We have developed expertise and experience in high-speed transaction management within the financial industry and our proven trading solutions and systems may now be strategically exported into the commercial and industrial sectors. The commercial and industrial sectors are only beginning to transition their transactions to an online environment. Through the use of online catalogue systems, auction and reverse-auction platforms and simple bulletin-board style sales and purchasing listings, businesses are slowly realizing the great potential of online transactions. Belzberg acquired eContracts, Inc., a Canadian online reverse-auction platform currently working with both industrial and commercial clients in both Canada and the U.S. eContracts, Inc. to give us an entrance into these sectors and an online reverse-auction platform from which to develop our technology. We see the evolution of these online processes into an integrated online exchange-type marketplace, based on Belzberg's financial industry's bid/ask exchange technologies. It will be our ability to manage transactions for commodities and services through our high-speed clearinghouse type web platforms, offering unprecedented price transparency, low-cost information, global exposure and intelligent routing and matching of buyers and suppliers, that will set us apart from the competition. Industrial Sector Industrial sectors include all types of heavy, medium and light industrial manufacturing operations. Particular emphasis will be given to those industries, which require high volumes of raw material commodity inputs and significant maintenance materials usage. Examples of such industries include metals and mining, oil and gas, food and beverage and the chemical manufacturing sectors. By way of example, eContracts recently concluded an online competitive bid for Stelco, Inc., Canada's largest steel maker, for the purchase of their annual tire and tire related services contract valued at over $1 Million. The 3-hour event concluded with Stelco achieving an unprecedented 29% savings over past prices and traditional purchasing methods. This savings showcases the powerful competitive dynamics of the online bidding model and the potential of an integrated online approach with this process as just one facet is staggering. eContracts continues to work with Stelco as well as several other Canadian and US steel mills. Non-industrial/Commercial Sector Non-industrial or commercial applications include government, retail sector and professional offices opportunities. Examples of such opportunities include the potential for legal and accounting firm purchasing alliances for such items as paper and office supplies, printing and courier services, real estate expenditures and more. Initial talks have been held with a group including two legal firms and a large accounting firm about the establishment of an office-tower purchasing group that would utilize the eContracts online platform for their combined purchases. Another good example of commercial or non-industrial applications is eContracts continuing relationship with The County of Allegheny, the largest county in Pennsylvania. The County has held two online bidding events for the fulfillment of a $500,000 Janitorial Supplies contract and $80,000 worth of Parks and Recreation chemicals. Additional upcoming events are being scheduled for other purchases including line paint for roadways, heating oil, laboratory testing kits, and more. It is important to note that Allegheny County is one of only a handful of County Governments that have tried online purchasing. There are thousands of Counties in the U.S. that can be targeted once the process and systems are optimized through our Allegheny County relationship. -22-
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Utilizing eContracts reverse-auction platform as a base, the transfer of our technology into the commercial and industrial sectors has already begun. The eContracts software is currently being translated by our personnel into a more dynamic java based language that will allow the faster implementation of trading style modules based on our systems. The eventual creation of online trading opportunities for commodity-type goods and services based on the financial industry model is our ultimate goal. Competition The market for our products and services is becoming increasingly competitive. The widespread adoption of open standards may make it easier for new market entrants and existing competitors to introduce products that compete against ours. We believe that we will compete primarily on the basis of the quality, functionality, ease of integration of our product and the price of our services. As a provider of a comprehensive Internet solution to financial institutions and other e-Commerce businesses, we assess potential competitors based primarily on their management, functionality and range of services, the security and scalability of their architecture, and their client base, geographic focus and capitalization. Our current and potential competitors include: o Software Vendors Focused on Financial Institutions: Our competitors include ITG, Inc., NYFIX, Inc., Reuters Group Plc, and Bloomberg. In addition, various companies active in the Internet banking and brokerage businesses with a primary focus on back-end processing, middleware or front-end personal computer platforms for retail Internet banking are potential competitors. These include companies such as S1 Corporation and TIBCO Software. o Financial Institutions with In-house Solutions: Financial institutions that develop their own in-house solution with internal expertise and outsourced service providers and products are a primary source of competition. These include Celestial Securities Limited's wireless trading service in Hong Kong; the wireless trading capability developed by Fidelity using Research In Motion's two-way pagers and the wireless trading service offered by DLJ Direct in the U.S.; the wireless brokerage service provided by the on-line broker Fimatex in France; and a wireless banking service offered by Barclays in the U.K. o Competitors in the B2B order management solutions business include Ariba, Inc., WebMethods, Free Markets Inc., MaterialNet Inc. and Procuri Inc. Many of our current and potential competitors have longer operating histories, significantly greater financial, technical, product development and marketing resources, greater name recognition and larger customer bases than we do. Our present or future competitors may be able to develop products comparable or superior to those we offer, adapt more quickly than we do to new technologies, evolving industry trends or customer requirements, or devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products than we do. Accordingly, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets, competition may intensify and harm our business and operating results. If we are not successful in developing enhancements to existing products and new products in a timely manner, achieving customer acceptance or generating higher average selling prices, our gross margins may decline, and our business and operating results may suffer. Marketing Channels We sell our products and services using our own dedicated and experienced sales force with private contacts in the securities industry. Our sales force includes sales and marketing departments in New York and Canada. -23-
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Intellectual Property We protect our proprietary technology through a combination of contractual confidentiality provisions, trade secrets and patent, copyright and trademark laws. In January of 1999, we were granted United States Patent Number 5,864,827 for a System and Method for Providing an Information Gateway. The patent protects our e-Commerce Gateway, a system that translates the information from a customer or broker's computer system to the information in a financial market's computer system. It receives an acknowledgment from the financial market and translates it back to the customer's system. The technology facilitates electronic stock trading by allowing customers to access any market they choose from a single screen. As part of our confidentiality procedures, we generally require our employees, clients and potential business partners to enter into confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements before we will disclose any sensitive aspects of our products, technology or business plans. In addition, we generally require employees to agree to surrender to us any proprietary information, inventions or other intellectual property they generate or come to possess while employed by us. These efforts afford only limited protection. There has been a substantial amount of litigation in the software and Internet industries regarding intellectual property rights. It is possible that in the future, third parties may claim that we or our current or potential future products infringe their intellectual property. We expect that software product developers and providers of Internet-related solutions will increasingly be subject to infringement claims as the number of products and competitors in our industry grows and the functionality of products in different industries increasingly overlaps. Description of Property We currently lease approximately 22,000 square feet at 40 King Street West, Toronto, Ontario. This facility currently houses our technical, administrative and executive offices. We also lease approximately 6,500 square feet at 55 Broad Street, New York, New York and approximately 1,000 square feet at 141 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois. The following sets forth additional information concerning our facilities: [Enlarge/Download Table] Expiration Date of Approximate Number Location Principal Use Lease of Square Feet 40 King Street West Technical, administrative October 31, 2009 22,000 Toronto, Ontario and executive offices 55 Broad Street Marketing, service and support January 31, 2008 6,500 New York, New York offices 141 West Jackson Blvd. Electronic Brokerage Systems, July 31, 2002 1,000 Chicago, Illinois Inc. headquarters, marketing offices -24-
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ITEM 5. OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTUS The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto included elsewhere in this Form 20-F. This document contains certain forward-looking statements including, among others, anticipated trends in the our financial condition and results of operations and our business strategy. These forward-looking statements are based largely on our current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Important factors to consider in evaluating such forward-looking statements include (i) changes in external competitive market factors or in our internal budgeting process which might impact trends in our results of operations; (ii) unanticipated working capital or other cash requirements; (iii) changes in our business strategy or an inability to execute our strategy due to unanticipated changes in the industries in which we operate; and (iv) various competitive factors that may prevent us from competing successfully in the marketplace. We derive our revenue from software and data rental, software development and installation, and transactions fees. Software and Data Rental Generally, software and data rental consists of repeating monthly flat rate charges to customers that are based upon the numbers of users of our system or the number of terminals in use at that customer's premises. These charges do not vary with volume and generally are based upon one year or longer-term contracts. These customers are either in our Toronto or New York operations, and our loss rate of customers has been insignificant. In more recently acquired customers, if market conditions permit, we attempt to have new contracts specify fees based upon the greater of a charge per share, or a basic monthly charge. The number of new contracts structured upon this new basis is currently not significant. We expect this model to improve both our gross revenue and our net profit over time, depending on how widely this model is accepted by our customers. Software Development and Installation There are two types of revenue in this category. When we install a new customer, there is generally a small installation charge, and in certain cases, the installation charge can be greater. This one-time charge is intended to recover the initial labor and materials cost of installing our system. Revenue from these installations is not significant, and in order to properly match revenues and expenses, these revenues are recognized when our system is operational and when the customer has commenced using our systems, which is approximately the time frame in which the expense of installation is incurred. In certain other cases, we will undertake to create some custom software, but only for customers that request this customization as part of a commitment to install our systems. The number of contracts to create software are very limited in number, as we do not regard ourselves as in the business of creating software for customers. This revenue is recognized on a percentage of completion basis as the software is delivered to the customer, is accepted by the customer, and access to our systems progresses. -25-
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Transaction Fees Transaction fees are either charges to customers based on a fee per share transacted through our routing systems, or on a fee per trade transacted through our routing systems. The fee per trade model has only recently been implemented and revenue from this model is currently insignificant. We do not expect this model to affect our revenue stream significantly as it is only used as a sales tool to give greater flexibility to our sales efforts. All revenue from our Chicago operation is based on transaction fees. We expect that transaction fees will continue to grow at a faster rate than monthly software and data rental revenue. Revenue based upon transaction fees is often more acceptable to customers as their volumes bear direct costs in relation to those volumes, rather than a basic charge which does not fluctuate with volume. We find that transaction fee revenue is often more profitable than monthly repeating fees, as the customers have less resistance to fees that mirror their activity. Transaction fees through our Chicago operation also have the potential to be more profitable as the volume per customer tends to be greater, while the costs remain equivalent. We commenced with our transaction fee model in June 1999 and the revenues from this model have grown steadily, increasing from $643,912 in 1999 to $3,276,096 in 2000. Although we have found the demand for flat rate charges continuing to be strong, we expect that transaction fee revenue will increase at a greater pace. As this type of revenue is more profitable, this trend will positively impact our bottom line. Because we have a base charge in many contracts, we do not expect any large variation in revenues as a result of fluctuations in volume due to hot markets or downturn markets. Overview of Year 2000 In 2000, the Company experienced significant growth in many areas, including a doubling of revenue, a large increase in staff and facilities, the acquisition of eContracts Inc., and the acquisition of the remaining minority interest in Electronic Brokerage Systems Inc. All companies in the group are now 100% owned subsidiaries. Revenue increased by 102.4% over the previous year to $12.0 million from $5.9 million in 1999. Operating expenses on a percentage basis were 108.1% of sales in 1999 and dropped to 60.5% of sales in 2000. Research and development expenditures dropped from 30.4% of sales in 1999 to 16.8% of sales in 2000. Earnings before other expenses, interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, of $1.1 million (10% of sales) in 2000 compare to a loss of $2.4 million in 1999. The Company's balance sheet also improved over the year. Liquid assets (cash and receivables) increased in 2000 to $10.5 million from $1.5 million in 1999. An additional $4.8 million was added to this amount by a private placement, which closed in January 2001, subsequent to the year-end. Following shareholder approval at the Company's 2000 Annual and Special Meeting, the Company changed its name to Belzberg Technologies Inc to better reflect the diversity of its operations. In addition, the common shares of the Company were split on a 5:1 basis to bring greater liquidity to its shareholders, and a formal stock option plan was approved. In November 2000, the Company's shares began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol BLZ. The Company also filed Registration Statement 20-F with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the first step necessary to be listed in the United States as a foreign issuer. -26-
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Shareholders' equity was increased through private placements and the exercise of options by management and staff totaling $10.8 million and an additional private placement of $4.8 million, completed in January 2001. Acquisitions eContracts Inc. In July 2000, the Company acquired all of the outstanding shares of eContracts Inc. for cash consideration of $150,000, and the issuance of 46,500 common shares from Treasury at a price of $9.00 per share. The shares are to be issued in four separate installments by December 31, 2002. The first two installments were issued by December 31, 2000 and the remaining two are conditional upon key management remaining. They will be recorded, when issued, as `employee compensation' and amortized over the period until the shares are actually issued. For the period up to December 31, 2000, this compensation expense amounted to $56,940 and was recorded as an addition to share capital and as an employee expense. eContracts is a business-to-business (B2B) marketplace and developer of online procurement and supply chain integration solutions. It provides an internet-based, online negotiations platform allowing buyers and sellers to participate in real-time bidding sessions for industrial parts, raw materials and services. Electronic Brokerage Systems, Inc. In July 2000, the Corporation acquired the remaining 25% minority interest in this Company for the sum of $450,000 paid by the issuance of 50,000 common shares from Treasury at a price of $9.00 per share. Electronic Brokerage Systems (EBS) gives Belzberg Technologies greater connectivity in the North American equity and options markets and is a key component of the Company's strategy. EBS is a broker-dealer and is a member of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and, subsequent to year-end, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). As a result of this acquisition, the Company is embarking upon a significant upgrading of the EBS facilities, thereby adding a third major component to the Company's seamless Toronto and New York (and now Chicago) network. Operating Results Revenues Revenues by Country for the years ended December 31, ($ 000s) 2000 % Change 1999 % Change 1998 -------- ---- -------- ---- --------- ---- Canada $6,135 147.5% $2,479 62.5% $1,526 USA $5,817 69.8% $3,425 39.8% $2,450 Gross revenue increased from $4.0 million in 1998 to $6.0 million in 1999 (an increase of 50%), and to $12.0 million in 2000 (an increase of 100%). Revenue growth occurred in both US and Canadian operations, as illustrated in the chart above. -27-
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Revenues by Segment For the years ended December 31 [Enlarge/Download Table] % of % of % of To