Filed On 6/26/08 8:13pm ET · SEC File 333-150007 · Accession Number 950134-8-11905
As Of Filer Filing As/For/On Docs:Pgs Issuer Agent
6/27/08 Energy Recovery/Inc S-1/A 4:276 Bowne of Dallas I..01/FA
Pre-Effective Amendment to Registration Statement (General Form) · Form S-1
Filing Table of Contents
Document/Exhibit Description Pages Size
1: S-1/A Amendment to Form S-1 HTML 1,441K
2: EX-3.2.2 Articles of Incorporation/Organization or By-Laws HTML 89K
3: EX-10.6.1 Material Contract HTML 5K
4: EX-23.1 Consent of Experts or Counsel HTML 4K
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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
June 27, 2008
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.
20549
AMENDMENT NO. 4
TO
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION
STATEMENT
Under
The Securities Act of
1933
Energy Recovery, Inc.
(Exact Name of Registrant as
Specified in its Charter)
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3559
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01-0616867
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(State or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation or Organization)
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(Primary Standard Industrial
Classification Code Number)
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(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)
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1908 Doolittle Drive
(Address, including zip code,
and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s
principal executive offices)
G.G. Pique
President and Chief Executive
Officer
1908 Doolittle Drive
(Name, address, including zip code,
and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
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Stephen J. Schrader
Jenny C. Yeh
Baker & McKenzie LLP
Two Embarcadero Center,
11th
Floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
Telephone: (415) 576-3000
Facsimile: (415) 576-3099
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Alan F. Denenberg
Davis Polk & Wardwell
1600 El Camino Real
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Telephone: (650) 752-2000
Facsimile: (650) 752-2111
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Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the
public: As soon as practicable after the
effective date of this Registration Statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be
offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to
Rule 415 under the Securities Act, as amended, check the
following
box. o
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an
offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act,
please check the following box and list the Securities Act
registration statement number of the earlier effective
registration statement for the same
offering. o
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to
Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following
box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of
the earlier effective registration statement for the same
offering. o
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to
Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following
box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of
the earlier effective registration statement for the same
offering. o
Indicate by check mark whether
the registrant is a large
accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated
filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of
“large accelerated filer,” “accelerated
filer” and
“smaller reporting company” in
Rule 12b-2
of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
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accelerated
filer o
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Accelerated
filer o
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Non-accelerated
filer þ
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Smaller reporting
company o
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(Do not
check if a smaller reporting company)
CALCULATION
OF REGISTRATION FEE
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Amount
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Proposed Maximum
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to be
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Aggregate Offering
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Amount of
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Title of Each Class of Securities to be Registered
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Registered
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Price(1)(2)
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Registration Fee(3)
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Common Stock, $0.001 par value
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16,100,000
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$144,900,000
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$6,877.50
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(1)
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Estimated solely for the purpose of
computing the amount of the registration fee pursuant to
Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act.
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(2)
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Includes additional shares that the
underwriters have the option to purchase.
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(3)
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Previously paid.
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The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on
such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective
date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment that
specifically states that this Registration Statement shall
thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a)
of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the
Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as
the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to such
Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in
this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not
sell these securities until the registration statement filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This
prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and we are
not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state
where the offer or sale is not permitted.
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14,000,000 Shares
Energy Recovery, Inc.
Common Stock
This is the initial public offering of our common stock. We are
selling 8,078,566 shares of common stock, and the selling
stockholders named in this prospectus are selling
5,921,434 shares of common stock. We will not receive any
proceeds from the shares of common stock sold by the selling
stockholders. Prior to this offering, there has been no public
market for our common stock. The initial public offering price
of our common stock is expected to be between $7.00 and $9.00
per share. We have applied to list our common stock on the
NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “ERII.”
We have granted the underwriters an option to purchase a maximum
of 2,100,000 additional shares to cover over-allotments
of shares.
Investing in our common stock involves risks. See “Risk
Factors” beginning on page 8.
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Per Share
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Total
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Price to Public
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$
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$
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Underwriting Discounts and Commissions
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$
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$
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Proceeds to ERI
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$
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$
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Proceeds to Selling Stockholders
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$
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$
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The underwriters expect to deliver the shares to purchasers on
or
about ,
2008.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state
securities commission has approved or disapproved of these
securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or
complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal
offense.
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| HSBC |
Janney Montgomery Scott LLC |
SEB Enskilda |
The date of this prospectus
is ,
2008
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
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Page
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1
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5
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55
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60
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67
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You should rely only on the information contained in this
document or to which we have referred you. We have not
authorized anyone to provide you with information that is
different. This document may only be used where it is legal to
sell these securities. The information in this document may only
be accurate on the date of this document.
Corporate
Information
“ERI,” the ERI logo, “Making Desalination
Affordable,” “PX Pressure Exchanger,”
“PX” and other trademarks or service marks of ERI
appearing in this prospectus are the property of ERI. This
prospectus contains additional trade names, trademarks and
service marks of other companies. We do not intend our use or
display of other companies’ trade names, trademarks or
service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or
sponsorship of us by, these other companies.
Industry
and Market Data
This prospectus includes market and industry data and forecasts
that we obtained from internal research, publicly available
information and industry publications and surveys. Industry
publications and surveys generally state that the information
contained therein has been obtained from sources believed to be
reliable. Unless otherwise noted, statements as to our market
position relative to our competitors are approximated and based
on the above-mentioned third-party data and internal analysis
and estimates as of the date of this prospectus. Although we
believe the industry and market data and statements as to market
position to be reliable as of the date of this prospectus, we
have not independently verified this information and it could
prove inaccurate. Industry and market data could be wrong
because of the method by which sources obtained their data and
because information cannot always be verified with certainty due
to the limits on the availability and reliability of raw data,
the voluntary nature of the data gathering process and other
limitations and uncertainties. In addition, we do not know all
of the assumptions regarding general economic conditions or
growth that were used in preparing the forecasts from sources
cited herein.
Dealer
Prospectus Delivery Obligation
Until ,
2008 (25 days after the date of this prospectus) all
dealers that effect transactions in these securities, whether or
not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a
prospectus. This is in addition to the dealer’s obligation
to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with
respect to unsold allotments or subscriptions.
PROSPECTUS
SUMMARY
This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in
this prospectus. You should read the following summary together
with the more detailed information appearing in this prospectus,
including our consolidated financial statements and the related
notes, and our risk factors beginning on page 7, before
deciding whether to purchase shares of our common stock. Unless
the context otherwise requires, the terms “ERI,”
“the Company,” “we,” “us” and
“our” in this prospectus refer to Energy Recovery,
Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.
Our
Business
We are a leading global developer and manufacturer of highly
efficient energy recovery devices utilized in the rapidly
growing water desalination industry. We operate primarily in the
sea water reverse osmosis, or SWRO, segment of the industry. In
the SWRO process, high pressure is used to drive sea water
through filtering membranes to produce fresh water. Energy
recovery devices have increased the cost-competitiveness of SWRO
desalination compared to other means of fresh water supply and
have enabled the ongoing rapid growth of the SWRO segment of the
desalination industry worldwide. Our primary product, the PX
Pressure Exchanger, or PX, helps optimize the energy intensive
SWRO process by recapturing and recycling up to 98% of the
energy in the high pressure reject stream, thereby reducing SWRO
energy consumption by an estimated 60% as compared to the same
process without any energy recovery devices.
We believe that the proven benefits of our proprietary
technology have made us a leader in the SWRO energy recovery
market due to the following:
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up to 98% energy recovery efficiency;
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proprietary design employing only one moving part;
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corrosion resistant, highly durable ceramic composition;
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smaller footprint, modular design and system redundancy;
and
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lower life cycle cost versus competitors.
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The PX device uses a corrosion resistant ceramic rotor to
recapture and recycle the energy that otherwise would have been
lost in the reject stream of the SWRO process and applies it to
the low pressure incoming sea water. The PX device has been
installed in over 300 desalination plants and specified in plant
designs by over 60 original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs,
and engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC, firms
worldwide. We estimate that PX devices shipped as of
December 31, 2007 reduce electricity consumption in SWRO
desalination plants in the aggregate by approximately
300 megawatts relative to comparable plants with no energy
recovery devices. Assuming a rate of $0.08 per kilowatt-hour,
the deployment of PX devices in these plants would result in
annual electricity cost savings of approximately
$210 million in the aggregate, which would equate to a
reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of approximately
1.5 million tons per year.
As of
March 31, 2008, we had shipped over 4,000 PX devices
to desalination plants worldwide, including in China, Europe,
India, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, North America and the
Caribbean. Our annual net revenue grew from $4.0 million in
2003 to $35.4 million in 2007. For the three months ended
March 31, 2008, our net revenue was $9.1 million.
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We design, manufacture and sell various models of the PX device
to serve a range of SWRO process flow rates for various plant
designs and sizes. With respect to large desalination plants
(greater than 50,000 cubic meters, or 13.2 million gallons,
per day capacity), we sell our products to international EPCs,
and with respect to smaller desalination facilities (fewer than
50,000 cubic meters per day capacity) we sell our products to
OEMs for installation in hotels, power plants and municipal
facilities. Our successful market penetration has resulted in a
rapidly increasing installed base of PX devices globally, which
we expect to lead to aftermarket part replacement and service
opportunities. We also manufacture a line of booster pumps for
use in conjunction with some models of the PX device.
Our research, development and manufacturing facility is located
in the San Francisco Bay technology corridor, and we have
direct sales offices and technical support centers in many key
desalination markets, including Madrid, Dubai, Shanghai and
Fort Lauderdale.
Industry
Opportunity
The demand for fresh water continues to grow, driven by the need
for drinking water to satisfy the world’s growing
population, changing weather patterns, an increasing need for
water for agriculture and industry and the concentration of
populations in urban areas that lack sufficient fresh water
resources. The United Nations Population Fund expects the global
consumption of water to double every 20 years. A study
conducted by the International Water Management Institute
projects that by 2025, 33% of the population of the developing
world will face severe water shortages. The uneven geographic
distribution of fresh water supplies compounds this problem.
The two basic processes used to desalinate sea water are
thermal, or distillation, and more recently, SWRO. The most
significant operating cost component for either process is
energy consumption. Thermal desalination technology is highly
energy inefficient and is mainly used in the Middle East where
energy costs are low. Until approximately 15 years ago SWRO
was also energy inefficient, in part because of the loss of
energy associated with the high-pressure reject stream. Today,
however, the energy cost of the SWRO process is 50% less than
that of the traditional thermal desalination process due to the
incorporation of energy recovery devices, including our PX
device, and improved membranes.
The significant reduction in operating costs related to energy
has made the SWRO desalination industry in which we compete the
fastest growing segment of the desalination industry. According
to Global Water Intelligence, or GWI, due to the use of SWRO
technology, the cost of producing a cubic meter of fresh water
from sea water, which averaged approximately $10 per cubic
meter in the mid-1960’s, had dropped to as low as $0.46 per
cubic meter by 2005. As a result, the share of total new
contracted sea water desalination capacity using SWRO has
increased from 42% in 1999 to approximately 71% in 2006.
Desalination has become an economically attractive alternative
in many coastal regions or other locations near a salt water
source where fresh water sources are becoming increasingly
stressed. According to the February/March 2008 issue of
International Desalination & Water Reuse Quarterly,
there are approximately 14,000 desalination plants worldwide.
GWI estimates that as of
December 31, 2005, there were
39.9 million cubic meters per day of installed capacity,
and that the growth in the market for new total desalination
capacity should increase by approximately 13% per year from 2005
to 2015. We expect SWRO’s share of new total desalination
capacity to grow in excess of the overall industry growth rate,
particularly due to higher energy costs experienced over the
past few years.
We are active in the fastest growing markets for desalination,
which include China, Algeria, Australia and India. According to
GWI projections, these markets are expected to grow at least 20%
per year from 2005 to 2015. Other significant markets include
the Middle East, North America, the Caribbean and Europe.
Additionally, our PX device is currently specified in the pilot
test facility for the proposed Carlsbad, California plant,
which, if constructed, is expected to be the largest SWRO plant
then operating in the United States. We understand that the
proposed Carlsbad, California desalination plant is in the final
stages of its permit procurement process and construction is
expected to begin once all permits have been obtained.
Our
Strengths
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Unique and efficient product. We manufacture
the only commercially available rotary isobaric energy recovery
device, which we believe is more effective at recovering and
recycling energy than any other commercially available energy
recovery device. The PX device incorporates highly-engineered
corrosion resistant ceramic parts that require minimal
maintenance, and a modular design that allows for system
redundancy resulting in minimal plant shutdowns. Our rotary
device has only one moving part and a continuous flow design,
which complements the continuous flow of the SWRO process. We
believe these unique benefits lead to lower life cycle costs
than competing products.
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Leading position in a rapidly growing
industry. The combination of decreasing fresh water
supplies, increasing fresh water demand and declining SWRO
desalination costs is driving growth in the SWRO desalination
industry. SWRO is the fastest growing segment of the
desalination market, and we believe we are the largest global
supplier of energy recovery devices for SWRO plants exceeding a
capacity of 15,000 cubic meters per day. For example, in the
last five years we believe that our PX product was selected for
a significant majority of new SWRO plants commissioned in China,
one of the fastest growing desalination markets.
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Rapid growth. Our net revenue increased from
$4.0 million in 2003 to $35.4 million in 2007,
representing a compound annual growth rate of 72%, driven by the
rapid growth of the SWRO desalination industry and our increased
penetration of this market. Our sales growth has enabled us to
leverage our existing manufacturing cost base in order to
achieve cost synergies and improved utilization, and to develop
new products to provide additional cost and performance
advantages.
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High barriers to entry. Historically, there
has been a slow adoption rate for new technologies in the
desalination industry. We have spent the last 11 years
penetrating the market and establishing our company and products
with major industry participants. We also have U.S. and
international patents covering specific design features of the
PX device, and have developed significant know-how related to
ceramic processing methods essential to the manufacturing,
reliability and performance of the PX device.
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Diversified international blue chip customer
base. Currently, most of our revenue is generated
by sales to large EPCs. Three EPC customers accounted for 56% of
our net revenue in 2007 and one customer accounted for 49% of
our net revenue in the first quarter of 2008. As of
March 31, 2008, our products had been specified in plant
designs by over 60 OEMs and EPCs worldwide and have sold PX
devices to approximately 250 other customers, including small
and mid-tier OEMs, hotel operators, power plants and
municipalities.
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Strong, experienced management team. Our
senior management team has significant industry experience in
the design, construction and operation of SWRO desalination
plants and the filtration industry. Our chief executive officer,
G.G. Pique, joined us in 2000 after serving for seven years as
the group vice president Latin America of US Filter Corporation
(subsequently acquired by Vivendi) and has over 30 years of
experience in the water treatment industry.
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Our
Strategy
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Increase market penetration. We actively work
with EPCs and OEMs to specify the PX device in the designs of
their SWRO desalination plants. To further our market
penetration, we are also expanding our existing sales channels
through new strategic hires and by increasing our product
offerings, and are continuing to increase the awareness of our
technology through technical papers, trade shows, industry
publications and trade association memberships.
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Continue to broaden our product portfolio. We
are developing new products that we expect will continue to grow
our market share and meet the increasing demands of our clients.
As the SWRO market moves towards increasingly larger
desalination plants, we are developing products such as the
PX-1200 Titan, which are designed to address these larger volume
plants. For customers who are more sensitive to up-front costs
and who operate smaller plants, we are developing the Comp PX.
We also intend to expand our product portfolio to include
additional circulation/booster pumps and a bundled, turnkey
energy recovery system solution that would include both a PX
device and pump.
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Increase our aftermarket sales. Over time,
components of our PX device will need to be repaired or
replaced. Thus, as our installed base of PX devices ages and the
number of installed units increases, we expect aftermarket sales
of replacement PX parts and services to increase.
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Capitalize on growth opportunities in alternative power
and other emerging sectors. We are diversifying our
energy recovery offerings to capitalize on growth opportunities
in emerging sectors. For example, osmotic power generation will
utilize a process similar to that of SWRO and is a clean,
alternate source of power currently under development. We are
currently in discussions with a European utility company that is
designing an osmotic power pilot test facility that may use our
PX technology. In addition, our PX device could potentially be
applied in any process that has a high-pressure waste stream.
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Risk
Factors
You should carefully consider the risks described under
“Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. These
risks could materially and adversely impact our business,
financial condition, operating results and cash flow, which
could cause
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the trading price of our common stock to decline and could
result in a partial or total loss of your investment. Some of
these risks include:
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Our reliance on the sale of our PX devices for almost all of our
revenue;
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Delays or postponements in the construction of desalination
plants;
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Fluctuations in demand, adoption, sales cycles and pricing
levels for our products and services;
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Changes in customers’ budgets for desalination plants and
the timing of their purchasing decisions; and
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Our ability to develop and introduce in a timely manner new
products and product enhancements that meet customer demand and
requirements.
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4
THE
OFFERING
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Common stock offered by ERI |
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8,078,566 shares |
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Common stock offered by the selling stockholders |
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5,921,434 shares |
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Common stock to be outstanding after this offering |
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47,917,474 shares |
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Use of proceeds by us |
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We intend to use the net proceeds to us of $56.7 million
from this offering for working capital and other general
corporate purposes. We may also use a portion of the net
proceeds to acquire other businesses, products or technologies.
However, we do not have agreements or commitments for any
specific acquisitions at this time. |
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Risk factors |
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You should read the “Risk Factors” section of this
prospectus for a discussion of factors that you should consider
carefully before deciding to invest in shares of our common
stock. |
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Proposed NASDAQ Global Market symbol |
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ERII |
The number of shares of our common stock to be outstanding after
this offering is based on 39,838,908 shares of our common
stock outstanding as of
March 31, 2008, and excludes:
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1,333,308 shares of common stock issuable upon
exercise of options outstanding as of March 31, 2008, at a
weighted average exercise price of $2.54 per share;
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2,074,122 shares of common stock issuable upon the
exercise of warrants outstanding as of March 31, 2008, at a
weighted average exercise price of $0.52 per share;
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4,167 shares of common stock that have been exercised
pursuant to options but not yet vested as of March 31, 2008;
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5,625 shares of common stock reserved as of
March 31, 2008 for future grant under our 2002 Stock
Option/Stock Issuance Plan;
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8,709 shares of common stock reserved as of
March 31, 2008 for future grant under our 2004 Stock
Option/Stock Issuance Plan;
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37,567 shares of common stock reserved as of
March 31, 2008 for future grant under our 2006 Stock
Option/Stock Issuance Plan; and
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1,400,000 shares of common stock reserved for future
issuance under our 2008 Equity Incentive Plan which will become
effective immediately prior to the effectiveness of this
offering, of which 910,000 shares have been approved for
issuance at an exercise price equal to the initial public
offering price upon the effectiveness of this offering.
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Unless otherwise indicated, this prospectus reflects and assumes
the following:
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the filing of our amended and restated certificate of
incorporation immediately prior to the completion of this
offering; and
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no exercise by the underwriters of their option to
purchase additional shares.
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5
SUMMARY
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA
The following tables summarize the consolidated financial data
for our business. You should read this summary consolidated
financial data in conjunction with the sections titled
“Selected Consolidated Financial Data” and
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated
financial statements and related notes, all included elsewhere
in this prospectus. The summary financial data in this section
is not intended to replace the consolidated financial statements
and is qualified in its entirety by the consolidated financial
statements and related notes included in this prospectus. The
summary consolidated statements of operations data for each of
the three years in the periods ended
December 31, 2007,
2006 and
2005 is derived from our audited consolidated financial
statements and related notes included elsewhere in this
prospectus. The consolidated statement of operations data for
the three months ended
March 31, 2008 and
2007 and the
consolidated balance sheet data at
March 31, 2008 are
derived from our unaudited consolidated financial statements
included in this prospectus. The unaudited consolidated
financial statements include, in the opinion of management, all
adjustments that management considers necessary for the fair
presentation of the financial information set forth in those
statements. Our historical results are not necessarily
indicative of the results that should be expected in the future
and results for the three months ended
March 31, 2008 are
not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the
full year. The amounts below are in thousands, except per share
data.
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Years Ended
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31,
|
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
|
2008(1)
|
|
|
2007(1)
|
|
|
2007(1)
|
|
|
2006(1)
|
|
|
2005
|
|
|
|
|
(unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net revenue
|
|
$
|
9,120
|
|
|
$
|
7,139
|
|
|
$
|
35,414
|
|
|
$
|
20,058
|
|
|
$
|
10,689
|
|
|
Cost of revenue(2)
|
|
|
3,674
|
|
|
|
2,854
|
|
|
|
14,852
|
|
|
|
8,131
|
|
|
|
4,685
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross profit
|
|
|
5,446
|
|
|
|
4,285
|
|
|
|
20,562
|
|
|
|
11,927
|
|
|
|
6,004
|
|
|
Operating expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales and marketing(2)
|
|
|
1,343
|
|
|
|
1,191
|
|
|
|
5,230
|
|
|
|
3,648
|
|
|
|
1,779
|
|
|
General and administrative(2)
|
|
|
2,661
|
|
|
|
773
|
|
|
|
4,299
|
|
|
|
3,372
|
|
|
|
2,458
|
|
|
Research and development(2)
|
|
|
509
|
|
|
|
389
|
|
|
|
1,705
|
|
|
|
1,267
|
|
|
|
630
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total operating expenses
|
|
|
4,513
|
|
|
|
2,353
|
|
|
|
11,234
|
|
|
|
8,287
|
|
|
|
4,867
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income from operations
|
|
|
933
|
|
|
|
1,932
|
|
|
|
9,328
|
|
|
|
3,640
|
|
|
|
1,137
|
|
|
Other income (expense):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest expense
|
|
|
(21
|
)
|
|
|
(17
|
)
|
|
|
(105
|
)
|
|
|
(77
|
)
|
|
|
(216
|
)
|
|
Interest and other income
|
|
|
647
|
|
|
|
14
|
|
|
|
517
|
|
|
|
58
|
|
|
|
35
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income before provision for income taxes
|
|
|
1,559
|
|
|
|
1,929
|
|
|
|
9,740
|
|
|
|
3,621
|
|
|
|
956
|
|
|
Provision for income taxes
|
|
|
612
|
|
|
|
810
|
|
|
|
3,947
|
|
|
|
1,239
|
|
|
|
62
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net income
|
|
$
|
947
|
|
|
$
|
1,119
|
|
|
$
|
5,793
|
|
|
$
|
2,382
|
|
|
$
|
894
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings per share—basic
|
|
$
|
0.02
|
|
|
$
|
0.03
|
|
|
$
|
0.15
|
|
|
$
|
0.06
|
|
|
$
|
0.02
|
|
|
Earnings per share—diluted
|
|
$
|
0.02
|
|
|
$
|
0.03
|
|
|
$
|
0.14
|
|
|
$
|
0.06
|
|
|
$
|
0.02
|
|
|
Number of shares used in per share calculations:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
|
|
39,804
|
|
|
|
38,271
|
|
|
|
39,060
|
|
|
|
38,018
|
|
|
|
36,790
|
|
|
Diluted
|
|
|
42,196
|
|
|
|
40,508
|
|
|
|
41,433
|
|
|
|
40,244
|
|
|
|
38,454
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 31, 2008
|
|
|
|
|
Actual
|
|
|
As Adjusted(3)
|
|
|
|
|
(unaudited, in thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents
|
|
$
|
1,901
|
|
|
$
|
59,201
|
|
|
Total assets
|
|
|
32,314
|
|
|
|
87,776
|
|
|
Long-term liabilities
|
|
|
568
|
|
|
|
568
|
|
|
Total liabilities
|
|
|
10,556
|
|
|
|
9,276
|
|
|
Total stockholders’ equity
|
|
|
21,758
|
|
|
|
78,500
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
(1) |
|
Effective January 1, 2006, we adopted the fair value
recognition provisions of Statement of Financial Accounting
Standards No. 123 (revised 2004), Share-Based
Payment, or SFAS 123(R), using the prospective
transition method, which requires the application of the
provisions of SFAS 123(R) only to share-based payment
awards granted, modified, repurchased or cancelled on or after
the modification date. Under this method, we recognize
stock-based compensation expense for all share-based payment
awards granted after December 31, 2005 in accordance with
SFAS 123(R). |
| |
|
(2) |
|
Includes employee and non-employee stock-based compensation as
follows (in thousands): |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended
|
|
|
Years Ended
|
|
|
|
|
March 31,
|
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2005
|
|
|
|
|
(unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost of revenue
|
|
$
|
24
|
|
|
$
|
25
|
|
|
$
|
117
|
|
|
$
|
143
|
|
|
$
|
88
|
|
|
Sales and marketing
|
|
|
74
|
|
|
|
71
|
|
|
|
372
|
|
|
|
310
|
|
|
|
86
|
|
|
General and administrative
|
|
|
90
|
|
|
|
106
|
|
|
|
388
|
|
|
|
428
|
|
|
|
731
|
|
|
Research and development
|
|
|
33
|
|
|
|
35
|
|
|
|
159
|
|
|
|
183
|
|
|
|
98
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total stock-based compensation
|
|
$
|
221
|
|
|
$
|
237
|
|
|
$
|
1,036
|
|
|
$
|
1,064
|
|
|
$
|
1,003
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(3) |
|
As adjusted to reflect the issuance of 8,078,566 shares of
common stock in this offering at an assumed initial public
offering price of $8.00 per share, which is the mid-point
of the price range listed on the cover page of this prospectus.
Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public
offering price of $8.00 per share would increase or
decrease, as applicable, the amount of cash and cash
equivalents, total assets and total stockholders’ equity by
approximately $7.5 million, assuming the number of shares
offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this
prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the
underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering
expenses payable by us. As adjusted, cash and cash equivalents
reflect our estimated net cash proceeds from this offering of
approximately $56.7 million, and reflect the addition of
$558,000 to account for a portion of our initial public offering
expenses which were paid by us during the three months ended
March 31, 2008. |
7
RISK
FACTORS
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk.
You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties
described below before making a decision to buy our common
stock. If any of the following risks materializes, our business,
financial condition and results of operations could be harmed.
Consequently, the trading price of our common stock could
decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. Before
deciding to purchase any shares of our common stock, you should
also refer to the other information contained in this
prospectus, including “Forward-Looking Statements” and
our consolidated financial statements and the related notes.
Risks
Related to Our Business and Industry
We
have relied and expect to continue to rely on sales of our PX
devices for almost all of our revenue and a decline in sales of
these products will cause our revenue to decline.
Our primary product is the PX device, and sales of our PX device
historically have accounted for almost 100% of our revenue.
While we sell a variety of models of the PX device depending on
the design of the desalination plant and its desired output, all
of our models rely on the same basic technology we have
developed over the past 11 years. We expect that the
revenue from our PX devices will continue to account for most of
our revenue for the foreseeable future. Any factors adversely
affecting the demand for the PX device, including competition,
customer spending and industry regulations, would cause a
significant decline in our revenue. Some of the factors that may
affect sales of our PX device may be out of our control.
We
depend on the construction of new desalination plants for
revenue, and as a result, our operating results have
experienced, and may continue to experience, significant
variability due to volatility in capital spending and other
factors affecting the water desalination industry.
The demand for our products may decrease if the construction of
desalination plants declines. We derive substantially all of our
revenue from the sale of products and services, directly or
indirectly, to the municipal water supply, hotel and resort, and
agricultural industries. Construction of desalination plants and
subsequent installation of our products may be deferred or
cancelled as a result of many factors, including changing
governmental regulations, energy costs and reduced energy
conservation capital spending. For instance, desalination
projects on islands are often delayed due to unpredictable
weather patterns. In addition, a significant amount of revenue
generated by our original equipment manufacturer, or OEM,
customers is dependent on long-term relationships, which are not
always supported by long-term
contracts. This revenue is
particularly susceptible to variability based on changes in the
spending patterns of such OEM customers. We have experienced and
may in the future experience significant variability in our
revenue, on both an annual and a quarterly basis, as a result of
these factors. Pronounced variability or an extended period of
reduction in spending by our customers and construction of
desalination plants could negatively impact our business and
make it difficult for us to accurately forecast our future
sales, which could lead to increased spending by us that is not
matched with equivalent or higher revenue.
New
planned sea water reverse osmosis, or SWRO, projects can be
cancelled
and/or
delayed, and cancellations
and/or
delays may negatively impact our revenue.
Due to delays in, or failure to obtain the approval of or
permitting for, plant construction because of political factors,
adverse financing conditions or other factors, especially in
countries with political unrest, planned SWRO projects can be
cancelled or delayed. Even though we may have a signed
contract
to produce a certain number of PX devices by a certain date, if
a customer requests a delay of shipment and we accordingly delay
shipment of our PX devices, our results of operations and
revenue will be negatively impacted.
We
rely on a limited number of engineering, procurement and
construction, or EPC, customers for a large portion of our
revenue. If our EPC customers cancel their commitments or do not
purchase our products in connection with future projects, our
revenue could significantly decrease, which would adversely
affect our financial condition and future growth.
A limited number of our EPC customers accounts for a substantial
portion of our net revenue. One EPC customer accounted for
approximately 49% of our net revenue and two EPC customers
accounted for approximately 48% of our net revenue for the three
months ended
March 31, 2008 and
March 31, 2007,
respectively. Specifically, Geida and its affiliated entities,
accounted for approximately 49% of our net revenue for the three
months ended
March 31, 2008 and Inima Servicios and Geida
and its affiliated entities accounted for approximately 26% and
22% of our net revenue, respectively, for the three months ended
March 31, 2007. In 2007, three EPC customers,
including their affiliated entities, accounted for 56%
8
of our net revenue, and in 2006, two EPC customers, including
their affiliated entities, accounted for 29% of our net revenue.
Specifically, Acciona Water, Geida and its affiliated entities
and Doosan Heavy Industries represented approximately 20%, 23%
and 13% of our net revenue in 2007, respectively, and GE Ionics
and Geida and its affiliated entities accounted for
approximately 18% and 11% of our net revenue in 2006,
respectively. We do not have long-term
contracts with our EPC
customers and instead sell to them on a purchase order basis or
under individual stand-alone
contracts. If our EPC customers
reduce their purchases, our projected revenue will significantly
decrease, which will adversely affect our financial condition
and future growth. If one of our EPC customers delays or cancels
one or more of its projects, or if it fails to pay amounts due
to us or delays its payments, our revenue or operating results
could be negatively affected. There is a limited number of EPCs
who are involved in the desalination industry. Thus, if one of
our EPC customers decides not to continue to use our energy
recovery devices in its future projects, we may not be able
replace such a lost customer with another EPC customer and
our net revenue would be negatively affected.
Our
operating results may fluctuate significantly, which makes our
future operating results difficult to predict and could cause
our operating results to fall below expectations or our
guidance.
Our operating results may fluctuate due to a variety of factors,
many of which are outside of our control. Due to the fact that a
single order for our PX devices for a particular desalination
plant may represent significant revenue, we have experienced
significant fluctuations in revenue from quarter to quarter, and
we expect such fluctuations to continue. As a result, comparing
our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be
meaningful. You should not rely on our past results as an
indication of our future performance. If our revenue or
operating results fall below the expectations of investors or
securities analysts or below any guidance we may provide to the
market, the price of our common stock would likely decline
substantially.
In addition, factors that may affect our operating results
include, among others:
|
|
|
| |
•
|
fluctuations in demand, adoption, sales cycles and pricing
levels for our products and services;
|
| |
| |
•
|
the cyclical nature of SWRO plant construction, which
typically reflects a seasonal increase in shipments of PX
devices in the fourth quarter;
|
| |
| |
•
|
changes in customers’ budgets for desalination plants
and the timing of their purchasing decisions;
|
| |
| |
•
|
delays or postponements in the construction of
desalination plants;
|
| |
| |
•
|
our ability to develop, introduce and ship in a timely
manner new products and product enhancements that meet customer
demand, certification requirements and technical requirements;
|
| |
| |
•
|
the ability of our customers to obtain other key
components of a plant such as high pressure pumps or membranes;
|
| |
| |
•
|
our ability to implement scalable internal systems for
reporting, order processing, product delivery, purchasing,
billing and general accounting, among other functions;
|
| |
| |
•
|
unpredictability of governmental regulations and political
decision-making as to the approval or building of a desalination
plant;
|
| |
| |
•
|
our ability to control costs, including our operating
expenses;
|
| |
| |
•
|
our ability to purchase key PX components, principally
ceramics, from third party suppliers;
|
| |
| |
•
|
our ability to compete against other companies that offer
energy recovery solutions;
|
| |
| |
•
|
our ability to attract and retain highly skilled
employees, particularly those with relevant industry
experience; and
|
| |
| |
•
|
general economic conditions in our domestic and
international markets.
|
If we
are unable to collect unbilled receivables, our operating
results will be adversely affected.
Our customer
contracts generally contain holdback provisions
pursuant to which the final installments to be paid under such
sales
contracts are due up to 24 months after the product
has been shipped to the customer and revenue has been
recognized. Typically, between 10 and 20 percent, and in
some instances up to 30 percent, of the revenue we receive
pursuant to our customer
contracts are subject to such holdback
provisions and are accounted for as unbilled receivables until
we deliver invoices for payment. As of
March 31, 2008, we
had approximately $4.7 million of current unbilled
receivables
9
and approximately $2.4 million of non-current unbilled
receivables. If we are unable to invoice and collect, or if our
customers fail to make payments due under our sales
contracts,
our results of operations will be adversely affected.
If we
lose key personnel upon whom we are dependent, we may not be
able to execute our strategies. Our ability to increase our
revenue will depend on hiring highly skilled professionals with
industry-specific experience, particularly given the unique and
complex nature of our devices.
Given the specialized nature of our business, we must hire
highly skilled professionals with industry-specific experience.
Our ability to successfully grow depends on recruiting skilled
and experienced employees. We often compete with larger, better
known companies for talented employees. Also, retention of key
employees, such as our chief executive officer, who has over
30 years of experience in the water treatment industry, is
vital to the successful execution of our growth strategies. Our
failure to retain existing or attract future key personnel could
harm our business.
The
success of our business depends in part on our ability to
develop new products and services and increase the functionality
of our current products.
Since 2004, we have invested over $3 million in research
and development costs associated with our PX products. From time
to time, our customers have expressed a need for greater
processing efficiency. In response, and as part of our strategy
to enhance our energy recovery solutions and grow our business,
we plan to continue to make substantial investments in the
research and development of new technologies. For instance, we
are in the process of developing the PX-1200 Titan as a product
for use in increasingly larger desalination plants. While this
product has the potential to provide greater capacity, it will
be priced higher and may not perform as well as our other PX
devices. It is possible that potential customers may not accept
the new pricing structure. It is also possible that the release
of this product may be delayed if testing reveals unexpected
flaws. Our future success will depend in part on our ability to
continue to design and manufacture new products, to enhance our
existing products and to provide new value-added services. We
may experience unforeseen problems in the performance of our
existing and new technologies or products. Furthermore, we may
not achieve market acceptance of our new products and solutions.
If we are unable to develop competitive new products, or if the
market does not accept such products, our business and results
of operations will be adversely affected.
Our
revenue and growth model depend upon the continued viability and
growth of the SWRO industry using current
technology.
If there is a downturn in the SWRO industry, our sales would be
directly and adversely impacted. In addition, changes in SWRO
technology could reduce the demand for our devices. For example,
a reduction in the operating pressure used in SWRO plants could
reduce the need for and viability of our energy recovery
devices. Membrane manufacturers are actively working on lower
pressure membranes for SWRO that could potentially be used on a
large scale to desalinate sea water at a much lower pressure
than is currently necessary. Similarly, an increase in the
recovery rate would reduce the number of energy recovery devices
required and would reduce the demand for our product. Any of
these changes would adversely impact our revenue and growth.
The
durable nature of the PX device may reduce potential aftermarket
revenue opportunities.
Our PX devices utilize ceramic components that have to date
demonstrated high durability, high corrosion resistance and long
life in SWRO applications. Because most of our PX devices have
only been installed for several years, it is difficult to
accurately predict their performance or endurance over a longer
period of time. Accordingly, our value proposition to customers
may not be fulfilled and our opportunity to sell replacement
components or units may be limited.
Our
sales cycle can be long and unpredictable, and our sales efforts
require considerable time and expense. As a result, our sales
are difficult to predict and may vary substantially from quarter
to quarter, which may cause our operating results to
fluctuate.
Our sales efforts involve substantial education of our current
and prospective customers about the use and benefits of our PX
products. This education process can be extremely time consuming
and typically involves a significant product evaluation process.
While the sales cycle for our OEM customers, who are involved
with smaller desalination plants, averages one to three months,
the average sales cycle for our international EPC customers, who
are involved with larger desalination plants, ranges from six to
16 months and has, in some cases, extended up to
24 months. Most of our EPC customers are located
internationally or are themselves governmental entities. In
addition, these customers generally must make a significant
commitment of resources to test and evaluate our technologies.
As a result, our sales process involving these customers is
often subject to delays associated with lengthy approval
processes that typically accompany the design,
10
testing and adoption of new, technologically complex products.
This long sales cycle makes
quarter-by-quarter
revenue predictions difficult and results in our investing
significant resources well in advance of orders for our products.
Since
a significant portion of our annual sales typically occurs
during the fourth quarter, any delays could affect our annual
revenue and operating results.
A significant portion of our annual sales typically occurs
during the fourth quarter, which we believe generally reflects
EPC customer buying patterns. Any delays or cancellation of
expected sales during the fourth quarter would reduce our
quarterly and annual revenue from what we anticipated. Such a
reduction might cause our quarterly and annual revenue or
quarterly and annual operating results to fall below the
expectations of investors or securities analysts or below any
guidance we may provide to the market, causing the price of our
common stock to decline.
We
depend on three vendors for our supply of ceramics, which is a
key component of our products. If any of our ceramics vendors
cancels its commitments or is unable to meet our demand
and/or
requirements, our business could be harmed.
We rely on a limited number of vendors to produce the ceramics
used in our products. For the three months ended
March 31,
2008, three ceramics suppliers represented approximately 60% of
our purchases from all of our suppliers, and for the three
months ended
March 31, 2007, two ceramics suppliers
represented approximately 56% of purchases from all of our
suppliers. For the years ended
December 31, 2007,
2006 and
2005, two ceramics suppliers represented approximately 52%, 59%
and 47%, respectively, of our purchases from all of our
suppliers. From time to time our demand has grown faster than
the supply capabilities of these vendors. If any of our
suppliers were to cancel or materially change its commitment
with us or fail to meet the quality or delivery requirements
needed to satisfy customer orders for our products, we could
lose customer orders, be unable to develop or sell our products
cost-effectively or on a timely basis, if at all, and have
significantly decreased revenue, which would harm our business,
operating results and financial condition. We are currently in
the process of qualifying a fourth supplier of ceramics.
However, our qualification process is rigorous and there is no
assurance that such additional supplier will be approved as a
qualifying supplier. If we are unable to qualify this additional
ceramics supplier, we may be exposed to increased risk of supply
chain disruption and capacity shortages.
We
depend on a single supplier for our supply of stainless steel
castings. If our supplier is not able to meet our demand
and/or
requirements, it could harm our business.
We rely on a single foundry to produce all of our stainless
steel castings for use in our PX products. Our reliance on a
single manufacturer of stainless steel castings involves a
number of significant risks, including reduced control over
delivery schedules, quality assurance, manufacturing yields,
production costs and lack of guaranteed production capacity or
product supply. We do not have a long term supply agreement with
our supplier and instead secure manufacturing availability on a
purchase order basis. Our supplier has no obligation to supply
products to us for any specific period, in any specific quantity
or at any specific price, except as set forth in a particular
purchase order. Our requirements represent a small portion of
the total production capacities of our supplier and our supplier
may reallocate capacity to other customers, even during periods
of high demand for our products. We have in the past experienced
and may in the future experience quality control issues and
delivery delays with our supplier due to factors such as high
industry demand or the inability of our vendor to consistently
meet our quality or delivery requirements. If our supplier were
to cancel or materially change its commitment with us or fail to
meet the quality or delivery requirements needed to satisfy
customer orders for our products, we could lose time-sensitive
customer orders, be unable to develop or sell our products
cost-effectively or on a timely basis, if at all, and have
significantly decreased revenue, which would harm our business,
operating results and financial condition. We may qualify
additional suppliers in the future which would require time and
resources. If we do not qualify additional suppliers, we may be
exposed to increased risk of capacity shortages due to our
complete dependence on our current supplier.
We
face competition from a number of companies that offers
competing energy recovery solutions. If any of these companies
produces superior technology or offers more cost effective
products, our competitive position in the market could be harmed
and our profits may decline.
The market for energy recovery devices for desalination plants
is competitive and continually evolving. The PX device competes
with slow cycle isobarics, Pelton wheels and hydraulic
turbochargers. Our three primary competitors are Calder AG,
Fluid Equipment Development Company and Pump Engineering
Incorporated. We expect competition to persist and intensify as
the desalination market opportunity grows. Many of our current
and potential competitors may have significantly greater
financial, technical, marketing and other resources than we do
and may be able to devote greater resources to the development,
promotion, sale and support of their products. Also, our
competitors may have more extensive customer bases and broader
customer relationships than we do, including long-standing
relationships or exclusive
contracts
11
with our current or potential customers. For instance, we have
had difficulties penetrating some of the Caribbean markets
because Consolidated Water Co. Ltd., a major builder of SWRO
desalination plants in that area, has an exclusive license with
Calder AG to use Calder’s technology. In addition, these
companies may have longer operating histories and greater name
recognition than we do. Our competitors may be in a stronger
position to respond quickly to new technologies and may be able
to market and sell their products more effectively. Moreover, if
one or more of our competitors were to merge or partner with
another of our competitors or with current or potential
customers, the change in the competitive landscape could
adversely affect our ability to compete effectively.
We are
subject to risks related to product defects, which could lead to
warranty claims in excess of our warranty provisions or result
in a large number of warranty claims in any given
year.
We warrant our products for up to five years. We test our
products in our manufacturing facilities through a variety of
means. However, there can be no assurance that our testing will
reveal latent defects in our products, which may not become
apparent until after the products have been sold into the
market. Accordingly, there is a risk that warranty claims may be
filed due to product defects. We may incur additional operating
expenses if our warranty provisions do not reflect the actual
cost of resolving issues related to defects in our products. If
these additional expenses are significant, they could adversely
affect our business, financial condition and results of
operations. While the number of warranty claims has not been
significant to date, we are in the initial stages of offering
such warranties to our customers. Accordingly, we cannot
quantify the error rate of our products and cannot assure that a
large number of warranty claims will not be filed in a given
year. As a result, our operating expenses may increase if a
large number of warranty claims are filed in any specific year,
particularly towards the end of any given warranty period.
If we
are unable to protect or enforce our intellectual property
rights, our competitive position could be harmed and we could be
required to incur significant expenses to enforce our
rights.
We depend on our ability to protect our proprietary technology.
We rely on trade secrets, patent, copyright and trademark laws
and confidentiality agreements with employees and third parties,
all of which offer only limited protection. We hold five United
States patents and nine counterpart international patents
relating to specific proprietary design features of our PX
technology. The terms of these patents will begin to expire in
2011, at which time we could become more vulnerable to increased
competition. In addition, we have applied for two new United
States patents and 14 international counterpart patents
covering our current and anticipated future PX designs. We do
not hold patents in many of the countries into which we sell our
PX devices, including Saudi Arabia, Algeria and China, and
accordingly, the protection of our intellectual property in
those countries may be limited. We also do not know whether any
of our pending patent applications will result in the issuance
of patents or whether the examination process will require us to
narrow our claims, and even if patents are issued, they may be
contested, circumvented or invalidated. Moreover, while we
believe our remaining issued patents are essential to the
protection of the PX technology, the rights granted under any of
our issued patents or patents that may be issued in the future
may not provide us with proprietary protection or competitive
advantages, and, as with any technology, competitors may be able
to develop similar or superior technologies to our own now or in
the future. In addition, our granted patents may not prevent
misappropriation of our technology, particularly in foreign
countries where intellectual property laws may not protect our
proprietary rights as fully as those in the United States. This
may render our patents impaired or useless and ultimately expose
us to currently unanticipated competition. Protecting against
the unauthorized use of our products, trademarks and other
proprietary rights is expensive, difficult and, in some cases,
impossible. Litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce
or defend our intellectual property rights or to determine the
validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others. This
litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of
management resources, either of which could harm our business.
Claims
by others that we infringe their proprietary rights could harm
our business.
Third parties could claim that our technology infringes their
proprietary rights. In addition, we may be contacted by third
parties suggesting that we obtain a license to certain of their
intellectual property rights they may believe we are infringing.
We expect that infringement claims against us may increase as
the number of products and competitors in our market increases
and overlaps occur. In addition, to the extent that we gain
greater visibility, we believe that we will face a higher risk
of being the subject of intellectual property infringement
claims. Any claim of infringement by a third party, even those
without merit, could cause us to incur substantial costs
defending against the claim, and could distract our management
from our business. Furthermore, a party making such a claim, if
successful, could secure a judgment that requires us to pay
substantial damages. A judgment against us could also include an
injunction or other court order that could prevent us from
offering our products. In addition, we might be required to seek
a license for the use of such intellectual property, which may
not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.
Alternatively, we may be required to develop non-infringing
technology, which could require significant effort and expense
and may ultimately not be successful. Any of these events
12
could seriously harm our business. Third parties may also assert
infringement claims against our customers and OEMs. Because we
generally indemnify our customers and OEMs if our products
infringe the proprietary rights of third parties, any such
claims would require us to initiate or defend protracted and
costly litigation on their behalf, regardless of the merits of
these claims. If any of these claims succeeds, we may be forced
to pay damages on behalf of our customers and OEMs.
If we
fail to expand our manufacturing facilities to meet our future
growth, our operating results could be adversely
affected.
Our existing manufacturing facilities are capable of meeting
current demand and demand for the foreseeable future. However,
the future growth of our business depends on our ability to
successfully expand our manufacturing, research and development
and technical testing facilities. Larger products currently
under development will require the design and construction of
new manufacturing capacity. We intend to add new facilities or
expand existing facilities as the demand for our devices
increases. However, we cannot ensure that suitable additional or
substitute space will be available to accommodate any such
expansion of our operations.
If we
need additional capital to fund future growth, it may not be
available on favorable terms, or at all.
We have historically relied on outside financing to fund our
operations, capital expenditures and expansion. We may require
additional capital from equity or debt financing in the future
to fund our operations, or respond to competitive pressures or
strategic opportunities. We may not be able to secure such
additional financing on favorable terms, or at all. The terms of
additional financing may place limits on our financial and
operating flexibility. If we raise additional funds through
further issuances of equity, convertible debt securities or
other securities convertible into equity, our existing
stockholders could suffer significant dilution in their
percentage ownership of
our company, and any new securities we
issue could have rights, preferences or privileges senior to
those of existing or future holders of our common stock,
including shares of common stock sold in this offering. If we
are unable to obtain necessary financing on terms satisfactory
to us, if and when we require it, our ability to grow or support
our business and to respond to business challenges could be
significantly limited.
If
foreign and local governments no longer subsidize or are willing
to engage in the construction and maintenance of desalination
plants and projects, the demand for our products would decline
and adversely affect our business.
Our products are used in SWRO desalination plants which are
often times constructed and maintained through government
subsidies. The rate of construction of desalination plants
depends on each government’s willingness and ability to
allocate funds for such projects. For instance, some
desalination projects in the Middle East and North Africa are
funded by budget surpluses driven by high crude oil and natural
gas prices. If governments divert funds allocated for such
projects to other projects or do not have budget surpluses, the
demand for our products could decline and negatively affect our
revenue base, which could harm the overall profitability of our
business.
In addition, various water management agencies could alter
demand for fresh water by investing in water reuse initiatives
or limiting the use of water for certain agricultural purposes.
Certain uses of water considered to be wasteful could be
curtailed, resulting in more available water and less demand for
alternative solutions such as desalination.
Our
products are highly technical and may contain undetected flaws
or defects which could harm our business and our reputation and
adversely affect our financial condition.
The manufacture of our products is highly technical, and our
products may contain latent defects or flaws. We test our
products prior to commercial release and during such testing
have discovered and may in the future discover flaws and defects
that need to be resolved prior to release. Resolving these flaws
and defects can take a significant amount of time and prevent
our technical personnel from working on other important tasks.
In addition, our products have contained and may in the future
contain one or more flaws that were not detected prior to
commercial release to our customers. Some flaws in our products
may only be discovered after a product has been installed and
used by customers. Any flaws or defects discovered in our
products after commercial release could result in loss of
revenue or delay in revenue recognition, loss of customers and
increased service and warranty cost, any of which could
adversely affect our business, operating results and financial
condition. In addition, we could face claims for product
liability, tort or breach of warranty. Our
contracts with our
customers contain provisions relating to warranty disclaimers
and liability limitations, which may not be upheld. Defending a
lawsuit, regardless of its merit, is costly and may divert
management’s attention and adversely affect the
market’s perception of us and our products. In addition, if
our business liability insurance coverage proves inadequate or
future coverage is unavailable on acceptable terms or at all,
our business, operating results and financial condition could be
harmed.
13
Our
international sales and operations subject us to additional
risks that may adversely affect our operating
results.
Historically, we have derived a significant portion of our
revenue from customers whose SWRO facilities utilizing the PX
device are outside the United States. Many of such
customers’ projects are in emerging growth countries with
relatively young and unstable market economies and volatile
political environments. We also have sales and technical support
personnel stationed in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, among
other regions, and we expect to continue to add personnel in
additional countries. As a result, any governmental changes or
reforms or disruptions in the business, regulatory or political
environment in the countries in which we operate or sell our
products could have a material adverse effect on our business,
financial condition and results of operations.
Sales of our products have to date been denominated principally
in U.S. dollars. Over the last several years, the
U.S. dollar has weakened against most other currencies.
Future increases in the value of the U.S. dollar, if any,
would increase the price of our products in the currency of the
countries in which our customers are located. This may result in
our customers seeking lower-priced suppliers, which could
adversely impact our operating results. A larger portion of our
international revenue may be denominated in foreign currencies
in the future, which would subject us to increased risks
associated with fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
Our international
contracts and operations subject us to a
variety of additional risks, including:
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political and economic uncertainties;
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reduced protection for intellectual property rights;
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trade barriers and other regulatory or contractual
limitations on our ability to sell and service our products in
certain foreign markets;
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difficulties in enforcing contracts, beginning operations
as scheduled and collecting accounts receivable, especially in
emerging markets;
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increased travel, infrastructure and legal compliance
costs associated with multiple international locations;
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competing with
non-U.S. companies
not subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act; and
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difficulty in attracting, hiring and retaining qualified
personnel.
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As we continue to expand our business globally, our success will
depend, in large part, on our ability to anticipate and
effectively manage these and other risks associated with our
international operations. Our failure to manage any of these
risks successfully could harm our international operations and
reduce our international sales, which in turn could adversely
affect our business, operating results and financial condition.
If we
fail to manage future growth effectively, our business would be
harmed.
Future growth in our business, if it occurs, will place
significant demands on our management, infrastructure and other
resources. To manage any future growth, we will need to hire,
integrate and retain highly skilled and motivated employees. We
will also need to continue to improve our financial and
management controls, reporting and operational systems and
procedures. If we do not effectively manage our growth, our
business, operating results and financial condition would be
adversely affected.
Our
failure to achieve or maintain adequate internal control over
financial reporting in accordance with U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, or SEC, rules or prevent or detect material
misstatements in our annual or interim consolidated financial
statements in the future could materially harm our business and
cause our stock price to decline.
As a public company, SEC rules require that we maintain internal
control over financial reporting that provides reasonable
assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and
preparation of published financial statements in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles. Accordingly, we will
be required to document and test our internal controls and
procedures to assess the effectiveness of our internal control
over financial reporting. In addition, our independent
registered public accounting firm will be required to report on
the effectiveness of our internal control over financial
reporting. In the future, we may identify material weaknesses
and deficiencies which we may not be able to remediate in a
timely manner. Material weaknesses may exist when we report on
the effectiveness of our internal control over financial
reporting for purposes of our attestation required by reporting
requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 after
this offering, with our first reporting obligation being in our
Annual Report on
Form 10-K
for the year ending
December 31, 2009. If we fail to
achieve or maintain effective internal control over financial
reporting, we will not be able to conclude that we have
maintained effective internal control over financial reporting
or our independent registered public accounting firm may not be
able to issue an unqualified report on the effectiveness of our
internal control over financial
14
reporting. As a result our ability to report our financial
results on a timely and accurate basis may be adversely affected
and investors may lose confidence in our financial information,
which in turn could cause the market price of our common stock
to decrease. We may also be required to restate our financial
statements from prior periods. In addition, testing and
maintaining internal control will require increased management
time and resources. Any failure to maintain effective internal
control over financial reporting could impair the success of our
business and harm our financial results, and you could lose all
or a significant portion of your investment. If we have material
weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, the
accuracy and timing of our financial reporting may be adversely
affected.
Changes
to financial accounting standards may affect our results of
operations and cause us to change our business
practices.
We prepare our financial statements to conform with generally
accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, in the United States.
These accounting principles are subject to interpretation by the
SEC and various other bodies. A change in those policies can
have a significant effect on our reported results and may affect
our reporting of transactions completed before a change is
announced. Changes to those rules or the interpretation of our
current practices may adversely affect our reported financial
results or the way we conduct our business.
We may
engage in future acquisitions that could disrupt our business,
cause dilution to our stockholders and harm our financial
condition and operating results.
In the future, we may acquire companies or assets that we
believe may enhance our market position. We may not be able to
find suitable acquisition candidates and we may not be able to
complete acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all. If we do
complete acquisitions, we cannot assure you that they will
ultimately strengthen our competitive position or that they will
not be viewed negatively by customers, financial markets or
investors. In addition, any acquisitions that we make could lead
to difficulties in integrating personnel and operations from the
acquired businesses and in retaining and motivating key
personnel from these businesses. Acquisitions may disrupt our
ongoing operations, divert management from day-to-day
responsibilities, increase our expenses and harm our operating
results or financial condition. Future acquisitions may reduce
our cash available for operations and other uses and could
result in an increase in amortization expense related to
identifiable assets acquired, potentially dilutive issuances of
equity securities or the incurrence of debt, any of which could
harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Risks
Related to this Offering
We
will incur significant increased costs as a result of operating
as a public company, and our management will be required to
devote substantial time to compliance
requirements.
As a public company, we will incur significant legal, accounting
and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company.
In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or Sarbanes-Oxley,
as well as rules subsequently implemented by the SEC and the
NASDAQ Global Market, or NASDAQ, have imposed various
requirements on public companies, including requiring changes in
corporate governance practices. Our management and other
personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to
these compliance requirements. Moreover, these rules and
regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance
costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and
costly. For example, we expect these rules and regulations to
make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain
director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required
to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur
substantial costs to maintain the same or similar coverage.
These rules and regulations could also make it more difficult
for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our
board of directors, our board committees or as executive
officers.
The
trading price of our common stock may be volatile, and you might
not be able to sell your shares at or above the initial public
offering price.
There are no directly comparable U.S. companies known to us
whose securities are currently being publicly traded in the
U.S. stock market. Additionally, our common stock has no
prior trading history. Factors affecting the trading price of
our common stock will include:
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factors discussed in this risk factors section and elsewhere in
this prospectus;
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variations in our operating results;
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announcements of technological innovations, new or enhanced
products, or significant agreements by us or by our competitors;
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gain or loss of significant customers;
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recruitment or departure of our key personnel;
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changes in the estimates of our operating results or changes in
recommendations by any securities analysts who elect to follow
our common stock;
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market conditions in our industry, the industries of our
customers and the economy as a whole; and
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adoption or modification of regulations, policies, procedures or
programs applicable to our business.
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In addition, if the market for stocks of companies in industries
related or similar to ours, or the stock market in general,
experiences loss of investor confidence, the trading price of
our common stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our
business. The trading price of our common stock might also
decline as a result of events that affect other companies in our
industry even if these events do not directly affect us. Some
companies that have had volatile market prices for their
securities have had securities class actions filed against them.
If a suit were filed against us, regardless of its merits or
outcome, it could result in substantial costs and divert
management’s attention and resources. This could harm our
business, operating results and financial condition.
There
has been no prior market for our common stock and our stock
price may decline after this offering.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for
shares of our common stock. Although we expect to apply to list
our common stock on NASDAQ, an active public trading market for
our common stock may not develop or, if it develops, may not be
maintained after this offering.
Our company and the
representatives of the underwriters will negotiate to determine
the initial public offering price. The initial public offering
price may be higher than the trading price of our common stock
following this offering. As a result, you could lose all or part
of your investment.
Future
sales of shares by our existing stockholders could cause our
stock price to decline.
If our existing stockholders sell, or indicate an intention to
sell, substantial amounts of our common stock in the public
market after the
lock-up
agreements and other legal restrictions on resale discussed in
this prospectus lapse, the trading price of our common stock
could decline. See
“Shares Eligible for Future Sale”
below. Based upon shares outstanding as of
March 31, 2008,
we will have outstanding a total of 47,917,474 shares of
common stock upon completion of this offering, an increase of
approximately 20% from the number of shares outstanding prior to
this offering. Of these shares, only the 14,000,000 shares
of common stock sold in this offering and 839,279 shares of
common stock not subject to lock-up agreements will be freely
tradeable, without restriction, in the public market immediately
following this offering.
The
lock-up
agreements entered into by the underwriters with our officers
and directors and other current holders of our common stock will
expire 180 days from the date of this prospectus, although
those
lock-up
agreements may be extended under certain circumstances. The
underwriters, however, may, in their sole discretion, release
these parties from the restrictions of the lock-up agreements.
After the
lock-up
agreements expire, based upon shares outstanding as of
March 31, 2008, up to an additional 33,078,195 shares
of common stock will be eligible for sale in the public market,
22,718,694 of which are held by our directors, executive
officers and other affiliates and will be subject to volume
limitations under Rule 144 under the Securities Act and
various vesting agreements. In addition, as of
March 31,
2008, the 3,407,430 shares of common stock that are either
subject to outstanding warrants or options or reserved for
future issuance under our employee benefit plans will become
eligible for sale in the public market to the extent permitted
by the provisions of various vesting agreements, the
lock-up
agreements and Rules 144 and 701 under the Securities Act.
If these additional shares are sold, or if it is perceived that
they will be sold, in the public market, the trading price of
our common stock could decline.
If
securities or industry analysts do not publish research, publish
inaccurate or unfavorable research about us or our business or
publish projections for our business that exceed our actual
results, our stock price and trading volume could
decline.
The trading market for our common stock may be affected by the
research and reports that securities or industry analysts
publish about us or our business. We do not currently have, and
may never obtain, research coverage by securities and industry
analysts. If no securities or industry analysts commence
coverage of
our company, the trading price for our stock and the
trading volume could decline. In the event we obtain securities
or industry analyst coverage, if one or more of the analysts who
covers us downgrades our stock or publishes inaccurate or
unfavorable research about our business, our stock price could
decline. In addition, if we obtain analyst coverage, the
analysts’ projections may have little or no relationship to
the results we actually achieve and could cause our stock price
to decline if we fail to meet their projections. If one or more
of these analysts ceases coverage of
our company or fails to
publish reports on us regularly our stock price or trading
volume could decline.
16
Insiders
will continue to have substantial control over us after this
offering and will be able to influence corporate
matters.
Upon completion of this offering, our directors and executive
officers and their affiliates will beneficially own, in the
aggregate, approximately 50% of our outstanding common stock,
assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to
purchase additional shares, compared to approximately 17% of our
outstanding common stock represented by the shares sold in this
offering, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option
to purchase additional shares. As a result, these stockholders
will be able to exercise significant influence over all matters
requiring stockholder approval, including the election of
directors and approval of significant corporate transactions,
such as a merger or other sale of
our company or its assets.
This concentration of ownership will limit your ability to
influence corporate matters and may have the effect of delaying
or preventing a third party from acquiring control over us. For
more information regarding the ownership of our outstanding
stock by our executive officers and directors and their
affiliates, please see the section titled
“Security
Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management”
below.
As a
new investor, you will experience substantial dilution as a
result of this offering and future equity
issuances.
The initial public offering price per share will be
substantially higher than the net tangible book value per share
of our common stock outstanding prior to this offering. As a
result, investors purchasing common stock in this offering will
experience immediate dilution of $6.37 per share assuming an
initial public offering price of $8.00 per share. In addition,
we have issued options and warrants to acquire common stock at
prices significantly below the initial public offering price. To
the extent outstanding options are ultimately exercised, there
will be further dilution to investors in this offering. This
dilution is due in large part to the fact that our earlier
investors paid substantially less than the initial public
offering price when they purchased their shares of our stock. In
addition, if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase
additional shares, if outstanding warrants to purchase our
common stock are exercised or if we issue additional equity
securities, you will experience additional dilution.
We
will have broad discretion to determine how to use the proceeds
raised in this offering, and we may use the proceeds in ways
that may not enhance our operating results or the price of our
common stock.
We could spend the proceeds from this offering in ways our
stockholders may not agree with or that do not yield a favorable
return. We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for
general corporate purposes, which may include expansion of our
sales and marketing and research and development efforts,
capital expenditures, and potential acquisitions of, or
investments in, complementary businesses, products and
technologies. However, we do not have more specific plans for
the net proceeds from this offering and will have broad
discretion in how we use the net proceeds of this offering. If
we do not invest or apply the proceeds of this offering in ways
that improve our operating results, we may fail to achieve
expected financial results, which could cause our stock price to
decline.
After
the completion of this offering, we do not expect to declare any
dividends in the foreseeable future.
After the completion of this offering, we do not anticipate
declaring any cash dividends to holders of our common stock in
the foreseeable future. Consequently, investors must rely on
sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may
never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on
their investment. Investors seeking cash dividends should not
purchase our common stock.
Anti-takeover
provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could
discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company
and may affect the trading price of our common
stock.
Provisions in our
certificate of incorporation and
bylaws, as
amended and restated upon the closing of this offering, may have
the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control or
changes in our management. Our amended and restated certificate
of incorporation and amended and restated
bylaws to become
effective upon completion of this offering include provisions
that:
|
|
|
| |
•
|
authorize our board of directors to issue, without further
action by the stockholders, up to 10,000,000 shares of
undesignated preferred stock;
|
| |
| |
•
|
require that any action to be taken by our stockholders be
effected at a duly called annual or special meeting and not by
written consent;
|
| |
| |
•
|
specify that special meetings of our stockholders can be called
only by our board of directors, the chairman of the board, the
chief executive officer or the president;
|
| |
| |
•
|
establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder approvals
to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders,
including proposed nominations of persons for election to our
board of directors;
|
17
|
|
|
| |
•
|
establish that our board of directors is divided into three
classes, Class I, Class II and Class III, with
each class serving staggered terms;
|
| |
| |
•
|
provide that our directors may be removed only for cause;
|
| |
| |
•
|
provide that vacancies on our board of directors may be filled
only by a majority of directors then in office, even though less
than a quorum;
|
| |
| |
•
|
specify that no stockholder is permitted to cumulate votes at
any election of directors; and
|
| |
| |
•
|
require a super-majority of votes to amend certain of the
above-mentioned provisions.
|
In addition, we are subject to the provisions of
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law
regulating corporate takeovers. Section 203 generally
prohibits us from engaging in a business combination with an
interested stockholder subject to certain exceptions.
For information regarding these and other provisions, please see
the section titled “Description of Capital Stock”
below.
18
FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
This prospectus includes forward-looking statements that relate
to future events or our future financial performance and involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that
may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or
achievements to differ materially from any future results,
levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by these forward-looking statements. Words such as
“believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,”
“estimate,” “intend,” “plan,”
“likely,” “will,” “would,”
“could” and similar expressions or phrases identify
these forward-looking statements.
All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties.
The occurrence of the events described, and the achievement of
the expected results, depend on many events, some or all of
which are not predictable or within our control. Actual results
may differ materially from expected results.
Factors that may cause actual results to differ from expected
results include:
|
|
|
| |
•
|
fluctuations in demand, adoption, sales cycles and pricing
levels for our products and services;
|
| |
| |
•
|
the cyclical nature of SWRO plant construction, which
typically reflects a seasonal increase in shipments of PX
devices in the fourth quarter;
|
| |
| |
•
|
changes in customers’ budgets for desalination plants
and the timing of their purchasing decisions;
|
| |
| |
•
|
delays or postponements in the construction of
desalination plants;
|
| |
| |
•
|
our ability to develop, introduce and ship in a timely
manner new products and product enhancements that meet customer
demand, certification requirements and technical requirements;
|
| |
| |
•
|
the ability of our customers to obtain other key
components of a plant such as high pressure pumps or membranes;
|
| |
| |
•
|
our ability to implement scalable internal systems for
reporting, order processing, product delivery, purchasing,
billing and general accounting, among other functions;
|
| |
| |
•
|
unpredictability of governmental regulations and political
decision-making as to the approval or building of a desalination
plant;
|
| |
| |
•
|
our ability to control costs, including our operating
expenses;
|
| |
| |
•
|
our ability to purchase key PX components, principally
ceramics, from third party suppliers;
|
| |
| |
•
|
our ability to compete against companies that offer energy
recovery solutions;
|
| |
| |
•
|
our ability to attract and retain highly skilled
employees, particularly those with relevant industry
experience; and
|
| |
| |
•
|
general economic conditions in our domestic and
international markets.
|
See the section above titled “Risk Factors” for a more
complete discussion of these risks and uncertainties and for
other risks and uncertainties. These factors and the other risk
factors described in this prospectus are not necessarily all of
the important factors that could cause our actual results to
differ materially from those expressed in any of our
forward-looking statements. Other unknown or unpredictable
factors also could harm our results. Consequently, actual
results or developments anticipated by us may not be realized
or, even if substantially realized, may not have the expected
consequences to, or effects on, us. Given these uncertainties,
we caution you not to place undue reliance on such
forward-looking statements.
All future written and verbal forward-looking statements
attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are
expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary
statements contained or referred to in this section. We
undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. In light of these
risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events
discussed in this prospectus might not occur.
19
USE OF
PROCEEDS
We estimate that our net proceeds from this offering will be
approximately $56.7 million, assuming an initial public
offering price of $8.00 per share, which is the midpoint of the
range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after
deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated
offering expenses. Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the
assumed initial public offering price of $8.00 per share would
increase or decrease, as applicable, the net proceeds to us by
approximately $7.5 million, assuming the number of shares
offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this
prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the
underwriting discounts and commissions payable to us. If the
underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares in this
offering is exercised in full, we estimate that our net proceeds
will be approximately $72.4 million. We will not receive
any proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock by the
selling stockholders.
We intend to use the net proceeds to us from this offering for
working capital and other general corporate purposes, including
to finance our growth, develop new products and fund capital
expenditures. Additionally, we may expand our current business
through acquisitions of other businesses, products or
technologies. However, we do not have agreements or commitments
for any specific acquisitions at this time.
Pending our use of the net proceeds from this offering, we
intend to invest the proceeds in short-term, investment-grade
interest-bearing instruments.
DIVIDEND
POLICY
We have never declared nor paid cash dividends on our common
stock. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any
future earnings for use in the operation of our business and do
not anticipate paying any dividends on our common stock in the
foreseeable future. Any future determination to declare
dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of
directors and will depend on our financial condition, operating
results, capital requirements, general business conditions and
other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.
20
CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our capitalization as of
March 31, 2008:
|
|
|
| |
•
|
on an actual basis; and
|
| |
| |
•
|
on an as adjusted basis to reflect the issuance of
8,078,566 shares of common stock in this offering at an
assumed initial public offering price of $8.00 per share, which
is the mid-point of the price range listed on the cover page of
this prospectus.
|
The information set forth in the table should be read together
with the information set forth under “Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations,” and our consolidated financial statements and
accompanying notes, each appearing elsewhere in this prospectus.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of March 31, 2008
|
|
|
|
Actual
|
|
As Adjusted(1)
|
|
|
|
(unaudited, and in thousands, except share data)
|
|
Total debt, including current portion
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total borrowings
|
|
$
|
686
|
|
|
$
|
686
|
|
|
Capital lease obligations
|
|
|
91
|
|
|
|
91
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total debt
|
|
$
|
777
|
|
|
$
|
777
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stockholders’ equity:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share;
10,000,000 shares authorized, actual and as adjusted; no
shares issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
Common stock, par value $0.001 per share;
45,000,000 shares
authorized, actual and 200,000,000, as adjusted;
39,838,908 shares issued and outstanding, actual and
47,917,474, as adjusted,
|
|
|
40
|
|
|
|
48
|
|
|
Additional paid-in capital
|
|
|
21,025
|
|
|
|
77,759
|
|
|
Notes receivable from stockholders
|
|
|
(342
|
)
|
|
|
(342
|
)
|
|
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
|
|
|
(11
|
)
|
|
|
(11
|
)
|
|
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)
|
|
|
1,046
|
|
|
|
1,046
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total stockholders’ equity
|
|
|
21,758
|
|
|
|
78,500
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total capitalization
|
|
$
|
22,535
|
|
|
$
|
79,277
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| (1) |
Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public
offering price of $8.00 per share would increase or decrease, as
applicable, the amount of additional paid-in capital, total
stockholders’ equity and total capitalization by
approximately $7.5 million, assuming the number of shares
offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this
prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the
underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering
expenses payable by us.
|
|
|
|
| |
|
The share information set forth in the table above is based on
39,838,908 shares of common stock outstanding as of
March 31, 2008, and excludes:
|
|
|
|
| |
•
|
1,333,308 shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of
options outstanding as of March 31, 2008, at a weighted
average exercise price of $2.54 per share;
|
| |
| |
•
|
2,074,122 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise
of warrants outstanding as of March 31, 2008, at a weighted
average exercise price of $0.52 per share;
|
| |
| |
•
|
4,167 shares of common stock that have been exercised
pursuant to options but not yet vested as of March 31, 2008.
|
| |
| |
•
|
5,625 shares of common stock reserved as of March 31,
2008 for future issuance under our 2002 Stock Option/Issuance
Plan;
|
| |
| |
•
|
8,709 shares of common stock reserved as of March 31,
2008 for future issuance under our 2004 Stock Option/Issuance
Plan;
|
| |
| |
•
|
37,567 shares of common stock reserved as of March 31,
2008 for future issuance under our 2006 Stock Option/Issuance
Plan; and
|
| |
| |
•
|
1,400,000 shares of common stock reserved for future
issuance under our new 2008 Equity Incentive Plan, which will
become effective immediately prior to the effectiveness of the
completion of this offering, of which 910,000 shares have
been approved for issuance at an exercise price equal to the
initial public offering price upon the effectiveness of this
offering.
|
21
DILUTION
Our net tangible book value as of
March 31, 2008 was
$21.4 million, or approximately $.54 per share. Net
tangible book value per share represents the amount of total
tangible assets, less our total liabilities, divided by
39,838,908 shares of common stock outstanding.
Net tangible book value dilution per share to new investors
represents the difference between the amount per share paid by
purchasers of shares of common stock in this offering and the as
adjusted net tangible book value per share of common stock
immediately after completion of this offering. After giving
effect to our sale of 8,078,566 shares of common stock in
this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of
$8.00 per share, which is the midpoint of the range listed on
the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting the
underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering
expenses, our net tangible book value as of
March 31, 2008
would have been $78.2 million, or $1.63 per share. This
represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of
$1.09 per share to existing stockholders and an immediate
decrease in net tangible book value of $6.37 per share to
purchasers of common stock in this offering, as illustrated in
the following table:
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Assumed initial public offering price per share
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
8.00
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
0.54
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Increase in net tangible book value per share attributable to
new investors
|
|
|
1.09
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As adjusted net tangible book value per share after this offering
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1.63
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dilution per share to new investors in this offering
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
6.37
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public
offering price of $8.00 would increase or decrease, as
applicable, our as adjusted net tangible book value per share
after this offering by $0.16 per share and increase or decrease,
as applicable, dilution per share to new investors in this
offering by $0.84 per share, assuming the number of shares
offered by us, as set forth on the cover of this prospectus,
remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting
discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by us.
If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional
shares of our common stock in full in this offering, the net
tangible book value per share after this offering would be $1.88
per share, the increase in net tangible book value per share to
existing stockholders would be $1.34 per share and the decrease
in net tangible book value per share to new investors purchasing
shares in this offering would be $6.12 per share.
The following table presents as of
March 31, 2008 the
differences between the existing stockholders and the purchasers
of shares in this offering with respect to the number of shares
purchased from us, the total consideration paid and the average
price paid per share:
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shares Purchased
|
|
|
Total Consideration
|
|
|
Average Price
|
|
|
|
|
Number
|
|
|
Percent
|
|
|
Amount
|
|
|
Percent
|
|
|
Per Share
|
|
|
Existing stockholders
|
|
|
39,838,908
|
|
|
|
83
|
%
|
|
$
|
17,650,691
|
|
|
|
21
|
%
|
|
$
|
0.44
|
|
|
New investors
|
|
|
8,078,566
|
|
|
|
17
|
%
|
|
|
64,628,528
|
|
|
|
79
|
%
|
|
$
|
8.00
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
47,917,474
|
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
$
|
82,279,219
|
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
The above discussion and tables assume no exercise of
1,333,308 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise
of stock options outstanding as of
March 31, 2008 with a
weighted average exercise price of $2.54 per share and
2,074,122 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise
of warrants outstanding as of
March 31, 2008 with a
weighted average exercise price of $0.52 per share. If all
of these options and warrants were exercised, new investors
ownership would be diluted by approximately 1% and total
consideration would increase by approximately $4.5 million.
In addition, if all these options and warrants were exercised,
then as adjusted net tangible book value per share would
decrease from $1.63 to $1.61, resulting in an increase in
dilution per share to new investors in this offering to $6.39
per share.
22
SELECTED
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA
You should read the following selected consolidated historical
financial data below in conjunction with “Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations” and the consolidated financial statements,
related notes and other financial information included in this
prospectus. The selected financial data in this section is not
intended to replace the consolidated financial statements and is
qualified in its entirety by the consolidated financial
statements and related notes included in this prospectus.
The selected consolidated statements of operations data for each
of the three years in the periods ended
December 31, 2007,
2006 and
2005 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of
December 31, 2007 and
2006 are derived from our audited
consolidated financial statements and related notes included
elsewhere in this prospectus, and the selected consolidated
statements of operations data for each of the two years ended
December 31, 2004 and
2003 and the consolidated balance
sheet data as of
December 31, 2005,
2004 and
2003 are
derived from our audited consolidated financial statements and
related notes not included in this prospectus. The consolidated
statement of operations data for the three months ended
March 31, 2008 and
2007 and the consolidated balance sheet
data at
March 31, 2008 are derived from our unaudited
consolidated financial statements included in this prospectus.
The unaudited consolidated financial statements include, in the
opinion of management, all adjustments that management considers
necessary for the fair presentation of the financial information
set forth in those statements. Our historical results are not
necessarily indicative of the results that should be expected in
the future and results for the three months ended
March 31,
2008 are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected
for the full year. The amounts below are in thousands, except
per share data.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 31,
|
|
|
Years Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
|
2008(1)
|
|
|
2007(1)
|
|
|
2007(1)
|
|
|
2006(1)
|
|
|
2005
|
|
|
2004
|
|
|
2003
|
|
|
|
|
(unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net revenue
|
|
$
|
9,120
|
|
|
$
|
7,139
|
|
|
$
|
35,414
|
|
|
$
|
20,058
|
|
|
$
|
10,689
|
|
|
$
|
4,047
|
|
|
$
|
4,045
|
|
|
Cost of revenue(2)
|
|
|
3,674
|
|
|
|
2,854
|
|
|
|
14,852
|
|
|
|
8,131
|
|
|
|
4,685
|
|
|
|
2,015
|
|
|
|
2,012
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross profit
|
|
|
5,446
|
|
|
|
4,285
|
|
|
|
20,562
|
|
|
|
11,927
|
|
|
|
6,004
|
|
|
|
2,032
|
|
|
|
2,033
|
|
|
Operating expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales and marketing(2)
|
|
|
1,343
|
|
|
|
1,191
|
|
|
|
5,230
|
|
|
|
3,648
|
|
|
|
1,779
|
|
|
|
1,037
|
|
|
|
915
|
|
|
General and administrative(2)
|
|
|
2,661
|
|
|
|
773
|
|
|
|
4,299
|
|
|
|
3,372
|
|
|
|
2,458
|
|
|
|
1,055
|
|
|
|
892
|
|
|
Research and development(2)
|
|
|
509
|
|
|
|
389
|
|
|
|
1,705
|
|
|
|
1,267
|
|
|
|
630
|
|
|
|
340
|
|
|
|
25
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total operating expenses
|
|
|
4,513
|
|
|
|
2,353
|
|
|
|
11,234
|
|
|
|
8,287
|
|
|
|
4,867
|
|
|
|
2,432
|
|
|
|
1,832
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income from operations
|
|
|
933
|
|
|
|
1,932
|
|
|
|
9,328
|
|
|
|
3,640
|
|
|
|
1,137
|
|
|
|
(400
|
)
|
|
|
201
|
|
|
Other income (expense):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest expense
|
|
|
(21
|
)
|
|
|
(17
|
)
|
|
|
(105
|
)
|
|
|
(77
|
)
|
|
|
(216
|
)
|
|
|
(54
|
)
|
|
|
(38
|
)
|
|
Interest and other income
|
|
|
647
|
|
|
|
14
|
|
|
|
517
|
|
|
|
58
|
|
|
|
35
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income before provision for income taxes
|
|
|
1,559
|
|
|
|
1,929
|
|
|
|
9,740
|
|
|
|
3,621
|
|
|
|
956
|
|
|
|
(453
|
)
|
|
|
163
|
|
|
Provision for income taxes
|
|
|
612
|
|
|
|
810
|
|
|
|
3,947
|
|
|
|
1,239
|
|
|
|
62
|
|
|
|
53
|
|
|
|
(11
|
)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net income (loss)
|
|
$
|
947
|
|
|
$
|
1,119
|
|
|
$
|
5,793
|
|
|
$
|
2,382
|
|
|
$
|
894
|
|
|
$
|
(506
|
)
|
|
$
|
174
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings per share-basic
|
|
$
|
0.02
|
|
|
$
|
0.03
|
|
|
$
|
0.15
|
|
|
$
|
0.06
|
|
|
$
|
0.02
|
|
|
$
|
(0.02
|
)
|
|
$
|
0.01
|
|
|
Earnings per share-diluted
|
|
$
|
0.02
|
|
|
$
|
0.03
|
|
|
$
|
0.14
|
|
|
$
|
0.06
|
|
|
$
|
0.02
|
|
|
$
|
(0.02
|
)
|
|
$
|
0.01
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of shares used in per share calculations:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
|
|
39,804
|
|
|
|
38,271
|
|
|
|
39,060
|
|
|
|
38,018
|
|
|
|
36,790
|
|
|
|
32,161
|
|
|
|
30,279
|
|
|
Diluted
|
|
|
42,196
|
|
|
|
40,508
|
|
|
|
41,433
|
|
|
|
40,244
|
|
|
|
38,454
|
|
|
|
32,161
|
|
|
|
32,936
|
|
23
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 31,
|
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2005
|
|
|
2004
|
|
|
2003
|
|
|
|
|
(unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments
|
|
$
|
1,901
|
|
|
$
|
240
|
|
|
$
|
42
|
|
|
$
|
261
|
|
|
$
|
140
|
|
|
$
|
251
|
|
|
Total assets
|
|
|
32,314
|
|
|
|
27,304
|
|
|
|
13,539
|
|
|
|
8,496
|
|
|
|
3,054
|
|
|
|
2,445
|
|
|
Long-term liabilities
|
|
|
568
|
|
|
|
620
|
|
|
|
234
|
|
|
|
306
|
|
|
|
11
|
|
|
|
32
|
|
|
Total liabilities
|
|
|
10,556
|
|
|
|
7,243
|
|
|
|
5,412
|
|
|
|
3,795
|
|
|
|
2,061
|
|
|
|
1,210
|
|
|
Total stockholders’ equity
|
|
|
21,758
|
|
|
|
20,061
|
|
|
|
8,127
|
|
|
|
4,701
|
|
|
|
993
|
|
|
|
1,235
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) |
|
Effective January 1, 2006, we adopted the fair value
recognition provisions of Statement of Financial Accounting
Standards No. 123 (revised 2004), Share-Based
Payment, or SFAS 123(R), using the prospective
transition method, which requires the application of the
provisions of SFAS 123(R) only to share-based payment
awards granted, modified, repurchased or cancelled on or after
the modification date. Under this method, we recognize
stock-based compensation expense for all share-based payment
awards granted after December 31, 2005 in accordance with
SFAS 123(R). |
| |
|
(2) |
|
Includes employee and non-employee stock-based compensation as
follows: |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31,
|
|
|
Years Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2005
|
|
|
2004(3)
|
|
|
2003(3)
|
|
|
|
|
(unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost of revenue
|
|
$
|
24
|
|
|
$
|
25
|
|
|
$
|
117
|
|
|
$
|
143
|
|
|
$
|
88
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
Sales and marketing
|
|
|
74
|
|
|
|
71
|
|
|
|
372
|
|
|
|
310
|
|
|
|
86
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
General and administrative
|
|
|
90
|
|
|
|
106
|
|
|
|
388
|
|
|
|
428
|
|
|
|
731
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
Research and development
|
|
|
33
|
|
|
|
35
|
|
|
|
159
|
|
|
|
183
|
|
|
|
98
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total stock-based compensation
|
|
$
|
221
|
|
|
$
|
237
|
|
|
$
|
1,036
|
|
|
$
|
1,064
|
|
|
$
|
1,003
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(3) |
|
No stock-based compensation expense was recognized as we used
the intrinsic method of accounting and the options were granted
with an exercise price equal to the fair market value. |
24
MANAGEMENT’S
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial
condition and results of operations should be read in
conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and
related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus. This
discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ
materially from those discussed below. Factors that could cause
or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited
to, those identified below, and those discussed in the section
titled “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this
prospectus.
Overview
We were founded in 1992 and are in the business of designing,
developing and manufacturing energy recovery devices for sea
water reverse osmosis, or SWRO, desalination plants. In early
1997, we introduced the initial version of our energy recovery
device, the PX. In November 1997, we introduced and marketed our
first ceramic-based PX device. As of
March 31, 2008, we had
shipped over 4,000 PX devices to desalination plants worldwide,
including in China, Europe, India, Australia, Africa, the Middle
East, North America and the Caribbean.
A majority of our net revenue has been generated by sales to
large engineering, procurement and construction firms, or EPCs,
who are involved with the design and construction of larger
desalination plants. Sales to EPCs often involve a long sales
cycle, or the time between the initial project tender and the
time the PX device is shipped to the client, which can range
from six to 16 months. A single EPC desalination project
can generate an order for numerous PX devices and generally
represents an opportunity for significant revenue. We also sell
PX devices to original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, which
commission smaller desalination plants, order fewer PX devices
per plant and have shorter sales cycles.
Due to the fact that a single order for PX devices by an EPC for
a particular plant may represent significant revenue, we often
experience significant fluctuations in net revenue from quarter
to quarter. In addition, our EPC customers tend to order a
significant amount of equipment for delivery in the fourth
quarter and, as a consequence, a significant portion of our
annual sales typically occurs during that quarter.
A limited number of our EPC customers accounts for a substantial
portion of our net revenue. One EPC customer accounted for
approximately 49% of our net revenue and two EPC customers
accounted for approximately 48% of our net revenue for the three
months ended
March 31, 2008 and
March 31, 2007, respectively.
Specifically, Geida and its affiliated entities accounted for
approximately 49% of our net revenue for the three months ended
March 31, 2008 and Inima Servicios and Geida and its affiliated
entities accounted for approximately 26% and 22% of our net
revenue, respectively, for the three months ended
March 31,
2007. In 2007, three EPC customers, including their affiliated
entities, accounted for 56% of our net revenue, and in 2006, two
EPC customers, including their affiliated entities, accounted
for 29% of our net revenue. Specifically, Acciona Water, Geida
and its affiliated entities and Doosan Heavy Industries
represented approximately 20%, 23% and 13% of our net revenue in
2007, respectively, and GE Ionics and Geida and its affiliated
entities accounted for approximately 18% and 11% of our net
revenue in 2006, respectively. In 2005, GE Ionics and Multiplex
Degremont JV accounted for 19% and 17% of our net revenue,
respectively. We do not have long-term
contracts with our EPC
customers and instead sell to them on a purchase order basis or
under individual stand-alone
contracts. Orders may be postponed
or delayed by our customers on short or no notice.
In the three months ended
March 31, 2008 and the years
ended 2007 and 2006 most of our revenue was attributable to
sales outside of the United States. We expect sales outside of
the United States to remain a significant portion of our revenue
for the foreseeable future.
Our revenue is principally derived from the sales of our PX
devices. We receive a small amount of revenue from the sale of
booster pumps, which we manufacture and sell in connection with
PX devices to smaller desalination plants. We also receive
incidental revenue from services, such as product support, that
we provide to our PX customers.
Critical
Accounting Policies and Estimates
Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles in the United
States, or GAAP. These accounting principles require us to make
estimates and judgments that can affect the reported amounts of
assets and liabilities as of the date of the consolidated
financial statements as well as the reported amounts of revenue
and expense during the periods presented. We believe that the
estimates and judgments upon which we rely are reasonable based
upon information available to us at the time that we make these
estimates and judgments. To the extent there are material
differences between these estimates and actual results, our
consolidated financial results will be affected. The accounting
policies that reflect our more significant estimates and
judgments and which we believe are the
25
most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our
reported financial results are revenue recognition, warranty
costs, stock-based compensation, inventory valuation, allowances
for doubtful accounts and income taxes.
Revenue
Recognition
We recognize revenue in accordance with SEC Staff Accounting
Bulletin No. 104,
Revenue Recognition. Revenue is
recognized when the earnings process is complete, as evidenced
by an agreement with the customer, transfer of title occurs,
fixed pricing is determinable and collection is probable.
Transfer of title typically occurs upon shipment of the
equipment pursuant to a written purchase order or
contract.
Emerging Issues Task Force
No. 00-21,
Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables requires
us to allocate the purchase price between the device and the
value of the undelivered services by applying the residual value
method. Under this method, revenue allocated to undelivered
elements is based on vendor-specific objective evidence of fair
value of such undelivered elements, and the residual revenue is
allocated to the delivered elements. Vendor specific objective
evidence of fair value for such undelivered elements is based
upon the price we charge for such product or service when it is
sold separately. We may modify our pricing practices in the
future, which could result in changes to our vendor specific
objective evidence of fair value for such undelivered elements.
Our purchase agreements typically provide for the provision by
us of field services and training for commissioning of a
desalination plant. Recognition of the revenue in respect of
those services is deferred until provision of those services is
complete. The services element of our
contracts represent an
incidental portion of the total
contract price.
Under our revenue recognition policy, evidence of an arrangement
has been met when we have an executed purchase order or a
standalone
contract. Typically, our smaller projects utilize
purchase orders that conform to our standard terms and
conditions that require the customer to remit payment generally
within 30 to 90 days from product delivery. In some cases,
if credit worthiness cannot be determined, prepayment is
required from the smaller customers.
For our large projects, stand-alone
contracts are utilized. For
these
contracts, consistent with industry practice, the
customers typically require their suppliers, including our
company, to accept contractual holdback provisions whereby the
final amounts due under the sales
contract are remitted over
extended periods of time. These retention payments typically
range between 10% and 20%, and in some instances up to 30%, of
the total
contract amount and are due and payable when the
customer is satisfied that certain specified product performance
criteria have been met upon commissioning of the desalination
plant, which in the case of our PX device may be 12 months
to 24 months from the date of product delivery as described
further below.
The specified product performance criteria for our PX device
generally pertains to the ability of our products to meet our
published performance specifications and warranty provisions,
which our products have demonstrated on a consistent basis. This
factor, combined with our historical performance metrics
measured over the past 10 years, provides us with a
reasonable basis to conclude that the PX device will perform
satisfactorily upon commissioning of the plant. To help ensure
this successful product performance, we provide service,
consisting principally of supervision of customer personnel, and
training to the customers during the commissioning of the plant.
The installation of the PX device is relatively simple, requires
no customization and is performed by the customer under the
supervision of our personnel. We defer the fair value of the
service and training component of the
contract and recognize
such revenue as services are rendered. Based on these factors,
we have concluded that delivery and performance have been
completed when the product has been delivered (title transfers)
to the customer.
We perform an evaluation of credit worthiness on an individual
contract basis to assess whether collectibility is reasonably
assured. As part of this evaluation, we consider many factors
about the individual customer, including the underlying
financial strength of the customer
and/or
partnership consortium and our prior history or industry
specific knowledge about the customer and its supplier
relationships. To date, we have been able to conclude that
collectibility was reasonably assured on our sales
contracts at
the time the product was delivered and title has transferred;
however, to the extent that we conclude that we are unable to
determine that collectibility is reasonably assured at the time
of product delivery, we will defer all or a portion of the
contract amount based on the specific facts and circumstances of
the
contract and the customer.
Under the stand-alone
contracts, the usual payment arrangements
are summarized as follows:
|
|
|
| |
•
|
An advance payment, typically 10% to 20% of the total contract
amount, is due upon execution of the contract;
|
| |
| |
•
|
A payment upon delivery of the product, typically in the range
of 50% to 70% of the total contract amount, is due on average
between 120 and 150 days from product delivery, and in some
cases up to 180 days;
|
| |
| |
•
|
A retention payment, typically in the range of 10% to 20%, and
in some cases up to 30%, of the total contract amount is due
subsequent to product delivery as described further below.
|
26
Under the terms of the retention payment component, we are
generally required to issue to the customer a product
performance guarantee in the form of a collateralized letter of
credit, which is issued to the customer approximately 12 to
24 months after the product delivery date. The letter of
credit is collateralized by restricted cash on deposit with our
financial institution (see Restricted Cash under
“Summary
of Significant Accounting Policies”). The letter of credit
remains in place for the performance period as specified in the
contract, which is generally 24 months and which runs
concurrent with our standard product warranty period. Once the
letter of credit has been put in place, we invoice the customer
for this final retention payment under the sales
contract.
During the time between the product delivery and the issuance of
the letter of credit, the amount of the final retention is
classified on the balance sheet as unbilled receivable, of which
a portion may be classified as long term to the extent that the
billable period extends beyond one year. Once the letter of
credit is issued, we invoice the customer and reclassify the
retention amount from unbilled receivable to accounts receivable
where it remains until payment, typically 120 to 150 days
after invoicing (see Note 3—Balance Sheet Information:
Unbilled Receivables).
Shipping and handling charges billed to customers are included
in sales. The cost of shipping to customers is included in cost
of revenue.
We do not provide our customers with a right to return our
products. However, we accept returns of products that are deemed
to be damaged or defective when delivered, subject to the
provisions of the product warranty. Historically, product
returns have not been significant.
We sell our products to EPC companies that are not subject to
sales tax. Accordingly, the adoption of EITF Issue
No. 06-3, How Taxes Collected from Customers and
Remitted to Governmental Authorities Should Be Presented in the
Income Statement (That is, Gross versus Net Presentation),
does not have an impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Warranty
Costs
We sell products with a limited warranty for a period of one to
two years. In August 2007, we modified the warranty to offer a
five-year term on the ceramic components for new sales
agreements executed after
August 7, 2007. We accrue for
warranty costs based on estimated product failure rates,
historical activity and expectations of future costs. We
periodically evaluate and adjust the warranty costs to the
extent actual warranty costs vary from the original estimates.
We may offer extended warranties on an exception basis and these
are accounted for in accordance with Financial Accounting
Standards Board Technical
Bulletin 90-1,
Accounting for Separately Priced Extended Warranty and
Product Maintenance Contracts for Sales of Extended
Warranties.
Stock-Based
Compensation
Prior to
January 1, 2006, we accounted for stock-based
employee compensation arrangements in accordance with the
provisions of Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 25,
Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees, or APB 25, and
FASB Interpretation No. 44,
Accounting for Certain
Transactions Involving Stock Compensation, an Interpretation
of APB Opinion No. 25, or FIN 44, and had adopted the
disclosure provisions of Statement of Financial Accounting
Standards No. 123,
Accounting for Stock-Based
Compensation, or SFAS 123, and SFAS No. 148,
Accounting for Share-Based Compensation—Transition and
Disclosure, or SFAS 148.
In February 2005, we offered to each of our employees the option
to borrow from us an amount equal to the aggregate exercise
price for all of their outstanding options pursuant to full
recourse promissory notes at 3.76% interest, which are due in
February 2010. The interest rate on the notes was deemed to be
below market rate, resulting in a change in the deemed exercise
price for the options. As a result, we are accounting for these
options as variable option awards. For the three months ended
March 31, 2008 and
March 31, 2007, we recorded
$135,000 and $195,000, respectively, of stock-based compensation
related to the options exercised with promissory notes. For
2007, 2006 and 2005, we recorded $783,000, $1.1 million and
$1.0 million, respectively, of stock-based compensation
related to the options exercised with promissory notes. All of
our executive officers and directors have subsequently repaid
their notes.
Effective
January 1, 2006, we adopted the fair value
recognition provisions of SFAS No. 123(R),
Share-Based Payment, using the prospective transition
method, which requires us to apply the provisions of
SFAS 123(R) only to awards granted, modified, repurchased
or cancelled after the adoption date. Upon adoption of
SFAS 123(R), we selected the Black-Scholes option pricing
model as the most appropriate method for determining the
estimated fair value for stock-based awards. The Black-Scholes
model requires the use of highly subjective and complex
assumptions to determine the fair value of stock-based awards,
including the option’s expected term and the price
volatility of the underlying stock. The value of the portion of
the award that is ultimately expected to vest is recognized as
expense over the requisite vesting period on a straight-line
basis in our consolidated statements of operations and the
expense is reduced for estimated forfeitures. SFAS 123(R)
requires forfeitures to be estimated at the time of grant and
revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if
27
actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. For the years
ended
December 31, 2007 and
2006 we recognized stock-based
compensation under SFAS 123(R) of $252,000 and $13,000,
respectively.
To determine the inputs for the Black-Scholes option pricing
model, we are required to develop several assumptions, which are
highly subjective. These assumptions include:
|
|
|
| |
•
|
the length of our options’ lives, which is based on
anticipated future exercises;
|
| |
| |
•
|
our common stock’s volatility;
|
| |
| |
•
|
the number of shares of common stock pursuant to which
options will ultimately be forfeited;
|
| |
| |
•
|
the risk-free rate of return; and
|
| |
| |
•
|
future dividends.
|
We use comparable public company data to determine volatility,
as our common stock has not yet been publicly traded. We use a
weighted average calculation to estimate the time our options
will be outstanding as prescribed by Staff Accounting
Bulletin No. 107, Share-Based Payment. We
estimate the number of options that are expected to be forfeited
based on our historical experience and expected future
forfeiture patterns. The risk-free rate is based on the
U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant
for the estimated life of the option. We use our judgment and
expectations in setting future dividend rates, which is
currently expected to be zero.
The absence of an active market for our common stock also
requires our management and board of directors to estimate the
fair value of our common stock for purposes of granting options
and for determining stock-based compensation expense. In
response to these requirements, our management and board of
directors estimate the fair market value of common stock on an
annual basis, based on factors such as the price of the most
recent common stock sales to investors, the valuations of
comparable companies, the status of our development and sales
efforts, our cash and working capital amounts, revenue growth
and additional objective and subjective factors relating to our
business.
The following table shows the stock option grants during 2007
and the three months ended
March 31, 2008:
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grants Made During the
|
|
|
|
|
|
Quarter Ended,
|
|
Number of Options
|
|
Exercise Price
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
69,200
|
|
|
$5.00
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
112,700
|
|
|
$5.00
|
|
|
|
|
92,400
|
|
|
$5.00
|
In 2007, our board of directors determined that the fair market
value of common stock for options granted that year was $5.00
per share. The fair value of the common stock for options
granted was estimated by our board of directors with input from
management and by reference to our stock price in conjunction
with the sale of 1,000,000 shares of our common stock at
$5.00 per share in a private placement to third parties in May
2007. In March 2008, we retained Finance Scholars Group, or FSG,
an independent valuation firm, to prepare independent analyses
of the value of our common stock for 2007, 2006 and 2005 related
to the grants of options on those shares. These valuations were
prepared in conformity with Uniform Standards of Professional
Appraisal Practice using standard methodologies for valuing
options. FSG’s analysis used the discounted cash flow
methodology as well as trading multiples of companies in related
industries based on the comparability of revenue and cash
generation to estimate the fair value of the options as of each
valuation date. For the trading multiples, five publicly-traded
companies in related industries were selected based on
FSG’s own research as well as information provided by our
investment bankers. Because EBITDA multiples were more variable
and less reliable than revenue multiples due to negative cash
flow in some periods for several of the selected comparable
companies, FSG relied on revenue multiples as a basis of
comparison. For the discounted cash flow valuation, the
projected cash flows were discounted at a rate that reflected
the trading variability of similar companies, risk-free bond
returns, equity risk and specific risks related to
our company
and industry as of each valuation date. The discounted cash flow
methodology was used as confirming evidence of the
reasonableness of the trading multiple estimates. For 2005, FSG
relied on only trading multiples for the selected comparable
companies as there were no available contemporaneous cash flow
projections. For 2006, FSG used both discounted cash flow and
the trading multiples for the selected comparable companies to
determine values for the options. For 2007, FSG used pricing
from our private placement of common stock in May 2007, the
cash flow projections contained in the related private placement
memorandum and trading multiples for the selected comparable
companies. The concluded estimate of market value of shares in
each year was adjusted for the lack of marketability by using
discounts to reflect their lack of liquidity. FSG’s
conclusion was that as of
June 30, 2007,
2006 and
2005, the fair
market value of our common stock
28
was $5.00, $2.87 and $0.87, respectively, which was not
materially above or below the prices we used to estimate the
value of the options during those years.
Based on the estimated initial public offering price of
$8.00 per share, which is the mid-point of the price range
listed on the cover page of this prospectus, the aggregate
intrinsic value of options outstanding as of
March 31, 2008
was $7.3 million, of which $3.0 million related to
vested options and $4.3 million related to unvested
options.
For options granted during 2007 and the three months ended
March 31, 2008, we determined the fair value at date of
grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The
following table summarizes the assumptions used in determining
the fair value of stock options granted.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended
|
|
Year Ended
|
|
|
|
March 31, 2008
|
|
December 31,
2007
|
|
|
|
Risk-free interest rate
|
|
2.46%
|
|
3.45%
|
|
Expected term
|
|
5 years
|
|
5 years
|
|
Dividend yield
|
|
0%
|
|
0%
|
|
Expected volatility
|
|
50%
|
|
50%
|
We account for equity instruments issued in exchange for the
receipt of goods or services from non-employees in accordance
with the consensus reached by the Emerging Issues Task Force, or
EITF, in Issue
No. 96-18,
Accounting for Equity Instruments That Are Issued to Other
Than Employees for Acquiring, or in Conjunction with Selling,
Goods or Services. Costs are measured at the fair market
value of the consideration received or the fair value of the
equity instruments issued, whichever is more reliably
measurable. The value of equity instruments issued for
consideration other than employee services is determined on the
earlier of the date on which there first exists a firm
commitment for performance by the provider of goods or services
or on the date performance is complete, using the Black-Scholes
pricing model.
Inventories
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost (using the weighted
average cost method) or market. We calculate inventory reserve
for excess and obsolete inventories based on estimated future
demand of the products and spare parts. Cost of inventory is
determined in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting
Standards No. 151, Inventory Costs, an amendment of
ARB No. 43, Chapter 4, or SFAS 151.
Allowances
for Doubtful Accounts
We record a provision for doubtful accounts based on our
historical experience and a detailed assessment of the
collectability of our accounts receivable. In estimating the
allowance for doubtful accounts, our management considers, among
other factors, (1) the aging of the accounts receivable,
(2) our historical write-offs, (3) the credit
worthiness of each customer and (4) general economic
conditions. Our allowance for doubtful accounts was $107,000,
$121,000, $230,000 and $150,000 at
March 31, 2008 and
December 31, 2007,
2006 and
2005, respectively. If we were
to experience unanticipated collections issues, it could have an
adverse affect on our operating results in future periods.
Income
Taxes
We account for income taxes in accordance with
SFAS No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes, or
SFAS 109, issued by the Financial Accounting Standards
Board, or FASB. SFAS 109 requires an entity to recognize
deferred tax liabilities and assets. Deferred tax assets and
liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequence
attributable to the difference between the tax bases of assets
and liabilities and their reported amounts in the financial
statements. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured
using the enacted tax rate expected to apply to taxable income
in the years in which those temporary differences are expected
to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets
and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income
in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation
allowances are provided if, based upon the available evidence,
management believes it is more likely than not that some or all
of the deferred assets will not be realized or the use of prior
years’ net operating losses may be limited.
On
July 13, 2006, the FASB issued Interpretation
No. 48,
Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes
– An Interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109, or
FIN 48. FIN 48 clarifies the accounting for
uncertainty in income taxes recognized in any entity’s
financial statements in accordance with SFAS 109 and
prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement attributes
for financial statement disclosure of tax positions taken or
expected to be taken on a tax return. Under FIN 48, the
impact of an uncertain income tax position on the income tax
return must be recognized at the largest amount that is more
likely than not to be sustained upon audit by the relevant
taxing authority. An uncertain income tax position will not be
recognized if it has less than a 50% likelihood of being
sustained. Additionally, FIN 48 provides
29
guidance on de-recognition, classification, interest and
penalties, accounting in interim periods, disclosure and
transition. We adopted the provisions of FIN 48 on
January 1, 2007. Measurement under FIN 48 is based on
judgment regarding the largest amount that is greater than 50%
likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement with a taxing
authority. The total amount of unrecognized tax benefits as of
the date of adoption was immaterial. As a result of the
implementation of FIN 48, there was no change to our tax
liability.
We adopted the accounting policy that interest recognized in
accordance with Paragraph 15 of FIN 48 and penalty
recognized in accordance with Paragraph 16 of FIN 48
are classified as part of income taxes. The amounts of interest
and penalty recognized in the statement of operations and
statement of financial position for 2007 were insignificant.
Our operations are subject to income and transaction taxes in
the United States and in foreign jurisdictions. Significant
estimates and judgments are required in determining our
worldwide provision for income taxes. Some of these estimates
are based on interpretations of existing tax laws or
regulations. The ultimate amount of tax liability may be
uncertain as a result.
We are subject to taxation in the U.S. and various states
and foreign jurisdictions. There are no ongoing examinations by
taxing authorities at this time. Our various tax years from 1997
through 2007 remain open in various taxing jurisdictions.
Results
of Operations
The following table sets forth certain data from our historical
operating results as a percentage of revenue for the years
indicated:
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 31,
|
|
|
Years Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2005
|
|
|
|
|
(unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Results of Operations (as a % of Net Revenue*):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net revenue
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
Cost of revenue
|
|
|
40
|
|
|
|
40
|
|
|
|
42
|
|
|
|
41
|
|
|
|
44
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross profit
|
|
|
60
|
|
|
|
60
|
|
|
|
58
|
|
|
|
59
|
|
|
|
56
|
|
|
Operating expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales and marketing
|
|
|
15
|
|
|
|
17
|
|
|
|
15
|
|
|
|
18
|
|
|
|
17
|
|
|
General and administrative
|
|
|
29
|
|
|
|
11
|
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
|
17
|
|
|
|
23
|
|
|
Research and development
|
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
5
|
|
|
|
5
|
|
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total operating expenses
|
|
|
50
|
|
|
|
33
|
|
|
|
32
|
|
|
|
41
|
|
|
|
46
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income from operations
|
|
|
10
|
|
|
|
27
|
|
|
|
26
|
|
|
|
18
|
|
|
|
11
|
|
|
Other income (expense):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest expense
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
(2
|
)
|
|
Interest and other income
|
|
|
7
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
2
|
|
|
|
0
|
|
|
|
0
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income before provision for income taxes
|
|
|
17
|
|
|
|
27
|
|
|
|
28
|
|
|
|
18
|
|
|
|
9
|
|
|
Provision for income taxes
|
|
|
7
|
|
|
|
11
|
|
|
|
11
|
|
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net income
|
|
|
10
|
%
|
|
|
16
|
%
|
|
|
16
|
%
|
|
|
12
|
%
|
|
|
8
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
*
|
Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
|
30
First
Quarter of 2008 Compared to First Quarter of 2007
Net
Revenue
Net revenue is reported net of volume discounts. We derive our
revenue principally from sales of our PX devices. Our net
revenue increased by $2.0 million, or 28%, to
$9.1 million in the three months ended
March 31, 2008
from $7.1 million in the three months ended
March 31,
2007. These increases were principally due to higher sales of
our PX-220 device, which resulted primarily from increased
market acceptance of the device and the overall growth of the
desalination market. Prices were relatively constant for our PX
devices in the three months ended
March 31, 2008,
2007 and
2006. In the three months ended
March 31, 2008, the sales
of PX devices accounted for approximately 91% of our revenue
increase, with pump sales accounting for approximately 6% of the
increase. In the three months ended
March 31, 2007, the
sales of PX devices accounted for approximately 93% of the
increase, with pump sales accounting for approximately 3% of the
increase and spare parts and services accounting for the
remainder of the increase.
Gross
Profit
Gross profit represents our net revenue less our cost of
revenue. Our cost of revenue consists primarily of raw
materials, personnel costs (including stock-based compensation),
manufacturing overhead, warranty costs, capital costs, excess
and obsolete inventory expense, and manufactured components. The
largest component of our cost of revenue is raw materials,
principally ceramic materials, which we obtain from several
suppliers. Gross profit, as a percentage of net revenue,
remained relatively constant at 60% in the three months ended
March 31, 2008 from the three months ended
March 31,
2007. Stock compensation expense included in cost of revenue was
$24,000 in the three months ended
March 31, 2008 and
$25,000 in the three months ended
March 31, 2007.
Sales and
Marketing Expense
Sales and marketing expense consists primarily of personnel
costs (including stock-based compensation), sales commissions,
marketing programs and facilities cost associated with sales and
marketing activities. Sales and marketing expense increased by
$152,000, or 13%, to $1.3 million in the three months ended
March 31, 2008 from $1.2 million in the three months
ended
March 31, 2007. This increase was primarily related
to growth in our sales that resulted in higher headcount with
sales and marketing employees increasing to 16 at
March 31,
2008 from 11 at
March 31, 2007. Of the $152,000 increase in
sales and marketing expenses in the three months ended
March 31, 2008, $31,000 of such increase related to
compensation and employee related benefits, $56,000 related to
consultant fees, $28,000 related to travel and office expenses
and $63,000 related to sales and marketing efforts costs, offset
by a $16,000 decrease to occupancy. In addition, our sales team
is compensated in part by commissions, resulting in increased
sales expense as our sales levels increase. Stock-based
compensation expense included in sales and marketing expense was
$74,000 in the three months ended
March 31, 2008 and
$71,000 in the three months ended
March 31, 2007.
As a percentage of our net revenue, sales and marketing expense
decreased to 15% in the three months ended
March 31, 2008
from 17% in the three months ended
March 31, 2007. The
decrease in the three months ended
March 31, 2008 was
attributable principally to the increase in our net revenue that
quarter, which grew at a higher rate than our sales and
marketing expenses.
We plan to continue to invest heavily in sales and marketing by
increasing the number of our sales personnel and we expect sales
and marketing expenses in absolute dollars to increase in future
periods. Our sales personnel are not immediately productive and
therefore the increase in sales expense that we incur when we
add new sales personnel is not immediately offset by increased
revenue and may never result in increased revenue. The timing of
our hiring of new sales personnel and the rate at which they
generate incremental revenue could therefore affect our future
period-to-period financial performance.
General
and Administrative Expense
General and administrative expense consists primarily of
personnel (including stock-based compensation) and facilities
costs related to our executive, finance and human resources
organizations, as well as fees for professional services.
Professional services consist of fees for outside legal and
audit services and preparation for operating as a public company.
General and administrative expense increased by
$1.9 million, or 244%, to $2.7 million in the three
months ended
March 31, 2008 from $773,000 in the three
months ended
March 31, 2007. This increase reflected in
part the increase in general and administrative employees to 17
at
March 31, 2008 from 11 at
March 31, 2007.
As a percentage of our net revenue, general and administrative
expense was 29% in the three months ended
March 31, 2008
and 11% in the three months ended
March 31, 2007. The
primary reason for the increase in general and
31
administrative expenses was the costs associated the growth in
our operations and in preparing for our proposed initial public
offering, which resulted in higher headcount including the
recruitment of two officers, the rental of additional facility
space, the enhancement of systems and increased travel. With
respect to the $1.9 million increase in such expenses in
the three months ended
March 31, 2008, $1.3 million
related to legal and accounting fees (which included $240,000 in
VAT taxes and $34,000 related to export credit insurance),
$368,000 related to compensation and employee-related benefits,
$59,000 related to occupancy costs, $45,000 related to software
licensing and support, $43,000 related to outside consultants
and $15,000 related to increased depreciation and patent
amortization. Stock-based compensation expense included in
general and administrative expense was $90,000 in the three
months ended
March 31, 2008 and $107,000 in the three
months ended
March 31, 2007.
We expect to incur significant additional accounting and legal
costs after this offering related to compliance with rules and
regulations implemented by the SEC and NASDAQ, as well as
additional insurance, investor relations and other costs
associated with being a public company. Consequently, we expect
general and administrative expenses in absolute dollars to
increase in future periods.
Research
and Development Expense
Research and development expenses include costs associated with
the design, development, testing and enhancement of our
products. Research and development expenses include employee
compensation (including stock-based compensation), supplies and
materials, consulting expenses, travel and facilities overhead.
All research and development expenses are expensed as incurred.
Research and development expense increased by $120,000, or 31%,
to $509,000 in the three months ended
March 31, 2008 from
$389,000 in the three months ended
March 31, 2007. As a
percentage of our net revenue, research and development expense
increased to 6% in the three months ended
March 31, 2008
from 5% in the three months ended
March 31, 2007.
Compensation and employee-related benefits accounted for $88,000
of the increase, while consulting and legal services and
research and development accounted for another $67,000 of the
$120,000 increase from the three months ended
March 31,
2007 to the three months ended
March 31, 2008. Headcount in
our research and development department increased to eight at
March 31, 2008 from six at
March 31, 2007. The
foregoing increases were offset by net expense decreases
totaling $35,000 in travel related expenses. Stock-based
compensation expense included in research and development
expense was $33,000 for the three months ended
March 31,
2008 and $35,000 for the three months ended
March 31, 2007.
We believe that continued spending on research and development
to develop new PX devices and other products is critical to our
success and, consequently, we expect to increase research and
development expenses in absolute dollars in future periods.
Other
Income (Expense), Net
Other income (expense), net includes interest income on cash
balances and losses or gains on conversion of
non-United
States dollar transactions into United States dollars. Our
losses or gains on currency conversions have not been material
to date because our international sales have been denominated
principally in United States dollars, and our foreign currency
exposure risk has been limited to expense incurred in our
overseas operations. If we are successful in increasing our
international sales we may be subject to currency conversion
risks because some of the international sales could be
denominated in foreign currencies. We have historically invested
our available cash balances in money market funds, short-term
United States Treasury obligations and commercial paper.
Other income (expense), net increased by $629,000 to $626,000 in
the three months ended
March 31, 2008 from $(3,000) in the
three months ended
March 31, 2007. The increase in net
interest and other income from the three months ended
March 31, 2007 to the three months ended
March 31,
2008 was primarily attributable to gains on foreign currency
transactions of $619,000 in the three months ended
March 31, 2008 and higher average cash balances, which
resulted in higher interest income in the three months ended
March 31, 2008 of $29,000, versus $15,000 in the three
months ended
March 31, 2007.
2007
Compared to 2006 and 2005
Net
Revenue
Our net revenue increased by $15.4 million, or 77%, to
$35.4 million in 2007 from $20.1 million in 2006, and
by $9.4 million in 2006, or 88%, from $10.7 million in
2005. These increases were principally due to higher sales of
our PX-
32
220 device, which resulted primarily from increased market
acceptance of the device and the overall growth of the
desalination market. Prices were relatively constant for our PX
devices in 2007, 2006 and 2005. In 2007, the sales of PX devices
accounted for approximately 96% of our revenue increase with
pump sales accounting for approximately 4% of the increase. In
2006, the sales of PX devices accounted for approximately 92% of
the increase, with pump sales accounting for approximately 4% of
the increase and spare parts and services accounting for the
remainder of the increase.
The following geographic information includes net revenue to our
domestic and international customers based on the
customers’ requested delivery locations, except for certain
cases in which the customer directed us to deliver our products
to a location that differs from the known ultimate location of
use. In such cases, the ultimate location of use is reflected in
the table below instead of the delivery location. The amounts
below are in thousands, except percentage data.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
March 31,
|
|
|
Years Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2005
|
|
|
|
|
(unaudited)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Domestic net revenue
|
|
$
|
721
|
|
|
$
|
494
|
|
|
$
|
2,125
|
|
|
$
|
1,003
|
|
|
$
|
1,710
|
|
|
International net revenue
|
|
|
8,399
|
|
|
|
6,645
|
|
|
|
33,289
|
|
|
|
19,055
|
|
|
|
8,979
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total net revenue
|
|
$
|
9,120
|
|
|
$
|
7,139
|
|
|
$
|
35,414
|
|
|
$
|
20,058
|
|
|
$
|
10,689
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenue by country:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Algeria
|
|
|
49
|
%
|
|
|
–
|
%
|
|
|
12
|
%
|
|
|
30
|
%
|
|
|
18
|
%
|
|
United States
|
|
|
8
|
|
|
|
7
|
|
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
5
|
|
|
|
16
|
|
|
Spain
|
|
|
7
|
|
|
|
56
|
|
|
|
35
|
|
|
|
9
|
|
|
|
5
|
|
|
China
|
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
8
|
|
|
|
8
|
|
|
|
5
|
|
|
|
14
|
|
|
Canada
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
–
|
|
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
–
|
|
|
|
13
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
United Arab Emirates
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
|
–
|
|
|
|
2
|
|
|
|
10
|
|
|
|
9
|
|
|
Australia
|
|
|
–
|
|
|
|
–
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
|
9
|
|
|
|
17
|
|
|
Others
|
|
|
26
|
|
|
|
17
|
|
|
|
18
|
|
|
|
31
|
|
|
|
21
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross
Profit
Gross profit represents our net revenue less our cost of
revenue. Our cost of revenue consists primarily of raw
materials, personnel costs (including stock-based compensation),
manufacturing overhead, warranty costs, capital costs, excess
and obsolete inventory expense, and manufactured components. The
largest component of our cost of revenue is raw materials,
principally ceramic materials, which we obtain from several
suppliers. Gross profit, as a percentage of net revenue,
remained relatively constant at 58% in 2007 as compared to 59%
in 2006 and 56% in 2005. Stock compensation expense included in
cost of revenue was $117,000 in 2007, $143,000 in 2006 and
$88,000 in 2005.
Sales and
Marketing Expense
Sales and marketing expense increased by $1.6 million, or
43%, to $5.2 million in 2007 from $3.6 million in
2006, and by $1.9 million in 2006, or 105%, from
$1.8 million in 2005. These increases were primarily
related to growth in our sales that resulted in higher headcount
with sales and marketing employees increasing to seven at
December 31, 2007 from six at
December 31, 2006 and
four at
December 31, 2005. In addition, our sales team is
compensated in part by commissions, resulting in increased sales
expense as our sales levels increase.
As a percentage of our net revenue, sales and marketing expense
decreased to 15% in 2007 from 18% in 2006 and 17% in 2005. The
decrease in 2007 was attributable principally to the significant
increase in our net revenue that year, which grew at a greater
rate than our sales and marketing expenses.
With respect to the $1.6 million increase in sales and
marketing expenses in 2007, $734,000 of such increase related to
compensation and employee related benefits, $259,000 related to
consultant fees, $249,000 related to travel and related
expenses, $151,000 related to increased occupancy costs and
$125,000 related to sales and marketing efforts. From 2005 to
33
2006, $1.1 million of the $1.9 million increase
related to compensation and employee related benefits, while the
remaining increase was primarily comprised of $645,000 related
to outside marketing costs and $89,000 in increased lease
facilities. Stock-based compensation expense included in sales
and marketing expense was $372,000 in 2007, $310,000 in 2006 and
$86,000 in 2005.
General
and Administrative Expense
General and administrative expense increased by $927,000, or
28%, to $4.3 million in 2007 from $3.4 million in
2006, and by $915,000 in 2006, or 37%, from $2.5 million in
2005. These increases reflected in part the increase in general
and administrative employees to 13 at
December 31, 2007
from eight at
December 31, 2006 and from six at
December 31, 2005.
As a percentage of our net revenue, general and administrative
expense was 12% in 2007, 17% in 2006 and 23% in 2005. The
decrease of general and administrative expense as a percentage
of net revenue was attributable principally to the significant
increases in our net revenue.
The primary reason for the increase in general and
administrative expenses was the growth in our operations that
resulted in higher headcount including the recruitment of an
officer, renting of additional facility space, increased travel
and increased bank fees. With respect to the $927,000 increase
in such expenses in 2007, $513,000 related to compensation,
employee-related benefits and professional services fees,
$139,000 related to bank charges, $46,000 related to office
supplies and equipment, $89,000 related to occupancy costs, and
$349,000 related to other expenses (general recruiting, patent
amortization and travel), offset by $184,000 related to bad
debt. With respect to the $915,000 increase in 2006, $870,000
related to compensation, employee-related benefits and
professional service fees. Stock based compensation expense
included in general and administrative expense was $388,000 in
2007, $428,000 in 2006 and $731,000 in 2005.
Research
and Development Expense
Research and development expense increased by $438,000, or 35%,
to $1.7 million in 2007 from $1.3 million in 2006, and
by $637,000 in 2006, or 101%, from $630,000 in 2005. As a
percentage of our net revenue, research and development expense
decreased to 5% in 2007, from 6% in 2006 and in 2005.
Compensation, employee-related benefits, consulting services and
depreciation of development equipment accounted for $151,000 of
the $438,000 increase from 2006 to 2007. The remainder of the
increase in 2007 was primarily attributable to $173,000 in
product development costs and $98,000 in travel expense.
Compensation, employee-related benefits, consulting services and
depreciation of development equipment accounted for $413,000 of
the $637,000 increase from 2005 to 2006. Stock-based
compensation expense included in research and development
expense was $159,000 in 2007, $183,000 in 2006 and $98,000 in
2005.
Other
Income (Expense), Net
Other income (expense), net increased by $432,000 to $413,000 in
2007 from $(19,000) in 2006, and decreased by $162,000 to
$(19,000) in 2006 from $(182,000) in 2005. The increase in net
interest and other income from 2006 to 2007 was primarily
attributable to gains on foreign currency transactions of
$355,000 in 2007 and higher average cash balances, which
resulted in higher interest income in 2007. The decrease in net
interest expense from 2005 to 2006 was primarily attributable to
a reduction in the use of the line of credit and associated
interest expense due to increased profitability.
34
Quarterly
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth our unaudited quarterly
consolidated statement of operations data for each of our eight
fiscal quarters in the period ended
March 31, 2008. The
quarterly data have been prepared on the same basis as the
audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in
this prospectus, and reflect all adjustments, consisting only of
normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation
of this information. Our results for these quarterly periods are
not necessarily indicative of the operating results for a full
year or any future period.
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended,
|
|
|
|
|
March 31,
|
|
|
Dec. 31,
|
|
|
Sept. 30,
|
|
|
June 30,
|
|
|
March 31,
|
|
|
Dec. 31,
|
|
|
Sept. 30,
|
|
|
June 30,
|
|
|
March 31,
|
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
|
|
(in thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
Quarterly Results of Operations*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net revenue
|
|
$
|
9,120
|
|
|
$
|
13,845
|
|
|
$
|
10,978
|
|
|
$
|
3,452
|
|
|
$
|
7,139
|
|
|
$
|
9,277
|
|
|
$
|
1,314
|
|
|
$
|
4,559
|
|
|
$
|
4,908
|
|
|
Gross profit
|
|
|
5,446
|
|
|
|
7,517
|
|
|
|
6,882
|
|
|
|
1,878
|
|
|
|
4,285
|
|
|
|
5,643
|
|
|
|
568
|
|
|
|
2,735
|
|
|
|
2,981
|
|
|
Operating expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales and marketing
|
|
|
1,343
|
|
|
|
1,443
|
|
|
|
1,372
|
|
|
|
1,224
|
|
|
|
1,191
|
|
|
|
1,348
|
|
|
|
836
|
|
|
|
772
|
|
|
|
692
|
|
|
General administrative
|
|
|
2,661
|
|
|
|
1,513
|
|
|
|
1,053
|
|
|
|
960
|
|
|
|
773
|
|
|
|
1,376
|
|
|
|
677
|
|
|
|
727
|
|
|
|
592
|
|
|
Research and development
|
|
|
509
|
|
|
|
484
|
|
|
|
392
|
|
|
|
440
|
|
|
|
389
|
|
|
|
540
|
|
|
|
224
|
|
|
|
270
|
|
|
|
233
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total operating expenses
|
|
|
4,513
|
|
|
|
3,440
|
|
|
|
2,817
|
|
|
|
2,624
|
|
|
|
2,353
|
|
|
|
3,264
|
|
|
|
1,737
|
|
|
|
1,769
|
|
|
|
1,517
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income (loss) from operations
|
|
|
933
|
|
|
|
4,077
|
|
|
|
4,065
|
|
|
|
(746)
|
|
|
|
1,932
|
|
|
|
2,379
|
|
|
|
(1,169)
|
|
|
|
966
|
|
|
|
1,464
|
|
|
Net income (loss)
|
|
$
|
947
|
|
|
$
|
2,701
|
|
|
$
|
2,397
|
|
|
$
|
(424)
|
|
|
$
|
1,119
|
|
|
$
|
1,557
|
|
|
$
|
(782)
|
|
|
$
|
648
|
|
|
$
|
959
|
|
|
Net income per common share:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
|
$
|
0.02
|
|
|
$
|
0.07
|
|
|
$
|
0.06
|
|
|
$
|
(0.01)
|
|
|
$
|
0.03
|
|
|
$
|
0.04
|
|
|
$
|
(0.02)
|
|
|
$
|
0.02
|
|
|
$
|
0.02
|
|
|
Diluted
|
|
$
|
0.02
|
|
|
$
|
0.06
|
|
|
$
|
0.06
|
|
|
$
|
(0.01)
|
|
|
$
|
0.03
|
|
|
$
|
0.04
|
|
|
$
|
(0.02)
|
|
|
$
|
0.02
|
|
|
$
|
0.02
|
|
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
Quarterly results may not add up to
annual results due to rounding.
|
The following table sets forth our historical quarterly
operating results as a percentage of net revenue for the periods
indicated:
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended,
|
|
|
|
|
March 31,
|
|
|
Dec. 31,
|
|
|
Sept. 30,
|
|
|
June 30,
|
|
|
March 31,
|
|
|
Dec. 31,
|
|
|
Sept. 30,
|
|
|
June 30,
|
|
|
March 31,
|
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
|
|
(as a % of Net Revenue*)
|
|
|
|
|
Quarterly Income Summary
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net revenue
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
|
100
|
%
|
|
Gross profit
|
|
|
60
|
|
|
|
54
|
|
|
|
63
|
|
|
|
54
|
|
|
|
60
|
|
|
|
61
|
|
|
|
43
|
|
|
|
60
|
|
|
|
61
|
|
|
Operating expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales and marketing
|
|
|
15
|
|
|
|
10
|
|
|
|
13
|
|
|
|
35
|
|
|
|
17
|
|
|
|
14
|
|
|
|
64
|
|
|
|
17
|
|
|
|
14
|
|
|
General administrative
|
|
|
29
|
|
|
|
11
|
|
|
|
10
|
|
|
|
28
|
|
|
|
11
|
|
|
|
15
|
|
|
|
51
|
|
|
|
16
|
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
Research and development
|
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
4
|
|
|
|
4
|
|
|
|
13
|
|
|
|
5
|
|
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
17
|
|
|
|
6
|
|
|
|
5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total operating expenses
|
|
|
50
|
|
|
|
25
|
|
|
|
26
|
|
|
|
76
|
|
|
|
33
|
|
|
|
35
|
|
|
|
132
|
|
|
|
39
|
|
|
|
31
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income (loss) from operations
|
|
|
10
|
|
|
|
30
|
|
|
|
37
|
|
|
|
(22)
|
|
|
|
27
|
|
|
|
26
|
|
|
|
(89)
|
|
|
|
21
|
|
|
|
30
|
|
|
Net income (loss)
|
|
|
10
|
%
|
|
|
20
|
%
|
|
|
22
|
%
|
|
|
(12)
|
%
|
|
|
16
|
%
|
|
|
17
|
%
|
|
|
(60)
|
%
|
|
|
14
|
%
|
|
|
20
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
Percentages may not add up to 100%
due to rounding.
|
Net Revenue. Net revenue increased by
$2.0 million, or 28%, to $9.1 million in the three
months ended
March 31, 2008 from $7.1 million in the
three months ended
March 31, 2007. Although annual net
revenue increased by $15.3 million, or 77%, to
$35.4 million in 2007 from $20.1 million in 2006,
there were significant fluctuations in quarterly revenue in 2007
and 2006. Such fluctuations are due to the fact that a
particular order from an EPC customer can represent significant
revenue and that the postponement or cancellation of a large
order can have a significant impact. In addition, as a result of
EPC buying patterns, a higher proportion of our sales occurs in
the fourth quarter compared to other quarters of the year. EPCs
recognize revenue and services fees as a function of the
equipment they procure and install. Because the fiscal year of
35
most of these companies ends on December 31, EPCs tend to
increase their purchase of our PX units and other plant
equipment in the fourth quarter.
Gross Profit. The quarterly changes in gross profit
were mainly a result of the fluctuations in net revenue. From
quarter to quarter, our fixed costs have generally remained
constant, and thus changes to revenue caused corresponding
changes to our gross profit. Some of the more significant
components of our fixed costs are salaries, manufacturing
overhead and insurance. Because our variable costs make up a
significant percentage of our cost of revenue, the largest
components of which are materials, incremental labor costs and
overtime, our variable costs mitigated somewhat the effects of
revenue fluctuations on our gross profit.
Sales and Marketing Expenses. Sales and marketing
expenses generally grew incrementally as a result of growth in
our sales organization. Due to commissions, such expenses are
generally highest in the fourth quarter as sales are typically
greatest in that quarter.
Fluctuations in Quarterly Results. Our quarterly
results of operation have fluctuated significantly in the past
and are expected to fluctuate significantly in the future due to
a number of factors, many of which are not in our control. We
believe period to period comparisons are not necessarily
meaningful and should not be relied upon as indicative of future
results. See “Risk Factors—Our operating results may
fluctuate significantly, which makes our future operating
results difficult to predict and could cause our operating
results to fall below expectations or our guidance.”
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
As of
March 31, 2008, our principal sources of liquidity
consisted of cash and cash equivalents of $1.9 million and
accounts receivable of $11.0 million. As of
December 31, 2007, our principal sources of liquidity
consisted of cash and cash equivalents of $240,000 and accounts
receivable of $12.9 million. Our cash and cash equivalents
are invested primarily in money market funds.
Our primary source of cash historically has been proceeds from
the issuance of common stock and customer payments for our
products and services. From
January 1, 2005 through
March 31, 2008, we issued common stock for aggregate net
proceeds of $6.5 million. The proceeds from the sales of
common stock have been used to fund our operations and capital
expenditures.
On
December 1, 2005, we entered into an agreement with a
financial institution for a $2.0 million revolving note, or
revolving note, and a $222,000 fixed rate-installment note, or
fixed note, with maturity dates of
December 1, 2006,
subsequently extended to
March 1, 2007, and
December 15, 2010, respectively. The revolving note bears
interest of base rate or LIBOR-based rate as elected by us. The
interest rate was amended on
April 26, 2006 to modify the
definition of base rate and increase the rate to base rate plus
1% or LIBOR plus 2.5%. The fixed note bears an annual interest
rate of 10%. These notes are secured by our accounts receivable,
inventories, property, equipment and other general intangibles
except for intellectual property.
On
April 26, 2006, we also entered into a loan and security
agreement with the financial institution for an additional
$2.0 million credit facility with a maturity date of
December 1, 2006, subsequently extended to
March 1,
2007. The credit facility advances bear interest rates of base
rate plus 1% or LIBOR plus 2.5%. The credit facility is secured
by our cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable,
inventory, property and other general intangibles except for
intellectual property.
On
December 7, 2006, the revolving note was amended to
increase the face amount of the note to $3.5 million.
On
March 1, 2007, we renewed the revolving note and the
loan and security agreement, or the first modification, to a
maturity date of
March 31, 2008. Additional amended terms
under the first modification were an interest rate change to
base rate or LIBOR plus 2.5%, limitation of advances to a
borrowing base, various reporting requirements and our
satisfaction of certain financial ratios and covenants.
On
March 28, 2007, we modified the loan and security
agreement, or the second modification, to add a
$1.0 million equipment promissory note. The equipment
promissory note bears an interest rate of cost of funds plus 3%
and matures
August 31, 2012. Additional amended terms under
the second modification were changes to the financial ratios and
covenants that we are required to maintain.
As of
December 31, 2006, borrowings outstanding on the
revolving note and the fixed note were $438,000 and $178,000,
respectively. There were no borrowings under the credit
facility. The interest rate for the revolving note elected by us
was the base rate at 9.25%. We were in compliance with all
covenants under the loan and security agreement.
As of
December 31, 2007 there were no borrowings under the
revolving note and the credit facility. The amounts outstanding
on the fixed note and the equipment promissory note were
$133,000 and $596,000, respectively at December 31,
36
2007. The interest rate for the equipment promissory note at
December 31, 2007 was 7.81%. We were in compliance with all
covenants under the loan and security agreement.
On
March 27, 2008, we entered into a new credit agreement
with our existing financial institution that replaced the
$2.0 million credit facility and the $3.5 million
revolving note. The new credit facility allows borrowings of up
to $9.0 million on a revolving basis at LIBOR plus 2.75%.
This new credit facility expires on
September 30, 2008 and
is secured by our accounts receivable, inventories, property,
equipment and other intangibles except intellectual property. We
are subject to certain financial and administrative covenants
under the new credit agreement. As of
March 31, 2008, we
were non-compliant with one financial covenant related to a
minimum financial ratio. Subsequent to
March 31, 2008, the
lender granted a waiver for this non-compliance and the credit
agreement was amended effective
May 29, 2008 to change such
covenant.
During 2007, 2006 and 2005, we provided certain customers with
irrevocable standby letters of credit to secure our obligations
for the delivery of products in accordance with sales
arrangements. These letters of credit were issued under our
revolving note credit facility and generally terminate within
eight months from issuance. At
December 31, 2007 the
amounts outstanding on the letters of credit totaled
approximately $2.2 million.
We have unbilled receivables pertaining to customer contractual
holdback provisions, whereby we invoice the final installment
due under a sales
contract six to 24 months after the
product has been shipped to the customer and revenue has been
recognized. Long-term unbilled receivables as of
December 31, 2007 and
2006 consisted of unbilled
receivables from customers due more than one year subsequent to
period end. The customer holdbacks represent amounts intended to
provide a form of security for the customer rather than a form
of long-term financing; accordingly, these receivables have not
been discounted to present value. At
December 31, 2007, we
had $1.7 million of current unbilled receivables and
$2.3 million of non-current unbilled receivables.
Cash
Flows from Operating Activities
Net cash (used in) or provided by operating activities was
$(351,000) and $188,000 during the three months ended
March 31, 2008 and
2007, respectively. For the three months
ended
March 31, 2008 and
2007, cash provided by net income
of $947,000 and $1.1 million, respectively, was adjusted to
$757,000 and $1.4 million, respectively, by non-cash items
(depreciation, amortization, gains and losses on foreign
exchange, stock-based compensation, provisions for doubtful
accounts, warranty reserves and excess and obsolete inventory)
totaling $(190,000) and $259,000, respectively.
Within changes in assets and liabilities, changes in accounts
and unbilled receivables used $(469,000) in cash in the three
months ended
March 31, 2008 compared to $(1,343) used in
the three months ended
March 31, 2007 due to a 28%, or
$2.0 million increase in net sales offset with the timing
of invoices for large projects at the end of the period. Changes
in inventory used $(1.6) million in cash in the three
months ended
March 31, 2008 compared to $(78,000) used in
the three months ended
March 31, 2007 primarily as a result
of the growth of our business. Changes in prepaids used
$(2.3) million in cash in the three months ended
March 31, 2008 compared to $(14,000) used in the three
months ended
March 31, 2007 primarily resulted from
professional fees related to our initial public offering.
Changes in account payable, accrued expenses, deferred revenue
and customer deposits provided $4.4 million in the three
months ended
March 31, 2008 compared to $5,000 provided in
the three months ended
March 31, 2007 due to the timing of
payments and growth of our business. Changes in income taxes
payable payable used $(1.1) million in the three months
ended
March 31, 2008 compared to $240,000 provided in the
three months ended
March 31, 2007 due to the timing of
payments of taxes.
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities was
$(2.8) million and $822,000 for 2007 and 2006,
respectively. The $3.7 million increase in net cash used in
operating activities from 2006 to 2007 was primarily
attributable to increases in accounts and unbilled receivables.
Within changes in assets and liabilities, changes in accounts
and unbilled receivables used $(9.2) million in cash in
2007 compared to $(3.2) million used in 2006 due to the
timing of invoices for large projects at the end of 2007, along
with a 77%, or $15.4 million, increase in net sales for the
year. Changes in inventory used $(2.0) million in cash in
2007 compared to $(960,000) in 2006 primarily as a result of the
growth of our business. Changes in accounts payable provided
$583,000 in 2007 compared to $270,000 in 2006 due to the timing
of payments. Changes in accrued liabilities provided $214,000 in
2007 compared to $1.0 million in 2006, primarily due to
timing of payments. Changes in deferred revenue provided
$343,000 in 2007 compared to $115,000 in 2006, primarily due to
increased sales.
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities was $822,000
in 2006 and $(694,000) in 2005. The $1.5 million decrease
in net cash used in operating activities from 2005 to 2006 was
primarily attributable to a $1.5 million increase in net
income.
Within changes in assets and liabilities, changes in accounts
and unbilled receivables used $(3.2) million in cash in
2006 compared to $(3.1) million in 2005. Changes in
inventory used $(960,000) in cash in 2006 compared to $(901,000)
in
37
2005 primarily as a result of the growth of our business.
Changes in accounts payable provided $270,000 in cash in 2006
compared to $346,000 in 2005 due to the timing of payments.
Changes in accrued liabilities provided $1.0 million in
cash in 2006 compared to $(23,000) in 2005, primarily due to
increased accrued bonuses and deferred revenue. Changes in
deferred revenue provided $115,000 in cash in 2006 compared to
$30,000 in 2005, primarily due to increased business.
Cash
Flows from Investing Activities
Cash flows from investing activities primarily relate to capital
expenditures to support our growth, as well as increases in our
restricted cash used to collateralize our letters of credit.
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities was
$1.5 million and $441,000 in the three months ended
March 31, 2008, and
2007, respectively. The increase in net
cash provided by investing activities was primarily attributable
to the availability of restricted cash that was previously used
to offset various letters of credit.
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities was
$(2.0) million in 2007, $(511,000) in 2006 and
$(1.0) million in 2005. $1.0 million of the increase
in net cash used in investing activities from 2006 to 2007 was
attributable to the increase in restricted cash balances along
with $918,000 used for the purchase of property and equipment.
The decrease in net cash used in investing activities from 2005
to 2006 was primarily attributable to fewer purchases of
property, plant and equipment.
Cash
Flows from Financing Activities
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities was $488,000
and $(450,000) in the three months ended
March 31, 2008 and
2007, respectively. The change in cash flows in financing
activities was primarily attributable to the repayment of a
promissory note by a shareholder in the amount of $518,000.
Net cash provided by financing activities was $5.1 million
in 2007 and net cash used was $(530,000) in 2006. Net cash
provided by financing activities was $1.9 million in 2005.
The increase in net cash provided by financing activities in
2007 was primarily attributable to our issuance of common stock
in a private placement.
We believe that our existing cash balances, together with the
anticipated net proceeds from this offering and cash generated
from our operations, will be sufficient to meet our anticipated
capital requirements for at least the next 12 months.
However, we may need to raise additional capital or incur
additional indebtedness to continue to fund our operations in
the future. Our future capital requirements will depend on many
factors, including our rate of revenue growth, if any, the
expansion of our sales and marketing and research and
development activities, the timing and extent of our expansion
into new geographic territories, the timing of introductions of
new products and the continuing market acceptance of our
products. Although we currently are not a party to any agreement
or letter of intent with respect to potential material
investments in, or acquisitions of, complementary businesses,
services or technologies, we may enter into these types of
arrangements in the future, which could also require us to seek
additional equity or debt financing. Additional funds may not be
available on terms favorable to us or at all.
Contractual
Obligations
The following is a summary of our contractual obligations as of
December 31, 2007 (in thousands):
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Payments Due by Period
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Less than
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More than
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Total
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1 Year
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1-3 Years
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3-5 Years
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5 Years
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Notes payable
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$
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729
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$
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172
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$
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472
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$
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85
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$
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—
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Operating lease obligations
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862
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411
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451
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—
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—
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Capital lease obligations (including interest)*
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120
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50
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70
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—
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—
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Total
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$
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1,691
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$
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633
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$
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993
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$
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85
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$
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—
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*
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Present
value of net minimum capital lease payments is $101, as
reflected on the balance sheet.
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In the course of our normal operations, we also entered into
purchase commitments with our suppliers for various key raw
materials and component parts. The purchase commitments covered
by these arrangements are subject to change based on our sales
forecasts for future deliveries. As of
March 31, 2008 and
December 31, 2007, purchase commitments with our suppliers
were approximately $7.3 million and $8.1 million,
respectively.
38
This table excludes agreements with guarantees or indemnity
provisions that we have entered into with, among others,
customers and OEMs in the ordinary course of business. Based on
our historical experience and information known to us as of
March 31, 2008, we believe that our exposure related to
these guarantees and indemnities as of
March 31, 2008 was
not material.
Supplier
Concentration
Certain of the raw materials and components that we use in the
manufacturing of our products are available from a limited
number of suppliers. We do not enter into long-term supply
contracts with these suppliers. For instance, we purchase the
ceramic components for the PX device pursuant to standard
purchase orders that specify the quantity and price of various
component parts to be delivered over a three-month period. We
then update the pricing and quantity of our purchase orders
based upon our most current forecast on a quarterly basis.
Shortages could occur in these essential materials and
components due to an interruption of supply or increased demand
in the industry. If we are unable to procure certain of such
materials or components, we would be required to reduce our
manufacturing operations, which could have a material adverse
effect on our results of operations.
For the three months ended
March 31, 2008, four suppliers
(of which three were ceramics suppliers) represented
approximately 73% of our total purchases. As of
March 31,
2008, approximately 54% of our accounts payable were due to
these suppliers. For the three months ended
March 31, 2007,
three suppliers (of which two were ceramics suppliers)
represented approximately 69% of our total purchases.
For 2007, 2006 and 2005, three suppliers (of which two were
ceramics suppliers) represented approximately 66%, 71% and 62%,
respectively, of our total purchases. As of
December 31,
2007 and
2006, approximately 60% and 77%, respectively, of our
accounts payable were due to these suppliers.
Off-Balance
Sheet Arrangements
During the periods presented, we did not have any relationships
with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as
entities often referred to as structured finance or special
purpose entities, which would have been established for the
purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other
contractually narrow or limited purpose.
Recent
Accounting Pronouncements
In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157,
Fair Value Measurements, or SFAS 157. SFAS 157
defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair
value, and enhances fair value measurement disclosure. In
February 2008, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position
157-1,
Application of FASB Statement No. 157 to FASB Statement
No. 13 and Other Accounting Pronouncements That Address
Fair Value Measurements for Purposes of Lease Classification or
Measurement under Statement 13, or
FSP 157-1,
and
FSP 157-2,
Effective Date of FASB Statement No. 157, or
FSP 157-2.
FSP 157-1
amends SFAS 157 to remove certain leasing transactions from
its scope.
FSP 157-2
delays the effective date of SFAS 157 for all non-financial
assets and non-financial liabilities, except for items that are
recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial
statements on a recurring basis (at least annually), until the
beginning of the first quarter of 2009. The measurement and
disclosure requirements related to financial assets and
financial liabilities are effective for us beginning in the
first quarter of 2008. The adoption of SFAS 157 for
financial assets and financial liabilities in the three months
ended
March 31, 2008 did not have a significant impact on
our consolidated financial statements. We are currently
evaluating the impact that SFAS 157 will have on our
consolidated financial statements when it is applied to
non-financial assets and non-financial liabilities beginning in
the first quarter of 2009.
In February 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 159, The
Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial
Liabilities, or SFAS 159. SFAS 159 permits
companies to choose to measure certain financial instruments and
other items at fair value. The standard requires that unrealized
gains and losses are reported in earnings for items measured
using the fair value option. SFAS 159 is effective for us
beginning in the first quarter of 2008. The adoption of
SFAS 159 did not have an impact on our consolidated
financial statements.
In June 2007, the FASB ratified EITF Issue
No. 07-3,
Accounting for Nonrefundable Advance Payments for Goods or
Services to Be Used in Future Research and Development
Activities, or
EITF 07-3.
EITF 07-3
requires non-refundable advance payments for goods and services
to be used in future research and development activities to be
recorded as assets and the payments to be expensed when the
research and development activities are performed.
EITF 07-3
applies prospectively to new contractual arrangements entered
into beginning in the first quarter of 2008. Prior to adoption,
we recognized these non-refundable advance payments as an
expense upon payment. The adoption of
EITF 07-3
did not have a significant impact on our consolidated financial
statements.
39
In December 2007, the SEC issued SAB 110 to amend the
SEC’s views discussed in SAB 107 regarding the use of
the simplified method in developing an estimate of expected life
of share options in accordance with SFAS 123R. SAB 110
is effective for us beginning in the first quarter of 2008. As
of
December 31, 2007, we did not use the simplified method
and the adoption of SAB 107, as amended by SAB 110,
did not have an impact on our consolidated financial statements.
In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 141
(revised 2007),
Business Combinations, or
FAS 141(R). FAS 141(R) will change how business
acquisitions are accounted for. FAS 141(R) is effective for
fiscal years beginning on or after
December 15, 2008. The
adoption of FAS 141(R) is not expected to have a material
impact on our consolidated financial statements.
In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160,
Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial
Statements — an amendment of Accounting Research
Bulletin No. 51. SFAS No. 160
establishes accounting and reporting standards for ownership
interests in
subsidiaries held by parties other than the parent,
the amount of consolidated net income attributable to the parent
and to the noncontrolling interest, changes in a parent’s
ownership interest, and the valuation of retained noncontrolling
equity investments when a subsidiary is deconsolidated.
SFAS No. 160 also establishes disclosure requirements
that clearly identify and distinguish between the interests of
the parent and the interests of the noncontrolling owners.
SFAS No. 160 is effective for fiscal years beginning
after
December 15, 2008. The adoption of SFAS No. 160
is not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated
financial statements.
Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk
Foreign
Currency Risk
Most of our sales
contracts have been denominated in United
States dollars, and therefore our revenue historically has not
been subject to foreign currency risk. As we expand our
international sales, we expect that an increasing portion of our
revenue could be denominated in foreign currencies. As a result,
our cash and cash equivalents and operating results could be
increasingly affected by changes in exchange rates. Our
international sales and marketing operations incur expense that
is denominated in foreign currencies. This expense could be
materially affected by currency fluctuations. Our exposures are
to fluctuations in exchange rates for the United States dollar
versus the Euro. Changes in currency exchange rates could
adversely affect our consolidated operating results or financial
position. Additionally, our international sales and marketing
operations maintain cash balances denominated in foreign
currencies. In order to decrease the inherent risk associated
with translation of foreign cash balances into our reporting
currency, we have not maintained excess cash balances in foreign
currencies. We have not hedged our exposure to changes in
foreign currency exchange rates because expenses in foreign
currencies have been insignificant to date, and exchange rate
fluctuations have had little impact on our operating results and
cash flows.
Interest
Rate Risk
We had cash and cash equivalents totalling $1.9 million,
$240,000, $42,000 and $261,000 at
March 31, 2008 and
December 31, 2007,
2006 and
2005, respectively. These
amounts were invested primarily in money market funds. The
unrestricted cash and cash equivalents are held for working
capital purposes. We do not enter into investments for trading
or speculative purposes. We believe that we do not have any
material exposure to changes in the fair value as a result of
changes in interest rates due to the short term nature of our
cash equivalents and short-term investments. Declines in
interest rates, however, would reduce future investment income.
40
INDUSTRY
The demand for fresh water continues to escalate, driven by the
need for drinking water to satisfy the world’s growing
population, changing weather patterns, an increasing need for
water for agriculture and industry and the concentration of
populations in urban areas that lack sufficient fresh water
resources. For example, according to the World Water Council,
approximately 260 gallons of water are needed to produce
2.2 pounds of wheat and 3,380 gallons of water are
needed to produce 2.2 pounds of beef. The power industry is
also a large consumer of water, as water is critical to the
cooling processes used in fossil fuel and nuclear plants and in
the production of biofuels. The United Nations Population Fund
expects the global consumption of water to double every
20 years. A study conducted by the International Water
Management Institute projects that by 2025, 33% of the
population of the developing world will face severe water
shortages. The uneven geographic distribution of fresh water
supplies compounds this problem. Even in water-rich nations,
population growth, environmental regulation and irrigation needs
are placing constraints on existing water resources.
The United Nations Environmental Program estimates that by 2010,
80% of the world’s population will live within 100
kilometers of a sea coast. With the growth of population centers
along coastal areas and improvements in technology,
desalination, once a luxury of oil-rich Middle Eastern countries
and large-scale resorts, is rapidly becoming an economically
viable alternative in many regions where traditional fresh water
sources are becoming increasingly stressed. According to the
February/March 2008 issue of International
Desalination & Water Reuse Quarterly, there are
approximately 14,000 desalination plants installed worldwide.
Global Water Intelligence, or GWI, estimates that as of
December 31, 2005, there were 39.9 million cubic
meters per day of installed capacity, and that the growth in the
market for new total desalination capacity should increase by
approximately 13% per year from
2005-2015.
We expect SWRO’s share of new total desalination capacity
to grow in excess of the overall industry growth rate
particularly due to higher energy costs.
Desalination is the process of removing salt and other minerals
and solids from water. The process is most commonly used to
derive fresh water from sea water or brackish water. Brackish
water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not
as much as sea water, and is found in certain lakes, marshes,
deltas, rivers and bays. The higher the salinity of the source
water, the greater the energy required in the desalination
process. We target the sea water segment of the desalination
industry, which is the dominant segment of the market. More
specifically, we operate primarily in the sea water reverse
osmosis, or SWRO, sector of the sea water desalination market.
Desalination
Market by Feedwater
Source: GWI, Desalination Markets
2007
Sea Water
Desalination
Currently there are two basic methods of sea water desalination:
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thermal, which uses heat to evaporate fresh water from
salt water; and
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SWRO, which uses high pressure to drive salt water through
membranes, leaving concentrate behind.
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The choice of processes depends largely on the cost of power.
Thermal processes require more energy than SWRO processes
because of the high energy required to boil water. Advances in
SWRO processes, such as the use of more efficient energy
recovery devices and membranes, have dramatically decreased the
associated energy cost, making it the preferred method in
regions where energy costs are high.
41
Thermal
Desalination
Thermal desalination is the process of boiling water and
condensing the vapor into fresh water. Because thermal
desalination processes are energy intensive, the process is
generally only viable for large-scale plants built primarily in
oil-rich regions such as the Middle East where the cost of power
is low. Although in recent years thermal technologies have
evolved to require less net power consumption, these advances
have not been able to achieve the reduced levels of energy
consumption associated with SWRO. As a result, thermal plants
continue to be constructed primarily in regions with low energy
costs.
SWRO
Desalination
SWRO desalination uses high pressure to drive fresh water from
sea water through reverse osmosis membranes. The pressure
required for this process depends upon the permeability of the
membranes and salinity of the water. As an example, brackish
water desalination requires less pressure than sea water
desalination due to its lower salinity. Technology advances have
increased membrane permeability, lowering the pressure required
while improving salt filtration. However, without an energy
recovery device a significant amount of energy would be lost in
the reject stream. Effective recovery of the energy contained
within the reject stream has made the SWRO process significantly
more energy efficient and economically attractive. The evolution
of energy recovery devices for SWRO began with the use of the
Pelton wheel in 1984, followed by the hydraulic turbocharger in
1992 and most recently isobaric technologies, including our PX
device, which became commercially available in 1997.
SWRO
versus Thermal
Declining SWRO desalination costs due to improved technology and
increasing energy costs have made SWRO desalination the
preferred method of water production in regions where the cost
of energy is high and fresh water is scarce. Consequently,
according to GWI, the share of total new contracted desalination
capacity using SWRO has increased from approximately 42% in 1999
to approximately 71% in 2006, and is expected to continue to
increase.
The surge in desalination project activity since 1990 is
primarily due to advances in SWRO technology, including energy
recovery devices and membranes, which have significantly reduced
the cost of producing fresh water from sea water. According to
GWI, using SWRO technology, the cost of producing a cubic meter
of fresh water from sea water, which averaged approximately $10
per cubic meter in the mid-1960’s, had dropped to as low as
$0.46 per cubic meter by 2005. As shown below, energy costs
associated with the SWRO process are approximately 50% less than
those associated with the traditional thermal desalination
process.
Relative
Operating Costs of the Desalination Process as of 2006
Source: GWI, Desalination Markets 2007
42
Energy
Recovery Devices
Wheel
Technology
When SWRO was first commercialized on a large scale in 1984,
engineers used existing water wheel technology, the Pelton
wheel, which was first developed in 1880 in connection with gold
mining, to recover the pressure energy from the reject stream.
The Pelton wheel works by directing the high-pressure reject
stream at a bucket wheel mounted on the same shaft as the
high-pressure feed water pump, thereby recycling energy back
into the SWRO process. However, as energy is transferred from
the reject stream back into the feed water stream utilizing the
Pelton wheel and pump system, energy is lost.
In the late 1980’s, the hydraulic turbocharger was
developed as an alternate energy recovery device for SWRO
plants. Similar to the Pelton wheel, the hydraulic turbocharger
uses a turbine to recover energy and transfers the energy back
into the SWRO process with a high-pressure pump. While the
hydraulic turbocharger was slightly more efficient than the
Pelton wheel because of its higher rotating speed, it suffered
from similar inefficiencies due to similar design
characteristics.
Isobaric
Technology
In 1975, the first isobaric technology device was piloted in
Bermuda. In contrast to the Pelton wheel and turbocharger
technology, isobaric technology employs a pressure equalizing
method to transfer energy from the membrane reject stream
directly to the membrane feed stream, bypassing the need to
convert energy from the high pressure rejection stream into
mechanical form. This direct positive displacement approach
results in significantly higher transfer efficiency rates.
During the 1990’s, the Dual Work Exchanger Energy Recovery,
or DWEER, was developed and initially used in the
manufacturer’s SWRO plants in the Caribbean as a slow cycle
isobaric energy recovery device. According to its manufacturer,
Calder AG, the DWEER system attains efficiency rates of up to
97%. The DWEER system utilizes a piston and valve system in a
high pressure batch process with large pressure vessels, similar
to a steam locomotive, to capture and transfer the energy lost
in the membrane reject stream. While the DWEER attains high
rates of efficiency, it suffers from its large size, mechanical
complexity with numerous moving parts that undergo millions of
cycles per year, and corrosion potential due to its metal
composition.
In early 1997, we introduced the initial version of our energy
recovery device, the PX. In November 1997, we introduced and
marketed our first ceramic-based PX device. Our PX device
represented an advance in the available technology by utilizing
ceramic construction and a rotating chamber design with only one
moving part.
Desalination
Growth Regions
Significant growth is forecasted in the broader desalination
industry, which includes sea water, brackish and all other types
of feedwater. According to GWI, countries such as Australia,
Algeria, China and India are expected to achieve compound annual
growth of at least 20% from 2005 to 2015.
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Projected
Desalination Installed Capacity—All Feedwater Types
(2005-2015)
Source: GWI, Desalination Markets 2007
Middle
East and North Africa
The Middle East dominates the desalination industry, accounting
for approximately 70% of total contracted capacity in 2005,
according to GWI
19th Annual
Desalting Plant Inventory. As reported by ULTRAPURE WATER, the
Arab states alone will need to spend $100 billion on
desalination over the next 10 years. During 2007, several
SWRO plants were contracted in Kuwait, Oman, Israel and the
United Arab Emirates. Algeria and Saudi Arabia accounted for
almost half of 2005 contracted capacity. All of Algeria’s
2005 contracted capacity was SWRO while Saudi Arabia’s SWRO
capacity made up 17% of its total 2005 contracted capacity. This
statistic demonstrates that in many oil rich Middle East
countries traditional thermal desalination persists due to the
abundance of subsidized power.
The recent emergence of large SWRO desalination plant projects
in the Middle East, such as Al Fujairiah in the United Arab
Emirates (170,000 cubic meters per day) and Shoiaba in Saudi
Arabia (150,000 cubic meters per day), may demonstrate the
beginning of a shift to SWRO, even where power has been
historically inexpensive. Thermal desalination plants, typically
located adjacent to power plants, pose an efficiency constraint
for power generators. Power generators that would otherwise
reduce power generation during off-peak seasons to cut costs,
must continue operating at peak because the thermal desalination
process necessitates continuity of operations. Many Middle East
operators are turning to hybrid SWRO/thermal plants to
accommodate off-peak usage periods. In addition, high
maintenance and building costs associated with thermal plant
construction may shift preferences to SWRO plants which are less
expensive to build and operate. Specifically, thermal
desalination plants are constructed of nickel/chromium based
alloy metals to avoid corrosion, and these metals have
experienced price increases in recent years.
Algeria is currently one of the most active desalination markets
outside the Persian Gulf region. GWI predicts that Algeria will
install 2.6 million cubic meters per day by 2010 and
4.5 million cubic meters per day by 2015.
Europe
The most significant European market to date has been Spain.
Spain utilizes SWRO plants built by large Spanish EPC
consortiums. Spain’s Plan Hidrológico Nacional, which
initially favored transferring water from the Ebro River to
Spain’s dry southern Mediterranean coast, changed its
strategy in 2004 in favor of the construction of multiple SWRO
desalination sites under a fast-track development program called
Acuamed.
United
States
While the U.S. market currently utilizes reverse osmosis
primarily for brackish water, 1.2 to 1.7 million cubic
meters of SWRO capacity are under consideration, according to
GWI. However, permits, environmental impact studies and project
financing present steep initial hurdles for U.S. municipalities.
The most promising regions for SWRO are populated coastal areas,
particularly California, Texas and Florida. California, in
particular, is a potential locus for SWRO desalination.
Population growth on the West Coast and environmental pressures
place continued strain on the Colorado River.
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The Affordable Desalination Collaboration, or ADC, project seeks
to demonstrate to California municipalities that with state of
the art technology, SWRO desalination is a cost effective
alternative to traditional water sources. ADC also promotes the
use of the PX technology in SWRO water projects.
Asia
Pacific
Australia, China and India all represent large-scale SWRO
opportunities. Asia Pacific countries have large populations in
water stressed regions that border oceans. In particular, India,
with its high population growth, offers a significant SWRO
opportunity due to an accelerated use of water for irrigation,
rapid industrialization and improving living standards. At the
same time, existing water resources are diminishing. According
to GWI, India currently accounts for 31% of the Asia Pacific
region’s contracted capacity.
In Australia, drought has played a significant role in the
political decision to move forward on large SWRO plants.
Australia’s major population centers border the coast. The
commissioning of a desalination plant in Perth (143,000 cubic
meters per day) marked a major milestone for Australia.
According to GWI, Australia built approximately 100,000 cubic
meters per day of new capacity in the
2001–2005
period, and it is expected to add approximately 1.4 million
cubic meters per day between 2006 and 2010.
GWI expects that China’s desalination capacity will grow
approximately 24% per annum from approximately 600,000 cubic
meters per day in 2005 to over 5.3 million cubic meters per
day by 2015. As the Chinese economy moves towards a free market,
the water sector is expected to operate on a more commercial
basis. For example, in Shanghai and Pudong the water utilities
have become privatized. We believe that as such privatization
continues, considerations of water production costs will lead to
the commissioning of further SWRO plants that utilize our PX
technology. Over the last five years, our PX device was selected
for 14 new SWRO plants, which we believe represent a majority of
the new SWRO plants commissioned during the same period.
45
BUSINESS
Overview
We are a leading global developer and manufacturer of highly
efficient energy recovery devices utilized in the rapidly
growing water desalination industry. We operate primarily in the
sea water reverse osmosis, or SWRO, segment of the industry.
SWRO uses pressure to drive salt water through filtering
membranes to produce fresh water. Energy recovery devices have
increased the cost-competitiveness of SWRO desalination compared
to other means of fresh water supply and has enabled the ongoing
rapid growth of the SWRO segment of the desalination industry
worldwide. Our primary product, the PX Pressure Exchanger, or
PX, helps optimize the energy intensive SWRO process by
recapturing and recycling up to 98% of the energy in the high
pressure reject stream, thereby reducing energy consumption by
an estimated 60% as compared to a plant without any energy
recovery devices.
We believe that the proven benefits of our proprietary
technology have made us a leader in the SWRO energy recovery
market due to the following:
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Up to 98% energy recovery efficiency. The PX
device achieves high efficiency by minimizing energy loss. The
tight fit between the ceramic components in a PX device
minimizes leakage inside the device. In addition, the flow paths
through the device are relatively open such that losses due to
friction are minimized. Because losses are minimized, the energy
output of the PX device is only slightly less than the energy
input. This ratio is measured in terms of efficiency.
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Proprietary design employing only one moving
part. The only moving part in the PX device is the
ceramic rotor, which is surrounded by a ceramic sleeve and two
end covers. The narrow gap between the rotor and surrounding
components fills with high-pressure water which serves as a
nearly frictionless hydrodynamic bearing. The combination of the
extreme durability of ceramic and the low-friction bearing
design results in very little wear over time.
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Corrosion resistant, highly durable ceramic
composition. The advanced ceramic material used in the
PX device is corrosion resistant, rigid and three times stronger
than steel. This allows us to design the rotor and the sleeve to
have and maintain narrow clearances despite the high operating
pressures to which these devices are exposed and speeds at which
they operate. These narrow clearances allow sea water to act as
a lubricant, minimizing wear and leakage losses.
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Small footprint, modular design and system
redundancy. Our PX devices are available in a range of
standard product sizes. Higher capacities are achieved by
arranging multiple devices in parallel. Customers specify the
number of devices necessary for a given application, and
additional capacity is provided by adding units. Further, due to
the parallel arrangement of the PX devices, if one PX unit in an
array should fail, the desalination plant can continue to
operate.
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Lower life cycle cost versus competitors. Some
of our competitors may price their energy recovery devices below
that of our product. However, because of the PX device’s
high efficiency, durability, corrosion resistance, and modular
design that allows for system redundancy, resulting in minimal
plant shutdowns for PX device maintenance, we believe our
product is the most cost effective energy recovery device
alternative in the long term.
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The PX device uses highly durable, ceramic components to capture
and recycle the energy that otherwise would have been lost in
the high pressure reject stream of the SWRO process and applies
it to the low pressure sea water feed stream. The PX device has
become a leading energy recovery solution in the sea water
desalination industry, installed in over 300 desalination plants
and specified in plant designs by over 60 original equipment
manufacturers, or OEMs, and engineering, procurement and
construction, or EPC, firms worldwide. We estimate that PX
devices shipped as of
December 31, 2007 will reduce
electricity consumption in SWRO desalination plants by
approximately 300 megawatts relative to comparable plants
with no energy recovery devices. Assuming a rate of $0.08 per
kilowatt hour, the deployment of PX devices in plants that
otherwise had no energy recovery devices would result in annual
electricity cost savings of approximately $210 million in
the aggregate, which would equate to a reduction in carbon
dioxide emissions of approximately 1.5 million tons per
year.
Our successful market penetration has resulted in a rapidly
increasing installed base of PX devices globally, which we
expect to lead to aftermarket part replacement and service
opportunities. We also manufacture a line of booster pumps for
use in conjunction with same models of the PX device. As of
March 31, 2008, we had shipped over 4,000 PX devices to
desalination plants worldwide, including in China, Europe,
India, Australia, Africa, the Middle East, North America and the
Caribbean.
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We design, manufacture and sell various PX models to serve a
range of SWRO process flow rates for various plant designs and
sizes. With respect to large desalination plants (greater than
50,000 cubic meters, or 13.2 million gallons, per day
capacity), we sell our products to international EPCs, and with
respect to smaller desalination facilities (fewer than 50,000
cubic meters per day capacity) we sell our products to OEMs for
installation in hotels, power plants and municipal facilities.
Our research, development and manufacturing facility is located
in the San Francisco Bay technology corridor, and we have
direct sales offices and technical support centers in many key
desalination markets, including Madrid, Dubai, Shanghai and
Fort Lauderdale.
Our
Strengths
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Unique and efficient product. Our uniquely
designed product offers several significant benefits to our
customers and advantages over competing products. We manufacture
the only commercially available rotary isobaric energy recovery
device, which we believe is more effective at recovering and
recycling energy than any other commercially available energy
recovery device. The PX device incorporates highly-engineered
corrosion resistant ceramic parts and a modular design that
minimizes product maintenance and helps prevent plant shutdowns.
Our rotary device has only one moving part and a continuous flow
design, which complements the continuous flow of the SWRO
process. This contrasts with competing isobaric energy recovery
devices that utilize an alternating flow process with various
moving parts more susceptible to wear, and which may require
plant shutdowns for maintenance and part replacement. We believe
these unique benefits lead to lower life cycle costs than
competing products.
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Leading position in a rapidly growing
industry. The combination of decreasing fresh water
supplies, increasing fresh water demand and declining SWRO
desalination costs is driving growth in the SWRO desalination
industry. SWRO is the fastest growing segment of the
desalination market, and we believe we are the largest global
supplier of energy recovery devices for SWRO plants exceeding a
capacity of 15,000 cubic meters per day. According to GWI, the
share of total new contracted sea water desalination capacity
using SWRO has increased from approximately 42% in 1999 to
approximately 71% in 2006.
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Rapid growth. Our net revenue increased from
$4.0 million in 2003 to $35.4 million in 2007,
representing a compound annual growth rate of 72%, driven by the
rapid growth of the SWRO desalination industry and our increased
penetration of this market. Our sales growth has enabled us to
leverage our existing manufacturing cost base. We are developing
several new products to provide additional cost and performance
advantages. Additionally, as our installed base of PX devices
ages and the number of installed units increases, we expect
sales of replacement PX parts and services to increase.
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High barriers to entry. Historically, there
has been a slow adoption rate for new technologies in the
desalination industry. We have spent the last 11 years
penetrating the market and establishing our company and product
with major industry participants. Over this period, our PX
device has been increasingly adopted into the standard plant
specifications of many of the leading SWRO desalination plant
designers. We have five U.S. and nine international
counterpart patents covering specific design features of the PX
device. In addition, we have developed significant know-how
related to ceramic processing methods essential to the
manufacturing, reliability and performance of the PX device.
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Diversified international blue chip customer
base. Currently, most of our revenue has been
derived from sales to large EPCs such as Acciona Water, Doosan
Heavy Industries, Geida and GE Ionics. In addition, our products
are specified in plant designs by over 60 OEMs and EPCs
worldwide and have sold PX devices to approximately 250 other
customers, including small and mid-tier OEMs, hotel
operators, power plants and municipalities.
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Strong, experienced management team. Our
senior management team has significant industry experience in
the design, construction and operation of SWRO desalination
plants and the filtration industry. Our chief executive officer,
G.G. Pique, joined us in 2000 after serving for seven years as
the group vice president Latin America of US Filter Corporation
(subsequently acquired by Vivendi) and has over 30 years of
experience in the water treatment industry. He has built the
management team, driven the “customer first” corporate
culture and engineered the strategy leading to global acceptance
of PX technology.
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Our
Strategy
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Increase market penetration. We actively work
with EPCs and OEMs to specify our PX device in the designs of
their SWRO desalination plant. For example, we believe our PX
device is gaining acceptance in the Middle East where SWRO
continues to displace thermal desalination, and we are very
active in China where our PX device has been installed in
28 desalination plants. To further our market penetration,
we are also expanding our existing sales channels and coverage
footprint through new strategic hires and by increasing our
product offerings. Additionally, we are continuing to increase
the awareness of our technology through technical papers, trade
shows, seminars, industry publications and trade association
memberships.
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Continue to broaden our product portfolio. We
are developing new products that should continue to grow our
market share and meet the increasing demands of our clients. As
the SWRO market moves towards increasingly larger desalination
plants, we are developing products designed to address these
larger volume plants. Specifically, we have developed a product,
the PX-1200 Titan, that is expected to provide a five-fold
increase in water flow capacity from that of our largest current
PX device. For customers who are more sensitive to up-front
costs and who operate smaller plants, we are developing the
Comp PX device. We also intend to expand our product
portfolio to include additional circulation/booster pumps
(internal or private label) and a bundled turnkey solution for
customers that would include both a PX device and pump.
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Increase our aftermarket sales. Over time,
components of our PX device will need to be repaired or
replaced. Thus, as our installed base of PX devices ages and the
number of installed units increases, we expect aftermarket sales
of replacement PX parts and services to increase. We are also
considering formulating a service contract model and strategic
stocking centers to help drive additional aftermarket sales.
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Capitalize on growth opportunities in alternative power
and other emerging sectors. We are diversifying our
energy recovery offerings to capitalize on growth opportunities
in emerging sectors. For example, osmotic power generation
utilizes a process similar to that of SWRO and is a clean,
alternate source of power currently under development. We are
participating in an osmotic power pilot test facility being
designed by a European utility company that may use PX
technology. In addition, the PX device could potentially be
applied in any process that has a high-pressure waste stream
including chemical and pe |