UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

For the quarterly period ended: December 31, 2014

For the transition period from _____ to _____.

Commission File Number: 0-19672

 

American Superconductor Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

(978) 842-3000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

N/A

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).     Yes  x    No  ¨

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.

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ¨    No   x

Shares outstanding of the Registrant’s common stock:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION

INDEX

 

 

 

 

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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION

PART I — FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ITEM 1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands)

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

 

 

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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except per share data)  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

 

 

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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS) INCOME

(In thousands)

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

 

 

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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

 

 

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AMERICAN SUPERCONDUCTOR CORPORATION

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

1. Nature of the Business and Operations and Liquidity

Nature of the Business and Operations

American Superconductor Corporation (“AMSC” or the “Company”) was founded on April 9, 1987. The Company is a leading provider of megawatt-scale solutions that lower the cost of wind power and enhance the performance of the power grid. In the wind power market, the Company enables manufacturers to field wind turbines through its advanced engineering, support services and power electronics products. In the power grid market, the Company enables electric utilities and renewable energy project developers to connect, transmit and distribute power through its transmission planning services and power electronics and superconductor-based products. The Company’s wind and power grid products and services provide exceptional reliability, security, efficiency and affordability to its customers.

These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared on a going concern basis in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) instructions to Form 10-Q. The going concern basis of presentation assumes that the Company will continue operations and will be able to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in the financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to those instructions. The year-end condensed balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair statement of the results for the interim periods ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 and the financial position at December 31, 2014.

Liquidity

The Company has experienced recurring operating losses and as of December 31, 2014, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $901.7 million. In addition, the Company has experienced recurring negative operating cash flows.  At December 31, 2014, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $36.0 million. Cash used in operations for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 was $20.9 million.  

On August 29, 2014, the Arbitration Tribunal for the ICC International Court of Arbitration (the “ICC Court”) found the Company’s wholly-owned Austrian subsidiary, AMSC Austria GmbH (“AMSC Austria”) liable for damages in its breach of contract proceeding against Ghodawat Energy Pvt Ltd (“Ghodawat”) and awarded Ghodawat approximately €8.3 million (approximately $10.1 million) plus interest of 5.33%, which accrues from the date of award.  On February 4, 2015, AMSC Austria entered into a Settlement Agreement with Ghodawat, which provided for, among other things, (i) a payment by AMSC Austria to Ghodawat of €7.45 million (approximately $8.5 million), and (ii) upon payment by AMSC Austria to Ghodawat, the full settlement of any and all disputes and claims between the parties (including their respective parent and affiliated companies), in particular related to or arising out of the award.  As of the date of this filing, the Company has not paid this award, but expects to pay the settlement amount during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014.  See Note 13, “Commitments and Contingencies” for further information.

From April 1, 2011 through the date of this filing, the Company has reduced its global workforce substantially.  The Company is currently in the process of consolidating certain business operations to reduce facility costs.  As of December 31, 2014, the Company had a global workforce of approximately 303 persons.  The Company plans to closely monitor its expenses and if required, expects to further reduce operating costs and capital spending to enhance liquidity.

On June 5, 2012, the Company entered into a Loan and Security Agreement (the “Term Loan”) with Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc (“Hercules”), under which the Company borrowed $10.0 million.  As of December 31, 2014, this loan was repaid in full.  On November 15, 2013, the Company entered into an amendment of the Term Loan (the “New Term Loan B”, under which the Company borrowed an additional $10.0 million.  On December 19, 2014, the Company entered into a second amendment of the Term Loan, (the “New Term Loan C”) and together with the Term Loan and the New Term Loan B, the “Term Loans”), under which the Company borrowed an additional $1.5 million.  As of December 31, 2014, the outstanding principal balance of the Term Loans is approximately $9.2 million.  The Term Loans contain certain covenants and restrictions including, among others, a requirement to maintain a minimum unrestricted cash balance in the U.S. equal to the lesser of a minimum threshold or the remaining principal balance of the Term Loans.  (See Note 10, “Debt”, for further information regarding these debt arrangements, including the covenants, restrictions and events of default under the agreements.) The Company believes that it is in compliance with the covenants and restrictions included in the agreements governing these debt arrangements as of December 31, 2014.

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On November 15, 2013, the Company entered into an At Market Sales Arrangement (“ATM”) under which the Company could, at its discretion, sell up to $30.0 million of shares of its common stock (before expenses) through its sales agent, MLV & Co. LLC (“MLV”).  During the three months ended December 31, 2014, the Company received net proceeds of $1.0 million, including sales and commissions and offering expenses, from sales of approximately 0.8 million shares of its common stock at an average sales price of approximately $1.22 per share under the ATM. (See Note 12, “Stockholders’ Equity”, for further information regarding the ATM.)   On November 5, 2014, the Company terminated the ATM arrangement in connection with an equity offering (see further discussion below).

On November 13, 2014, the Company completed an offering of approximately 9.1 million units of its common stock to a single investor at a price of $1.10 per share.  Each unit consisted of one share of the Company’s common stock and 0.9 of a warrant to purchase one share of common stock, or a warrant to purchase in the aggregate 8.2 million shares.  After deducting fees and expenses, the net proceeds from this offering were approximately $9.1 million.  (See Note 12, “Stockholders Equity” for further discussion regarding this offering.)

As a result of the financings completed during the three months ended December 31, 2014, the Company believes it has sufficient liquidity to fund its operations, including the Ghodawat arbitration award liability, capital expenditures and scheduled cash payments under its debt obligations through December 31, 2015. The Company’s liquidity is highly dependent on, its ability to increase revenues, its ability to control its operating costs, its ability to maintain compliance with the covenants and restrictions on its debt obligations (or obtain waivers from its lender in the event of non-compliance), and its ability to raise additional capital, if necessary. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to continue to raise additional capital from other sources or execute on any other means of improving liquidity described above.

In addition, the Company is actively seeking to sell its minority investment in Tres Amigas, LLC, a Delaware limited liability Company (“Tres Amigas”).  The Company no longer believes its investment in Blade Dynamics is recoverable and fully impaired its remaining investment in Blade Dynamics Ltd. (“Blade Dynamics”) during the three months ended September 30, 2014. (See Note 14, “Minority Investments”, for further information about such investments.) There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to sell these investments on commercially reasonable terms or at all.

 

2. Stock-Based Compensation

The Company accounts for its stock-based compensation at fair value. The following table summarizes stock-based compensation expense by financial statement line item for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 (in thousands):

 

 

During the nine months ended December 31, 2014, the Company granted 1,000,000 stock options, and approximately 3,243,000 restricted stock awards. During the nine months ended December 31, 2013, the Company granted approximately 831,000 stock options, 1,307,000 time-based restricted stock awards, 362,000 performance-based restricted stock awards, and issued 212,000 shares of common stock in-lieu of cash bonuses and severance payments issued. The stock options vest generally over 3-5 years, and the time-based restricted stock awards vest generally over three years. For options and awards that vest upon the passage of time, expense is being recorded over the vesting period.  Performance-based restricted stock awards are expensed over the requisite service period based on probability of achievement.

The estimated fair value of the Company’s stock-based awards, less expected annual forfeitures, is amortized over the awards’ service period. The total unrecognized compensation cost for unvested outstanding stock options was $1.5 million at December 31, 2014. This expense will be recognized over a weighted average expense period of approximately 3.0 years. The total unrecognized compensation cost for unvested outstanding restricted stock was $3.7 million at December 31, 2014. This expense will be recognized over a weighted-average expense period of approximately 1.4 years.

The weighted-average assumptions used in the Black-Scholes valuation model for stock options granted during the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 are as follows:

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The expected volatility rate was estimated based on an equal weighting of the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock and the implied volatility of the Company’s traded options. The expected term was estimated based on an analysis of the Company’s historical experience of exercise, cancellation, and expiration patterns. The risk-free interest rate is based on the average of the five and seven year United States Treasury rates.  

 

 

3. Computation of Net Loss per Common Share

Basic net loss per share (“EPS”) is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Where applicable, diluted EPS is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares and dilutive common equivalent shares outstanding during the period, calculated using the treasury stock method. Common equivalent shares include the effect of restricted stock, exercise of stock options and warrants and contingently issuable shares. For each of the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014, 15.7 million shares were not included in the calculation of diluted EPS as they were considered anti-dilutive, of which 3.8 million relate to unexercised stock options, and 11.9 million relate to outstanding warrants. For each of the three and nine months ended December 31, 2013, 10.1 million shares were not included in the calculation of diluted EPS as they were considered anti-dilutive, of which 3.2 million relate to unvested stock options, 3.5 million relate to outstanding warrants and 3.4 million shares relate to the number of shares underlying the Company’s unsecured, senior convertible note (the “Exchanged Note”).

The following table reconciles the numerators and denominators of the earnings per share calculation for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 (in thousands, except per share data):

 

 

4. Fair Value Measurements

A valuation hierarchy for disclosure of the inputs to valuation used to measure fair value has been established. This hierarchy prioritizes the inputs into three broad levels as follows:

 

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The Company provides a gross presentation of activity within Level 3 measurement roll-forward and details of transfers in and out of Level 1 and 2 measurements.  A change in the hierarchy of an investment from its current level is reflected in the period during which the pricing methodology of such investment changes.  Disclosure of the transfer of securities from Level 1 to Level 2 or Level 3 is made in the event that the related security is significant to total cash and investments.  The Company did not have any transfers of assets and liabilities between Level 1 and Level 3 of the fair value measurement hierarchy during the three or nine months ended December 31, 2014.

A financial asset’s or liability’s classification within the hierarchy is determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

The following table provides the assets and liabilities carried at fair value, measured as of December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014 (in thousands):

 

 

 

The table below reflects the activity for the Company’s major classes of liabilities measured at fair value (in thousands):

 

 

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The following table provides the assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis, as of December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014 (in thousands).  During the three months ended September 30, 2014 the following asset was determined to be no longer recoverable and was fully impaired.  See note 14, “Minority Investments” for further details:

 

 

Valuation Techniques

Cash Equivalents

Cash equivalents consist of highly liquid instruments with maturities of three months or less that are regarded as high quality, low risk investments and are measured using such inputs as quoted prices, and are classified within Level 1 of the valuation hierarchy. Cash equivalents consist principally of certificates of deposits and money market accounts.

Derivative Liability

In April 2012, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with Capital Ventures International (“CVI”), an affiliate of Heights Capital Management, under which the Company issued a $25.0 million, 7% convertible note (the “Initial Note”).  In December 2012, the Company entered into an agreement with CVI pursuant to which it exchanged the Initial Note for the Exchanged Note.  The Exchanged Note was extinguished as of March 31, 2014.  The Company had identified all of the derivatives (“Derivative Liability”) associated with the extinguished Exchanged Note which include holder change of control redemption rights, issuer optional redemption rights, sale redemption rights and a feature to convert the Exchanged Note into equity at the holder’s option.  The Derivative Liability was subject to revaluation at each balance sheet date, and any change in fair value was recorded as a change in fair value in derivatives and warrants until its expiration.  The Company relied on assumptions in a lattice model to determine the fair value of Derivative Liability.  The Company had valued the Derivative Liability within Level 3 of the valuation hierarchy.  (See Note 10, “Debt,” for further discussion of the Exchanged Note, Derivative Liability and valuation assumptions used.)

Warrants

Warrants were issued in conjunction with the Purchase Agreement with CVI, the equity offering to a single investor in November 2014, and the Term Loans. (See Note 10, “Debt,” and Note 11 “Warrants and Derivative Liabilities,” for additional information.) These warrants are subject to revaluation at each balance sheet date, and any change in fair value will be recorded as a change in fair value in derivatives and warrants until the earlier of their exercise or expiration.

The Company relies on various assumptions in a lattice model to determine the fair value of warrants. The Company has valued the warrants within Level 3 of the valuation hierarchy. (See Note 11, “Warrants and Derivative Liabilities,” for a discussion of the warrants and the valuation assumptions used.)

Minority Investment

The Company accounts for the minority investment in Blade Dynamics on a cost basis (See Note 14, “Minority Investments”).  During the year ended March 31, 2014, the Company determined that as a result of its efforts to sell its investment in Blade Dynamics, certain indicators of impairment existed which required the Company to perform further analysis. Based on analysis which included potential sale scenarios of the investment, the Company recorded an impairment charge of approximately $1.3 million and reported the investment at its estimated fair value in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2014.

During the three months ended September 30, 2014, the Company determined that as a result of a dilutive financing which resulted in the Company losing certain of its shareholder rights, as well as certain operational issues and adverse changes to the potential sale scenarios previously considered, its investment in Blade Dynamics was no longer recoverable and therefore recorded a charge of $3.5 million to fully impair the investment.

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5. Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable at December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014 consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

 

 

6. Inventory

Inventory at December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014 consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

 

The Company recorded inventory write-downs of $0.1 million and less than $0.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.  The Company recorded inventory write-downs of $1.4 million and $0.3 million for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.  These write downs were based on evaluating its inventory on hand for excess quantities and obsolescence.

Deferred program costs as of December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014 primarily represent costs incurred on programs accounted for under contract accounting where the Company needs to complete development milestones before revenue and costs will be recognized.

 

7. Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses

Accounts payable and accrued expenses at December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014 consisted of the following (in thousands):

 

The Company generally provides a one to three year warranty on its products, commencing upon installation. A provision is recorded upon revenue recognition to cost of revenues for estimated warranty expense based on historical experience.

Product warranty activity was as follows (in thousands):

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